Table of Contents
inter alia
7 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. A Word A Day
2. Quote of the Day -- The Wolf and the Crane
3. Lists -- Top 10 Philantropists
4. HotSites
1. A Word A Day
credenza (kri-DEN-zah) noun
A buffet, sideboard, or bookcase, especially one without legs.
[Italian, from Medieval Latin credentia, trust (possibly from the practice
of placing food and drink on a sideboard to be tasted by a servant before
being served to ensure that it contained no poison).]
"Tomorrow morning, the United States House of Representatives will sell
hundreds of desks, chairs, lamps and credenzas in what they're calling
Congress' first ever yard sale."
Congress has First Ever Yard Sale to Reduce Deficit, All Things Considered
(NPR), 22 Sep 1995.
This week's theme: words with interesting origins.
2. Quote of the Day
The Wolf and the Crane
A WOLF who had a bone stuck in his throat hired a Crane, for a
large sum, to put her head into his mouth and draw out the bone.
When the Crane had extracted the bone and demanded the promised
payment, the Wolf, grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed:
"Why, you have surely already had a sufficient recompense, in
having been permitted to draw out your head in safety from the
mouth and jaws of a wolf."
In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you
escape injury for your pains.
--Aesop
3. Lists - Top 10 Philantropists
Following were the 10 biggest charitable gifts of cash and stock
announced in 1997:
1. $1-billion from Ted Turner, founder of Cable News Network, to
create a foundation to support United Nations programs dealing with
humanitarian causes, the environment, and international-relief efforts.
2. $660-million in stock from Kathryn Albertson, widow of the
supermarket-chain founder Joe Albertson, to their foundation in Boise,
Idaho.
3. $300-million to $500-million from the financier George Soros for
a broad array of programs to benefit Russia.
4. $269-million bequest from Nina Mason Pulliam to establish a
fund that will support groups in Arizona and Indiana. Mrs. Pulliam was
the widow of Eugene Pulliam, who founded Central Newspapers.
5. $200-million from Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, and his wife,
Melinda, to establish the Gates Library Foundation.
6. $100-million from Leonard Abramson, a health-insurance
executive, and his wife, Madlyn, to establish a cancer-research
institute at the University of Pennsylvania.
7. $89-million in Walt Disney Company stock from Michael Eisner,
the company's chief executive, and his wife, Jane, to the Eisner
Foundation in Beverly Hills, Cal.
8. $80-million bequest from Enid Goodrich, widow of Pierre
Goodrich, a businessman, to the Liberty Fund, an Indianapolis
educational group that seeks to encourage social responsibility.
9. $67-million trust from the estate of Harry A. Toulmin, a
pharmaceutical executive, to the Georgetown University Medical
Center. (The university will receive the trust upon the death of Mr.
Toulmin's widow, Virginia.)
10. $50-million from the publishing magnate and investor Dwight D.
Opperman to Drake University in Des Moines, for its capital
campaign.
Note: Gifts of art are not included in the above list. Among significant
gifts of art in 1997 were an $80-million painting donated by Pamela
Churchill Harriman, the late ambassador to France, to the National
Gallery of Art in Washington and a $60-million collection of artwork
donated by Mitchell Wolfson, Jr., an investor, to Florida International
University in Miami.
Compiled by C. Quinn Hanchette
Copyright (c) 1998 The Chronicle of Philanthropy
4. HotSites
AIRLINERS.NET
Come, explore the biggest aviation photo gallery online. Just the place for
aviation enthusiasts and those obsessed with aircraft. The site includes
photos of all kinds of aircraft - helicopters, gliders, propeller craft,
jets, military, commercial and private planes - even spacecraft. You can
even upload your own favorite aircraft photo! Drop by for a dose of
aviation humor, view the gallery, or use the photo database for your class
papers or articles.
<http://www.airliners.net/>
ARTNETWORK
This site for art lovers and artists is dedicated to the exhibition and
promotion of high quality ART on the Global Electronic Information Network.
They exhibit the work of internationally prominent artists as well as
less-known, but equally gifted emerging artists. Art lovers can wander
through the galleries, visit the new monthly exhibit, sculptures,
paintings, photography, digital art and more. Their Call For Entries lists
exhibitions, contests and symposia.
