Tuesday, March 24, 2009

thaumaturgy \THAW-muh-tuhr-jee\, noun:

• The performance of miracles or magic.

Thaumaturgy comes from the Greek words for "wonder" (thauma) and "work" (ergon). A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a thaumaturgist or thaumaturge.

nonversation

• A completely worthless conversation, wherein nothing is illuminated, explained or otherwise elaborated upon. Typically occurs at parties, bars or other events where meaningful conversation is nearly impossible.

Smith: What a waste of time it is talking to that guy.
Jones: I know, every time I do, it's like a complete nonversation.
Trivia

What was New York Rangers left wing Alex Shibicky the first to do in a professional hockey game?

• Hit a slap shot. He introduced it at a game in 1937, later acknowledging that he learned it in practice from teammate Fred “Bun” Cook. The shot, with the big golf-swing-like windup, was later popularized by Montreal Canadiens forward Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion.

Today in History:

• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: play by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway (1955)
• Dark Side of the Moon: Pink Floyd released one of the best-selling albums of all time (1973)
• Exxon Valdez oil spill: tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, causing the worst maritime environmental disaster in history (1989)
• Yugoslavia: NATO began air strikes in response to ethnic cleansing by Serbs of Albanians in Kosovo (1999)

Today's Birthdays:

• Georgius Agricola (1494-1555): father of mineralogy
• Steve McQueen (1930-1980): super-cool actor, The Great Escape, Bullitt; other actors born today include Robert Carradine (55), Lara Flynn Boyle (39), Alyson Hannigan (35) and Keisha Castle-Hughes (19)
• Tommy Hilfiger (58): fashion designer; designers William Morris (1834-1896) and Bob Mackie (69) were also born on this date
• Star Jones Reynolds (47): lawyer, host of The View
• Peyton Manning (33): star quarterback for Indianapolis Colts and 2007 NFL Super Bowl's MVP

Quote:

• "My brain is the key that sets my mind free." — Harry Houdini