It's leap day! (get it?) (Photo by Lauren) Back in the 16th Century, Ponce de Leon claimed to have discovered the Fountain of Youth. While de Leon never actually found his fountain, we've found ours: it's called "Leap Day," and those who are born on February 29 have a birthday only once every four years. Does this mean that rapper Ja Rule, who was born 2/29/76, is only eight years old? Sure, he can come off a bit juvenile, but the fact is that most Leap Year babies (or "leaplings") simply celebrate their birthdays on February 28 or March 1. And since Leap Day rolls around only every four years, fewer people (only one in about 1,500) are born on this day than any other. Other than Ja Rule, some other famous leapsters are: Gioachino Rossini (born 1792), the Italian opera composer who wrote "The Barber of Seville" and "William Tell"; early film director William A. Wellman (1896), whose most famous movies were "Wings," "The Public Enemy," and "A Star Is Born"; actor Dennis Farina (1944); big band leader Jimmy Dorsey (1904); and the eldest of the famous Feb. 29 kids, Pope Paul III (1468). So here's a quick "Happy Birthday!" shout-out to all leaplings out there who might be wishing that mom had just pushed a little harder on the 28th. Suggested Sites... FamousBirthdays.com: February 29 - not many celebs were born on this rare day, so Ja Rule just might be the most famous leapling. BBC: On This Day: February 29 - see what major events happened to occur on Leap Day. Time and Date.com: Why Leap Years Are Used - a much simpler way of explaining it. Wikipedia: Leap Year - but if you still want the full, technical, explanation...

Directory categories: Leap Day, Leap Year, Wonders of Time

Archived under: Birthdays, Calendars, Celebrities, Holidays, Time

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(Photo by Robb Kendrick) Say, you can't tell remudas from round-ups, bandanas from wild rags,        or an ol' Texas taco from a classic flat brimmed? Well, gather 'round, buckaroo, for some schoolin' in Old West culture --        We're talkin' 'bout the art of cowboy poetry, friend. No one knows just how it got started, but many an old hand swears        it must have begun 'round a campfire, out on the trail. While one feller would tell a story, another would pass the jug:        They say there's nothin' like whisky to help spin a tale. The only "three Rs" those pokes knew were ridin', ropin', and rangin',         so all them campfire stories had to be learned by rote. And poetry began: Like ancient bards, cowboys used rhyme and verse,       and sometimes they'd even throw in a musical note. Y'all won't find high falutin words in their tales,        just simple love of the land, open spaces, and work. These poetic cow-punches tell tales of brave men and their horses,        of memories of happier days, of love and hurt. City slickers take note: cowboy poets are alive and kickin'.        You're pardoned, pardner, fer thinkin' they're things of the past. From Elko to Arvada they gather each year to spin their yarns.       But you, lucky reader, can listen via podcast. Suggested Sites... National Cowboy Poetry Gathering - contemporary and traditional arts from folks who spend a whole lot of time around cows. CowboyPoetry.com - more cowboy poetry and history than you can get your lasso around. Baxter Black - cowboy poet, and former large-animal veterinarian. Robb Kendrick Photography - tintype photographs of contemporary, working cowboys. Flickr: Cowboy Hats - the hat doesn't make the cowboy.

Directory categories: Cowboy Poetry, Cowboys, Guest Ranches, Rodeo, The Old West

Archived under: American History, Arts, Cowboys and Cowgirls, Festivals, Horses, In Character, Old West, Poetry, The West

