Sunday, April 8, 2012

apotropaic \ap-uh-truh-PEY-ik\, adjective:

• Intended to ward off evil.

Apotropaic came into common usage in the 1880s. It comes from the Greek word apotrópai meaning "averting evil."

Does a Catholic Priest make a good babysitter?

• A slightly rude way of saying "no".

Friend 1: You and Jen have been broken up for 6 months now... would it be cool if I asked her out?

Friend 2: Does a Catholic Priest make a good babysitter? Asshole.

Trivia

By what name do we know the South Pacific island that’s called Rapa Nui by its Polynesian inhabitants?

• Easter Island, which is what Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen named it when he came upon it on Easter Sunday in 1722.

Holiday

• Easter

History

• Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.: the US Supreme Court ruled that the income tax in effect at the time was unconstitutional (1895)
• Times Square: Manhattan area was renamed in honor of then-tenant The New York Times (1904)
• WPA: Congress approved FDR's program to alleviate joblessness during the Great Depression (1935)
• League of Nations: assembled for the last time (1946)
• Hank Aaron: hit his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record (1974)
• Clint Eastwood: movie star was elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea (1986)

Birthdays

• Guatama Buddha 563 BC - 'The Enlightened One' in the Buddhist faith
• Philip IV (Spain and Portugal) 1605
• Ray (O. Raymond) Knight 1872 - 'Father of Canadian Rodeo'
• Mary Pickford 1893 - Actress ("Coquette", "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm")
• Sonja Henie 1910 - Ice skater
• Elizabeth "Betty" Ford (Bloomer) 1918 - Wife of 38th U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, founder of the Betty Ford Clinic
• Carmen McRae 1922 - Jazz singer
• Franco Corelli 1923 - Tenor
• Edward Mulhare 1923 - Actor ("Megaforce", "Knight Rider")
• Ruth Gaines 1872 - Playwright
• Shecky Greene (Sheldon Greenfield) 1926 - Comedian, actor ("Laverne and Shirley", "Northern Exposure")
• Charlie (Charles Richard) ‘Smokey’ Maxwell 1927 - Baseball player
• John Gavin (Anthony Golenour) 1928 - Actor ("Psycho")
• Monty Sunshine 1928 - Jazz musician
• Jacques Brel 1929 - Singer, songwriter
• Dorothy Tutin 1930 - Actress
• Fred Ebb 1936 - Lyricist
• Klaus Löwitsch 1936 - Actor
• Symore Hersh 1937 - Investigative reporter
• Kofi Annan 1938 - United Nations secretary-general
• John Havlicek 1940 - Basketball player
• J.J. Jackson 1941 - Singer
• Peggy Lennon 1941 - Singer (Lennon Sisters)
• Darlene Gillespie 1941 - TV personality ("The Mickey Mouse Club")
• John (Frederick) Hiller 1943 - Baseball player
• Roger Chapman 1944 - Singer
• Hywel Bennett 1944 - Actor
• Stuart Pankin 1946 - Actor ("Irreconcilable Differences", "Arachnophobia")
• Jim (James Augustus) "Catfish" Hunter 1946 - Baseball player
• Peter Case 1947 - Musician (Yes)
• Steve Howe 1947 - Musician (Yes, Asia)
• Mel Schacher 1951 - Musician (Grand Funk Railroad)
• Chris Frantz 1951 - Musician (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club)
• John Schneider 1954 - Singer, actor ("Dukes of Hazzard", "Smallville")
• Gary Carter 1954 - Baseball player
• Barbara Kingsolver 1955 - Writer
• Donita Sparks 1961 - Musician (L7)
• Izzy Stradlin 1962 - Musician (Gun's 'N Roses)
• Julian Lennon 1963 - Musician, son of John Lennon (Beatles), Today in Beatles History
• Dave Rountree 1963 - Musician (Blur)
• Donita Sparks 1963 - Musican (L7)
• Biz Markie 1964 - Rapper
• Robin Wright Penn 1966 - Actress
• Patricia Arquette 1968 - Actress ("True Romance", "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors"), sister of Roseanna Arquette
• Craig Honeycutt 1970 - Singer (Everything)
• Darren Jessee 1971 - Musician (Ben Fold Five)
• Emma Caulfield 1973 - Actress ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Beverly Hills 90210")
• Taylor Kitsch 1981 - Actor ("John Carter")
• Taran Noah Smith 1984 - Actor ("Home Improvement")
• Kirsten Storms 1984 - Actress ("Days of Our Lives")