Saturday, April 6, 2013 @ Automotive World

marmoreal \mahr-MAWR-ee-uhl, -MOHR-\, adjective:

• of or like marble: skin of marmoreal smoothness.

First appearing in English in the late 1700s, marmoreal comes from the Latin term marmoreus, which literally means "of marble."

window eating

• The act of standing in front of a refrigerator with the door open for an over-excessive amount of time and then closing the door without taking anything. Usually done by picky eaters or one who is bored out of his/her mind.

If your so hungry stop window eating and just grab something!

Trivia
When it comes to showbiz slang, what’s a chopsocky? How about a zitcom?

• A chopsocky is a martial arts film; a zitcom is a TV sitcom that targets a teen audience.

History

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: Mormon church was founded by Joseph Smith in Fayette, New York (1830)
• Olympics: the first modern games opened in Athens (1896)
• North Pole: Robert Peary and his assistant, Matthew Henson, along with four Inuit men, became the first visitors to the site; their claim has been disputed (1909)
• WWI: US declared war on Germany and entered the Great War (1917)
• Twinkie: golden sponge cake snack food with creamy filling was invented (1930)
• Teflon: nonstick coating was accidentally invented by Roy J. Plunkett (1938)

Birthdays

• Raphael Sanit 1483 - Artist
• Rose Schneiderman 1882 - U.S. women’s rights activist
• Walter Huston (Houghston) 1884 - Actor (Treasure of the Sierra Madre [1948])
• Lowell Thomas 1892 - Broadcaster, journalist
• "Pappy" Wade Ray 1913 - Country musician, entertainer ("Grand Ol' Opry")
• Herb Thomas 1923 - NASCAR auto racer
• Mimi Benzell 1924 - Opera singer
• Dorothy Donegan 1924 - Jazz pianist
• Gerry Mulligan 1927 - Jazz musician, composer
• Joi Lansing (Joyce Wassmansdoff) 1928 - Actress ("Easter Parade", "Singin’ in the Rain")
• André (Ludwig) Previn 1929 - Pianist, composer of film scores ("Gigi", "Porgy and Bess"), conductor
• Ivan Dixon 1931 - Actor ("Hogan's Heroes"), director, producer
• Merle Haggard 1937 - Country musician, songwriter
• Billy Dee (December) Williams 1937 - Actor ("Brian's Song", "The Return of the Jedi", "Batman")
• Roy Thinnes 1938 - Actor ("The Invaders", "Outer Limits")
• Philip Austin 1941 - Comedian and writer
• Barry Levinson 1942 - Director, producer
• Marty (Martin William) Pattin 1943 - Baseball pitcher
• John Stax 1944 - Musician (The Pretty Things)
• John Huarte 1944 - Football player
• John Ratzenberger 1947 - Actor ("Cheers")
• Bert (Rik Aalbert) Blyleven 1951 - Baseball pitcher
• Marilu Henner 1952 - Actress ("Taxi", "Evening Shade", "Cannonball Run 2")
• Janet Lynn (Nowicki) 1953 - Figure skater, Olympic bronze medalist
• Michelle Rooker 1955 - Actor
• Warren Haynes 1960 - Musician (Gov't Mule, The Allman Brothers)
• Stan Cullimore 1962 - Musician, songwriter (The Housemartins)
• Frank Black 1965 - Singer, musician (The Pixies)
• Vince Flynn 1966 - Author
• Paul Rudd 1969 - Actor ("Friends")
• Ari Meyers 1970 - Actress ("Author! Author!", "Kate & Allie")
• Jason Hervey 1972 - Actor ("The Wonder Years", "Back to the Future")
• Markku Lappalainen 1973 - Musician (Hoobastank)
• Zach Braff 1975 - Actor ("Scrubs")
• Candace Cameron Bure 1976 - Actress ("Full House")
• Bret Harrison 1982 - Actor ("Grounded for Life")

John Carter and the Giant of Mars (1940) by John Coleman Burroughs @ Automotive World

Book ELEVEN in the Barsoom series is John Carter and the Giant of Mars (1940) which was actually written by Edgar Rice Burroughs's son, John Coleman Burroughs.

