Thursday, July 23, 2009

protean \PRO-tee-un; pro-TEE-un\, adjective:

1. Displaying considerable variety or diversity.
2. Readily assuming different shapes or forms.

Protean is derived from Proteus, an ancient Greek god who had the ability to change his shape at will.

man cave

• A room, space, corner or area of a dwelling that is specifically reserved for a male person to be in a solitary condition, away from the rest of the household in order to work, play, involve himself in certain hobbies, activities without interuption. This area is usually decorated by the male that uses it without interferance from any female influence.

Tom retreated to the Man Cave to play his online rpg game.
Trivia
Who was the only sports figure to be honored with two ticker tape parades in New York City?

• Golfing great Bobby Jones. The first parade was in 1926 after he won the U.S. and British Opens; the second was in 1930 after he won the Grand Slam.

Today in History:

• Gamal Abdel Nasser: led the Egyptian army in an overthrow of King Farouk I (1952)
• 12th Street riot: police raid at a blind pig sparked five days of race riots in Detroit; 43 people died and 2,000 buildings burned down (1967)
• Hale-Bopp: comet was discovered by Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp (1995)
• Tiger Woods: at 24, became the youngest golfer to win a career Grand Slam (2000)

Today's Birthdays:

• Raymond Chandler (1888-1959): novelist who created Philip Marlowe; also, author Elio Vittorini (1908-1966)
• Haile Selassie (1892-1975): emperor who modernized Ethiopia and claimed to be descended from King Solomon; Indian nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) shared this birth date
• Don Imus (69): boring DJ with no ratings
• Alison Krauss (38): country singer/fiddler; other musicians born on this date include David Essex (62), Blair Thornton (59), Martin Gore (48), Slash (44), Sam Watters (39) and Michelle Williams (29)
• Omar Epps (36): actor, House, MD; also, actors Ronny Cox (71), Daniel Radcliffe (20), Woody Harrelson (48), Eriq La Salle (47), Philip Seymour Hoffman (42), Charisma Carpenter (39) and Marlon Wayans (37)