Saturday, September 1, 2012

simper \SIM-per\, verb:

1. To smile in a silly, self-conscious way.

2. To say with a simper.

noun:

1. A silly, self-conscious smile.

Simper is derived from the Danish word sippe, which referred to a woman who sipped her drink in an affected manner.

digital snow day

• Refers to a work day interrupted by an internet outage that effectively shuts down all productivity, especially at a .com.

Co-worker 1: Our internet is down.

Co-worker 2: Woo hoo! Digital snow day! Let's go get coffee.

Trivia

• Weekend trivia posted on TUESDAY due to the holiday.

History

• Canadian provinces: Canada welcomed two new provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta (1905)
• WWII: Germany invaded Poland and the war began (1939)
• 1923 Great Kantō earthquake: a quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale devastated Tokyo and Yokohama; tens of thousands died and millions were left homeless
• Muammar al-Qaddafi: took power in Libya after overthrowing King Idris I (1969)
• Titanic: the wreck of the luxury liner was found by American and French searchers on the North Atlantic ocean floor 73 years after she sank (1985)
• Beslan: Chechen terrorists took over a Russian school; hundreds were killed during the three-day standoff (2004)

Birthdays

• Lydia Sigourney 1791 - Author
• Engelbert Humperdinck 1854 - German composer, his name was borrowed by singer Arnold Dorsey
• Edgar Rice Burroughs 1875 - Writer (Tarzan of the Apes, A Princess of Mars)
• Richard Arlen (van Mattimore) 1898 - Actor ("Road to Nashville", "Island of the Lost Souls")
• Don Wilson 1900 - Announcer, Actor ("The Jack Benny Show")
• Johnny Mack Brown 1904 - Actor (Ghost Rider, Texas Kid)
• Walter Reuther 1907 - Labor union leader
• Arleen Whelan 1916 - Actress (Never Wave at a WAC)
• Richard Farnsworth 1920 - Actor (Lassie, The Grey Fox, Legend of the Lone Ranger)
• Yvonne De Carlo (Peggy Yvonne Middleton) 1922 - Actress (The Munsters, Salome, McLintock!)
• Vittorio Gassman 1922 - Actor (Sharkey's Machine, War and Peace)
• Rocky Marciano (Rocco Marchegiano) 1923 - Boxer, the only heavyweight champion to have won every fight in professional career
• George Maharis 1928 - Actor (Route 66, Return to Fantasy Island)
• Boxcar Willie (Lecil Martin) 1931 - Singer, songwriter, known as "The Singing Hobo"
• Ann Richards 1933 - Texas Governor
• Conway Twitty (Harold Lloyd Jenkins) 1933 - Singer, songwriter
• Seiji Ozawa 1935 - Orchestra leader (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra)
• Guy Rodgers 1935 - Basketball player
• Ron O'Neal 1937
• Al Geiberger 1937 - Golfer, recorded a score of 59 in a PGA Tour
• Lily Tomlin 1939 - Actress, comedian
• Rico Carty (Ricardo Adolfo Jacobo) 1939 - Baseball player
• Dave White 1940 - Singer, songwriter (Danny & The Juniors)
• Don Stroud 1943 - Actor (Dillinger and Capone, Amityville Horror, The Buddy Holly Story), son of Clarence Stroud
• Archie Bell 1944
• Leonard Slatkin 1944 - Orchestra director
• Barry Gibb 1946 - Singer, songwriter, musician (The Bee Gees)
• Greg Errico 1946 - Musician (Sly and The Family Stone)
• Dennis Partee 1946 - Football player
• Ed Podolak 1947 - Football player
• Garry (Lee) Maddox 1949 - Baseball player
• Bruce Foxton 1955 - Musician (100 Men, The Jam)
• Gloria Estefan (Gloria Maria Milagrosa Fajardo) 1957 - Singer (Miami Sound Machine)
• Boney James 1961
• Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow 1961 - Wrestler, actor
• Spigg Nice (Lost Boyz) 1970
• Scott Speedman 1975