DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
Founded: December, 2000 Created By: Esther Aquino & Joseph Garcia
Thursday December 9th, 2004
In Today's Edition
My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.
-Jack Nicholson
Born on December 9th
Emjay (1974)
David Kersh (1970)
Jakob Dylan (1969)
Donny Osmond (1957)
John Malkovich (1953)
Dick Butkus (1942)
Beau Bridges (1941)
Buck Henry (1930)
Dick Van Patten (1928)
Dina Merrill (1925)
Redd Foxx (1922)
Kirk Douglas (1916)
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1909)
Margaret Hamilton (1902)
Emmett Kelly (1898)
John Milton (1608)
Census Taker
A census taker in a rural area went up to a farmhouse and knocked. When a woman came to the door, he asked her how many children she had and their ages.
She said, "Les' see now, there's the twins, Sally and Billy, they're eighteen. And the twins, Seth & Beth, they're sixteen. And the twins, Penny and Jenny, they're fourteen ... "
"Hold on!" said the census taker, "Did you get twins EVERY time?"
The woman answered, "Heck no, there were hundreds of times we didn't get nothin'."
Too Much Testosterone
Today's useless fact - What gender is Winnie-the-Pooh?
According to the links in the Lukol Winnie the Pooh category, every character in "Winnie-the- Pooh" and "The House at Pooh Corner" are boys except Kanga (a mother kangaroo). There are references to other female characters, namely some of Rabbit's friends and relations, but none of them have any speaking parts." Interestingly enough, the original bear that inspired the fictional character was female. During World War I, a Canadian lieutenant named Harry Colebourne was on his way to Europe when he bought a female black bear cub whose mother had been killed by a hunter. He named her Winnipeg (Winnie for short), after his hometown.
The cub accompanied the unit to Britain and became the brigade's mascot. When Colebourne was sent to France, he gave Winnie to the London Zoo. It was here that Christopher Robin Milne, son of author A.A. Milne, met and fell in love with the bear. He visited her often at the zoo and renamed his teddy bear (a male originally named Edward Bear) Winnie-the-Pooh. (The "Pooh" part was the name of a real swan). Inspired by his son's beloved stuffed animals, A.A. Milne wrote Winnie-the-Pooh, which was published in 1926. Walt Disney later bought the rights to the book and made several animated short films.
The first chapter of the book clearly establishes Pooh's gender. Milne wrote:
When I first heard his name, I said, just as you are going to say, "But I thought he was a boy?"
"So did I," said Christopher Robin.
"Then you can't call him Winnie?"
"I don't."
"But you said---"
"He's Winnie-ther-Pooh. Don't you know what 'ther' means?"
"Ah, yes, now I do," I said quickly; and I hope you do too, because it is all the explanation you are going to get.
What's The Buzzword For December 9th?
aerobatics \air-uh-BAT-iks\ noun singular or plural
What does it mean?
: spectacular flying feats and maneuvers
How do you use it?
Six U.S. Air Force pilots put on an amazing display of
aerobatics at the air show.
Are you a word wiz?
"Aerobatics" was one of many flight-related words that
began appearing in magazines and newspapers in the first two
decades of the 1900s (others included "airline," "airpower,"
and "flight path"). Why do you think those words started
appearing then?
A. They were inspired by the Wright brothers' first flight
in 1903.
B. They were coined in the book _The Flying Machine_ by
Jules Verne.
C. They were inspired by the invention of the hot air
balloon in 1900.
D. They were coined by scientists working on a rocket ship
for NASA.
Answer:
The first flight of Wilbur and Orville Wright in 1903 and
their demonstration of the first practical airplane in 1905
definitely played a key role in popularizing the vocabulary
of airplanes. NASA wasn't founded until 1958, so its role in
adding aerodynamic terms to our vocabulary didn't start until
later. As far as we know, French author Jules Verne never
wrote a book called _The Flying Machine_, so that choice is
out too. Hot air balloons were actually introduced by the
Montgolfier brothers in the 1780s; they had their primary
influence on English long before the 1900s.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
Click Here
Fire
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend.
The following is what appeared in Wednesday's edition.
In Today's Edition
If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else.
-Yogi Berra
Born on December 8th
Sinead O'Connor (1966)
Teri Hatcher (1964)
Kim Basinger (1953)
Gregg Allman (1947)
Jim Morrison (1943)
James Galway (1939)
David Carradine (1936)
Flip Wilson (1933)
Maximillian Schell (1930)
Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925)
Lee J. Cobb (1911)
James Thurber (1894)
Diego Rivera (1886)
Jean Sibelius (1865)
Mary Queen of Scots (1542)
Joke
How many mystery writers does it take to change a light bulb?
It takes only one, but he has to give it a good twist.
Today's useless fact - How can someone have two different colored eyes?