<http://www.artnetwork.com/>
COASTAL TOOL & SUPPLY
There are thousands of power tools on the market--enough to make even the
most experienced and knowledgeable craftsman dizzy. Coastal Tool & Supply
provides an in-depth online information resource for power tool users that
includes a free e-mail newsletter, free tool advice from an expert, and a
free searchable database for finding a local factory service center.
http://www.coastaltool.com
Table of Contents
inter alia
8 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. A Word A Day
2. Quote of the Day -- The Sick Lion
3. HotSites -- If you could only have 15!
1. A Word A Day
southpaw (SOWTH-paw) noun
Slang. A left-handed person, especially a left-handed baseball pitcher.
[From the practice in baseball of arranging the diamond with the batter
facing east to avoid the afternoon sun. A left-handed pitcher facing west
would therefore have his pitching arm toward the south of the diamond.]
"Left-handed users have two mouse options. Symmetrical mice fit
comfortably in both left and right hands. Other mice are designed
specifically for southpaws."
David W. Boles, How To Buy A Premiun Pointing Device, Windows, 1 Oct 1996.
This week's theme: words with interesting origins.
2. Quote of the Day
The Sick Lion
A LION, unable from old age and infirmities to provide himself
with food by force, resolved to do so by artifice. He returned
to his den, and lying down there, pretended to be sick, taking
care that his sickness should be publicly known. The beasts
expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to his den, where the
Lion devoured them. After many of the beasts had thus
disappeared, the Fox discovered the trick and presenting himself
to the Lion, stood on the outside of the cave, at a respectful
distance, and asked him how he was. "I am very middling,"
replied the Lion, "but why do you stand without? Pray enter
within to talk with me." "No, thank you," said the Fox. "I
notice that there are many prints of feet entering your cave, but
I see no trace of any returning."
He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes of others.
--Aesop
3. HotSites -- If you could only have 15!
News:
http://washingtonpost.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.foxnewsinternet.com/
Search:
http://www.yahoo.com/
http://www.altavista.digital.com/
Financial:
http://quote.yahoo.com/
http://cnnfn.com/
Computer:
http://www.cnet.com/
http://www5.zdnet.com/
Government:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html
http://www.law.vill.edu/Fed-Agency/fedwebloc.html
Law:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/
Reference/Lists:
http://www.tstimpreso.com/hotsheet/
http://www.dreamscape.com/frankvad/reference.html
(but ads are threatening this once fine site)
Other:
http://lhostelaw.com/ia/index.htm
Table of Contents
inter alia
10 July 98
SPECIAL EDITION FOR LAWYERS
HotSite
Texas trial attorney, Howard Nations, maintains list of links
on his law firm's site which anyone would find interesting,
and is of particular value to lawyers.
Links Page:
http://howardnations.com/nll2.html
Howard Nations Home Page:
http://howardnations.com/
A very small sampling:
KnowX
http://www.knowx.com
Perform background checks;locate people, business and
real property records.
Vital Records
http://www.medaccess.com/address/vital_toc.htm
Vital records of all U.S.
Citizens
USPS Zip Code Lookup and Address Information
http://www.usps.gov/ncsc
Search for change of address or express mail tracking.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
http://www.osha.gov
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
National Transportation Safety Board
http://www.ntsb.gov
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
http://www.hwysafety.org
Table of Contents
inter alia
10 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. A Word A Day
2. Quotes of the Day -- Dan Quayle
3. Cool Fact of the Day
1. A Word A Day
bootleg (BOOT-leg) tr. verb
1. To make, sell, or transport (alcoholic liquor) for sale illegally.
2. To produce, distribute, or sell without permission or illegally:
a clandestine outfit that bootlegs record albums and tapes.
bootleg intr. verb
1. To engage in the bootlegging of alcoholic liquor or another product.
2. To attach a transmitter to a dish antenna, creating an uplink via
which a signal is sent to a satellite without the knowledge of the
satellite's owner.
3. Football. To fake a hand-off, conceal the ball on the hip, and roll out
in order to pass or especially to rush around the end. Used of a
quarterback.
bootleg noun
1. A product, especially alcoholic liquor, that is illicitly produced,
distributed, or sold.
2. The part of a boot above the instep.
3. Football. A play in which the quarterback bootlegs.
bootleg adjective
Produced, sold, or transported illegally: bootleg gin; bootleg tapes.
[From a smuggler's practice of carrying liquor in the legs of boots.]
