Wednesday, April 8, 2026

fussbudget \ FUHS-buhj-it \ , noun; 

• a fussy or needlessly fault-finding person.

Origin: An Americanism dating from around 1900, fussbudget is a portmanteau of fuss and budget . Though the origins of fuss are unknown, budget comes from the Middle French term meaning "bag." 

rich uncle

• Uncle Sam. so named for government's spending habits.

our rich uncle better cut back on his spending my money.

History

• Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.: the US Supreme Court ruled that the income tax in effect at the time was unconstitutional (1895)
• Times Square: Manhattan area was renamed in honor of then-tenant The New York Times (1904)
• WPA: Congress approved FDR's program to alleviate joblessness during the Great Depression (1935)
• League of Nations: assembled for the last time (1946)
• Hank Aaron: hit his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record (1974)
• Clint Eastwood: movie star was elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea (1986)

Birthdays

• Guatama Buddha 563 BC - 'The Enlightened One' in the Buddhist faith
• Philip IV (Spain and Portugal) 1605
• Ray (O. Raymond) Knight 1872 - 'Father of Canadian Rodeo'
• Mary Pickford 1893 - Actress ("Coquette", "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm")
• Sonja Henie 1910 - Ice skater
• Elizabeth "Betty" Ford (Bloomer) 1918 - Wife of 38th U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, founder of the Betty Ford Clinic
• Carmen McRae 1922 - Jazz singer
• Franco Corelli 1923 - Tenor
• Edward Mulhare 1923 - Actor ("Megaforce", "Knight Rider")
• Ruth Gaines 1872 - Playwright
• Shecky Greene (Sheldon Greenfield) 1926 - Comedian, actor ("Laverne and Shirley", "Northern Exposure")
• Charlie (Charles Richard) ‘Smokey’ Maxwell 1927 - Baseball player
• John Gavin (Anthony Golenour) 1928 - Actor ("Psycho")
• Monty Sunshine 1928 - Jazz musician
• Jacques Brel 1929 - Singer, songwriter
• Dorothy Tutin 1930 - Actress
• Fred Ebb 1936 - Lyricist
• Klaus Löwitsch 1936 - Actor
• Symore Hersh 1937 - Investigative reporter
• Kofi Annan 1938 - United Nations secretary-general
• John Havlicek 1940 - Basketball player
• J.J. Jackson 1941 - Singer
• Peggy Lennon 1941 - Singer (Lennon Sisters)
• Darlene Gillespie 1941 - TV personality ("The Mickey Mouse Club")
• John (Frederick) Hiller 1943 - Baseball player
• Roger Chapman 1944 - Singer
• Hywel Bennett 1944 - Actor
• Stuart Pankin 1946 - Actor ("Irreconcilable Differences", "Arachnophobia")
• Jim (James Augustus) "Catfish" Hunter 1946 - Baseball player
• Steve Howe 1947 - Musician (Yes, Asia)
  
• Mel Schacher 1951 - Musician (Grand Funk Railroad)
• Chris Frantz 1951 - Musician (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club)
• Peter Case 1954 - Musician
• John Schneider 1954 - Singer, actor ("Dukes of Hazzard", "Smallville")
• Gary Carter 1954 - Baseball player
• Barbara Kingsolver 1955 - Writer
• Donita Sparks 1961 - Musician (L7)
• Izzy Stradlin 1962 - Musician (Gun's 'N Roses)
• Julian Lennon 1963 - Musician, son of John Lennon (Beatles), Today in Beatles History
• Dave Rountree 1963 - Musician (Blur)
• Donita Sparks 1963 - Musican (L7)
• Biz Markie 1964 - Rapper
• Robin Wright Penn 1966 - Actress
• Patricia Arquette 1968 - Actress ("True Romance", "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors"), sister of Roseanna Arquette
• Craig Honeycutt 1970 - Singer (Everything)
• Darren Jessee 1971 - Musician (Ben Fold Five)
• Emma Caulfield 1973 - Actress ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Beverly Hills 90210")
  Katee Sakhoff 1980 - Actress (BSG Starbuck, SW: TCW)
• Taylor Kitsch 1981 - Actor ("John Carter")
• Taran Noah Smith 1984 - Actor ("Home Improvement")
• Kirsten Storms 1984 - Actress ("Days of Our Lives")
  Gabriella Wilde 1989 - Actress ("Carrie") 
  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

Review Tuesday: Bring Her Back (2025)

  

 

Bring Her Back

2025 

A couple of recently orphaned "children" are placed in a very suspicious foster home. 

