Saturday, March 12, 2011

prolix \pro-LIKS; PRO-liks\, adjective:

1. Extending to a great length; unnecessarily long; wordy.

2. Tending to speak or write at excessive length.

Prolix is derived from Latin prolixus, "poured forth, overflowing, extended, long," from pro-, "forward" + liquere, "to be fluid."

you're the man now dog

• verbal gratification given to one's 'dog,' to inform them that they are in fact The Man now.

"Thanks for buying me all those lap dances. You're the man now, dog!"

Trivia

What country is home to the world’s largest active gold mine?

• Indonesia. Its Grasberg mine is located in Tembagapura, in Irian Jaya province, on the western half of the island of New Guinea.

History

• Great Blizzard of 1888: nor'easter killed hundreds and paralyzed the East Coast of the US from Maryland to Maine
• Juliette Gordon Low: founded the Girl Scouts of America (1912)
• Salt Satyagraha: Mahatma Gandhi began a civil disobedience campaign against the British salt tax in India with a 241-mile march to Dandi (1930)
• fireside chats: FDR began a series of morale-boosting evening radio addresses to the American public (1933)
• Anschluss: Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany (1938)
• Truman Doctrine: US president Harry S Truman announced his policy to assist countries threatened by Communism; the document provided economic assistance to Turkey and Greece (1947)

Birthdays

• André Le Nôtre (1613-1700): landscape architect who designed the Versailles gardens
• Adolph Simon Ochs: publisher of The New York Times (1858-1935)
• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938): father of modern Turkey; plus, Canadian PM John Abbott (1821-1893)
• James Taylor (63): folk-rock musician, "Fire and Rain"; also, musicians Al Jarreau (71), Steve Harris (55), Marlon Jackson (54) and Frank Catalano (33)
• Carl Hiaasen (58): journalist/novelist; other writers born on this date include Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938), Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)
• Darryl Strawberry (49): played baseball for the Mets and the Yankees
• Aaron Eckhart (43): actor, Battle: Los Angeles, Thank You for Smoking, The Dark Knight; also, actors Liza Minelli (65), Courtney Vance (51) and Samm Levine (29)