Wednesday, May 27, 2020

depredation \dep-ruh-DAY-shun\, noun:

1. An act of plundering or despoiling; a raid.
2. [Plural] Destructive operations; ravages

Depredation comes from Late Latin depraedari, "to plunder," from Latin de- + praedari, from praeda, "plunder, prey."

Manufactured Outrage 

• A falsified righteous outrage at things that are basically unimportant and meaningless, frequently employed by politicians, political activists, or the media. Politicians and talking heads use it to garner support for their causes, to claim the moral high ground and to tar their opponents; the media often just uses it in a cynical bid to increase ratings.
• Manufactured outrages of note include Nipplegate, the Monica Lewinski scandal, the 2009 tea partys, backmasked satanic lyrics, lapel pin controversies, Russian Collusion Hoax...

Just about any time you hear any politician, activist, or radio show host getting outraged about anything, really. The louder and angrier they get, the harder they're working at manufacturing it.

History

• St. Petersburg: city was founded by Peter the Great as his "window on Europe" (1703 N/S)
• Survivor: won the first running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico (1873)
• Golden Gate Bridge: opened to pedestrians; bicycles and wheelchairs are also allowed on the bridge's sidewalks (1937)
• Bismarck: German warship was attacked and sank; nearly 2,000 crew members died (1941)
• Alexander Solzhenitsyn: Soviet dissident novelist returned to Russia after 20 years in exile (1994)

Birthdays

• Ibn Khaldun (or Ibn Khaldoun) 1332 - Astronomer, economist, historian
• Cornelius Vanderbilt 1794 - Entrepreneur (shipping and railroads)
• Amelia Jenks Bloomer 1818 - American women's rights and temperance advocate
• Julia Ward Howe 1819 - Abolitionist, social activist, poet ("The Battle Hymn of the Republic")
• Wild Bill Hickok 1837 - gunfighter, scout, lawman

  
• Arnold Bennett 1867 - Novelist
• Isadora Duncan 1878 - Dancer
• Dashiell Hammett 1894 - Author
• Rachel Carson (Rachel Louise Carson) 1907 - Marine biologist, nature writer
• Vincent Price 1911 - Actor
• Hubert H. Humphrey (Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr.) 1911 - Served as Vice President under Lyndon B. Johnson
• John Cheever 1912 - Novelist, short story writer
• Herman Wouk 1915 - Author
• Yasuhiro Nakasone 1917 - Prime Minister of Japan (1982-1987)
• Christopher Lee 1922 - Actor, musician
• Henry Kissinger 1923 - Former U.S. Secretary of State
• Ramsey Lewis 1935 - Musician, composer, radio personality
• Lee Ann Merriwether 1935 - Actress (Barnaby Jones, Batman)
• Louis Gossett, Jr. 1936 - Actor
• Don Williams 1939 - Country singer
• Cilla Black 1943 - Singer, actress
• Bruce Weitz 1943 - Actor ("Hill Street Blues")
• Bruce Cockburn 1945 - Singer
• Richard Schiff 1955 - Actor ("The West Wing")
• Eddie Harsch 1957 - Musician (The Black Crowes)
• Susan Janet "Siouxsie Sioux" Ballion 1957 - Singer (Siouxsie & the Banshees)
• Neil Finn 1958 - Musician (Crowded House, Split Enz)
• Cathy Silvers 1961 - Actress ("Happy Days")
• Peri Gilpin 1961 - Actress ("Frasier")
• Adam Carolla 1964 - Comedian
• Todd Bridges 1965 - Actor ("Diff'rent Strokes")
• Sean Kinney 1966 - Musician (Alice in Chains)
• Jeff Bagwell 1968 - Baseball player
• Frank Thomas 1968 - Baseball player
• Dondre Whitfield 1969 - Actor
• Paul Bettany 1971 - Actor
• Left Eye 1971 - Singer (TLC)
• Jack McBarayer 1973 - Actor ("30 Rock")
• André 3000 (André Lauren Benjamin) 1975 - Rapper (Outkast)
• Jadakiss 1975 - Rapper
• Darnell Dockett 1981 - Football player
• Ethan Dampf 1994 - Actor ("American Dreams")