Friday, May 4, 2012

fulcrum \FOOL-kruhm\, noun:

1. The support, or point of rest, on which a lever turns.
2. Any prop or support.
3. Zoology. Any of various structures in an animal serving as a hinge or support.

verb:

1. To fit with a fulcrum; put a fulcrum on.

Fulcrum originally referred to a bed post from the Latin word fulcire meaning "to prop up."
Charlie Foxtrot n.

• Phonetics for Cluster-Fuck

"This is a real Charlie Foxtrot assignment."

Trivia

In the famous baseball poem Casey at the Bat, how many men were on base when the mighty Casey struck out?

• Two—Flynn was on third; Jimmy Blake on second.

Today's Holiday

• Star Wars Day aka May The Fourth - Get it? May 4th? May the Fourth? May the Force be with you!

History

• Manhattan: Dutch colonist Peter Minuit landed on the island; he later bought it for $24 in trade goods (1626)
• Rhode Island: declared its independence from England, becoming one of the original Thirteen Colonies (1776)
• Al Capone: after many arrests, the crime boss known as Scarface was finally jailed for tax evasion (1932)
• Grammys: were first awarded (1959)
• Freedom Riders: students joined members of CORE to ride from Washington, DC, across the south toward New Orleans, protesting racial segregation on public interstate buses (1961)
• Kent State: four university students were killed and nine wounded by members of the Ohio National Guard, who were quashing a campus protest against the US invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War (1970)

Birthdays

• Sir Thomas Lawrence 1769
• Horace Mann 1796 - Educator, father of public education in the U.S., author
• Joseph Whitaker 1820
• Thomas Huxley 1825
• John Hanning Speke 1827
• Um Kalthum 1904
• Howard DaSilva (Silverblatt) 1909 - Actor ("The Lost Weekend", "The Great Gatsby")
• Heloise 1919
• Ed "Cass" Cassidy 1923 - Musician (New Jazz Trio, Taj Mahal, Spirit)
• Betsy Rawls 1928 - Golfer
• Hosni Mubarak 1928 - Egyptian president

• Maynard Ferguson 1928 - Jazz trumpeter, bandleader
• Audrey Hepburn (Edda Kathleen Hepburn van Heemstra) 1929 - Actress ("Monte Carlo Baby", "Breakfast at Tiffany's")
• Roberta Peters 1930 - Opera singer
• Harlon Hill 1932 - Football player
• El Cordobés (Manuel Benítez Pérez) 1936 - Spanish bullfighter
• Dick Dale 1937 - Musician
• Ron Carter 1937 - Jazz bassist
• Tyrone Davis 1938
• George F. Will 1941 - Columnist ("Newsweek"), editor
• David LaFlamme 1941
• Nick Ashford 1942 - Singer, songwriter (Ashford and Simpson)
• Ronnie Bond 1943 - Musician (The Troggs)
• Paul Gleason 1944 - Actor
• Peggy Sanntiglia 1944 - Singer
• Richard Jenkins 1947 - Actor ("The Visitor")
• Stella Parton 1949 - Country singer
• Hilly Hicks 1950 - Actor, minister
• Jackie Jackson 1951 - Singer (The Jackson Five, The Jacksons)
• Oleta Adams 1953 - Singer
• Julie Budd 1954
• Danny Brubeck 1955 - Drummer, Dave Brubeck's son
• Mick Mars 1955 - Musician (Motley Crue)
• Pia Zadora 1954 - Actress ("Hairspray"), singer
• Randy Travis (Randy Bruce Traywick) 1959 - Country singer
• Mary McDonough 1961 - Actress ("The Waltons")
• Jay Aston 1961 - Musician (Bucks Fizz)
• Ana Gasteyer 1967 - Comedian ("Saturday Night Live")
• Dawn Staley 1970 - Basketball player
• Will Arnet 1970 - Actor ("Arrested Development")
• Chris Tomlin 1972 - Singer
• Mike Dirnt 1972 - Musician (Green Day)
• Kimora Lee Simmons 1975 - Television personality, fashion designer
• Jose Castellanos 1977 - Musician (Save Ferris)
• Lance Bass 1979 - Singer ('N Sync)
• Alexander Gould 1994 - Actor ("Weeds," "Finding Nemo")