"Excuse my grammar, but the fat lady sung..."

Name that band!  (I didn't forget you Marel, I'll do yours tomorrow)

 

Today I'm going to make a short email because I have lots of books that I want to read, and not lots of time to read them in.  I'm still in the middle of that one by Snorri Sturluson, and then after that I have: A Short History of Sweden (last semester I read "A Brief History of the Swedish Language", that was rockin cool), A Brief Concise History of Scandinavia, Medeival English Literature, a biography of William Tyndale, and probaby by the time I finish those, I will have found something else to read.  And with any luck, a job.

 

So, I played pictionary lat night until 4am.  It was pretty cool.  I made fun of this guy from New Zealand and I called him an Aussie and he got all offended.  And I also talked to this girl from Norway about Norwegian history.  That was way cool.  Everyone else probably thought we were nuts.  Which is fine with me.  And I also "slapped" Caleb a lot too.  And Kim played too.

 

Today is Smile Power Day.  So smile.

 

Happy Birthday:

Frederik II, 1221

Richard Grenville, 1542

Edvard Hagerup Grieg, 1843

Trevor Huddleston, 1913

Waylon Jennings, 1937

Jim Varney, 1946 (IT'S ERNEST!!!  YOU KNOW FROM ERNEST GOES TO CAMP?!?)

James Belushi, 1954

Helen Hunt, 1963

Ice Cube, 1969 (hehe, Ice Cube...  One time I saw on Celebrity Deathmatch a fight between Ice Cube and Vanilla Ice.  It was cooool)

Jesse Belanger, 1969 (yay for hockey)

Jean Francois Labbe, 1972 (yay for more hockey)

Sandy Mccarthy, 1972 (yay for even more hockey)

Dean McAmmond, 1973

Neil Patrick Harris, 1973 (he played Doogie Howser, back in the day)

 

Happy Deathday:

Robert I, 923 (king of France)

Romanus I Lecapenus, 948 (Armenian emperor of Byzantium)

Theophano, 991 (wife of Otto II)

Andronicus III Paleologus, 1341 (another Byzantine emperor)

Wat Tyler, 1381 (leader of the English Peasants' Revolt)

Nicolaas van Nieuwland, 1580 (corrupt first bishop of Haarlem)

Antoine Court, 1760

James Knox Polk, 1849 (one of those presidents that only seventeen people in the whole country actually know existed)

Jakob Jud, 1952 (Swiss Etymologist!!!!!)

Meredith Willson, 1984

Victor French, 1989 (actor (#44 on Get Smart) and shows/movies)

Ella Fitzgerald, 1996

Fitzroy Maclean, 1996 (AWESOME guy!  no foolin' check him out!)

 

Here is a quote from Fitzroy Maclean (who is thought to be the real life model for 007):

"On his extraordinary travels, even in old age, he carried a tube of anchovy paste, a flask of vodka and four small silver cups. 'At a pinch,' he would tell friends, 'you can always find a piece of dry bread to put some anchovy paste on, and if you have three or four noggins of vodka you have a party straight away--which is good for morale.'"

Churchill told him: "Your job is to find out who is killing the most Germans--and determine how we can help them kill more."

 

And here is your random picture for the day.  I found it at this site.  It's a bunch of nerds that dress up and fight each other dressed as LotR characters.  Not like I've never done that... It's sickening that I'm not ashamed of this.  I just thought some of you might get a kick out of it.  Laugh all you want.

 

Today in Earth's Expansive History:

King John signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, England, 1215

King Valdemar brought victory for Denmark, 1219

Battle at Carberry Scot: Protestant troops beat Earl Bothwells army, 1567

Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther, 1590

Able Tasmania returns to Batavia after discovering Tasmania, 1643

NJ established, 1664 (I don't know if NJ is worthy of capitalization or space in my email...)

2 French balloonists die in world's 1st fatal aviation accident, 1785

Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber, 1844

1st White settlement in Idaho (Franklin), 1860 (I say they should have left it alone, it wasnt worth the effort of settling)

Celluloid patented by John Wesley Hyatt, 1869 (the first plastic)

1st attempt at motion pictures (used 12 cameras, each taking 1 picture) done to see if all 4 of a horse's hooves leave the ground, 1878

Boys Scouts of America forms, 1916

1" of snow falls in Northern Pennsylvania, 1918

John Lennon (15) & Paul McCartney (13) meet for 1st time as rock group Quarrymen perform at a church dinner, 1956

Bob Dylan records "Like a Rolling Stone", 1965

Supreme Court rules all children, regardless of citizenship, are entitled to a public education, 1982

Pravda announces high-level Chernobyl staff fired for stupidity, 1986

 

Words of the day:

lirp: a snap of the fingers

slipshod: wearing loose shoes

primogeniture: being the firstborn

labrose: having thick or large lips

 

Irish Gaelic Word of the Day:

Sagart:  priest

Usage: sagart paróiste (SAH-guhrt PU-rohsh-chuh or puh-ROHSH-chuh) = parish priest
          Chuaigh sé sna sagairt. (XOO-uh shay snuh SAH-gwirt) = He joined the priesthood. (lit., He went into the priests.)

History:  Old Irish "sacart" was borrowed early on from Latin "sacerdos",which comes ultimately from the Indo-European root *sak- (to sanctify),via the compound *sak-ro-dhot- [macron over final o], meaning "performer of sacred rites".

 

"It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them."

     Alfred Adler (1870 - 1937)

 

That's really all I have for today, unless you want to give me more ideas.  I'm fresh out right now.  Hmmm... fresh, that's actually something I'm not.  I didn't shower today.  And I'm sure you all care... so anyway, I'm gonna quit while you still don't hate me (or so I think).

Brian Harris

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