Sunday, June 21, 2026

automaton \aw-TOM-uh-ton, -tn\, noun:

1. a mechanical figure or contrivance constructed to act as if by its own motive power; robot.
2. a person or animal that acts in a monotonous, routine manner, without active intelligence.
3. something capable of acting automatically or without an external motive force.

Automaton comes from the Greek autos + matos, literally meaning "self thinking." It entered English in the 1600s.

 

dick inches 

• Arbitrary (and usually incorrect) units of measurement used mostly by males. Derives from men overestimating their penis size. Dick inches are much shorter than actual inches. Hence a guy can claim to have a 9 inch penis when it is actually closer to 5-6 inches. The term "dick inches" is usually used when over-estimating non-penis measurements.

fellow one: "Finally! There's a parking spot!" 
fellow two: "No way, man...You can't park within 30 feet of a stop sign." 
fellow one: "There's plenty of room." 
fellow two: "Yeah, only if you're measuring in dick inches."

Holiday

• Father's Day: Father's Day is a secular celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and parenting by males, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving to fathers and family-oriented activities. The gifts given often have slogans such as "World's Best Dad".

Holiday

• Solstice (summer in the Northern Hemisphere; winter in the Southern)

History

• US Constitution: went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it (1788)
• Ellen Louks Fairclough: was sworn in as the first female member of the Canadian cabinet (1957)
• Women's National Basketball Association: league play began (1997)
• polio: the World Health Organization declared Europe free of the disease (2002)
• SpaceShipOne: the first privately funded and developed spacecraft was launched over the Mojave Desert and piloted into space by Michael Melvill (2004)
• Pluto: newly discovered moons were named Nix and Hydra (2006)

Birthdays

• Martha Washington 1731
• Henry Ossawa Tanner 1859
• Al Hirshfield 1903
• Jean-Paul Sartre 1905
• Jane Russell 1921
• Judy Holliday 1922
• Maureen Stapleton 1925
• Carl Stokes 1927
• O.C. Smith 1932
• Bernie Kopell 1933
• Francoise Sagan 1935
• Ron Ely 1938
• Monte Markham 1938
• Joe Flaherty 1940
• Mariette Hartley 1940
• Brian Sternberg 1943
• Ray Davies (Kinks) 1944
• Chris Britton ( The Troggs) 1945
• Brenda Holloway 1946
• Joey Molland 1947
• Michael Gross 1947
• Meredith Baxter Birney 1947
• Leon Everette 1948
• Joey Kramer (Aerosmith) 1950
• Nils Lofgren (E Street Band) 1951
• Robyn Douglas 1953
• Robert Pastorelli 1954
• Leigh McCloskey 1955
• Berke Brethed 1957
• Mark Brzezicki (Big Country) 1957
• Kathy Mattea 1959
• Marc Copage 1962
• Doug Savant 1964
• Porter Howell 1964
• Sammi Davis-Voss 1964
• Michael Dolan 1965
• Allison Moorer 1972
• Juliette Lewis 1973
• Justin Cary (Sixpence None the Richer) 1975
• Mike Einziger (Incubus) 1976
• Prince William (England) 1982

Sorry Nat

Guess he didn't care for your acting? 

Or maybe your politics?

Saturday, June 20, 2026

frippery \ FRIP-uh-ree \ , noun; 

1. finery in dress, especially when showy, gaudy, or the like. 
2. empty display; ostentation. 
3. gewgaws; trifles. 

Origin: Frippery is derived from the French frepe meaning "rag." It entered English in the late 1500s.

Daddy Soda

• Beer or an alcoholic beverage. Mostly used by little kids.

Little Kid 1: Charles was drinking daddy soda 
Little Kid 2: I tried a sip and it is icky

History

• Black Hole of Calcutta: 146 British soldiers were imprisoned in one cell in a jail in India; by morning many of the men had suffocated (1756)

  
• Flight to Varennes: faced with anti-royalty hostility during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI tried unsuccessfully to flee the country (1791)
• Queen Victoria: longest-reigning British monarch succeeded to the throne (1837)
• Toast of the Town: debuted on CBS; in 1955 it was renamed The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
• Hot line: Moscow-Washington line of direct communication was established following the Bay of Pigs standoff (1963)
• Jaws: Steven Spielberg's thriller was released, chilling viewers and shattering box office records (1975)

  

Birthdays

• Adam Ferguson 1723 - Philosopher, historian, known as Ferguson of Raith
• Charles Chesnutt (Charles Waddell Chesnutt) 1858 - Author, essayist, political activist
• Jean Moulinn 1899 - High profile member of the French Resistance during World War II
• Errol Flynn 1909 - Actor
• Pancho Segura (Francisco Olegario Segura) 1921 - Tennis player 

  
• Chet Atkins (Chester Burton Atkins) 1924 - Guitarist
• Audie Murphy 1924 - Actor, most decorated American soldier of World War II
• James Tolkan 1931 - Actor
• Martin Landau 1931 - Actor
• Olympia Dukakis 1931 - Actress
• Danny Aiello (Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr.) 1933 - Actor
• Brett Halsey 1933 - Actor
• Rossanna Podestà 1934 - Actress
• Len Dawson (Leonard Ray "Len" Dawson) 1935 - Football player
• Billy Guy 1936 - Singer (The Coasters)
• Jerry Keller (Jerry Paul Keller) 1937 - Singer, songwriter
• John Mahoney 1940 - Actor ("Frasier")
• Stephen Frears 1941 - Film director
• Brian Wilson 1942 - Musician (Beach Boys)
• Anne Murray (Morna Anne Murray) 1945 - Singer
• John McCook 1945 - Actor

