The Time Traveler's Wife, published in 2003, is the debut novel of
American author Audrey Niffenegger (pictured). It is a love story about
a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel
unpredictably, and about his wife, an artist who has to cope with his
frequent absences and dangerous experiences. Niffenegger, frustrated in
love when she began the work, wrote the story as a metaphor for her
failed relationships. The tale's central relationship came to her in a
flash one day and subsequently became the novel's title. The novel,
which has been classified as both science fiction and romance, examines
issues of love, loss, and free will. In particular, it uses time travel
to explore miscommunication and distance in relationships. It also
investigates deeper existential questions. As a first-time novelist,
Niffenegger had trouble finding a literary agent. She eventually sent
the novel to MacAdam/Cage unsolicited and, after an auction took place
for the rights, Niffenegger selected them as her publisher. It became a
bestseller after an endorsement from author and family friend Scott
Turow on The Today Show, and as of March 2009 had sold nearly 2.5
million copies in the United States and the United Kingdom. Many
reviewers were impressed with Niffenegger's unique perspective on time
travel. Some praised her characterization of the couple, applauding
their emotional depth; others criticized her writing style as
melodramatic and the plot as emotionally trite. The novel won the
Exclusive Books Boeke Prize and a British Book Award. A film version
was released in August 2009.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Traveler%27s_Wife>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1138:
A massive earthquake, one of the deadliest in recorded history, struck
Aleppo, Syria.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1138_Aleppo_earthquake>
1852:
The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, was
inaugurated in Sydney two years after the New South Wales Legislative
Council established it with the passage of the University of Sydney
Act.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Sydney>
1865:
The Morant Bay rebellion, led by Paul Bogle and George William Gordon,
began in Jamaica, but eventually it was brutally suppressed by Governor
Edward John Eyre.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morant_Bay_rebellion>
1962:
Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council, the first Roman
Catholic ecumenical council in 92 years.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vatican_Council>
1968:
Apollo 7 , the first manned mission of NASA's Apollo program, and the
first three-man American space mission, launched from Complex 34 in
present-day Cape Canaveral, Florida.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_7>
1987:
Sri Lankan Civil War: The Indian Peace Keeping Force began Operation
Pawan to take control of Jaffna from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam the enforce their disarmament as a part of the Indo-Sri Lankan
Accord.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pawan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
circumspect (adj):
Carefully aware of all circumstances; considerate of all that is
pertinent
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/circumspect>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Your true home is in the here and the now. It is not limited by time,
space, nationality, or race. Your true home is not an abstract idea. It
is something you can touch and live in every moment. With mindfulness
and concentration, the energies of the Buddha, you can find your true
home in the full relaxation of your mind and body in the present
moment. No one can take it away from you. Other people can occupy your
country, they can even put you in prison, but they cannot take away
your true home and your freedom.
--Nhat Hanh
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nhat_Hanh>
Janet Jackson (born 1966) is an American recording artist and actress.
Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California,
she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first
performed on stage with her family beginning at the age of seven, and
later started her career as an actress with the variety television
series The Jacksons in 1976. She went on to star in other television
shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and
Diff'rent Strokes. At age sixteen in 1982, Jackson signed a recording
contract with A&M, releasing her self-titled debut album the same year.
She faced criticism for her limited vocal range, and for being yet
another member of the Jackson family to become a recording artist.
Beginning with her third studio album Control (1986), Jackson began a
long-term collaboration with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry
Lewis. Her music with Jam and Lewis incorporated contemporary R&B with
elements of rap music, sample loop, triplet swing and industrial beats,
which led to crossover appeal in popular music. By the end of the
decade, Jackson was named the second most successful recording artist
of the 1990s. Jackson is ranked by Billboard magazine as one of the top
ten best-selling music artists in the history of contemporary music,
having sold over 100 million albums worldwide.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Jackson>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
732:
Charles Martel and the Franks defeated a large Andalusian Muslim army
led by Abd er Rahman at the Battle of Tours near Tours and Poitiers,
stopping the northward advance of Islam from the Iberian Peninsula.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tours>
1780:
One of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record struck the Caribbean
Sea, killing at least 22,000 people over the next several days.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hurricane_of_1780>
1868:
Carlos Manuel de Céspedes made the Grito de Yara, declaring Cuban
independence from Spain, sparking the Ten Years' War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Years%27_War>
1943:
World War II: The Kempeitai, the military police arm of the Imperial
Japanese Army, arrested and tortured over 50 civilians and civilian
internees on suspicion of their involvement in a raid on Singapore
Harbour during Operation Jaywick.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Tenth_Incident>
1982:
Maximilian Kolbe, who had volunteered to die in place of a stranger in
the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz in Poland, was canonized by
the Catholic Church.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lickspittle (n):
1. A toady, brown noser, base sycophant.
2. (by extension) The practice of giving empty flattery for personal
gain
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lickspittle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When there are too many policemen, there can be no liberty. When there
are too many soldiers, there can be no peace. When there are too many
lawyers, there can be no justice.
