Thursday, May 12, 2011

Zeitgeist \TSYT-guyst; ZYT-guyst\, noun:

• [Often capitalized] The spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period of time.

Zeitgeist is from the German: Zeit, "time" + Geist, "spirit."

big in japan

• To say/pretend you are someone of stature somewhere else, meaningless and not verifiable where you currently are.

"Yeah, I am big in Japan"

Trivia

What is the name of the cartoon elf that serves as chief baker and spokesman for the Keebler Company?

• Ernie. He and his fellow elf bakers were introduced in Keebler ads in 1968.

History

• Berlin blockade: the Soviets ended their nearly year-long blockade of the Western-held sectors of Berlin (1949)
• hurricanes: the US Dept. of Commerce announced that storms would no longer be named after women only (1978)
• 2008 Sichuan earthquake: killed nearly 70,000 Chinese and left millions homeless (2008)

Birthdays

• Edward Lear (1812-1888): the author of "The Owl and the Pussycat"
• Florence Nightingale (1820-1910): founder of modern nursing
• Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924): US Senator; he was the first to receive a PhD in political science from Harvard
• Yogi Berra (86): the Yankee catcher known for his "Yogi-isms," like "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."
• Burt Bachrach (83): composer, That's What Friends are For, Alfie; plus, musicians Jules Massenet (1842-1912), Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) and Steve Winwood (63)
• George Carlin (1937-2008): counterculture comedian
• Gabriel Byrne (61): star of In Treatment; also, actors Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003), Lindsay Crouse (63), Bruce Boxleitner (61), Ving Rhames (52), Emilio Estevez (49), Stephen Baldwin (45), Samantha Mathis (41), Jason Biggs and Malin Akerman (both 33), Emily VanCamp (25) and Malcolm David Kelley (19)

Read more: http://www.answers.com/