DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
Thursday November 4th, 2004
In Today's Edition
I'm gonna take next week off. I really mean it this time.
I might have another contest next week. If you don't have a Neen Tribune t-shirt, here's your chance to get one. Tune in on Monday for all the details.
Have a great weekend.
Born On November 4th
Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs (1970)
Ralph Macchio (1962)
Yanni (1954)
Markie Post (1950)
Laura W. Bush (1946)
Loretta Swit (1937)
Martin Balsam (1919)
Art Carney (1918)
Walter Cronkite (1916)
Will Rogers (1879)
Kin
Boudreaux and Thibodeaux were sitting in back of their trailers shooting the breeze.
Bou asked Thib, "If I snuck ovah to yore house while you wuz out fishin an' made love to your wife, an' she got pregnant, would dat make us kin?"
Thib scratched his head for a bit then said, "I don't think so... but it shore would make us even!"
Today's useless fact - How do astronauts sleep in the International Space Station? Do they use beds?
There are a variety of ways astronauts can sleep in space, depending on the mission and personal preference. Since there is no "up" in space, they can comfortably sleep vertically as well as horizontally. On space shuttle missions, they often sleep in their seats, in sleeping bags attached to the walls of the shuttle, or by tethering themselves to the walls.
However, in the new International Space Station, astronauts sleep in the Habitation Module, which features sleeping bags attached vertically to the module walls. Since the Space Station temperature is maintained at a comfortable 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the preferred sleeping attire is a T-shirt and shorts.
And, just in case you were wondering, microphones have officially proven that astronauts can snore in space (previously, researchers weren't certain if gravity was required for snoring).
What's The Buzzword For November 4th?
amenable \uh-MEE-nuh-bul\ adjective
What does it mean?
: readily giving in or agreeing
How do you use it?
"'I say again,' said my aunt, 'nobody knows what that man's
mind is except myself; and he's the most amenable and friendly
creature in existence.'" (Charles Dickens, _David Copperfield_)
Are you a word wiz?
English speakers are amenable to having more than one way to
say things. Which word do you think means something similar to
"amenable"?
A. tranquil
B. stubborn
C. docile
D. lenient
Answer:
Answer C, "docile," and its synonyms "amenable," "obedient,"
and "tractable," all suggest readiness to give in or agree.
"Docile" implies a tendency to submit readily to control or
guidance, as in "a docile child." "Amenable" suggests
willingness to yield or cooperate because of a desire to be
agreeable or because of a natural open-mindedness, as in
"amenable to new ideas." "Obedient" implies willingness to
obey the demands or requests of someone in authority, as in
"an obedient dog." "Tractable" suggests having a character
that permits easy handling or managing, as in "tractable
animals."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
Click Here
Sunset Rock
That's all for now. Tune in next week.
The following is what appeared in Wednesday's Edition.
In Today's Edition
With high-definition TV, everything looks bigger and wider, kind of like going to your twenty-fifth high school reunion. --Jay Leno
Born On November 3rd
Dolph Lundgren (1959)
Adam Ant (1954)
Kate Capshaw (1953)
Dennis Miller (1953)
Roseanne (1952)
Ken Berry (1933)
Michael Dukakis (1933)
Charles Bronson (1921)
Word Play
Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.
A backward poet writes inverse.
A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
Dijon vu the same mustard as before.
Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.
Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.
A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.
Today's useless fact - Why doesn't leg hair grow forever?
As we learned from the LUKOL Hair Removal category, no hair grows forever. All the hair on your body, including the hair on your head, grows at a set rate for a specific period of time. After it reaches its pre- determined length, it falls out, and the hair-building process begins again.
According to our Hair Loss category, the hair on the head of an adult male usually grows one half inch a month for about two to eight years. This growth period is called the anagen phase. The hair then stops growing for two to four months before falling out -- this dormant period is called the telogen phase.
Non-scalp hair has a vastly different anogen/telogen cycle. It grows at a much slower rate for two to three months, before having a much longer telogen phase. So the hair remains on your body, but isn't actively growing.
So why does your leg hair have a shorter growth cycle? Because of varying degrees of hormones called cytokines that are regulated by your endocrine system. Most of the new hair growth/inhibitor drugs on the market alter the amounts of these cytokines, which are released naturally by your body.
