Monday, January 26, 2009

vacuous \VAK-yoo-uhs\, adjective:

1. showing no intelligence or thought
2. having no meaning or direction; empty

by 1561, from Latin vacuus "empty, void, free." Figurative sense of "empty of ideas" is from 1848.

default potential

• A self-portrait or a picture with you in it that has the potential to be your default image on myspace/facebook etc.

This picture is so good, TOTAL default potential!

Trivia

When it comes to animals, what are the nyala, the bongo, the tsessebe, and the sitatunga?

• Antelopes—all native to Africa.

Today in History:

• Rum Rebellion: armed takeover of New South Wales, Australia (1808)
• Republic Day of India: India's constitution took effect two and a half years after independence (1950)
• Phantom of the Opera: opened on Broadway; it is now the longest-running Broadway musical (1988)

Today's Birthdays:

• Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714-1785): 18th-century sculptor
• Charles XIV (1763-1844): king of Sweden and Norway
• Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964): WWII general who said "I shall return"
• Paul Newman (1925-2008): charitable movie star, creator of Newman's Own; also, Scott Glenn (68), David Strathairn (60), Ellen Degeneres (51) and Sara Rue (31)
• Jules Feiffer (80): Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and playwright, Little Murders
• Eddie Van Halen (54): lead guitarist, founder of Van Halen
• Wayne Gretzky (48): nine-time NHL MVP; athletes Jack Youngblood (59) and Vince Carter (32) share this birth date

Today's Holiday:

• Chinese New Year

Quote:

• "At the end of my trial, I was rather hoping the judge would send me to Australia for the rest of my life." — Jeffrey Archer