Wednesday, December 30, 2009

presage \PRES-ij; pri-SEYJ\, noun:

1. An indication or warning of a future event; an omen.
2. A feeling or intuition of what the future holds.
3. Prophetic significance.
4. [Archaic] A prediction; a prognostication.

transitive verb:

1. To indicate or warn of beforehand; to foreshadow.
2. To have a presentiment of.
3. To predict; to foretell.

intransitive verb:

1. To make or utter a prediction.

Presage is derived from Latin praesagium, "presentiment," from praesagus "having a presentiment," from prae-, "before" + sagus, "prophetic."

Amazonukkah

• When Christmas really lasts 8 days because the presents take longer to deliver from Amazon.com than anticipated by the purchaser. This is often caused by the reckless use of Super Saver Shipping on items which were bought on Christmas Eve. As a result, the presents are received in small amounts each day over an 8 day period, similar to Hanukkah.

Kid 1: Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?

Kid 2: I dunno, we're celebrating Amazonukkah this year. My parents are real procrastinators. FML

Trivia

What husband and wife were the first couple to be chosen as Time magazine’s Man of the Year? Clue: The year was 1937.

• Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek of China.

Today in History

• Gadsden Purchase: was signed, acquiring for the US the land of southern New Mexico and Arizona from Mexico (1853)
• The Pirates of Penzance: the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta was first staged (1879)
• USSR: was established when Russia joined Byelorussia, Ukraine and the Transcaucasian Federation (1922)
• Arroyo Seco Parkway: aka the Pasadena Freeway, connecting Los Angeles with Pasadena, opened (1940)
• Saddam Hussein: the Iraqi dictator was executed by hanging for war crimes in the Dujail massacre (2006)

Today's Birthdays

• John Milne (1850-1913): inventor of the seismograph
• Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936): Nobel-winning writer, The Jungle Book
• Sandy Koufax (74): pitcher; plus, athletes Tiger Woods (34), A.J. Pierzynski (33) and Ryan Sheckler(20)
• Paul Stookey (72): folk singer, Peter, Paul and Mary; also, musicians Bo Diddley (1928-2008), Michael Nesmith (67), Davy Jones (64), Patti Smith (63), Jeff Lynne (62), Rob Hotchkiss (49), Daniel Sunjata (38) and Tyrese (31)
• James Burrows (69): sitcom director, Cheers, Will and Grace
• Meredith Vieira (56): co-host of Today, along with colleague Matt Lauer (52)
• Tracey Ullman (50): award-winning actor and comedian; also, actors Joseph Bologna and Russ Tamblyn (both 75), Fred Ward (67), Sheryl Lee Ralph (54), Patricia Kalember (53), Daniel Sunjata (38), Jason Behr (36), Eliza Dushku (29) and Kristin Kreuk (27)