Turtle Thursday: Dante [2008]

Dante LOVED the camera. 

Here my concentric phased diamiondback terrapin strikes a pose for our Olympus Fe-180. 

Lovely shot!

  

 

  

Thursday, August 6, 2026

thingamajig \ THING-uh-muh-jig \ , noun;

• Informal. a gadget or other thing for which the speaker does not know or has forgotten the name. 

Origin: The origins of thingamajig are unknown, though it first appeared in English in the 1870s. It is an extended form of the word thing that likely came from an earlier form, thingum.

NIMBY

• Not In My Back Yard; someone who opposes something built right by where they live.

NYC closed Riker's Island  and wants to open a mini-jail down the block from me? NIMBY!

History

• Holy Roman Empire: came to an end with the abdication of Francis II (1806)
• Bolivia: declared independence from Spain (1825)
• electric chair: was first used as method of execution, on murderer William Kemmler at New York's Auburn Prison (1890)
• Gertrude Ederle: became the first woman to swim the English Channel (1926)
• Enola Gay: US bomber dropped an atomic weapon on Hiroshima, killing over 60,000 instantly; it was the first-ever use of nuclear warfare (1945)
• Voting Rights Act: was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson; it prohibited states from imposing racial discrimination at the polls based on literacy or financial ability (1965)
• Gerry Adams: the Sinn Féin president and British PM Tony Blair meet; it's the first time in 76 years that a British leader met with an IRA ally (1997)

 

Birthdays

• Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809
  
• Leo Carrillo 1881
• Louella Parsons 1881
• Sir Alexander Fleming 1881
• Scott Nearing 1883
• Hoot Gibson 1892
• Harry E. Cooper 1904 - Golfer
• Helen Hull Jacobs 1908
• Charles Crichton 1910
• Lucille Ball 1911
• Robert Mitchum 1917
  
• Buddy Collette 1921
• Sir Freddie Laker 1922
• Andy Warhol 1928
• Abbey Lincoln 1930
• Paul Bartel 1938
• Peter Bonerz 1938
• Ray Buktenica 1942
• Michael Anderson Jr. 1943
• Andy Messersmith 1945
• Dorian Harewood 1950
• 
  Catherine Hicks 1951
• Pat McDonald (Timbuk 3) 1953
• Stepfanie Kramer 1956
• Randy DeBarge 1958
• Peggy Lynn (The Lynns) 1964
• Patsy Lynn (The Lynns) 1964
• Lisa Stewart 1968
• Geri Estelle Halliwell (Spice Girls) 1972
• Soleil Moon Frye 1976
• Marisa Miller 1978
• Adrianne Curry 1982
• Nessa Barrett 2002
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

Hasselhoff Wednesday: On / Hoff

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

arsy-varsy \ AHR-see-VAHR-see \ , adjective; 

• Informal . wrong end foremost; completely backward: an arsy-varsy way of doing things . 

adverb: 

• Informal . in a backward or thoroughly mixed-up fashion: The papers are all filed arsy-varsy . 

Origin: This term first came to English in the 1530s. It is probably an alteration of the Latin vice versa with arse substituted to make a facetious rhyming compound. 

making base contact

• Making Base Contact; "saying" meaning contacting your wife, girlfriend, or serious female relationship via your cellular phone, just like as paramedics make base contact to get additional orders for patient care, one can give ones female an updated status on what the boys and yourself are doing.

you: hey guys so are we getting ready to head to the bar now?
friends: yeah sure were leaving in ten, can't wait to get smashed!!
you: sounds great lemme just go "make base contact" first
ORyou: great if you leave any sooner Ill be over by the garage "making base contact"
 

History 

• federal income tax: was levied for the first time in the US; it aimed to help pay the bills for the Civil War and was rescinded in 1872 (1861)
• "Damn the torpedoes": famous order was given by Union Admiral David G. Farragut as he led his fleet at Mobile Bay during the Civil War (1864)
• Little Orphan Annie: Harold Gray's comic strip debuted (1924)
• Nelson Mandela: South African resistance leader and later president was arrested and jailed; his imprisonment lasted till 1990 (1962)
• Marilyn Monroe: was found dead after overdosing on sleeping pills (1962)
• Test Ban Treaty: the US, Britain and the Soviet Union agreed to prohibit nuclear weapon tests underwater, in the atmosphere and in outer space (1963)

Birthdays

• Guy DeMaupassant 1850
• Conrad Aiken 1889
• Andrew Alford 1904
• John Huston 1906
  
