Tuesday, February 25, 2020

blatherskite \BLATH-er-skahyt\, noun: 

1. a person given to voluble, empty talk.
2. nonsense; blather.

Blatherskite was a popular colloquialism in the U.S. in the early 1800s, thanks in part to a Scottish song called "Maggie Lauder," which featured the word (spelled bletherskate) and was popular among soldiers during the American Revolutionary War.

umbrella hitchhike

• to hitch a walk under a stranger's umbrella when it's raining.

Paul: It was raining so hard I had to umbrella hitchhike a couple blocks on my way here.

James: Dude, that's pretty dangerous, invading a stranger's personal space like that.

Holiday

• Shrove Tuesday: aka Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras season, and Carnival season, in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foodsbefore the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday.

History

• Regnans in Excelsis: Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I of England in support of the Roman Catholic rebellion; it did not go well (1570)
• Hiram Rhoades Revels: became the first African-American senator, filling the unexpired term of Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis (1870)
• hockey: was first televised; the Rangers beat the Canadiens 6-2 at Madison Square Garden (1940)
• Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Liston: the boxer later known as Muhammad Ali won the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston at age 22; he lost it and rewon it twice more (1964)

Birthdays

• Pierre Auguste Renoir 1841 - Impressionist artist
• Adelle Davis 1904
  

  
• Zeppo Marx 1909 - Comedian (Marx Brothers)
• Millicent Fenwick 1910 - Human rights activists
• Jim Backus 1913 - Actor (voice of Mr. Magoo, "Gilligan's Island", "Rebel Without a Cause")
• Ralph Baldwin 1916 - Horse trainer
• Anthony Burgess 1917 - Author ("A Clockwork Orange")
• Bobby Riggs 1918 - Tennis player
• Monte Irvin 1919 - Baseball player
• 'Texas Rose' Bascom 1922 - Trick roper
• (Elsie) Lisa Kirk 1925 - Singer, actress ("The Producers")
• Bert Remsen 1925 - Actor ("Dick Tracy")
• Ralph Stanley 1927 - Musician (Stanley Brothers)
• René Thomas 1927 - Musician, jazz guitarist
• Ralph Stanley 1927
• Larry Gelbart 1928 - Producer, writer
• Tommy Newsom 1929 - Musician, arranger, composer, back-up conductor (NBC's Tonight Show band)
• John Astin 1930
• Faron Young 1932 - singer, actor, founder of Music City News magazine
• Linda Cristal (Marta Victoria Moya Burges) 1934 - Actress
• Tony Lema 1934 - Golfer
• Sally Jessy Raphael (Sally Lowenthal) 1935 - TV talk show host
• Tom Courtenay 1937 - Actor ("Doctor Zhivago", "The Last Butterfly")
• Bob Schieffer 1937 - Report
• Diane Baker 1938
• Denny Lemaster 1939 - Baseball player
• Ron Santo 1940 - Baseball player
• Carl Eller 1942 - Football player
• Karen Grassle 1944 - Actress ("Little House on the Prairie")
• Matt Guokas 1944 - Basketball player
• Jack Handey 1961 - Author, TV writer ("Saturday Night Live")
• Cesar Cedeno 1951 - Baseball player
• Lee Evans 1947 - Track and field athlete
• Dennis Diken 1957 - Musician (Smithereens)
• Stuart Wood 1957 - Musician (Bay City Rollers)
• Mike Peters 1959 - Musician (Alarm)
  

  
• Veronica Webb 1965 - Actress
• Téa Leoni 1966 - Actress ("Jurassic Park III", "Deep Impact")
• Carrot Top 1967 - Comedian
• Sean Astin 1971 - Actor ("The Goonies", "The War of the Roses", "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring")
• Julio Iglesias Jr. 1973 - Singer
• Chelsea Handler 1975 - hack comedian
• Rashida Jones 1976 - Actress ("The Office", "Parks and Recreation")
  Michelle Lewin 1986 - Fitness Model

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