Thursday June 24th, 2004

 

In Today's Tribune 

 

 

Due to circumstances beyond my control and upon advice from my psychoanalyst, I won't be doing the website for a couple of weeks. The messageboard will still be up and running so you can still communicate and post through there.

As much as I love doing this site, it's getting harder and harder to keep up this day-to-day frantic pace of providing quality material without outside contributions and feedback.

In other words, I think I'm burned out.

Hopefully, I'll return sooner than that, revitalized and recharged.

Have a nice day.

 

Here's today's tidbits

Born on June 24th

Joe Penny (1956)

Jeff Beck (1944)

Mick Fleetwood (1942)

Michele Lee (1942)

Chief Dan George (1899)

Jack Dempsey (1895)

Ambrose Bierce (1842)

Nobel Prize

A man is driving down a country road, when he
spots a farmer standing in the middle of a huge
field of grass. He pulls the car over to the side
of the road and notices that the farmer is just
standing there, doing nothing, looking at nothing.
The man gets out of the car, walks all the way out
to the farmer and asks him,

"Ah excuse me mister, but what are you doing?"

The farmer replies, "I'm trying to win a Nobel Prize."

"How?" asks the man, puzzled.

"Well I heard they give the Nobel Prize to
people who are out standing in their field."

Today's useless fact - What causes the dark circles under your eyes? Is it lack of sleep?


As you tack on the years, the skin covering your eyelids thins out, which may cause the blood vessels to become more apparent, giving your lower eyelids a darker appearance. It's also possible that thin eyelids can be inherited. Dark eyelids can also be caused from swelling in your lower eyelids. When you're lying down, gravity causes fluid to collect in your lower eyelids, which may create shadows below your eyes.

In most cases the condition is a result of aging or inheritance, and does not indicate illness or toxicity in the body. Here's what you can do to eliminate the hollow look:

Gently massage saffron or almond oil on the dark area before going to bed.

Dip cotton pads in fig juice, rosewater, or cold milk. Lie down with your feet raised higher than your head, then place the wet pads on your closed eyes. Stay that way for 10 minutes.


 

 

What's The Buzzword For June 24th?

distinctive  \dih-STINC-tiv\  adjective
 
What does it mean?
  1 : clearly marking a person or a thing as different from
others
  2 : having or giving a special look or way

How do you use it?
  The most distinctive feature of baseball's Fenway Park is
the left field wall, which is known as "the Green Monster."

Are you a word wiz?
  Of the words below, one is distinctive as a synonym of
"distinctive." Which one do you think it is?

  A. familiar
  B. unreliable
  C. characteristic
  D. pleasant

Answer:
  "Distinctive," "characteristic," and "individual" all
indicate a special or unique quality. Yet they each have a
distinctive connotation when used in a sentence. "Distinctive"
suggests qualities that distinguish one person or thing from
another, as in "she has a very distinctive voice."
"Characteristic" applies to something that is typical of a
person or identifies a person or thing, as in "he responded
with characteristic humor." "Individual" stresses qualities
that distinguish someone or something from all others, as in
"they both have highly individual writing styles."
 

Today's Jigsaw puzzle 

 

CLICK HERE    LEESHA & KEITH

                That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.

                                                      

                                    

                    The following is what appeared in Wednesday's edition..........

In Today's Tribune 

 

 

I haven't heard a word from Gina. She probably doesn't even know she won the contest. If I don't hear from her by Friday, maybe we'll have a runoff mini-contest for the t-shirts.

 

Here's today's tidbits

Born on June 23rd

Frances McDormand (1957)

June Carter (1929)

Bob Fosse (1927)

Alan Turing (1912)

Edward VIII, King of England (1894)

Alfred Kinsey (1894)

Johannes Gutenberg (1400)

Devyn Williams

I was so wrapped up in the contest results Monday that I neglected to mention a couple of birthdays. I truly am sorry for my stupidity.

 

Happy belated birthday to Sergio Tamayo - June 21

Happy belated birthday to Keith Rooney - June 22

The Pirate Story


A pirate walked into a bar and the bartender said, "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. What happened? You look terrible."

"What do you mean?" said the pirate, "I feel fine."

"What about the wooden leg? You didn't have that before."

"Well, we were in a battle and I got hit with a cannon ball, but I'm fine now."