Lynnley Browning, Chechen oil theft hurts refinery renewal,
Reuters Business Report, 26 Feb 1997.
"It is a wild, bootleg industry unmatched anywhere else in the world.
Legions of local people eke out a living by scooping up crude oil from
idled wells across the republic and making what must be the world's
worst gasoline."
This week's theme: words with interesting origins.
2. Quotes of the Day -- Dan Quayle
Dan Quayle's Words of Wisdom
"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I
have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could
converse with those people."
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a
mother and child."
"Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow
astronauts."
"Mars is essentially in the same orbit... Mars is somewhat the same
distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen
pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is
water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can
breathe."
- August 11, 1989
"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is
being very wasteful. How true that is."
- Quoted during a fundraising event for the United Negro College
Fund
"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I
mean in this century's history But we all lived in this century. I
didn't live in this century"
- September 15, 1988
"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
democracy - but that could change."
- March 22, 1989
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice
president, and that one word is 'to be prepared'."
- December 6, 1989
"May our nation continue to be the beakon of hope to the world."
- The Quayles' 1989 Christmas card
"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."
- November 30, 1988
"We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward."
"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good
judgments in the future."
"The future will be better tomorrow."
"We're going to have the best-educated American people in the
world."
- September 21, 1988
"People that are really weird can get into sensitive positions and
have a tremendous impact on history."
"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
- Vice President Dan Quayle to Sam Donaldson, August 17, 1989
"We have a firm commitment to NATO. We are a part of NATO.
We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."
"Public speaking is very easy."
- Vice President Dan Quayle to Reporters, October 1988
"I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican."
"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."
"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the
polls."
"When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the
riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple:
Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to
blame for the killings? The killers are to blame."
"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not
having it."
- March 20, 1992
"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not
occur."
- September 22, 1990
"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
- September 5, 1990
"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our
children."
"The American people would not want to know of any misquotes
that Dan Quayle may or may not make."
"We're all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten you on
the mistakes we may or may not have made."
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities
in our air and water that are doing it."
"[It's] time for the human race to enter the solar system."
3. Cool Fact of the Day
Millions Of Eggs
The ocean sunfish (Mola mola) produces more eggs than any
other known fish -- as many as 30 million in one spawning!
The eggs are also among the smallest known (only about one
millimeter in diameter), and the adult fish is among the largest
known, up to ten feet (three meters) long and weighing as
much as 600 pounds (270 kg).
Ocean sunfish are very strange-looking creatures. They are
shaped like a vertical pancake with two large fins at the rear of
the body, and a wavy tail fin.
Young molas swim upright, but the adults usually swim on
their sides near the surface. They live in the open ocean, and
are rarely seen near the shore. Their diet consists mostly of
jellyfish.
To learn more and see a picture of a sunfish visit these sties:
http://www.montereybaywhalewatch.com/phsunfsh.htm
http://www.cs.brown.edu/people/gal/molidae.html
Table of Contents
inter alia
13 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. Riddle of the Day
2. HotSite
3. Quote of the Day -- Aesop
1. Riddle of the Day
The first correct response wins a prize!
Riddle:
What word contains four personal pronouns?
Example: wedding contains 2
Send answers to cyanocitta@hotmail.com
2. HotSite -- The Gourmet Spot
Plan on spending some time at The Gourmet Spot,
a website packed with information about food. There
is a great food resource page from Oregon State University,
restaurant guides from numerous cities, everything you wanted to know
about beer, and much much more.
http://www.gourmetspot.com/
3. Quote of the Day -- Aesop
The Man and His Two Sweethearts
A MIDDLE-AGED MAN, whose hair had begun to turn gray, courted two
women at the same time. One of them was young, and the other
well advanced in years. The elder woman, ashamed to be courted
by a man younger than herself, made a point, whenever her admirer
visited her, to pull out some portion of his black hairs. The
younger, on the contrary, not wishing to become the wife of an
old man, was equally zealous in removing every gray hair she
could find. Thus it came to pass that between them both he very
soon found that he had not a hair left on his head.
Those who seek to please everybody please nobody.
Table of Contents
inter alia
15 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. A Word A Day
2. HotSite -- Online Crossword
3. Answer to Riddle of the Day
4. Cool Fact of the Day
1. A Word A Day
rock-ribbed (rok-ribd) adjective
1. Having rocks or rock outcroppings; rocky.
2. Firm and unyielding, especially with regard to one's principles,
loyalties, or beliefs.
