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COFFEE COUNTER
for week of
April 3rd
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Today In History
One of America's most famous criminals, Jesse James, is shot to death by fellow gang member Bob Ford, who betrayed James for reward money. For 16 years, Jesse and his brother, Frank, committed robberies and murders throughout the Midwest. Detective magazines and pulp novels glamorized the James gang, turning them into mythical Robin Hoods who were driven to crime by unethical landowners and bankers. In reality, Jesse James was a ruthless killer who stole only for himself.
The teenage James brothers joined up with southern guerrilla leaders when the Civil War broke out. Both participated in massacres of settlers and troops affiliated with the North. After the war was over, the quiet farming life of the James brothers' youth no longer seemed enticing, and the two turned to crime. Jesse's first bank robbery occurred on February 13, 1866, in Liberty, Missouri.
Over the next couple of years, the James brothers became the suspects in several bank robberies throughout western Missouri. However, locals were sympathetic to ex-southern guerrillas and vouched for the brothers. Throughout the late 1860s and early 1870s, the James gang robbed only a couple banks a year, otherwise keeping a low profile.
In 1873, the James gang got into the train robbery game. During one such robbery, the gang declined to take any money or valuables from southerners. The train robberies brought out the Pinkerton Detective Agency, employed to bring the James gang to justice. However, the Pinkerton operatives' botched attempt to kill James left a woman and her child injured and elicited public sympathy for Jesse and Frank James.
The James gang suffered a setback in 1876 when they raided the town of Northfield, Minnesota. The Younger brothers, cousins of the James brothers, were shot and wounded during the brazen midday robbery. After running off in a different direction from Jesse and Frank, the Younger brothers were captured by a large posse and later sentenced to life in prison. Jesse and Frank, the only members of the gang to escape successfully, headed to Tennessee to hide out.
After spending a few quiet years farming, Jesse organized a new gang. Charlie and Robert Ford were on the fringe of the new gang, but they disliked Jesse intensely and decided to kill him for the reward money. On April 3, while Jesse's mother made breakfast, the new gang met to hear Jesse's plan for the next robbery. When Jesse turned his back to adjust a picture on the wall, Bob Ford shot him several times in the back.
His tombstone reads, "Jesse W. James, Died April 3, 1882, Aged 34 years, 6 months, 28 days, Murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here."
more~Quote Of The Day
"I never quit trying. I never felt that I didn't have a chance to win. "
Arnold Palmer
Today's Trivia
A Favorite Movie DogLassie is the favorite movie dog of animal experts, beating out Benji and Beethoven, according to a survey of Humane Society directors conducted by stuffed animal manufacturer Dakin, Inc.
TortelliniLegend has it that tortellini was created to honor the Roman goddess Venus's belly button, after an Italian innkeeper spied on her through a keyhole and told the community the titillating details.
From Our Forums
CLIFF'S FOTOFUN #76,
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Welcome to our Mini Challenge #50
here at the Photography Cafe
"STREETS" This is our latest
mini challenge here at the
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Welcome to our HDR Challenge #4
here at the Photography Cafe
"Dereliction"
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Welcome to our Cafe Book Nook
here at the Photography Cafe
Photo Locations, Tutorials on Digital Techniques, Photo Techniques and Equipment.
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See who is appearing on Centre Stage this week
Anita
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PHOTO OF THE MONTH
FEBRUARY 2011 "David"
by lainey 
CONGRATULATIONS LAINEY!Click on the photo to go to Rockarea's album and leave a comment.
We all love comments!
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The Judges of the Cafe Choice Award are pleased to announce the presentation of this highly rated award:
is awarded to memberBRANNYfor his image"CUDDY'S CRAG"
"Branny’s image shows us the rugged terrain of Hadrian’s Wall, a bleak landscape and an area seen by many but not in the light of a frosty morning in mid-winter.
The composition provides excellent foreground interest from the frosty grass on those stones and the contours of the wall lead us through the image from the warm sunlight on the wall into the bleakness of the misty fields and valleys in the distance. It's this change from front to back that makes the image special. The presence of two walkers in the middle distance provides the scale we need to comprehend the scene.
Congratulations, Danny!" * * * * * * *
Today's Chuckles
WaterTEACHER: What is the chemical formula for water?
STUDENT: H I J K L M N O!!
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
STUDENT: Yesterday you said it was H to O!
Two HorsesTwo horses were walking back to the stables after a days training. One says to the other "I can't understand why we are so slow, we come from good stock, we have the best of food, great trainers, and yet we come last in every race."
There was a dog running along side them who overheard and said "I know what your problem is. I have seen you race and it looks to me as if you race off at the start really fast and use up all your energy and then you have nothing left. What you should do is pace yourselves and when all the other horses are knackered, put in a spurt and you're sure to win. What do you think of that?".
The horses looked at one another and said "WOW, a talking dog!"
Quick Quotes
"Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher. "
~Douglas Pagels
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"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road. "
~Henry Ward Beecher
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"Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher. "
~William Wordsworth
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More Chuckles
I Wish I'd Gotten To Know You SoonerA grandmother was telling her granddaughter what her own childhood was like.
As she reminisced, she said things like:
"We used to skate outside on a pond."
"I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard.
"We rode our pony."
"We picked wild raspberries in the woods."
The little girl stared at her grandmother, wide-eyed, taking it all in.
At last she said, "Grandma, I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"
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