Thursday, March 25, 2010

exiguous \ig-ZIG-yoo-us\, adjective:

• Extremely scanty; meager.

Exiguous comes from Latin exiguus, "strictly weighed; too strictly weighed," hence "scanty, meager," from exigere, "to determine; to decide; to weigh."

manpanion

1. a male companion; a term used to categorize a male friend with an abiguous characterization of sexual orientation.
2. a term used to describe a homosexual companion, while remaining free of commitment.

1. Tom has never been married. He loves to spend time with Dick more than anyone. They are great manpanions.

2. He's not looking for commitment. In stead, he has several manpanions.
Trivia

In the world of science, what are shmoos?

• Yeast cells preparing to mate. In doing so they develop tips that grow toward one another and morph into elongated pearlike shapes—resembling the Shmoo in the Li’l Abner comics—until they fuse into one.

History

• Robert the Bruce: became king of not-yet-independent Scotland; in 1328, after many battles, England'sKing Edward III finally recognized Scotland's independence and Bruce as its king (1306)
• Coxey's Army: the first popular protest march on Washington left Massillon, Ohio, led by Jacob Coxey; the men sought legislation to create jobs in a depression year (1894)
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire: a factory fire caused the deaths of 146 female workers; the disaster led to the creation of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions (1911)
• Bed-In for Peace: John Lennon and Yoko Ono celebrated their marriage with their first weeklong stay in bed, in an Amsterdam hotel with the press onlooking (1969)
• European Economic Community: was established with the Treaty of Rome; it comprised W. Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg (1957)

Berfdays, yo!

• Danica Patrick (28): racecar driver; plus, athletes Tom Glavine (44) and Sheryl Swoopes (29)
• Bela Bartok (1881-1945): composer and ethnomusicologist; conductor Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) shared this birth date
• Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964): Southern writer of short stories
• Jim Lovell (82): astronaut, commander of Apollo 13
• Gloria Steinem (76): journalist and leading feminist; plus, women's rights activist Matilda Gage (1826-1898)
• Elton John (63): singer/songwriter, "Candle in the Wind"; singers Aretha Franklin (68), Katherine McPhee(26) and Jason Castro (23) were also born on this date
• Marcia Cross (48): Desperate Housewives' Bree Hodge; also, actors Simone Signoret (1921-1985), Paul Michael Glaser (67), Bonnie Bedelia (62), Mary Gross (57), James McDaniel (52), Brenda Strong (50), Lisa Gay Hamilton (46), Sarah Jessica Parker (45) and Lee Pace (31)