Danke, Osterreich!

Announcements at the end...

From the newly designed South African flag (1994) 

to the Austrian flag - one of the oldest in the world (1191)

I'll cut to the chase with Austria.  They've been around a long time and made lots of contributions to our global community.  Sure they've given us items we enjoy such as Porsche's, Volkswagens, and the sewing machine.  But, my inquiries (albeit rather cursory) left me with one overarching impression. 

The Austrian culture is responsible for introducing us to great minds such as:

Sigmund Freud

Haydn

Schubert

Liszt

J.Strauss

Mahler

Bruckner

Mendel, who established the basis of modern genetics

Adler,who contributed to the foundations of modern psychology and our very own...

Arnold Schwarzenegger!

A name is missing from this list.  Take a shot at guessing whose name (without the aid of the internet).  We'll play jeopardy style.  

This famous Austrian...

At age 17 accepted a low paying job and then left it in search of a better position

Married his wife against the wishes of his family

Was the father of six kids, only two of which survived infancy.

Had one living sister

Had a good relationship with his mother and father

Produced an illegal copy of a piece of art from the Sistine Chapel

Eventually fell into debt and had to pawn valuables

Was fired from a position and literally "kicked in the @$$."

Lived a plush lifestyle that later led to financial stress

Had a declining career due to a struggling economy

Liked to play pool

Liked to dance

Had pets including a bird, a dog, and a horse

Died at age 35

Your turn to guess.  Who is...

Announcements:

• Happy 9th Anniversary to Me and Richard!
• Voting Patches:  As of today, Katie, Peggy, and Julie are the three people who have earned a Voting Patch.  To receive your patch, simply send me the cover of your local paper from Wednesday, November 5 and your word that you voted.
  
• Blog-a-thon: Checks from 9 of the 22 people who signed up to participate in the Blog-a-thon have been received.  Ideally I will be able to send Tera a money order, containing the full amount, by a week from this Monday (November 24).  My mailing address is: Claudia K. Beeny 4012 Harvestwood Court, Grapevine, TX 76051
  

Signing of bis morgen...