Thursday, October 29, 2009

stentorian \sten-TOR-ee-uhn\ , adjective;

• Extremely loud.

Origin: Stentorian comes from Stentor, a Greek herald in the Trojan War. According to Homer's Iliad, his voice was as loud as that of fifty men combined.

no offense

• A phrase used to make insults seem socially acceptable.

"No offense, John, but your mom is a fucking whore."
"You've got huge bitch tits, Patrick... no offense."
Trivia

What famous filmmaker shot a documentary about his parents that featured the recipe for his mother’s spaghetti sauce in the closing credits?

• Martin Scorsese. The highly praised 1974 film was titled Italianamerican.

Today in History

• Republic of Turkey: was established when forces led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, "the father of modern Turkey," wrested control from the Ottoman Empire (1923)
• Black Tuesday: the US stock market crashed and the Great Depression began (1929)
• Star of India: giant star sapphire was stolen, along with other fabulous gems, from the American Museum of Natural History (1964)
• John Glenn: the first American in orbit took flight aboard the Discovery shuttle, becoming, at 77, the oldest person to visit space (1998)

Today's Birthdays

• James Boswell (1740-1795): biographer of Samuel Johnson; plus, writer Jean Giraudoux (1882-1944)
• Melba Moore (64): R&B singer; musician Peter Green (63) also celebrates his birthday today
• Dan Castellaneta (52): the voice of Homer Simpson; other performers who share this birth date include Fanny Brice (1892-1951), Richard Dreyfuss (62), Kate Jackson (61), Rufus Sewell and Joely Fisher (both 42), Winona Ryder (38), Tracee Ellis Ross and Gabrielle Union (both 37), Milena Govich(33) and Brendan Fehr (32)