• Robert Taylor 1911
• David Brian 1914
• Jeri Southern 1926
• Richie Ginterh 1930
• Neil A. Armstrong 1930
• Vern Gosdin 1934
• Cammie King 1934
• John Saxon 1935
• Zakes Mokae 1935
• 
  Damita Jo 1940
• Bobby Braddock 1940
• Rick Huxley (Dave Clark Five) 1942
• Sammi Smith 1943
• Jimmy Webb 1946
• Erika Slezak 1946
• Loni Anderson 1946
• Greg Leskiw (Guess Who) 1947
• Rick Derringer 1947
• Holly Palance 1950
• Samantha Sang 1953
• 
  Maureen McCormick 1956
• Pat Smear (Foo Fighters) 1959
• Pete Burns (Dead Or Alive) 1959
• Mark O'Connor 1961
• Tawny Kitaen 1961
• Patrick Ewing 1962
• Adam Yauch (M.C.A. of the Beastie Boys) 1964
• Elvis Duran 1964
• Jonathon Silverman 1966
• Terri Clark 1968
• Brendon Ryan Barrett 1986
• Xenia Tchoumitcheva (model / blogger) 1987 
• Jessica Nigri (cosplayer) 1989 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

Review Tuesday: The Coffee Table (Original title: La mesita del comedor) 2022

  

 

The Coffee Table

(Original title: La mesita del comedor)

2022 

A man regrets buying a coffee table.

From no where my BFF brought this movie up to watch. A dark comedy? Okay...

 

Jesus (David Pareja) is stubbornly set on the thought to buy a coffee table that his bitch-wife Maria (Estafania de los Santos) hates. Since their entire marriage has been doing everything her way, Jesus wants this ONE THING. He brings the table home and begins assembly, only to discover that a part is missing. He puts the job aside while his wife goes to the grocery and he babysits their newly-born son. And then he accidentally kills the baby with the coffee table. 

 

That's like, the first 15 minutes or so. The rest of the movie is Jesus trying to comprehend what happened and deal with the trauma. 

 

To be honest, I didn't like this movie. The characters are all awful and the story is horrific. Plus it's in Spanish and it was hard trying to follow what's going on while reading the subtitles. It wasn't my thing.   

 

 

  

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

agrarian \ uh-GRAIR-ee-uhn \ , adjective;

1. rural; agricultural. 
2. relating to land, land tenure, or the division of landed property: agrarian laws . 
3. pertaining to the advancement of agricultural groups: an agrarian movement . 
4. composed of or pertaining to farmers: an agrarian co-op. 
5. growing in fields; wild: an agrarian plant. 

noun:

1. a person who favors the equal division of landed property and the advancement of agricultural groups. 

Origin: Agrarian entered English in the late 1500s. It finds it roots in the Latin term ager meaning "field."

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Traffic Tourette's

• The uncontrollable urge to scream obscenities at other drivers who infringe on your space (whether real or imagined).

Jay: Man that guy just cut you off.

Mark: That @#$% can't drive worth @#$%.

Jay: I see your traffic tourette's is getting worse.

History 

• freedom of the press: a legal precedent was established when newspaper editor John Peter Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel; he had published criticism of the colonial governor of New York (1735)
• US Coast Guard: was launched as the Revenue-Marine, later called the Revenue Cutter Service (1790)
• Anne Frank: teenage Jewish diarist was discovered, along with her family, by Nazis; their hiding place was revealed by a Dutch informant and they were sent to concentration camps, where most perished (1944)
• Burkina Faso: West African republic received its new name meaning "land of upright people"; it was formerly called Upper Volta (1984)

Birthdays

• Joseph Scaliger 1540 - French religious leader and scholar
  

  
• Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792 - Poet
• Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon 1900 - Known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
• Louis Armstrong 1901 - Musician, singer
• Glenn Cunningham 1909 - Olympic runner
• William Howard Shumam 1910 - Composer
• Raoul Wallenberg 1912 - Swlitedish humanitarian during World War II
• Wesley Addy 1913 - Actor
• Helen Thomas 1920 - Journalist
• Herb Ellis 1921 - Musician
• Dallas Green 1934 - Singer, songwriter
• Joe Leonard 1934 - Motorcycle racer and racecar driver
• Elsbeary Hobbs 1936 - Musician (The Drifters)
• Frankie Ford 1939 - Musician, singer
• Timi Yuro 1940 - Singer
• Richard Belzer 1944 - Actor, comedian ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit")
• Klaus Schultze 1947 - Musician (Tangerine Dream)
• John Riggins 1949 - Football player
• Kristoffer Tabori 1952 - Actor
• Maire Ni Bhraaonion 1952 - Musician (Clannad)
• Billy Bob Thornton 1955 - Actor
• Mary Slaney (Mary Teresa Decker) 1958 - Runner
• Kym Karath 1958 - Actress ("The Sound of Music")
• Ian Broudie 1958 - Musician (Lightning Seeds)
• Allison Adelle Hedge Coke - Poet, author (books)
• Robbin Crosby 1959 - Musician (RATT)
• Barack Hussein Obama1961 - 44th President of the United States / worst president EVER
• Roger Clemens 1962 - Baseball player
• Paul Reynolds 1962 - Musician (A Flock of Seagulls)
• Dennis Lehane 1965 - Author
• Rob Cieka 1968 - Musician (Boo Radleys)
• Daniel Dae Kim 1968 - Actor ("Lost") 
• Michael DeLuise 1969 - Actor
• Jeff Gordon 1971 - Race car driver
• Marques Houston 1981 - Musician (Immature)
• Dylan Sprouse 1992 - Actor
• Cole Sprouse 1992 - Actor

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