What's The Buzzword For November 3rd?
envisage \in-VIZ-ij\ verb
What does it mean?
: to have a mental picture of : visualize
How do you use it?
As the members of the drama club talked about the play
they'd decided to put on, they envisaged the set they would
design for it.
Are you a word wiz?
In "envisage" is another word: the word "visage." What do
you think "visage" means?
A. face
B. idea
C. view
D. title
Answer:
If A's the answer you envisaged, you're right. "Visage"
means "face," as in "Jared missed his grandmother's sweet,
wrinkled visage." Both "envisage" and "visage" come from the
Old French word "visage," which also means "face." (The French
word traces back to Latin "visus," meaning "sight," from
"videre," meaning "to see.") When "envisage" was first used
over 150 years ago, it meant the same thing as the verb "face"
in the sense of "to meet directly so as to deal with," as in
"you'd better face the facts." Soon after, however, "envisage"
developed the meaning of having to do with having a mental
picture or visualizing of something.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's all for today. See you tomorrow.
The following is what appeared in Tuesday's Edition.
In Today's Edition
If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?
Born On November 2nd
Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu (1969)
k.d. lang (1961)
Stefanie Powers (1942)
Pat Buchanan (1938)
Ray Walston (1914)
Burt Lancaster (1913)
Paul Ford (1901)
Warren G. Harding (1865)
James K. Polk (1795)
Marie Antoinette (1755)
Daniel Boone (1734)
Viagra
Grandpa and Grandma were spending the weekend with their son and daughter-in-law. Grandpa noticed that his son had a bottle of Viagra and asked if he could have one. His son said, "Dad, I don't think you should take one they're very strong and expensive."
Grandpa said, "I know, but I want to try one. How much are they?" His son replied, "$10 each."
Grandpa only had a $50 bill but was going to the bank. He told his son that he would leave $10 under his pillow that night.
The next morning his son found $110 under his pillow and said, "Dad, I told you it was only $10. There's $110 under my pillow!!"
Grandpa said, "That's ok, the other $100 is from Grandma.
Today's useless fact - Who owns the "Mona Lisa" painting?
From the links in our Da Vinci category we discovered that Mona Lisa's history is almost as fascinating as the subject's enigmatic smile. Artist, inventor, and original Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, began painting his portrait of an Italian nobleman's wife in 1503 and completed it some years later, probably around 1507. The painting was originally a commissioned work, but da Vinci didn't sell it to the man who requested it (possibly because he hadn't finished it yet!). Instead, he kept it and still had it in his possession when he arrived in France at the court of King François I, around 1516. The French monarch eventually purchased "Mona Lisa" from da Vinci.
The painting became part of the French royal art collection. For several centuries, "Mona Lisa" was kept at palaces around France, including Amboise, Fontainbleau, Versailles, and the Tuileries. When the French Revolution struck in the late 18th century, the king was beheaded, and most of his palaces and possessions became property of the newly formed state. In 1793, the French government created a public art museum and used the old Louvre palace as its home. The "Mona Lisa" was displayed in this new museum.
This famous painting has remained in the Louvre as property of the French government ever since. But in 1911, it was stolen right off the wall by an Italian who wanted to return it to Italy, the painting's country of origin. Two years later, the "Mona Lisa" was found and returned to the Louvre. It has made only two journeys since then -- to the United States in 1963 and to Japan in 1974, both for hugely popular displays.
What's The Buzzword For November 2nd?
elect \ih-LEKT\ verb
What does it mean?
1 : to select by vote for an office, position, or membership
2 : select, choose
How do you use it?
Today is Election Day in the United States, the day when
voters elect candidates to fill government positions.
Are you a word wiz?
"Elect" comes from the Latin word "eligere," which means
"to choose." Which of the following words do you think also
comes from "eligere"?
A. elevator
B. glitter
C. elegance
D. lectern
Answer:
If you elected C to be your answer, you picked the winner.
