Now That I'm 20...

Hi, Everyone!

So, here it is, Tuesday, February 11, 2014, and I feel grandtastic!

As of yesterday, my teen years are officially over, and I have crossed that threshold into the tantalizing twenties. And today’s blog post couldn’t be any more apropos—seeing as how I am officially twenty years (and one day) old, I would like to share twenty things that y’all may or may not know about me.

Here we go:


1.  All things considered, my first name (Natasha) is Russian, meaning “born at Christmas,” and my middle name (Renee) is French for “reborn.”

 

2.  The most money I ever splurged was thirty dollars, and that was when I went to Knott’s Berry Farm last summer with my Uncle Ronnie, Auntie Brenda, and Cousin Lionel.

 

3.  My very first best friend just happens to be my fellow Rustite and future Class of 2016 alumna—Ruby Jean Hudspeth.

 

4.  I absolutely, unconditionally love my height and weight… as long as I don’t go over 145 pounds!

 

5.  I know for a fact that I’ve got a great set of hips—this may sound like bragging, but I know it to be true!

 

6.  Although I’ve grown up in a Christian home, there is a part of me that is very superstitious. However, I am asking God to help me with that.

 

7.  Thanks in part to my mom, my favorite color is purple.

 

8.  I model myself after the women in my family—I’ve got my Gramma Jewel’s sweet and friendly demeanor, my mom’s poise and panache, my Auntie Cherri’s bold and daring sex appeal, my Auntie Stephanie’s style and profile, my Auntie Brenda’s loyalty and dedication, and my Auntie Gloria’s shy and quiet looks.

 

9.  The first person I ever cussed out was a girl up here at Rust that tried to play my homey Neo Theo for a fool.

 

10.  My favorite number is ten!

 

11.  Up until I was sixteen years old, I wanted to change my name to Natasha Renee Huxtable on account of I love The Cosby Show.

 

12.  I registered to vote on my eighteenth birthday.

 

13.  My dream vacation is Honolulu, Hawaii.

 

14.  I first fell in love with wrestling/sports entertainment when I was five years old; my very first pay-per-view was SummerSlam 1999, where Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind, and Triple H were fighting for the championship.

 

15.  My passion for teaching has magnified that much greater because of my love for learning and trivia.

 

16.  I love cloudy days, rainy days, and snowy days—separate from each other, of course.

 

17.  There was a time when I thought that anyone with the last name Stewart was related to me.

 

18.  Despite the fact that I am an only child, I treat my cousins as though they are my brothers and sisters.

 

19.  Although I was two years old, my last memory of my Grampa Clark was two weeks before he died; he lifted me in the air and pretended to drop me, and I remember giggling like crazy.

 

20.  In my sophomore year at LaBon High School, I dressed up like my Gramma Jewel for a costume contest, and I won!

 

 

And there y’all have it!

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha

More Profound Knowledge About Rust College

Hi, Everyone!

My great-great grandmother Bernice Brown was once quoted as saying: “The only way you stop learning is when The Heavenly Father calls you from earth to Glory.”

Well, as y’all know, we are in Black History Month, and as an aspiring teacher, I have gained this thirst for knowledge and trivia… you know, I really don’t know where I’m going with this introduction, so I’m just gonna cut right to the chase: Do y’all remember a blog post from September, in which I talked about the history of Rust College? I had made mention of and further explained why Rust was first to give some learning unto those who were set free… well, special thanks to a fellow Rustite who graduated Class of 1999, I learned something else.

Check this out, y’all: Before the Civil War, higher education for African Americans was darn near nonexistent. Those who did receive schooling, such as Frederick Douglass, often studied in clandestine and oftentimes hostile settings. Some were even forced to teach themselves, period! I was also surprised to learn that most historically black colleges and universities (or HBCUs for short) were established after the Civil War, and most are located in former slave states and territories. It’s no secret that HBCUs are the backbone of higher education for African Americans, and continue to produce present and future leaders, doctors, and educators.

And, in addition to everything else mentioned, Rust College is the oldest HBCU in the state of Mississippi—I’m talking about the overall state of Mississippi.

The NBC theme still rings true to this day: The more you know…

Until tomorrow, y’all have a gooden!

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha

Twenty-Two More Interesting Trivia

Happy Friday, Everyone!

This is a very special Freestyle Friday blog post. In continuation with Last Saturday’s post about trivial tidbits, here are twenty-two more for you. Check these out:

·         Thomas Edison one tried to invent a helicopter engine that ran on gunpowder. He was forced to end the experiments… after blowing up his lab.

·         It is completely impossible for a person to recite the letters of the alphabet without moving their lips or tongue; all letters sound the same.

·         In 1796, the state of Franklin changed its name to Tennessee. In 1861, the state of Kanawha changed its name to West Virginia.

·         Kids laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

·         Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime… and it was purchased by his brother, Theo.

·         The first American novel to ever to sell one million copies was Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which was published in 1852.

·         Natural gas has no odor, but it can still be smelled, since scent is artificially added to it as a means of detecting leaks.

·         Sherlock Holmes never said “Elementary, my dear Watson,” and Captain Kirk never said “Beam me up, Scotty.”

·         In 1938, the two creators of Superman sold all the right to the character and the concept for $130.

