Dedicated To The Memory Of Esperanza Aquino
Thursday October 21st, 2004
In Today's Edition
This photo is a composite of American soldiers who have died in Iraq over the last year.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, a thousand lives. And growing daily.
Please consider this November 2nd.This is not an ordinary election. It is a referendum on President Bush's first term in office. He ran on the platform of a humble foreign policy in 2000. Then came 9/11, the Bush doctrine of preemptive military intervention and the invasion of Iraq. If we re-elect him now, we endorse these policies and we shall have to live with the consequences.
We are facing a vicious circle of escalating violence with no end in sight. If we reject him at the polls, we shall have a better chance to regain the respect and support of the world and to break the vicious circle. Our future depends on it.
Born On October 21st
Jeremy Miller (1976)
Carrie Fisher (1956)
Benjamin Netanyahu (1949)
Judge Judy Sheindlin (1942)
Joyce Randolph (1925)
Dizzy Gillespie (1917)
Alfred Nobel (1833)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772)
October 24th
Gilbert Villalba
Blind Date
An 85-year-old widow went on a blind date with a 90-year-old man. When she returned to her daughter's house later that night, she seemed upset.
"What happened, Mom?" the daughter asked.
"I had to slap his face three times!"
"You mean he got fresh?" the concerned daughter asked.
"No," she answered. "I thought he was dead!"
Today's useless fact - What is marsh gas?
You rarely see it. You can't smell it. So what is it? Marsh gas is another term for methane, produced by plants decomposing under water. Methane is highly combustible and has caused several coal mine explosions, but in marshy areas it's not as dangerous since it's diluted with air.
Methane is a chief component of natural gas, which is an effective, biodegradable form of energy. Some communities use marsh gas to heat their homes and provide energy for gas-fueled lamps.
Marsh gas is lighter than air, and floats in a pale, eerie haze until blown away by a strong wind. It also burns with a mysterious blue flame when ignited. This may explain the high incidence of UFOs, apparitions, and unexplained lights that tend to occur in swampy areas. It may also be responsible for ghost stories like the Scottish legend about the haunting of Mary King's Close.
What's The Buzzword For October 21st?
filigree \FIL-uh-gree\ noun
What does it mean?
1 : ornamental work especially of fine wire applied chiefly
to gold and silver surfaces
2 a : ornamental work of delicate or complicated design
done so as to show openings through the material b : a pattern
or design resembling such work
How do you use it?
"'I am glad,' said Lady Middleton to Lucy, 'you are not going
to finish poor little Anna-Maria's basket this evening; for
I am sure it must hurt your eyes to work filigree by
candlelight.'" (Jane Austen, _Sense and Sensibility_)
Are you a word wiz?
We can trace "filigree" to the Latin root words "filum" and
"granum." What do you think "filum" and "granum" mean?
A. "needle" and "grate"
B. "thread" and "grain"
C. "lace" and "grace"
D. "button" and "grade"
Answer:
We won't leave you hanging by a thread: the only answer with
a grain of truth is B. We can trace "filigree" back to the
Latin root words "filum," meaning "thread," and "granum,"
meaning "grain." Italian speakers combined "filum" with
"granum" to form the word "filigrana," and French speakers
borrowed "filigrana" from Italian to form the word
"filigrane." English speakers then adopted "filigrane" from
French to create the word "filigree." While "filum" and
"granum" teamed up for "filigree," they also figure
individually in the ancestry of a number of English words.
We find "filum" at the root of "file" and "fillet," while
"granum" forms the root of "grain" and "granite."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
Click Here
Taiyo
That's All For Now. Have A Good Weekend.
The following is what appeared in Wednesday's Edition.
In Today's Edition
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?
-Mahatma Gandhi
Born On October 20th
Snoop Dogg (1972)
Tom Petty (1953)
Mickey Mantle (1931)
Art Buchwald (1925)
Bela Lugosi (1882)
Charles Ives (1874)
Arthur Rimbaud (1
Chicken Coop
Q. Why does a chicken coop have two doors?
A. Because if it had four, it would be a chicken sedan.
Today's useless fact - Which was invented first - the telephone or the light bulb?
