29 January 26

For her birthday today, my sister Faith Lang chose my "flags of many nations" tie. She has been thinking a lot about world peace! Four nations that are much in the current news but which are not represented on my tie are Denmark, Nicaragua, Iran and Palestine. Denmark's flag is especially noteworthy because the "Dannebrog" is widely recognized as the world's oldest national flag still in continuous use, with legendary origins dating to 1219. 

30 June 24

Tomorrow (1 July) is a great day for national independence celebrations in Canada, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, and Hong Kong. Coming up later this week are United States (2 or 4), Belarus (3) and Algeria (5). Others in July: South Sudan (9), Mongolia (11), France (14), Belgium (21), Egypt (23) and Morocco (30). My tie with flags of many nations doesn't have all of those represented, but you can clearly see Canada's maple leaf, the United States' stars and stripes, and France's tricolor bars.

Special note about the United States' observance: John Adams expected there would be annual fireworks, etc., on 2 July, marking the date when the Colonial Congress passed the resolution to proclaim independence from the British King. The traditional date of 4 July was assigned to the Declaration of Independence two days later when many of the delegates signed the document.

31 August 22

Many nations have celebrations in the last days of August and first days of September. My tie showing flags from around the world has been in my wardrobe for 13 years; I found it on a rack at Goodwill. Besides the holidays shown in the image: 30 August -- Saint Rose of Lima Day (Peru), Victory Day (Turkey); 31 August -- Constitution Day (Kazakhstan), National Heroes' Day (Philippines), National Language Day (Moldova); 1 September -- Revolution Day (Libya); 3 September -- Independence Day (Qatar).

 

You can see 287 world flags on Web pages like this one.

14 June 21

 It's Flag Day again! So I'm celebrating with flags from all around the world. And my ponytail is tied with red, white and blue -- colors on so many flags! This morning I learned from Alexa that a process to make sandpaper was patented on this date in 1834. I don't know if I can make a tie out of sandpaper next year . . . 

8 September 20

 Yesterday (no-tie Labor Day) was the 51st anniversary of the creation of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations. You may wave your personal flag if you know what vexillology is, or if you are a fan of Sheldon Cooper's "Fun with Flags" episodes. My tie for today features flags of many nations. And my ponytail is tied with red-white-and-blue, the colors of lots of national flags. Around 1996, Ben and Jonathan and I visited the United Nations in New York City (on a trip with the EKU Honors Program), where we got an official U.N. Flag Kit, containing miniature flags from all of the member nations. I'm hoping that this Flag Kit will be useful in the latest version of the Kleppinger Home School! 

 

 

24 September 19

My flags-of-many-nations tie celebrates the opening of the 74th United Nations General Assembly! I hold very high regard for the way the United Nations has fostered solid and meaningful international interactions to address many issues around the globe. In the vast majority of cases since 1945, cooperation and shared resources have brought peaceful resolutions to conflicts and great improvements for human welfare (health, education, food, safety, basic human rights).

Here at Eastern Kentucky University today, the American Heart Association is teaching us how to perform "Hands-Only CPR," and we get to take home our own "practice mannequin."

14 June 18

For "Flag Day," I've draped myself with flags from all over the world. If you're a fan of The Big Bang Theory, I hope you will celebrate with some episodes of Sheldon's "Fun With Flags" blog. My centerpiece tie honors the birthday (tomorrow) of Lisa del Giocondo (1479-1542), the model for Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting.

10 January 18

10 January 1920: Inauguration of the League of Nations
10 January 1946: First meeting of the United Nations General Assembly

14 June 17

Happy Flag Day!

14 June 16

Flag Day!

14 June 15

The best tie to wear for Flag Day!

27 August 13

85 years ago today, international authorities signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, declaring war illegal. Given the results of history it sounds laughable now, but the principles of the Pact became the centerpiece of the charter for the United Nations.

24 October 12

Happy United Nations Day!

20 September 11

Today marks the opening of the new session of the United Nations General Assembly.

21 February 11

February 21 is International Mother Language Day, designated by the United Nations as a day to celebrate the preservation of local languages and worldwide linguistic diversity. My "mother language" is American English, colored with some Pennsylvania Dutch (German) phrases and grammatical oddities.

31 August 10

This week at the end of August and beginning of September includes many days of independence celebrations and other holidays around the world. The 31st gets the prize for the biggest number of events. This list is from "Holidays on the Net":

Mon, 30th Aug:	Saint Rose of Lima Day (Peru) Victory Day (Turkey)
Tue, 31st Aug:	Constitution Day (Kazakhstan) Freedom Day (Malaysia) Independence Day (Kyrgyzstan) Independence Day (Malaysia) Independence Day (Trinidad,Tobago) National Heroes' Day (Philippines) National Language Day (Moldova)
Wed, 01st Sep:	Constitution Day (Slovakia) Independence Day (Uzbekistan) Revolution Day (Libya)
Thu, 02nd Sep:	Independence Day (Vietnam)
Fri, 03rd Sep:	Independence Day (Qatar) National Day (San Marino)

14 June 10

Yay, it's Flag Day, so I'm wearing my tie with lots of flags.

21 February 10

Today is International Mother Language Day, celebrating linguistic diversity and the "right" to speak in your own language. My tie is also appropriate for the Winter Olympics, occurring now in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

19 November 09

Today is something called "International Men's Day" and it couldn't be symbolized any better than with the photo below. I chose to wear my new flags-of-many-nations tie, without displaying my true macho attitude.