"Gloria's father, Al Thompson, was chief of the city parks police. Hers
was a disciplined, rock-ribbed upbringing. As the Connorses were open and
genial, so were the Thompsons tight and skeptical, even suspicious."
Frank Deford, A man who has been the indisputable favorite of his mother
keeps., Sports Illustrated, 08-22-1994, pp 56
This week's theme: words to describe people.
2. HotSite -- Online Crossword
I must admit periodic addictions to them:
http://excite.ten.net/ten/word/crossword.html
3. Answer to Riddle of the Day
Riddle:
What word contains four personal pronouns?
Example: wedding contains 2
Answer:
us
she
he
her
>>>>>>>>>>>>usher
One correct response was submitted
by subscriber S. Landry
4. Cool Fact of the Day
Bee Look-alike
The bee orchid, Ophrys apifera, looks very much like a queen
bee. Because of this resemblance, male bees (drones) visit the
flowers again and again, thus picking up and distributing the
orchid's pollen!
The bee orchid requires five to eight years to reach maturity,
at which point it flowers once and then dies. Because humans
tend to pick their flowers, thinking the plant will survive, the
bee orchid is becoming increasingly rare.
There are several other insect mimics in the orchid family.
Orchids are among the most highly evolved of plants, and
there are more species of orchids (about 25,000) than any
other flower group.
Pictures and information about bee orchids:
http://www.ddgi.es/espais/iabeller.htm
http://www.the-timeless-dimension.com/p003.htm
Some additional information:
http://arkive.uwe.ac.uk/species/Bee_Orchid/Bee_Orchid.html
Table of Contents
inter alia
20 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. A Word A Day
2. HotSites
3. Useles Trivia of the Day
4. Cool Fact of the Day
1. A Word A Day
desideratum (di-sid-uh-RAY-tuhm, -RAA-) noun
Something considered necessary or highly desirable
[Latin desideratum, from neuter past participle of desiderare, to desire.]
"Q. Do you consider it a healthy, equal relationship?"
"A. Well, who knows? It's perfectly healthy. But I don't think equal is
necessarily a desideratum."
Walter Isaacson, From his Fifth Avenue penthouse, Woody defends his love,
TIME, 31 Aug 1992.
It's an amazing thing what a needy bunch we human beings are: Each to his own
choice of likes and dislikes. That which one could not live without wouldn't
make the next top 100 list. The topic of what is necessary and what is not
would seem to support the camp that says we truly are one-of-a-kind
individuals. Equally as amazing are the myriad ways we express our needs and
our excesses, or that which is not felt needed. We `have' to go to work, we
`would like' to take a vacation, we really `should' go to sleep. We `prefer',
we `would rather have', we `really want', and we `would just die for' that
which we, for lack of the following list, need. And so, to need or not to
need...
-Doug Jockinsen (gamedoggie@aol.com)
(This week's Guest Wordsmith, Doug, is a teacher in Los Angeles. He adds, "My
specialty is Autism. I work with pupils every day whose greatest goal is to
be able to tell us what they need, and to understand what we need from them.
Thus the theme of `need' is a daily one for me." -Anu)
X-Pronunciation: http://www.wordsmith.org/words/desideratum.wav
2. HotSite -- Online Crossword
Looking for a Place to Go or Stay?
We quickly found a condo vacation to our liking in Travel Guides Online, electronic companion to the Travel Guides series of books. The more popular your destination, it seems, the more likely you are to find something suitable in one of this site's free, easy-to-search databases. We searched for a family vacation in Illinois and found one - in Indiana. That's OK - our fantasies take us to warmer climes. You can search for bed-and-breakfast establishments, elegant small hotels, "All-Suite Hotels", Pacific Rim hotels, and among 14,000 golf courses around the world. The site has brochureware for several Travel Guide books, and the bookstore (associated with Amazon.Com) is only a click or two from most pages.
http://www.travelguides.com/
My recommendation for small elegant hotel on the noerthern CA coast:
Point Reyes Seashore Lodge,Olema, CA
http://www.travelguides.com/elegant/nj_display.cgi?esh=577
Surf the Great Northern Expanses
A tightly tailored Web portal, Alcanseek searches the Web for all things Canadian and Alaskan. Aimed at both travelers and residents, the site provides free classifieds, homepages, and chat areas as well as valuable guides to weather, road conditions, wildlife watching, lodging reservations, and more. You can also have brochures snail-mailed to you from a site form.
http://www.alcanseek.com/
3. Useless Trivia of the Day
OF is apparently the only word in which an F is pronounced like a V.
