Sunday, May 13, 2012

funambulist [fyoo-nam-byuh-list] noun

• a tightrope walker.

Origin:  1785–95; < Latin fūnambul ( us ) ropedancer + -ist

love-dumpling

1. Feces
2. From the Static-x song "Love Dump", used as Deirdre's user/ screen/ nick name for nearly seven years. It's becoming an alter ego.

"I Always Loved You! love-dumpling!"

Trivia

Who was the first cartoon character to be featured posing sexily on the cover of Playboy magazine?

• Marge Simpson, of TV’s The Simpsons, in November 2009. Inside the magazine, the Springfield mother of three was seen in near-nudity in a three-page pictorial spread.

History

• Mexican War: was declared by US president James Polk; the resulting land expansion was widely justified by manifest destiny (1846)
• "blood, toil, tears and sweat": Winston Churchill famously offered these elements in his first address as prime minister; Theodore Roosevelt was the first to use the phrase 43 years earlier (1940)
• Pope John Paul II: was shot in Rome by right-wing Turkish militant Mehmet Ali Agca; the pontiff survived the assassination attempt (1981)
• $20 bill: the Andrew Jackson was revamped and colorized to thwart counterfeiters (2003)

Birthdays

• Henry William Stiegel 1729 - Glass maker, ironmaster
• Walt Whitman 1819 - Poet, essayist, journalist, humanist
• Arthur Sullivan 1842 - Operetta composer, worked with Sir William Gilbert
• Maxine Sullivan (Marietta Williams) 1911 - Singer
• Robert Middleton (Samuel Messer) 1911 - Actor ("Desperate Hours")
• Joe Louis (Barrow) 1914 - Boxer, "The Brown Bomber"
• Johnny Wright 1914 - Country singer
• "Red" Garland (William "Red" Garland) 1923 - Musician
• Beatrice Arthur 1926 - Actress ("The Golden Girls", "Maude")
• Clive Barnes 1927 - Writer, critic
• Herbert Ross 1927 - Director
• Johnny (John Junior) Roseboro 1933 - Baseball player
• Zohra Lampert 1937 - Actress ("Alan & Naomi")
• Harvey Keitel 1939 - Actor ("Pulp Fiction", "Thelma and Louise", "Taxi Driver")
• Senta Berger 1941 - Actress ("The Victors")
• Richie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) 1941 - Singer
• Mary Wells 1943 - Singer
• "Magic" Dick Salwitz 1945 - Musician (J. Geils Band)
• Danny Klein 1946 - Musician (J. Geils Band)
• Mike Chernoff 1946 - Hockey player
• Tim Pigott-Smith 1946 - Actor (" The Jewel in the Crown")
• Overand (Peter) Watts 1947 - Musician (Mott the Hoople)
• Franklin Ajaye 1949 - Actor ("Fraternity Vacation", "Convoy")
• Stevie Wonder (Steveland Morris) 1950 - Musician
• Bobby Valentine 1950 - Baseball player, manager
• Paul Thompson 1951 - Musician (Roxy Music)
• Frances Barber 1957 - Actress ("A Zed & Two Noughts", "Home Sweet Home")
• Dennis Rodman 1961 - Basketball player, nickname: "The Worm", actor
• Julianne Phillips 1960 - Model, actress
• Tom Verica 1964 - Actor
• Stephen Colbert 1964 - Television host ("The Colbert Report")
• Lorraine McIntosh 1964 - Musician (Deacon Blue)
• Lari White 1965 - Country music singer
• Darius Rucker 1966 - Musician (Hootie and the Blowfish)
• Samantha Morton 1977 - Actress
• Hunter Parrish 1978 - Actor ("Weeds")
• Robert Pattinson 1986 - Actor ("Twilight", "New Moon")