My BFF told me that her service had been repeatedly suggesting that she might like to watch this movie BRING HER BACK, based on the scenes that it showed, she wanted to give it a shot, so I agreed. 

 

This movie starts off with a young blind girl (maybe 12?) named Piper (Sora Wong) and her protective older step-brother Andy (Billy Barratt). It's established that they have a close connection and Andy keeps a close eye on her. Their father dies while in the shower. They have to go into the faster care system for three months until Andy is old enough to petition for guardianship over his sister. 

 

They are placed under the foster care of Laura (Sally Hawkins) who was considered one of the top counselors in the county. She comes off as strange and prying, and the other child she's fostering is creepy, so the home isn't exactly ideal. 

 

The rest of the film is a tangle of various plot-lines that seem to trip over each other in an attempt to get to the conclusion. 

 

Honestly, I felt that the writers had an argument over how they wanted this movie to go and compromised by jamming both in. There is clearly a supernatural angle, and a psychological angle. Either one might have been fine and might have yielded a cohesive story, but a seemingly clever woman doing a bunch of things the hard way seemed pretty stupid. There are some disturbing scenes that seemed like they were there for shock value. Laura racks up an impressive body-count by the end, but it seemed like it was for nothing. Tie that into the ending and it made the movie feel like a waste of time.   

 

  

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

philately \ fi-LAT-l-ee \ , noun;

1. the collecting of stamps and other postal matter as a hobby or an investment. 
2. the study of postage stamps, revenue stamps, stamped envelopes, postmarks, postal cards, covers, and similar material relating to postal or fiscal history.

Origin: Philately entered English in the 1860s and comes from the Greek roots phil- meaning "love," and atéleia meaning "freedom from charges." This second element refers to the recipient's freedom from delivery charges thanks to the stamp affixed to the letter.

Spank bank

1. A memorable collection of mental images that one wishes to retain for master debational purposes.
2. Porn collection

"yo, 2 o'clock, see that thong?"

"yeah, that's going in the spank bank"

  

Trivia

What does an exobiologist study?

• Extraterrestrial life.

 

History

• World Health Organization: was established by the United Nations (1948)
• domino theory: US President Dwight Eisenhower first articulated the idea that if one country fell to Communism, the surrounding ones would as well (1954)
• Rwandan genocide: 100-day massacre began; more than a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists (1994)
• Mars Odyssey: robotic satellite took off; it continues to orbit the red planet (2001)

Birthdays

• William Woodsworth 1770 - Poet
• William King 1786 - 13th U.S. Vice President
• W.K. Kellogg 1860 - Industrialist in food manufacturing, most known for founding of the Kellogg Company
• Jersey Joe Walcott 1872 - Boxer
• John (Joseph) ‘Mugsy’ McGraw 1873 - Baseball player, baseball commissioner, baseball manager
• Irene Castle 1893 - Ballroom dancer
• Walter Winchell 1897 - Vaudeville performer, journalist, radio commentator
• Percy Faith 1908 - Orchestra leader, composer
• Billie Holiday 1915 - Jazz singer
• R. G. Armstrong 1917 - Actor
  
• Ralph Flanagan 1919 - Pianist, arranger
• Ravi Shankar 1920 - Musician, sitarist, was George Harrison's sitar teacher
• Mongo (Ramon) Santamaria 1922 - Bandleader, composer, musician
• James Garner (James Scott Bumgarner) 1928 - Actor ("Rockford Files", "Maverick")
• Daniel Ellsberg 1931 - Author, known for releasing the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times
• Cal Smith 1932 - Country singer
• Wayne Rogers 1933 - Actor ("M*A*S*H")
• Ian Richardson 1934 - Actor
• Bobby Bare 1935 - Country singer, actor
• Hodding Carter 1935 - Commentator
  
