Hasselhoff Wednesday: Easter

The pontiff blesses you

Saturday, June 22, 2019

zither \ZITH-er, ZITH-\, noun:

• a musical instrument, consisting of a flat sounding box with numerous strings stretched over it, that is placed on a horizontal surface and played with a plectrum and the fingertips.

Zither entered English in the mid-1850s and ultimately comes from the Greek term for "lute," kithara.

whistleblower

• An insider who reveals an act, generally illegal, taking place, which the person committing the act would not wish to be public. The word comes from the idea that the whistleblower is "blowing a whistle" to stop the illegal action that he/she sees.

The CEO was sent to jail after a whistleblower who worked at the company leaked documents to the press proving illegal stock manipulation.

Trivia

What long-range U.S. Air Force bomber had a hairstyle, a New Wave rock band, and a cocktail named after it?

 

• The B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber. The beehive hairstyle was dubbed the B-52 because of its resemblance to the bomber’s bulbous nose cone; the band, because its two female members wore beehive wigs; and the cocktail, the B-52 shooter, because of its bomblike impact.

Holiday 

• No Panty Day

by: http://www.elias-design.gr/

History

• Henry Hudson: English explorer was set adrift with his son and several others by the mutinous crew of his ship; the castaways perished (1611)
  

  
• Galileo Galilei: was compelled by the Church to recant his heliocentric view of the universe (1633)
• G.I. Bill of Rights: law that helped veterans go to college was signed by FDR (1944)
• Okinawa: the WWII campaign for the island ended; over 12,000 Americans and 110,000 Japanese lost their lives during the 83-day battle (1945)
• voting age: President Richard Nixon signed a measure allowing 18-year-olds to vote (1970)
• Charon: largest moon of Pluto was discovered (1978)

Birthdays

• George Vancouver 1757
  

  
• Erich Maria Remarque 1898
• Carl Hubbell 1903
• Billy Wilder 1906
• Michael Todd 1907
• Ann Morrow Lindbergh 1907
• Mary Livingstone 1909
• Joseph Papp 1921
• Gower Champion 1921
• Bill Blass 1922
• Ralph Waite 1928
• Roy Drusky 1930
• Kris Kristofferson 1936
• Ed Bradley 1941
• Barry Serafin 1941
• Michael Lerner 1941
• Klaus Maria Brandauer 1944
• Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon) 1944
• Andrew Rubin 1946
• David L. Lander 1947
• Howard Kaylan (The Turtles) 1947
• Todd Rungren 1948
• Meryl Streep 1949
• Allen Osmond 1949
• Lindsay Wagner 1949
• Larry Junstrom (.38 Special) 1949
• Graham Greene 1952
• Chris Lemmon 1954
• Freddie Prinze 1954
• Green Gartside (Scritti Politti) 1956
• Gary (INXS) Beers 1957
• Bruce Campbell 1958
• Alan Anton (Cowboy Junkies) 1959
• Tracy Pollan 1960
• Jimi Somerville 1961
• Jimmy Sommerville (Bronski Beat, Communards) 1961
• Amy Brenneman 1964
  Dan Brown 1964 (The DaVinci Code)
• Mike Edwards (Jesus Jones) 1964
• Tom Cunningham (Wet Wet Wet) 1965
• Paula Irvine 1968
• Stephen Page (Barenaked Ladies) 1970
• Lindsay Ridgeway 1985

Sunday, February 10, 2019

filch \filch\, verb:

• To steal (especially something of small value); pilfer: to filch ashtrays from fancy restaurants.

Filch is of unknown origin. It may be related to the name for a kind of hook that could be used to steal small items from kitchen windows. It also may have come from the Middle English word filchen meaning "to attack (in a body), take as booty."

 

Don't forget to bring a towel 

• An amazing thing to randomly say. Possibly a reference to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" which explains that having a towel with you means you're a together guy equipped with a tool with an abundance of uses.

Ford: Arthur, Don't forget to bring a towel. 

 

Trivia

How many seas around the world are named for colors?

• Four: the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the White Sea, and the Yellow Sea .

