Word of the Day for Sunday, September 7, 2008

plaintive \PLAYN-tiv\, adjective:

• Expressive of sorrow or melancholy; mournful; sad.

Plaintive derives from Old French plainte, "complaint," from Latin planctus, past participle of plangere, "to strike (one's breast), to lament."

Song Binging

• To binge on a song or artist. The act of repeatedly and obsessively listening to a particular song or artist over a relatively short period of time. Periods of song binging are followed by extended periods of skipping the certain track or artist, leaving them unplayed.

girl: omg, im so bloody obsessed with fall out boy's new song!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ive played it 84 times in the last 24hrs!!!

guy: stop song binging and go listen to other shit for once.
Trivia

What make of car was the first in the world to be reported stolen, back in 1896? Clue: Its manufacturer is still in business.

• A Peugeot. It was stolen from the manufacturer’s plant in Paris, where it had been brought for repairs. The car thief was a mechanic at the plant.

Today in History

• Miss America: the first competition began, as a two-day beauty contest, in Atlantic City, New Jersey (1921)
• thylacine: the last known Tasmanian wolf, Benjamin, died in Hobart Zoo, though there may be survivors in the wild (1936)
• London Blitz: heavy bombing of the UK by the Nazi Luftwaffe began during WWII (1940)
• ESPN: sports network debuted on cable TV (1979)
• Rent: After more than 5,000 shows, the famous Braodway musical about the woes of modern times came to it's end. (2008)
• Astroland: After decades of amazing visitors, the Brooklyn amusement park closed for the last time today. (2008)

Today's Birthdays

• Elizabeth I (1533-1603): England's "Virgin Queen"
• Grandma Moses (1860-1961): folk artist
• Taylor Caldwell (1900-1985): novelist; other writers born on this date include Elinor Wylie (1885-1928) and Edith Sitwell (1887-1964)
• Elia Kazan (1909-2003): award-winning director, On the Waterfront
• Buddy Holly (1936-1959): rock and roller, "Peggy Sue"; also, singers Gloria Gaynor (59) and Chrissie Hynde (57)
• Evan Rachel Wood (21): actress, Once and Again, Thirteen; also, actors Anthony Quayle (1913-1989), Peter Lawford (1923-1984), Julie Kavner (57), Corbin Bernsen (54), Tom Everett Scott (38) and Oliver Hudson (32)