Monday, March 6, 2016

demagogue \DEM-uh-gog\, noun:

1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.

2. A leader of the common people in ancient times.

Demagogue derives from Greek demagogos, "a leader of the people," from demos, "the people" + agogos, "leading, one who leads," from agein, "to lead."

 

Lent Trap /lÉnt træp/ noun

• In couples where one party is Catholic and the other is not, the unwilling subjection of the non-Catholic to the 40-day ritual of penitence known as Lent.

1. We were going to have dinner at this great new steak place on Friday night, but Joe's got me stuck in a Lent Trap.

2. My wife Jane decided to give up sex for Lent. Worst. Lent Trap. Ever.

History

• Toronto: Canada's largest city, and one of the most livable cities in the world, was incorporated (1834)
• the Alamo: fort was overrun by Mexican troops during the Texas revolution; all inside were killed (1836)
• La Traviata: Verdi's opera premiered in Venice (1853)
• Dred Scott case (1857): US Supreme Court ruled that slaves were not citizens; the decision was overturned a decade later by the 14th amendment

Birthdays

• Michelangelo Buonarroti 1475

  
• Cyrano De Bergerac 1619
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806
• Furry Lewis 1893
• Bob Wills 1905
• Lou Costello 1906
• Ed McMahon 1923
• Alan Greenspan 1926 - Federal Reserve chairman, possible zombie
• Wes Montgomery 1927
• Leroy Gordon ‘Gordo’ Cooper 1927

  
• Gabriel Garcia-Marquez 1928 - Author ("Love in the Time of Cholera")
• Lorin Maazel 1930
• Marion Barry 1936
• Sylvia Robinson 1936
• Doug Dillard 1937
• Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolaeva 1937
• Joanna Miles 1940
• Willie Stargell 1941
• Ben Murphy 1942
• Mary Wilson 1944 - Singer (Supremes)
• Dame Kiri Te Kanawa 1944
• Rob Reiner 1945
• Hugh Grundy 1945 - Musician (The Zombies)
• Kiki Dee 1947
• Dick Fosbury 1947
• David Gimour 1947 - Musician (Pink Floyd)
• Tom Arnold 1959 - Actor
• Skip Ewing 1964
• D.L. Hughley 1964 - Actor ("The Hughleys")
• Connie Britton 1968 - Actress
• Moira Kelly 1968 - Actress ("Caroline in the City")
• Amy Pietz 1969
• Shaquille O'Neal 1972 - Basketball player
• Chris Tomson 1984 - Musician (Vampire Weekend)