Saturday, September 5, 2009

voluptuary \vuh-LUHP-choo-er-ee\,
noun:

1. A person devoted to luxury and the gratification of sensual appetites; a sensualist.

adjective:

1. Of, pertaining to, or characterized by preoccupation with luxury and sensual pleasure.

Voluptuary derives from Latin voluptarius, "devoted to pleasure," from voluptas, "pleasure."
nerd-person

• The voice someone uses when explaining something technical or generally nerdy.

I always switch to the nerd-person when discussing the finer points of ewok economics
Trivia

What popular cookie, first marketed more than 100 years ago, is named for a Massachusetts town?

• The Fig Newton. It was first produced and sold in 1891 by the Kennedy Biscuit Works (now Nabisco) in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, which is only a short distance from Newton. At the time, the company named its products after nearby towns.

Today in History:

• Continental Congress: delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies (Georgia did not attend) convened in Philadelphia to seek repeal of the British Intolerable Acts (1774)
• On the Road: Jack Kerouac's stream-of-consciousness novel, considered a defining work of the Beat Generation, was published (1957)
• Munich Massacre: Palestinian terrorists of the Black September group murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the Summer Olympics (1972)

Today's Birthdays:

• Louis XIV (1638-1715): king of France and Navarre
• Jesse James (1847-1882): outlaw of the American Old West
• Werner Herzog (67): director, screenwriter and producer; filmmakers Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979) and Dennis Dugan (63) were also born on this date
• John Cage (1912-1992): avant garde composer; other musicians born on this date include Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), Loudon Wainwright III (63) and Dweezil Zappa (40)
• Raquel Welch (69): actor, sex symbol; also, actors Carol Lawrence (77), William Devane (72), George Lazenby (70), Michael Keaton (58) and Rose McGowan (36)
• Cathy Guisewite (59): cartoonist, Cathy