Thursday, September 24, 2026

fink \ fingk \ , verb; 

1. Slang . to inform to the police; squeal. 
2. Slang . to act as a strikebreaker; scab. 

noun: 

1. Slang . a strikebreaker. 
2. Slang . a labor spy. 
3. Slang . an informer; stool pigeon. 
4. Slang . a contemptible or thoroughly unattractive person.

Origin: Fink emerged as a slang term in the US in the early 1900s. Its origin is unknown, but some etymologists cite the German word of the same spelling, which means "a frivolous or dissolute person," as a possible lexical ancestor.

 

Layout Bitching

• The act of users posting statuses on Facebook, bitching and moaning unnecessarily about new layouts.

Person A: "WHAT THE HELL FACEBOOK, Y U ALWAYS CHANGE LAYOUT?"

Person B: "Shut the hell up and stop layout bitching."

 

confident turtle

• When one sticks their neck out so far as to avoid double chins and exude the confidence of a turtle that comes out of its shell.

She used the confident turtle to replace duck face in photos.

History

• Black Friday: Wall Street panicked as speculators tried to corner the gold market, causing a collapse (1869)
• USS Enterprise: first nuclear aircraft carrier was launched, in Newport News, Virginia (1960)
• 60 Minutes: investigative TV news-magazine debuted on CBS (1968)

Birthdays 

• John Marshall 1755
• F. Scott Fitzgerald 1896
• Don Porter 1912
• Larry Gates 1915
• Jim McKay 1921
• Sheila MacRae 1924
• Anthony Newley 1931
• Jim Henson 1936
• Barbara Allbut (The Angels) 1940
• Linda McCartney 1941 - Musician (Wings), wife of Paul McCartney (Beatles)
• Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut (The Angels) 1942
• Gerry Marsden (Gerry and the Pacemakers) 1942
• "Mean" Joe Green (NFL) 1946
• Phil Hartman 1948
• Gordon Clapp 1948

• Kevin Sorbo 1958
• Nia Vardalos 1962
• Cedric Dent (Take 6) 1962
• Rafael Palmeiro 1964
• Lisa Matthews (born Lisa Reich) 1969 (PB Playmate Apr 1990)
• Marty Mitchell (Ricochet) 1969
• Megan Ward 1969
• Marty Cintron (No Mercy) 1971
• Kyle Sullivan 1988

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

Monday, September 21, 2026

desiderium \ des-i-DEER-ee-uhm \ , noun; 

• an ardent longing, as for something lost. 

Origin: Desiderium comes from the Latin verb dēsīderāre meaning "to long for; require." It entered English in the early 1700s. 

employmentally challenged

• In today's economy, this word is quite handy when describing those who are currently without a job, jobless, or unemployed. This large group of people may or may not be receiving monthly benefits. They might be actively seeking work and honing in on their resumes or interviewing skills. More often than not, one can assume that they are glued to their couches in sweatpants, watching daytime television.

The employmentally challenged woman slept until 11 a.m. and then pretended to search for jobs on Craigslist, while spending hours and hours on Facebook.

Trivia
What futuristic novel opens with the line “It was a pleasure to burn”?

• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.

History

• French National Convention: voted to abolish the monarchy (1792)
• Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus: editorial in the New York Sun addressed an eight-year-old's doubts (1897)
• The Hobbit: J.R.R. Tolkien's classic Middle-earth novel was published (1937)
• independence: Malta (1964) and Belize (1981) become independent of the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China was proclaimed (1949)
• NFL Monday Night Football: debuted on ABC, with color commentators Howard Cosell and Don Meredith (1970)

Birthdays

• H.G. Wells 1866
  
• Chuck Jones 1912
• Rand Brooks 1918
• Larry Hagman 1931
• Leonard Cohen 1934
• Henry Gibson 1935
• James Woolsey 1941
• Dickey Lee (Patches) 1941
• Sam McDowell 1942
• Fannie Flagg 1944
• Richard Childress 1945
• Stephen King 1947
• Reggie Rucker 1947
• Don Felder (The Eagles) 1947
• Marsha Norman 1948
• Bill Murray 1950
• Kenny Starr 1953
• Arie Luyendyk 1953
• Philthy Animal (Motorhead) 1954
• Mark Levin 1957
  
• Ethan Coen 1958
• Mark Reed Levin 1958
• Dave Coulier 1959
• David James Elliot 1960
• Nancy Travis 1961
• Catherine Oxenberg 1961
• Rob Morrow 1962
• Faith Hill 1967
• Tyler Stewart (Barenaked Ladies) 1967
• Ricki Lake 1968
• Trugoy the Dove (De La Soul) 1968
• Alfonso Ribeiro 1971
• Liam Gallagher (Oasis) 1972
• Joseph Mazzello 1983
• Maggie Grace 1983 - Actress ("Lost")
• Lindsey Stirling - (violinist) 1986

  

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

klatsch \ klahch, klach \ , noun;

• a casual gathering of people, especially for refreshments and informal conversation: a sewing klatsch.

Origin: Klatsch comes from the German word of the same spelling meaning "gossip." It entered English in the 1950s.

   

Enragement ring

• A piece of jewelry, typically a ring, that is purchased for a girlfriend in an effort to make her happy after you have made her angry.

A: Wow, your girlfriend is pretty pissed that you were out all night and didn't call her. What are you going to do?

B: Yeah, you're right, she's pretty mad. I might have to buy her an 'enragement ring' to smooth things over.

