23 June 2019

calcareous

[ kal-kair-ee-uh s ]

adjective

of, containing, or like calcium carbonate; chalky:
calcareous earth.

Example

‘He had to move back,’ Yossarian argued in a vain effort to cheer up the glum, barrel-chested Indian, whose well-knit sorrel-red face had degenerated rapidly into a dilapidated, calcareous gray.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.

– Alan Turing

On this day

23 June – International Widows’ Day – a UN ratified day to address the ‘poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents in many countries’.

23 June 1912 – birth of Alan Turing, British mathematician and computer scientist. Turing is considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. He invented the ‘Turing machine’ which formulated the computer algorithm. It’s the forerunner for the modern computer. During World War 2, Turing was instrumental in cracking German messages encrypted by the Enigma machine. Sadly, Turing’s achievements were overshadowed by him being charged with gross indecency after admitting to being in a homosexual relationship. On 31 March 1952, following his guilty plea, he was chemically castrated. Two years later, on 7 June 1954,Turing took his own life with cyanide. On 10 September 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologised on behalf of the British Government for the ‘appalling way he was treated’. On 23 December 2013, Queen Elizabeth II issued a posthumous royal pardon, clearing Turing of the charge of gross indecency.

23 June 2000 – 15 backpackers perish in a fire at the Palace Backpackers Hostel, in Childers, Queensland, Australia.

22 June 2019

sorrel(1)

[ sawr-uh l, sor- ]

noun

light reddish-brown.
a horse of this color, often with a light-colored mane and tail.

sorrel(2)

adjective

of the color sorrel.

Example

‘He had to move back,’ Yossarian argued in a vain effort to cheer up the glum, barrel-chested Indian, whose well-knit sorrel-red face had degenerated rapidly into a dilapidated, calcareous gray.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.

– William of Ockham

On this day

22 June 1938 – death of C.J. Dennis, Australian poet (Songs of a Sentimental Bloke). Born 7 September 1876. Note, that C.J. Dennis foretold email by about 90 years with his reference to ‘ethergrams thro’ space’ which appears in ‘The Stoush of Day‘, in ‘The Sentimental Bloke‘.

22 June 1986 – the controversial ‘hand of God’ incident in the FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and England, when Diego Maradona scored a goal that came off his hand. The referee didn’t see the hand infringement and awarded the goal. Four minutes after the ‘hand of God’ goal, Maradona scored the ‘goal of the century’, which is claimed to be the greatest individual goal of all time, which he scored after playing the ball for 60 metres within 10 seconds, through four English defenders to slot the goal. Argentina won the match 2-1 and went on to win the World Cup.

21 June 2019

dilapidate

[ dih-lap-i-deyt ]

verb (used with object), di·lap·i·dat·ed, di·lap·i·dat·ing.

to cause or allow (a building, automobile, etc.) to fall into a state of disrepair, as by misuse or neglect (often used passively):
The house had been dilapidated by neglect.
Archaic. to squander; waste.

verb (used without object), di·lap·i·dat·ed, di·lap·i·dat·ing.

to fall into ruin or decay.

ORIGIN OF DILAPIDATE

1560–70; Medieval Latin dīlapidātus, past participle of dīlapidāre to squander (compare dīlapidātiō disrepair), Latin: to pelt with stones; see di-2, lapidate

Today’s quote

Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.

– Bertrand Russell

On this day

21 June 1940 – death of Smedley Butler, U.S. Marine Corp Major-General. He received 19 medals, five of which were for bravery. He twice received the Medal of Honor. Butler was, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in history. Nonetheless, he was an outspoken critic of war and military actions. He wrote a book called ‘War is a Racket’, which exposed the links between the military and industry, in which he stated that business interests directly benefit from warfare. Butler wrote a summary of the book, which stated: ‘War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small ‘inside’ group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes‘. He was born on 30 July 1881.