"Well, ok, but what about that hook? What happened to your hand?"

"We were in another battle. I boarded a ship and got into a sword fight. My hand was cut off. I got fitted with a hook. I'm fine, really."

"What about that eye patch?"

"Oh, one day we were at sea and a flock of birds flew over. I looked up and one of them pooped in my eye."

"You're kidding," said the bartender, "you couldn't lose an eye just from some bird poop!"

"It was my first day with the hook."

Today's useless fact - Whose face is on the $10,000 bill? I say Woodrow Wilson. Am I right?

You're close, but as they say, "no cigar." It turns out that the unsmiling face on the $10,000 bill (which hasn't been printed since 1946) is none other than Salmon P. Chase. Who, you ask.

                                  

From LUKOL Paper Money Directory  we learned that Salmon P. Chase is one of only three non-presidents to be commemorated on cash money. The other two are Alexander Hamilton ($10) and Ben Franklin ($100). Your original guess for the $10,000 bill, Woodrow Wilson, actually appeared on the $100,000 bill, which was in production for a scant couple of weeks at the end of 1934.

And, finally, we cut to the Chase: A link from the Treasury's currency page told us everything we wanted to know and more about the enigmatic Salmon P. As it turns out, he was the 25th Secretary of the Treasury, serving under Lincoln. The infamous Chase Manhattan Bank is also named after him. Due to a monetary crisis brought on by the Civil War, he reluctantly implemented the first printing of paper money in the United States.

In fact, Chase's portrait appeared on the original $1 bill, thus earning him the nickname "Old Mr. Greenbacks." The name didn't stick, however, due to the fact that after the war, Chase, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, declared paper currency  to be unconstitutional.

       

What's The Buzzword For June 23rd?

crocodile tears  \KRAH-kuh-dyle-TEERZ\  noun

What does it mean?
  : pretended tears or sorrow

How do you use it?
  We knew Mom was only crying crocodile tears when she said
she was sorry that our video game player was broken.

Are you a word wiz?
  Where do you think the term "crocodile tears" for pretended
sorrow comes from?

  A. a misinterpretation of a Greek word meaning "fear
of lizards"
  B. the false concern of a tyrant nicknamed "The
Crocodile" 
  C. an incident involving the crocodile in J. M.
Barrie's _Peter Pan_
  D. an old story about crocodiles crying while eating
their prey

Answer:
  No need to cry if you picked answer D! How did crocodiles
come to be known for pretended tears? An ancient fable tells
of the crocodile's habit of crying while eating its prey. Of
course, a crocodile is not really sorry for killing and eating
another animal because that's how it survives. So when someone
is said to shed "crocodile tears," it refers to a show of
pretended sorrow usually by someone who has done something
cruel.
 

Today's Jigsaw puzzle 

 

CLICK HERE    TIMI, PETRA & TED

                That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.

                                                      

                                    

                    The following is what appeared in Tuesday's edition..........

In Today's Tribune 

 

 

The government now says the Social Security trust fund should stay solvent longer than previously thought. That's because with prescription drug costs rising so fast, most elderly Americans will probably die before they collect most of their benefits. 

 

 

Here's today's tidbits

Born on June 22nd

Eric Stretch (1980)

Carson Daly (1973)

Kurt Warner (1971)

Freddie Prinze (1954)

Cyndi Lauper (1953)

Meryl Streep (1949)

Lindsay Wagner (1949)

Ed Bradley (1941)

Kris Kristofferson (1936)

Joseph Papp (1921)

Billy Wilder (1906)

Running Men

Two gas company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watched as they checked her meter.

Finishing the meter check, the senior supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a footrace down the alley back to the truck to prove that an older guy could outrun a younger one. As they came tearing up to the truck, they realized the lady of that end house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped immediately and asked her what was wrong.

"When I saw two gasmen running as hard as you were," gasped the woman, "I figured I'd better run too!"

Today's useless fact - What is the gift associated with a fifth wedding anniversary?

We found several links in the LUKOL Wedding Category  which helped us answer this question. Apparently, wood is the traditional gift for the fifth anniversary, whereas silverware is the contemporary option most often mentioned.