·         The first-ever video on MTV was The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.” The first by an African-American artist: Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”

·         In the Gilligan’s Island series, the skipper’s name is Jonas Grumby, and the professor’s name is Roy Hinkley. Their names were used only once—in the pilot.

·         The green rooster on the front of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes is actually named Cornelius. He made his debut in 1957, and is still on boxes today.

·         The top hat was so controversial that, when its inventor first wore it out in public in 1797, he was arrested for disturbing the peace.

·         “The whole nine yards” refers to the string of bullets used with airplane-mounted guns during World War I, which were 27 feet (nine yards) long.

·         Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall of China is too narrow to be seen from space. One can, however, see the Hoover Dam and the Giza Pyramids.

·         It snows more in the Grand Canyon than it does in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The largest natural snowflake ever recorded was fifteen inches wide.

·         The only real people to be Pez heads were Paul Revere, Daniel Boone, and Betsy Ross, issued in the 1970s, and the Orange County Choppers, in 2006.

·         The word “oink” for the sound of a pig is “ood” in Thai, “snork” in Afrikaans, “chro” in Czech, “buu” in Japanese, and “hulu” in Mandarin.

·         The fastest moving muscle in the human body is the one that opens and closes the eyelid… “As fast as the blink of an eye!”

·         The first postage stamp, called the “One Penny Black,” was issued in 1840 and featured a portrait of the young Queen Victoria.

·         Abandoned titles for The Great Gatsby included “Trimalchio in West Egg,” “Under the Red, White, and Blue,” and “The High-Bouncing Lover.”

·         The longest airport runway in the world (3.4 miles) is at Bamda Airport in Tibet. It is also the highest (altitude of 2.7 miles).

The reason why I boldfaced Item #11 is because I already knew that one, particularly because of watching Gilligan’s Island with my fam and friends.

I also want to thank my fellow Southern Cali native Nikki Douglas for this information. Perhaps one day, I will throw these tidbits of information in one of my lessons and quiz my future kindergarten class, just to see if they were really paying attention to me… hahaha!

Well, I’ll holla at y’all tomorrow. Take care.

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha

Twenty Trivial Tidbits

Photo credit: sweetfudge.com

Happy Saturday, Everyone!

Today’s blog post is like none other I’ve ever written. Seeing as how I am studying to be a teacher, and also it is common knowledge that no one ever stops learning, I’ve decided to dedicate today’s blog post to an email that I received from fellow aspiring teacher Nikki Douglas.

The following is some trivial tidbits—some of which I knew, and others that I only learned since reading Nikki’s email:

·         The “Dogs Playing Poker” series of sixteen paintings were done by C.M. Coolidge in 1903, commissioned as cigar ads. Two sold at an auction for close to $600,000.

·         The Code of Hammurabi, which was written around 1750 BC, included a provision for the death penalty if a tavern owner watered down the beer.

·         Tulips are actually native to the Middle East, and were first brought to Europe by the Dutch ambassador to Iran in the 16^th Century.

·         Not only do fingers have unique prints, but so does the tongue (I can imagine a court case: “Officer, I can prove that he’s the one who licked the spoon!”).

·         The largest individual flower on earth is the Rafflesia Arnoldis, which grows in the jungles of Southeast Asia. It can grow to be three feet wide.

·         New York’s current Grand Central Terminal opened in 1913 and has forty-four platforms—this is more than any other train station in the world.

·         Major League Baseball began in 1869, which is the year that the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings was established.

·         In the first episodes of Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch was orange as opposed to green. He has a pet worm named Smiley, and a pet elephant named Fluffy.

·         The tallest point in the continental United States is California’s Mount Whitney, which is just eighty miles from the lowest point in the U.S., Death Valley.

·         The longest chairlift in the world is the Magic Mile, on Oregon’s Mount Hood. It takes skiers about six minutes to ride for 5,500 feet.

·         The geographic center of the 48 contiguous United States is in Lebanon, Kansas. The geographic center of North America is in Rugby, South Dakota.

·         The trademarked Tiffany Blue color is officially known as “Pantone #1837.” Not coincidentally, 1837 is the year that Tiffany & Co. was founded.

·         The Cat in the Hat, the iconic children’s story that was published over fifty years ago, contains only 236 words… and some great pictures.

·         During the height of the Beanie Baby fad in the 1990s, the most prized animal was a dark blue Peanut the Elephant, and Bongo the Monkey.

·         The guy with the top hat in the Monopoly game is known as “Rich Uncle Moneybags.” His first name is supposedly Milburn.”

·         In order to run the length of the Great Wall of China, one would have to run 171.8 marathons—consecutively!

·         The Wal-Mart chain began with one small store in Bentonville, Arkansas; it was called Walton’s Five & Dime.

·         The tallest cactus species is the Pachycereus pringlei, which is native to Mexico and can grow to be 63 feet high.

·         A cranberry can be tested for ripeness by dropping it on the ground. A fully ripened cranberry should bounce like a basketball.

·         The Guinness Book of World Records is actually in the Guinness Book of World Records, for being the most often stolen book from public libraries.

These are but twenty trivial tidbits. There are more, but I’ll save them for a later blog post. Until then, y’all have a good rest-of-the-weekend.

Hugs & Kisses,

Natasha