Monday, May 28, 2012

damask \DAM-usk\ noun

1. a firm lustrous fabric (as of linen, cotton, silk, or rayon) made with flat patterns in a satin weave on a plain-woven ground on jacquard looms
2. hard elastic steel ornamented with wavy patterns and used especially for sword blades; also : the characteristic markings of this steel
3. a grayish red

The English noun "damask" entered Middle English (as "damaske") from Medieval Latin "damascus," taken from the name of the city of Damascus, one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. In contemporary English "damask" is applied to a lustrous fabric with a satin weave design, as well as to a type of steel (also called "Damascus steel") ornamented with a variegated surface and to a grayish red color associated with the damask rose. While the fabric, the steel, and the damask rose probably did not originate in Damascus, their long association with the ancient city has nevertheless impressed itself upon the English language.

upcycling

• The practice of converting waste materials into products of greater value.

By upcycling, the contractor took a junked Boeing 747 and created a home for a client. 

Trivia

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Today's Holiday:

• Memorial Day (US)

Today in History:

• Indian Removal Act: law forcing the relocation of eastern tribes to the other side of the Mississippi River was signed by US President Andrew Jackson (1830)
• Sierra Club: environmental activist group was founded by Scottish-American conservationist John Muir, among others; it now has nearly three quarters of a million members (1892)
• Mathias Rust: 19-year-old pilot from Germany landed his plane near Moscow's Red Square; he was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison, but was released after a year (1987)

Today's Birthdays:

• Owain Glyndwr 1354 - Welsh ruler, Prince of Wales
• George I 1660 - King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714-1727
• Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotine 1738 - Physician, he did not invent the guillotine even though he did propose the use of a mechanical device to carry out death sentences in France
• Thomas Moore 1779 - Lawyer, social philosopher, author
• Jim Thorpe 1888 - Olympic athlete, baseball and basketball player
• Taffy Abel (Clarence John "Taffy" Abel) 1900 - Hockey player
• Ian Fleming 1908 - Author, journalist, created character of James Bond
• T-Bone Walker 1910 - Musician, singer
• Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau 1925 - Singer, conductor
• Marvin Panch 1926 - NASCAR driver
• Jeannie Carson 1929 - Actress ("Andy Griffith Show")
• Sonny Burgess (Albert Austin "Sonny" Burgess) 1931 - Singer
• Carroll Baker 1931 - Actress
• John Karlen (John Adam Karlewicz) 1933 - Actor
• Jerry West (Jerry Alan West) 1938 - Basketball player
• Tony Mansfield 1943 - Songwriter, musician
• Billy Vera 1944 - Singer, actor, writer
• Gladys Knight 1944 - Singer
• Rudolph Giuliani 1944 - Mayor of New York City
• Gary Stewart 1945 - Country musician, songwriter
• John Fogerty 1945 - Musician (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
• Ted Snell 1946 - Hockey player

• Madeleine LeRouix 1946 - Actress
• Beth Howland 1941 - Actress ("Alice")
• Sondra Locke 1948 - Actress
• Larry Gatlin 1948 - Musician (Gatlin Brothers)
• Roland Gift 1952 - Musician (Fine Young Cannibals)
• Arto Lindsay 1953 - Musician, singer
• Mark Howe 1955 - Hockey player
• Tony McGeoch 1955 - Musician
• Eddie Johnson (Edward "Eddie" Johnson) 1955 - Soccer player
• Susie Diane Owens 1956 - Model, actress
• Jerry Douglas 1956 - Country musician (Union Station)
• Steve Strange (Steven John Harrington) 1959 - Singer (Visage)
• Brandon Cruz 1962 - Actor ("The Courtship of Eddie's Father")
• Chubb Rock ( Richard Simpson) 1968 - Rapper
• Kylie Minogue 1968 - Musician (Locomotion)
• Justin Kirk 1969 - Actor ("Weeds")
• Morgan Fox 1970 - Model, actress
• Elisabeth Hasselbeck 1977 - Television host ("The View")
• Carey Mulligan 1985 - Actress
• Joseph Cross 1986 - Actor