21 June 1953 – birth of Benazir Bhutto, elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988, becoming the first female leader of a Muslim country. She also became the first national leader to give birth while in office. She was dismissed as Prime Minister in 1996 amid accusations of corruption. She went into exile, living in the United Arab Emirates. In 2007, against the orders of President Musharraf, she returned to Pakistan to contest the 2008 election. She was assassinated at a rally on 27 December 2007.

21 June 1964 – Three civil rights activists (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner) disappear in Mississippi while investigating an allegation that the Ku Klux Klan had burned down an African-American church. Their bodies were discovered six weeks later. In 1966, seven Ku Klux Klan members were found guilty of the murders, while eight others were found not guilty, including Edgar Ray ‘Preacher’ Killen who was retried in 2005 and found guilty.

21 June 2001 – death of John Lee Hooker, American blues guitarist. Born 22 August 1917.

21 June 2005 – Edgar Ray ‘Preacher’ Killen, former Ku Klux Klansman, is found guilty of manslaughter for his part in the 1964 killing of three civil rights activists and sentenced to 60 years imprisonment.

21 June 2018 – Jacinda Adern gives birth to a girl while serving as Prime Minister of New Zealand, becoming the second woman to give birth while serving as a national leader. The first woman to do so, was Benazir Bhutto in 1990, while serving as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

20 June 2019

bedraggle

[ bih-drag-uh l ]

verb (used with object), be·drag·gled, be·drag·gling.

to make limp and soiled, as with rain or dirt.

Example

The chaplain was moved almost to tears by the harassed, bedraggled picture the captain presented, and he filled with deference and compassion at the thought of the many severe rigors the poor man had to endure daily.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.

– Bertrand Russell

On this day

20 June – World Refugee Day – to raise awareness of the plight of refugees across the globe. Refugee Week is held Sunday to Saturday of the week that includes 20 June.

20 June 1864 – birth of Worm Pander, sculptor. Died 6 September 1919 … … no relation to this site’s Panda Man …

20 June 1909 birth of Errol Flynn, Australian-born American actor. Died 14 October 1959.

20 June 1966 – The Beatles release their ‘Yesterday and Today’ album with the controversial ‘butcher cover’. The Beatles appeared on the cover wearing white smocks and covered with decapitated baby dolls and pieces of meat. Some people took offense to this and the cover was withdrawn and replaced with something a little more savoury.

20 June 2001 – General Pervez Musharraf establishes himself as both President and Chief Executive of Pakistan. He had come to power as Chief Executive following a coup d’état in 1999.

19 June 2019

jamais vu

being unfamiliar with something that is actually familiar

He knew, for example, that it was called paramnesia, and he was interested as well in such corollary optical phenomena as *jamais vu*, never seen, and *presque vu*, almost seen

Today’s quote

A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies.

– Alfred Lord Tennyson

On this day

19 June 1623 – birth of Blaise Pascal, controversial French mathematician, physicist, inventor and writer. Formulated ‘Pascal’s Triangle’, a tabular presentation for binomial coefficients, challenged Aristotle’s followers who claimed that ‘nature abhors a vacuum’. The computer programming language, ‘Pascal’, is named in his honour. Died 19 August 1662.

19 June 1861 – Birth of Jose Rizal in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines. Filipino national hero. Rizal was an ophthalmologist by profession. He campaigned for reforms of the Spanish rule of the Philippines, writing numerous works critical of the Spanish government, which helped inspire the Philippine revolution. Following this Rizal was excecuted in Manila by the Spanish colonial government on 30 December 1896.

19 June 1945 – birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese politician, activist and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient.

19 June 1978 – The original Grumpy Cat, Garfield, first appears in newspaper comic strips in the USA.

18 June 2019

denudate

[ verb den-yoo-deyt, dih-noo-deyt, -nyoo-; adjective dih-noo-deyt, -nyoo-, den-yoo-deyt ]

verb (used with object), den·u·dat·ed, den·u·dat·ing.

to make bare; strip; denude.

adjective

denuded; bare.

