Tuesday, June 17, 2014

diction \ DIK-shuhn \ , noun;

1. style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words: good diction . 
2. the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation. 

Origin: Diction stems from the Latin dīcere meaning "to say." The term entered English in the early 1400s.

amuse booze

• A small fancy drink at home before you go out to drink more.

I'm going to have a glass of champagne as my amuse booze before I go to brunch for more drinks.

History

• California: was claimed by Sir Francis Drake for England; he called it Nova Albion (1579)
• Battle of Bunker Hill: first great battle of the Revolutionary War began (1775)
• Statue of Liberty: gift from France arrived in New York (1885)
• Watergate: office break-in at Democratic Headquarters in Washington began a scandal that would bring down a government (1972)
• O.J. Simpson: the car chase watched by millions on TV ended in the arrest of the NFL Hall-of-Famer suspected of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole, and Ronald Goldman (1994)

Birthdays

• Edward I 1239 - Edward of Carnarvon, King of England from 1307-1327
• John Wesley 1703 - Cleric, Christian theologian
• James Weldon Johnson 1871 - Author, politician, diplomat, critic
• Igor Stravinski (Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky) 1882 - Composer
• Ralph Bellamy 1904 - Actor
• Red Foley (Clyde Julian Foley) 1910 - Singer, musician, television personality
• John Hersey (John Richard Hersey) 1914 - Writer, journalist
• Stringbean (David Akeman) 1915 - Country singer
• Elroy Hirsch 1923 - Football player
• Peter Lupus 1932 - Bodybuilder, actor
• Dickie Doo 1939 - Musician (Dickie Doo and The Don'ts)
• Bobby Bell (Robert "Bobby" Lee Bell, Jr) 1940 - Football player
• Norman Kuhlke 1942 - Musician (The Swinging Blue Jeans)

  
• Steve Clark 1943 - Musician (Def Leppard)
• Newt Gingrich (Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich) 1943 - Politician, historian, author
• Randy Johnson (Randolph Klaus "Randy" Johnson ) 1944 - Football player
• Chris Spedding (Peter Robinson) 1944 - Musician
• Barry Manilow 1946 - Musician
• Joe Piscopo (Joseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo) 1951 - Comedian, actor
• Dave Fortier 1951 - Hockey player
• Mark Linn-Baker 1953 - Actor ("Perfect Strangers"), director
• Bobby Farrelly 1954 - Writer, director
• Jello Biafra 1959 - punk rocker (Dead Kennedys)

  
• Thomas Haden Church 1961 - Actor
• Greg Kinnear 1963 - Actor, television personality
• Dan Jansen 1965 - Speed skater
• Jason Patric 1966 - Actor
• Kevin Thornton 1969 - Musician (Color Me Badd)
• Will Forte 1970 - Actor, comedian ("Saturday Night Live," "MacGruber")
• Venus Williams 1980 - Tennis player