Here's the full listing and proper order of the series of books:

1. A Princess of Mars (1912)
2. The Gods of Mars (1914)
3. The Warlord of Mars (1918)
4. Thuvia, Maid of Mars (1920)
5. The Chessmen of Mars (1922)
6. The Master Mind of Mars (1928)
7. A Fighting Man of Mars (1931)
8. Swords of Mars (1936)
9. Synthetic Men of Mars (1940)
10. Llana of Gathol (1948)
11. John Carter and the Giant of Mars (1940) Actually written by Burroughs's son, John Coleman Burroughs.
12. Skeleton Men of Jupiter (1942)

Conquering all of Barsoom is the goal of genius hormad Pew Mogel with his army of human-brained white apes and a giant he created. His plan for world domination starts at Helium with the abduction of a Princess of Mars, Dejah Thoris.

From the first word you read in this short novel you can tell something is amiss. The lack of olde tyme flowery language is missing. The strangely brief descriptions and explanations. Even the basics of martian life and culture seemed off. It was certainly EASIER to read, but didn't make the story better. Examples:

• While the hormads were involved in this story, the name HORMAD was never used. Instead, they were referred to repeatedly as Synthetic Men, which was never used in the book Synthetic Men of Mars. (My review here) 
• John Carter was referred to as Earthman several times, however Martians call the Earth Jassoom. Why would that come up at all?
• Instead of using the radium pistols and rifles from all the previous books, suddenly warriors were equipped with RAY GUNS! Warriors didn't use flyers and airships, but PLANES?!?!
• For the first time ever we see the use of televisions and long-wave radio. Um, what? When did that technology arrive on Barsoom?

With so many inconsistencies in this story, it makes you wonder if JCB ever read any of his father's books!

Those issues aside, it was still a fun ride. While it moved at a faster pace than a usual John Carter novel, it still painted an interesting picture of another tale of hard life on Barsoom. As always, Dejah Thoris gets captured and John Carter has to thwart the villain.

An easy read, although not keeping in time with the entire series. If you got this far, you should just knock this short tale out, as well.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 @ Automotive World

ha-ha \HAH-hah\, noun:

• sunk fence.

Ha-ha comes from the French ha!, a common exclamation of surprise. Because ha-has are designed to be difficult to see, people would shout in surprise upon stumbling into them.

Jesus

• Man who was nailed to a plank for saying how nice it would be if everyone was nice to each other. Had his message misinterpreted by millions (Christians) who now think it is their job to persecute certain groups of people.

Jesus: Yo! Be nice to others, aight?

Trivia
What band beat out the Beatles when the two groups auditioned for a contract at the London studios of Decca Records?

• Brian Poole & the Tremeloes, in 1962. Decca’s decision reportedly was based on location—the Tremeloes were from the London area, making them more accessible than the Liverpool-based Beatles.

History

• Florida: Juan Ponce de León discovered this state's flowery coast, naming it for Pascua florida ("flowery Easter"); he was searching for the Fountain of Youth; the event is commemorated as Pascua Florida Day (1513)
• Turin: the first Italian Parliament convened in the first capital of the new Kingdom of Italy (1860)
• "The world must be made safe for democracy": with these words, US President Woodrow Wilson urged Congress to enter WWI (1917)
• Falkland Islands War: Argentina invaded British-occupied Falkland Islands; Argentina's defeat within a few months discredited its military government, and civilian rule was restored the following year (1982)

