Thursday, April 18, 2019

demimonde \DEM-ee-mond; Fr. duh-mee-MAWND\, noun:

1. a group characterized by lack of success or status: the literary demimonde.
2. (especially during the last half of the 19th century) a class of women who have lost their standing in respectable society because of indiscreet behavior or sexual promiscuity.
3. a demimondaine.
4. prostitutes or courtesans in general.
5. a group whose activities are ethically or legally questionable: a demimonde of investigative journalists writing for the sensationalist tabloids.

Demimode comes to English from the French demi- + monde literally meaning "half world." The phrase was coined and popularized by Alexander Dumas, fils.

 

Manager trois

• When you can't figure out who your boss is but you know you're getting royally fucked.

Louis asked Stewart for projections on software sales by Thursday. At the same time, Barkley is hammering Stew about the sales force project. Nobody has conducted his mid-year review, and neither boss is clear about who is going to do it. Sounds like he's in a manager trois.

History

• San Francisco earthquake: ignited an inferno, killing hundreds and reducing the city to shambles (1906)
• washateria: the first laundromat opened, in Fort Worth, Texas (1934)
• Éire: formally withdrew from the British Commonwealth and became the Republic of Ireland (1949)
• London Bridge: the Thames crossing was sold to American Robert T. McCulloch, who later had it rebuilt in Arizona (1968)
• Wayne Gretzky: NHL legend played his last pro hockey game at NYC's Madison Square Garden (1999)

Birthdays

• George Henry Lewes 1817
• Clarence Darrow 1857 - Attorney, famous for his part in the Scopes 'monkey trial'
• Sam (Samuel Earl) Crawford 1880 - Baseball player
• Leopold Stokowski 1882 - Conductor
• Sylvia Fisher 1910
• Tony Mottola 1918 - Guitarist, arranger for Perry Como's TV variety show
• Hal Galper 1938
• Barbara Hale 1922 - Actress ("Perry Mason", "Airport")
• Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown 1924
• Clive Revill 1930 - Actor ("The Sea Wolf", "The Empire Strikes Back")
• James Drury 1934
• Don Ohl 1936 - Basketball player
• Robert Hooks 1937 - Actor ("Star Trek III: The Search for Spock", "Passenger 57")
• Hal Galper 1938 - Jazz pianist (Hal Galper Quintet), author ("The Touring Musician")
• Richie Pettibone 1938 - Football player
• Mike Vickers 1941 - Musician (Manfred Mann)
• Walt Sweeney 1941 - Football player
• Steve Blass 1942 - Baseball player
• Pete Gogolak 1942 - Football player
• Jochen Rindt 1942 - Auto racer
• Hayley Mills 1946 - Actress ("The Parent Trap"), singer
• Alexander "Skip" Spence 1946 - Musician (Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane)
• James Woods 1947 - Actor ("The Onion Field", "Casino")
• Dorothy Lyman 1947 - Actress ("All My Children")
• Cindy Pickett 1947
• Walt Richmond 1947 - Musician (Tractors)
• Nate Archibald 1948 - Basketball player
• Catherine Malfilano 1948
• Geoff Bodine 1949 - Auto racer
• Rick Moranis 1954 - Actor ("Parenthood", "Ghostbusters" series, "Spaceballs")
• John James 1956 - Actor ("Search for Tomorrow", "As the World Turns")
• Eric Roberts 1956 - Actor ("Doctor Who", "The Coca-Cola Kid"), brother of actress Julia Roberts
• Melody Thomas Scott 1956
• Les Pattinson 1958 - Musician (Echo and the Bunnymen)
• Wilbur Marshall 1962 - Football player
• Jane Leeves 1963 - Actress (TV: "The Benny Hill Show" "Frazier")
• Conan O'Brien 1963 - Television personality ("Late Night with Conan O'Brien")
• Mike Mangini 1963 - Drummer (Dream Theater)
• Eric McCormack 1963
• Maria Bello 1967
• Greg Eklund 1970 - Musician (Everclear)
• Trina 1974 - Singer (Trina and Tamara)
• Mark Thomas Tremonti 1974 - Guitarist (Creed)
• Sean Maguire 1976
• Melissa Joan Hart 1976 - Actress ("Sabrina the Teenage Witch")
• Kourtney Mary Kardashian 1979
• Alia Shawkat 1989