According to the links in the Lukol Vision category, it was once believed that eye color was controlled by a single gene and inherited in a straightforward fashion (remember Mendel from high-school biology?). These days it's not quite that simple. We now believe that eye color is a polygenic trait.
Eye color is determined by the amount of melanin, a dark brown pigment, present in your irises. Blue eyes are due to a lack of melanin, while brown eyes indicate melanin-rich irises. Thus, people with darker hair and skin have higher levels of melanin and tend to have brown eyes, while people with lighter hair and skin have lower levels of melanin and usually have lighter colored eyes. This is also why many babies are born with blue eyes. Their eyes change color later as they begin to produce more melanin.
When an individual has different amounts of melanin in each of their irises, their eyes are different colors. Heterochromia iridium (the scientific name for two different color eyes in the same individual) is relatively rare in humans but common in some animals, such as horses, cats, and certain species of dogs. A variation on the condition is heterochromia iridis, in which an individual has a variety of colors within one iris.
Heterochromia iridium is thought to result from an alteration to one of the genes that controls eye color. This can be an inherited trait, although trauma and certain medications may result in increased or decreased pigmentation in one of the irises. Certain medical syndromes, such as Waardenburg syndrome, may also cause someone to have two different colored eyes.
Some people with this condition wear colored contact lenses so their irises match, while others take pride in their striking appearance.
What's The Buzzword For December 8th?
repudiate \rih-PYOO-dee-ayt\ verb
What does it mean?
1 : to refuse to have anything to do with
2 : to refuse to accept or pay
How do you use it?
At the end of Shakespeare's play _Henry IV, Part 2_, the
new king repudiates the friends whose company he enjoyed when
he was a prince.
Are you a word wiz?
Please don't turn down our request: pick the word below
that you think is closest in meaning to "repudiate."
A. explain
B. discover
C. reject
D. attach
Answer:
Don't reject answer C. Like "repudiate," "reject" means to
turn away by not accepting or receiving. It often implies an
unwillingness to even consider something (as in "rejected her
plan immediately"). "Decline," another synonym, suggests a
polite negative response (for example, "declined the
invitation"), while "refuse" often refers to a forceful or
absolute denial (as in "refused to see him at all").
"Repudiate" implies a casting off or disowning as unworthy of
acceptance. It is frequently used in connection with social
relationships (like marriage or friendship) and can be traced
back to the Latin word meaning "divorce."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.
The following is what appeared in Tuesday's edition.
In Today's Edition
Some people are like blisters. They don't show up until the work is done.
Born on December 7th
Aaron Carter (1987)
Tino Martinez (1967)
C. Thomas Howell (1966)
Edd Hall (1958)
Larry Bird (1956)
Johnny Bench (1947)
Harry Chapin (1942)
Ellen Burstyn (1932)
Ted Knight (1923)
Eli Wallach, Jr. (1915)
Louis Prima (1910)
Shredder
A young executive was leaving the office late one
evening when he found the CEO standing in front of
a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand.
"Listen," said the CEO, "This is a very sensitive and
important document here, and my secretary has gone
for the night. Can you make this thing work?"
"Certainly," said the young executive. He turned
the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed
the start button.
"Excellent, excellent" said the CEO as his paper
disappeared inside the machine. "I just need one
copy."
Today's useless fact - Why am I right-handed, but my brother is left-handed?
To answer your question we thumbed through the links listed in the Lukol Lefthanders category. We turned up plenty of opinions, but no definitive answer to your question. According to Scientific American's Ask the Experts feature, scientists have been studying "handedness" (i.e., which hand people tend to use for writing and other precise motor skills) for about 160 years, and they still haven't discovered what causes someone to prefer one hand over the other. Most people in the world are right-handed -- only 5% to 30% are left-handed. No one's sure if left-handedness is genetic, a learned behavior, caused by prenatal or birth trauma, or if it's some combination of these factors.
Studies of families and identical twins prove only an indirect genetic cause for left-handedness. Within families, one study found that if both parents are right-handed or if only the father is left-handed, a child has a 1 in 10 chance of being left- handed. If only the mother is left-handed, the odds rise to 2 in 10. If both parents are left-handed, the child has a 4 in 10 chance of being left-handed. So, while left-handedness might be passed from parent to child, the chances are still greater that a child will be right-handed. Identical twins have identical genes and, if handedness were wholly genetic, both twins would be either right- or left-handed. But in studies of left-handed twins, only 76% of the pairs were both left-handed.
Others studies suggest that men are 1.5% to 4% more likely to be left-handed than women. This difference could be linked to the male hormone testosterone. According to the alt.lefthanders Frequently Asked Questions page, some scientists speculate that exposure to excess levels of testosterone during pregnancy may cause babies to be left-handed. Adult females normally produce a small amount of testosterone, as do male fetuses -- these two influences could lead to high testosterone levels. But, much like the genetic link, the testosterone link to left-handedness hasn't been proven convincingly.