Birthdays

• Giovanni Casanova 1725 - Writer, philanderer
• Hans Christian Andersen 1805 - Author ("The Ugly Duckling")
• Frederic Bartholdi 1834
• Emile Zola 1840 - Novelist
• Walter Chrysler 1875 - Auto manufacturer (Chrysler Corporation)
• Max Ernst 1891 - Sculptor and painter
• Buddy Ebsen 1908 - Actor ("The Beverly Hillbillies", "Barnaby Jones")
• Herbert Mills 1912 - Singer (The Mills Brothers)
• Sir Alec Guinness (Alec Guinness de Cuffe) 1914 - Actor ("Bridge Over River Kwai", "A Passage to India", "The Empire Strikes Back", "Star Wars")
• Lou Monte 1917 - Singer
• Dabbs Greer 1917
• Charles White 1918 - Artist
• Jack Webb (John Randolf) 1920 - Director, actor
• Sir Jack Brabham - Auto racer
• Bobby (Roberto Francisco Gonzales) Avila 1924 - Baseball player
• Carmen Basilio 1927 - Boxer
• Rita Gam 1928 - Actress ("The Thief", "Midnight")
• Sharon Acker 1935
• Warner Mack 1938 - Country singer
• Marvin Gaye, Jr. 1939 - Singer ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine")
• Leon Russel 1942 - Singer, songwriter
• Larry Coryell 1943
• Glen Dale 1943 - Musician (The Fortunes)
• Marlene Floyd 1944 - Golfer, golf commentator
• Linda Hunt 1945 - Actress ("Kindergarten Cop")
• Reggie (Carl Reginald) Smith 1945 - Baseball player
• Don Sutton 1945 - Baseball pitcher
• Emmylou Harris 1947 - Singer
• Leon Wilkerson 1952 - Musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
• Pamela Reed 1953 - Actress
• Debralee Scott 1953 - Actress ("Police Academy")
• Ron "Horshack" Palillo 1954
• Christopher Meloni 1961 - Actor ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit")
• Keren Woodward 1961 - Singer (Bananarama)
• Clark Gregg 1962 - Actor
• Billy Dean 1962
• Bill Romanowski 1966 - Football player
• Roselyn Sanchez 1973 - Actress ("Without a Trace")
• Jeremy Garrett 1976
• Michael Fassbender 1977
• Jesse Plemons 1988 - Actor ("Friday Night Lights")

  

Easter Egg Hunt @ Automotive World

I don't think I want to find THESE eggs..

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 @ Automotive World

furl \furl\, verb:

1. to gather into a compact roll and bind securely, as a sail against a spar or a flag against its staff.
2. to become furled.

noun:

1. the act of furling.
2. something furled, as a roll.

The origins of furl are unknown, though it is believed to come either from the Middle English ferler meaning "to fold," or from the Old French ferliier meaning "chain," "tie up," or "lock away." While furl entered the English lexicon in the late 1500s, nearly 100 years before unfurl, it is now the more rare of the two terms.

Pepperazzi

• Foodie who obsessively insists on snapping photos of everything they eat and of every other dish at the table.

The pepperazzi are stalking each other's dishes at that table over there.

Trivia
What city is home to the oldest Torah in the United States?

• Savannah, Georgia. The deerskin Torah was brought there from England in 1733 by Jews who were originally from Portugal, Spain, and Germany. The sacred scroll is now kept on display by Congregation Mickve Israel, the synagogue they founded.

History

• Popeye: a statue of the spinach-loving cartoon character was erected in Crystal City, Texas (1937)
• Bangladesh: declared independence from Pakistan (1971)
• Camp David Accords: Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement was signed at the White House (1979)
• Mercosur: the Southern Common Market, which joins Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, was established with the Treaty of Asunción (1991)