ORIGIN OF DENUDATE

1620–30; Latin dēnūdātus, past participle of dēnūdāre to denude; see -ate1

Example

Yossarian’s perceptions were soon so fuzzy that he paid no notice to the beige turban the fat one crowding into him kept wearing until late the next morning when the scheming ten-year-old pimp with the Cuban panatella snatched it off in public in a bestial caprice that exposed in the brilliant Sicilian daylight her shocking, misshapen and denudate skull.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

If we’d know we were going to be the Beatles, we’d have tried harder.

– George Harrison

On this day

18 June 1942 – birth of Paul McCartney, member of The Beatles and his writing partnership with John Lennon made them one of the world’s most successful song-writing duos. After the break-up of the Beatles, McCartney went on to have a successful solo career. He was knighted in 1997.

17 June 2019

notarize

[ noh-tuh-rahyz ]

verb (used with object), no·ta·rized, no·ta·riz·ing.

to certify (a document, contract, etc.) or cause to become certified through a notary public.

Also especially British, no·ta·rise.

ORIGIN OF NOTARIZE

First recorded in 1925–30; notar(y) + -ize

RELATED FORMS

no·ta·ri·za·tion, noun
re·no·ta·rize, verb (used with object), re·no·ta·rized, re·no·ta·riz·ing.

Today’s quote

I’ve never been a big fan of subtle art. I like art that gets deep into my head and starts my brain spinning with new ideas and inspiration and my whole body is full of energy.

– Jello Biafra

On this day

17 June 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies in childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I undertakes to build a mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, in her honour. He takes 17 years to do it.

17 June 1958 – birth of Jello Biafra (born Eric Reed Boucher), American musician and spoken word artist, was lead singer of the San Francisco punk rock band, Dead Kennedys.

17 June 1971 – US President Richard Nixon declares a War on Drugs.

16 June 2019

milo

[ mahy-loh ]

noun, plural mi·los.

a grain sorghum having white, yellow, or pinkish seeds, grown chiefly in Africa, Asia, and the U.S.

ORIGIN OF MILO

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; of uncertain origin
Also called milo maize.

Today’s quote

Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.

― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

On this day

16 June – International Day of the African Child, which remembers those who participated in the Soweto protests in 1976, as well as raises awareness of the need for improved education provided to African children.

16 June 1816 – Lord Byron reads his poem Fantasmagoriana to his four house guests, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, Claire Clermont and John Polidori, challenging them to write a ghost story. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Polidori wrote the short story, The Vampyre, which in turn influenced numerous vampire stories, including Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Byron himself went on to write the poem, Darkness.

16 June 1951 – birth of Roberto Duran, Panamanian boxer nicknamed ‘Manos de Piedra’ (Hands of Stone). He held world titles at four different levels; lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight. He was the second boxer to fight over five decades. He retired from professional boxing in 2002 at the age of 50. He is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.

16 June 1961 – Soviet ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev defects to the West. Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev allegedly issued an order for Nureyev to be killed, which did not eventuate.

16 June 1967 – The Monterey Pop Festival is held over three days at Monterey, California. Over 200,000 people attended to experience performers such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Byrds, The Animals and The Grateful Dead.

16 June 1976 – Soweto Uprising in South Africa, when up to 20,000 students marched in a non-violent protest against poor quality education and demanding to be taught in their own language after Afrikaans was introduced as the medium of instruction. The protest turned violent when police opened fire on the crowd, killing 23 people. Violence continued for two weeks, with 176 people being killed. The day is now a public holiday in South Africa and commemorated as Youth Day. Internationally it is recognised as Day of the African Child.

15 June 2019

mopery

[ moh-puh-ree ]

noun

mopish behavior.
Slang. a violation of a minor or imaginary law or rule.

