Thursday, April 21, 2016

empyrean \em-py-REE-uhn; -PEER-ee-\, noun:

1. The highest heaven, in ancient belief usually thought to be a realm of pure fire or light.
2. Heaven; paradise.
3. The heavens; the sky.

adjective:

1. Of or pertaining to the empyrean of ancient belief

Empyrean comes from Medieval Latin empyreum, ultimately from Greek empurios, from en-, "in" + pyr, "fire."

 

Protohype

• The process of leaking a prototype device to generate buzz about a product you don't quite yet have ready for market to a friendly tech website who will promote the gizmo well before it's ready to go.

Gizmodo's finding of that Apple iPhone 6SE months before it's released is clearly a case of protohype

History

• Tiradentes: Brazilian hero nicknamed the "tooth puller" was executed in Rio de Janeiro for conspiring against Portuguese rule (1792)
• The Red Baron: German ace aviator Baron Manfred von Richthofen was shot down for the second time — this time, fatally (1918)
• Brasilia: became the capital of Brazil, instead of Rio de Janeiro (1960)
• Tiananmen Square: anti-communist protest grew to 100,000 in Beijing; troops suppressed it six weeks later, killing thousands (1989).

Birthdays

• Friedrich Froebel 1782 - Teacher, author, toy maker, invented kindergarten in 1837
• Charlotte Bronte 1816 - Author ("Jane Eyre", "The Professor")
• John Muir 1838 - Conservationist, influential in the creation of the U.S. National Parks System and U.S. foreset conservation, the Muir Woods National Monument in California is named after him
• Oskar Herwig 1849
• Joe McCarthy 1887 - Baseball manager
• Anthony Quinn 1915 - Actor ("Viva Zapata! [1952]", "The Guns of Navarone")
• Don Cornell (Louis Varlaro) 1924 - Singer
• Clara Ward 1924 - Singer (Clara Ward Gospel Troupe)
• Elizabeth II (Elisabeth Mary) 1926 - Queen of the United Kingdom
• Silvana Mangano 1930
• Carl Belew 1931 - Country singer
• Elaine May 1932 - Actress, comedienne
• Charles Grodin 1935 - Actor ("Clifford", "Beethoven I", "Beethoven II")
• Reg Fleming 1935 - Hockey player
• Iggy Pop (James Newell Osterburg) 1947 - Singer, songwriter (Psychedelic Stooges)
• John Weider 1947 - Musician (Family)
• Al Bumbry (Alonza Benjamin Bumbrey) 1947 - Baseball player
• Paul Davis 1948
• Patti LuPone 1949 - Actress ("Evita", "Driving Miss Daisy")
• Tony Danza 1951 - Actor ("Who’s the Boss", "Taxi", "Angels in the Outfield")
• Paul Carrack 1951 - Musician (Mike and the Mechanics, Noise to Go, Ace)
• Andie MacDowell (Rosalie Anderson) 1958 - Actress ("Groundhog Day", "St. Elmo’s Fire", "Four Weddings and a Funeral")
• Robert Smith 1959 - Musician (The Cure)
• Michael Timmins 1959 - Musician (Cowboy Junkies)
• John Cameron Mitchell 1963 - Actor, director ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch")
• Michael Franti 1968 - Musician (Spearhead)
• Nicole Sullivan 1969 - Actress, comedian ("MadTV", "King of Queens")
• James McAvoy 1979 - Actor
• Tony Romo 1980 - Football player
• Cadillac Williams 1982 - Football player