A military brat is a person whose parent(s) served full-time in the
armed forces during the person's childhood. In conventional usage, the
word "brat" is derogatory; in a military context, however, it is
neither a subjective nor a judgmental term. Although the term military
brat is used in other English speaking countries, only the United
States has studied its military brats as an identifiable demographic.
This group is shaped by frequent moves, absence of a parent,
authoritarian family dynamics, strong patriarchal authority, the
threat of parental loss in war, and the militarization of the family
unit. As adults, military brats share many of the same positive and
negative traits developed from their mobile childhoods. Having had the
opportunity to live around the world, military brats often have a
breadth of experiences unmatched by most teenagers. Brats identify
with other highly mobile children—regardless of race, religion,
nationality, or gender—more than they do with non-mobile ones. Many
are typically highly educated, outgoing, and patriotic. They have been
raised in a culture that emphasizes loyalty, honesty, discipline, and
responsibility. Many struggle to develop and maintain deep lasting
relationships, feeling like outsiders to U.S. civilian culture. This
subculture cuts across other cultural identities.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_brat_%28U.S._subculture%29
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
711:
Umayyad troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad landed at Gibraltar, beginning
the Moorish invasion of Iberia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar)
1789:
George Washington took the oath as the first President of the United
States of America at Federal Hall, New York City.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Hall)
1945:
Martin Bormann and Heinz Linge found Adolf Hitler dead in the
Führerbunker.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Adolf_Hitler)
1948:
The Organization of American States was established in Bogotá,
Colombia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States)
1975:
North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon, ending the Vietnam War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
In a political struggle, never get personal — else the dagger digs too
deep. -- Jack Valenti
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_Valenti)
The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird
has a circumpolar distribution, breeding colonially in Arctic and
sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America (as far south as
Brittany and Massachusetts). The species is strongly migratory, seeing
two summers each year as it migrates from its northern breeding
grounds to the oceans around Antarctica and back each year. This is
the longest regular migration by any known animal. Arctic Terns are
medium-sized birds, with a length of 33-39 centimetres (13-15 in) and
a wingspan of 76-85 cm (26-30 in). They are mainly grey and white
plumaged, with a red beak (as long as the head, straight, with
pronounced gonys) and feet, white forehead, a black nape and crown
(streaked white), and white cheeks. The Arctic Tern is K-selected,
caring for and aggressively defending a small number of young. Parents
feed them fish for a considerable time, and help them fly south to
winter. Arctic Terns are long-lived birds, with many reaching twenty
years of age. They eat mainly fish and small marine invertebrates. The
species is abundant, with an estimated one million individuals. While
the trend in the number of individuals in the species as a whole is
not known, exploitation in the past has reduced this bird's numbers in
the southern reaches of its range.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Tern
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1770:
James Cook and the crew of HM Bark Endeavour made their first landfall
on Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Bark_Endeavour)
1882:
Ernst Werner von Siemens began operating his "Elektromote", the
world's first trolleybus.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybus)
1945:
Adolf Hitler dictated his last will and testament to his secretary
Traudl Junge in the Führerbunker, and then married Eva Braun in a
brief ceremony.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_will_and_testament_of_Adolf_Hitler)
1991:
A powerful tropical cyclone struck Chittagong, killing at least
138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless in
Bangladesh.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Bangladesh_cyclone)
1992:
The acquittal of policemen who had beaten Rodney King sparked civil
unrest in Los Angeles.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I have been in a multitude of shapes, Before I assumed a consistent
form. I have been a sword, narrow, variegated, I will believe when it
is apparent. I have been a tear in the air, I have been the dullest of
stars. I have been a word among letters, I have been a book in the
origin. -- Taliesin
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Taliesin)
Some Thoughts Concerning Education is a 1693 treatise on education
written by the English philosopher John Locke. For over a century, it
