Wednesday, August 5, 2026

arsy-varsy \ AHR-see-VAHR-see \ , adjective; 

• Informal . wrong end foremost; completely backward: an arsy-varsy way of doing things . 

adverb: 

• Informal . in a backward or thoroughly mixed-up fashion: The papers are all filed arsy-varsy . 

Origin: This term first came to English in the 1530s. It is probably an alteration of the Latin vice versa with arse substituted to make a facetious rhyming compound. 

making base contact

• Making Base Contact; "saying" meaning contacting your wife, girlfriend, or serious female relationship via your cellular phone, just like as paramedics make base contact to get additional orders for patient care, one can give ones female an updated status on what the boys and yourself are doing.

you: hey guys so are we getting ready to head to the bar now?
friends: yeah sure were leaving in ten, can't wait to get smashed!!
you: sounds great lemme just go "make base contact" first
ORyou: great if you leave any sooner Ill be over by the garage "making base contact"
 

History 

• federal income tax: was levied for the first time in the US; it aimed to help pay the bills for the Civil War and was rescinded in 1872 (1861)
• "Damn the torpedoes": famous order was given by Union Admiral David G. Farragut as he led his fleet at Mobile Bay during the Civil War (1864)
• Little Orphan Annie: Harold Gray's comic strip debuted (1924)
• Nelson Mandela: South African resistance leader and later president was arrested and jailed; his imprisonment lasted till 1990 (1962)
• Marilyn Monroe: was found dead after overdosing on sleeping pills (1962)
• Test Ban Treaty: the US, Britain and the Soviet Union agreed to prohibit nuclear weapon tests underwater, in the atmosphere and in outer space (1963)

Birthdays

• Guy DeMaupassant 1850
• Conrad Aiken 1889
• Andrew Alford 1904
• John Huston 1906
  
• Robert Taylor 1911
• David Brian 1914
• Jeri Southern 1926
• Richie Ginterh 1930
• Neil A. Armstrong 1930
• Vern Gosdin 1934
• Cammie King 1934
• John Saxon 1935
• Zakes Mokae 1935
• 
  Damita Jo 1940
• Bobby Braddock 1940
• Rick Huxley (Dave Clark Five) 1942
• Sammi Smith 1943
• Jimmy Webb 1946
• Erika Slezak 1946
• Loni Anderson 1946
• Greg Leskiw (Guess Who) 1947
• Rick Derringer 1947
• Holly Palance 1950
• Samantha Sang 1953
• 
  Maureen McCormick 1956
• Pat Smear (Foo Fighters) 1959
• Pete Burns (Dead Or Alive) 1959
• Mark O'Connor 1961
• Tawny Kitaen 1961
• Patrick Ewing 1962
• Adam Yauch (M.C.A. of the Beastie Boys) 1964
• Elvis Duran 1964
• Jonathon Silverman 1966
• Terri Clark 1968
• Brendon Ryan Barrett 1986
• Xenia Tchoumitcheva (model / blogger) 1987 
• Jessica Nigri (cosplayer) 1989 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

Thursday, April 30, 2026

passe-partout \ pas-pahr-TOO; Fr. pahs-par-TOO \ , noun; 

1. something that passes everywhere or provides a universal means of passage. 
2. a master key; skeleton key. 
3. an ornamental mat for a picture. 
4. a method of framing in which a piece of glass is placed over a picture and is affixed to a backing by means of adhesive strips of paper or other material pasted over the edges. 
5. paper prepared for this purpose.

Origin: Passe-partout comes from the French phrase of the same spelling which literally means "(it) passes everywhere." 

 

technocamping

• A vacation from digital technology. No e-mail, computers, cell phone etc.

"I'm going technocamping. You won't be able to contact me for a couple weeks."

 

History

• George Washington: took the oath of office to become the first POTUS (1789)
• Louisiana Purchase: France agreed to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million, thereby doubling the size of the US (1803); eight years later on the same date, Louisiana became the 18th state
• A Tale of Two Cities: Charles Dickens' novel was first published as a serial in a literary magazine (1859)
• Suicide: Nazi leader ADOLF HITLER killed himself before Allied and Russian forces could capture him (1945)
• Vietnam War: officially ended when Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City) fell and South Vietnam surrendered (1975)