Birthdays

• Nathaniel Bowditch 1773
• Louise Otto 1819
• Edward Bellamy 1850
• A.E. Housman 1859
• Robert Frost 1874
• Duncan Hines 1880
• Al Jolson 1886
• Clarence Stroud 1907 - Actor, father of actor Don Stroud
• Chips Rafferty 1909
• Tennessee Williams 1911
• William C. Westmoreland 1914 - U.S. Army general
• Sterling Hayden 1916
• Rufus Thomas 1917
• Strother Martin 1919
• Joe Loco 1921
• Bob Elliott 1923
• James Clifton Williams 1923
• James Moody 1925 - Jazz saxophonist
• Pierre Boulez 1925 - Conductor, composer
• Maurice Simon 1929
• Sandra Day O'Connor 1930 - U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Leonard Nimoy 1931 - Actor ("Star Trek")
• Alan Arkin 1934 - Actor
• James Caan 1939 - Actor
• Rod Lauren 1940
• Braulio Baeza 1940
• Nancy Pelosi 1940 - U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives
• Erica Jong 1942 - Author
• Bob Woodard 1943 - Journalist
• Diana Ross 1944 - Singer
• Johnny Crawford 1946 - Actor
• Fred Paris 1946 - Musician (Five Satins)
• Steven Tyler 1948 - Singer (Aerosmith)
• Richard Tandy 1948 - Musician (Electric Light Orchestra)
• Vicki Lawrence 1949 - Singer, actress
• Fran Sheehan 1949 - Musician (Boston)
• Martin Short 1950 - Actor, comedian
• Ronnie McDowell 1950 - Country singer
• Teddy Pendergrass 1950 - Singer
• Curtis Sliwa 1954
• Dean Dillon 1955 - Country singer
• Charly McClain 1956 - Country singer
• Leeza Gibbons 1957 - TV personality
• Marcus Allen 1960 - Football player
• Jennifer Grey 1960 - Actress ("Dirty Dancing")
• Gabriele "Nena" Kerner 1960
• John Stockton 1962 - Basketball player
• Michael Imperioli 1966 - Actor ("The Sopranos")
• Kenny Chesney 1968 - Country singer
• James Iha 1968 - Musician (Smashing Pumpkins)
• Juvenile 1975 - Rapper
• Amy Smart 1976 - Actress
• Keira Knightley 1985 - Actress ("Pirates of the Caribbean")

• Nina Agdal - 1992

Joe Weider Dead at 93 @ Automotive World

Arnold Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding mentor, Joe Weider, died at the age of 93.

More here.

TGIF! Friday March 22, 2013 @ Automotive World

shilly-shally \SHIL-ee-shal-ee\, verb:

1. to show indecision or hesitation; be irresolute; vacillate.
2. to waste time; dawdle.

noun:

1. irresolution; indecision; vacillation: It was sheer shilly-shally on his part.

adjective:

1. irresolute; undecided; vacillating.

In the great tradition of reduplicating a phrase to infuse it with a dose of levity, shilly-shally comes from the phrase “shall I, shall I.” When shilly-shally first entered English at the turn of the eighteenth century, it was spelled "shill I, shall I."

ermahgerd

• used for internet memes. An obnoxious way to say "Oh, My God" with strong emphasis on the R sounds. Typically followed by other words with emphasis on the R sounds.

ERMAHGERD, ERNSTAGERM (Oh, my god, Instagram)

ERMAHGERD, MER FERCE HERTS (Oh, my god, my face hurts)

Trivia
What served as the trophy in 1876 when dancers Nelly Saunders and Rose Harland competed in the first women’s boxing match in the U.S.?

• A silver-plated butter dish. Saunders, a boxer’s wife, also won $200. The match was held in New York City.

History

• Stamp Act: tax was imposed by Britain on the American colonies; it raised intense opposition (1765)
• hockey: the first Stanley Cup championship game was played; Montreal's Amateur Athletic Association beat the Ottawa Capitals, 3-1 (1894)
• motion pictures: August and Louis Lumière demonstrated the first movies using celluloid film in Paris (1895)
• Equal Rights Amendment: was approved by US Congress; it was never ratified by requisite majority of states (1972)
• Flying Wallendas: patriarch Karl Wallenda fell to his death from a tightrope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico (1978)
• Hale-Bopp: comet passed the closest to Earth till the year 4397 at a distance of 1.315 AU (1997)

