Thursday, August 04, 2011

Thursday, August 4, 2011

aesopian \ee-SOH-pee-uhn\, adjective:
1. Conveying meaning by hint, euphemism, innuendo, or the like.
2. Pertaining to, or characteristic of Aesop or his fables.
Aesopian gets this general sense from its original meaning as a reference to the inferential nature of Aesop's fables.
Gate Massage
  • A TSA pat-down with a "happy landing."
I got a gate massage at the airport today. I feel great!
Trivia
Which three baseball Hall of Famers share the record for playing in the most All-Star games—24?
  • Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Stan Musial.
History
  • freedom of the press: a legal precedent was established when newspaper editor John Peter Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel; he had published criticism of the colonial governor of New York (1735)
  • US Coast Guard: was launched as the Revenue-Marine, later called the Revenue Cutter Service (1790)
  • Anne Frank: teenage Jewish diarist was discovered, along with her family, by Nazis; their hiding place was revealed by a Dutch informant and they were sent to concentration camps, where most perished (1944)
  • Burkina Faso: West African republic received its new name meaning "land of upright people"; it was formerly called Upper Volta (1984)
Birthdays
  • Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900-2002): wife of George VI, mother of Elizabeth II
  • Louis Armstrong (1901-1971): jazz trumpeter
  • Raoul Wallenberg (1912-1947?): Swedish diplomat/businessman who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during WWII; in 1945, he was taken into custody by the Russians and disappeared
  • Barack Obama (50): the 44th POTUS
  • Roger Clemens (49): pitcher with the record for Cy Young Awards — 7; plus, runner Glenn Cunningham (1909-1988)
  • Dennis Lehane (46): novelist, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone; writers Knut Hamsun (1859-1952) and Robert Hayden (1913-1980) were also born on this date
  • Daniel Dae Kim (43): Jin-Soo Kwon on Lost; also, actors Richard Belzer (67), Billy Bob Thornton (56), Lauren Tom (50), James Tupper (46) and Michael DeLuise (42)

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