History 

• Boston: was founded by Puritan settlers (1630)
• General Motors: the world's largest automobile maker was founded by William C. Durant in Flint, Michigan (1908)
• Wall Street bombing: explosives detonated in a horse-drawn wagon killed 38 people in New York City's financial district; the perpetrators were never definitively identified but the FBI suspected Italian anarchists (1920)
• Vietnam War: President Gerald Ford announced conditional amnesty for draft dodgers and deserters (1974)
• Arnold Schwarzenegger: actor-turned-California-governor became a US citizen (1983)
• Montreal Protocol: treaty that aims to protect the ozone layer was signed (1987)

Birthdays

• Louis XIV (France) 1638
• Francis Parkman 1823
• J.C. Penney 1875
• George Whitney Calhoun 1890
• Buster Mills 1908
• Allen Funt 1914
• Arleen Whelan 1916
• Marvin Middlemark 1919
• Janis Paige 1923
• Lauren Bacall 1924
• B.B. King 1925
• Charlie Byrd 1925
• Morgan Woodward 1925
• John Knowles 1926
• Peter Falk 1927
• Jack Kelley 1927
• Anne Francis 1930
• George Chakiris 1933
• Elgin Baylor 1934
• Bernie Calvert (The Hollies) 1942
• Linda Henning 1944
• Betty Kelly (Martha and the Vandellas) 1944
• Susan Ruttan 1948
• Kenney Jones 1948 - Musician (Faces, The Who)
• Ed Begley, Jr. 1949
• David Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) 1950
• Ron Blair 1952
• Earl Klugh 1953
• Colin Newman 1954
• Robin Yount 1955
• Mickey Rourke 1956
• David Copperfield 1956
• 
  Peter Zaremba (Fleshtones) 1956
• Terry McBride 1958
• Orel Hershiser 1958
• Rodney Franklin 1958
• Jane Brook 1962
• Richard Marx 1963
• Molly Shannon 1964
• Marc Anthony 1968
• Amy Poehler 1971
• Madeline Zima 1985
• Lorena B. Garcia 1986
• Jordana Lajoie 1988 (The Boys)
  

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

  

Review Tuesday: Chopping Mall (1986)

 

  

Chopping Mall

1986 

A group of youngsters are locked in a mall when the new robot security system goes berserk. 

Do you remember the great 80s horror movies? They were bad, in a good way that made them fun. That's what my BFF was looking for. 

 

For security purposes a mall goes on full lock-down nightly and additionally deploys robots to patrol the shared spaces. Of course on the very first night of the robot patrol, their control center gets an overload from a lightening bolt which fries their safety directive. Of course, a bunch of young mall employees decide to have a sex party at the furniture store that same night. It's up to the kids to avoid the sentries and survive the night. 

 

This movie is approximately what you would expect. There are some good looking women who show their boobs. The dudes are douche-bags. The robots aren't scary. The story is predictable. The writing is cheesy. Not really worth watching unless you're looking for that sort of thing.  

  

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

disambiguate \ dis-am-BIG-yoo-eyt \ , verb; 

• to remove the ambiguity from; make unambiguous: In order to disambiguate the sentence "She lectured on the famous passenger ship," you'll have to write either "lectured on board" or "lectured about."

Origin: Disambiguate entered English in the 1960s as the negative verbal equivalent to ambiguous . Interestingly, there is no verb form of ambiguous in English. 
 
grown man, verb;

• to dress formally. Originating from the Bay Area.

"You ain't gettin' into the club with a white tee or a jersey, you got to get yer grown man on. Kangols, button ups, a cuff and a crease an' that shit."

History

• St. Augustine: the oldest permanent European settlement in the US was founded (1565)
• Galveston Hurricane: made landfall; it was the deadliest natural disaster to strike the US to date (1900)
  

  
• Miss America: the annual pageant was first held in Atlantic City; 16-year-old Margaret Gorman of Washington DC was the first to be crowned (1921)
• Siege of Leningrad: nearly 2.5-year blockade of the city by the Germans in WWII began (1941)
• Star Trek: TV series recounting the adventures of the starship Enterprise premiered (1966)
• John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: opened in Washington, DC, with the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass (1971)
• Watergate: US president Gerald Ford granted his predecessor, Richard Nixon, a full pardon for "crimes he committed or may have committed" (1974)

Birthdays

• Richard the Lionhearted (England) 1157
• Antonin Dvorak 1841
• Jimmie Rodgers 1897
• Claude Pepper 1900
  
• Hillary Brooke 1914
• Sid Caesar 1922
• Peter Sellers 1925
• Harlan Howard 1927
• Patsy Cline 1932
• Willie Tyler 1940
• Alan Feinstein 1941
• Christopher Connelly 1941
• 
  Dante Drowty (Dante and The Evergreens) 1941
• Brian Cole (The Association) 1942
• Ron McKernan (Grateful Dead) 1945
• Ben Orr (Benjamin Orzechowski) (The Cars) 1947
• Ann Beattie 1947
• Will Lee 1952
• Heather Thomas 1957
• Michael Lardie (Great White) 1958
• David Steele (English Beat, Fine Young Cannibals) 1960
• 
  Marc Gordon (Levert) 1964
• Brooke Burke 1971
• David Arquette 1971
• Larenz Tate 1975
• P!nk (Alecia Beth Moore Hart) 1979 - Singer
• Jonathan Taylor Thomas 1981
     
  
   
  
  
  
  

A funny story. During the 80s I had several Heather Thomas posters in my bedroom. I had a friend who insisted that he had the issue of Playboy in which she was nude. I asked to see it a couple times but he never produced it. Now with t3h interw3b I have found NO EVIDENCE that she ever did such a spread. Moral of the story? Never lie. You never know when the truth might come out.

          

   

These are some of my fav pics of her.