Birthdays

• Sir Anthony Van Dyke 1599
• Johnny Evers 1883 - Baseball player
• Chico Marx 1887
• Louis L'Amour 1908 - Author
• Wilfrid Brambell 1912
• Karl Malden 1913 - Actor
• Virginia Grey 1917
• Ross Martin 1920
• Werner Klemperer 1920
• Marcel Marceau 1923 - Pantomimist
• Bill Wendell 1924
• Allen H. Neuharth 1924 - Founder of USA Today
• Easy Ed Macauley 1928
• Pat Robertson 1930
• Stephen Sondheim 1930 - Composer, lyricist
• William Shatner 1931 - Actor
• May Britt 1933
• J.P. McCarthy 1933
• M. Emmett Walsh 1935 - Actor
• Glen Campbell 1936
• Tom Flores 1937 - Football player
• Johnny Ferguson 1937
• Dave Keon 1940 - Hockey player
• Bruno Ganz 1941
• Barbara Parkins 1942
• George Benson 1943 - Singer, musician
• Keith Relf 1943 - Musician (Yardbirds)
• Jeremy Clyde 1944 - Actor, singer (Chad & Jeremy)
• Harry Vanda 1947 - Musician (The Easybeats)
• James Patterson 1947 - Author
• Wolf Blitzer 1948 - liberal mouthpiece
• Andrew Lloyd Webber 1948 - Composer
• Randy Hobbs 1948 - Musician (The McCoys)
• Fanny Ardent 1949 - Actress
• Bob Costas 1952 - Sportscaster
• James House 1955 - Country singer
• Lena Olin 1955 - Actress ("Alias")
• Stephani Mills 1957 - Actress, singer
• Matthew Modine 1959 - Actor
• Marcus Camby 1974 - Basketball player
• Cole Hauser 1975 - Actor
• Kellie Williams 1976 - Actress
• Reese Witherspoon 1976 - Actress ("American Psycho")
• John Otto 1977 - Musician (Limp Bizkit)

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 @ Automotive World

panoptic \pan-OP-tik\, adjective:

1. permitting the viewing of all parts or elements: a panoptic stain used in microscopy; a panoptic aerial photograph of an enemy missile base.
2. considering all parts or elements; all inclusive: a panoptic criticism of modern poetry.

First used in English in the early 1800s, panoptic comes from the Greek panoptos, which literally means "all-seeing."

Karaoke Filibuster

• Intentionally choosing an extraordinarily long song to perform at a Karaoke Club or during a Karaoke Party/Night as a means to block others from participating in said Karaoke.

That guy's performance of Meatloaf's "I would do anything for love" was a total karaoke filibuster.

Trivia
What catchy new name did the American Family Life Assurance Company adopt in 1992?

• Aflac, which is an acronym of its old name. Founded in 1955, the company became widely known under its new name through TV commercials featuring an “Aflac”-quacking, insurance-hawking duck.

History

• Uranus: seventh planet from the Sun was discovered by William Herschel (1781)
• Andrew Johnson: the 17th POTUS's impeachment trial began in the US Senate (1868)
• Czar Alexander II: was assassinated in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date) (1881)
• Pluto: the discovery of the dwarf planet was announced by Clyde W. Tombaugh (1930)
• Kitty Genovese: was murdered in Queens, New York, while neighbors ignored her screams; this prompted investigation into the bystander effect (1964)
• Phoenix lights: unusual lights of various sorts were seen over Arizona, Nevada and Sonora; among the eyewitnesses was Arizona Governor Fife Symington (1997)

Birthdays

• Joseph Priestley 1733
• Charles Earl Grey 1764
• Lorenzo Delmonico 1813
• Percival Lowell 1855
• Helen Sinclair Glatz 1908
• Sammy Kaye 1910
• L. Ron Hubbard 1911 sci-fi writer who invented Scientology
• William Casey 1913
• Bobby Haggart 1914
• Ina Ray Hutton 1916
• Tessie O'Shea 1918
• Roy Haynes 1926 - Jazz drummer
• Jan Howard 1930 - Country singer
• Peter Breck 1930
• Liz Anderson 1930
• Rosalind Elias 1931 - Opera singer
• Mike Stoller 1933 - Songwriter
• Dick Katz 1934
• Neil Sedaka 1939 - Singer, songwriter
• Robin Duke 1944 - Comedian
• Donald York 1949 - Musician (Sha Na Na)
• William H. Macy 1950 - Actor
• Fred Berry 1951
• Deborah Raffin 1953
• Dana Delany 1956 - Actress ("China Beach")
• Glenne Headly 1957
• Adam Clayton 1960 - Musician (U2)
• Terence Blanchard 1962 - Jazz trumpeter
• Christopher Collet 1968 - Actor
• Tracey Wells 1971 - Actress
• Annabeth Gish 1971 - Actress: X-Files
• Common 1972 - Rapper
• Trent Dilfer 1972 - Football player
• Khujo 1972 - Rapper (Goodie Mob)
• Glenn Lewis 1975 - Singer
• Danny Masterson 1976 - Actor ("That 70's Show")
• Johan Santana 1979 - Baseball player
• Emile Hirsch 1985 - Actor
• Natalie Albino 1986 Singer (Nina Sky)
• Nicole Albino 1986 Singer (Nina Sky)

