08 February 28: Candies
In 2007, ‘sales of Halloween themed candies led the way with a 4.8% increase in chocolate Halloween themed candies and an 8.7% increase in non-chocolate themed candies. This trend, which started in 2005, shows retailers focused on packaging decorated with Halloween themes such as witches and goblins...’
08 February 27: Savage
In 1991, Dan Savage was living in Madison, Wisconsin, working as a manager at a local video store that specialized in independent film titles. There he befriended Tim Keck, co-founder of The Onion, who announced he was moving to Seattle to help start an alternative weekly newspaper, The Stranger. Savage ‘made the offhand comment that forever altered [his] life: ‘Make sure your paper has an advice column—everybody claims to hate 'em, but everybody seems to read 'em.’
08 February 26: Spice
As of February 2000, the Spice Girls had certified sales of 35 million albums and 18.2 million singles.
08 February 25: Blood
‘Polish taxmen are offering Poles the chance to pay their tax bills in blood ... Every donation to the local blood banks will allow Poles to write $60 off their tax bill.’
08 February 24: Marlies
The Toronto Marlies are a junior league feeder team for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Today they set a new attendance record of 8120.
08 February 23: Prime
Weekdays from noon to 2pm is the most popular time for people to watch TV shows online.
08 February 22: Queen
Since its original survey in 1793, Queen Street in Toronto has had many names. For its first sixty years, many sections were referred to as Lot Street, but in 1851 it was renamed for Queen Victoria.
08 February 21: Obama
The average speaking speed for politicians making presentations is 120-125 words a minute. This compares with 170-180 words a minute in regular conversation. Barack Obama speaks as few as 110 words a minute.
08 February 20: Libido
Feed your libido. ‘Pistachio nuts are really good because they contain an amino acid called arginine, and that's to help both genders to increase their genital circulation to help with sexual functioning.’
08 February 19: Goby
‘Subordinate goby fish stay slim so they won't be a threat to their superiors. That way, the underlings won't get evicted.’
08 February 18: Pool
For accurate shots in pool, find out which eye is your dominant eye. If your dominant eye is not over the stick, you’ll aim off-centre. More tips here.
08 February 17: Butter
The word butter comes from bou-tyron, which seems to mean ‘cowcheese’ in Greek.
08 February 16: Bigspy
Bigspy on Digg Labs displays upcoming stories on your computer screen as people digg them (bigger stories have more diggs).
08 February 15: -san
In Japanese, -san is a title of respect added to a name. It can be used with both male and female names, and with either surnames or given names. It can also be attached to the name of occupations and titles.
08 February 14: Formation
‘The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.’
08 February 12: Snot
Your nose and sinuses make about a quart of snot every day. Boogers are a sign that your nose is working the way it should!
08 February 11: EA
‘Electronic Arts (EA) received 93 out of 100 on the 2004 Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, which measures how equitably employers treat their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees, consumers and investors.’
08 February 10: NoHo
‘Greenwich Village is an area from 14th Street to Houston Street in Manhattan. In the early decades of the 20th century the word got around that The Village was the place to live ‘the free life’ as it was then called. It is now home to Washington Square Park and NYU. NoHo is a newly designated historic district famous for its up-and-coming fashion designers and artists.’
08 February 9: Method
Method Home Cleaning Products are biodegradable, toxicity-free, not tested on animals – and in bottles designed by Karim Rashid.
08 February 8: Massage
Two of the greatest physiological changes produced by massage therapy are an increase in blood circulation and an increase in lymphatic fluid circulation.
08 February 7: Pentagon
‘More than 20 public information specialists are assigned as liaisons with the film and television industry. They review scripts and proposals, advise producers on military procedures, and decide how much assistance, if any, a film or TV show portraying the military should receive.’
08 February 6: Philanthropy
‘In a recent year, American corporations and their foundations gave more than $12 billion to a variety of causes. Although there is a common perception that corporate philanthropy provides the lion's share of donations, the actual percentage is very small. Of the $241 billion given in 2002, only 5.1 percent was from corporations. The largest amount of money given, 76.3 percent, was given by individuals.’
