Monday, March 14, 2011

pusillanimous \pyoo-suh-LAN-uh-muhs\, adjective:

• Lacking in courage and resolution; contemptibly fearful; cowardly.

Pusillanimous comes from Late Latin pusillanimis, from Latin pusillus, "very small, tiny, puny" + animus, "soul, mind."

workout impostor

• One who walks around in workout or gym-like clothing to give the effect that they have worked out or gone to the gym today or are planning to work out or go to the gym today when in reality they have not or are not going to. One usually does this to make oneself feel better about their physique or to seem like they are physically fit when in reality they have done nothing today.

Look at that girl in the nike shorts, under armour shirt and asics sneakers with a pony tail. She is totally a workout impostor. I didn't see her at the track or the gym at all today.

Trivia

What kind of animal was Rosebud the Basselope in the Pulitzer Prize—winning Bloom County comic strip?

• Part basset hound, part antelope.

Holiday

• Pi Day: The date is 3.14!

History

• The Cradle of Liberty: Boston's Faneuil Hall hosted its first town meeting; the building hosted speeches by Revolutionary War figures who urged independence from Great Britain (1748)
• cotton gin: machine designed to extract seeds from cotton was patented by Eli Whitney, contributing greatly to the economic development of the South (1794)
• Ten Most Wanted: the FBI announced its top fugitives list for the first time (1950)
• Birmingham Six: Irishmen convicted in Birmingham pub bombings were freed after years in jail for pub bombings; the appeals court said police had fabricated evidence (1991)

Birthdays

• Albert Einstein (1879-1955): world's most famous scientist, came up with the theory of relativity; plus, scientists Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835-1910) and Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915)
• Diane Arbus (1923-1971): avant-garde photographer
• Frank Borman (83): commander of Apollo 8
• Quincy Jones (78): Grammy-winning musician, composer and producer; also, musicians Georg Telemann (1681-1767), Johann Strauss the Elder (1804-1849) and Taylor Hanson (28)
• Billy Crystal (63): actor, writer, comedian; also, actors Michael Caine (78), Steve Kanaly (65), Tamara Tunie (52), Penny Johnson Jerald (50) and Jamie Bell (25)
• Prince Albert of Monaco (53): ruler of Monaco; and, united Italy's first king Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878)