Review Tuesday: Llana of Gathol by Edgar Rice Burroughs @ Automotive World

Llana of Gathol by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) is the tenth book in the Barsoom Series.

From the wikipedia page:

Llana of Gathol is a collection of four Edgar Rice Burroughs stories that were originally published in Amazing Stories in 1941 (details see below). The first collected edition of Llana of Gathol was published in 1948. It is the penultimate book in the Barsoom series and the last to be published during Burroughs's lifetime.

• "The Ancient Dead", originally "The City of Mummies"
• "The Black Pirates of Barsoom", originally "Black Pirates of Barsoom"
• "Escape on Mars", originally "Yellow Men of Mars"
• "Invisible Men of Mars"

Plot: The stories in this collection revolve around John Carter's granddaughter Llana of Gathol, who plays the "damsel in distress" role played by Dejah Thoris and Thuvia in earlier entries of the Barsoom series.

I always wondered why each book in the Barsoom series feels like a roller coaster with three of four endings to it. Each book was released as parts in literary journals. So each installment, while part of a greater story, had to contain it's own beginning, middle and end. So, with that known, you don't have to ask, which ending will be the real McCoy?

The main characters of this book are truly John Carter and his granddaughter, Llana of Gathol. Llana's parents are Tara of Helium, Carter's daughter, and Gahan of Gathol who came together in The Chessmen of Mars. In this book, John Carter accidentally stumbles across a conspiracy to take over the planet, starting with the city of Gathol. Of course, while trying to unravel the attempt at world domination Carter finds his daughter in the pits below a dead city, makes friends with various potential foes everywhere he goes, meets strange cultures, and meets all sorts of crazy coincidences. 

I wonder if Burroughs might've been running out of ideas for stories because he brought back the Green Men of the dead Sea Bottoms, the Yellow Men of the Martian Polar Cap as well as the "First Born" Black Pirates of Barsoom. All reprise their roles as formidable enemies. But it's the Yellow Men making a grab for the planet. The First Born are content in their little enclaves.

Each book has some new fantastical form of technology never before described in previous Barsoom tales. This time it's definitely the cities that have discovered the secret to invisibility. The big problem is that not only are they invisible to outsiders, but invisible to themselves! Burroughs describes how warriors are tripping over each other, and how people end up tripping over others in the common areas in the city.

Of course John Carter would take advantage of the secret of invisibility to destroy the efforts of the enemy of the enemy of the planet. But, as always, this book seemed to come to a very fast ending. The usual good triumphs over evil, and the good guy gets the girl.

It was typical Burroughs to me. If you've gotten this far in the series, you might as well finish it off despite how redundant they could seem. I would still recommend it.

Find it on AMAZON.

Some art based on this book, cred to the orignal artists and uploaders...

   

Monday, March 11, 2013 @ Automotive World

leeward \LEE-werd; Naut. LOO-erd\, adjective:

1. pertaining to, situated in, or moving toward the quarter toward which the wind blows (opposed to windward).

noun:

1. the lee side; the point or quarter toward which the wind blows.

adverb:

1. toward the lee.