• Gail Cogdill 1937 - Football player
• Charlie Thomas 1937 - Singer (The Drifters)
• Freddie Hubbard 1938 - Jazz musician
• Spencer Dryden 1938 - Musician (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship)
• David Frost 1939 - TV host ("That Was the Week that Was")
• Francis Ford Coppola 1939 - Director
• Mick Abrahams 1943 - Musician (Blodwyn Pig, Jethro Tull)
• Patricia Bennett 1947 - Singer (The Chiffons)
• Carol Douglas 1948 - Singer
• John Oates 1949 - Songwriter, singer (Hall and Oates)
• Janis Ian 1950 - Singer, songwriter (Fink)
• John Dittrich 1951 - Musician (Restless Heart, The Buffalo Club)
• Bruce Gary 1952 - Musician (The Knack)
• Jackie Chan 1954 - Actor ("Rush Hour", "Rush Hour 2")
• Tony Dorsett 1954 - Football player
• James "Buster" Douglas 1960 - Boxer
• Russell Crowe 1964 - Actor ("A Beautiful Mind," "Gladiator")
• Mark Kibble 1964 - Singer (Take 6)
• Bill Bellamy 1965 - Actor
• Dave "Yorkie" Palmer 1965 - Musician (Space)
• Ronde Barber 1975 - Football player
• Tiki Barber 1975 - Football player

  

  

Happy ROBERT Day!

National Robert Day – April 6, 2026. 

National Robert Day falls on April 6 and is celebrated worldwide to honor the Roberts.

Monday, April 6, 2026

guile \ gahyl \ , noun;  

• insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity.

Origin: Though the origins of guile are unknown, it is thought to have come to Middle English from a Germanic source, by way of Old French.

fucker's remorse

• when after having sex with a person one starts to feel shame, disgust, or regret regarding the sex act and wishes they hadn't committed it

Upon waking up next to a donkey, still hung over, Jim starts to remember last night's events and has a serious case of fucker's remorse.

History

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: Mormon church was founded by Joseph Smith in Fayette, New York (1830)

  
• Olympics: the first modern games opened in Athens (1896)
• North Pole: Robert Peary and his assistant, Matthew Henson, along with four Inuit men, became the first visitors to the site; their claim has been disputed (1909)
• WWI: US declared war on Germany and entered the Great War (1917)
• Twinkie: golden sponge cake snack food with creamy filling was invented (1930)
• Teflon: nonstick coating was accidentally invented by Roy J. Plunkett (1938)

Birthdays

• Raphael Sanit 1483 - Artist
• Rose Schneiderman 1882 - U.S. women’s rights activist
• Walter Huston (Houghston) 1884 - Actor (Treasure of the Sierra Madre [1948])
• Lowell Thomas 1892 - Broadcaster, journalist
• "Pappy" Wade Ray 1913 - Country musician, entertainer ("Grand Ol' Opry")
• Herb Thomas 1923 - NASCAR auto racer
• Mimi Benzell 1924 - Opera singer
• Dorothy Donegan 1924 - Jazz pianist
• Gerry Mulligan 1927 - Jazz musician, composer
• Joi Lansing (Joyce Wassmansdoff) 1928 - Actress ("Easter Parade", "Singin’ in the Rain")
• André (Ludwig) Previn 1929 - Pianist, composer of film scores ("Gigi", "Porgy and Bess"), conductor
• Ivan Dixon 1931 - Actor ("Hogan's Heroes"), director, producer
• Merle Haggard 1937 - Country musician, songwriter
• Billy Dee (December) Williams 1937 - Actor ("The Return of the Jedi")
• Roy Thinnes 1938 - Actor ("The Invaders", "Outer Limits")
• Philip Austin 1941 - Comedian and writer
• Barry Levinson 1942 - Director, producer
• Marty (Martin William) Pattin 1943 - Baseball pitcher
• John Stax 1944 - Musician (The Pretty Things)
• John Huarte 1944 - Football player
• John Ratzenberger 1947 - Actor ("Empire Strikes Back"' "Cheers")
• Bert (Rik Aalbert) Blyleven 1951 - Baseball pitcher
• Marilu Henner 1952 - Actress ("Taxi", "Evening Shade", "Cannonball Run 2")
• Janet Lynn (Nowicki) 1953 - Figure skater, Olympic bronze medalist
• Michael Rooker 1955 - Actor (TWD)
• Warren Haynes 1960 - Musician (Gov't Mule, The Allman Brothers)
• Stan Cullimore 1962 - Musician, songwriter (The Housemartins)
• Frank Black 1965 - Singer, musician (The Pixies)
• Vince Flynn 1966 - Author
• Paul Rudd 1969 - Actor ("Friends")
• Ari Meyers 1970 - Actress ("Author! Author!", "Kate & Allie")
• Jason Hervey 1972 - Actor ("The Wonder Years", "Back to the Future")
• Markku Lappalainen 1973 - Musician (Hoobastank)
• Zach Braff 1975 - Actor ("Scrubs")
• Candace Cameron Bure 1976 - Actress ("Full House")
• Bret Harrison 1982 - Actor ("Grounded for Life")

  

 

  

I think the Easter Bunny has had ENOUGH [2026]

 

Sunday, April 5, 2026

noetic \ noh-ET-ik \ , adjective; 

1. of or pertaining to the mind. 
2. originating in or apprehended by the reason.