was the most important philosophical work on education in Britain. It
was translated into almost all of the major written European languages
during the eighteenth century, and nearly every European writer on
education after Locke, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, acknowledged
its influence. In his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke
outlined a new theory of mind; he contended that the child's mind was
a tabula rasa or "blank slate," that is, it did not contain any innate
ideas. Some Thoughts Concerning Education explains how to educate that
mind using three distinct methods: the development of a healthy body;
the formation of a virtuous character; and the choice of an
appropriate academic curriculum. Locke originally wrote the letters
that would eventually become Some Thoughts for an aristocratic friend,
but his advice had a broader appeal, since his educational principles
allowed women and the lower classes to aspire to the same kind of
character as the aristocrats for whom Locke originally intended the
work.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Thoughts_Concerning_Education
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1521:
Filipino natives led by Lapu-Lapu killed Portuguese explorer Ferdinand
Magellan in the Battle of Mactan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mactan)
1565:
Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and 500 armed soldiers arrived at
Cebu and established the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_López_de_Legazpi)
1667:
John Milton, blind and impoverished, sold the copyright of Paradise
Lost for £10.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton)
1865:
An explosion destroyed the steamboat Sultana on the Mississippi River,
killing 1,700 passengers.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultana_%28steamboat%29)
1994:
Apartheid in South Africa: The African National Congress had a
landslide victory in the first non-racial elections in the history of
South Africa.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Africa_in_the_apartheid_era)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Though I have been trained as a soldier, and participated in many
battles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could
not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an
epoch when a court, recognized by all nations, will settle
international differences. -- Ulysses S. Grant
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant)
Michael Woodruff was a British surgeon and scientist
principally remembered for his research into organ transplantation.
Though born in London, Woodruff spent his youth in Australia, where he
earned degrees in electrical engineering and medicine. Having
completed his studies shortly after the outbreak of World War II, he
joined the Australian Army Medical Corps, but was soon captured by
Japanese forces and imprisoned in the Changi Prison Camp. While there,
he devised an ingenious method of extracting nutrients from
agricultural wastes to prevent malnutrition among his fellow POWs. At
the conclusion of the war, Woodruff returned to Britain and began a
long career as an academic surgeon, mixing clinical work and research.
By the end of the 1950s, his study of aspects of transplantation
biology such as rejection and immunosuppression led to his making the
first kidney transplant in the United Kingdom, on October 30, 1960.
For this and his other scientific work, Woodruff was elected a Fellow
of the Royal Society in 1968 and knighted in 1969. Although retiring
from surgical work in 1976, he remained an active figure in the
scientific community, researching cancer and serving on the boards of
various medical and scientific organizations.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Woodruff
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
Boston Corbett shot and killed John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of U.S.
President Abraham Lincoln.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Corbett)
1925:
Paul von Hindenburg defeated Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the
German presidential election, becoming the first directly elected head
of state of the Weimar Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_von_Hindenburg)
1937:
Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Guernica in Spain by the Condor
Legion of the German Luftwaffe resulted in a devastating firestorm.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Guernica)
1964:
Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzania)
1986:
Chernobyl disaster: A nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine suffered a
steam explosion, resulting in a fire and a nuclear meltdown.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
They say that each generation inherits from those that have gone
before; if this were so there would be no limit to man's improvements
or to his power of reaching perfection. But he is very far from
receiving intact that storehouse of knowledge which the centuries have
piled up before him; he may perfect some inventions, but in others, he
lags behind the originators, and a great many inventions have been
lost entirely. What he gains on the one hand, he loses on the other.