  
• Bob Vila (Robert J. "Bob" Vila) 1946 - Television host ("This Old House")
• Andre Watts 1946 - Classical pianist
• Candy Clark (Candace June "Candy" Clark) 1947 - Actress
• Tina Sinatra 1948 - Producer, actress, second daughter of Frank Sinatra
• Lionel Richie 1949 - Singer, musician
• John Goodman 1952 - Actor
• Cindy Lauper 1953 - Singer
• Alan Longmuir 1953 - Musician (Bay City Rollers)
• Michael Anthony 1954 - Musician (Van Halen)
• John Taylor 1960 - Musician (Duran Duran, Neurotic Outsiders)
• Mark De Gli Antoni 1962 - Musician (Soul Coughing)
• Michael Landon, Jr. 1964 - Actor, writer, producer
• Nicole Kidman 1967 - Actress
  Chino Moreno 1973 - Singer (Deftones)
  Dreama Walker 1986 - Actress (Compliance)
  
• Christopher Mintz-Plass 1989 - Actor (McLovin from Superbad, The Mother Fucker from Kick-Ass II)

  

  

 

Rock out with some CHOP SUEY!

System of a Down

Chop Suey!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPMpMroOkwc

Wake up

Grab a brush and put a little (makeup)

Grab a brush and put a little

Hide the scars to fade away the (shakeup)

Hide the scars to fade away the

Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?

Here you go create another fable

You wanted to

Grab a brush and put a little makeup

You wanted to

Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup

You wanted to

Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?

You wanted to

I don't think you trust

In, my, self righteous suicide

I, cry, when angels deserve to die, DIE

Wake up

Grab a brush and put a little (makeup)

Grab a brush and put a little

Hide the scars to fade away the (shakeup)

Hide the scars to fade away the

Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?

Here you go create another fable

You wanted to

Grab a brush and put a little makeup

You wanted to

Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup

You wanted to

Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?

You wanted to

I don't think you trust

In, my, self righteous suicide

I, cry, when angels deserve to die

In, my, self righteous suicide

I, cry, when angels deserve to die

Father, father, father, father

Father into your hands, I commend my spirit

Father into your hands

why have you forsaken me

In your eyes forsaken me

In your thoughts forsaken me

In your heart forsaken, me oh

Trust in my self righteous suicide

I, cry, when angels deserve to die

In my self righteous suicide

I, cry, when angels deserve to die

WTF Friday: HANG TON!

Summer starts this weekend!

Friday, June 19, 2026

matrifocal \ ma-truh-FOH-kuhl, mey- \ , adjective;

1. focused or centered on the mother. 
2. of, pertaining to, or designating a family unit or structure headed by the mother and lacking a father permanently or for extended periods. 

Origin: Matrifocal is a blend of the combining form of māter , Latin for "mother," and focal , "of or pertaining to a focus." It entered English in the mid-1900s in the context of cultural anthropology.

Bat Shit Signal

• Like the Bat Signal, but used to summon someone crazy.

"Hey look, there's Gary Busey. Someone must have turned on the Bat Shit Signal."

Holiday

• Juneteenth (southern United States) - June 19 - Celebrated in Texas to commemorate the day in 1865 when Union General Granger proclaimed the slaves of Texas free. Also proclaimed as Emancipation Day by the Florida legislature. Juneteenth has become an occasion for commemoration by African Americans in many parts of the US.

History

• Belmont Stakes: had its first running (1867)
• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: were executed in New York's Sing Sing prison for conspiracy to commit espionage for the USSR (1953)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964: was approved after outlasting an 83-day US Senate filibuster
• The Rocky Horror Show: romped for the first time, on stage in London (1973)
• John Neumann: Philadelphia bishop became the first US male saint when he was canonized by Pope John Paul II (1977)
• Garfield: Jim Davis's comic strip about a lazy, overeating cat debuted (1978)

Birthdays

• Blaise Pascal 1623
• Moe Howard 1897
• Charles Cunningham Boycott 1897
• Elbert Hubbard 1856
• Guy Lombardo 1902
• Lou Gehrig 1903
• Earl Bascom 1906
• Mildred Natwick 1908
• Abe Fortas 1910
• Martin Gabel 1912
• Lester Flatt 1914 - Musician (Flatt and Scruggs)
• Pat Buttram 1917
• Pauline Kael 1919
• Louis Jourdan 1920
• Shelley Mayfield 1924
• Nancy Marchand 1928
• Pier Angeli 1932
• Marisa Pavan 1932
• Gena Rowlands 1930 - Actress
• Tommy DeVito 1936 - Singer (The Four Seasons)
• Robert Aspromonte 1938
• Al Wilson 1939
• Spanky McFarlane 1942 - Musician (Spanky and Our Gang)
• Aung San Suu Kyi 1945 - Politician
• Salman Rushdie 1947 - Author

  
• Walt McKechnie 1947
• Phylicia Rashad 1948 - Actress
• Ann Wilson 1951 - Musician (Heart)
• Larry Dunn 1953 - Musician (Earth, Wind & Fire)
• Kathleen Turner 1954 - Actress
• Doug Stone 1956
• Mark DeBarge 1959 - Musician (DeBarge)
• Paula Abdul (Paula Julie Abdul) 1962 - Singer, dancer, judge on "American Idol"
• Brian Vander Ark 1964
• Andy Lauer 1965
• Robin Tunney 1972 - Actress
• Bumper Robinson 1974
• Poppy Montgomery 1975 - Actress ("Without a Trace")

  Garfield 1978 - comic strip cat invented by Jim davis
• Zoe Saldana 1978 - Actress ("Avatar" "Star Trek")
• Lauren Lee Smith 1980 - Actress ("CSI")

.