31 August 2013

vested

[ves-tid]

adjective

1. held completely, permanently, and inalienably: vested rights.
2. protected or established by law, commitment, tradition, ownership, etc.: vested contributions to a fund.
3. clothed or robed, especially in ecclesiastical vestments: a vested priest.
4. having a vest; sold with a vest: a vested suit.

Origin:
1665–75; vest + -ed2

Related forms
non·vest·ed, adjective
un·vest·ed, adjective

Today’s aphorism

A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.

– English proverb

On this day

31 August 12AD – birth of Caligula, also known as Gaius Caesar, 3rd Roman Emperor from 37 – 41AD. Died 24 January 41AD. First Roman Emperor to be assassinated following a conspiracy to restore the Roman Republic. While the plot to kill Caligula succeeds, the restoration of the Republic fails when the Praetorian Guard appoint Caligula’s uncle, Claudius, as Emperor.

31 August 1897 – Thomas Edison granted a patent for the world’s first movie camera, the Kinetograph. The patented incorporated a number of inventions related to the capture of moving pictures, including the kinetoscope.

31 August 1928 – birthday of James Coburn, actor (‘The Great Escape‘, ‘The Magnificent Seven‘).

31 August 1997 – death of Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, in a car crash in Paris. Born 1 July 1961.

30 August 2013

cadastre

[kuh-das-ter]

noun

– an official register of the ownership, extent, and value of real property in a given area, used as a basis of taxation.
Also, ca·das·ter.

Origin:
1795–1805; < French < Provençal cadastro < Italian catastro, earlier ( Venetian ) catastico < Late Greek katástichon register, derivative of phrase katà stíchon by line; see cata-, stich

Today’s aphorism

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we believe we left without having lived them, those we spent with a favourite book.

– Marcel Proust

On this day

30 August 580 – birth of Muhammad, prophet and founder of Islam.

30 August 1146 – European leaders optimistically outlaw the cross-bow with the belief that it will end war for evermore. The ban was flouted and cross-bows continued to be used until they were replaced by fire-arms in the 16th century.

29 August 2013

jounce

[jouns]

verb, jounced, jounc·ing, noun
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)

1. to move joltingly or roughly up and down; bounce.
noun
2. a jouncing movement.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English; apparently blend of joll to bump (now obsolete) and bounce

Today’s aphorism

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

– Martin Luther King Jr, from the ‘I have a dream’ speech, delivered on 28 August 1963.

On this day

29 August 29AD – John the Baptist beheaded.

29 August 1991 – the Supreme Soviet of the USSR suspends the Communist Party. The Soviet Union was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991.

29 August 2001 – death of Graeme ‘Shirley’ Strachan, in a helicopter crash near Maroochydore, Queensland. Lead singer of Australian band, Skyhooks.

29 August 2005 – Hurricane Katrina strikes southeastern United States with wind speeds reaching 280km/h. New Orleans is one of the worst hit areas. At least 1,836 people died in the storm and subsequent flooding.

29 August 2012 – Hurricane Isaac strikes southeastern United States with wind speeds reaching 130km/h, making landfall in Louisiana, leaving at least 400,000 houses in New Orleans without power.

28 August 2013

machinima

[muh-shee-nuh-muh]

noun

1. the process of making real-time animated films by utilizing the 3-D graphics technology of computer games.
2. a film or films made in this way.

Origin:
misspelled blend of machine and cinema

Today’s aphorism

Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man; but sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.

– Unknown

On this day

Nothing exciting happened on this day … except for:

28 August 1837 – Worcestershire Sauce manufactured by John Lea and William Perrins.

27 August 2013

sally

noun, plural sal·lies, verb, sal·lied, sal·ly·ing.

noun
1. a sortie of troops from a besieged place upon an enemy.
2. a sudden rushing forth or activity.
3. an excursion or trip, usually off the main course.
4. an outburst or flight of passion, fancy, etc.: a sally of anger.
5. a clever, witty, or fanciful remark.
verb (used without object)
6. Carpentry. a projection, as of the end of a rafter beyond the notch by which the rafter is fitted over the wall plate.
7. to make a sally, as a body of troops from a besieged place.
8. to set out on a side trip or excursion.
9. to set out briskly or energetically.
10. (of things) to issue forth.

