Nostradamus was one of the world's most famous authors of prophecies.
He is best known for his book Les Propheties, which consists of one
unrhymed and 941 rhymed quatrains, grouped into nine sets of 100 and
one of 42, called "Centuries". Since the time of publication of the
book, a virtual cult has grown around Nostradamus and his Propheties.
With each succeeding major disaster, such as that of 9/11, people have
sought (always after the event) to find a quatrain (or two) that
"predicts" it — usually taking considerable liberties either with
the original text or with the event itself. Yet, to date, no one is
known to have succeeded in using any specific quatrain to predict any
event whatsoever in advance. Nevertheless, interest in the work of
this prominent figure of the French Renaissance is still considerable,
especially in the media and in popular culture, and the prophecies
have in some cases been assimilated to the results of applying the
alleged Bible code, as well as to other purported prophetic works.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostradamus
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1669:
Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys recorded the last entry in his
diary.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys)
1678:
The Godiva procession in Coventry, England began.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Godiva)
1889:
The South Fork Dam on Lake Conemaugh in Pennsylvania, USA failed,
killing over 2,200 people in the Johnstown Flood.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood)
1916:
The German Kaiserliche Marine and British Royal Navy clashed in the
Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle during World War I.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland)
1970:
The Ancash earthquake devastated various coastal towns in Peru and
resulted in a massive avalanche on the north side of Nevado
Huascarán, burying the town of Yungay.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Ancash_earthquake)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I am for those that have never been master'd, For men and women whose
tempers have never been master'd, For those whom laws, theories,
conventions, can never master. -- Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman)
Pakistan is a country located in South Asia that overlaps with the
Greater Middle East. It has a thousand-kilometre coastline along the
Arabian Sea in the south and borders Afghanistan and Iran to the west,
India to the east and the People's Republic of China in the far
northeast. The name Pakistan means "Land of the Pure" in Urdu and
Persian and was coined in 1933 by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, who published
it in the pamphlet Now or Never. Pakistan is the sixth-most populous
country in the world and the second-most populous Muslim country.
Pakistan was established as a modern state in 1947, but the region has
a long history of settlement, including by the Indus Valley
Civilization. The region was invaded by Afghans, Greeks, Persians,
Arabs, and was incorporated into British Raj in the 19th century.
Since independence, Pakistan has seen both instability, with the loss
of East Pakistan, and significant military and economic growth.
Pakistan has the seventh-largest armed forces in the world and is a
declared nuclear weapons state.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1453:
Constantinople fell to an Ottoman army led by Sultan Mehmed II, ending
the Byzantine Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople)
1660:
English Restoration: The monarchy in England was restored under King
Charles II on Oak Apple Day.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Restoration)
1919:
Observations made by Arthur Eddington during a solar eclipse confirmed
part of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Stanley_Eddington)
1953:
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach
the summit of Mount Everest.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest)
1999:
Olusegun Obasanjo took office as President of Nigeria, the first
elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of
military rule.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olusegun_Obasanjo)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith.
Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act of faith to assert
that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all." -- G. K.
Chesterton
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton)
The Norwegian Jarmann M1884 was a bolt action repeating rifle firing a
10.15 mm black powder cartridge in an 8-round, tubular magazine. It
was among the earliest repeating rifles to be adopted in the world.
Its adoption, and subsequent modifications, turned the Norwegian Army
from a fighting force armed with single-shot black powder weapons into
a force armed with modern repeating weapons firing smokeless
ammunition. Several thousand were manufactured to equip both Norwegian
and Swedish forces in the 1880s. The design is unique, and is the
brainchild of Norwegian engineer Jacob Smith Jarmann. After the design
had been phased out of the Norwegian Army, a number of the weapons
were rebuilt as harpoon guns.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarmann_M1884
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1905:
Japanese forces led by Admiral Togo Heihachiro destroyed the Russian
Baltic Fleet in the Battle of Tsushima, the decisive naval battle in
the Russo-Japanese War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tsushima)
1918:
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, one of the first democratic
republics in the Muslim world, was proclaimed in Ganja.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan_Democratic_Republic)
1961:
An article by Peter Benenson was published in newspapers, starting a
letter-writing campaign that grew and became Amnesty International.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International)
1975:
Sixteen West African countries signed the Treaty of Lagos,
establishing the Economic Community of West African States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"What I do know for certain is that what is regarded as success in a
rational materialistic society only impresses superficial minds. It
amounts to nothing and will not help us rout the destructive forces
threatening us today. What may be our salvation is the discovery of
the identity hidden deep in any one of us, and which may be found in
even the most desperate individual, if he cares to search the
spiritual womb which contains the embryo of what can be one's personal
contribution to truth and life." -- Patrick White
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patrick_White)
Tenebrae is a 1982 Italian horror thriller film written and directed
by Dario Argento. The film stars Anthony Franciosa, John Saxon, and
Daria Nicolodi. After having experimented with two exercises in pure
supernatural horror, Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980), Tenebrae
represented Argento's return to the giallo form, a sub-genre he had
helped popularize in the 1970s. The story concerns an American writer
promoting his latest murder-mystery novel in Rome, only to get
embroiled in the search for a serial-killer who has apparently been
inspired to kill by the novel. The film was released in Italy and
throughout most of Europe without experiencing any reported censorship
problems, but was classified, prosecuted, and banned as a Video Nasty
in the United Kingdom. Its theatrical distribution in the United
States was delayed until 1984, when it was released in a heavily
censored version under the title Unsane. In its cut form, Tenebrae
received a mostly negative critical reception, but in recent years the
original, fully restored version has become widely available for
reappraisal. The film has been described as "Argento’s last real
masterpiece".
