Monday, January 17, 2011

offal \AW-fuhl\, noun:

1. The edible internal parts of an animal, such as the heart, liver, and tongue.

2. Dead or decomposing organic matter.

3. Refuse; rubbish.

Offal is a combination of off and fall, referring to parts fallen or cut off.

Emotional dump

• Unloading all of your emotional crap unmercifully onto one or more of your friends.

Jill called today and took the longest emotional dump on me.

Trivia

How old was Martin Luther King Jr. when he entered college?

• Fifteen. He skipped the ninth and twelfth grades in high school.

Holiday

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

History

• Queen Liliuokalani: queen of the Hawaiian Islands was deposed by sugar planters and other annexationists after she tried to return power to the monarchy (1893)
• Virgin Islands: prompted by fear of German expansion, the US bought the islands from Denmark for $25 million; its inhabitants became US citizens 10 years later (1917)
• Great Brinks Robbery: 11 men stole over $2 million in Boston in what was then the biggest US robbery; they were eventually caught (1950)
• Operation Desert Storm: air offensive was launched in the Gulf War to remove the Iraqi army from the Persian Gulf kingdom of Kuwait (local time; in the US it was still the previous day) (1991)

Birthdays

• Anne Brontë (1820-1849): the less famous sister of Charlotte and Emily
• David Lloyd George (1863-1945): British PM; also, duke Philip II of Burgandy (1342-1404) and statesman Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
• Al Capone (1899-1947): gangster who perpetrated the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
• Nevil Shute (1899-1960): author, On the Beach
• Betty White (89): actor, The Golden Girls, The Proposal; also, screen personalities Eartha Kitt (1927-2008), James Earl Jones (80), Maury Povich (72), Andy Kaufman (1949-1984), Steve Harvey (55), Jim Carrey (49), Josh Malina (45), Naveen Andrews (42), Freddy Rodriguez (36) and Zooey Deschanel (31)
• Vidal Sassoon (82): hair stylist to the stars
• Mick Taylor (63): rock 'n roll musician; plus, musicians Sheila Hutchinson (58), Steve Earle (56), Paul Young (55), Susanna Hoffs (52), Shabba Ranks (45), Kid Rock (40) and Ray J (30)
• Michelle Obama (47): FLOTUS
• Dwyane Wade (29): NBA guard; also, athletes Don Zimmer (80) and Muhammad Ali (69)