20 May 2013

vox populi

[voks pop-yuh-lahy]

noun

– the voice of the people; popular opinion.

Origin: < Latin vōx populī >

Today’s aphorism

When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.

– Jean Jacques Rosseau

On this day

20 May 325 – conclusion of the First Council of Nicea, a cabal of 1800 bishops convened by Roman Emperor Constantine I (Constantine the Great) to gain consensus within the church for various doctrinal issues, such as the divinity of Christ, the Holy Trinity and the date for Easter which were articulated in the ‘Creed of Nicea’. The Council concluded on 25 August 325.

19 May 2013

veneer

[vuh-neer]

noun
1. a thin layer of wood or other material for facing or inlaying wood.
2. any of the thin layers of wood glued together to form plywood.
3. Building Trades. a facing of a certain material applied to a different one or to a type of construction not ordinarily associated with it, as a facing of brick applied to a frame house.
4. a superficially valuable or pleasing appearance: a cruel person with a veneer of kindliness.
verb (used with object)
5. to overlay or face (wood) with thin sheets of some material, as a fine wood, ivory, or tortoise shell.
6. to face or cover (an object) with any material that is more desirable as a surface material than the basic material of the object; revet.
7. to cement (layers of wood veneer) to form plywood.
8. to give a superficially valuable or pleasing appearance to.

Today’s aphorism

When we look at modern man, we have to face the fact that modern man suffers from a kind of poverty of the spirit, which stands in glaring contrast with a scientific and technological abundance. We’ve learned to fly the air as birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas as fish, yet we haven’t learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters.

– Martin Luther King

On this day

19 May 1962 – Marilyn Monroe sings a seductive version of ‘Happy Birthday‘ to President John F. Kennedy for his 45th birthday. She was introduced to the stage as the ‘late’ Marilyn Monroe. Less than three months later, Monroe was found dead. The dress Monroe wore was designed by Jean Louis and sold at auction in 1999 for more than $1,200,000. It was a sheer, flesh coloured dress with 2,500 rhinestones.

18 May 2013

visage

[viz-ij]

noun

1. the face, usually with reference to shape, features, expression, etc.; countenance.
2. aspect; appearance.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to vis face (< Latin vīsum sight, appearance ( Vulgar Latin: face), noun use of neuter past participle of vidēre to see) + -age -age

Related forms
vis·aged, adjective

Synonyms
1. physiognomy, image. See face.

Today’s aphorism

We do not have a money problem in America. We have a values and priorities problem.

– Marian Wright Edelman

On this day

18 May 1981 – Volcanic eruption from Mt St Helens in Washington State, USA, killing 57 people.

18 May 1989 – Over 1,000,000 people march in Beijing, demanding democracy. The Chinese government violently suppressed the protests, bringing them to an end on 4 June 1989 following the massacre of hundreds of protestors in Tiananmen Square.

17 May 2013

vicissitude

[vi-sis-i-tood, -tyood]

noun
1. a change or variation occurring in the course of something.
2. interchange or alternation, as of states or things.
3. vicissitudes, successive, alternating, or changing phases or conditions, as of life or fortune; ups and downs: They remained friends through the vicissitudes of 40 years.
4. regular change or succession of one state or thing to another.
5. change; mutation; mutability.

Origin:
1560–70; < Latin vicissitūdō, equivalent to viciss ( im ) in turn (perhaps by syncope < *vice-cessim; vice in the place of (see vice3 ) + cessim giving way, adv. derivative of cēdere to go, proceed) + -i- -i- -tūdō -tude

Related forms
vi·cis·si·tu·di·nous, adjective

Today’s aphorism

The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.

– Dante Alighieri

On this day

17 May 2000 – Thomas Blanton Jr and Bobby Frank Cherry, former Ku Klux Klan members, are arrested and charged with murder for the 1963 bombing of a church in Alabama which killed four girls. The two men were sentenced to life in prison.

