Wednesday, July 13, 2011

gumption \GUHMP-shuhn\, noun:

1. Initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness.

2. Courage; spunk; guts.

Gumption comes from a Scottish term, possibly deriving from the Old Norse gaumr, "attention, heed."

Facebook Minute (n)

• an elongated and obscure period of time spent distracted on Facebook when the original intent was to merely check your messages.

Dude, whereâs Mark?

Oh, he just ran inside to check his messages really quick. He'll back in a Facebook minute.

Fuck, we're never gonna eat now.

Trivia

In Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original ape-man story, Tarzan of the Apes, what was Jane’s hometown?

• Baltimore, Maryland. Her full name was Jane Porter.

History

• Jean Paul Marat: physician and radical French revolutionary was stabbed in his bath by noblewoman Charlotte Corday; she was swiftly guillotined (1793)
• Hollywood Sign: the iconic landmark was officially dedicated (1923); until 1949 it read "HOLLYWOODLAND"
• World Cup: the first world soccer competition began in Uruguay (1930)
• Live Aid: benefit concert took place in London and Philadelphia, raising £150 million for famine relief; Phil Collins performed at both venues, traveling by Concorde (1985)
• presidential disability clause: President Ronald Reagan transferred power for 7 hours to his vice president, George Bush, before undergoing surgery for cancer; it was the first time the clause was invoked (1985)

Birthdays

• Wole Soyinka (77): playwright, poet, novelist
• Harrison Ford (69): star of the Indiana Jones films; also, actors Patrick Stewart (71), Cheech Marin (65), Kenny Johnson (48) and Michael Jace (46)
• Roger McGuinn (69): singer, front man for The Byrds; also, singers and songwriters Naomi Shemer (1930-2004), Louise Mandrell (57), Victoria Shaw (49), Neil Thrasher (48) and Deborah Cox (37)
• Cameron Crowe (54): writer and director, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous
• Erno Rubik (67): inventor of the Rubik's Cube

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