January 2 – New Year's 2nd Day

nPosted on January 2, 2018

Key Points

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nDay After New Year’s Day in Romania, Scotland, New Zealand, and Serbia.
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nNew Year’s Holiday (2nd Day) in Russia and Mauritius.
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nDay to Hustle Back to Work and/or Collapse in Exhaustion – everyone!
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nThis looks to be mostly a day of rest, time off, down-time. A recovery day. Most of the world that isn’t back to school and work today WILL be back to normal tomorrow, but a day to sleep in, put away decorations, do laundry, and get organized does make a certain amount of sense!
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nWhile you meditate and stretch, clear out your refrigerator and restock with healthy food, and get organized for “real life,” take a peek at these famous “2nds.”
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nSecond human on the moon:
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nBuzz Aldrin – famous for his cool nickname (which came from his sister’s mispronunciation of the word “brother” – and which became the first name of a famous fictional astronaut!

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nBuzz Aldrin is also famous for punching a guy in the face after being hounded, followed, and called names by that guy.
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n“That guy” was a moon landing denier – a conspiracy theorist who has got all swung up in the incorrect idea that no humans have ever landed on the moon.
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nAfter badgering Aldrin for some minutes, the conspiracy theorist called the former astronaut “a coward, a liar, and a thief.” And THAT’s when Aldrin punched him.
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nThe moon landing denier tried to prove that he was the victim of an assault, and used a recording of the punch to prove it, but police determined that Aldrin had been provoked, and no charges were filed.
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nSecond Star Wars movie ever made:
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nThe Empire Strikes Back (released in 1980 and therefore the second made, although it is now considered Episode V) is considered the best of all SW movies by many, if not most, reviewers and people generally. (I personally like A New Hope – the first SW movie every made, Episode IV – best of all.)
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nIf that first sequel hadn’t been masterful and complex, there probably wouldn’t be a massive Star Wars movie / TV / book / gaming / merchandise empire today.
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nSecond most populous city in the U.S.:
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nLA – Los Angeles – is #2, bested only by NYC – New York City.
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nLA is pretty much home to me, because even though I have never lived within its city limits, it dominates SoCal with its businesses, entertainment, and museums.
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nLet’s put it this way – when we travel far and wide, and people ask where we’re from, we never answer “the U.S.” or “California” or even “Southern California.” And my husband never bothers with the actual cities of our address – right now Chino – because people aren’t likely to recognize those names. But people DO recognize both Los Angeles and LA, so I generally say, “We live in a little town on the outskirts of LA” or something like that.
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nPeople who live in Louisiana, which has the abbreviation LA, might quibble with me leaving off the periods. They might say, “That should be L.A.” And they’d be right. But I figure, if NYC can get by without periods, my Los Angeles can, too!
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nLA is home of the LA Lakers and the La Brea Tar Pits, and it’s metropolitan area is home to Hollywood and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). That makes it pretty much the Center of the Universe!
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