December 24, 2008

narcissism \NAHR-suh-siz-em\, noun:

• excessive love or admiration for oneself; in psychoanalysis, gratification manifested in admiration and love of oneself

by 1822, from Greek Narkissos, beautiful youth in mythology (Ovid, "Metamorphosis," iii.370) who fell in love with his own reflection in a spring and was turned to the flower narcissus.

christmastoe

• see also mooseltoe. Camel toe at Christmas time.

Mrs. Claus is always worried about christmastoe during her holiday picture opportunities at the mall.

Trivia

If you add them all up, how many gifts are mentioned in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas"?

• 364.

Today in History:

• Kiritimati: Pacific atoll also called Christmas Island was discovered by Captain Cook (1777)
• Treaty of Ghent: ended the War of 1812 between the US and Great Britain (1814)
• Library of Congress: the majority of the 55,000-item collection was destroyed by fire (1851)

Today's Birthdays:

• Howard Hughes (1905-1976): reclusive aviator, movie producer and billionaire
• Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556): founder of the Jesuits
• Kit Carson (1809-1868): frontiersman and folk hero
• Mary Higgins Clark (79?): mystery novelist; writers Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) and I.F. Stone (1907-1989) shared this birth date
• Kate Spade (46): luxury designer
• Ryan Seacrest (34): host of American Idol
• Ricky Martin (37): pop singer

Quote:

• "Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit." — Frank Borman