Thursday, July 29, 2010

busticate \BUHS-ti-keyt\, verb:

• To break into pieces.

Busticate came into existence in the Northern United States during the 19th Century, as the common verb bust became wedded to the Latin root -icate. This phenomenon occurred across the U.S.; another example is the Southern coinage argufy.

strategic friendship default

• Occurs when the debt owed from a friendly bet between two friends rises to an uncomfortable level causing one friend to cut ties with the other in lieu of paying up.

Robbie: "Did Justin ever make good on that golf wager you two made"

Randy: "Wouldn't know, he hasn't talked to me in weeks and he won't return my emails."

Robbie: "Sounds like you are the victim of a strategic friendship default."

Trivia

When it comes to filmmaking, what are Nollywood, Chollywood, and Dhaliwood?

• Nollywood is the Nigerian film industry; Chollywood is the Peruvian film industry (its name combines cholo, Peruvian slang for “native,” and Hollywood); Dhaliwood is the Bangladeshi film industry (based in and named for Dhakar).

History

• Spanish Armada: was defeated by the English, led by Sir Francis Drake (1588)
• NASA: President Eisenhower signed a bill creating the space agency (1958)
• Lady Di: married Prince Charles at St. Paul's Cathedral in London (1981)
• switch hitter: Red Sox batter Bill Mueller became the first Major League Baseball player to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in a single game (2003)

Birthdays

• Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859): French politician who wrote Democracy in America
• Booth Tarkington (1869-1946): Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Magnificent Ambersons
• Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961): UN secretary general and Nobel Peace Prize winner
• Peter Jennings (1938-2005): anchor, World News Tonight
• Ken Burns (57): documentary filmmaker, The Civil War, The War

• Tim Gunn (57): fashion consultant and TV personality, Project Runway
• Martina McBride (44): country singer; musicians Patti Scialfa and Geddy Lee (both 57), Wanya Morris (37) and Danger Mouse (33) share this birth date
• Josh Radnor (36): Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother; also, actors Mike Starr (60), Alexandra Paul (47), Tim Omundson (41), and Wil Wheaton (38)