Sunday, May 17, 2009

exigency \EK-suh-jun-see; ig-ZIJ-un-see\, noun:

1. The quality or state of requiring immediate aid or action; urgency.
2. A case demanding immediate action or remedy; a pressing or urgent situation.
3. That which is demanded or required in a particular situation -- usually used in the plural.

Exigency comes from Medieval Latin exigentia, from the present participle of Latin exigere, to drive out, to force out, to exact, to demand, from ex-, out of + agere, to drive. The adjective form is exigent.

Lying in Wake

• When a spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend pretends to be asleep when you get home after a late night out, so they can tear you a new one when you wake up.

I tried to slip into bed last night without Megan noticing, but it turns out she was lying in wake. She told me this morning when she was chewing my ass.

Trivia

What Hollywood husband and wife—born 25 years apart—share the same birthday?

• Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Both were born on September 25th—he in 1944 and she in 1969.

Today in History:

• Buttonwood Agreement: 24 prominent brokers created the foundation of the NYSE (1792)
• Norway: became a constitutional monarchy (1814)
• Kentucky Derby: horse race was run for the first time; Aristides won (1875)
• Brown v. Board of Education: the US Supreme Court unanimously banned segregation (1954)
• Watergate: the US Senate began hearings about the Nixon-era scandal (1973)
• Laurent Kabila: rebel leader declared himself president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), deposing Mobutu (1997)

Today's Birthdays:

• Edward Jenner (1749-1823): physician who helped create the smallpox vaccine
• Bill Paxton (54): actor, Big Love; other actors born on this date include Dennis Hopper (73), Bob Saget (53), Craig Ferguson (47), Hill Harper (36), Sendhil Ramamurthy (35) and Nikki Reed (21)
  Sugar Ray Leonard (53): boxing hall-of-famer
• Andrea Corr (35): singer, The Corrs; also, musicians Erik Satie (1866-1925), Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005), Taj Mahal (67), Jesse Winchester (65), Enya (48), Trent Reznor (44) and Jordan Knight (39)