Tuesday, July 7, 2015

* 7 * 7 *

shibboleth \SHIB-uh-lith; -leth\, noun:

1. A peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular group of persons.
2. A slogan; a catchword.
3. A common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.

Shibboleth is from Hebrew shibboleth, "stream, flood," from the use of this word in the Bible (Judges 12:4-6) as a test to distinguish Gileadites from Ephraimites, who could not say 'sh' but only 's' as in 'sibboleth'.

mo' 

• slang that means a lot or in an excessive amount.

Jeff got mo' booze for the party last night.

History

• California: was annexed to the US after a Mexican garrison surrendered; Hawaii was annexed 52 years later (1846, 1898)
• sliced bread: first commercially produced loaf was sold in Chillicothe, Missouri (1928)
• Hoover Dam: work began on the Colorado River project, then known as Boulder Dam (1930)
• Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini: was canonized as the first American saint (1946)
• London bombings: explosions on a bus and in three Underground stations killed 52 (2005)

Birthdays

• Gustav Mahler 1860 - Composer
• Marc Chagall 1887
• Hanns Eisler 1898
• George Cukor 1899
• Satchel Paige 1906
• Robert Heinlein 1907 - author
• Gian Carlo Menotti 1911
• Pinetop Perkins 1913 - Musician
• Ruth Ford 1915
• William Kunstler 1919
• Ezzard Charles 1921
  
• Pierre Cardin 1922
• Mary Ford 1924
• Charlie Louvin 1927
• Doc Severinsen 1927 - Bandleader
• Vincent Edwards 1928
• David McCullough 1933 - Author
• Ringo Starr 1940 - Musician (Beatles)
• Warren Entner 1944 - Musician (The Grass Roots)
• Joe Spano 1946 - Actor
• Linda Williams 1947 - Country singer
• Shelley Duvall 1949 - Actress ("The Shining")
• David Hodo 1950 - Musician (The Village People)
• Cherry Boone 1954
• Jessica Hahn 1959
• Billy Campbell 1959 - Actor
• Mark White 1962 - Musician (Spin Doctors)
• Vonda Shepard 1963 - Singer, songwriter ("Ally McBeal")
• Ricky Kinchen 1966 - Musician (Mint Condition)
• Jim Gaffigan 1966 - Actor, comedian
• Jorja Fox 1968 - Actress ("C.S.I.")
• Cree Summer 1970
• Lisa Leslie 1972 - Basketball player
• Kirsten Vangsness 1972 - Actress ("Criminal Minds")
• Michelle Kwan 1980 - Figure skater