Sunday, May 25, 2014

baksheesh \bak-SHEESH\, noun:

1. A gratuity, present or tip.

2. A gratuity, tip, or bribe paid to expedite service.

verb:

1. To give a tip.

Baksheesh originally was a common term for a tip in Near Eastern countries such as India and Egypt. The Persian bakhshish, "gift," derives from the verb bakhshidan, "to give."

Deuce of Spades

• An unusually black and tarry load of feces. Extension of drop a deuce. Origination: Deuce = "#2"; Spades = a suit of 13 cards in a standard 52-card deck

Matt dropped a deuce of spades that was so black and sticky, the highway department could've paved over that pothole on Elm Street with it.

Holiday

• Towel Day: (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

History

• Constitutional Convention: convened in Philadelphia; George Washington presided (1787)
• Monkey Trial: John T. Scopes was indicted in Tennessee for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution (1925)
• Babe Ruth: hit his 714th home run, setting a record that held until 1974, when Hank Aaron broke it (1935)
• track and field: at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships, Jesse Owens tied one world record and broke three others, all within 45 minutes (1935)
• OAU: was founded at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the goals of encouraging African unity, promoting development and fighting neocolonialism (1963)
  STAR WARS first opened on 32 screens across the USA. (1977)
  

  

  
  
• ALIEN, In Space No One can Hear You Scream, was released in 1979.
  

  

  
  Hands Across America: more than five million people joined hands in a line that stretched for 4,000 mi/6,400 km from New York City to Long Beach, CA; participants raised money for the fight against hunger and homelessness (1986)
• Erik Weihenmayer: became the first blind man to climb Mt. Everest (2001)

Birthdays

• Ralph W. Emerson 1803 - Essayist, philosopher, poet
• Luther 'Bill' Robinson (Bill "Bojangles" Robinson) 1878 - Tap dancer, actor
• Philip Murray 1886 - Steelworker, labor leader
• Igor Sikorsky (Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky) 1889 - Pioneer in aviation with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft
• Ginny Simms 1916 - Singer
• Claude Akins 1926 - Actor
• Lindsey Nelson 1919 - Sportscaster
• Hal David 1921 - Lyricist
• John Weitz 1923 - Fashion and industrial designer
• Jeanne Crain 1925 - Actress
• Miles Davis 1926 - Trumpeter, bandleader, composer
• Kitty Kallen 1926 - Singer
  

  
• Norman Petty 1927 - Musician, songwriter, record producer
• Robert Ludlum 1927 - Author (The Jason Bourne series of books)
• Beverly Sills 1929 - Opera singer
• K.C. Jones 1932 - Basketball player
• Ron Nessen 1934 - White House Press Secretary for President Gerald Ford
• Tom T. Hall 1936 - Country singer, songwriter
• Donnie Elbert 1936 - Singer
• Raymond Carver 1938 - Short story writer, poet
• Dixie Carter 1939 - Actress ("Designing Women," "Desperate Housewives")
• Ian McKellen 1939 - Actor
• Jessi Colter 1943 - Country musician
• Leslie Uggams 1943 - Actress, singer
• John "Poli" Palmer 1943 - Musician (Family)
• Frank Oz 1944 - Actor, puppeteer (many Muppets characters, Yoda's voice)
• Karen Valentine 1947 - Actress ("Room 222")
• Mitch Margo 1947 - Musician (Cross Country)
• Clarence Burke Jr. 1949 - Musician (Five Stairsteps)
• Patti D'Arbanville-Quinn 1951 - Actress, model
• Connie Sellecca 1955 - Actress, model
• John Grimaldi 1955 - Musician (Argent)
• Sugar Minott 1956 - Reggae singer
• Klaus Meine 1958 - Musician (Scorpions)
• Paul Weller 1958 - Musician (The Jam, Style Council)
• Mike Myers 1963 - Actor, comedian, screenwriter, cast member on "Saturday Night Live," ("Austin Powers" movies)
• Anne Heche 1969 - Actress ("Volcano")
• Jamie Kennedy 1970 - Actor, comedian, rapper
• Justin Henry 1971 - Actor ("Kramer vs. Kramer" [1979])
• Molly Sims 1973 - Actress
• Miguel Tejada 1974 - Baseball player
• Lauryn Hill 1975 - Musician (The Fugees)
• Cillian Murphy 1976 - Actor
• Brian Urlacher 1978 - Football player
• Shawne Merriman 1984 - Football player