Friday, June 19, 2009

nimiety \nih-MY-uh-tee\, noun:

• The state of being too much; excess.

Nimiety is from Late Latin nimietas, from Latin nimius, "very much, too much," from nimis, "excessively."

Fish bowl TV

• Reality TV shows that depict familes and people in their daily routines, vacations, workplaces, homes etc.Same thing as Train wreck TV. Some families self-destruct for millions of people to watch. The Goselins (on Jon and Kate Plus Eight) and all their recent problems, for example. Families become famous, dysfunctional celebrities before our very eyes and ears.

Frank: My wife likes watching Jon and Kate Plus Eight and Wife Swap. But I can't stand those TV shows. It's like the people's lives are in a fishbowl.

Fred: My wife likes those shows too. I leave the room when she starts watching. There's way too much voyeurism on reality television shows these days. That's all those programs are, Fish bowl TV.

Trivia
What gift animals did Margaret Steiff make before she created her famous stuffed teddy bears?

• Elephant pincushions, in 1880. A seamstress, Steiff made them out of scrap felt as gifts, and launched her successful business when she discovered that children enjoyed playing with them.

Today in History:

• John Neumann: Philadelphia bishop became the first US male saint when he was canonized by Pope John Paul II (1977)
• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: were executed in New York's Sing Sing prison for conspiracy to commit espionage for the USSR (1953)
• The Rocky Horror Show: romped for the first time, on stage in London (1973)
• Garfield: Jim Davis's comic strip about a lazy, overeating cat debuted (1978)
• Juneteenth

Today's Birthdays:

• James I of England (1566-1625): aka James VI of Scotland
• Blaise Pascal (1623-1662): scientist, mathematician and religious philosopher
• Lou Gehrig (1903-1941): NY Yankees' "Iron Horse"
• Aung San Suu Kyi (64): winner of 1991's Nobel Peace Prize, who remains a political prisoner in Myanmar
• Paula Abdul (47): singer and American Idol judge
• Zoe Saldana (31): Uhura in Star Trek; also, actors Gena Rowlands (79), Phylicia Rashad (61), Kathleen Turner (55), Robin Tunney (37), Poppy Montgomery (34) and Paul Dano (25)