--Lin Yutang
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lin_Yutang>
Ununoctium is the temporary IUPAC name for the transactinide element
having the atomic number 118. On the periodic table of the elements, it
is a p-block element and the last one of the 7th period. Ununoctium is
currently the only synthetic member of group 18. It has the highest
atomic number and highest atomic mass of all discovered elements. The
radioactive ununoctium atom is very unstable, and since 2002, only
three atoms (possibly four) of the isotope <sup>294</sup>Uuo have been
detected. While this allowed for very little experimental
characterization of its properties and possible compounds, theoretical
calculations have allowed for many predictions, including some very
unexpected ones. For example, although ununoctium is a member of group
18, it is probably not a noble gas like all the other group 18
elements. It was formerly thought to be a gas but is now predicted to
be a solid under normal conditions.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ununoctium>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1831:
Ioannis Kapodistrias , the Greek head of state, was assassinated in
Nafplion.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioannis_Kapodistrias>
1845:
Anglican priest John Henry Newman was formally received into the
Catholic Church.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_Newman>
1919:
In Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds won the World Series, 5
games to 3, over the Chicago White Sox, whose players were later found
to have lost intentionally.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sox_Scandal>
1942:
World War II: American forces defeated the Japanese at the Third Battle
of the Matanikau in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, avenging the Japanese
victory at the Second Battle of the Matanikau a couple of weeks
earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actions_along_the_Matanikau>
1963:
A landslide displaced large amounts of water from the Vajont Dam in
northern Italy, causing waves and floods that quickly swept away
several villages and killed almost 2,000 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajont_Dam>
2006:
North Korea conducted a nuclear test, reportedly near Kilchu, with an
explosive force of less than one kiloton, that was unanimously
condemned and denounced by many counties and the United Nations
Security Council.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_Korean_nuclear_test>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
beget (v):
1. To cause; to produce.
2. To procreate or to father; to get with child
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beget>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Builders and warriors, strengthen the steps.
Reader, if you have not grasped — read again,
after a while.
The
predestined is not accidental,
The leaves fall in their time.
And winter is but the harbinger of
spring.
All is revealed; all is attainable.
--Nicholas Roerich
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicholas_Roerich>
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from
1620 to 1691. The first settlement was at New Plymouth, a location
previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement,
which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town of
Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most
of the southeastern portion of the modern state of Massachusetts.
Founded by a group including separatists who later came to be known as
the Pilgrims, Plymouth Colony was, along with Jamestown, Virginia, one
of the earliest colonies to be founded by the English in North America
and the first sizable permanent English settlement in the New England
region. Aided by Squanto, a Native American, the colony was able to
establish a treaty with Chief Massasoit which helped to ensure the
colony's success. The colony played a central role in King Philip's
War, one of the earliest and bloodiest of the Indian Wars. Ultimately,
the colony was annexed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. Many of
the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of
American mythology, including the North American tradition known as
Thanksgiving and the monument known as Plymouth Rock.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1600:
San Marino, the world's oldest constitutional republic, adopted its
written constitution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_San_Marino>
1856:
Officials of the Chinese Qing Dynasty arrested and imprisoned twelve
people aboard the Hong Kong-registered ship Arrow for suspected piracy
and smuggling, sparking the Second Opium War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Opium_War>
1871:
The Great Chicago Fire broke out in Chicago, destroying 17,500
buildings and leaving 90,000 people homeless within two days.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1871_Great_Chicago_Fire>
1918:
World War I: After his platoon suffered heavy casualties during the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France's Forest of Argonne, United States
Sergeant Alvin C. York led the seven remaining men on an attack against
a German machine gun nest, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132
others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_C._York>
1932:
The Indian Air Force was founded as an auxiliary air force of the
Indian Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Air_Force>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
newfangled (adj):
Contemptibly modern, unfamiliar, or different
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/newfangled>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The year of jubilee has come;
Gather the gifts of Earth with equal hand;
Henceforth ye too may
share the birthright soil,
The corn, the wine, and all the harvest-home.