-- Eugène Delacroix
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Delacroix)
Hurricane Edith was the strongest hurricane to form during the 1971
Atlantic hurricane season. It developed from a tropical wave on
September 5, and quickly strengthened into a hurricane in the
Caribbean Sea. Edith rapidly intensified on September 9, and made
landfall on Cape Gracias a Dios as a Category 5 hurricane on the
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It quickly lost intensity over Central
America, and after briefly entering the Gulf of Honduras, it crossed
the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. After moving across the Gulf of
Mexico, a trough turned the storm to the northeast, and Edith, after
having restrengthened while accelerating towards the coast, made
landfall on Louisiana with winds of 105 mph (170 km/h) on September
16. Edith steadily weakened over land and dissipated over Georgia on
September 18. The hurricane killed two people when it passed near
Aruba. Striking northeastern Central America as a Category 5
hurricane, Edith destroyed hundreds of homes and killed at least
35 people. In Texas, high tides caused coastal flooding, but little
damage. Edith caused moderate to heavy damage in portions of Louisiana
due to flooding and a tornado outbreak from the storm.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Edith_%281971%29
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1800:
The U.S. Library of Congress was founded as a research library for the
U.S. Congress.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress)
1916:
Patrick Pearse and various members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
instigated the Easter Rising, a rebellion against British rule in
Ireland, and proclaimed the Irish Republic an independent state.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising)
1967:
The Soyuz 1 spacecraft crashed in Siberia, killing cosmonaut Vladimir
Komarov.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_1)
1980:
Eight U.S. servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt
to rescue the hostages in the Iran hostage crisis.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eagle_Claw)
1990:
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched by the Space Shuttle Discovery
in mission STS-31.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I judge a man by his actions with men, much more than by his
declarations Godwards. When I find him to be envious, carping,
spiteful, hating the successes of others, and complaining that the
world has never done enough for him, I am apt to doubt whether his
humility before God will atone for his want of manliness. -- Anthony
Trollope
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Trollope)
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's
membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians
from Scotland and Ireland. London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York and
Findhorn have all served as a home for the group. The band has played
in a number of different styles, but most often their music can be
described as a mix of Celtic folk music with rock and roll, or folk
rock. After ten years of recording and touring, the band dissolved in
1993 and Scott pursued a solo career. The band reformed in 2000, and
continues to release albums and tour worldwide. The early Waterboys
sound was dubbed "The Big Music" after a song on their second album, A
Pagan Place. This musical style was described by Scott as "a metaphor
for seeing God's signature in the world." Their songs, largely written
by Scott, often contain literary references and are frequently
concerned with spirituality. Both the group and its members' solo
careers have received much praise from both rock and folk music
critics, but The Waterboys as a band has never received the commercial
success that some of its members have had independently.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waterboys
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1014:
Irish forces led by Brian Boru clashed with the Vikings in the Battle
of Clontarf.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Clontarf)
1827:
Irish mathematician and physicist Rowan Hamilton presented his Theory
of Systems of Rays.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rowan_Hamilton)
1920:
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey was founded in Ankara in the
midst of the Turkish War of Independence.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_National_Assembly_of_Turkey)
1923:
Gdynia was inaugurated as a Polish seaport on the south coast of the
Baltic Sea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gdynia)
1954:
Batting against Vic Raschi of the St. Louis Cardinals, Hank Aaron of
the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 home runs in Major
League Baseball.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron)
1982L:
The Conch Republic facetiously declared independence from the United
States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conch_Republic)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
We defy augury; there's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow.
If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now;
if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all. -- "Hamlet"
in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hamlet)
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the main city of the Dhaka
District. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka and its
metropolitan area have a population of 11 million, making it the
largest city in Bangladesh and one of the most populous cities in the
world. Under Mughal rule, the city was also known as Jahangir Nagar.
