Thursday, December 17, 2009

paroxysm \PAIR-uhk-siz-uhm\, noun:

1. (Medicine) A sudden attack, intensification, or recurrence of a disease.
2. Any sudden and violent emotion or action; an outburst; a fit.

Paroxysm is from Greek paroxusmos, from paroxunein, "to irritate, provoke or excite (literally to sharpen excessively)," from para-, "beyond" + oxunein, "to sharpen, to provoke."

Chipmunk gift

• A seemingly generous present that will benefit the giver as much as the receiver. On an old Chipmunks Christmas album, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore give Dave a gift. He's overwhelmed with their generosity until he discovers it's an empty bag, which the Chipmunks say is for him to fill with presents and give back to them.

My friend gave me such a Chipmunk gift this year. She bought me a CD by HER favorite group and then asked to copy it because she's too cheap to buy her own CD AND a present for me.

That back bedroom at my mom's house is freezing! I hate staying there when we visit. Is it too much of a Chipmunk gift if I buy her a space heater for Christmas?

My husband took me to the Monster Truck Expo for my birthday. Jeez, what a Chipmunk gift. What was he thinking?

Trivia
How many players in the National Football League weighed more than 300 pounds in 2006?

• 570—or one-fifth of all the players. In 1976, only three NFLers tipped the scales at over 300.

Today in History

• Shimabara Rebellion: Japanese peasant uprising began due to heavy taxation; 37,000 were beheaded (1637)
• Aztec calendar stone: a large sculpture that represents the Aztec calendar was excavated in Mexico City's Zocalo (1790)
• Kitty Hawk: the Wright brothers successfully conducted the first controlled, sustained flight of a motor-powered airplane; they had been building flying devices for less than five years (1903)
• Japanese-American internment: the US army announced that it would no longer hold Japanese-Americans in relocation centers, allowing "evacuees" to return home (1944)
• Harold Holt: the Australian prime minister went missing and was presumed drowned while swimming off the coast ofPortsea, Victoria (1967)
• Project Blue Book: US Air Force investigation into UFOs was terminated; the conclusion was that sightings were due to mass hysteria, hoaxes, mistakes and the like (1969)
• NAFTA: trade agreement was signed by Canada, the US and Mexico (1992)

Today's Birthdays

• Arthur Fiedler (1894-1979): conductor of the Boston Pops
• William L. Safire (1929-2009): Pulitzer Prize-winning writer on politics and the English language; also, writers Roger L'Estrange (1616-1704), John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892),Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939), Erskine Caldwell (1903-1987) and Sylvia Ashton-Warner (1908-1984)
• Art Neville (72): musician, The Neville Brothers
• Eugene Levy (63): actor, A Mighty Wind, American Pie; also, actors Armin Mueller-Stahl (79),George Lindsey (74), Tommy Steele (73), Bernard Hill (65), Christopher Cazenove (64), Bill Pullman (56), Sean Patrick Thomas (39), Giovanni Ribisi and Marissa Ribisi (both 35) and Sarah Paulson and Milla Jovovich (both 34)
• Peter Farrelly (53): film-maker, There's Something About Mary