Wednesday, April 3, 2019

serpentine \SUR-puhn-teen, -tahyn\, adjective:

1. having a winding course, as a road; sinuous.
2. of, characteristic of, or resembling a serpent, as in form or movement.
3. shrewd, wily, or cunning.

noun:

1. a device on a harquebus lock for holding the match.
2. a cannon having any of various bore sizes, used from the 15th to the 17th century.
3. Skating. a school figure made by skating two figure eights that share one loop.

Serpentine made its way into English in the 1400s from the French serpentin. This term ultimately comes from the Proto-Indo-European word serp, which describes the creeping motion of a snake.

 

Facebook insomnia

• A condition - generally found in, but not limited to, suburban teenagers - under which, afflicted persons deprive themselves of sleep in favor of repeatedly refreshing ones Facebook 'News Feed' in hopes and/or anticipation of a new 'Status Update' or 'Wall Post' from ones friends.

David: Jesus Christ! Becky, you look like shit.

Becky: Yeah I had a killer case of Facebook insomnia, didn't get to bed til 6 AM

David: Get a life, Becky.

 

Trivia
What end did the evil queen meet in the original version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”?

• In the 1812 Grimm Brothers fairy tale “Little Snow-White,” the queen was forced to put on a pair of red-hot iron shoes at Snow-White’s wedding, and dance until she collapsed and died.

History

• Jesse James: outlaw met his end, shot in the back by Robert Ford, a member of his own gang (1882)
• Marshall Plan: President Truman signed over some $13 billion in aid for post-war Europe (1948)
• TV Guide: was published for the first time, with the infant Desi Arnaz, Jr., on the cover (1953)
• Super Outbreak: the largest spate of deadly tornadoes to hit the US began; 148 tornadoes rampaged across 13 states (1974)
• Unabomber: mail-order anti-technology terrorist Theodore Kaczynski was arrested in his cabin outside Lincoln, Montana (1996)
• iPad: Apple's version of a touch-screen tablet PC was first released (2010)

Birthdays

• Washington Irving 1783 - Author ("Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow")
• Edward Everett Hale 1822
• William M. (Marcy) "Boss" Tweed 1823 - Political boss, known for his Tweed "Ring" that stole millions of dollars from New York City
• John Burroughs 1837 - Author
• Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey 1888
• George Jessel 1898 - Comedian, actor
• Sally Rand 1904
• Herb Caen 1916
• Jan Sterling (Adriance) 1923 - Actress
• Doris Day (Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff) 1924 - Singer, actress
• Marlon Brando 1924 - Actor ("The Godfather", "Apocalypse Now")
• Don Gibson 1928 - Songwriter, singer
• Miyoshi Umeki 1923 - Actress
• Helmut Kohl 1930 - Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1982-1998

  
• Rod Funseth 1933 - Golfer
• Jane Goodall 1934 - Anthropologist, author
• Jimmy McGriff 1936
• Sandra Spuzich 1937 - Golfer
• Jeff Barry 1938
• Jan Barry 1941 - Songwriter, singer (Jan and Dean)
• Marsha Mason 1942 - Actress
• Wayne Newton 1942 - Singer
• Jonathan Lynn 1943 - Actor, director, writer
• Tony Orlando (Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis) 1944 - Singer
• Barry Pritchard 1944 - Musician (The Fortunes)
• Bernie (Bernard) Parent 1945 - Hockey goalie
• Richard Manuel 1945 - Musician (The Band)
• Dee Murray 1946 - Musician (Elton John's band)
• Donny Anderson 1949 - Football player
• Richard Thompson 1949 - Musician (Fairport Convention)
• Mel Schacher 1951 - Musician (Grand Funk Railroad)
• Mick Mars 1956 - "Musician" (Motley Crue)
• Alec Baldwin (Alexander Rae Baldwin III) 1958 - Actor
• David Hyde Pierce 1959 - Actor ("Frasier")
• Eddie Murphy 1961 - Comedian ("Saturday Night Live"), actor ("48 Hrs.", "Beverly Hills Cop", "Doctor Doolittle")
• Sebastian Bach 1968 - Singer (Skid Row)
• Wes Berggren 1971 - Musician (Tripping Daisy)
• Jennie Garth 1972 - Actress ("Beverly Hills 90210")
• Leona Lewis 1985 - Singer
  Cobie Smulders 1982 - Actress (How I Met Your Mother, Avengers)
• Amanda Bynes 1986 - Actress