C stands for Calamity Jane.

Calamity Jane's real name was Martha Jane Cannary.  She was an American frontiers woman and often rode shotgun on stage coaches, delivering mail to the small towns around the 'Wild West',  and protecting passengers from marauding Red Indians and local bandits.  Both of her parents died when she was fourteen years of age so she raised her younger siblings single-handed. 

She was a rowdy woman, she grew up acting and looking like a man. Also she drank like a fish and could shoot like a cowboy. One of her close friends was Wild Bill Hickok, in fact it was widely rumoured that they were having a relationship!

She performed in many travelling wild west shows,  including the famous  'Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show'.

Now for the real Calamity Jane.....in my humble opinion..........is the one and only Miss Doris Day, in the delightful Hollywood movie, she danced and sang her heart out and her portrayal of Calamity Jane was sheer Hollywood perfection.

Who can forget the  wonderful song and dance routines?

Calamity singing 'A woman's touch'- this is when she suddenly discovers her feminine side.

Once I had a secret love'

Edith Head-famous costume designer for some of the most beautiful female actors-said Doris had the most perfect figure she's ever fitted. Plus her voice was pure, she was a truly talented singer and dancer too.

'I just got back from the Windy City'.

 

Calamity Jane gets her man Wild Bill Hickok   ( Howard Keel ) So handsome.

 Nothing like a sprinkling of Hollywood sparkle dust to tell a story what it should be like.... not how it was! It's a miserable rainy Sunday afternoon so I am just settling in my cosy recliner to watch ?? Yes you've guessed....

'Calamity Jane'!

My sincere thanks to the charismatic Denise for devising ABCW an also too Roger our charitable admin. man for doing what he does and doing it so well!  CHEERS to all the team who support Roger and Denise ....may the creativity continue!

Best wishes,

Di.

ABCW team,

 

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B is for Beta

Beta is the second letter is the Greek alphabet, and, naturally, the source of the final syllable in the word alphabet. "Like the names of most other Greek letters, the name of beta was adopted from the acrophonic name of the corresponding letter in Phoenician, which was the common Semitic word *bayt ('house')."

A beta male is considered to be sensitive, nurturing, conflict-averse communicator. OR have characteristics to be avoided. It depends on who you ask.

Beta testing is the software development phase which "generally begins when the software is feature complete but likely to contain a number of known or unknown bugs... The focus of beta testing is reducing impacts to users, often incorporating usability testing... This is typically the first time that the software is available outside of the organization that developed it.

Beta-Carotene is a strongly colored red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits such as carrots, pumpkins and sweet potatoes.

Beta blockers "treat a variety of conditions, such as high blood pressure, glaucoma and migraines."

Founded in 1922, Beta Beta Beta (TriBeta) is "a society for students, particularly undergraduates, dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of biological study and extending boundaries of human knowledge through scientific research."

In nuclear physics, beta decay (β-decay) "is a type of radioactive decay in which a proton is transformed into a neutron, or vice versa, inside an atomic nucleus. This process allows the atom to move closer to the optimal ratio of protons and neutrons."

Like alpha, beta is also a financial term though I would be hard pressed to explain it.

There are a lot more Beta terms. If you are of a certain age, you may remember Betamax, a video recording tape that was technologically superior to VHS, but lost out in the marketplace.
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A is for Alpha

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet - and, of course, the first syllables in the word "alphabet."

Alpha International, a Christian website, is likely so dubbed based on the New Testament scripture at Revelation 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

In the animal world, including humans, alpha signifies having the highest rank in a dominance hierarchy: the alpha female of an elephant pack, baboon alpha males, etc.

Alpha is also an investment term.

Since this is the alpha, or premiere, post of the round, I should reiterate the rules, but, basically they are:

* Write your blog post, mentioning (preferably linking to) ABC Wednesday, and being relevant to the letter of the week

* Link your blog post to the Linky thing circa Tuesday at 4 pm, Greenwich Time. Link to the specific post. So when I participate this week, I'll be linking (SPOILER ALERT) to http://www.rogerogreen.com/2015/07/14/a-is-for-hank-aaron/, not just to http://www.rogerogreen.com/. (This is a concept I'd tried to explain before, and TOTALLY confused some participants, so I hope this is clearer.)

* VISIT other participants. In general, people are more likely to visit you if you visit them. Our ABC Wednesday team will visit you too.
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Z is for ZOUNDS!

Always liked the word zounds; I like how it sounds. It is a mild oath indicating surprise, indignation, etc. It sounds very Shakespearean, and indeed, it does reportedly show up in Henry IV Part 1. Its first know use was in 1592, so the timing is right.

You may respond with that mild oath when I say that, as the cliché goes, all good things must come to an end. Denise, the doyenne of ABC Wednesday, and I have decided that ABC Wednesday should conclude, for a variety of reasons.

Now, the good news is that it won't take place until the end of Round 20, or four more trips through the alphabet.

We have discovered along this path that there are folks who participate in a round, then drop out for a bit. Others start a round, but don't complete it. I think we should take this as an opportunity to invite those folks to participate once again.

Or maybe you have friends who have THOUGHT about trying ABC Wednesday but have not. THIS would be a good time to start.

I thought to invite previous participants directly in a mass mailing - we have the emails from the Linky - but frankly, we'd rather that YOU invite some of your online friends, letting them know that we'll be doing this only another two years.

Not incidentally, we have hornswoggled Troy, who has done several of them to date, to create badges for rounds 18 and 20, and Gattina for Round 19. Here's the badge for Round 17:

We hope you'll stick around, invite friends and neighbors. If you want to join the team in visiting folks and/or writing the zephyr-like words of wisdom, please let me know at rogerogreen (at) gmail (dot) com.
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