Friday, June 26, 2009

encomium \en-KOH-mee-uhm\, noun;
plural encomiums or encomia \-mee-uh\:

• An often formal expression of warm or high praise.

Encomium derives, via Latin, from Greek enkomion, from en-, "in" + komos, "revel."
cha mon

• A more animated way of proclaiming "c'mon" or "come on."

While playing poker and you need a high card: "I need this. Cha mon ACE!"
Trivia
What country’s official name begins with the words “Oriental Republic of”?

• Uruguay’s. The word oriental reflects the country’s location on the east coast of South America.

Today in History:

• United Nations: was founded (1945)
• Ich bin ein Berliner: John F. Kennedy declared "I am a Berliner," emphasizing US support for democracy in West Germany (1963)
• UPC bar code: the first item marked in this way was scanned, in Troy, Ohio; the 10-pack of Juicy Fruit is now in the Smithsonian (1974)
• CN Tower: a Toronto landmark, the world's tallest free-standing structure on land, opened to the public (1976)
• Human Genome Project: completion of the first rough map of the human genetic code was announced at the White House (2000)

Today's Birthdays:

• Lord Kelvin (1824-1907): physicist who specialized in thermodynamics, Kelvin scale
• Dave Grusin (75): pianist and Oscar-winning composer for The Milagro Beanfield War; plus, musicians Billy Davis Jr. (69), Chris Isaak (53) and Patty Smyth (52)
• Paul Thomas Anderson (39): director and screenwriter, Boogie NIghts, There WIll Be Blood; authors Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) and Charlotte Zolotow (94) share this birth date
• Derek Jeter (35): NY Yankees star shortstop; other athletes born on this date include Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1911-1956), Greg LeMond (48), Shannon Sharpe (41), Chad Pennington (33) and Michael Vick (29)
• Jason Schwartzman (29): actor, Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited; also, actors Peter Lorre (1904-1964), Josef Sommer (75), Chris O'Donnell, Matt Letscher and Sean Hayes (all 39) and Rebecca Budig (36)