Friday, June 12, 2009

megrim \MEE-grim\, noun:

1. A migraine.
2. A fancy; a whim.
3. In the plural: lowness of spirits -- often with 'the'.

Megrim is from Middle English migrem, from Middle French migraine, modification of Late Latin hemicrania, "pain in one side of the head," from Greek hemikrania, from hemi-, "half" + kranion, "skull."

chronoptimist

• A person who always under estimates the time necessary to do something or get somewhere.

"Hey, Cindy. you know my parents are expecting us in 20 minutes."

"No problem. I just have to wash the dishes, take a shower, do my hair, walk the dog and then I'm all good to go. See you in 15."

"You are such a chronoptimist! I'll see you in 45."

Trivia
In the world of hybrid designer dogs, what’s a peagle?

• A cross between a Pekingese and a beagle.

Today in History:

• Virginia: became the first state to adopt a bill of rights — the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)
• Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: shrine to the US national pastime was dedicated in Cooperstown, New York (1939)
• Loving v. Virginia: US Supreme Court struck down all bans on interracial marriages (1967)
• Gossamer Albatross: human-powered aircraft was flown by Bryan Allen across the English Channel (1979)
• "Tear down this wall": challenge was issued bythe great US President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; the Berlin Wall did indeed come down two years later (1987)
• $50 bill: new and improved design was unveiled by the US Treasury to help the elderly and hinder counterfeiters (1997)

Today's Birthdays:

• John A. Roebling (1806-1869): civil engineer who designed the Brooklyn Bridge
• Johanna Spyri (1827-1901): author of Heidi; other writers born on this date include Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) and Djuna Barnes (1892-1982)
• George H.W. Bush (85): US president who promised a "kinder, gentler nation"; another world leader who shared this birthday was Anthony Eden (1897-1977)
• Chick Corea (68): Grammy-winning musician who helped develop jazz fusion; also, musicians Vic Damone and Richard Sherman (both 80), Jim Nabors (79), Junior Brown (57), Meredith Brooks (51), John Linnell (50) and Kenny Wayne Shepherd (32)
• Timothy Busfield (52): actor/director, thirtysomething, The West Wing; actor Frances O'Connor (42) shares this birth date