The modern city was largely developed by British authorities and soon
became the second-largest city in Bengal after Calcutta. With the
partition of India, Dhaka became the administrative capital of East
Pakistan before becoming the capital of an independent Bangladesh in
1972. During this period Dhaka witnessed extensive political turmoil,
including many periods of martial law, the declaration of Bangladesh's
independence, military suppression and devastation from war and
natural calamities. Modern Dhaka is the centre of political, cultural
and economic life in Bangladesh, enjoying the highest literacy rate
amongst other Bangladeshi cities and a diverse economy. While the
urban infrastructure is the most developed in the country, Dhaka
suffers from severe challenges such as pollution, congestion, supply
shortages, poverty and crime. In recent decades Dhaka has seen a
modernisation of transport, communications and public works.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhaka
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1500:
Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral and his crew became the first
Europeans to sight Brazil.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Álvares_Cabral)
1913:
The Bolshevik newspaper Pravda was first published in Saint
Petersburg, Russia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pravda)
1915:
Chlorine gas was released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of
Ypres, the first large-scale use of poison gas in World War I.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_poison_gas_in_World_War_I)
1930:
The London Naval Treaty, regulating submarine warfare and limiting
shipbuilding, was signed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Naval_Treaty)
2000:
In a predawn raid, U.S. federal agents seized six-year-old Elián
González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida and returned him
to his Cuban father.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elián_González)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
It is certainly not then — not in dreams — but when one is wide awake,
at moments of robust joy and achievement, on the highest terrace of
consciousness, that mortality has a chance to peer beyond its own
limits, from the mast, from the past and its castle-tower. And
although nothing much can be seen through the mist, there is somehow
the blissful feeling that one is looking in the right direction. --
Vladimir Nabokov
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov)
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the U.S. military
responsible for providing power projection from the sea, utilizing the
mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces
to global crises. Alongside the U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps operates
under the United States Department of the Navy. Originally organized
as the Continental Marines, the Marine Corps has evolved its mission
with changing military doctrine and American foreign policy. The
Marine Corps has served in every American armed conflict including the
Revolutionary War. It attained prominence in the twentieth century
when its theories and practice of amphibious warfare proved prescient,
and ultimately formed the cornerstone of the Pacific campaign of World
War II. By the early twentieth century, the Marine Corps had become
the dominant theorist and practitioner of amphibious warfare. Its
ability to rapidly respond to regional crises has made and continues
to make it an important body in the implementation and execution of
American foreign policy. The United States Marine Corps, with 180,000
active duty and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2005, is the smallest of
the United States' armed forces in the Department of Defense.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1895:
The Empire of Japan and the Qing Empire signed the Treaty of
Shimonoseki, an unequal treaty that ended the First Sino-Japanese War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Shimonoseki)
1942:
World War II: Captured French General Henri Giraud escaped from German
captivity in the Königstein Castle.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Giraud)
1975:
The Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot captured Phnom Penh, ending the
Cambodian Civil War, and established Democratic Kampuchea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_Civil_War)
1982:
A new "patriated" Constitution of Canada, including the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms, was signed into law.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms)
1986:
The Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly declared peace, ending the
Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Hundred_and_Thirty_Five_Years'_War)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Man is not an end but a beginning. We are at the beginning of the
second week. We are children of the eighth day. -- Thornton Wilder
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thornton_Wilder)
A fairy tale is a story featuring folkloric characters such as
fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and
usually enchantments. In cultures where demons and witches are
perceived as real, fairy tales may merge into legendary narratives,
where the context is perceived by teller and hearers as having
historical actuality. However, unlike legends and epics they usually
do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual
places, persons, and events; they take place once upon a time rather
than in actual times. Fairy tales are found in oral folktales and in
literary form. The history of the fairy tale is particularly difficult
to trace, because only the literary forms can survive. Still, the
evidence of literary works at least indicates that fairy tales have
existed for thousands of years, although not perhaps recognized as a
genre; the name "fairy tale" was first ascribed to them by Madame
d'Aulnoy. Literary fairy tales are found over the centuries all over
the world, and when they collected them, folklorists found fairy tales
in every culture. Fairy tales, and works derived from fairy tales, are
still written today.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tale
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1598:
King Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom
of religion to the Huguenots.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Nantes)