Birthdays 

• Cornelius Vanderbilt 1898
• Ellis Wilson 1899
• George R. Stibitz 1904
• Queen Juliana (Netherlands) 1909
• Al Lewis 1910
• Eve Arden 1912
• Robert Shaw 1916
• Percy Heath 1923
• John (Johnny) Horton 1925
• Cloris Leachman 1926 - Actress ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Phyllis")
• Willie Nelson 1933 - Musican
• Gary Collins 1938 - Talk show host
• Burt Young 1940 - Actor
• Johnny Farina 1941 - Musician (Santo & Johnny)
• Bobby Vee (Velline) 1943 - Singer
• Jill Clayburgh 1944 - Actress
• Richard Schoff (The Sandpipers) 1944
• Don Schollander 1946
• Perry King 1948
• Wayne Kramer 1948 - Musician (MC5)
• Merril Osmond 1953 - Singer (The Osmonds)
• Jane Campion 1954 - Director
• Paul Gross 1959
• Isiah Thomas 1961 - Basketball player
• Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks) 1962
• Barrington Levy 1964 - Dancer
• Adrian Pasdar 1965 - Actor ("Heroes")
• Turbo B 1967 - Rapper (Snap)
• Clark Vogeler 1969 - Musician (Toadies)
• Chris "Choc" Dalyrimple 1971 - Musician (Soul for Real)
• J.R. Richards 1972 - Musician (Dishwalla)
• Jeff Timmons 1973 - Musician (98 Degrees)
• Akron 1973 - Singer
• Johnny Galecki 1975 - Actor ("The Big Bang Theory")
• Kirsten Dunst 1982 - Actress ("Spider-Man")
• Gal Gadot 1985 - Actress ("Wonder Woman")
• Ashley Dupré 1985 former high-class hooker who took down the NYS Gov Eliot Spitzer, NY Post Columnist
• Dianna Agron 1986 - Actress ("Glee")
• Skyla Raynes Gray / ChibiNeko Cosplay - cosplayer / e-girl

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

  

Monday, January 19, 2026

1/19 - Lacuna Coil Day!
 
 

lacuna, noun [luh-kyoo-nuh]

1. a gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus.
2. Anatomy. one of the numerous minute cavities in the substance of bone, supposed to contain nucleate cells.

ORIGIN: In Latin lacūna means “ditch, pit, gap, deficiency, hole, hole where water collects.” The modern French lagune “lagoon,” Italian laguna “lagoon,” and Spanish laguna “lagoon, gap” are obvious developments from lacūna. Lacūna in turn is a derivative of lacus “basin, tub, cistern, pond, lake,” the source (through Old French) of the English lake. Latin lacus is also related to Scots Gaelic and Irish loch. Lacuna entered English in the 17th century.

 

punnet \PUHN-it\, noun: 

• a small container or basket for strawberries or other fruit.

Punnet is of unknown origin. It arose in the early 1800s.

text-hole

• Someone who texts on their cellphone in really inappropriate places, like movie theaters, concerts, plays, or during sex.

1. The movie was great, except right during the best scene, this text-hole in front of me lit up his phone and started texting away.

2. We were humping away, and she started texting her friend. She was a certified text-hole.

Trivia
 Which president signed the bill that made Martin Luther King Day a federal holiday?

• Ronald Reagan, in 1983.

What 1984 hit song by the Irish rock band U2 was a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.?

• “Pride (In the Name of Love).” Its lyrics and those of a second U2 song, “MLK,” were inspired by a 1983 exhibit about King at the Chicago Peace Museum. Both songs were on the band’s album The Unforgettable Fire.

Holiday

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15. It is one of four United States federal holidays to commemorate an individual person

History

• 1883 - Thomas Edison's first village electric lighting system using overhead wires began operation in Roselle, NJ.

  
• 1907 - The first film reviews appeared in "Variety" magazine.
• 1915 - neon sign: was patented by French engineer/chemist Georges Claude; early neon signs were called "liquid fire"
• 1937 - Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record. He flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
• 1953 - Sixty-eight percent of all TV sets in the U.S. were tuned to CBS-TV, as Lucy Ricardo, of "I Love Lucy," gave birth to a baby boy.
• 1957 - Johnny Cash made his first network TV appearance, on CBS' "Jackie Gleason Show."
• 1983 - Apple Lisa: the first Apple with a GUI and a mouse was announced; speedy (5 MHz) and robust (512 KiB RAM), it cost nearly $10,000)
• 1988 - Metallica began recording their fourth full-length release, "And Justice For All."

Birthdays

• James Watt 1736

  
• Robert E. Lee 1807 - Confederate General during U.S. Civil War
• Edgar Allen Poe 1809 - Poet
• Sir Henry Bessemer 1813
• Paul Cezanne 1839 - Artist
• Ish Kabibble 1908
• John Raitt 1917
• Guy Madison 1922
• Jean Stapleton 1923
• Fritz Weaver 1926
• Robert MacNeil 1931
• Tippi (Natalie) Hedren 1931
• Phil Everly (Everly Brothers) 1939
• Michael Crawford 1942
• Janis Joplin 1943
• Laurie London 1944
• Shelley Fabares 1944
• Dolly Parton 1946 - Singer
• Ann Compton 1947
• Harvard Hinsley 1948
• Robert Palmer 1949
• Dewey Bunnell (America) 1952
• Desi Arnaz Jr. 1953
• Katy Sagal 1956
• Mickey Virtue (UB40) 1957
• Paul McCrane 1961
• William Ragsdale 1961
• Stefan Edberg 1966
• Junior Seau 1969
• Trey Lorenz 1969
• Shawn Wayans 1971
• John Wozniak (Marcy Playground) 1971
• Drea de Matteo 1972
• A.J. McLean (Backstreet Boys) 1978
• Jodie Sweetin 1982
  Rachel Pizzilato 2004