Tuesday, December 14, 2010

brazen \BREY-zuhn\, adjective:

1. Shameless or impudent.

2. Made of brass.

Brazen has its source in an Old English form of the same word, meaning "of brass." When the Z was introduced to the English alphabet, meaning and spelling seemed to have shifted.

Do you

1. acting in a way that satisfies you, not caring at all about what others think nor about your actions and/or consequences

2. following your heart

3. possibly the best advice you can give anyone when they have a dilemma

Do you--when my friend asked me whether he should hang out with the boys or his girl, I told him to do you.

Trivia

New York’s Madison Avenue is known for its admen; London’s Savile Row, for its tailors. For what profession is K Street in Washington, D.C., best known?

Lobbyists.

History

• St. Lucia's flood: a broken dike in the Netherlands caused one of the worst floods in history; 50,000+ people were killed (1287)
• Alabama: The Yellowhammer State became America's 22nd state (1819)
• South Pole: was first visited by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his expedition (1911)
• Motown: record label that popularized the Motown Sound was formed in Detroit (1959)
• Apollo program: Eugene Cernan, as a member of Apollo 17, became the last man on the moon so far (1972)

Birthdays

• Nostradamus (1503-1566): astrologer and physician known for his prophecies
• Tycho Brahe: father of modern astronomy (1546-1601)
• Shirley Jackson (1919-1965): author of "The Lottery"
• Charlie Rich (1932-1995): country/western singer, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"; plus, singer Sophie Monk (31)
• Stan Smith (64): tennis hall-of-famer; tennis pro Patty Schnyder (32) also celebrates a birthday today
• Michael Owen (31): English World Cup hero
• Vanessa Anne Hudgens (22): actor, High School Musical; also, actors Morey Amsterdam (1914-1996), George Furth (1932-2008), Lee Remick (1935-1991), Hal Williams (72), Patty Duke (64), Dee Wallace (62), Cynthia Gibb (47), KaDee Strickland (35) and Tammy Blanchard (34)