The sixth day of the week and the number 13 both have foreboding reputations said to date from ancient times, and their inevitable conjunction from one to three times a year (there happen to be three such occurrences in 2009, two of them right in a row) portends more misfortune than some credulous minds can bear. According to some sources it's the most widespread superstition in the United States today. Some people refuse to go to work on Friday the 13th; some won't eat in restaurants; many wouldn't think of setting a wedding on the date. How many Americans at the turn of the new millennium actually suffer from this condition? According to Dr. Donald Dossey, a psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of phobias (and coiner of the term paraskevidekatriaphobia, also spelled paraskavedekatriaphobia), the figure may be as high as 21 million. If he's right, at least eight percent of Americans are still in the grips of a very old superstition.
http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th.htm

Like To Gamble? Know the Supreme Court? It’s Your Lucky Day FantasyScotus.net, the self-proclaimed premier Supreme Court fantasy league is the brainchild of recent George Mason law grad Josh Blackman. You pick the way you think the Supreme Court will rule on its docket. You're awarded points for picking the outcome of the case (whether the court affirms or reverses the lower court); the split (9-0, 8-1, 7-2, 6-3, 5-4, 4-1-4, or fragmented); as well as the justices in the majority and the justices in the dissent. It's $5 or $10 to join, but the fee is waived for students, law clerks and unemployed attorneys. Click here to check it out. WSJ Law Blog November 12, 2009

Overdraft Explosion: Bank fees for overdrafts increase 35% in two years, by Leslie Parrish, Center for Responsible Lending, October 6, 2009. Summary Findings:
"Finding 1: Over 50 million Americans overdrew their checking account at least once over a 12-month period, with 27 million accountholders incurring five or more overdraft or non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees. Finding 2: Banks and credit unions collected nearly $24 billion in overdraft fees in 2008. Finding 3: Overdraft fee income for banks and credit unions rose 35 percent from 2006 to 2008."

FDA Issues 2009 FDA Food Code
"The Food and Drug Administration announced the publication of the 2009 FDA Food Code, a model code and reference document that provides a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for regulating the retail and food service segment of the food industry. The 2009 FDA Food Code is a key component of the President’s overall public-health-focused food safety framework for maintaining a safe food supply. State, city, county, tribal, and territorial agencies regulate more than 1 million restaurants, retail food stores, and vending and food service operations in institutions such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and child care centers. The model FDA Food Code provides the basis for most of those agencies’ licensing, inspection, and enforcement activities, as well as serves as a model for their food statutes, regulations, and ordinances. Release of the FDA Food Code provides all levels of government with practical, science-based guidance and manageable, enforceable provisions for mitigating known risks of foodborne illness. The FDA Food Code also serves as a reference document for the retail food industry."

The castle of Neuschwanstein (3306 feet above see-level) is built in the style of the late romanesque period of the early 13th century. This style is obvious in the construction of the building as a whole as well in its ornamentation: the round arched portals, the arcade windows and towers, the position of columns and its bay windows and pinnacles. The King's living quarters and representational rooms in the third and fourth floor were more or less completed by 1886. The rooms on the second floor are still in bare brickwork and not accessible. See descriptions and paintings: http://www.marerico.com/neuschwanstein_castle.htm

Toledo.com launched TellToledo.com in 2007, a service aimed at providing up-to-date information on everything that is happening in Toledo & Northwest Ohio. The site offers an easy, FREE way to share and distribute press releases, news and events for the Toledo area. You may read, submit and subscribe. http://tell.toledo.com/

Macy’s history, part 4 By the 1970s, Federated started a number of discount divisions that operated in Florida, Texas and California. At the same time, Fred Lazarus also set his sights on real estate development through a wholly owned subsidiary, Federated Stores Realty. This resulted in a new string of regional shopping malls with Federated stores as their anchors. Federated ended the decade of the '70s on a high note as it celebrated its 50th anniversary with the acquisition of Rich's in Atlanta, construction of a new corporate headquarters building in Cincinnati and a total of 20 divisions and 364 stores. The new millennium saw Federated make the bold move of acquiring long-time department store competitor, May Company. United, a retail powerhouse was created with Macy's stores in 63 of the top 65 markets. The acquisition was completed in August 2005, nearly doubling the size of the company and making Federated the fourth largest non-food retailer in the country. http://www.macysinc.com/pressroom/History/default3.aspx

stalking horse (STAH-king HORS) noun
1. something used to mask the true purpose
2. a candidate put forward in an election to draw votes from another or to conceal another's potential candidacy
After the former practice of bird hunters of hiding behind a horse (or a decoy) until he had reached within close range of prey.
hobbyhorse (HOB-ee-hors) noun
a favorite pastime, a pet project or topic; an obsession
The everyday word hobby is a shortening of the term hobbyhorse. A hobbyhorse is a child's riding toy, consisting of a stick with the shape of a horse's head on the front. It was called hobbyhorse, probably from the name Robin or Hobin usually given to a small horse. The word is often used in a metaphorical sense as "to ride one's hobby-horse" meaning to pursue a pet topic. Also see cheval de bataille.
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

Rudolph came to life in 1939 when the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company (operators of a chain of department stores) asked one of their copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to come up with a Christmas story they could give away to shoppers as a promotional gimmick. (The Montgomery Ward stores had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year, and May's department head saw creating a giveaway booklet of their own as a way to save money.) May, who had a penchant for writing children's stories and limericks, was tapped to create the booklet. May, drawing in part on the tale of The Ugly Duckling and his own background (he was a often taunted as a child for being shy, small, and slight), settled on the idea of an underdog ostracized by the reindeer community because of his physical abnormality: a glowing red nose. Looking for an alliterative name, May considered and rejected Rollo (too cheerful and carefree a name for the story of a misfit) and Reginald (too British) before deciding on Rudolph. He then proceeded to write Rudolph's story in verse, as a series of rhyming couplets, testing it out on his 4-year-old daughter Barbara as he went along. Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of the Rudolph booklet in 1939, and although wartime paper shortages curtailed printing for the next several years, a total of 6 million copies had been given by the end of 1946. to be continued
http://www.xomba.com/rudolph_the_red_nosed_reindeer_creation_and_montgomery_ward_stores

On November 13, 1789 Benjamin Franklin (books by this author) wrote a letter to his friend Jean-Baptiste Le Roy and observed: "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes." The Writer’s Almanac