PRELUDE
This issue comes a full fortnight after the most recent, and
for that I have regrets. However, it has been a very exciting
and fun-filled two weeks, and for that I cannot apologize.
Spring break! What a wonderful concept. It has evolved from
a simple vacation in mid-March to an all-out celebration of
freedom and good weather. It has grown to include those who
do not even attend school any more (my friends number among
them). As a tribute to this carefree and often sinful time,
I have chosen to devote this week’s issue to the things
we all love to do, but often feel bad about doing.
QUOTES
OF THE WEEK
“It
is good to be without vices, but it is not good to be without
temptations.”
—Walter Bagehot
“Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices.”
—B. Franklin
“Money won is twice as sweet as money earned.”
—Paul Newman
from The Color of Money
“A Smith and Wesson beats four aces.”
—American proverb
THIS
WEEK IN HISTORY
MARCH
29, 1999: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above
10,000 points for the first time since its inception in 1896,
at 10,006 points.
APRIL 3, 1882: Famed American outlaw Jesse
James is betrayed and murdered by his own gang member Robert
Ford, who shoots James in the back of the head in the hope
of receiving a $10,000 bounty. Jesse and his brother Frank
had eluded authorities for 16 years, robbing and murdering
throughout the American Midwest. James and his gang are credited
with pulling off the first successful daylight bank robbery
(in peacetime) and train robbery. Despite their often violent
acts, James and his gang were glorified by contemporary journalists,
who were eager to provide easterners with entertaining stories
of the “wild west.”
Robert Ford received only a fraction of the promised bounty
and was charged with murder, but achieved for himself a place
in western outlaw lore.
Sources: www.wikipedia.org,
www.historychannel.com/today.
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3
WORDS
Memorize these by week's end and you shall
quickly develop an enviable lexicon.
This week’s theme: words related to vices.
| diablerie
(dee-OB-lur-ee) n |
| 1. |
|
black
magic; sorcery |
| 2. |
|
a representation, in words or pictures, of black magic
or dealings with the devil |
| 3. |
|
devilish or mischievous conduct |
Ex.
One’s tendency to engage in diablerie
is greater in a place like Las Vegas, where everyone
shares the common purpose of drinking too much
and sleeping too little.
Etym. From the Greek diabolos,
meaning “accuser” or “slanderer.”
|
|
libidinous (le-BID-i-nus) adj. |
| 1. |
|
having or exhibiting lustful desires |
Ex.
It is perhaps every young man’s dream to
find a libidinous mate and her like-minded circle
of friends. |
|
prodigal (PRAW-di-gul) adj. |
| 1. |
|
recklessly
extravagant |
| 2. |
|
characterized by wasteful expenditure; LAVISH |
| 3. |
|
yielding abundantly |
Ex.
His prodigal ways earned him many friends, but
quickly left him bereft of any wealth. |
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