"Eligere" is the ancestor of "elect" and of "elegance," which
means "gracefulness of style or movement" or "decoration or
design that is rich but in good taste." Another member of the
"eligere" family is "eligible," which means "qualified to be
chosen or to participate." While "eligible" may apply to a
large group of people, another word that descends from
"eligere" describes a smaller group. That word is "elite,"
which can mean "a small powerful group of people" or "the
part or group having the highest quality or importance."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's all for today. See you tomorrow.
The following is what appeared in Monday's Edition.
In Today's Edition
OK, I lied. I said I was gonna take a week off but here I am at the keyboard again. You see, I was so moved by my "surprise" birthday party that I was inspired to redesign the webpage for Thanksgiving.
I want to thank all of you who came to share in the festivities. I can't express in words how moved I was to see and share one of the best moments of my life with the most beautiful people I know. I'm a very lucky old geezer. I hope I'm around to do it again next year.Thanks again.
Born On November 1st
Jenny McCarthy (1972)
Fernando Valenzuela (1960)
Lyle Lovett (1957)
Larry Flynt (1942)
Gary Player (1935)
Stephen Crane (1871)
Young Lady
A fiftyish woman was at home happily jumping on her bed and squealing with delight. Her husband watches her for a while and asks, "Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look? What's the matter with you?"
The woman continues to bounce on the bed and says, "I don't care. I just came from having a mammogram and the doctor says I have the breasts of an 18 year-old."
The husband said, "What did he say about your 56 year old ass?"
"Your name never came up," she replied.
Today's useless fact - Why do they call Boston "Beantown"? Is it because of Boston Baked Beans?
This part is pitifully easy. Boston baked beans, right?. Now, if you wanna know why baked beans were big in Boston, it gets a little more interesting.
Here's what we learned from the links in our Boston category
One answer might be "mercantilism." For those of you who slept through history in high school, this was a colonial economic policy that, among other things, discouraged foreign trade, unless it brought a favorable balance of payments for the mother country, and also discouraged colonial manufacturing of finished goods. What has this to do with baked beans, you ask? They're sweetened. The sweetener used is molasses, a product of the (British) West Indies. Relax, this will all come clear anon.
Another part of the answer is the Coriolis Effect. What's that, you slept through physics, too? Big systems on a spinning sphere, like prevailing winds, tend to form clockwise patterns in the northern half of the sphere, counterclockwise ones in the southern half. In the Northern Atlantic, not only do the winds follow this pattern, but so does the major ocean current, the Gulf Stream. That was another reason to use molasses--it was easy to ship stuff up from the Caribbean; hard to ship stuff down there, or to import directly from Europe.
The next factor was, oddly enough, slavery. You had your ship sailing from New England full of farm products. The easiest place to sail it was England; that's the way the current carried you and the winds blew. Getting back was a different story. So, ships would make their next port of call somewhere they could easily sail to where they could sell finished goods--let's say the Gold Coast in Africa. The next cargo would be slaves, who were taken to the Caribbean to raise sugar cane. Then rum or molasses were loaded for New or old England. This "triangular trade" (although it was as often actually square, with four ports of call) again made molasses the natural choice, since it fit in so well with mercantilism.
So, the exigencies of colonial trade meant Boston had an abundance of inexpensive molasses, which local entrepreneurs soon put to good use.Why beans? Same reason armies used to like them. Cheap, storable, and very easy to cook.
What's The Buzzword For November 1st?
citizen \SIT-uh-zun\ noun
What does it mean?
1 : a person who lives in a city or town
2 a : a member of a state b : a person who owes allegiance
to a government and is protected by it
How do you use it?
The organization encouraged all adult citizens to register
to vote in the upcoming election.
Are you a word wiz?
There are other words that have a meaning similar to that
of "citizen." Which answer below contains two such words?
A. alien, foreigner
B. subject, national
C. proletariat, worker
D. serf, vassal
Answer:
If you voted for B, good job! "Citizen," "subject," and
"national" all refer to a person protected by and giving
their allegiance to a ruling state. "Citizen" is usually
used of people living in a state where the power is held by
the people, as in "former slaves who became free citizens of
the country." "Subject" implies allegiance to a personal
ruler, such as a monarch, as for example, "the Queen's royal
subjects." "National" is used of a person who claims
protection from one state or government while living and
working in another, such as "a Russian national who is working
here in the U.S. as a scientist."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's all for today. See you tomorrow.
