Saturday, November 13, 2010

debonair \deb-uh-NAIR\, adjective:

1. Courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm.

2. Jaunty; carefree; sprightly.

Debonair is an alteration of the French phrase de bon aire, "of good lineage."

TV stoned

• A person who is completely deaf and blind to everything but his favourite show on television. He or she is unlikely to answer the phone, speak to anyone and do anything except sit and watch. He or she is also likely to be irritated or react badly if one tries to talk to him during that hour or in duration of his favourite TV shows that run in a row.

"Sorry, I can't get Bill to come to the phone. He's TV stoned at the mo. Call back after the show is over."

Trivia

What popular product—available in a wide variety of flavors—was a big flop when it was marketed with a cola flavor in 1942?

• Jell-O.

History

• Saint Brice's Day Massacre: King Ethelred of England ordered the murder of all Danes in his country (1002)
• death & taxes: Benjamin Franklin listed life's two certainties in a letter (1789)
• Holland Tunnel: the world's first long, mechanically-ventilated, underwater tunnel opened between New York and New Jersey (1927)
• Fantasia: animated musical Disney film premiered (1940)
• Bhola cyclone: the 20th century's greatest natural disaster killed hundreds of thousands in Bangladesh (1970 )
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial: "the Wall," designed by Maya Lin, was dedicated in Washington, DC (1982)

Birthdays

• St. Augustine (354-430): Church father who developed the doctrine of original sin
• Edward III (1312-1377): king of England
• Robert Louis Stevenson: author of Treasure Island (1850-1894); also, writers Edward Trelawny (1792-1881) and Mary Henrietta Kingsley (1862-1900)
• Gerard Butler (41): actor, 300, The Ugly Truth; also, actors Madeleine Sherwood (88), Joe Mantegna (63), Frances Conroy and Tracy Scoggins (both 57), Chris Noth (56), Whoopi Goldberg (55), Rex Linn (54), Neil Flynn (50), Steve Zahn (42) and Monique Coleman (30)
• Jimmy Kimmel (43): talk show host and comedian