17 May 2012 – Disco singer, Donna Summer dies from lung cancer. She was born on 31 December 1948.

16 May 2013

Voilà

[vwah-lah; French vwa-la]

interjection

– (used to express success or satisfaction). Voilà, my new winter outfit!
Also, voi·la.

Origin:
1825–35; < French, equivalent to voi see! (2nd person singular imperative of voir to see) + la there

Can be confused: viola, voilà.

Today’s aphorism

Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.

– George Bernard Shaw

On this day

16 May 1990 – death of Jim Henson, American muppeteer (Sesame Street, the Muppet Show). Born 24 September 1936.

16 May 2010 – death of Ronald James Padavona, otherwise known as Ronny James Dio, heavy metal singer. Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as lead singer of Black Sabbath, for two years before leaving after disagreements with other band members. Dio was also associated with Rainbow, Dio, and Elf.

15 May 2013

dramatis personae

[dram-uh-tis per-soh-nee, drah-muh-]

(noun)

1. (used with a pl. v.) the characters in a play
2. (used with a sing. v.) list of the characters preceding the text of a play

Example:

‘But on this most auspicious of nights … permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet … to suggest the character of this dramatis personae’.

– V, from V for Vendetta

synonyms: actors, actresses, artists, characters

Today’s aphorism

I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.

– George Bernard Shaw

On this day

15 May – The Nakba (Day of the Catastrophe), Palestine – commemoration of the displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians and the depopulation and destruction of at least 400 villages during the establishment of Israel in 1948.

15 May 1970 – At Jackson State University in Mississippi, police open fire on students who were protesting against the Vietnam and Cambodian Wars, killing two and injuring twelve.

14 May 2013

curmudgeon

[ker-muhj-uhn]

noun

– a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

Origin:
1570–80; unexplained; perhaps cur- representing cur

Related forms
cur·mudg·eon·ly, adjective

Synonyms
grouch, crank, bear, sourpuss, crosspatch.

Today’s aphorism

Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.

– Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara

On this day

14 May 1919 – death of Henry John Heinz, founder of Heinz Company, responsible for canned baked beans. Born 11 October 1844.

14 May 1948 – the modern nation of Israel is established by United Nations Resolution 181.

13 May 2013

attorn

[uh-turn]

verb (used without object)
1. to acknowledge the relation of a tenant to a new landlord.
verb (used with object)
2. to turn over to another; transfer.
Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English attournen < Anglo-French attourner, Old French atourner to turn over to. See at-, turn

Related forms
at·torn·ment, attorney, noun

Today’s aphorism

Everything we hear is an opinion not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective not the truth.

– Marcus Aurelius

On this day

13 May 1981 – Pope John Paul II is injured in front of 2,000 people in St Peter’s Square after being shot by Turkish man, Mehmet Ali Agca.

12 May 2013

cadre

[kad-ree, kah-drey]

noun

1. Military . the key group of officers and enlisted personnel necessary to establish and train a new military unit.
2. a group of trained or otherwise qualified personnel capable of forming, training, or leading an expanded organization, as a religious or political faction, or a skilled work force: They hoped to form a cadre of veteran party members.
3. (especially in Communist countries) a cell of trained and devoted workers.
4. a member of a cadre; a person qualified to serve in a cadre.
5. a framework, outline, or scheme.

Origin:
1905–10; < French: frame, border, bounds, cadre (metaphorically, the cadre being the framework into which temporary personnel are fit) < Italian quadro < Latin quadrum square; see quadri-

Today’s aphorism

I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.

– Malcolm X

On this day

12 May 1932 – the body of the Lindbergh baby is found near to the Lindbergh residence. The baby was the son of famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, and had been kidnapped days earlier. The kidnapper had accidentally killed the baby during the kidnapping and abandoned the body in a nearby forest.

12 May 1937 – King George VI is crowned King of Britain (and it’s colonies) at Westminster Abbey, following the abdication of his brother.

12 May 1994 – in response to over 1,000 acts of violence in the USA against abortion clinics and their patients, a bill is submitted to President Clinton making it a federal crime to prevent access to an abortion clinic or to threaten or use force against people attending the clinics.