Today’s aphorism

Peace demands the united efforts of us all. Who can foresee what spark might ignite the fuse?

– Haile Selassie

On this day

27 August 1883 – the world’s biggest recorded explosion occurs on Krakatoa, an Indonesian island as a volcano erupts, killing between 36,000 and 120,000 people. The noise is heard in Perth, Western Australia, 3,500km away and Mauritius, 4,800km away where it was thought to be cannon fire. Tsunamis up to 30m high were recorded. It generated a cloud of ash 27km high. In the 12 months after the explosion, global temperatures fell by 1.2oC. The explosion darkened the sky for years afterward.

27 August 1975 – death of Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia. Although Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, Rastafarians believe that he is the Messiah returned.

26 August 2013

scry

[skrahy]

verb (used without object), scried, scry·ing.

– to use divination to discover hidden knowledge or future events, especially by means of a crystal ball.

Origin:
aphetic shortening of descry

Related forms
scry·er, noun

Today’s aphorism

In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

– George Orwell

On this day

26 August 580 – toilet paper invented by the Chinese.

26 August 1910 – birth of Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) in Yugoslavia, winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work in the slums of Calcutta. Died 5 September 1997.

26 August 1946 – George Orwell’s revolutionary novel, Animal Farm, is published.

25 August 2013

bemuse

[bih-myooz]

verb (used with object), be·mused, be·mus·ing.

– to bewilder or confuse (someone).
Origin:
1695–1705; be- + muse

Related forms
be·muse·ment, noun

Can be confused: amuse, bemuse (see synonym study at amuse).

Example:

We are bemused and crazed creatures, strangers to our true selves, to one another, and to the spiritual and material world—mad, even, from an ideal standpoint we can glimpse but not adopt.

– R.D. Laing

Today’s aphorism

Walk amongst the natives by day, but in your heart be Superman.

– Gene Simmons

On this day

25 August 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 was officially opened on 20 May 325.

25 August 1227 – death of Genghis Khan, founder and emperor of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest, contiguous empire in history. At its peak, it covered stretched from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan, and included Southeast Asia, the Indian sub-continent, the Iranian Plateau and the Middle East. It covered 24 million km2 (16% of the Earth’s total land area) and had a population of over 100 million.

25 August 1330 – Antipope Nicolaas V overthrows himself by presenting a confession of sins to Pope John XXII, who absolved him. Nicolaas V had previously been excommunicated by Pope John XXII. After his absolution, Nicolaas V was held in ‘honourable imprisonment’ in the papal palace at Avignon until his death in 1333.

25 August 1949 – birth of Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz) in Haifa, Israel. American rock guitarist and song-writer. Co-founder of Kiss.

25 August 1991 – founding of computer operating system, Linux, by Linus Torvalds.

25 August 2012 – death of Neil Armstrong. First man to walk on the moon. Born 5 August 1930.

24 August 2013

nonplus

[non-pluhs, non-pluhs]

verb, non·plussed or non·plused, non·plus·sing or non·plus·ing, noun
verb (used with object)

1. to render utterly perplexed; puzzle completely.
noun
2. a state of utter perplexity.

Example:

He was utterly nonplussed by the announcement.

Origin:
1575–85; (noun) < Latin nōn plūs literally, not more, no further, i.e., a state in which nothing more can be done

Synonyms
1. perplex, confuse, confound, disconcert.

Today’s aphorism

I’ve realized that being happy is a choice. You never want to rub anybody the wrong way or not be fun to be around, but you have to be happy. When I get logical and I don’t trust my instincts – That’s when I get in trouble.

– Angelina Jolie

On this day

24 August 79AD – eruption of Mt Vesuvius, Italy, completely destroying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. The cities were buried under approximately 75m of tephra. The initial eruption produced a cloud of ash and pumice ranging from 15km to 30km high. It is estimated that 16,000 people perished.

24 August 479 – Fall of the Roman Empire as Visigoths conquer Rome.

24 August 1936 – establishment of the Australian Antarctic Territory.

24 August 1954 – Communist Party outlawed in the United States with the passing of the Communist Control Act.

24 August 1995 – Microsoft launches Windows 95. Bill Gates is embarrassed during a demonstration of the product, when his audience experiences the infamous ‘blue screen of death’.