History

 

• Canada: was ceded by France to Britain when the Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War (1763)
• Queen Victoria: wed Prince Albert; when Albert died in 1861, Victoria went into a period of mourning that only ended 50 years later, when she died

  
• "All the News That's Fit to Print": first appeared on page 1 of The New York Times; the slogan was coined by owner Adolph S. Ochs (1897)
• 1934 - The first imperforated, ungummed sheets of postage stamps were issued by the U.S. Postal Service in New York City. "Chattanooga Choo Choo": earned bandleader Glenn Miller the first gold record for sales of over 1 million (1942)
• 1962 - The Soviet Union exchanged capture American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for the Soviet spy Rudolph Ivanovich Abel being held by the U.S.
  ZZ Top played their first show together (1970)
• Deep Blue: computer won its first game against world chess champ Garry Kasparov (1996)

Birthdays 

• Charles Lamb 1775

  
• William Allen White 1868
• Boris Pasternak 1890
• Jimmy Durante 1893
• Maurice Harold Macmillan 1894 - British Prime Minister from 1957-1963
• Bertolt Brecht 1898 - Dramatist, poet
• Dame Judith Anderson 1898
• Lon Chaney, Jr. 1905
• Larry Adler 1914
• Allie Reynolds 1919
• Neva Patterson 1922
• Leontyne Price 1927
• Jerry Goldsmith 1929
• Robert Wagner 1930
• James E. West 1931
• Don Wilson (The Ventures) 1937
• Roberta Flack 1939
• Jimmy Merchant (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers) 1940
• Ral Donner 1943
• Frances Moore Lapp 1944
• Mark Spitz 1950
• Greg Norman 1955
• Kathleen Beller 1955
• Lionel Cartwright 1960
• George Stephanopoulos 1961
• Cliff Burton 1962 - Musician (Metallica)
• Laura Dern 1967
• Dude Mowrey 1972
• Elizabeth Banks (Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell) 1974 - Actress
• Chloë Grace Moretz 1997

Review Tuesday: THE VAMPYRE, A Tale by John William Polidori

 

THE VAMPYRE

A Tale

by John William Polidori

Upon making friends with the odd Lord Ruthven, Aubrey (a wealthy young English gentleman) becomes aware of a series of misfortunes befalling those who make acquaintance with the curious nobleman.

I found this book for FREE in a listing of book deals recently. It was hailed as the first literary work based on the various European myths regarding vampires, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula by four score.

From Wikipedia: 

"The Vampyre" is a short work of prose fiction written in 1819 by John William Polidori. The work is often viewed as the progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction. The work is described by Christopher Frayling as "the first story successfully to fuse the disparate elements of vampirism into a coherent literary genre."

So I was intrigued! I needed to read this to compare Polidori's interpretation of vampire lore with modern conceptions. Additionally I planned to enjoy it as an anthropological view into that time in history.

Set in what seemed like current day at the time it was written, this adventure into horror began in England and included travels across Europe. This story made no reference to the modern day vampire myths about their inability to cross water on their own or even their mortal enemy, the sun. In fact, as in Dracula, Lord Ruthven was able to move about in daylight without issue whatsoever. The vampire was less about being blood-thirsty demon and more about being a charming seducer of the young, beautiful, and naive and then ruin their lives in assorted foul methods.

This short story paid wonderful dividends. The arrogance and pomposity of the British embodied in the character of Aubrey spoke volumes. In some ways the egotistical demeanor of Aubrey was nearly as calculatedly sinister as Lord Ruthven himself. 

While this is not some action-packed Hollywood horror story, it's cleverness keeps you turning the pages. I found the tale to be largely unexpected from what you would expect from this genre and enjoyed it thoroughly.  

You can find it for free in KINDLE format on AMAZON.

Turtle Thursday: H8

Thursday, March 31, 2016

bedizen \bih-DY-zuhn\, transitive verb: 

• To dress or adorn in gaudy manner.

Bedizen is the prefix be-, "completely; thoroughly; excessively" + dizen, an archaic word meaning "to deck out in fine clothes and ornaments," from Middle Dutch disen, "to dress (a distaff) with flax ready for spinning," from Middle Low German dise, "the bunch of flax placed on a distaff."

 
directionally challenged

1. Someone who has difficulty determining right from left
2. Someone who often confuses directions, and prefers visual aids.
3. Someone who has great difficulty reading maps and/or driving while listening to directions.

Can be spelt using a hyphen, if needed.

 
Are you directionally challenged? I told you to turn left two blocks ago; we're going to be late now!

 
Woman: You just turned left instead of right.
Man: I'm sorry, I'm directionally-challenged.

