Wednesday, December 1, 2010

palingenesis \pal-in-JEN-uh-sis\, noun:

1. Rebirth; regeneration.

2. In biology, embryonic development that reproduces the ancestral features of the species.

3. Baptism in the Christian faith.

4. The doctrine of transmigration of souls.

Palingenesis is the combination of two Greek roots: palin, "again," and genesis, "source."

gut muscle

• a euphemism for the weight gained as a result of Thanksgiving feast.

Oh you know, a lot of 10 oz curls and some gut muscle toning.

Trivia

What TV sitcom was inspired by the lives of young actress-to-be Meredith Baxter and her struggling divorced mother, actress Whitney Blake?

• One Day at a Time, which featured Bonnie Franklin as the single mother of two teenage daughters. The program, aired from 1975 to 1984, was cocreated by Baxter’s mom and stepfather, Allan Manings.

History

• electoral college: the US House of Representatives met to determine a new president when none of the candidates received an electoral majority; John Quincy Adams was chosen over Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay (1824)
• A Study in Scarlet: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes story appeared in print (1887)
• Rosa Parks: was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Alabama, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott (1955)
• Antarctic Treaty: was opened for signature; it said Antarctica "shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes" (1959)

Birthdays

• Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817): chemist who discovered uranium
• Marie Tussaud (1761-1850): proprietor of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum
• Woody Allen (76): writer/director/actor whose latest release is You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger; plus, writers Rex Stout (1886-1975) and David Hornsby (35), and director Andrew Adamson (44)
• Lee Trevino (71): pro golfer
• Treat Williams (59): actor, Everwood; also, actors Mary Martin (1913-1990), Paul Picerni (88), Richard Pryor (1940-2005), Bette Midler (64), Carol Alt (50), Jeremy Northam (49), Nestor Carbonell (43) and Sarah Silverman (40)
• Brad Delson (33): rocker, Linkin Park; also, musicians Lou Rawls (1933-2006), John Densmore (66) and Gilbert O'Sullivan (64)