Friday, April 12, 2019

splenetic \spli-NET-ik\, adjective:

1. irritable; peevish; spiteful.

2. of the spleen; splenic.

3.

Obsolete. affected with, characterized by, or tending to produce melancholy.

noun:

1. a splenetic person.

Sharing its root with spleen, splenetic entered English at the turn of the fourteenth century, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European splegh-.

 

Jizzneyland

• When a city or town specifically zones an area for "adult" businesses.

Troy, NY resident: Did you know that the City Council voted on the "Jizzneyland" zone last night? I'm not sure if 70 acres near a residential neighborhood is going to be enough.

 

Trivia
Which nation’s flag did a Texas county mistakenly print on the instruction sheets it distributed with absentee ballots?

• Chile’s. The flags of Chile and the Lone Star State are incredibly similar. Both feature a white stripe on top, a red stripe on bottom, and a single five-pointed white star in the middle of a blue field. On Chile’s flag, the blue is in the top left corner, while on the Texas flag, it’s along the entire left side. The embarrassing mix-up, discovered in 2010, occurred in Atascosa County.

History

• Galileo: Italian scientist's heresy trial began during the Inquisition (1633)
• US Civil War: started when Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter (1861)
• "Rock Around the Clock": Bill Haley and The Comets recorded the song that ushered in the era of rock 'n' roll (1954)
• Yuri Gagarin: cosmonaut became the first human in space, orbiting Earth in 89 minutes aboard the Vostok I (1961)
• Columbia: first space shuttle took its first test flight (1981)

Birthdays

• Henry Clay 1777 - "The Great Pacificator", U.S. Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams, three time unsuccessful candidate for president of United States. Quote: "I would rather be right than president."
• Lily (Alice) Pons 1895 - Singer, actress
• Sally Rand 1903
• Russ Garcia 1916 - Musician, composer, orchestra leader
• Ann Miller (Lucille Ann Collier) 1923 - Actress ("Sugar Babies", "Hit the Deck"), dancer
• Ned Miller 1925 - Country singer
• Jane Withers 1926 - Actress ("Bright Eyes")
• Tiny Tim (Herbert Khaury) 1930 - Ukulele playing, falsetto singer ("Tiptoe Through the Tulips")
• Billy (Richard) Vaughn 1931 - Musician, musical director, orchestra leader, baritone singer (The Hilltoppers)
• Montserrat Caballe 1933 - Opera singer
• Charlie (Charles Richard) Lau 1933 - Baseball player
• Judy Lynn 1936 - Country singer, entertainer ("The Judy Lynn Show"), U.S. Champion Yodeler
• Charles Napier 1936 - Actor
• Herbie Hancock 1940 - Jazz/fusion musician, composer
• Woody (Woodrow Thompson) Fryman 1940 - Baseball pitcher
• Frank Bank 1942 - Actor ("Leave it to Beaver")
• Terry (Walter) Harmon 1944 - Baseball player
• John Kay 1944 - Musician (Steppenwolf)
• Ed O'Neill 1946 - Actor ("Married....with Children")
• Tom Clancy 1947 - Author
• Dan Lauria 1947 - Actor ("The Wonder Years", "Stakeout")
• David Letterman 1947 - TV host, comedian
• Scott Turow 1949 - Author ("Presumed Innocent", "The Burden of Proof")
• David Cassidy 1950 - Singer, actor ("The Partridge Family")
• Reuben Gant 1952 - Football player
• Pat Travers 1954 - Singer
• Andy Garcia 1956 - Actor ("When a Man Loves a Woman", "The Untouchables")
• Herbert Grönemeyer 1956

  
• Alex Briley 1956 - Singer (The Village People)
• Vince Gill 1957 - Musician, singer (Bluegrass Alliance, Sundance, The Cherry Bombs, Pure Prairie League)
• Suzzanne Douglas 1957 - Actress
• Will Sergeant 1958 - Musician (Echo & the Bunnymen, Elektrafixion)
• Art Alexakis 1962 - Musician (Everclear)
• Deryl Dodd 1964 - Country singer
• Amy Ray 1964 - Singer, musician (Indigo Girls)
• Nicholas Hexum 1970 - Musician (311)
• Shannen Doherty 1971 - Actress ("Beverly Hills 90210", "Little House on the Prairie")
• Nicholas Brendon 1971 - Actress ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer")
• Guy Berryman 1978 - Musician (Coldplay), Coldplay Official Store
• Claire Danes 1979 - Actress ("Little Women", "Law & Order")
• Jennifer Morrison 1970 - Actress ("House M.D.")
• Jelena Dokic 1983 - Tennis player
• Brendon Urie 1987 - Musician ("Panic at the Disco")
• Brooklyn Decker 1987
• Saoirse Ronan 1994 - Actress ("Atonement," "The 16 Lovely Bones")