History

• Alhambra Decree: was signed, giving Spain's Jews four months to convert or face expulsion (1492)
• Eiffel Tower: was dedicated in Paris; designed by bridge engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the open-lattice wrought iron masterpiece was the tallest structure in the world at the time (1889)
• Daylight Savings Time: was instituted in the US for the first time (1918)
• Dalai Lama: Tibetan spiritual and political leader went into exile and was granted asylum in India (1959)

Birthdays 

• Rene Descartes 1596 - Philosopher, "I think, therefore I am"
• Andrew Marvell 1621 - Poet
• John Harrison 1693
• Nikolai Gogol 1809 - Playwright, novelist
• Edward Fitzgerald 1809 - Author
• Robert Wilhelm Bunsen 1811
• Mary Chestnut 1823 - Author
• Sir Dugald Clerk 1854
• Jack Johnson 1878 - Boxer, author
• Henry Morgan 1915 - Comedian
• Tommy Bolt 1918 - Golfer
• Richard Kiley 1922 - Actor ("The Thorn Birds")
• Leo Buscaglia 1925
• Cesar Chavez 1927 - Labor leader, founder of National Farm Workers Association
• William Daniels 1927 - Actor ("St. Elsewhere", voice of KITT on "Knight Rider")
• Gordie (Gordon) Howe 1928 - Hockey player (Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers)
• Lefty (William Orville) Frizzell 1928 - Country musician
• Liz Claiborne 1929 - Fashion designer
• Miller Barber 1931 - Golfer
• John Jakes 1932 - Author ("California", "In the Big Country")
• John D. Loudermilk 1934 - Country singer and songwriter
• Shirley Jones 1934 - Singer, Actress ("The Partridge Family")
• Richard Chamberlain 1934 - Actor ("The Bourne Identity")
• Billy Hicke 1938 - Hockey player (Montreal Canadiens, NY Rangers, Minnesota Rangers, Baltimore Clippers, Oakland Seals, California Golden Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins)
• Herb Alpert 1935 - Musician
• Christopher Walken 1943 - Actor ("The Deerhunter", "Pulp Fiction")
• Rod Allen 1944 - Musician (The Fortunes)
  
• Gabe Kaplan 1945 - Actor ("Welcome Back Kotter"), comedian
• Al Nichol 1946 - Musician (The Turtles)
• Al Gore 1948 - lying shill
• Rhea Perlman 1948 - Actress ("Cheers"), comedian
• Mick Ralphs 1948 - Musician (Bad Company, Mott the Hoople)
• Ed Marinaro 1950 - Football player (Minnesota Vikings), Actor ("Hill Street Blues")
• Sean Hopper 1953 - Musician (Huey Lewis and The News)
• Marc McClure 1957 - Actor ("Freak Friday")
• Angus Young 1959 - Guitar player (AC/DC)
• William McNamara 1965 - Actor
• Pavel Bure 1971 - Hockey player
• Ewen McGregor 1971 - Actor ("Star Wars: The Phantom Menace", "Moulin Rouge")

Saturday, May 23, 2015

equanimity \ee-kwuh-NIM-uh-tee; ek-wuh-\, noun:

• Evenness of mind; calmness; composure; as, "to bear misfortunes with equanimity."

Equanimity comes from Latin aequanimitas, "impartiality, calmness," from aequanimus, "impartial, even-tempered," from aequus, "even" + animus, "mind, soul."

metatation 

• Metatation: The act of contemplating meditation itself, putting oneself outside the very state of meditation.

I was not satisfied with my meditation practice, so I began a metatation.
Holiday

• World Turtle Day - (05/23 annually)

History

• Joan of Arc: was captured by the Burgundians who sold her to the English (1430)
• Captain Kidd: was hanged in London for murder and piracy (1701)
• Baltimore and Ohio Railroad: began the first passenger service in the US (1830)
• Mounties: the North West Mounted Police was created; it would later become the federal police force of Canada (1873)
• New York Public Library: after 16 years of construction, the library's main building was dedicated by President William H. Taft (1911)
• Bonnie and Clyde: Depression-era outlaws were ambushed and killed by police in Louisiana (1934)
• West Germany: was reconstituted from post-WWII occupation zones (1949)

Birthdays

• Friedrich Anton Mesmer 1734 - Physician, astrologist
• Margaret Fuller (Sarah Margaret Fuller Ossoli) 1810 - Journalist, criti, women's rights activist
• Arabella Mansfield 1846 - She was the first female lawyer in the United States
• Douglas Fairbanks 1883 - Actor
  

