| Sunday, August 5, 2007 |
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Xu Jinglei Source |
Spotlight: Wondering what everyone is reading online these days? There's a good chance it's the blog of 33-year-old Xu Jinglei. The popular Chinese actress, singer and director is now the most widely read blogger in the blogosphere. Her site boasts 100 million page views in 600 days — and counting; last year it had the most incoming links on the Internet, according to blog search engine Technorati. The English-language blog favored by Technorati members is Boing Boing, a group effort about topics like technology, science fiction, gadgets and intellectual property. (Boing Boing)
Quote: "There are some things you have to go through, when you know you shouldn't take the easy route or give up, and the most difficult thing is to get over yourself and change the way you think."
Word of the day: adventitiousGrowing in an unexpected or unusual position, such as new shoots growing out of the trunks of trees or roots growing from the climbing stems of vines.
Usage: "The adventitious beauty of poetry may be felt in the greater delight with a verse given in a happy quotation than in the poem." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
This week we're featuring words from our Dictionary for Gardeners, designed for amateurs and green thumbs alike. From the Garden of Eden to the stylized Japanese garden, gardens are a metaphor for life.
Today's News:
Today's History:
- taxes: federal income tax was levied for the first time in the US (1861)
- traffic lights: first electric system was installed, in Cleveland (1914)
- Little Orphan Annie: Harold Gray's comic strip debuted (1924)
- Marilyn Monroe: was found dead after overdosing on sleeping pills (1962)
- Revolver: chart-topping Beatles album was released (1966)
Today's Birthdays:
- Wassily Leontief (1906-1999): Nobel-winning economist
- Neil Armstrong (77): first human to walk on the moon
- Maureen McCormick (51): Marcia on The Brady Bunch
- Patrick Ewing (45): former NY Knicks basketball star
