Tuesday, December 29, 2009

cajole \kuh-JOHL\, transitive verb:

• To persuade with flattery, repeated appeals, or soothing words; to coax.

Cajole derives from Early Modern French cajoler, originally, "to chatter like a bird in a cage, to sing; hence, to amuse with idle talk, to flatter," from Old French gaiole, jaiole, "a cage," from Medieval Latin caveola, "a small cage," from Latin cavea, "an enclosure, a den for animals, a bird cage," from cavus, "hollow." It is related to cave, cage and jail (British gaol).

YouTube Loop

• When you go to watch a quick 30 second video on YouTube and regain consciousness hours later having jumped from interesting video to interesting video. Similar to a wikipedian loop or 'WikiComa'

Clarence: "Dude, you totally missed the funeral yesterday!!"

T-dawg: "Yeah I know; somebody emailed me a funny clip and I got stuck in a YouTube loop..."

Trivia

What famous Pop artists, as young men, created department store window displays together under the pseudonym Matson Jones?

• Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, between 1955 and 1962.

Today in History

• Thomas Becket: the Archbishop of Canturbury was killed by four knights in his cathedral; he later became a saint (1170)
• YMCA: the first such men's club in the US was founded, based on the London model that was started in the previous decade by George Williams (1851)
• Wounded Knee Massacre: last major confrontation between the Sioux and the US Army ended with hundreds of Indians killed (1890)
• Tian Tan Buddha: 110-ft.-(34 m.)-tall bronze Buddha statue in Hong Kong was completed (1993)

Today's Birthdays

• Charles Macintosh (1766-1843): inventor of waterproof fabrics, mackintosh; inventor Charles Goodyear (1800-1860) shared this birth date
• Andrew Johnson (1808-1875): 17th POTUS and first to be impeached; England's four-time prime minister William Gladstone (1809-1898) shared this birth date
• Pablo Casals (1876-1973): virtuoso cellist; musicians Ray Thomas (68), Marianne Faithfull (63), Yvonne Elliman (58) and Glen Phillips (39) were also born on this date
• Vera Brittain (1893-1970): novelist, poet; plus, novelist William Gaddis (1922-1998)
• Tom Jarriel (75): broadcast journalist
• Patricia Clarkson (50): Emmy-winning actor for Six Feet Under, on screens now in Whatever Works; also, actors Mary Tyler Moore (73), Jon Voight (71), Ted Danson (62), Jennifer Ehle (40), Kevin Weisman (39), Jude Law (37), Mekhi Phifer (35), Shawn Hatosy (34) and Diego Luna (30)