Thursday, October 19, 2017

harrowing \HAR-oh-ing\, adjective:

• Extremely disturbing or distressing; grievous.

Harrowing is from the Middle English harwen meaning to harass or annoy. It was also commonly used in the church to mean “descend into hell.”

Human Microphone

• A tactic protesters can use to circumvent police bans on electronic amplification of speech. One person starts to speak to a large crowd. After a short sentence, everyone within hearing distance repeats whatever was said at the top of their lungs, allowing people outside of hearing distance to hear the speech.

The Human Microphone on Wall Street announced this speech:

"Mic Check."

"MIC CHECK!!"

"The human microphone is slow and cumbersome"

"THE HUMAN MICROPHONE IS SLOW AND CUMBERSOME!!"

"but it really makes you think through"

"BUT IT REALLY MAKES YOU THINK THROUGH"

"what it is you want"

"WHAT IT IS YOU WANT!!"

"to say."

"TO SAY!!"

Trivia

What classical composer’s music serves as the official anthem of the European Union?

• Ludwig van Beethoven’s. The anthem is a version of “Ode to Joy,” the final movement of his Ninth Symphony.

History

• Yorktown campaign: British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered, effectively ending the land war of the American Revolution (1781)
• Black Monday: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 508 points — over 22% — setting a record for percentage decline that still stands (1987)
• Guildford Four: men wrongly convicted for a deadly IRA bombing were cleared after 15 years in jail (1989)

Birthdays

• Thomas Browne 1605
• Annie Peck 1850
• Charles Merrill 1885
• Robert Beatty 1909
• George Cates 1911
• Lawanda Page 1920
• Bern Bennett 1921
• George Nader 1921
• Jack Anderson 1922
• John le Carre 1931
• Robert Reed 1932
• Peter Max 1937
• Michael Gambon 1940
• Simon Ward 1941
• Peter Tosh 1944
• Divine 1945

• John Lithgow 1945
• Patricia Ireland 1945
• Jeannie C. Riley 1945
• Patrick Simmons (Doobie Brothers) 1948
• Lynn Dickey (NFL) 1949
• Charlie Chase 1952
• Nino DeFranco (The DeFranco Family) 1956
• Karl Wallinger (Waterboys, World Party) 1957
• Jennifer Holliday 1960
• Evander Holyfield 1962
• Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) 1965
• Jon Favreau 1966
  
• Trey Parker 1969
• Chris Kattan 1970
• Pras Michel (The Fugees) 1972
• Omar Gooding 1976
• Cyndi Thompson 1976
• Benjamin Salisbury 1980