  
• Herbert Marshall 1890 - Actor
• Artie Shaw 1910 - Band leader
• Scatman Crothers (Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers) 1910 - Actor, musician, singer, dancer
• John Payne 1912 - Actor, singer
• Betty Garrett 1919 - Actress ("All in the Family," "Laverne and Shirley")
• Helen O'Connell 1920 - Singer, actress, dancer
• Alicia de Larrocha 1923 - Pianist
• Mac Wiseman 1925 - Singer
• Nigel Davenport 1928 - Actor
• Rosemary Clooney 1928 - Singer, actress
• Julian Euell 1929 - Jazz musician
• Barbara Barrie 1931 - Actress
• Joan Collins 1933 - Actress ("Dynasty")
• Robert Moog 1934 - Musician
• Charles Kimbrough 1936 - Actor ("Murphy Brown")
• General Johnson 1943 - Musician (Chairman of the Board)
• Lauren Chapin 1945 - Actress ("Father Knows Best")
• Misty Morgan 1945 - Musician
• Judy Rodman 1951 - County singer
• Anatoly Karpov 1951 - Chess grandmaster
• "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler 1952 - Boxer
• Luka Bloom 1955 - Singer
• Drew Carey 1958 - Actor, game show host
• Shelley West 1958 - Country singer
• Linden Ashby 1960 - Actor
• Karen Duffy 1961 - Actress, model
• Phil Selway 1967 - Musician (Radiohead)
• Noel Gallagher 1968 - Musician (Oasis)
• Laurel Holloman 1968 - Actress ("The L Word")
• Lorenzo 1972 - Singer
• Maxwell 1973 - Singer
• Jewel 1974 - Singer
• Kelly Monaco 1976
• Adam Wylie 1984 - Actor
  

  

Review Tuesday: DREDD 3D

From no where DREDD 3D appeared. After the Stallone fiasco with Judge Dredd years ago, no one expected Hollywood to touch the property again, but it happened.

In a post-apocalyptic world, the US is reduced to a handful of Mega-Cities. To speed up the legal process a policing force of JUDGES enforce the law. One Judge will, on the spot, be Judge, Jury, and if it fits the crime, Executioner. Judge Dredd is a no nonsense lawman with rookie Judge Anderson investigating a triple homicide on a "block" that's been overrun by the Ma-Ma gang. Ma-Ma is the source of the new illegal drug Slo-Mo, a narcotic that makes everything seem to slow down.

The movie is about 1.5 hours of adventure, action, and extreme violence as our heroes try to uphold the law while trying to stay alive while being hunted by Ma-Ma's gang. Unlike the previous Dredd flick, the main man NEVER takes off his helmet and stays in the comic book character throughout the ENTIRE movie. Also keeping close to the comic books, this movie is ULTRA-VIOLENT. In fact, it was shockingly violent, to the point that you wonder how it got away with an R rating!

Karl Urban, while not my first choice to play the lead role was an EXCELLENT Judge Dredd. He scowled through the entire movie and it's refreshing when an actor has enough self-assuredness to be able to go an entire movie without showing his face. Olivia Thirlby did a great job as Judge Anderson despite looking like Lady Gaga. Lena Headley was a perfect cartoonish violent crime boss.

Did this need to be in 3D? No. However I was glad that the movie had a good story and didn't suffer BECAUSE of the 3D, like so many other flicks in this genre. It was a LOT of fun to watch, and was very well made. Since the end of the Cold War, these dreary post-nuclear holocaust genre films are a dying breed. It's hardly a fear, but when Judge Dredd was first drawn up, in the 80s, it looked like a real possibility. So, the end of the world, in a way, was refreshing and nostalgic. I liked the way they made the Judge uniforms looks more realistic, yet, keeping the finer points from the comic books: the uniform looked like tough body armor, but they still had the helmets and the badges. I was a little disappointed the "law-giver" (aka, the GUN!) was smaller and hardly mentioned. It still packed a punch! While Dredd was terrifying to behold, Anderson was strangely sexy, just like in the books.

Unfortunately, this movie didn't drum up much support and will officially be considered a bust, costing $50 mill but bringing in under $13 mill. I imagine that DVD and Blue-Ray sales will bring up the bottom line but probably not enough to see future installments in this franchise.

IMDB

AMAZON