ORIGIN OF MOPERY

mope + -ery

Example

The officer defending him was Lieutenant Scheisskopf. It was all very confusing to Clevinger, who began vibrating in terror as the colonel surged to his feet like a gigantic belch and threatened to rip his stinking, cowardly body apart limb from limb. One day he had stumbled while marching to class; the next day he was formally charged with ‘breaking ranks while in formation, felonious assault, indiscriminate behavior, mopery, high treason, provoking, being a smart guy, listening to classical music and so on’.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller

Today’s quote

Culture survives in smaller spaces – not in the history books that erect monuments to the nation’s grand history but in cafes and cinema houses, village squares, and half-forgotten libraries.

– Amitava Kumar

On this day

15 June 1215 – King John of England seals the Magna Carta (Latin for ‘Great Charter’) which established the ‘rule of law’ that was to become fundamental to the modern legal system. It ensured that no man, no monarch, was above the law. Monarchs could no longer arbitrarily deal with or dispossess their subjects. It didn’t mean equality or liberty for all, however, as it applied only to ‘all the free men’, and not all men were free in 13th century England.

15 June 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity by launching a kite during a storm. The kite was tied to a key and a Leyden Jar, which was used to store electrical charge. The negative ions in the thunder storm charged the kite, flowing down the wet silk string and into the jar. Franklin was holding the silk at the time and was unaffected, however when he moved his hand near the key he received an electric shock, proving that lightning was static electricity. (Traditional date, the exact date is unknown).

15 June 1920 – a 5000-strong mob in Minnesota lynches three African-Americans who were convicted of the rape of a 17 year old white woman.

15 June 1946 – birth of Noddy Holder, British musician and singer. Holder was the lead singer with 1970’s glam rock band, Slade, which was famous for songs such as ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’, ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’, ‘Gudbuy T’ Jane’, and ‘Skweeze Me Pleeze Me’. Their second studio album, ‘Slayed’, spent 34 weeks at Number 1 in the UK. Slade had 17 consecutive Top 20 hits, six of which reached number one. In 2000 Holder was awarded an MBE for his services to spelling.

14 June 2019

portolano

[pawr-tl-ah-noh, pohr-]

noun, plural por·to·la·nos, por·to·la·ni [pawr-tl-ah-nee, pohr-] /ˌpɔr tl

ˈɑ ni, ˌpoʊr-/.

a descriptive atlas of the Middle Ages, giving sailing directions and providing charts showing rhumb lines and the location of ports and various coastal features.

Origin of portolano

1855–60; Italian: shipmaster’s guidebook; earlier, harbor master < Medieval Latin portulānus. See port1, -ule, -an
Also called rutter.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for portolano

Historical Examples of portolano

A sea-chart—probably a portolano —is mentioned as early as the account of the Crusade of St. Louis, in 1270.
The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea
Gomes Eannes de Azurara

Today’s quote

Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.

– Gilbert K. Chesterton

On this day

14 June 1158 – Munich founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the River Isar.

14 June 1789 – The Reverend Elijah Craig becomes the first person to distill whisky from maize. The new whisky is named bourbon, because that is the county in Kentucky that Reverend Craig lived in.

14 June 1928 – birth of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Argentinian Marxist revolutionary, physician, author. Executed 9 October 1967 on the order of Bolivian President Rene Barrientos.

14 June 1936 – death of Gilbert Keith Chesterton (otherwise known as G.K. Chesterton – born 29 May 1874), English writer, lay theologian, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, literary and art critic, biographer and owner of one of the world’s worst pompadours:

G.K. Chesterton

14 June 1937 – The USA passes the Marihuana Tax Act, which taxed the sale of cannabis.

14 June 1982 – Argentina surrenders to Great Britain after the six week Falkland’s War.

14 June 2007 – Former Ku Klux Klan member, 71 year old James Seale is found guilty of a number of charges related to the 1964 murder of two civil rights activists in Mississippi. He was sentenced to three life terms of imprisonment. His conviction was overturned the following year, before being reinstated. He died in prison in 2011.