Thursday, January 22, 2009

rancor \RANG-ker\, noun:

• bitter resentment or ill will; extreme hatred or spite

c 1225, from Old French rancor, from Latin rancorem "rancidness, grudge, bitterness," from Latin rancere "to stink."
Brodown n.

• Boys night out. As in a Hodown, but with your bros.

Sorry baby, it's a brodown tonight.
Trivia

A group of lions is called a pride; a group of locusts, a plague—but what is a group of rattlesnakes called?

• A rhumba.

Today in History:

• Bloody Sunday: czarist troops massacred unarmed demonstrators in St. Petersburg, marking the beginning of the unsuccessful Russian Revolution of 1905 (1905)
• The Crucible: Arthur Miller play that used the Salem witch trials as a stand-in for McCarthyism premiered on Broadway; after a rocky start, it became a classic (1953)
• Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in: began tickling American funny bones; notable cast members included Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin and Tiny Tim (1968)
• Roe v. Wade: the US Supreme Court legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy; the legal precedent still holds today (1973)

Today's Birthdays:

• Francis Bacon (1561-1626): philosopher, father of modern scientific method; also, physicist André Marie Ampère (1775-1836)
• George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824): romantic/satirical poet; also, writers August Strindberg (1849-1912) and Joseph Wambaugh (72),
• D.W. Griffith (1875-1948): pioneer in film, The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance
• George Balanchine (1904-1983): renowned choreographer
• Sam Cooke (1931-1964): soul singer; plus, soprano Rosa Ponselle (1897-1981)
• Diane Lane (44): star of Unfaithful, Under the Tuscan Sun, Nights in Rodanthe; also, actors Bill Bixby (1934-1993), Piper Laurie (77), Seymour Cassel (74), John Hurt (69), Linda Blair (50) and Balthazar Getty (34)

Quote:

• "There is a significant Latin proverb; to wit: 'Who will guard the guards?'" — Josh Billings