Wednesday, September 1, 2010

anacoluthia \an-uh-kuh-LOO-thee-uh\, noun:

• Lack of grammatical sequence or coherence, esp. in a sentence.

While anacoluthia generally describes a grammatically garbled sentence, an anacoluthon is a technical term in rhetoric that describes "a construction involving a break in grammatical sequence, as in 'It makes me so-I just get angry.'"

cheappuccino

• Any of the wide variety of flavored coffee drinks offered at convenience stores such as Circle K or 7 Eleven that can be purchased for less than half the price of a Starbucks cappuccino.

Let's stop by the Circle K for some cheappuccinos tonight. It's gonna be freakin' cold, and all I've got is $1.25 in my wallet.

Trivia

What legendary country singer released a double-disc album entitled The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories? to help pay the millions in back taxes he owed Uncle Sam?

• Willie Nelson, in 1991. Nelson pitched the album in ads aired on late-night TV.

History

• Canadian provinces: Canada welcomed two new provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta (1905)
• WWII: Germany invaded Poland and the war began (1939)
• 1923 Great Kantō earthquake: a quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale devastated Tokyo and Yokohama; tens of thousands died and millions were left homeless 
• Muammar al-Qaddafi: took power in Libya after overthrowing King Idris I (1969)
• Titanic: the wreck of the luxury liner was found by American and French searchers on the North Atlantic ocean floor 73 years after she sank (1985)
• Beslan: Chechen terrorists took over a Russian school; hundreds were killed during the three-day standoff (2004)

Birthdays

• Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950): creator of Tarzan
• Walter Reuther (1907-1970): UAW president, labor leader
• Seiji Ozawa (75): renowned conductor; plus, opera composer Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921)
• Alan Dershowitz (72): high-profile lawyer and author
• Phil McGraw (60): TV psychologist and life strategist
• Gloria Estefan (53): Grammy-winning singer of "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You"; also, musicians Barry Gibb (64), Greg Errico (62), Boney James (49) and Grant Lee Phillips (47)
• Ricardo Antonio Chavira (39): Desperate Housewives' Carlos Solis; other actors born on this date include George Maharis (82), Lily Tomlin (71), Don Stroud (67) and Scott Speedman (35)