08 February 5: MS
‘In multiple sclerosis, the body mistakenly directs antibodies and white blood cells against proteins in the myelin sheath, a fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers in your brain and spinal cord. This results in inflammation and injury to the sheath and ultimately to the nerves that it surrounds. The result may be multiple areas of scarring (sclerosis). Eventually, this damage can slow or block the nerve signals that control muscle coordination, strength, sensation and vision.’
08 February 4: History
Sunday's Superbowl was the most-watched ever, with 97.5 million viewers in the United States, a total that is second only to the M-A-S-H finale audience. The final M-A-S-H episode, which drew 106 million viewers in 1983, is the only other show in American broadcast history watched by more people.
08 February 3: Consumption
Superbowl Sunday is the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving.
08 February 2: Bar-Lev
‘Amir Bar-Lev grew up in Berkeley and graduated from Brown University. In 2001 he made his directorial debut with Fighter, which followed two Holocaust survivors on their emotional return to a Czech labor camp. The film was named one of the top documentaries of the year by several leading publications. Bar-Lev’s second feature documentary – My Kid Could Paint That – focuses on the meteoric rise, fall and re-emergence of Marla Olmstead, a four-year-old abstract painter from Binghamton, New York.’
08 February 1: Coverage
‘With television news offering only minimal coverage of conflicts around the world, viewers increasingly turn to the intrepid documentarian to fill the gap.’
08 January 31: New Museum
New York's New Museum of Contemporary Art was conceived by architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the Japanese firm Sanaa as a series of mismatched galleries precariously stacked one atop the other.
08 January 30: Credit
New York offers a refundable tax credit equal to 15% of production costs for feature films, television pilots and TV movies/miniseries ... For location and other costs to be eligible, either 1) at least 75% of the location shooting days must be in New York, or 2) production spends at least $3 million on facility-related costs.
08 January 29: Green
Green-links.org is an online resource for the environmental community of New York.
08 January 28: Equation
‘The writers’ strike is not a factor in the film financing equation – yet. ‘The strike is having no effect on film slates,’ says one fund manager. ‘This is a TV production strike, not a motion picture strike, unless it goes another few months.’’
08 January 27: Grace
Sundance 2007 is where Weinstein Co. fought for the right to pay $4 million for worldwide rights to Grace is Gone, which went on to earn just $37,000 in its domestic release.
08 January 26: Backlash
At Sundance 2008, ‘[t]op celebs, it seems, have a case of swag backlash. They're being more circumspect this year, eschewing obvious gift suite appearances and the attendant phalanx of photogs.’
08 January 25: Renfro
On January 15, Brad Renfro - the young actor who first gained fame at age 12 in 1994's The Client - was found dead at his LA home (at press time, autopsy pending, the coroner's office said the cause may have been an accidental overdose of alcohol and Xanax).
08 January 24: Oprah
Oprah is launching the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) in conjunction with Discovery Communications.
08 January 22: Page
Ellen Page, star of Juno, is set to headline Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It.
08 January 21: Distinction
‘There are more than 100 bars and restaurants in Park City, many of them or or near Main Street. In fact, Park City has more bars per capita than any city in Utah, a distinction it has held since the silver-boom days.’
08 January 20: Slamdance
‘Once known as the rebellious younger sibling of the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance has become a respected event in its own right, having found theatrical distribution for over 50 films in its 13-year span while helping launch some of the most successful careers in Hollywood.’
08 January 19: Gangsters
‘A discussion of men's fashion during the 1930s would be incomplete without recognizing the gangster influence. Gangsters, while despised as thieves, paradoxically projected an image of businessmen because of the suits they wore.’
08 January 17: Feist
After 2004's breakthrough Let It Die, Feist's follow-up album, The Reminder, launched her into the mainstream (before Apple picked her single ‘1234’ to accompany a new iPod commercial).
