Tuesday, March 30, 2010

popinjay \POP-in-jay\, noun:

• A vain and talkative person.

Popinjay is from Middle English papejay, popingay, meaning "parrot," from Old French papegai, deriving ultimately from Arabic babagha.

tree-book

• A book printed on dead trees, i.e. paper, as opposed to an e-book, which only exists electronically. Compare with snail mail.

Thomas: Hey, how do you like your new Kindle?
Andrew: I don't know, I haven't used it yet. I'm still trying to finish all the tree-books I'm reading.
Trivia

According to the Old Testament, what were the ten plagues visited upon the Egyptians when their pharaoh refused to free the Israeli slaves?

• As told in Exodus 7–12, the plagues were: the waters of Egypt turning into blood; frogs; lice; flies; cattle disease; boils; hail; locusts; darkness; and the slaying of the firstborn.

History

• Seward's Folly: the US bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2m. — about 2 cents an acre (1867)
• 15th amendment: was declared in effect, giving black men the right to vote (1870)
• Jeopardy!: game show debuted on television (1964)
• Ronald Reagan: was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.; the US president was hit in the chest and seriously wounded, but recovered fully (1981)

Birthdays

• Donna D'Errico (42) actress, model
• Moses Maimonides (1138?-1204): Medieval Jewish philosopher who wrote Guide for the Perplexed
• Anna Sewell (1820-1878): author of Black Beauty; also, writers Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) and Sean O'Casey (1880-1964)
• Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890): the tormented painter of Starry Night; plus, artist Francisco Goya (1746-1828)
• Warren Beatty (73): actor/director/writer/producer, Reds; other performers born on this date include Richard Dysart (81), John Astin (80), Robbie Coltrane (60), Paul Reiser (53) and Mark Consuelos (39)
• Astrud Gilberto (70): bossa nova singer of "The Girl from Ipanema"; plus, singer Rolf Harris (80)
• Tracy Chapman (46): singer/songwriter and multiple Grammy winner; other Grammy winners born on this date are Eric Clapton (65), M.C. Hammer (48), Celine Dion (42) and Norah Jones (31)