This is a hot button issue. The short answer is that the light bulb came first. Working models of the light bulb had been floating around for several decades before Alexander Bell held the world's first bossy phone call in 1876: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you."
Several sites in the LUKOL History of Engineering and Technology category claim that the clever Scotsman invented the "electrical speech machine," or the telephone, in 1876. But he certainly benefited from the research of others before him, including a German inventor named Phillip Reis, who worked on early prototypes in the 1860s. But here's the difference -- Bell's phone actually worked.
The light bulb question is trickier. Thomas Alva Edison patented the light bulb in 1879 (three years after the telephone), but it was not a new invention. Various working versions of the lightbulb had been around for a good 50 years. A British inventor named Joseph Swan unveiled a carbon filament light bulb in New Castle, England, a full ten years before Edison's patent was issued.
Global politics aside, it's safe to say that the light bulb was first. As for who invented it, we'll leave that up to your patriotic inclinations.
What's The Buzzword For October 20th?
mandarin \MAN-duh-rin\ noun
What does it mean?
1 : a public official under the Chinese Empire
2 capitalized : the chief dialect of China centering around
Beijing
3 : a small spiny Chinese orange tree with yellow to
reddish orange fruits having loose rinds; also : its fruit
How do you use it?
The museum's exhibit of Asian clothing featured a suit of
armor once worn by a samurai from Japan and an elaborate silk
robe worn by a mandarin from China.
Are you a word wiz?
The word "mandarin" traces back to the ancient language of
Sanskrit, but English took it from a different language. From
which of these languages do you think English took "mandarin"?
A. Portuguese
B. Japanese
C. French
D. Persian
Answer:
If you chose answer A, you're right! "Mandarin" was borrowed
into English in the late 1500s from the Portuguese word
"mandarim." During that period in history, known as the Age
of Exploration, Portuguese navigators picked up words from
languages all over the world. They took their word for
"mandarin" from Malay, a language spoken in areas of southeast
Asia. Malay in turn took it from Sanskrit, the ancient
language of India. It derived from the Sanskrit word "mantra,"
meaning "counsel." This makes sense, since as a prominent
person in the government, a mandarin was expected to provide
counsel to the emperor in running affairs of state.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's All For Now. Have A Good One.
The following is what appeared in Tuesday's Edition.
In Today's Edition
I don't think losing 3 million jobs, having deficits as far as the eye can go, having 2 million people lose their health insurance, turning your back on kids in schools and not funding No Child Left Behind represents a vision.
-John Kerry
Born On October 19th
Omar Gooding (1976)
Evander Holyfield (1962)
Divine (1945)
John Lithgow (1945)
Jeannie C. Riley (1945)
Peter Max (1937)
Robert Reed (1932)
John Le Carre (1931)
Jack Anderson (1922)
Gordon Langham
Everyone's Gay
A guy came into a bar one day and said to the bartender, "Give me six double vodkas."
The bartender says, "Wow! you must have had one hell of a day."
"Yes, I've just found out my older brother is gay."
The next day the same guy came into the bar and asked for the same drinks. When the bartender asked what the problem was today the answer came back, "I've just found out that my younger brother is gay too!"
On the third day the guy came into the bar and ordered another six double vodkas. The bartender said, "Man! Doesn't anybody in your family like women?"
"Yeah, my wife..."
Today's useless fact - What are those weird antennas on top of a giraffe's head?
Those aren't antennae, they're skin-covered horns. Both males and females sport them, but they have no positively proven purpose - though it's possible that they serve as cooling towers. "The horns are heavily vascular, with an open bone structure," says large-mammal specialist John Lehnhardt. "They may provide a heat- dispersal opportunity." The male's horns come into play during sparring sessions, but they do no damage - sort of like jousting with a pair of carrots.
What's The Buzzword For October 19th?
lament \luh-MENT\ verb
What does it mean?