1742:
Messiah, an oratorio by George Frideric Handel, premiered in Dublin.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_(Handel))
1860:
The Pony Express, the first mail service across the North American
continent from the Missouri River to the Pacific coast, was
successfully completed for the first time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express)
1943:
World War II: Germany announced the discovery of a mass grave of
Polish prisoners-of-war executed by Soviet forces in the Katyn Forest
Massacre.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre)
1984:
Indian forces launched a preemptive attack on the disputed Siachen
Glacier region of Kashmir, triggering a military conflict with
Pakistan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siachen_Glacier)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
The secular state is the guarantee of religious pluralism. This
apparent paradox, again, is the simplest and most elegant of political
truths. -- Christopher Hitchens
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens)
Scooby-Doo is a long-running American animated television series
produced for Saturday morning television in several different versions
from 1969 to the present. The series was created by Joe Ruby and Ken
Spears for Hanna-Barbera Productions, who produced numerous spin-offs
and related works until being absorbed in 1997 into Warner Bros, which
has handled production since then. Though the format of the show and
the cast (and ages) of characters have varied significantly over the
years, the most familiar versions of the show feature a talking Great
Dane named Scooby-Doo and four teenagers: Fred "Freddie" Jones, Daphne
Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers. These five
characters (officially referred to collectively as "Mystery, Inc.",
but never referred to as such in the original series) drive around the
world in a van called the "Mystery Machine," and solve mysteries
typically involving tales of ghosts and other supernatural forces. At
the end of each episode, the supernatural forces turn out to have a
rational explanation (usually a criminal of some sort trying to scare
people away so that they can commit crimes). (more...)</div>
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
467:
Anthemius became Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthemius)
1927:
Chinese Civil War: A large-scale purge of communists from the
nationalist Kuomintang began in Shanghai.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_12_Incident)
1961:
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter outer
space, completing one orbit in a time of 108 minutes.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin)
1980:
Terry Fox dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean at St.
John's, Newfoundland, and began running his Marathon of Hope towards
the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver, British Columbia to raise funds across
Canada for cancer research.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_of_Hope)
1981:
Columbia, the first space shuttle, was launched from the John F.
Kennedy Space Center for its first flight, the first US manned space
mission for six years.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Fighting wars is not so much about killing people as it is about
finding things out. The more you know, the more likely you are to win
a battle. -- Tom Clancy
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy)
Anton Chekhov was a Russian physician, short story writer, and
playwright. His brief playwriting career produced four classics of the
repertoire, while his best short stories are held in high esteem by
writers and critics. Chekhov practised as a doctor throughout his
literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife," he once said, "and
literature is my mistress". Chekhov renounced the theatre after the
disastrous reception of The Seagull in 1896; but the play was revived
to acclaim by Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which
subsequently also produced Uncle Vanya and premiered Chekhov’s last
two plays, The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. These four works
present a special challenge to an acting ensemble, and they also
challenge audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov
offers a "theatre of mood" and a "submerged life in the text". Not
everyone appreciated that challenge: Leo Tolstoy reportedly told
Chekhov, "You know, I cannot abide Shakespeare, but your plays are
even worse". Tolstoy did, however, admire Chekhov's short stories.
Chekhov had at first written stories only for the money, but as his
artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations which have
influenced the evolution of the modern short story. His originality
consists in an early use of the stream-of-consciousness technique,
later exploited by Virginia Woolf and other modernists, combined with
a disavowal of the moral finality of traditional story structure.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1241:
Mongols led by Batu Khan and Subutai crushed the Hungarian army of
King Béla IV in the Battle of Mohi.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Khan)
1945:
World War II: The Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchenwald_concentration_camp)
1965:
Fifty-one tornadoes struck six states in the Midwestern United States
during the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday_tornado_outbreak_of_1965)
1979:
Uganda-Tanzania War: The Uganda National Liberation Army and Tanzanian
forces captured Kampala, forcing Ugandan President for Life Idi Amin
to flee.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin)
2002:
President Hugo Chávez was forced to resign during a military coup
attempt in Venezuela.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_coup_attempt_of_2002)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Extremists think "communication" means agreeing with them. -- Leo
Rosten
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leo_Rosten)
In the United States<!--Don't add a link here. The 1st link must go to
the FA.-->, the dime is a coin with a face value of ten cents, or
one-tenth of a dollar. The dime is the smallest in diameter and the
thinnest of all U.S. coins currently minted for circulation. Former
President Franklin D. Roosevelt is featured on the obverse while a
torch, oak branch, and olive branch are featured on the reverse.