ONE THOUSAND contains the letter A, but none of the words from
one to nine hundred ninety-nine has an A.
The shortest -ology (study of) word is OOLOGY (the study of eggs).
4. Cool Fact of the Day
Fastest Steady Winds
The fastest winds are the jet streams, high altitude rivers of air
that circle the planet in the northern and southern
hemispheres. These long, thin air flows can reach speeds of
more than 300 miles per hour!
There are two jet streams on each side of the equator
(sometimes three in the northern hemisphere). They flow
from west to east at the edges of major air masses, where
storms are formed.
The jet streams were first discovered by airmen during World
War II. They are the main cause of "clear air turbulence,"
which sometimes shakes up passengers in high-flying planes.
For more information, see the following links:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wjet.htm
http://www.photovault.com/Link/Universe/Planets_CloudsEarth/UPCV01P03_16.html
Table of Contents
inter alia
21 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. A Word A Day
2. HotSite
3. Today in History -- 21 July
1. A Word A Day
caitiff (KAY-tif) noun
A despicable coward; a wretch.
caitiff adjective
Despicable and cowardly.
[Middle English caitif, from Norman French, from Latin captivus, prisoner.]
"Whoever shoots at him, I set him there;
Whoever charges on his forward breast,
I am the caitiff that do hold him to't;
And, though I kill him not, I am the cause..."
Shakespeare, William, All's Well That Ends Well: Scene II.
X-Pronunciation: http://www.wordsmith.org/words/caitiff.wav
2. Hotsite -- NY Times Books
In case you didn't know: A searchable (is that a word?)
database of 50,000 books reviews from the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/
3. Today in History -- 21 July
The First Battle of Bull Run
On a dry summer Sunday, July 21, 1861, Union and
Confederate troops clashed outside Manassas, Virginia,
in the first major engagement of the Civil War: the First
Battle of Bull Run.
Union General Irvin McDowell hoped to march his men
across a small Virginia stream named Bull Run, which
was well-guarded by a force of Confederates under
General P.G.T. Beauregard. The task for McDowell was
to find a way across the stream and through the Southern
line, stretched for over six miles along the banks of Bull Run.
McDowell launched a small diversionary attack at the
Stone Bridge, while attempting to march the bulk of his
force north around the Confederates' left flank. The
march was slow, but McDowell's army crossed the
stream near Sudley Church and began to march south
behind the Confederate line. Some of Beauregard's
troops, seeing through the diversion at the Stone Bridge,
fell back just in time to meet McDowell's oncoming
force.
When Beauregard
learned of the attack, he sent reinforcements to aid the
small group of Southerners, but they were unable to hold
back the oncoming tide of Union troops. As
reinforcements streamed into the fray, the Southerners
were slowly pushed back, past the Stone House, and up
Henry Hill.
For several hours the battle raged around the home of
Mrs. Judith Henry, on top of Henry Hill, with both sides
taking control of the hill more than once. Slowly, as more
and more reinforcements poured onto the field to support
the Confederate defense, Beauregard's men pushed
the Northerners back.
As the day wore on, the strength of McDowell's troops
was sapped by the continuous arrival of fresh Southern
reinforcements. Eventually, the stubborn Confederates proved
more than a match for McDowell's men, and the
Northerners began to retreat back across Bull Run.
The pullout began as an orderly movement, but when the
bridge over Cub Run was destroyed, cutting off a major
route of retreat, it degenerated into a rout. The
withdrawing Union force was hampered by the many
carts, wagons and spectators clogging the narrow roads
and fords. The Southerners tried to launch a pursuit, but
were too tired and disorganized from the day's fighting to
be effective.
The morning of July 22 found most of the Union army on
their way back to Washington or already there. It would
be more than a year before the Northerners attempted
once again to cross the small stream
outside Manassas named Bull Run.