--Edmund Clarence Stedman
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Clarence_Stedman>
Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589) was queen consort of King Henry II of
France from 1547 to 1559. Throughout Henry II's reign, he excluded
Catherine from influence and instead showered favours on his mistress,
Diane de Poitiers. Henry's death in 1559 thrust Catherine into the
political arena as mother of the frail fifteen-year-old King Francis
II. When he died in 1560, she became regent on behalf of her
ten-year-old son King Charles IX and was granted sweeping powers. After
Charles died in 1574, Catherine played a key role in the reign of her
third son, Henry III. He dispensed with her advice only in the last
months of her life. Catherine's three sons reigned in an age of almost
constant civil and religious war in France. The problems facing the
monarchy were complex and daunting. At first, Catherine compromised and
made concessions to the rebelling Protestants, or Huguenots, as they
became known. Later, she resorted in frustration and anger to hard-line
policies against them. Her policies may be seen as desperate measures
to keep the Valois monarchy on the throne at all costs, and her
spectacular patronage of the arts as an attempt to glorify a monarchy
whose prestige was in steep decline. Without Catherine, it is unlikely
that her sons would have remained in power. The years in which they
reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici".
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de%27_Medici>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1542:
Explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo became the first European to set foot
on Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catalina_Island%2C_California>
1571:
The Ottoman Empire was decisively defeated by the Christian West for
the first time, as a multinational fleet led by Don John of Austria
crushed the Turkish navy near the Gulf of Corinth in the Battle of
Lepanto .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lepanto_%281571%29>
1849:
American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe died under mysterious
circumstances at Washington Medical College after being found four days
earlier on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, in a delirious and
incoherent state.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Edgar_Allan_Poe>
1967:
Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader Che Guevara was captured
near La Higuera, Bolivia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara>
2003:
Californians voted to recall Governor Gray Davis from office and
elected Arnold Schwarzenegger from a list of 135 candidates.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
firebrand (n):
1. An argumentative troublemaker or revolutionary; one who agitates
against the current situation.
2. A torch or other burning stick with a flame at one end
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/firebrand>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Chaos needs no allies, for it dwells like a poison in every one of us.
--Steven Erikson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Erikson>
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the
Star Trek science fiction franchise. It was released in 1991 by
Paramount Pictures, and is the last of the Star Trek films to include
the entire core cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. After an
ecological disaster leads to two longstanding enemies—the Federation
and the Klingon Empire—brokering a tenuous truce, the crew of the USS
Enterprise-A must prevent war from breaking out on the eve of universal
peace. Faced with producing a new film in time for Star Trek's 25th
anniversary, Denny Martin Flinn and Nicholas Meyer, the director of
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, wrote a script based on a suggestion
from Leonard Nimoy about what would happen if "the wall came down in
space", touching on the contemporary topic of the Cold War. Principal
photography took place between April 1991 and September 1991. The
production budget was smaller than anticipated due to the critical and
commercial failure of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Due to a lack of
sound stage space on the Paramount Pictures lots, many scenes were
filmed around Hollywood. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry died
shortly before the movie's premiere. The Undiscovered Country garnered
positive reviews, with publications praising the lighthearted acting
and tongue-in-cheek references. The film performed strongly at the box
office, and earned two Academy Award nominations, for Best Makeup and
Best Sound Effects.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_VI%3A_The_Undiscovered_Country>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
105 BC:
The Cimbri and the Teutons inflicted a major defeat on the Roman
Republic in the Battle of Arausio.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arausio>
1849:
In Arad, present-day Romania, 13 Hungarian rebel honvéd generals who
became known as the 13 Martyrs of Arad were executed by Austrian
authorities for their part in the Hungarian Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_13_Martyrs_of_Arad>
1973:
Egypt, under the leadership of President Anwar Sadat , launched
Operation Badr in co-ordination with Syria, crossing the Suez Canal and
attacking the fortified Israeli Bar Lev Line, starting the Yom Kippur
War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War>
1995:
In an article published by the scientific journal Nature, astronomers
Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz reported the discovery of a planet
orbiting 51 Pegasi as the first known extrasolar planet around a
main-sequence star.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/51_Pegasi>
1998:
University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was fatally attacked for
being gay near Laramie, Wyoming, USA.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
balmy (adj):
1. Soothing or fragrant.
2. Mild and pleasant.
3. (US, informal) Foolish; slightly crazy or
mad; eccentric
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/balmy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power
attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other
things than power.