While the ultimate origin of leeward, first appearing in English in the 1500s, is not known for certain, it contains the Old English hleo meaning "strong." This in turn came from the Old Norse hly meaning "shelter" and "warmth."

domestic blindness

• Trying to look for something, an item (anywhere, usually in the house) ..but you can't find it, so you ask your spouse for help. Upon asking your spouse for help, the spouse points to the item that you were looking for, which is usually standing right in front of your face.

After your spouse points to the item you were looking for, and it happens to end up being right in front of your face, you exclaim something like,

"Oh! I must've had a case of Domestic Blindness!!"

If you are well paired with your partner, your spouse will usually LMFAO, together with you.

Trivia
What is the only Clint Eastwood film in which the movie star’s tough guy character is shot dead?

• Gran Torino (2008).

History

• Lend-Lease Act: was signed into law by FDR, providing aid in the form of equipment, food and weapons to the Allies during WWII (1941)
• Mikhail Gorbachev: was appointed the leader of the Soviet Union, despite being the youngest member of the politburo at the time (1985)
• Paul McCartney: was knighted by Queen Elizabeth (1997)
• Madrid bombings: 10 bombs exploded on the train system during rush hour, killing 191 (2004)

Birthdays

• Torquato Tasso 1544
• Thomas Hastings 1860
• Malcolm Campbell 1885
• Lawrence Welk 1903
• Harold Wilson 1916
• Mercer Ellington 1919
• A. Louise Brough 1923
• Terence Alexander 1923
• Ralph David Abernathy 1926
• Troy Ruttman 1930 Valerie French 1931
• Rupert Murdoch 1931 - Media mogul
• Leroy Jenkins 1932
• Sam Donaldson 1934 - Broadcast journalist
• Nancy Kovack 1935
• Antonin Scalia 1936 - U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Flaco Jimenez 1939 - Musician (The Texas Tornadoes)
• Rick Rothwell (Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders) 1944
• Tricia O'Neil 1945 - Actress
• Mark Metcalf 1946 - Actor ("Animal House")
• Mark Stein 1947 - Musician (Vanilla Fudge)
• George Kooymans 1948 - Musician (Golden Earring)
• Bobby McFerrin 1950 - Singer
• Jerry Zucker 1950 - Director
• Dominique Sanda 1951
• Douglas Adams 1952
• Susan Richardson 1952 - Actress ("Eight is Enough")
• Nina Hagen 1955 - Singer
• Jimmy Fortune 1955 - Country singer (The Statler Brothers)
• Cheryl Lynn 1957 - Singer
• Anissa Jones 1958
• Bruce Watson 1961 - Musician (Big Country)
• Jeffrey Nordling 1962 - Actor
• Alex Kingston 1963 - Actress ("ER")
• Vincent Abbott 1964 - Drummer (Pantera)
• Wallace Langham 1965 - Actor ("CSI")
• Lisa Loeb 1968 - Singer
• John Barrowman 1968
• Peter Droge 1969 - Singer (The Thorns)
• Rami Jaffee 1969 - Musican (Wallflowers)
• Terrence Howard 1969 - Actor
• Johnny Knoxville 1971 - Actor ("Dukes of Hazzard", "Jack Ass")
• Joel Madden 1979 - Musician (Good Charlotte)
• Benji Madden 1979 - Musician (Good Charlotte)
• Dan Uggla 1980 - Baseball player
• David Anders 1981 - Actor ("Alias")
• LeToya Nicole Luckett 1981 - Singer (Destiny's Child)
• Thora Birch 1982 - Actress
• Anton Yelchin 1989 - Actor

Sunday, February 24, 2013 @ Automotive World

mainour \MEY-ner\, noun:

• a stolen article found on the person of or near the thief: to be taken with the mainour.

Mainour, a Medieval word, entered Middle English from the Old French manoeuvre meaning "hand labor."

Please Advise

• Corporate Jargon for What The Fuck.

Dear Jim,

I have not yet received the Alabama case files I asked you to Send.

Please Advise.

John

Trivia
What is used to inflate the tires of cars competing in NASCAR races?