Mintage of the dime was authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792, and
production began in 1796. The most recent design change was in 1946.
The composition and diameter of the dime has changed throughout its
mintage. Initially the dime was 19 millimeters wide, but it was
changed to its present size of 17.91 millimeters in 1828. The
composition (initially 89.24 percent silver and 10.76 percent copper)
remained constant until 1837, when it was altered to 90 percent silver
and 10 percent copper. Dimes with this composition were minted until
1966. Beginning in 1965, dimes also began to be minted with a clad
composition of cupronickel; this composition is still in use today.
The term 'dime' comes from the French word disme, meaning "tithe" or
"tenth part".
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dime_%28United_States_coin%29
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
Mount Tambora in Indonesia began the most violent volcanic eruption in
recorded history.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tambora)
1919:
Mexican Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata was shot to death near
Ciudad Ayala, Morelos.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emiliano_Zapata)
1941:
World War II: The Independent State of Croatia was established, with
Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić as head of the puppet government.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ante_Pavelić)
1959:
Crown Prince Akihito, the future Emperor of Japan, wedded Michiko, the
first commoner to marry into the Japanese imperial family.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Michiko_of_Japan)
1998:
The Good Friday Agreement, a major step in the Northern Ireland peace
process, was signed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast_Agreement)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
To get others to come into our ways of thinking, we must go over to
theirs; and it is necessary to follow, in order to lead. -- William
Hazlitt
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Hazlitt)
Webster was a leading American statesman during the nation's
antebellum era. Webster first rose to regional prominence through his
defense of New England shipping interests. His increasingly
nationalistic views and the effectiveness with which he articulated
them led Webster to become one of the most famous orators and
influential Whig leaders of the Second Party System. As an attorney he
served as legal counsel in several cases that established important
constitutional precedents that bolstered the authority of the Federal
government. As Secretary of State, Webster negotiated the
Webster-Ashburton Treaty that established the definitive Eastern
border between the United States and Canada. Primarily recognized for
his Senate tenure, Webster was a key figure in the institution's
"Golden Age". So well known was his skill as a Senator throughout this
period that Webster became a third of what was and still is known
today as the "Great Triumvirate", with his colleagues Henry Clay and
John C. Calhoun. His "Reply to Haynes" (1830) was generally regarded
as "the most eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress." Though
Webster made three bids he never achieved the Presidency, his final
attempt failing in part because of his compromises. Like his attempts
at gaining the White House, Webster's efforts at steering the nation
away from civil war toward a definite peace would ultimately prove
futile.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Webster
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
217:
Roman Emperor Caracalla was assassinated at a roadside near Harran.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracalla)
1904:
France and the United Kingdom signed the Entente Cordiale.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entente_Cordiale)
1904:
Aleister Crowley began transcribing The Book of the Law, a Holy Book
in Thelema.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_Law)
1904:
Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York was renamed Times
Square.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square)
1929:
Indian independence movement: In response to the British Empire's
Defense of India Act which gave more power to the police, Indian
revolutionary Bhagat Singh with the help of Batukeshwar Dutt bombed
the Central Assembly in Delhi.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagat_Singh)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they
shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall
inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the
merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the
pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the
peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of
God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness'
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. -- Yeshua
(Jesus Christ)
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesus)
The Turk was a famous hoax that purported to be a chess-playing
machine. Constructed and unveiled in 1770 by the Hungarian baron
Wolfgang von Kempelen, the mechanism appeared to be able to play a
strong game of chess against a human opponent, as well as perform the
knight's tour, a puzzle that requires the player to move a knight to
occupy every square of a chess board once and only once. Publicly
promoted as an automaton and given its common name based on its