1 : to mourn aloud : wail
2 : to express sorrow for : bewail
How do you use it?
"Man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present,
but with reverted eye laments the past, or . . . stands on
tiptoe to foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong
until he too lives with nature in the present, above time."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson, _Self-Reliance_)
Are you a word wiz?
English is a rich language that provides many ways to say
basically the same thing. In our quotation, Emerson used
"lament." Which of the following words is a synonym that he
could have used in its place?
A. abhor
B. dread
C. cringe
D. bemoan
Answer:
Lament not if you picked D! "Bemoan," a synonym of "lament,"
means "to express grief over." Unlike "lament," however,
"bemoan" often suggests an exaggeration of grief. In addition
to "lament" and "bemoan," there are two other words in
English that mean "to express grief or sorrow for something."
"Deplore" is one; it implies regret for the loss or damage of
something that is valuable. "Bewail" is the other, and it
commonly suggests the loud sound of someone who is wailing.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's All For Now. Have A Good One.
The following is what appeared in Monday's Edition.
In Today's Edition
"The values we live by are worth more when we pass them on...."
Born On October 18th
Wynton Marsalis (1961)
Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960)
Martina Navratilova (1956)
Pam Dawber (1951)
Laura Nyro (1947)
Mike Ditka (1939)
Lee Harvey Oswald (1939)
Dawn Wells (1938)
George C. Scott (1927)
Chuck Berry (1926)
Melina Mercouri (1923)
Jesse Helms (1921)
Anita O'Day (1919)
Lotte Lenya (1900)
Circus and singles bar
Q: How is being at a singles bar different from going to the circus?
A: At the circus the clowns don't talk.
Here's a cool video of a guy performing a card trick. I've looked at it a hundred times and I still can't figure it out. This guy is really amazing. If you figure it out, let me know.
Click Here
Today's useless fact - What's the difference between a comet, a meteor, and an asteroid?
Luckily, Lukol directory has just what we needed - Asteroids Comets and Meteors category, which has the links to answer today's question.
Asteroids and comets are both classified as near-Earth objects. Asteroids are made of rock or metal and are thought to have been created in the warmer inner solar system. Comets are composed of ice, rock, and organic (carbon-based) compounds, and are believed to have formed in the cold outer solar system. Scientists believe both are "...ancient remnants of the earliest years of the formation of our solar system more than four billion years ago."
When asteroids collide, meteoroids, smaller rocky bodies, often result. Meteoroids are also formed when a comet passes near the sun, and the heat releases dust particles from the comet's icy tail. When a meteoroid or asteroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it ignites, creating a visible streak of light called a meteor. If the object doesn't vaporize completely and crashes into the Earth, it's called a meteorite.
What's The Buzzword For October 18th?
politic \PAH-luh-tik\ adjective
What does it mean?
: wise especially in dealing with others or in carrying out
a policy
How do you use it?
The school committee chose Ms. Sanderson as the new
Superintendent of Schools, citing her lengthy experience in
the system and her politic way of handling difficult
decisions.
Are you a word wiz?
Think you've got a handle on "politic"? Then answer today's
quiz: which sentence best uses "politic" as we've defined it
above?
A. His decision to evict the family was neither popular
nor politic.
B. Jesse landed a politic job in the governor's office.
C. Overpowering politic ambition drove her to engage in
unethical practices.
D. Chris likes watching the news, but I find it politic
and dull.
Answer:
You were wise if you chose answer A! The adjective "politic"
can either be used of people who are wise in dealing with
others or with policies (as in, "a politic statesman,
promoting the best course for everyone") or of things that
result from such wisdom (such as, "a politic decision" or "a
politic course of action"). "Politic" can also be used as a
synonym of "political," but the latter word has become more
popular than "politic" in referring to government. There is
one phrase in which the "political" sense of "politic" still
flourishes: "body politic," which refers to a group of
persons politically organized under a single governmental
authority.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's All For Now. Have A Good One.