**** For photographs from the Civil War, including
many of Bull Run, visit this site:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphome.html
Table of Contents
inter alia
22 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. A Word A Day
2. HotSites -- 700+ great sites for kids!
3. Quotes of the Day -- Duh...
1. A Word A Day
bounden (BOWN-den) adjective
1. Obligatory.
2. Archaic. Being under obligation; obliged.
[Middle English, past participle of binden, to bind, from Old English bindan.]
"When first criticized for their reporting of Hart's private life,
journalists cited bounden duty to probe the personal character of those who
volunteer to be President, since just about anyone can run and so many do."
Thomas Griffith, PRESS: Newswatch A Little Longer in the Limelight.,
TIME, 01-11-1988, pp 79.
X-Pronunciation: http://www.wordsmith.org/words/bounden.wav
2. HotSites -- For kids and those who care for them
This is actually a repeat on HotSites, but its
worth repeating -- more than 700 sites from the
American Library Association. If you have kids,
you must have this site bookmarked.
http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/amazing.html
3. Quotes of the Day -- Duh...
Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.
-- Marion Barry, Mayor, Washington, D.C.
We have only one person to blame, and that's each other.
-- Barry Beck, New York Ranger, on who started a fight furing a hockey
game
I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body.
-- Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward
I believe that mink are raised for being turned into fur coats and if we didn't wear
fur coats those little animals would never have been born. So is it better not to have
been born or to have lived for a year or two to have been turned into a fur coat? I
don't know.
-- Barbi Benton, former Playboy bunny
Ninety percent of the game is half mental.
-- Yogi Berra
No wonder nobody comes here--it's too crowded.
-- Yogi Berra
You can observe a lot by watching.
-- Yogi Berra
You got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not
get there.
-- Yogi Berra
Sure, it's going to kill a lot of people, but they may be dying of something else
anyway.
-- Othal Brand, member of a Texas pesticide review board
Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't
help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that but not with all those flies and
death and stuff.
-- Mariah Carey
In the early sixties, we were strong, we were virulent...
-- John Connally, Secretary of Treasury under Richard Nixon, in an early
70s speech, as reported in a contemporary "American Scholar"
They were doing a full back shot of me in a swimsuit and I thought, Oh my God, I
have to be so brave. See, every woman hates herself from behind.
-- Cindy Crawford, supermodel
There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry.
-- George Armstrong Custer
He didn't say that. He was reading what was given to him in a speech.
-- Richard Darman, director of OMB, explaining why President Bush wasn't
following up on his campaign pledge that there would be no loss of wetlands
I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law.
-- David Dinkins, New York City Mayor, answering accusations that he
failed to pay his taxes.
Tear open packet, unfold and use.
-- Directions on moist towelette package
They gave me a book of checks. They didn't ask for any deposits.
-- Joe Early, Congressman (D-Mass), at a press conference to answer
questions about the House Bank scandal
Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. President
If I tell a lie it's only because I think I'm telling the truth.
-- Phil Gaglardi, Minister of Highways, British Columbia, Canada
I'll moider da bum.
-- Tony Galento, heavyweight boxer, when asked what he thought of
William Shakespeare
Table of Contents
inter alia
29 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. A Word A Day
2. Weird Facts of the Day
3. Quote of the Day -- Seamus Heaney
1. A Word A Day
cerumen (suh-ROO-muhn) noun
The yellowish, waxlike secretion of certain glands lining the canal of
the external ear. Earwax.
[New Latin, from Latin cera, wax akin to Greek keros.]
"In a major breakthrough brought to us by Los Angeles state Sen. Richard
Polanco, licensed audiologists--the folks who test your hearing--may now
legally remove ear wax, technically known as cerumen."
Jenifer Warren, California Dateline, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec 1997.
--
Pronunciation: http://www.wordsmith.org/words/cerumen.wav
A Word A Day from:
http://www.wordsmith.org/
2. Weird Facts of the Day
There are about 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body.
There are only thirteen blimps in the world,
nine of which are based in the U.S.
It takes a lobster about seven years to grow one pound.
Most American car horns beep in the key of F.
There are more varieties of insects in existence than
the total of all kinds of all other animals combined.
Not until 1978 had a baby been born on each of the world's seven continents.
About 2,900 square miles of Antarctica are ice-free.
About 85 percent of the Earth's plant life is in the oceans.
The blue whale can survive without eating for up to six months.
About 35,000 people work in the World Trade Center in New York City.