appearance, the Turk was a mechanical illusion that allowed a human
chess master to hide inside and operate the machine. With a skilled
operator, the Turk won most of the games played. The apparatus was
demonstrated around Europe and the United States of America for over
80 years until its destruction in 1854, playing and defeating many
challengers including statesmen such as Napoleon Bonaparte and
Benjamin Franklin.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turk
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1652:
Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck established the first permanent European
settlement in sub-Saharan Africa on what eventually became known as
Cape Town.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town)
1782:
Rama I succeeded King Taksin of Thailand, founding the Chakri Dynasty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_Yodfa_Chulaloke)
1830:
Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and others formally
organized the Church of Christ, starting the Latter Day Saint
movement.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ_(Latter_Day_Saints))
1896:
The first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I am less concerned with expressing the motions of the soul and mind
than to render visible, so to speak, the inner flashes of intuition
which have something divine in their apparent insignificance and
reveal magic, even divine horizons, when they are transposed into the
marvellous effects of pure plastic art. -- Gustave Moreau
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gustave_Moreau)
Mandy Moore is an American pop singer and actress. Moore grew up in
Florida and came to fame as a teenager in 2000, after the release of
her teen-oriented pop debut album So Real. Moore has branched out into
a film career, starring in 2002's successful teen film A Walk to
Remember and later appearing in the lead roles of less well-received
movies also aimed at teenage audiences. Two of her latest films,
American Dreamz and Saved!, were satires in which Moore portrayed
darker characters than in her previous roles. Moore's private life,
including her relationships with tennis player Andy Roddick and actors
Wilmer Valderrama and Zach Braff, has been much-discussed in the
media. She is scheduled to appear in several films during 2007 and is
completing work on another album, Wild Hope, due for release the same
year.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Moore
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1581:
Francis Drake completed a circumnavigation of the globe, the first
Englishman to do so.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Drake)
1949:
Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, creating NATO.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO)
1968:
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of the
Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr.)
1976:
Norodom Sihanouk abdicated from the role of leader of Cambodia and was
arrested by the Khmer Rouge.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norodom_Sihanouk)
1979:
President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan was executed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulfikar_Ali_Bhutto)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
He who learns must sufferAnd even in our sleep pain that cannot
forgetFalls drop by drop upon the heart,And in our own despite,
against our will,Comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.~
Aeschylus
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aeschylus)
George Washington was an early inventor of instant coffee, and worked
to ensure a full supply to soldiers fighting at the front. Early on,
his campaign was based in Brooklyn, but later he crossed into New
Jersey toward a more profitable position. In the countryside, he
demonstrated a love of wild creatures, and was often seen with a bird
or a monkey on his shoulder. Washington's choice beverage was taken up
by the soldiers for its psychoactive properties, even though it tasted
terrible. Some thought his brewed powder could even remedy the
chemical weapons then in use. But, despite this, Washington failed in
his first bid for the Presidency, as papers were filed too late, and
the nominator forgot to tell him about it.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_%28inventor%29
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1318:
The Scottish re-took Berwick upon Tweed from the English.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwick-upon-Tweed)
1957:
Eight million viewers watched the television programme Panorama,
prompting several of them to contact the BBC the following day and ask
for instructions on how to grow spaghetti trees.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_tree)
1970:
U.S. President Richard Nixon signed a law putting "the Surgeon
General" on cigarette packages.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Cigarette_Smoking_Act)
1997:
Cartoonists of popularly syndicated comic strips swapped cartoons for
the day.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_strip_switcheroo)
2006:
The Serious Organised Crime Agency was created under the provisions of
a serious 2005 Act of the United Kingdom Parliament.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_Organised_Crime_Agency)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread. -- Alexander Pope
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope)