Monday, March 6, 2023

demagogue \DEM-uh-gog\, noun:

1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.

2. A leader of the common people in ancient times.

Demagogue derives from Greek demagogos, "a leader of the people," from demos, "the people" + agogos, "leading, one who leads," from agein, "to lead."

 

Lent Trap /lÉnt træp/ noun

• In couples where one party is Catholic and the other is not, the unwilling subjection of the non-Catholic to the 40-day ritual of penitence known as Lent.

1. We were going to have dinner at this great new steak place on Friday night, but Joe's got me stuck in a Lent Trap.

2. My wife Jane decided to give up sex for Lent. Worst. Lent Trap. Ever.

 

 

Trivia
How many amendments to the U.S. Constitution were proposed in the Bill of Rights passed by Congress in 1789?

• 12. The first two proposed—dealing with the number and apportionment of the House of Representatives, and Congressional pay raises—failed to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures. The remaining 10 were ratified and became the Bill of Rights.

History

• Toronto: Canada's largest city, and one of the most livable cities in the world, was incorporated (1834)
• the Alamo: fort was overrun by Mexican troops during the Texas revolution; all inside were killed (1836)
• La Traviata: Verdi's opera premiered in Venice (1853)
• Dred Scott case (1857): US Supreme Court ruled that slaves were not citizens; the decision was overturned a decade later by the 14th amendment

Birthdays

• Michelangelo Buonarroti 1475

  
• Cyrano De Bergerac 1619
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806
• Furry Lewis 1893
• Bob Wills 1905
• Lou Costello 1906
• Ed McMahon 1923
• Alan Greenspan 1926 - Federal Reserve chairman, possible zombie
• Wes Montgomery 1927
• Leroy Gordon ‘Gordo’ Cooper 1927

  
• Gabriel Garcia-Marquez 1928 - Author ("Love in the Time of Cholera")
• Lorin Maazel 1930
• Marion Barry 1936
• Sylvia Robinson 1936
• Doug Dillard 1937
• Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolaeva 1937
• Joanna Miles 1940
• Willie Stargell 1941
• Ben Murphy 1942
• Mary Wilson 1944 - Singer (Supremes)
• Dame Kiri Te Kanawa 1944
• Rob Reiner 1945 - hack / meathead
  
• Hugh Grundy 1945 - Musician (The Zombies)
• Kiki Dee 1947
• Dick Fosbury 1947
• David Gimour 1947 - Musician (Pink Floyd)
• Tom Arnold 1959 - Actor
• Skip Ewing 1964
• D.L. Hughley 1964 - Actor ("The Hughleys")
• Connie Britton 1968 - Actress
• Moira Kelly 1968 - Actress ("Caroline in the City")
• Amy Pietz 1969
• Shaquille O'Neal 1972 - Basketball player
• Chris Tomson 1984 - Musician (Vampire Weekend)