Hurricane Dean was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2007 Atlantic
hurricane season. It was the most intense Atlantic hurricane since
Hurricane Wilma of 2005, tying for seventh overall. Additionally, it
made the third most intense Atlantic hurricane landfall. A Cape
Verde-type hurricane that formed on August 13, 2007, Dean took a
west-northwest path from the eastern Atlantic Ocean through the Saint
Lucia Channel and into the Caribbean Sea. It strengthened into a major
hurricane, reaching Category 5 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane
Scale before passing just south of Jamaica on August 20. The storm made
landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula on August 21 as a powerful Category 5
storm. It crossed the peninsula and emerged into the Bay of Campeche
weakened, but still a hurricane. It strengthened briefly before making
a second landfall in Veracruz near Tecolutla, Mexico, on August 22.
Dean drifted to the northwest, weakening into a remnant low which
dissipated uneventfully over the southwestern United States. The
hurricane's intense winds, waves, rains and storm surge were
responsible for at least 45 deaths across ten countries and caused
estimated damages of US$1.5 billion. Through the affected regions,
cleanup and repair took months to complete. Its long swath of damage
earned its name retirement from the World Meteorological Organization's
Atlantic hurricane naming lists.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Dean>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1425:
Pope Martin V issued a papal bull establishing what later became the
Catholic University of Leuven, the largest, oldest and most prominent
university in Belgium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_University_of_Leuven>
1824:
Forces led by General Antonio José de Sucre defeated a Royalist army
in the Battle of Ayacucho, ending the Peruvian War of Independence.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ayacucho>
1872:
P. B. S. Pinchback took office as Governor of Louisiana, the first
African American governor of a U.S. state.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._B._S._Pinchback>
1946:
The Doctors' Trial, the first of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials, began
to prosecute doctors who were allegedly involved in Nazi human
experimentation during World War II.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctors%27_Trial>
1979:
A World Health Organization commission of scientists certified the
global eradication of smallpox, making it the only human infectious
disease to date to have been completely eradicated from nature.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/smallpox>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
comport (v):
1. To be in agreement (with); to be of an accord.
2. (reflexive) To behave (in a given manner)
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/comport>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A different conception of society, very different from that which now
prevails, is in process of formation. ... Acknowledging, as a fact, the
equal rights of all its members to the treasures accumulated in the
past ... it seeks to establish a certain harmonious compatibility in
its midst — not by subjecting all its members to an authority that is
fictitiously supposed to represent society, not by trying to establish
uniformity, but by urging all men to develop free initiative, free
action, free association.
--Peter Kropotkin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Kropotkin>
John Lennon (1940–1980) was an English musician and singer-songwriter
who achieved worldwide fame as a founding member of The Beatles, one of
the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the
history of popular music. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon had a
rebellious nature and acerbic wit, and at 16-years-old, formed a
skiffle group which evolved into The Beatles in 1960. With bandmate
Paul McCartney, he established the Lennon/McCartney songwriting
partnership, which provided the bulk of the Beatles' catalogue until
they dissolved at the end of the decade. Lennon then embarked on a solo
career that produced the critically acclaimed albums John
Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. He became controversial through
his work as a peace activist; his iconic songs, "Give Peace a Chance"
and "Imagine", were adopted as anthems of the anti-war movement. With
his wife and muse Yoko Ono, he moved to New York City in 1971, where
his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by
Richard Nixon's administration to deport him. He took a sabbatical from
the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, reemerging in
1980 with a new album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered on December 8,
three weeks after its release.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1432:
Lithuanian Civil War: The first battle between the forces of
Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis was fought near the modern town
of Ashmyany.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_Civil_War_%281431%E2%80%931435%29>
1609:
Milan's Biblioteca Ambrosiana opened its reading room to the public,
becoming the second public library in Europe.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Ambrosiana>
1963:
After being hit by a lightning strike while in a holding pattern, Pan
Am Flight 214 crashed near Elkton, Maryland, USA, killing all 81 people
on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_214>
1998:
The Australian Cricket Board's cover-up of Shane Warne and Mark Waugh's
involvement with bookmakers was revealed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_bookmaker_controversy>
2004:
Twelve South American countries signed the Cusco Declaration,
announcing the foundation of what is now the Union of South American
Nations, an intergovernmental union modelled after the European Union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_American_Nations>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
John Lennon glasses (n):
A pair of eyeglasses (spectacles) with round lenses
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/John_Lennon_glasses>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am not bound over to swear allegiance to any master; where the storm
drives me I turn in for shelter.
--Horace
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Horace>
Daniel Lambert (1770–1809) was a gaol keeper and animal breeder from
Leicester, England, famous for his unusually large size. He was a keen
sportsman and extremely strong, on one occasion fighting a bear in the
streets of Leicester. He was an expert in sporting animals, widely
respected for his expertise on dogs, horses and fighting cocks. In 1805
the gaol of which Lambert was keeper closed. By this time he weighed
50 stone (700 lb; 320 kg), and had become the heaviest authenticated
person in recorded history up to that time. Unemployed and sensitive
about his bulk, he became a recluse. Poverty forced Lambert to put
himself on exhibition to raise money, and in April 1806 he moved to
London, charging spectators to enter his apartments to meet him.
