Friday, January 30, 2009

bemoan \bi-MOHN\, verb:

• to moan about or weep for; mourn

Old English bemænan.

bedgasm

• A feeling of complete and utter euphoria which peaks when climbing into bed at the end of an 18-hour workday, a long road trip or hours of extremely strenuous physical activity. Under perfect conditions, the physical release has been likened to that of an intense sexual experience.

It was a three hour drive in the middle of the night, I could barely stay awake. When I got home, I climbed under the covers and had a ten-minute bedgasm.

Trivia

How did the tiny town of Why, Arizona, get its name?

• From the Y-shaped intersection of two interstate highways that passed through it.

Today in History:

• Mahatma Gandhi: non-violent Indian political and spiritual leader was assassinated in Delhi by a Hindu extremist; Gandhi had been working to promote Hindu-Muslim unity (1948)
• Tet Offensive: the Vietcong launched a series of surprise attacks (1968)
• Bloody Sunday: 14 civil rights protesters were shot to death by British troops in Derry, Northern Ireland (1972)
• Iraq: held its first free election in 50 years (2005)

Today's Birthdays:

• Barbara Tuchman (1912-1989): Pulitzer Prize-winning author, The Guns of August; writers Edward Martyn (1859-1923), Richard Brautigan (1935-1984) and Michael Dorris (1945-1997) share this birth date
• Boris Spassky (72): chess master
• Dick Cheney (68): former US vice president; also, world leaders Félix Faure (1841-1899) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) and Abdullah II (47)
• Phil Collins (58): drummer/singer, for Genesis and solo; musician Marty Balin (67) also celebrates a birthday today
• Christian Bale (35): actor, The Dark Knight, 3:10 to Yuma; also, actors Dorothy Malone (84), Gene Hackman (79), Tammy Grimes (75), Vanessa Redgrave (72), Charles S. Dutton (58), Brett Butler (51) and Wilmer Valderrama (29)