18 November 2013
furfuraceous
[fur-fyuh-rey-shuhs, -fuh-]
adjective
1. of or containing bran
2. resembling bran; branlike.
3. scaly; scurfy.
4. resembling dandruff
Origin:
1640–50; < Late Latin furfurāceus. See furfur, -aceous
Related forms
fur·fu·ra·ceous·ly, adverb
Example:
‘I met quite a number of composers who were frankly flaky, or furfuraceous, to use a more elegant term’.
– Nicolas Slonimsky
Musings of a Musical Mind
Los Angeles Times, 27 March 1988
Today’s aphorism
‘First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me —
and there was no one left to speak out for me’.
― Martin Niemöller
On this day
18 November 1922 – Benito Mussolini becomes the leader of Italy. Mussolini, was head of the National Fascist Party and one of the founders of fascism. As dictator he named himself ‘Il Duce’ (The Leader). Initially a socialist, Mussolini felt that socialism had failed and he opposed egalitarianism. He was an ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler. Mussolini was forced to stand down in 1943 by his opponents. He went into hiding and in 1945 was captured and executed.
18 November 1928 – Mickey Mouse makes his screen debut, in ‘Steamboat Willy’.
18 November 1978 – Jim Jones, leader of the cult ‘People’s Temple’ located in Jonestown, Guyana, instructs followers to drink a deadly brew of Kool-Aid, cyanide and sedatives. 914 people died in the mass suicide, including Jones. 303 children were among the victims. It is likely that some of the deaths were murder as a result of some people being forced to drink the concoction. Jones claimed that the cult was under surveillance of intelligence organisations who were preparing to raid Jonestown and either kill or capture the members. He claimed that survivors would be forced to convert to fascism.
18 November 2002 – death of James Coburn, actor (‘The Great Escape‘, ‘The Magnificent Seven‘).