Thursday, February 17, 2011

ululate \UL-yuh-layt; YOOL-\, intransitive verb:

• To howl, as a dog or a wolf; to wail; as, ululating jackals.

Ululate derives from Latin ululare, to howl, to yell, ultimately of imitative origin. The noun form is ululation; the adjective form is ululant.

social chameleon

• someone who changes the way they interact with people depending on who they're with.

Chris is such a social chameleon, hes such a nice guy at chess club, but such a dick on the football team.

Trivia

What is the official name of Venezuela?

• The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

History

• Madama Butterfly: Giacomo Puccini's opera premiered at La Scala in Milan (1904)
• Newsweek: newsmagazine was published for the first time (1933)
• Voice of America: government network began broadcasting to the Soviet Union (1947)
• Vanguard 2: the first weather satellite was launched; its time in orbit is intended to last 300 years (1959)
• Deep Blue: world chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM supercomputer, winning a six-game match in Philadelphia (1996)
• London congestion charge: fee for motorists driving into Central London went into effect; the price is £8 per day, Monday — Friday (2003)

Birthdays

• Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713): composer, violinist
• Thomas John Watson, Sr. (1874): founder of IBM; plus, merchant A. Montgomery Ward (1844-1913) and oil tycoon H.L. Hunt (1889-1974)
• André Maginot (1877-1932): advocated the Maginot line
• Ruth Rendell (81): prolific mystery writer called the "queen of crime"; plus, writers Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870) and Andrew B. Paterson (1864-1941)
• Huey P. Newton (1942-1989): activist who co-founded the Black Panthers
• Michael Jordan (48): NBA legend; and, sports figures Red Barber (1908-1992) and Jim Brown (75)
• Billie Joe Armstrong (39): rock musician, Green Day
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt (30): actor, Inception; also, actors Hal Holbrook (86), Alan Bates (1934-2003), Barry Humphries (77), Mary Ann Mobley (72), Brenda Fricker (66), Rene Russo (57), Richard Karn (55), Lou Diamond Phillips (49), Larry the Cable Guy (48), Dominic Purcell (41), Denise Richards (40), Jerry O'Connell (37), Kelly Carlson (35), Jason Ritter (31) and Paris Hilton (30)