08 January 16: Vibrator
‘In 1906, a housewife could send away for her very own electric vibrator, as advertised in the pages of Women's Home Companion.’
08 January 15: Pusan
‘This October, Pusan International Film Festival screened 275 films in its official program, 193 of which were world, international, or Asia premieres...’
08 January 14: Sundance
‘Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization based in Park City, Utah, and founded by actor/director/producer Robert Redford in 1981. Emerging and aspiring filmmakers, directors, producers, film composers, screenwriters, playwrights, and theatre artists from around the world attend highly competitive artistic development programs run by the Institute, to assist them in developing their craft.’
08 January 13: Fumes
Consumers, not just factory workers, may be in danger from fumes from the buttery flavouring in microwave popcorn, according to a warning letter to U.S. federal regulators from a doctor at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center, a leading lung research hospital.
08 January 12: Porcelain
Porcelain tile is a unique type of ceramic tile fired at extreme temperatures, making it much stronger than ordinary ceramic tile and even harder than granite.
08 January 11: Injurious
Porn was first seriously restricted in Japan in the Meiji Era, when materials deemed ‘injurious to public morals’ were banned. After Japan’s defeat in WWII, American authorities changed many of Japan’s laws to guarantee freedom of speech and expression – but the pre-existing law regarding porn remains in effect to this day.
08 January 10: Chai
‘The word for ‘life’ in Hebrew is ‘chai.’ The two Hebrew letters that make up the word ‘chai’ are chet and yud. In Gematria (the numerical value of Hebrew letters), chet is equivalent to 8 and yud is equivalent to 10. So ‘chai’, chet and yud together, equals 18. Giving money in multiples of $18 is symbolic of giving ‘chai’ or life. Many people give money in multiples of $18 as presents to someone celebrating a birth, a bar or bat mitzvah or a wedding.’
08 January 9: Culturepreneurs
Culturepreneurs: ‘a new generation of twentysomething, business-minded culture obsessives who generate income from arty pursuits that have previously been notoriously poor sources of revenue – such as fanzines, street theatre, DVDs, and indie clothing lines.’
08 January 8: Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto called her time at Harvard the ‘four of the happiest years of my life’ and said it formed ‘the very basis of [her] belief in democracy.’
08 January 7: Phobics
The National Phobics Society estimates at least four million Britons are affected by toilet phobia. People experience extreme anxiety, deny themselves fluids, and – in worst case scenarios – become housebound as result of their inability to relieve themselves in public restrooms.
08 January 6: Permission
Tim Rice-Oxley gave Coldplay permission to use the name ‘Coldplay,’ which he had rejected for his own band as he thought it was ‘too depressing.’
08 January 5: Homey
‘Much of the language shaped by rappers was popular ‘back in the day,’ in the 1980's, 70's and 60's, and probably goes back much farther. Words like ‘fly’ and ‘homey’ are more old-school than most people think; they date at least to the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt . . . they had pretty much the same meanings they have today (‘cool’ and ‘from the neighborhood’).’
‘Shorties and Scholars Agree, the Word Is Rap’ (New York Times)
‘Shorties and Scholars Agree, the Word Is Rap’ (New York Times)
08 January 4: Weather
The Weather Channel reaches more than 95 million American households. With 32 million unique visits a day, it has more hits than Facebook or MySpace.
08 January 3: Satellite
1.5 million Canadians work out of their homes or satellite business centres at least a few days a week.
08 January 2: Gladwell
Writer Malcolm Gladwell has called the British magazine Car ‘the finest magazine in the English language.’
08 January 1: Koch
Edward I. Koch, the 105th mayor of New York whose slogan was How'm I doing?, kept the following maxim on his desk at City Hall: ‘If you say it can't be done, you are right, you can't do it.’
Bonus: Gibran
I always thought Kahlil Gibran was Persian. Today I learned he was Lebanese. No matter. I've always been in love with him.
‘All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind.’
Happy New Year!
‘All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind.’
Happy New Year!
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