Thursday, September 15, 2011

bacchanalia \bak-uh-NAIL-yuh\, noun:

1. (plural, capitalized) The ancient Roman festival in honor of Bacchus, celebrated with dancing, song, and revelry.

2. A riotous, boisterous, or drunken festivity; a revel.

Bacchanalia comes from Latin, from Bacchus, god of wine, from Greek Bakkhos. The adjective form is bacchanalian. One who celebrates the Bacchanalia, or indulges in drunken revels, is a bacchanal \BAK-uh-nuhl; bak-uh-NAL\, which is also another term for a drunken or riotous celebration.

Dragon Ass

• A state of sluggishness, inactivity, and apathy usually brought on by an extended period of hard work.

This has been a such a long day. I've got a bad case of dragon ass.

Trivia

What was the first name of Captain Hook, the Peter Pan villain? How about Captain Cook, the famous explorer?

• James, for both.

History

• Central America: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica declared their independence of Spain (1821)
• Galápagos Islands: were reached by naturalist Charles Darwin aboard the HMS Beagle (1835)
• Nuremberg Laws: deprived Jews of their citizenship and made the swastika the official emblem of Nazi Germany (1935)
• civil rights: a bomb killed four black girls when it exploded during Sunday services in a Birmingham, Alabama, church, sparking race riots (1963)
• USA Today: Gannett's national newspaper hit the stands; it's America's top-selling daily newspaper in print (1982)
• Lehman Brothers: the investment bank filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — the largest bankruptcy in US history (2008)

Birthdays

• Hans-Gert Pöttering (66): former president of the European Parliament
• Bruno Walter (1876-1962): conductor, especially of Mahler's works; and, soprano Jessye Norman (66)
• Agatha Christie (1890-1976): the "Queen of Crime" who created Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple; plus, writers François de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680), James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) and Claude McKay (1889-1948)
• Ron Shelton (66): screenwriter/director, Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump; plus, directors Jean Renoir (1894-1979) and Oliver Stone (65)
• Dave Annable (32): Justin Walker in Brothers and Sisters; also, actors Jackie Cooper (89), Forrest Compton (86), Henry Darrow (78), Tommy Lee Jones (65), Josh Charles (40) and Amy Davidson (32)
• Dan Marino (50): NFL hall-of-famer; other athletes born on this date include Gaylord Perry (73), Merlin Olsen (71) and Mike Dunleavy (31)
• Prince Harry (27): younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana
• Heidi Montag (25): reality show personality, The Hills

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