--David Brin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Brin>
A virus is a microscopic infectious agent that can reproduce only
inside a host cell. Viruses infect all types of organisms: from animals
and plants, to bacteria and archaea. Since the initial discovery of
tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 5,000
types of virus have been described in detail, although most types of
virus remain undiscovered. Viruses are ubiquitous, as they are found in
almost every ecosystem on Earth, and are the most abundant type of
biological entity on the planet. The study of viruses is known as
virology, and is a branch of microbiology. Viruses consist of two or
three parts: all viruses have genes made from either DNA or RNA, long
molecules that carry genetic information; all have a protein coat that
protects these genes; and some have an envelope of fat that surrounds
them when they are outside a cell. The origins of viruses in the
evolutionary history of life are unclear. Viruses spread in many ways;
plant viruses are often transmitted from plant to plant by insects that
feed on sap, such as aphids, while animal viruses can be carried by
blood-sucking insects. These disease-bearing organisms are known as
vectors. Not all viruses cause disease, as many viruses reproduce
without causing any obvious harm to the infected organism. Antiviral
drugs have been developed to treat both life-threatening and more minor
infections.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
869:
The Fourth Council of Constantinople, the eighth Catholic Ecumenical
Council, was convened to discuss the patriarchate of Photios I of
Constantinople.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Council_of_Constantinople_%28Roman_Cath…>
1877:
After battling the U.S. Army for more than three months, retreating
over 1,000 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and
enduring a five-day siege, Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce band finally
surrendered.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Joseph>
1903:
Samuel Griffith became the first Chief Justice of Australia, while
Edmund Barton and Richard O'Connor became the first Puisne Justices of
the High Court of Australia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Griffith>
1948:
The International Union for Conservation of Nature was founded at a
congress sponsored by UNESCO director Julian Huxley in Fontainebleau,
France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Union_for_Conservation_of_Nature>
1986:
The British newspaper The Sunday Times published former nuclear
technician Mordechai Vanunu's story revealing details of Israel's
nuclear capability.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
inure (v):
To cause to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged
exposure
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inure>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking
ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.
--Václav Havel
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Havel>
Murray Chotiner (1909–1974) was an American political strategist,
attorney, government official, and close associate and friend of
President Richard Nixon during much of Nixon's political career. He
served as campaign manager for the future president's run for the
United States Senate in 1950 and for his vice presidential bid in 1952,
and managed the campaigns of other California Republicans. He was
active in each of Nixon's two successful runs for the White House in
low-profile positions. After Congress investigated Chotiner in 1956,
suspecting the attorney was using his connections to Nixon for
influence peddling to benefit his private clients, the Vice President
and his former campaign manager temporarily parted ways. Nixon recalled
him to work on his 1962 gubernatorial campaign and again for his
successful 1968 presidential bid. After Nixon was inaugurated in 1969,
Chotiner received a political appointment to a government position and,
in 1970, became a member of the White House staff. He returned to
private practice a year later, but was involved in Nixon's 1972
re-election campaign. He remained an informal adviser to Nixon until he
died in Washington D.C. following an auto accident in January 1974, and
Nixon mourned the loss of a man he described as a counselor and friend.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Chotiner>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1830:
A provisional government in Brussels declared the creation of the
independent and neutral state of Belgium, in revolt against the United
Kingdom of the Netherlands.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Revolution>
1910:
Manuel II, the last King of Portugal, fled to Gibraltar when a
revolution erupted in Lisbon and his palace was shelled. The Portuguese
First Republic was proclaimed the next day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_II_of_Portugal>
1957:
Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 1 , the first artificial satellite to orbit
the Earth, was launched by an R-7 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
near Tyuratam, Kazakh SSR.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1>
1985:
Software developer Richard Stallman founded the Free Software
Foundation to support the free software movement.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation>
2003:
A suicide bomber killed 21 people and injured over 50 others inside the
Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Israel.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_restaurant_suicide_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
proscenium (n):
1. (in a modern theater) The stage area between the curtain and the
orchestra.
2. (in an ancient theater) The stage area immediately in front of the
scene building
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/proscenium>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The quicker humanity advances, the more important it is to be the one
who deals the first blow.
--Ernst Kaltenbrunner
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernst_Kaltenbrunner>
In Chinese, classifiers are words that must be used whenever a noun is
modified by a number or a demonstrative such as "this" and "that".
