Saturday, June 18, 2022

hegira \he-JAY-ruh\, noun:

1. A journey to a more desirable or congenial place.

2. The flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution a.d. 622: regarded as the beginning of the Muslim Era.

Hegira, whether referring to the event in the history of Islam or a general sense of the word, comes from the Arabic hajara, "to depart."

 

Bat Shit Signal

• Like the Bat Signal, but used to summon someone crazy.

"Hey look, there's Gary Busey. Someone must have turned on the Bat Shit Signal."

 

History

• War of 1812: US President James Madison declared war on Great Britain (1812)
• Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington (1815)
• Susan B. Anthony: was fined $100 for her attempt to vote in the 1872 US presidential election; she did not, however, pay it (1873)
• Amelia Earhart: became the first woman to fly trans-Atlantically; she went from Newfoundland to Wales (1928)
• "This was their finest hour": address delivered by PM Winston Churchill to the House of Commons to inspire his embattled nation during WWII (1940)
• International Declaration of Human Rights: was adopted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1948)
• Columbia Records: unveiled its new long-playing 33 1/3 rpm phonograph record (1948)
• Egypt: republic was declared; monarchy abolished (1953)
• Sally Ride: became the first American woman in space, aboard the space shuttle Challenger (1983)

Birthdays

• Sir Thomas Overbury 1581 - Poet, essayist
• Viscount Castlereagh (Robert Stewart) 1769 - British statesman known as Lord Castlereagh
• Edouard Daladier 1884 - French politician
• George Mallory 1886 - Mountaineer
• M.C. Escher (Maurits Cornelis Escher) 1898 - Graphic artist
• Jeanette MacDonald 1901 - Singer, actress
• Keye Luke 1904 - Actor
• Kay Kyser (James Kern "Kay" Kyser) 1906 - Bandleader
• Bud Collyer 1908 - Radio announcer/actor
• E.G. Marshall 1910 - Actor ("The Defenders")
• Ray McKinley 1910 - Drummer, singer, bandleader
• Samuel Cahn (Samuel Cohen) 1913 - Lyricist, songwriter, musician
• Sylvia Porter 1913 - Economist, journalist
• Richard Boone (Richard Allen Boone) 1917 - Actor
• Ian Carmichael 1920 - Actor
• Robert Arthur (Robert Arthaud) 1925 - Actor
• Tom Wicker (Thomas Grey "Tom" Wicker) 1926 - Journalist
  

  
• Maggie McNamara (Marguerite "Maggie" McNamara) 1928 - Actress
• Eva Bartok 1929 - Actress
• Lou Brock (Louis Clark "Lou" Brock) 1939 - Baseball player
• Paul McCartney 1942 - Musician (Beatles, Wings)
• Roger Ebert 1942 - Film critic, screenwriter
• Linda Thorson (Linda Robinson) 1947 - Actress
• Carol Kane (Carolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane) 1952 - Actress
• Isabella Rossellini (Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini) 1952 - Actress
• Jerome Smith (KC & The Sunshine Band) 1953 - Musician
• Tom Bailey (The Thompson Twins) 1957 - Musician
• Alison Moyet (Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet) 1961 - Singer (Yazoo or Yaz in the US)
• Nathan Morris 1971 - Singer (Boyz II Men)
• Alana de la Garza 1976- actress