In the early years of marriage, presents tend to be practical items for the household; as time goes by, gifts grow more luxurious, leading up to platinum (20th), sterling silver (25th), diamonds (30th), rubies (40th), and gold (50th). We advise you to think different if you're so inclined, and not feel compelled to stick to tradition. Follow your heart, your imagination, the romantic dreams that the two of you share.

Below is the table of Wedding Anniversary Gifts (traditional and modern version) for the first thirty years. Happy shopping and happy anniversary!

                          

What's The Buzzword For June 22nd?

webcast  \WEB-kast\  noun

What does it mean?
  : a transmission of sound and images as of an event via
the World Wide Web

How do you use it?
  Juanita was too sick to go to the high school baseball
game, but she watched it on a live webcast at home. 

Are you a word wiz?
  How long do you think "webcast" has been part of the
English language?

  A. since 1945
  B. since 1960
  C. since 1975
  D. since 1990

Answer
  If you picked answer D, you're correct. "Webcast" is only one of many
new words that have developed because of the Internet, the
communications system that connects groups of computers and
data bases all over the world. Other terms that came about
because of the Internet date from the 1990s, such as "World
Wide Web," a term most English speakers now know well. Two
others, which date from the mid-1990s, are "Webmaster," which
means "a person responsible for the creation or maintenance
of a Web site especially for a company or organization," and
"cybercafe," meaning "a cafe or coffee shop providing
computers for access to the Internet."
 

Today's Jigsaw puzzle 

 

CLICK HERE    CONTEST WINNER

                That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.

                                                      

                                    

                    The following is what appeared in Monday's edition..........

In Today's Tribune 

 

First of all, I want to thank all of you who participated in the contest. It gave me great joy to see such a turnout. All told, we had 28 entries. That was a great improvement over the Christmas contest when we had only 7 contestants. I think we'll have another contest such as this one in a couple of weeks and give others a chance at a pair of t-shirts.

I won't dilly dally any longer as I'm sure you're quite anxious to know who won.

The secret number was 607.

The winner of the pair of t-shirts is Virginia Ruth.

Gina, get a hold of me and we'll get your sizes squared away and make arrangements to get the merchandise to you. Congratulations!

Once again I'd like to thank everybody who took the time to enter.

I still can't believe that Rose took the time out of her busy schedule to submit an entry into the contest. Will miracles never cease?

 

Here's today's tidbits

Born on June 21st

Prince William (1982)

Juliette Lewis (1973)

Meredith Baxter (1947)

Michael Gross (1947)

Ray Davies (1944)

Mariette Hartley (1940)

Maureen Stapleton (1925)

Jane Russell (1921)

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905)

Happy belated birthday to Christian B. Aquino (June 20, 1970)

Driver's Test

 

A blonde is taking the driving portion of her driver's license exam. She handles most of the maneuvers quite well. She has a little trouble parallel parking, however, and winds up a couple of feet from the curb.

"Could you get a little closer?" the examiner asks.

The blonde then unbuckles her seat belt and slides over toward the examiner. She asks, "Now what?"

 

What's The Buzzword For June 21st?

mall  \MAWL\  noun

What does it mean?
  1 : a shaded walk : promenade
  2 : a group of stores arranged about an often covered way
for pedestrians

How do you use it?
  As soon as Chris had saved enough money for a DVD player,
he made a beeline for the mall and bought one at an
electronics store.

Are you a word wiz?
  Which of the following do you think tells the strange but
true story of the origins of the word "mall"?

  A. It comes from the name of a ball game that is similar
to croquet.
  B. It comes from the name of a fabulous hall of mirrors
in a palace in Malta.
  C. It comes from the name of a famous clothing buyer
in Paris.
  D. It comes from the name of a tool that looks like a
sledgehammer.

Answer:
  In the 1600s, people in England played pall-mall, a
game in which players hit a wooden ball with a mallet to
drive it through an iron ring hanging at the end of an alley.
The player who got the ball through in the fewest strokes
won. In time, people started calling the alleys where the
game was played "pall-malls." When one famous pall-mall
alley in London was converted to a pedestrian walk, it was
dubbed "The Mall," and eventually people started calling
other similar walkways "malls" too. Nowadays, "mall" refers
to a shopping area that includes a walkway surrounded by
stores.

Today's Jigsaw puzzle 

 

CLICK HERE    GRANDCHILDREN

                That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for more stuff.