TGIF! Friday, December 16, 2016

liminal \LIM-uh-nl\, adjective:

Relating to the point beyond which a sensation becomes too faint to be experienced.

Liminal derives from the Latin limen, "threshold."

 

Degifting

1. A mutual agreement to suspend holiday gifts for at least one season, usually within a single family or circle of friends.

2. The act of replacing useless and pointless merchandise with something more meaningful, such as a charitable donation, service project or holiday party.

3. Wal-Mart's biggest nightmare.

Due to the recession, we've decided that Degifting is the best plan for Christmas this year. Instead, we're all getting together to serve food at the homeless shelter. I really don't need another Salad Shooter. Do you?

History

• Oliver Cromwell: was sworn in as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland; he reigned for five years, till his death (1653)

  
• Boston Tea Party: rebellious American Patriots dumped tea into Boston Harbor to protest paying tea taxes to Britain (1773)
• Battle of the Bulge: German attack began in the Ardennes region of southern Belgium in WWII (1944)
• Millau Viaduct: taller than the Eiffel Tower and nearly as tall as the Empire State Building, the world's tallest vehicular bridge opened to traffic near Millau, France (2004)

Birthdays

• Catherine of Aragon 1485

  
• Ludwig Van Beethoven 1770 - Composer
• Jane Austen 1775
• George Santayana 1863
• Arthur Fieldler 1894
• Noel Coward 1899 - English actor, playwright and composer
• Margaret Mead 1901
• Turk Murphy 1915
• Arthur C. Clarke 1917 - Author
• Bruce Ames 1928
• Philip K. Dick 1928 - Author (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which became the movie BLADERUNNER, among others)
• Wayne Connelly 1929
• Shelby Singleton 1931
• Morris Dees 1936 - Civil rights attorney
• Joyce Bulifant 1937 - Actress
• Jim Glaser 1937 - (Tompall and the Glaser Brothers)
• Liv Ullmann 1939 Actress
• Leslie Stahl 1941 - CBS news correspondent ("60 Minutes")
• Paul Butterfield 1942
• Steven Bochco 1943 - TV producer (NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues)
• Anthony (Tony) Hicks 1943 - Musician (The Hollies)

  
• Benny Andersson 1946 - Singer, keyboards, synthesizers (ABBA)
• Ben Cross 1948 - Actor
• Billy Gibbons 1949 - Musician (ZZ Top)
• Robben Ford 1951
• Bill Bateman 1951 - Musician (The Blasters)
• Alison LaPlaca 1959 - Actress
• Jon Tenney 1961 - Actor (The Closer)
• Sam Robards 1961 - Actor (American Beauty)
• William "Refrigerator" Perry 1962 - Football player
• Jeff Carson 1963 - Country singer, songwriter
• Benjamin Bratt 1963 - Actor
• Michael McCary 1971 - Singer (Boyz II Men)
• Krysten Ritter 1981
• Chris Scruggs 1982 - Country musician
• Hallee Hirsh 1987 - Actress (JAG)
• Anna Popplewell 1988 - Actress (The Chronicles of Narnia)