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenebrae_%28film%29
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1328:
Philip VI of France was crowned at Notre-Dame de Reims, beginning the
Valois Dynasty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_VI_of_France)
1860:
Italian unification: Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Redshirts launched
their attack on Palermo, capital of the Two Sicilies.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Garibaldi)
1919:
The flying boat NC-4 arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, becoming the first
aircraft to complete a transatlantic flight.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NC-4)
1937:
The Golden Gate Bridge, a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate
in California, was opened.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge)
1942:
Operation Anthropoid: Czech resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied
Prague ambushed and mortally wounded Reinhard Heydrich, the chief of
Reich Security Main Office and the Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anthropoid)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Don't start an argument with somebody who has a microphone when you
don't. They'll make you look like chopped liver." -- Harlan Ellison
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harlan_Ellison)
The Polish-Soviet War was the war that determined the borders between
two nascent states in post–World War I Europe. This armed struggle was
a result of conflicting attempts—by Poland, whose statehood had just
been re-established after her being partitioned in the late 18th
century, to secure territories which she had lost in partitions or
earlier—and by Soviets who aimed to take control of the same
territories that had since then been part of Imperial Russia until
their occupation by Germany during World War I. Both states claimed
victory in the war: the Poles claimed a successful defense of their
state, while the Soviets claimed a repulse of the Polish Kiev
Offensive, which was sometimes viewed as part of foreign interventions
in the Russian Civil War.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish-Soviet_War
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1085:
King Alfonso VI of León-Castile conquered the Moorish taifa kingdom
of Toledo, a major milestone in the Reconquista.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo%2C_Spain)
1521:
Martin Luther was declared an outlaw and a heretic by the Diet of
Worms.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther)
1810:
May Revolution: Citizens of Buenos Aires ousted the Spanish viceroy
and established Primera Junta, the first independent local government
in Argentina.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Revolution)
1946:
The parliament of Transjordan proclaimed their emir as King Abdullah,
and formally changed the name of the country to the Hashemite Kingdom
of Transjordan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transjordan)
1961:
Project Apollo, with the goal of "landing a man on the Moon and
returning him safely to Earth before the decade is out" was announced.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Apollo)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
They reckon ill who leave me out; When me they fly, I am the wings; I
am the doubter and the doubt, And I the hymn the Brahmin sings. --
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson)
The history of Miami, Florida first started more than a thousand years
ago by the Tequesta Indians. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his men
first visited and claimed the area around Miami, Florida for Spain in
1566. Fort Dallas was built in the mid-1800s and the area became a
site of fighting during the Second Seminole War. After the Great
Freeze of 1894, Julia Tuttle, a local citrus grower, convinced Henry
Flagler, a railroad tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railroad
to Miami and on July 28, 1896 Miami was officially incorporated as a
city. Miami prospered during the 1920s but weakened after the 1926
Miami Hurricane and the Great Depression in the 1930s. After Fidel
Castro rose to power in 1959, many Cubans immigrated to Miami, further
increasing the population. In the 1980s and 1990s, various crises
struck South Florida, among them the Arthur McDuffie beating and the
riot caused by it, Hurricane Andrew, and the Elián González uproar.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Miami%2C_Florida
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1430:
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was captured at the Siege of
Compiègne.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Compi%C3%A8gne)
1813:
South American independence leader Simón Bolívar entered Mérida,
leading the invasion of Venezuela, and was proclaimed El Libertador
("The Liberator").
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar)
1945:
End of World War II in Europe: Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz was
captured and his Flensburg government was dissolved.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_D%C3%B6nitz)
1998:
The Belfast Agreement was accepted in a referendum, with a high margin
of three-fourth 'yes' votes to Northern Ireland.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast_Agreement)
2002:
The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto protocol was reached after its
ratification by Iceland.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_protocol)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Cynicism isn't smarter, it's only safer. There's nothing fluffy about
optimism." -- Jewel
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jewel_%28singer%29)
Michigan State University is a public university in East Lansing,
Michigan. As the first agricultural college in the United States, it
served as a model for future Land Grant colleges under the 1862
Morrill Act. Well known for its academic programs in education and
agriculture, MSU pioneered the studies of packaging and music therapy.
