TGIF! Friday, May 20, 2016

plucky \PLUHK-ee\, adjective:

• Having or showing pluck or courage; brave.

Plucky is originally boxing slang from the 1800s, from the meaning "heart, viscera" as that which is "plucked" from slaughtered livestock.

 

shoot the shit 

• To chat idly about things that neither person involved in the conversation will be likely to remember.

John: "We decided to shoot the shit for a while."

History

• First Council of Nicaea: opened in present-day Turkey; it dealt with the relationship of Jesus to God the Father, and the date of Easter, among other issues (325) 

  
• Charles Lindbergh: began the first solo flight across the Atlantic, in The Spirit of St. Louis; he flew from Long Island to Paris in about 11 1/2 hours (1927)
• Amelia Earhart: began her flight from Newfoundland to Ireland, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean (1932)
• Hamburger Hill: US and South Vietnamese forces captured Apbia Mountain after one of the Vietnam War's bloodiest battles (1969)
• Cheers: the final episode of the TV sitcom was seen by 93 million viewers (1993)
• East Timor: became an independent nation and the first new sovereign state of the 21st century (2002)
• Kingda Ka: the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster opened in New Jersey; it reaches 128 mph, and New York City, Atlantic City and Philadelphia are visible from the top of the tower (2005)

Birthdays

• William Thornton 1759 - Inventor, painter, designed the United States Capitol, first Superintendent of the United States Patent Office
• Dolley Payne Madison 1768 - U.S. First Lady, wife of 4th President James Madison
• Honore de Balzac 1799 - Novelist
• John Stuart Mill 1806 - Editor, philosopher
• William George Fargo 1818 - Organizer of Wells, Fargo & Company
• Henri Julien Felix Rousseau 1844 - French painter
• Wladyslaw Sikorski 1888 - Polish military and political leader
• Jimmy Stewart 1908 - Actor (Philadelphia Story [1940]; The Glenn Miller Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington)
• William R. Hewlett 1913 - Co-founder of Hewlett-Packard Company (HP)
• Patrick Ellis (Leftwich) 1916 - Actress
• George Goble 1919 - Comedian, Actor (Harper Valley P.T.A.)
• Vic Ames (Urick) 1920 - Singer (The Ames Brothers)
• Edith Fellows 1923 - Actress (The Grace Kelly Story, In the Mood)
• Bob Sweikert 1926 - Auto racer, won Indianapolis 500 in 1955
• Bud (Henry) Grant 1927 - Football player and coach
• David Hedison (Ara David Heditsian) 1928 - Actor (Licence to Kill, Live and Let Die)
• James McEachin 1930 - Actor (The Dead Don’t Die, Double Exposure)
• Kenton Boyer 1931 - Baseball player
• Constance Towers 1933 - Actress (On Wings of Eagles)
• Anthony Zerbe 1936 - Actor (North and South, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, Cool Hand Luke)
• Dave Hill 1937 - Golfer
• Teddy Randazzo 1937 - Songwriter, producer, singer, actor

  
• Stan Mikita 1940 - Hockey player
• Joe Cocker 1944 - Singer, songwriter
• Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre) 1946 - Singer (Sonny & Cher), actress (Moonstruck [1987]; The Witches of Eastwick, Silkwood, Mask), Mrs Bax0jayz doppleganger
• Bobby (Ray) Murcer 1946 - Baseball player
• Dave Thomas 1949 - Comedian, actor
• Cullen Bryant 1951 - Football player
• Warren Cann 1952 - Musician (Ultravox)
• Dean Butler 1956 - Actor
• Ronald Prescott Reagan 1958 - Dancer, talk show host, son of U.S. President Ronald Reagan
• Jane Wiedlin 1958 - Singer (Go-Go's, Frosted)
• Bronson Pinchot 1959 - Actor (Courage Under Fire, Beverly Hills Cop series, Risky Business)
• Tony Goldwyn 1960 - Actor (The Pelican Brief, Ghost, Gaby: A True Story)
• Susan Cowsill 1960 - Singer (The Cowsills, Continental Drifters, Psycho Sisters)
• Nick Heyward 1961 - Musician (Haircut 100)
• Brian Nash 1963 - Musician (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
• Mindy Cohn 1966 - Actress
• Tom Gorman 1966 - Musician (Belly)
• Timothy Olyphant 1968 - Actor
• Busta Rhymes 1972 - Musician