"I found a new friend underneath my pillow. Come on and wreck my car..."

Hey everyone, and happy Clean Up Your Room Day. Don't forget to email me the name of the band (from my subject line). I actually found a great way to send real (and pretty good) prizes now, so my promises won't be empty anymore. And I'll try to catch up on the prizes I haven't given out yet. Oh yah, I need your address too if I am to send the prize, obviously...

Words of the Day: (lots of 'em, sorry if you're not into this kind of thing. words are my life)

polyhistor (pol-ee-HIS-tuhr) noun, also polyhistorian; A person of great or wide learning.
[From Latin polyhistor, from Greek polyistor (very learned), from poly- (much, many) + histor (learned). Ultimately from the Indo-European root weid (to see) that is also the source of words such as guide, wise, vision, advice, idea, story and history.]

accidie (AK-suh-dee) noun; apathy, boredom

manifesto (man-uh-FESS-toh) noun; a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer

sentient (SEN-shee-uhnt; -tee-; -shuhnt), adjective;
1. Capable of perceiving by the senses; conscious.
2. Experiencing sensation or feeling.

sacred cow (say-cruhd kau) noun; a belief, custom, etc. that people support and do not question or criticize

Today's Irish Word of the Day:

beannacht (BAN-uhxt) blessing, greeting
Usage: Beannacht is often seen in the complimentary close of letters:
-Beir beannacht = Best wishes to you
-Slán agus beannacht = Farewell and a blessing
History: Beannacht comes from Old Irish bendacht, which comes from Latin benedictio. This is one of many words relating to Christianity and book learning that were borrowed from Latin early on. The Scottish Gaelic spelling is beannachd.

And Happy Birthday to:
Johann Michael Schmidt, 1741
Kaufmann Kohler, 1843 (probably should go on the Stud List, what do you all think?)
Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1850
Gustav Stresemann, 1878
Maximilian Raoul Walter Steiner, 1888 (composer for Gone With the Wind)
Carl Albert, 1908 (speaker of the house)
Duncan Watson, 1926 (president of World Blind Union)
William Lithgow, 1934
Donovan, 1943 (sang Mellow Yellow)
Sly Dunbar, 1952
Homer Simpson, 1955 (definitely if he was real he would be Stud Listed)
Mark David Chapman (not a stud), 1955 (shot John Lennin, stud)
Mikael Andersson, 1966
Adam Deadmarsh, 1975

Happy Deathday to:
Picander, 1764 (has anyone read/heard of Die Weiberprobe?)
George Vancouver, 1798 (hmmm I would have to say he was pretty influencial. Stud List?)
Paul Revere, 1818
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, 1863
William Huggins, 1910 (discoverer of stellar nature of Andromeda)
John Wesley Hyatt, 1920 (heehee! I just added him to the Stud List the other day. First to tell me what he did wins a prize)
Andre Bertulot, 1943 (Belgian resistance fighter)
Armand Fraiteur, 1943 (same)
Maurice-Albert Raskin, 1943 (same)
John Wayne Gacy, 1994 (stupidhead, foshmos not a stud)

Today In History:
Scottish nobles recognize authority of English king Edward I, 1291 (noooooooooooo!! bad move!!)
Amerigo Vespucci leaves for 1st voyage to New World, 1497
Church reformer John Pistorius caught in the Hague, 1525
French navigator Jacques Cartier reaches Newfoundland, 1534
Czar Ivan IV becomes Protestant, 1570
Benjamin Franklins first tests the lightning rod, 1752
Jefferson Davis captured at Irwinsville Georgia, 1865
Golden Spike driven, 1869
Jem Mace defends his heavyweight crown against Irish champ Joe Coburn, it lasts 1 hr & 17 minutes, & neither is struck by a punch, 1870
Russia's Duma meets for the first time, 1906
1st Mother's Day observed, 1908 (in Philadelphia)
Halley's comet's closest approach to Earth, 1910
J Edgar Hoover appointed head of FBI, 1924
Smith v Allwright declared illegal, 1944
Keith Richards, Brian Jones & Mick Jagger arrested on drug charges, 1967
Turtles play White House, Mark Volman falls off stage 5 times, 1969
Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins sweep St Louis Blues in 4 games, 1970
Nelson Mandela sworn in as South Africa's 1st black president, 1994
104 miners killed in an elevator accident in South Africa, 1995
Alaska resumes burial of dead, 2004
I got hosed by employers all over Boise and Meridian, 2004
I ate 7 tacos for lunch, 2004. Make me tacos and I'll probably love you forever! yum!

Today's Quotes: (there are quite a lot today, hope you enjoy!)

Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.
Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

If all the rich people in the world divided up their money among themselves there wouldn't be enough to go around.
Christina Stead (1903 - 1983)

Paradise is exactly like where you are right now...only much, much better
Laurie Anderson

There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers.
William James (1842 - 1910)

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.
Unknown

Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.
Gore Vidal (1925 - )

There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.
Henry Kissinger (1923 - )

Rogues are preferable to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
Alexandre Dumas (1802 - 1870)

Why are we surprised when politicians play politics? It's not like they are supposed to be real adults... they are, after all, politicians and don't have real jobs and aren't playing around with their money.
Max

A poet more than thirty years old is simply an overgrown child.
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

It is always easier to believe than to deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative.
John Burroughs (1837 - 1921)

Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)

It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.
Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - )

I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.
An English Professor, Ohio University

If you are very valiant, it is a god, I think, who gave you this gift.
Homer (800 BC - 700 BC)

When truth is nothing but the truth, its unnatural, it's an abstraction that resembles nothing in the real world. In nature there are always so many other irrelevant things mixed up with the essential truth.
Aldous Huxley (1894 - 1963)

Wake up and smell the catfood.
They Might Be Giants (who - knows)

Thats about all I have for today. Email me lots. i have only gotten about 7 emails since saturday, and the key to my creative inspiration is talking to lots of people. so dont be selfish, its not just me you're hurting, its everyone who gets my emails. and now its also hurting all the people who visit my website. also, if you make me tacos, I'll probably get some of that creative spark back. I feel so tired and dead since I've gotten home. The good idea particles aren't hitting the right nodes in my brain anymore. I miss the Cannon Center open access lab. Also, I left a bunch of pictures there that I had downloaded, and so now they are all lost unless I go there and save them, but I dont think that would be very efficient without cd burning capabilities. Have you any idea how many floppy diskettes I would have to go through to try and keep all my (60ish) pictures? It would be madness. And I emailed the office of IT and they said they cant send me my files and theres no way to access them from home (go figure!) so I think I'll just do without. Farewell, my friends.

Slán agus beannacht, Brian