Visitors were impressed by his intelligence and personality, and
visiting him became highly fashionable. After a few months, Lambert
returned wealthy to Leicester and soon began making short fundraising
tours. In June 1809 he died suddenly in Stamford. At the time of his
death he weighed 52 stone 11 lb (739 lb; 335 kg). It took 20 men almost
half an hour to drag his casket into the trench in the burial ground at
St Martin's Church. Though no longer the heaviest person in history,
Daniel Lambert remains a popular character in Leicester.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Lambert>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
American outlaw Jesse James committed his first confirmed bank robbery
in Gallatin, Missouri.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James>
1936:
Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton became the first player to score
centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Fingleton>
1941:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy made its surprise attack on
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, intending to neutralize the United States
Pacific Fleet from influencing the war Japan was planning to wage in
Southeast Asia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor>
1949:
Chinese Civil War: The government of the Republic of China relocated
from Mainland China to Taipei on the island of Taiwan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei>
2007:
A crane barge that had broken free from a tugboat crashed into an oil
tanker near Daesan, South Korea, causing the country's worst-ever oil
spill.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Korea_oil_spill>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
animadversion (n):
A criticism; a critical remark
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/animadversion>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. You
learn the delivery of a part only before an audience.
--Willa Cather
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Willa_Cather>
Louis Lambert is a French novel by Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850),
included in the Études philosophiques section of his novel sequence La
Comédie humaine. Set mostly in a school at Vendôme, it examines the
life and theories of a boy genius fascinated by the Swedish philosopher
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Balzac wrote Louis Lambert during the
summer of 1832 while he was staying with friends at the Château de
Saché. The novel contains a minimal plot, focusing mostly on the
metaphysical ideas of its boy-genius protagonist and his only friend
(eventually revealed to be Balzac himself). Although it is not a
significant example of the realist style for which Balzac became
famous, the novel provides insight into the author's own childhood.
Specific details and events from the author's life – including
punishment from teachers and social ostracism – suggest a fictionalized
autobiography. Critics panned the novel, but Balzac believed that it
provided an important look at philosophy, especially metaphysics. As he
developed the scheme for La Comédie humaine, he placed Louis Lambert in
the Études philosophiques section, and later returned to the same
themes in his novel Séraphîta, about an androgynous angelic creature.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Lambert>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1060:
Béla I the Champion was crowned king of Hungary.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_I_of_Hungary>
1534:
Over 200 Spanish settlers led by conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar
founded what is now Quito, Ecuador.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito>
1865:
Slavery in the United States was officially abolished when the
Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Cons…>
1956:
Aged 14, swimmer Sandra Morgan became the youngest Australian to win an
Olympic gold medal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Morgan>
1988:
The Australian Capital Territory was granted self-government.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/history_of_the_Australian_Capital_Territory>
2005:
Members of the People's Armed Police shot and killed several people in
Dongzhou, Guangdong, China, who were protesting government plans to
build a new power plant.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhou_protests>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
maudlin (adj):
1. Extravagantly or excessively sentimental; self-pitying.
2. Affectionate or sentimental in an effusive, tearful, or foolish
manner, such as from drunkenness
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maudlin>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Is Freedom only a Will-o'-the-wisp
To cheat a poet's eye?
Be it phantom or fact, it's a noble cause
In
which to sing and to die!
--Joyce Kilmer
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joyce_Kilmer>
Rock Steady is the fifth album by American rock band No Doubt, released
December 11, 2001, on Interscope Records. The band began writing the
album with initial recording sessions in Los Angeles and San Francisco,
then traveled to London and Jamaica to work with various performers,
songwriters, and producers. Sly & Robbie, The Neptunes, and William
Orbit were among the many artists the band collaborated with on the
album. As a result of the many collaborations, Rock Steady touches on
many musical styles. The album focuses more on dub, synthpop, and dance
styles. The band attempted to capture the vibe of Jamaican dancehall
music, and experimented with writing songs without its standard
instrumentation. Singer Gwen Stefani wrote her lyrics quickly in
comparison to previous records, and dealt with topics ranging from
partying to ruminations on her relationship with Gavin Rossdale. Rock
Steady received mostly positive reviews from music critics, and it was
nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 45th Grammy Awards. The album
served as a commercial comeback for the band, surpassing sales of its
previous offering, Return of Saturn, released in 2000. Rock Steady
spawned four singles, two of which won the Grammy Award for Best Pop
Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Steady_%28album%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1590:
Niccolò Sfondrati became Pope Gregory XIV, succeeding Pope Urban VII
who died two months earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory%C2%A0XIV>
1791:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died without completing his Requiem mass in D
minor.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_%28Mozart%29>
1945:
Flight 19, a squadron of five U.S. naval TBF Avenger torpedo bombers,
disappeared in the area now known as the Bermuda Triangle.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_19>
1972:
Gough Whitlam took office as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia and
formed a duumvirate with his deputy Lance Barnard, ending 23 years of
Liberal-Country Party government.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlam>
1974:
The Birmingham Americans won the only World Bowl in World Football
League history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Americans>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
consternation (n):
Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for
reflection; terror, combined with amazement
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/consternation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Faith I have, in myself, in humanity, in the worthwhileness of the
pursuits in entertainment for the masses. But wide awake, not blind
faith, moves me. My operations are based on experience, thoughtful
observation and warm fellowship with my neighbors at home and around
the world.
