Tuesday, October 25, 2011

mesmerize \MEZ-muh-rahyz\, verb:

1. To spellbind; fascinate.

2. To hypnotize.

3. To compel by fascination.

Mesmerize is an eponym from Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), an Austrian physician who developed a theory of animal magnetism and a mysterious body fluid which allows one person to hypnotize another.

I'm very humbled

• A phrase used to be modest under false pretenses.

A. I'm very humbled to except this award.

B. I'm very humbled that so many people could be here.

Trivia

What number is Tenzin Gyatso in the line of Dalai Lamas that began in 1391?

14th. He was recognized as Dalai Lama in 1937, at age 2. All successors to the first Dalai Lama are regarded by followers of the Tibetan Buddhist order as reincarnations of their predecessors and a manifestation of the Buddha of Compassion.

History

• The Charge of the Light Brigade: the British assaulted Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava, which was commemorated in a poem by Tennyson (1854)
• Battle of Leyte Gulf: one of the largest naval battles in history took place between the US and Japan as the US invaded the Philippines (1944)
• United Nations: voted mainland China in, Taiwan out (1971)
• Operation Urgent Fury: the US invaded Grenada in response to the execution of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop (1983)

Birthdays

• Pablo Picasso (1881-1973): painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and stage designer
• Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957): navigator and the first man to fly over both poles; plus, astronomer Henry Norris Russell (1877-1957)
• Anne Tyler (70): Pulitzer Prize-winner for Breathing Lessons; also, writer John Berryman (1914-1972)
• Katy Perry (27): singer/songwriter whose album Teenage Dream debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200; also, pop musicians Barbara Cook (84), Helen Reddy (70), Taffy Danoff and Jon Anderson (both 66), Chad Smith (50), Ed Robertson (41) and Ciara (26)
• Adam Goldberg (41): actor, director, producer and musician; also, actors Jeanne Cooper and Marion Ross (both 82), Brian Kerwin (62), Nancy Cartwright (55), Tracy Nelson (48), Michael Boatman and Kevin Michael Richardson (both 46), Craig Robinson (40), Michael Weston (38) and Mehcad Brooks (31)
• Midori (40): classical violinist; and, composers Johann Strauss (1825-1899) and Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

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