• Pure nitrogen. It’s used instead of compressed air because it maintains tire pressure longer, is more fuel efficient, resists heat buildup in hot weather, and reduces oxidation, which can damage a tire from the inside.

History

• Gregorian calendar: solar calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in a papal bull known as Inter gravissimas, to correct the Julian calendar (1582)
• Marbury v. Madison: established judicial review, giving the Supreme Court power to overturn acts of Congress it deems unconstitutional (1803)
• Andrew Johnson: became the first US president to be impeached, for defying the Tenure of Office Act (1868)
• National Public Radio: the home of All Things Considered and Car Talk was created (1970)

Birthdays

• Wilhelm Grimm 1786 - Author with brother Jakob Grimm (Grimm's Fairy Tales: Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, The Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb)
• Winslow Homer 1836 - Artist
• Honus (John Peter) Wagner 1874 - Baseball player, "The Flying Dutchman"
• Chester Nimitz 1885 - U.S. Navy Admiral, WWII Commander in Chief, signed the Japanese surrender papers
• Marjorie Main (Mary Tomlinson) 1890 - Actress ("Ma and Pa Kettle", "The Egg and I")
• Zachary Scott (Zachary Thomson Scott, Jr.) 1914 - Actor ("Flamingo Road", "The Young One")
• Abe Vigoda 1921 - Actor ("Barney Miller", "The Godfather"), zombie
• Steven Hill 1922 - Actor ("Law & Order", "Mission: Impossible", "Leagle Eagles")
• Mark Lane 1927 - Attorney, author ("Rush to Judgment"), conspiracy theorist regarding the JFK assassination
• Bubba (John Melvin) Phillips 1928 - Baseball player
• Richard B. Shull 1929 - Actor ("Splash")
• Barbara Lawrence 1930
• Dominic Chianese 1931 - Actor ("The Sopranos"), singer
• John Vernon 1932 - Actor ("The Outlaw Jose Wales", "Dirty Harry")
• Michel Legrand 1932 - Composer
• Linda Cristal 1936
• Renata Scotto 1936 - Opera singer
• Lance Reventlow 1936 - Auto racer, son of Barbara Hutton
• James Farentino 1938 - Actor ("Dynasty", "The Final Countdown")
• Paul Jones 1942 - Musician (Manfred Mann)
• George Harrison 1943 - Musician (Beatles) - In 1992, Harrison stated, "I only learned recently after all these years that the date and time of my own birth have always been off by one calendar day and about a half hour on the clock." Previously, Harrison thought his birthday was the 25th.
• Sheila Larkin 1944
• Barry Bostwick 1945 - Actor ("Spy Hard", "Spin City" "War & Remembrance")
• Rupert Holmes 1947 - Musician, songwriter
• Edward James Olmos 1947 - Actor ("Blade Runner", "Miami Vice")
• Lonnie Turner 1947 - Musician (The Steve Miller Band)
• George Thorogood 1950 - Musician
• Helen Shaver 1951 - Actress ("The Craft", "Born to be Wild")
• Debra Jo Rupp 1951 - Actress ("That '70s Show")
• Fred Dean 1952 - Football player
• Tom Burleson 1952 - Basketball player
• Frank (Joseph) Riccelli 1953 - Baseball player
• Greg Wesbrooks 1953 - Football player
• Mike Sember 1953 - Baseball player
• Steven Jobs 1955 - Co-founder of Apple, Inc. - iTunes Music
• Bob Abrams 1955 - Musician (The Buckinghams)
• Paula Zahn 1956 - TV journalist ("CBS This Morning")
• Eddie Murray 1956 - Baseball player
• Sammy Kershaw 1958
• Michelle Shocked 1962 - Singer
• Todd Field 1964 - Director
• Billy Zane 1966 - Actor ("Titanic")
• Jeff Garcia 1970 - Football player
• Mike Lowell 1974 - Baseball player
• Simeon Rice 1974 - Football player
• Bonnie Somerville 1974 - Actress
• Lleyton Hewitt 1981 - Tennis player
• Brandon Brown 1983 - (Mista)