Origin: From the Greek noētikós meaning "intelligent," noetic has been used by English speakers since the mid-1600s.

April Fools Paranoia

• When someone is so obsessed by April Fools, they don't trust anyone and don't believe in anything on that day, or even the days before or thereafter.

-Hey man, wanna go see a movie tomorrow? 

-Haha, I see what you did there, you almost had me! 

-Dude, stop with this April Fools paranoia, I'm serious!

  

Holiday

• Easter: Christian festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as described in the New Testament

History

• Pocahontas: Algonquian princess married English colonist John Rolfe, a tobacco planter (1614)
• veto: was used by a US president for 1st time — by George Washington; it was another half century before Congress first overrode a presidential veto (1792)
• manual alphabet: Anne Sullivan breaks through to Helen Keller when she spells "water" into her hand (1887)
• Akashi Kaikyō Bridge: Japanese "Pearl Bridge" opened; it links Kobe to Awaji Island and, at 1,991 meters or 6,532 feet, is the world's longest suspension bridge (1998)

Birthdays 

• Thomas Hobbes 1588
• Elihu Yale 1649
• Joseph Lister 1827 - British surgeon, inventor (Listerine mouthwash)
• Robert Smalls 1839
• Booker T. Washington 1856 - Educator, author (Up From Slavery)
• Spencer (Bonaventure) Tracy 1900 - Actor ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1941]")
• Melvyn Douglas (Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg) 1901 - Actor ("Ghost Story", "Being There")
• Bette (Ruth Elizabeth) Davis 1908 - Actress ("Dangerous", "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?")
• Jagjivan Ram 1908 - Political leader in India
• Gregory Peck 1916 - Actor ("To Kill a Mockingbird [1962]", "The Guns of Navarone", "Captain Horatio Hornblower")
• Arthur Hailey 1920 - Author (Airport, The Final Diagnosis)
• Robert Q. Lewis 1921 - Comedian, TV quiz show panelist ("What's My Line", "To Tell the Truth")
• Gale Storm (Josephine Cottle) 1922 - Singer ("Ivory Tower"), actress ("My Little Margie")
• Stan Levey 1925 - Drummer (in band with Charlie Parker), composer
• Roger Corman 1926 - Director
• Tony Williams 1928 - Singer (Platters)
• Nigel Hawthorne 1929 - Actor ("Richard III", "Demolition")
• Cowboy Jack Clement 1931
• Billy Bland 1932 - Singer
• Frank Gorshin 1934 - Impressionist, actor ("Batman", "The Great Imposter")
  

  
• Stanley Turrentine 1934 - Saxophone player
• Colin Powell 1937 - U.S. Secretary of State, four-star general, Chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Ronnie White - Singer (The Miracles)
• Tommy Cash 1940 - Songwriter, country singer, brother of Johnny Cash
• David LaFlamme 1941
• Michael Moriarty 1941 - Actor ("Windmills of the Gods")
• Peter Greenaway 1942 - Director, writer
• Allan Clark 1942 - Singer (The Hollies)
• Maxwell Gail 1943 - Actor ("Barney Miller")
• Crispin St. Peters 1944
• Dave Holland 1944 - Musician (Judas Priest)
• Doug Favell 1945 - Hockey player
• Jane Asher 1946 - Actress
• Dr. Judith A. Resnik 1949 - Electric engineer, astronaut
• Agnetha Faltskog 1950 - Singer (ABBA)
• Marv Bateman 1950 - Football player
• Rennie (Renaldo Antonio Porte) Stennett 1951 - Baseball player
• Brad Van Pelt 1951 - Football player
• Mitch Pileggi 1952 - actor, The X-Files
• Peter Greenway 1952
• Peter Case 1954 - Musician (Plimsouls)
• Stan Ridgeway 1954 - Musician (Wall of Voodoo)
• Mike McCready 1966 - Musician (Pearl Jam)
• Troy Gentry 1967 - Country singer
• Paula Cole 1968 - Singer
• Krista Allen 1971 - hottie
• Pharrel Williams 1973 - Rapper

  

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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