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In a total game changer for the worlds of toys and technology (Hasbro and Zynga have teamed up to make toys and board games based on Zynga’s popular online video games. Starting with Words With Friends, the partnership will also see FarmVille,... Read the rest of this post

With Thanksgiving a few days away, it’s time to think about (reaching teens and collegians during the holiday shopping season with well targeted messaging. Kohl’s gets it right with a hilarious take on Rebecca Black’s... Read the rest of this post

Happy Birthday, Nicktoons! (Twenty years ago, Nickelodeon debuted “Doug,” “Rugrats,” and “Ren & Stimpy” – the very first Nicktoons, which revolutionized children’s TV! Thankfully “Doug” is currently part of the network’s... Read the rest of this post

Disney debuted the TV movie ‘Phineas and Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension’ on Friday (and the flick — based on the TV series of the same title — drew in an impressive 7.6 million viewers! It’s the top cable movie of the year so... Read the rest of this post

Beliebers, you may not want to read this… (apparently Bieber Fever is coming to an end. According to Ad Age’s trend report, popular fads including Bieber, Facebook, and Harry Potter are fading, while new talent and products such as Selena... Read the rest of this post

Facebook may be taking over the world (but in the U.S., it just lost some 6 million users. But we don’t think Facebook is going away any time soon, especially with brands jumping on board for a little “F-commerce,” e-commerce... Read the rest of this post

Ashton Kutcher’s most recent TV “role” was (as the host of “Punk’d,” but now he’s taking over for Charlie Sheen on “Two And A Half Men.” Will he lure a younger audience to the show? We think so.... Read the rest of this post

“Partying, partying (yeah!)…” Is Rebecca Black’s “Friday” already stuck in your head too? That catchy little tune has been the source of both amusement and annoyance for weeks, and now “Glee” puts its... Read the rest of this post

It’s graduation season, and what will college students (be doing now that they’re leaving school? 85% are moving home with mom and dad, according to one study. Sorry, IKEA, but next quarter isn’t looking so good. What other options... Read the rest of this post

Lady Gaga’s latest single, ‘Judas’ (leaked online on Friday, giving us all something to dance to over the weekend. Is she taking another note from Madonna — is this her “Like A Prayer”? Gaga herself released the... Read the rest of this post

Justin Bieber’s big screen follow-up (to “Never Say Never” will be an Ashton Kutcher buddy comedy, “What Would Kenny Do?,” which won’t start filming until at least 2012, when the busy Bieber finally has some free... Read the rest of this post

The Oxford English Dictionary (♥s shorthand. The online edition now contains text message and IM lingo like LOL, BFF and the heart symbol. Surprisingly these words date back beyond today’s teens; OMG first appeared in 1917! But does putting... Read the rest of this post

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Dearest readers,

I think this might be the best collection of links I’ve ever gathered. So, you’re welcome. Have a wonderful weekend!

Next Stop Atlantic: a photo series documenting the hurling of MTA subway cars into the Atlantic Ocean to create artificial reefs for sea creatures. [My Modern Met]

“He doesn’t like George Michael! Boo!” This saxaphone player is committed. (I dare you not to laugh.) [Viddler]

There’s a reason you didn’t get an A+ on your creative writing homework. (Dare you not to laugh at this one, either.) [losteyeball]

Your head could look like a book. [Gizfactory]

Have you been reading The Morning News’s ‘Lunch Poems‘ series? [The Morning News]

The Word Guy gets PENsive. [Etyman]

Path of Protest: an interactive timeline of recent Middle East events [Guardian]

Nick Pitera does it again: a one-man Disney soundtrack. [YouTube]

Hilarious, ‘hardcore’, but fake Smithsonian ads [BostInnovation]

I know everyone has probably heard enough about ‘Friday’/Rebecca Black, but I have to offer up this if-you-laugh-you-lose challenge. [Johnny]

And finally, the award for Tweet of the Week goes to the Oxford Dictionaries team. [OxfordWords]

By Lauren Appelwick, Blog Editor

Yesterday I was sitting at my desk, pondering…normal things that bloggers ponder…when my friend Cassie shared this link with me.  If you haven’t seen the “Friday” music video, then perhaps the forecast just seems silly, but it inspired me to think about how fast the senses and connotations of words change. For most people, Friday is just the name of a day of the week, but for the moment it’s also the source of many inside jokes and references to Rebecca Black. She is, obviously, a big fan of Fridays because it marks the end of her school week and the beginning of the weekend. We have such acronyms to show our love for the day as TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday), and what seems to be a widespread distaste for Mondays. (*Ahem* Garfield. *Cough* Office Space.)

So the question is: did people always like Friday? Did we choose Friday as the end of the work week because it was already well-loved?

{ASIDE: I was just beginning my research when fellow blogger Levi Asher (Literary Kicks) teased me with this Wikipedia link, encouraging that I “meet [his] friend Frigg.” To this I replied, “How long have you been friends?” and he answered, “Since Thor’s Day.” Well played, Levi. Well played indeed.}

We begin with the OED.

Friday, n.
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈfrʌɪdeɪ/ , /ˈfrʌɪdi/ , U.S. /ˈfraɪˌdeɪ/ , /ˈfraɪdi/

1. The day following Thursday and preceding Saturday, traditionally regarded as the sixth day of the week, but now frequently considered as the fifth, and also as the last day of the working week and (especially in the evening) the start of the weekend. In the Catholic Church, Friday, along with Wednesday and Saturday, has traditionally been observed as one of the days for abstaining from eating meat, fish being the popular alternative. In Judaism, sunset on Friday marks the beginning of the Sabbath, which ends at sunset on Saturday.

So far, pretty simple. We see that Friday’s position in the week is appears to be most strongly connected to Judeo-Christian traditions. I didn’t really expect to discover anything spectacular, I was just satiating my own curiosity–and why bother the Oxford Etymologist with such small queries? But then I noticed a sense that was new to me.

Friday-look, n.
now rare (Eng. regional in later use). a serious or gloomy face or expression (cf. 0 Comments on A short (and incomplete) history of Friday as of 1/1/1900