I was perusing the history section of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst website (don't ask) and I came across the following little nugget that I thought might be of interest:

Two expressions from the old RMA [Royal Military Academy] passed into the language. "Talking Shop", meaning "to discuss subjects not understood by others", derives from the RMA being commonly known as "The Shop", as its first building was a converted workshop in Woolwich Arsenal. "Snooker", the table-top game, was invented by a former cadet of the RMA, where the members of the junior intake were known as "snookers", from a corruption of "les neux" (the new guys).

Source.

Isn't that cool?

Posted by: Random Penseur at 02:00 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Today, November 1st:

Birthdays!

*1500 Benvenuto Cellini a fascinating charactor of the Renaissance. He was a sculptor, goldsmith, assassin, and writer: "Much of Cellini's notoriety, and perhaps even fame, derives from his memoirs, begun in 1558 and abandoned in 1562, which were published posthumously under the title The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. As noted by one biographer, 'His amours and hatreds, his passions and delights, his love of the sumptuous and the exquisite in art, his self-applause and self-assertion, make this one of the most singular and fascinating books in existence.'"

*1871 Stephen Crane US, novelist and poet, known best for the Red Badge of Courage. But he also wrote Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets (1893), his first book, about a girl from the slums and he moved to the slums to live in order to write about it. He was also a well known war correspondent.

*1902 Nordahl Grieg, a fascinating person, was a Norwegian poet, dramatist, newspaper man, and novelist. He was an anti-fascist at a time when that was not popular and served with the Norwegian Goverment in exile in England during WW II. He died during a bombing run over Berlin in 1943.

*1942 Larry Flynt magazine publisher (Hustler). Heh.

*1961 Mags Furuholmen Norway, from the band Aha (I'm sure you are all singing, "Take on Me")

*1963 Rick Allen Def Leppard drummer.

*1967 ME! "I was born a small, black child in Mississippi." Quote?

Events:

Ok, there was a lot of interesting stuff that happened today and I regret that I lack the time to do my usual history links to it all but I want to put it out there anyway.

*79 Pompei buried by Mt Vesuvius
*1210 King John of England begins imprisoning Jews
*1512 Michelangelo's paintings on ceiling of Sistine Chapel, 1st exhibited
*1604 William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" 1st presented
*1611 Shakespeare's romantic comedy "The Tempest" 1st presented
*1755 Lisbon earthquake kills more than 50,000
*1765 Stamp Act went into effect in the British colonies
*1776 Mission San Juan Capistrano founded in California
*1894 Vaccine for diphtheria announced by Dr Roux of Paris
*1922 Ottoman Empire abolished
*1950 Puerto Rican nationalists try to kill President Truman at the Blair House
*1952 Fusion occurred for the 1st time on Earth
*1956 Nagy government of Hungary withdraws from Warsaw Pact

My wife gave me, last night, a very cool gift. She gave me the entire DVD collection of the Masterpiece Theater presentation of: To Serve Them All My Days. I loved this when I saw it 20 some years ago and it remains one of my favorite books. Thanks, honey!!!!

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:08 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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1 Ohhhh... first to wish you a happy birthday! AND the first chance to guess at the quote! Many happy returns, and I hope you get to do something non-work related on this happy day--I know I am happy you're around these parts. I bet the quote is from The Jerk", with Steve Martin.

Posted by: Mandalei at November 01, 2004 10:10 AM (LcyhB)

2 Thanks, Amanda! And you are correct. It was, "The Jerk".

Posted by: RP at November 01, 2004 11:51 AM (LlPKh)

3 Happy Birthday RP! I loved that movie "The Jerk" especially the bit when he was oblivious about the guy shooting at him.

Posted by: Oorgo at November 01, 2004 01:03 PM (lM0qs)

4 Oh my god! I got it right! even better than having your name tattooed on someone's ass! Happy Birthday, again!

Posted by: Mandalei at November 01, 2004 01:10 PM (LcyhB)

5 Here's wishing you a very Happy Birthday RP. Many, many happy returns!! Clink!!

Posted by: Wicked H at November 01, 2004 01:25 PM (iqFar)

6 Happy Birthday, RP!

Posted by: Howard at November 01, 2004 02:22 PM (X88j1)

7 Happy Happy Happy!!!! It sounds like you've already got a great start at a wonderful day. So, my brilliant deductive reasoning tells me that you are either a) much younger than I, or b) LOOK young because I've "celebrated" my last birthday. From now on, it's anniversarys of birthdays. You know, fainstance: the eleventh anniversary of my twenty-ninth birthday? :: giggle :: Here's to hoping that, during the next year, you receive ALL of what you need and most of what you desire. xoxo m

Posted by: Margi at November 01, 2004 02:27 PM (MAdsZ)

8 Brillant deductive reasoning? More like ZERO reading comprehension. (I blame the Blogheimers.) 1967. A very good year. I was two.

Posted by: Margi at November 01, 2004 02:30 PM (MAdsZ)

9 I missed your birthday!? ARGH! Happy Belated Birthday, Random! The Jerk is one of my favorite movies ever; I got the quote instantly. I wish they'd come out with the widescreen version (well, maybe they have; I haven't checked for awhile). Favorite scene? When Steve Martin has lost all his money and is writing out all those checks for $1.XX and starts going out the door shouting, "I don't need YOU, I don't need ANYTHING! I don't need this house, or these things or... Well...maybe *this*" and he picks up a phone..."But that's ALL! That's ALL I NEED!" He starts dragging out the door again shouting he doesn't need ANYTHING from ANYONE. Then he stops "...well, maybe *this*" and he picks up another stupid item..."But that's ALL! THAT'S ALL I NEED!" Needless to say we've picked up on that phrase and when anyone says, "I don't need blah-blah"...we go into the whole bit. Annoying, ain't we? ;-) (Happy Happy Belated Birthday Wishes!)

Posted by: Amber at November 02, 2004 01:17 PM (zQE5D)

10 Happy birthday and many more to come. You'll need them to get through that DVD collection.

Posted by: Simon at November 04, 2004 11:37 PM (FUPxT)

11 Sorry I'm late wishing you a happy birthday, but here it is anyway: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And I looked at the link for To Serve them All My Days... it looks really, really interesting. I'll have to look up the books, so thanks for the link!

Posted by: Hannah at November 06, 2004 07:20 AM (7dELN)

12 Hi! It's my birthday too today (Nov 1 2005) and I stumbled on your site after doing a search (sad or what?) Have a good day. Lorraine

Posted by: Lorraine at November 01, 2005 10:47 AM (ALMw6)

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