The Pacific Ocean takes up almost half of the Earth's surface.
Weird Facts of the Day from Students Online:
http://www.jayi.com/so/
3. Quote of the Day -- Seamus Heaney
PERSONAL HELICON
--by Seamus Heaney
for Michael Longley
As a child, they could not keep me from wells
And old pumps with buckets and windlasses.
I loved the dark drop, the trapped sky, the smells
Of waterweed, fungus and dank moss.
One, in a brickyard, with a rotted board top.
I savoured the rich crash when a bucket
Plummeted down at the end of a rope.
So deep you saw no reflection in it.
A shallow one under a dry stone ditch
Fructified like any aquarium.
When you dragged out long roots from the soft mulch
A white face hovered over the bottom.
Others had echoes, gave back your own call
With a clean new music in it. And one
Was scaresome, for there, out of ferns and tall
Foxgloves, a rat slapped across my reflection.
Now, to pry into roots, to finger slime,
To stare, big-eyed Narcissus, into some spring
Is beneath all adult dignity. I rhyme
To see myself, to set the darkness echoing.
---
Copyright: http://sunsite.unc.edu/ipa/heaney/copyright.html
Table of Contents
inter alia
31 July 98
In Today's Issue
1. HotSites -- Wine and Gardens
2. A Word A Day -- chrysalis
3. On This Day . . . 31 July
1. HotSites
SMART WINE HOMEPAGE
Like wine? Then this is your page. Lots of info and articles about
wineries, wine varietals, festivals and the wine trade. Visit the forums to
post questions and interact with other wine lovers. Check the wine of the
day before heading to the links page with over 800 wine related links!
http://smartwine.com/
Gardens and Gardening:
http://www.garden.com/
http://www.pathfinder.com/@@s9*s9AQACw4hUSTV/vg/
Gardening Resources galore from inter alia's own HotSites://archive:
http://lhostelaw.com/ia/ia2/hotsite_051297.html
2. A Word A Day
chrysalis (KRIS-uh-lis)
noun [plural chrysalises or chrysalides (kri-SAL-i-deez)]
A pupa, especially of a moth or butterfly, enclosed in a firm case or
cocoon.
[Latin chrysallis, from Greek khrusallis, khrusallid-, gold-colored pupa of a
butterfly, from khrus-, chryso-.]
William Allen; Where Beauty Flutters By, St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
23 Jul 1995.
"The climax of metamorphosis into an adult can be viewed almost daily.
Butterflies usually emerge from their chrysalises sometime between 9:30
a.m. and 11:30 a.m."
Pronunciation: http://www.wordsmith.org/words/chrysalis.wav
(Did you know "butterfly" is an anagram of "flutter by"? For more anagrams,
see: Anagram Hall of Fame: http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/hof.html -Anu)
3. On This Day ... 31 July
Birthdates which occurred on July 31:
1803 John Ericsson US, invented screw propeller, built USS Monitor
1841 George Melville polar explorer, naval engineer
1943 William Bennett US Secretary of Education (1985-88)/drug czar
Deaths which occurred on July 31:
1556 St Ignatius of Loyola founder of Society of Jesus, dies in Rome
1875 Andrew Johnson 17th pres, dies in Tennessee at 66
1977 Stacy Moskowitz shot to death by Son of Sam, at 20
On this day...
432 St Sixtus III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
768 [Philip] begins & ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1498 Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad
1790 1st US patent granted, to Samuel Hopkins for a potash process
1813 British invade Plattsburgh, NY
1949 Lightning strikes a baseball field in Fla, kills the SS & 3rd baseman
1960 Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a black state
1966 Alabamans burn Beatle products due to John Lennon's anti-Jesus remark
1966 Charles Whitman wounds 46 & kills 5 at University of Texas
1969 Mariner 6 flies past Mars
1969 National Guard mobilizes in racial disturbances in Baton Rouge, La
1970 Chet Huntley retires from NBC, ends "Huntley-Brinkley Report"
1972 Thomas Eagleton withdraws as Democratic VP candidate
1981 42 day old, 2nd major league baseball strike ends
1981 Arnette Hubbard installed as 1st woman president of the Natl Bar Assn
1990 Nolan Ryan becomes the 20th major league pitcher to win 300 games
WORLDWIDE HISTORIC DATES & EVENTS brought to you DAILY by : Scope Systems
|
