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)