In honour of the American Thanksgiving Day holiday, and because I consider myself an amateur historian (who especially appreciates the absurd) I thought I would share with you my favourite Yankee loon of all time....Joshua Abraham Norton, first and only Emperor of the United States of America!

He was born in England in the early years of the nineteenth century. Joshua A. Norton was a successful businessman in both South Africa and The USA. An unfortunate turn in the rice market bankrupted him in 1854. This is when Joshua's life took a most interesting and unusual turn.......

On September 17, 1859 Joshua quite publicly declared that he was very upset with the political situation in the United States of America. In fact there was only one person in his mind that could fix the situation and that was Norton I, Emperor of the USA (himself of course).

Norton I, Emperor of the USA spent his days parading about the streets of San Francisco (his hometown) attired in a uniform of royal blue with gold epaulets, beaver hat, and umbrella, writing up all sorts of declarations (ignored by US Congress) and releasing them in the press. He would inspect the city's streets, buildings, and even police force with regularity.

Joshua had his supporters as well (eccentric as he was) and was much beloved by the locals who would refer to him as His Imperial Majesty. The currency he issued was even accepted by local businesses that he patronized.

The good Norton I, first and only Emperor of the USA passed away January 8, 1880.

And furthermore in honour of HIS memory I have decided to proclaim myself on this American holiday HRH Sue Empress of the Universe, you may send me your offerings, and prezzies post haste!

Happy Thanksgiving Day To All Of My American Friends & Family!

I was going through my Mom's things, and came across this news clipping from 1961. My Mom is Toni Demeter, and I like the answer that she gave to the reporter.

How would you answer? I think my own answer would be similar to my Mom's with the exception that I would like to have the money that some very famous people have accumulated.

Sorting through old photos, and my Mom's personal files have actually helped in my coping with her recent death this past August. I feel closer to her, and my thoughts are turning more to happy memories, instead of the intense pain that I felt since her diagnosis, and her death from complications of pancreatic cancer.

Recently (just this past year) through some genealogical sleuthing I have learned that one of my Transylvanian great grandmother's (Maria) was a Roma aka of Gypsy origin. I was actually a bit shocked because it seems that this was covered up to a degree.

I had always known that Gypsy people were looked down upon in Europe, but I needed to learn more about them, and why other Europeans held such a strong negative attitude towards them. I picked up a copy of David Crowe's book A History Of The Gypsies of Eastern Europe which to date is the definitive resource on the subject that I could find, and learned a lot about the plight of these people....possibly (1/8th at least) my own people.

Discrimination, and hatred towards Gypsies is very prevalent in Hungary, and Romania, it is nothing new, but quite shocking considering this is the 21st century not the 17th for christ sakes! We are supposed to be far more enlightened, and culturally tolerant than we were 300 years ago!

In a recent Romanian concert Madonna was booed by her own fans for speaking out against violence, and prejudice towards Gypsy people. Good on Madonna! Hopefully at least some of her fans took the time to consider what she was saying.

After reading the book, and looking into recent news items on Gypsies in Europe I now have little doubt why my Great Grandmother's heritage was mostly covered up, and it is very sad indeed.

Gypsies as a whole have had a troubled existence, but if we look to history, and attitudes towards them we can see why this current state of affairs is the case, and what has led up to it.

I am no expert, but I hope that perhaps with tolerance, and some understanding the problems that face Gypsy people across Europe such as crime, including child crime, higher rates of alcoholism, lack of education, lack of decent employment, can begin to be overcome. At least this is what I hope for as I cannot stand to see any one group of human beings singled out, and targeted through hatred and prejudice.

That is my girl Mary. We rescued her from the local shelter six years ago. She is named after the Scottish Queen. And believe me her personality lives up to her historical namesake!

Here she is asleep on my computer case seemingly snuggled up with my Sasquatch stuffed doll. Some people think of him as a Yeti, but I call him Sasquatch.

Here is a closer view.

It is certainly warm up there, and I enjoy her quiet presence as I type.

Tonight I'm up late, catching up on a few things, and as usual Mary is keeping me good company as the quiet, and darkness settle in around us.

For those of you who don't follow our Paranormal Blog I recently posted an entry entitled Occasionally There Is An Actual Hit. It is about a friend who told me of a dream that later on seemed to indicate a very eerie prediction of sorts.

This blog entry is not about the occasional "psychic" hit that seems to defy probability ...no, this is about an epic whale of a fail....

As Matthew and I get set to celebrate our 8th anniversary as a couple we had to have a wee giggle at the memory of a self proclaimed psychic who very early on in our relationship took it upon herself to phone Matthew and give him a dire warning that our relationship was doomed at the get go, and would not survive 2 months. I'm not kidding.

94 months later we decided to mathematically calculate out this would-be psychic's failure rate on this most nasty prediction, which is roughly 470%....I would call that an epic fail, and not a very good indication of any psychic ability at all.

LOL!

Members of the Eccentric Club of London at their annual Friday the 13th lunch in 1936 – surrounded by objects that are connected with superstitions.

Friday the 13th has never bothered me in fact my own parents were married on a Friday the thirteenth, but they liked to break with tradition as a rule.

Whilst the day and/or number has never troubled me personally, it does cause some real issues for certain people suffering paraskevidekatriaphobia (say that three times fast) or a morbid, and irrational fear of Friday the 13th, as coined by Dr. Donald Dossey. According to a 2000 survey conducted by American Demographics 13% of Americans suffer this fear. Interesting coincidence with that number 13, and I sincerely hope that you gentle readers are not afflicted with this.

The history of where this fear originated seems lost within the mists of time itself, but here are a few theories put forward by others:

Christ is thought to have been crucified on a Friday, which was execution day among the Romans. Friday's were also traditionally execution day in Britain. The number 13 ties in as it was believed to bring bad luck because there were 13 people at The Last Supper.

People have suggested that Friday was the day God threw Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden, which would be a lucky guess as the concept of Friday hadn't been invented yet.

Thirteen is an unlucky or bad number in Norse mythology as well. Loki, the most mischievous of the Norse gods, went uninvited to a party for 12 at Valhalla, a banquet hall of the gods. And whilst there he caused the death of Balder, the god of light, joy, and reconciliation.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templars and sixty of his senior knights in Paris. Thousands of others were arrested elsewhere in the country. After utilising torture techniques to force the Templars to "confess" to wrongdoing, most were eventually executed and sympathizers of the Templars condemned Friday the 13th as an evil day.

Chaucer alluded to Friday as a day on which bad things seemed to happen in the Canterbury Tales during the late 14th century, "And on a Friday fell all this mischance." Perhaps with the plight of the Templars in mind?

In my opinion it was probably a combination of all of the above, and much more that led to the superstition, and belief that Friday the 13th is somehow an unlucky day.

How do you feel about Friday the 13th? Will you be doing anything different today because of it? Or do you believe it to be a silly superstition only?

Further Reading:

A World Of Luck - Friday The 13th

Friday the 13th - Unlucky No. 13 combines Christian and pagan beliefs

Image credit: Getty Images

1. Leaves changing colours
2. Shorter days
3. Longer nights
4. Cooler weather
5. Raking leaves
6. Kids jumping into piles of leaves
7. Smell of wood burning fireplaces
8. Pumpkins
9. Maize or Indian corn
10. Halloween (Samhain)
11. Hot Apple Cider and/or fresh apple butter
12. Pressing pretty leaves with wax paper
13. Thanksgiving feast

I love the Fall season.

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In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

- Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

I was very fortunate to have parents that instilled a sense of acceptance, and tolerance of all peoples, beliefs, and cultures in us, and I was reminded of this the other day when coming across a blog where the blogger decided to use a popular meme to push their own anti-Muslim agenda.

It was really awful, with this blogger "making fun" of Muslim names, and how the average American does not name their baby Mohamed according to some highly questionable statistics they dragged up. No, sadly I'm not kidding. And for what purpose? To spread hate by any means possible?

My niece, her husband, and their daughter, and newborn son are Muslim, and you can bet this blogger has offended me. And oh yes, am I ever grateful for Canadian anti-hate laws.

My parents thankfully taught us to be accepting, and that acceptance even extends to this unfortunate, and obviously ignorant blogger, and includes my pity for his obvious hate filled world. (And no, I will not be visiting that nasty blog again).

Thanks to the wisdom and blessing of my Mom and Dad I don't have to share in that hateful existence.

Yep, that is an Atari 2600 pictured above, which should give you an idea of how long I've been a gaming addict. Here is a list of my 13 fave video games of all-time for different gaming systems.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
3. Super Mario 64
4. Pac-Man
5. Space Invaders
6. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
7. Castlevania
8. Animal Crossing
9. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
10. Super Mario Sunshine
11. Mortal Kombat
12. Super Mario World
13. Star Fox

And yes, there are sooo many more. It was not easy sticking to just thirteen. Can you add to my list?

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It has been two and half months since my Mom passed away from pancreatic cancer, and I still can't believe she is gone. My sister, stepdad, and I spent most of yesterday sorting through her belongings, deciding what we wanted to keep for remembrance, and what should be donated to charity. It was a very bittersweet experience as we reminisced about some things, shared some tears, and a couple of laughs too.

My Mom's dearest friend, and neighbour came over to see us, and was surprised at how Diane, and I divided things up without any squabbling. I cannot say I was shocked by her thoughts as I have seen siblings go at each other's throats when the time comes to divide a parent's estate. Yet, for Diane and I, we both know that no one material object could ever bring back our Mom or take away the good memories we will always hold in our hearts. To quote my sister "we already have had the very best of our Mother."

I do feel accomplished today, and I feel like the healing of my own broken heart has begun. I also miss my Mom like crazy right now as I want to pick up the phone, and tell her all about how the day went.....