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Excerpt from Webster's Dictionary We love a good urban legend. When we're forwarded dubious emails about missing children or political scare tactics and smears, we make a beeline for Snopes. So when we first heard about a mistake that let a fake "ghost word" slip into "Webster's Dictionary" for five years, we smelled a rat. According to the story, the word "dord" was introduced to dictionary compilers accidentally, with a consultant's note reading "D or d, cont/density" -- meaning that "density" should be added to the list of words that "D" could represent. One misunderstanding and two removed spaces later, and "dord" was a new synonym for "density." The story of dord is true, and it isn't the only fictitious entry to be found in reference materials. Some words, like zzxjoanw, are hoaxes, inserted for their authors' amusement. Other false entries are intentionally included as copyright traps, so that anyone stealing information will also unwittingly copy the identifiable fictional parts. Copyright traps have long been used by mapmakers to protect their work with made-up streets or even whole fictional towns. Encyclopedia-makers craft biographies for notable people who have never existed, like the (now) famous Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a fountain designer and photographer of rural mailboxes whose (fake) name has come to represent the practice of fictitious entries. "The New Oxford American Dictionary" even fessed up to a recent mountweazel: "esquivalience," meaning "the willful avoidance of one’s official responsibilities." At the risk of being accused of esquivalience, and no matter what our beloved Snopes might say, we respectfully choose to retain ghost words like dord and zzxjoanw. We find them perfectly cromulent. Suggested Sites... Urban Legends Reference Pages: Language - the scoop on word origins and other language-related urban legends, from Snopes. Esquivalience and Other Mountweazels - a look at some common falsehoods in reference materials. Copyright Easter Eggs - an overview of copyright traps on maps, with some notable examples. Wikipedia: Fictitious Entry - but how do you know this one is real?

Directory categories: Words and Wordplay, Dictionaries, Etymology, Linguistics and Human Languages

Archived under: Books, Hoaxes, Languages, Law, Reference, Wordplay, Words

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Dixieland player -- Tex Avery style (Courtesy of T. Djll) Almost as soon as animated cartoons learned to talk, they combined that talk with jazz. The Fleischer Brothers featured Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway. Warner Bros. composer Carl Stalling was influenced by bandleader Raymond Scott, and every studio referenced such names as Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Fats Waller, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby. With that in mind, it's somehow appropriate that today we note not one, but two anniversaries. Not only was the first jazz recording -- "Livery Stable Blues" by the Original Dixieland Jass (yes, "jass") Band -- made on this day in 1917, but it's also the 100th birthday of director Tex Avery. Avery, who worked mainly at Warner and MGM, was known for his broad physical comedy and sight gags, and was instrumental in the development of such characters as Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny (to whom he lent his signature phrase of "What’s up, Doc?"), Droopy, and The Wolf. So why not put some 78s on the Victrola, kick back with a big glass of Jumbo Gro, and toast Tex and the ODJB? Suggested Sites... Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Tex Avery - illustrated biography of the director. A Quickie Look at the Life and Career of Tex Avery - subtlety was always his watchword. The Red Hot Jazz Archive - learn about bands and listen to the music of the Golden Age of Jazz. Original Dixieland Jazz Band - a family operation since 1916. Jungle Jive: Race, Jazz, and Cartoons - examining the role jazz played in early animation.

Directory categories: Tex Avery, Animation Directors, Animation, Jazz, Jazz Musicians

Archived under: Animation, Bugs Bunny, Cartoons, Daffy Duck, Directors, Dixieland, Entertainment, Jazz, Looney Tunes, Music, Music History, Tex Avery

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Autumn-themed scrapbook page (By Desi Zavatta Musolino) On paper, scrapbooking is a moneymaking juggernaut. An army of Creative Memories consultants prowls homes worldwide, looking for new memory-makers, and there's even a reality TV show in the works. Think scrapbooking means just playing around with some photos and paper? Think again! Creativity is the key, and the industry has plenty of ways to spice up the deal. Expo, anyone? A spa getaway, perhaps? How about a trip to Tuscany -- or even a cruise? And if competition is what draws you in, you can find that, too -- but beware the consequences! If, after all of that, you feel prepared to crop and collage your way into this acid-free world, you're going to need to come prepared. Get yourself a slew of embellishments, paper, and glue. And, of course, you'll need something to cart it all around in. It seems space can become a bit of a problem, but Martha's here to help you. (Isn't she always?) So, get down with the lingo, get your scrapbook on, and join the cream of the croppers! Suggested Sites... Two Peas in a Bucket - Kaboose's scrapbooking community and retail site. Creating Keepsakes - browse the gallery and shop for supplies. Scrap Smack - blog and messageboard for the scrapbooking community. Memory Makers - visit the idea gallery and find scrapping resources.

Directory categories: Scrapbooking Magazines, Monthly Scrapbooking Clubs, Scrapbooking Supplies and Equipment, Scrapbooking

Archived under: Arts, Crafts, Hobbies, Home and Garden, Homemade, Photography, Scrapbooking

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