A recent Swedish study connects ultrasound scans during pregnancy with an increase in left-handed babies. The study examined men born in the 1970s and suggested a 30% increase in left-handedness among those who were exposed to ultrasound (which was less sophisticated at that time) in the womb. The study seems to indicate that prenatal trauma is one possible cause of left- handedness.
In the end, no one knows for sure why some people are left-handed and others are right-handed. Maybe if you ask again in 10 years, science will have a more concrete answer.
What's The Buzzword For December 7th?
pooh-bah \POOH-bah\ noun
What does it mean?
1 : a person holding many public or private offices
2 : a person in high position or of great influence
How do you use it?
The town's citizens didn't want their lives controlled by
some pooh-bah, so a number of them became involved in running
the town.
Are you a word wiz?
The word "pooh-bah" originated with someone whose work still
enjoys great popularity. Which of the creative people below
do you think coined "pooh-bah"?
A. British writer J. K. Rowling
B. American cartoonist Charles Schultz
C. British playwright W. S. Gilbert
D. American writer and illustrator Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
Answer:
In the late 1800s, the comic operas of W. S. Gilbert (who
wrote the lyrics) and Arthur Sullivan (who wrote the music)
were extremely popular both in Britain and America. One of
their best collaborations, _The Mikado_, written in 1885, is
set in Japan, but it really pokes gentle fun at some types of
people found in British society at that time. Among them is
"Pooh-Bah," whose title is "Lord-High-Everything-Else." This
stuck-up character takes himself far too seriously. By 1888,
his name was being used as a noun meaning "a person holding
many offices," and later acquired the meaning "a person in a
high position."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.
The following is what appeared in Monday's edition.
In Today's Edition
Our European correspondents, Erika and Dylan, recently spent a holiday in Italy. Dylan was kind enough to give us a brief report of their journey. As usual, he is in fine form with his witticism and play with words.
Click here to read Erika and Dylan's adventure or as I put it; The Quest For Aquino
Born on December 6th
Andrew Cuomo (1957)
Peter Buck (1956)
Steven Wright (1955)
Tom Hulce (1953)
David Ossman (1936)
Wally Cox (1924)
Dave Brubeck (1920)
Agnes Moorehead (1906)
Ira Gershwin (1896)
Lynn Fontanne (1887)
Joyce Kilmer (1886)
William S. Hart (1870)
John Singleton Mosby (1833)
Kayla Turner
Testimony
In ancient Rome, long before the advent of the Christian Bible, Romans would swear to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" by placing their right hands on their testicles. It is from this ritual that we derived the term "testimony."
Today's useless fact - What was the meaning of the scene in "Magnolia" when frogs fell from the sky?
We can't tell you why P.T. Anderson's film about ten characters searching for redemption in the San Fernando Valley culminates in a shower of frogs. There isn't a single meaning; it probably relates to the film's central themes of synchronicity, fate, and forgiveness. We can, however, give you a little background on raining frogs. Mr. Anderson didn't come up with this on a whim. He'd read the work of Charles Fort and decided to incorporate the frog phenomenon into his film.
Frog showers have a long and storied history. A Scientific American article from 1873 states, "A shower of frogs, which darkened the air and covered the ground for a long distance, is the reported result of a recent rainstorm at Kansas City, Missouri."
The prevailing scientific wisdom dictates that violent thunderstorms or tornadoes pass over ponds, pick up small amphibians from the water, then deposit them many miles away. The forces of nature don't limit themselves to frogs and ponds, however. In 1995, a storm in Iowa swept up and then rained down unopened soda cans. No joke.
In Exodus 8:1-15, a shower of frogs is cast down by God on the Egyptians for their refusal to set the Israelites free: "And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs." All the characters in Magnolia seem to be struggling for some kind of freedom. Maybe there's a connection there.
What's The Buzzword For December 6th?
ameliorate \uh-MEE-lee-uh-rayt\ verb
What does it mean?
: to make or grow better or more tolerable
How do you use it?
Greg volunteers for an after-school program designed to
ameliorate the lives of underprivileged children.
Are you a word wiz?
Which of these sentences do you think uses "ameliorate"
correctly?
A. Lara took time from her busy day to ameliorate the
beauty of the sunset.
B. Some types of medicines are given as both capsules and
ameliorates.
C. Sacha's apology helped to ameliorate the tension that
resulted from the misunderstanding.
D. The students were asked to ameliorate in the gym for
an important announcement.
Answer:
If you picked C, your vocabulary is getting better. Since
"ameliorate" implies making a bad situation or condition
(such as tension among friends) more tolerable, Sacha's
apology in C fits the bill perfectly. Another word that would
fit in this sentence is "meliorate." "Meliorate" is not only
a synonym of "ameliorate," but is also its parent word.
"Ameliorate" was coined in the mid-18th century as an
alteration of "meliorate," a word from the 16th century that
also means "to make or grow better." "Meliorate" traces back
to the Latin word "melior," meaning "better."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
