Tuesday, April 9, 2013

gaumless \GAWM-lis\, adjective:

• lacking in vitality or intelligence; stupid, dull, or clumsy.

A variant spelling of gormless, gaumless first appeared in English in the mid-1700s from the now-outdated British term gome. When combined with the suffice -less the word literally means "devoid of understanding."

cell phone salute

• When one attempts to send or receive a text message with little or no reception by raising his or her cell phone up in the air thinking that somehow they will gain more bars.

"Dude i didn't know you were a Nazi."

"I'm not. I have no signal bars so i have to do the cell phone salute to get this message out or my woman is gonna be pissed"

Trivia
What names are bellowed in the shouting contest held annually at the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival?

• Stella and Stanley. The anguished cries are in tribute to the most famous scene in Williams’s New Orleans–based play A Streetcar Named Desire, which was made even more famous by Marlon Brando in the 1951 movie version.

History

• War of Jenkin's Ear: Robert Jenkins' ear was cut off, which led to a war between Spain and England (1731)
• public library: America's first tax-supported public library was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire (1833)
• US Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, ending the war (1865)
• Marian Anderson: gave a concert at the Lincoln Memorial; the DAR had canceled her appearance at Constitution Hall because she was black (1939)
• Saddam Hussein: statue of Iraqi dictator was toppled in Baghdad, signifying the end of the Baath regime (2003)
• Prince Charles: married Camilla Parker-Bowles (2005)

Birthdays

• Charles Proteus Steinmetz 1865
• Frank King 1883 - Cartoonist, creator of "Gasoline Alley" cartoon strip
• Mance Lipscomb 1895
• Paul Robeson 1898 - Singer
• Ward Bond 1903 - Actor ("It’s a Wonderful Life", "The Maltese Falcon")
• Antel Dorati 1906 - Symphony orchestra conductor
• Julian Dash 1916 - Jazz musician
• John Presper Eckert 1919
• Art Van Damme 1920 - Musician (Art Van Damme Quintet)
• Hugh Hefner 1926 - Publisher, greatest man who ever lived
  
• Tom Lehrer 1928 - Songwriter
• Paul Arizin 1928 - Basketball player
• Jim Fowler 1932 - Naturalist
• Carl Perkins (Carl Lee Perkings) 1932 - Singer
• Jean-Paul Belmondo 1933 - Actor ("Casino Royale")
• Avery Schreiber 1935 - Comedian (Burns & Schreiber)
• Michael Learned 1939 - Actress ("The Waltons", "All My Sons")
• Jim Roberts 1940 - Hockey player
• Brandon de Wilde 1942 - Actor ("Shane")
• Margo Smith 1942 - Country singer
• Terry Knight 1943 - Singer (Terry Knight and the Pack , Grand Funk Railroad)
• Alden Roche 1945 - Football player
• Nate Colbert 1946 - Baseball player
• Les Gray 1946 - Singer (Mud)
• Michel Parizeau 1948 - Hockey player
• Hal Ketchum 1953 - Country singer, actor
• Dennis Quaid 1954 - Actor ("Wyatt Earp", "The Right Stuff"), brother of Randy Quaid
• Jimmy Tingle 1955 - Comedian
• Severiano (Seve) Ballesteros 1957 - Golfer
• Dave Innis 1959 - Country musician (Restless Heart)
• Mark Kelly 1961 - Musician (Marillion)
• Lisa Guerrero 1964 - Sports reporter ("Monday Night Football")
• Paulina Porizkova 1965 - Model, actress
• Joe Peters 1965 - Musician (Grant Lee Buffalo)
• Cynthia Nixon 1966 - Actress ("The Manhattan Project")
• Kevin Martin 1969 - Musician (Candlebox)
• Keshia Knight Pulliam 1979 - Actress ("The Cosby Show")
• Ryan Northcott 1980 - Actor
• Kristen Stewart (Kristen Jaymes Stewart) 1990 - Actress ("Panic Room", "Twilight", "New Moon")