Tuesday, May 22, 2012

belabor \bih-LEY-ber\, verb:

1. To explain, worry about, or work more than is necessary.
2. To assail persistently, as with scorn or ridicule.
3. To beat vigorously; ply with heavy blows.
4. Obsolete. To labor at.

Like besot, belabor comes from the prefix be- which makes a verb out of a noun and the root labor meaning "to work."
Cyclops date

• A date with someone you've met over the internet; it's not quite a blind date because you've seen their photo, chatted with them and possibly talked to them on the phone.

I have a cyclops date tonight at 8. Text me at 8:20 so I have an excuse to bail if it sucks.
Trivia

Under what name do we know the literary classic that originally bore the title Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts?

• Gulliver’s Travels. Author Jonathan Swift’s original title continued: By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships.

History

• War of the Roses: series of civil wars began, pitting York against Lancaster (1455)
• Pact of Steel: Germany and Italy committed to a military alliance (1939)
• Truman Doctrine: became US law; it encouraged aid to countries under communist threat (1947)
• Sri Lanka: became a republic, changing its name from Ceylon (1972)
• Republic of Yemen: was formed by the union of North Yemen and South Yemen (1990)

Birthdays

• Wilhelm Richard Wagner 1813 - Composer
• Mary Cassatt 1844 - Painter, printmaker
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1859 - Author of Sherlock Holmes detective novels
• Laurence Olivier 1907 - Actor, director, producer
• Sun Ra (Herman Poole Blount, Le Sony'r Ra) 1914 - Musician
• Vance Packard 1914 - Journalist, social critic, author
• Judith Crist 1922 - Film critic
• Charles Aznavour 1924 - Singer
• Elaine Leighton 1926 - Musician
• Michael Constantine 1927 - Actor
• Jackie Cain 1928 - Musician
• T. Boone Pickens 1928 - Oil tycoon
• Kenny Ball 1930 - Musician
• Al Brown 1934 - Band leader (Al Brown's Tunetoppers)
• Peter Nero (Bernard Nierow) 1934 - Pianist, conductor
• Frank Converse 1938 - Actor
• Susan Strasberg 1938 - Actress
• Richard Benjamin 1938 - Actor, director

• Paul Winfield 1939 - Actor ("Sounder")
• Bernard Shaw 1940 - Broadcast journalist
• Michael Sarrazin 1940 - Actor
• Barbara Parkins 1942 - Actress
• Bernie Taupin 1950 - Songwriter, worked with Elton John
• Jerry Dammers 1954 - Musician (Specials)
• Iva Davies 1955 - Musician (Icehouse)
• Al Corley 1956 - Actor, singer, producer
• Morrissey 1959 - Musician (The Smiths)
• Dana Williams 1961 - Musician (Diamond Rio)
• Ann Cusak 1961 - Actress
• Jesse Valenzuela 1962 - Musician (Gin Blossoms)
• Johnny Gill 1966 - Singer (New Edition)
• Dan Roberts 1967 - Musician (Crash Test Dummies)
• Naomi Campbell 1970 - Model
• Alison Eastwood 1972 - Actress, director
• Anna Belknap 1972 - Actress ("CSI: NY")
• Donell Jones 1973 - Musician
• A.J. Langer 1974 - Actress
• Ginnifer Goodwin 1978 - Actress ("Big Love")
• Maggie Q 1979 - Actress
• Apolo Anton Ohno 1982 - Speed skater