There are as many as 150 different classifiers, and many nouns are
associated with certain ones—for example, flat objects such as tables
use the classifier zhāng, whereas long objects such lines use tiáo. How
exactly these classifier–noun associations are formed has been a
subject of debate, with some linguists proposing that they are based on
innate semantic features (i.e., all nouns with "long" features use a
certain classifier), and others suggesting that they are motivated by
analogy to prototypical pairings (i.e., dictionaries and textbooks use
whatever the more general noun "book" uses). There is also, however, a
"general classifier", gè, which can be used in place of the specific
classifiers; in informal speech, this one is used far more than any
other. Furthermore, speakers often choose to use only a bare noun,
dropping both the classifier and the number or demonstrative preceding
it; therefore, some linguists believe that classifiers are used more
for pragmatic reasons, such as foregrounding new information, rather
than for strict grammatical reasons.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_classifier>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1283:
Dafydd ap Gruffydd the Prince of Wales, the last native ruler of Wales
to resist English domination, was executed by drawing and quartering.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafydd_ap_Gruffydd>
1935:
Italian forces under General Emilio De Bono invaded Abyssinia during
the opening stages of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Bono%27s_invasion_of_Abyssinia>
1942:
World War II: The first successful test of the German V-2 rocket, the
world's first ballistic missile and first human artifact to achieve
sub-orbital spaceflight, occurred after two previous failed tests were
recovered by the Allies.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-2_rocket>
1981:
The Hunger Strike by Irish Republican Army prisoners at the Maze jail
in Belfast ended after seven months and 10 deaths .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Irish_hunger_strike>
1990:
The German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany
officially joined to form the first fully sovereign united German state
since the end of World War II when France, the United Kingdom, the
United States, and the Soviet Union occupied the country after the
defeat of the Nazis.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
curfew (n):
1. (historical) A regulation in feudal Europe by which fires had to be
covered up or put out at a certain fixed time in the evening.
2. The evening bell, which continued to be rung in many towns after
the regulation itself became obsolete.
3. Any regulation requiring people to be off the streets and in their
homes by a certain time.
4. The time when such restriction begins
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/curfew>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are
used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by
destroying it. Words are to confuse, so that at election time people
will solemnly vote against their own interests.
--Gore Vidal
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal>
The Slave Community is a book written by historian John W. Blassingame.
Published in 1972, it is one of the first historiographies of slavery
in the United States to be presented from the perspective of the
enslaved. The Slave Community is a revisionist study challenging
previous scholarship that suggests African American slaves were docile
and submissive "Sambos" who enjoyed the benefits of a paternalistic
master-slave relationship on southern plantations. Using psychology,
Blassingame analyzes fugitive slave narratives published in the 19th
century to conclude that an independent culture developed among the
enslaved and that there were a variety of personality types exhibited
by slaves other than the Sambo. Although the importance of The Slave
Community was recognized by scholars of American slavery, Blassingame's
conclusions, methodology, and sources were heavily criticized.
Historians critiqued the use of slave narratives that were seen as
unreliable and biased. They questioned Blassingame's decision to
exclude the more than 2,000 interviews with former slaves conducted by
the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s. Historians argued
that Blassingame's use of psychological theory proved unhelpful in his
interpretation. Blassingame defended his conclusions at a 1976 meeting
of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History and
in 1979 published a revised and enlarged edition of The Slave
Community. Despite criticisms, The Slave Community is a foundational
text in the study of the life and culture of slaves in the antebellum
South.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slave_Community>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1535:
French explorer Jacques Cartier sailed along the St. Lawrence River and
reached the Iroquois fortified village Hochelaga on the island now
known as Montreal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cartier>
1835:
Mexican dragoons dispatched to disarm settlers at Gonzales, Texas
encountered stiff resistance from a Texian militia in the Battle of
Gonzales, the first armed engagement of the Texas Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gonzales>
1928:
Saint Josemaría Escrivá founded Opus Dei, a worldwide organization of
lay members of the Roman Catholic Church.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei>
1941:
World War II: Nazi German forces began Operation Typhoon, an all-out
offensive against Moscow, starting the three-month long Battle of
Moscow.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Moscow>
1967:
Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American Justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgood_Marshall>
1992:
In response to a prison riot, military police stormed the Carandiru
Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, killing at least 100 prisoners.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carandiru_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
heterographic (adj):
1. Misspelled; of or pertaining to an incorrect spelling or a spelling
that differs from accepted standards.
2. (linguistics) Of a writing system in which a particular symbol
represents more than one possible sound
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heterographic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am one of you and being one of you
Is being and knowing what I am and know.
Yet I am the necessary angel
of earth,
Since, in my sight, you see the earth again,
Cleared of its stiff and
stubborn, man-locked set
And, in my hearing, you hear its tragic drone
Rise liquidly in liquid
lingerings,
Like watery words awash; like meanings said
By repetitions of
half-meanings.
--Wallace Stevens
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wallace_Stevens>