MSU has the premier hospitality school in the United States, and the
study abroad program is the largest of any single-campus university in
the nation, offering more than 200 programs in more than 60 countries
on all continents including Antarctica. Following the introduction of
the Morrill Act, the college became co-educational and expanded its
curriculum beyond agriculture. After World War II, the number of
students tripled as the institution became a major university. Today,
MSU is the nation's sixth-largest university by enrollment. As a
research university, MSU is one of 60 members of the Association of
American Universities. MSU's Division I sports teams are nicknamed the
Spartans. They compete in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except
ice hockey, which is part of the Central Collegiate Hockey
Association.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_State_University
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1674:
Jan III Sobieski, elected by the szlachta, became the King of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_III_Sobieski)
1879:
War of the Pacific: Two Peruvian ironclads attempted to lift the
blockade of Iquique by Chilean battleships in the Battle of Iquique.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iquique)
1894:
The Manchester Ship Canal was officially opened, linking the city of
Manchester to the Irish Sea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Ship_Canal)
1927:
Aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, Charles Lindbergh completed the first
solo non-stop transatlantic flight.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh)
1991:
Former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a
female suicide bomber.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which
is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was
yesterday." -- Alexander Pope
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope)
Henry James was an American-born author and literary critic of the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. He spent much of his life in
Europe and became a British subject shortly before his death. He is
primarily known for novels, novellas and short stories based on themes
of consciousness. James contributed significantly to the criticism of
fiction, particularly in his insistence that writers be allowed the
greatest freedom possible in presenting their view of the world. His
imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and possibly
unreliable narrators in his own novels and tales brought a new depth
and interest to narrative fiction. An extraordinarily productive
writer, he published substantive books of travel writing, biography,
autobiography and visual arts criticism.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_James
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1536:
Anne Boleyn (pictured), the second wife and queen consort of Henry
VIII of England, was beheaded for adultery at the Tower of London.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Boleyn)
1643:
"The Great Condé" scored a decisive victory in the Battle of Rocroi
during the Thirty Years' War, marking the end of prominence for the
Spanish tercios and the resurgence of French power in Europe.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_II_de_Bourbon%2C_Prince_de_Cond%C3%A9)
1649:
The Rump Parliament passed an act to formally establish the
Commonwealth of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_England)
1802:
The Légion d'honneur was first instituted by Napoléon Bonaparte,
First Consul of the French Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Honor)
1922:
The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union was founded.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Pioneer_organization_of_the_Soviet_Union)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Faith is a continuum, and we each fall on that line where we may. By
attempting to rigidly classify ethereal concepts like faith, we end up
debating semantics to the point where we entirely miss the obvious —
that is, that we are all trying to decipher life's big mysteries, and
we're each following our own paths of enlightenment." -- Dan Brown
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dan_Brown)
The Catlins is an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island
of New Zealand, lying between Balclutha and Invercargill and
straddling the border between the Otago and Southland regions. The
area lies along the southern coast of the South Island; the South
Island's southernmost point, Slope Point, lies in the southwestern
Catlins. The Catlins is a rugged, sparsely populated area, noted for
its scenic coastal landscape and its dense temperate rainforest, both
of which are home to many endangered species of birds. Its exposed
location leads to its frequently wild weather and heavy ocean swells,
which are an attraction to big-wave surfers. Ecotourism is now a
growing factor in the economy, which otherwise relies heavily on dairy
farming and fishing. The region's early whaling and forestry
industries have long since died away, along with the coastal shipping
that led to several tragic shipwrecks. Only some 1200 people now live
in the area, many of them in the settlement of Owaka.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catlins
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1268:
Baibars and his Mamluk forces captured Antioch, capital of the
crusader state, the Principality of Antioch.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baibars)
1896:
"Separate but equal": The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark
case Plessy v. Ferguson, upholding the legality of racial segregation
in public transportation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson)
1944:
World War II: Polish forces under Lieutenant General Władysław
Anders captured Monte Cassino and broke the Winter Line, a German
defensive line in Italy.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monte_Cassino)
1958:
A supersonic interceptor aircraft, F-104 Starfighter, set a world
speed record of 1,404.19 mph.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-104_Starfighter)
1980:
Mount St. Helens erupted, killing 57 people in Washington and causing
over a billion U.S. dollars in damages.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread
— and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness — Oh, Wilderness
were Paradise enow! -- Omar Khayyám --
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Omar_Khayy%C3%A1m)