--Walt Disney
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Disney>
3rd Battalion 3rd Marines (3/3) is an infantry battalion in the United
States Marine Corps consisting of approximately 800 marines and
sailors. Known as "America's Battalion", the unit falls under the 3rd
Marine Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division. The battalion was formed in
1942 and saw action on both Bougainville and Guam during World War II.
Following the war the battalion was alerted for possible deployment
during the 1956 Suez Crisis and the 1958 Lebanon crisis. From 1965 to
1969 the marines of 3rd Battalion were deployed to the Vietnam War and
participated in Operation Starlite. In 1975 the battalion moved to
Hawaii. In the 1980s 3rd Battalion deployed off the coast of Lebanon
during the Lebanese Civil War. It deployed again in 1990 as part of
Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and saw action at the Battle of
Khafji. In the 21st century 3/3 deployed overseas twice in support of
the War in Afghanistan and three times in support of the Iraq War.
Among 3/3 Marines are a Commandant of the Marine Corps, four Medal of
Honor recipients, and over twenty Navy Cross winners. The battalion has
been awarded two Presidential Unit Citations and five Navy Unit
Commendations.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Battalion_3rd_Marines>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1829:
The practice of sati was formally abolished in British India after
years of campaigning by Ram Mohan Roy against the Hindu funeral custom
of widows immolating themselves.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_%28practice%29>
1909:
The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, the oldest professional hockey
franchise in the world, was founded as a charter member of the National
Hockey Association.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Montreal_Canadiens>
1977:
Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the President of the Central African Republic, had
himself crowned as Emperor Bokassa I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-B%C3%A9del_Bokassa>
1980:
English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbanded.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin>
1992:
Operation Restore Hope: One day after the United Nations Security
Council passed Resolution 794, U.S. President George H. W. Bush ordered
American troops into Somalia to help provide humanitarian aid and
restore order during the ongoing Somali Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Task_Force>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
piffle (v):
To act or speak in a futile, ineffective, or nonsensical manner
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/piffle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
That there should one Man die ignorant who had capacity for Knowledge,
this I call a tragedy.
--Thomas Carlyle
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Carlyle>
Pedro II (1825–1891) was the second and last ruler of the Empire of
Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the
seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Maria
Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of
Braganza. His father's abrupt abdication and flight to Europe in 1831
left a five-year-old Pedro as Emperor and led to a grim and lonely
childhood and adolescence. Obliged to spend his time studying in
preparation for rule, he knew only brief moments of happiness and
encountered few friends of his age. His experiences with court
intrigues and political disputes during this period greatly affected
his later character. Pedro II grew into a man with a strong sense of
duty and devotion toward his country and his people. On the other hand,
he increasingly resented his role as monarch. Inheriting an empire on
the verge of disintegration, Pedro II turned Brazil into an emerging
power. The nation grew to be distinguished from its Hispanic neighbors
on account of its political stability, zealously-guarded freedom of
speech, respect for civil rights, vibrant economic growth and
especially for its form of government: a functional, representative
parliamentary monarchy.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_II_of_Brazil>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1763:
The Touro Synagogue, the oldest surviving Jewish synagogue building in
North America, was formally dedicated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touro_Synagogue>
1804:
The coronation of Napoleon I of France was held at Notre Dame
Cathedral in Paris.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_Napoleon_I>
1823:
U.S. President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine, a proclamation
of opposition to European colonialism in the New World.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine>
1956:
Cuban Revolution: The yacht Granma, carrying Fidel Castro, Che Guevara
and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement, reached the shores
of Cuba.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granma_%28yacht%29>
2008:
Thai political crisis: The Constitutional Court of Thailand dissolved
three political parties, including the governing People's Power Party,
leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somchai_Wongsawat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sententious (adj):
1. (obsolete) Full of meaning.
2. Using as few words as possible; pithy and concise.
3. Tending to
use aphorisms, especially given to trite moralizing
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sententious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I do think that if I had to choose one word to which hope can be tied
it is hospitality. A practice of hospitality— recovering threshold,
table, patience, listening, and from there generating seedbeds for
virtue and friendship on the one hand — on the other hand radiating out
for possible community, for rebirth of community.
--Ivan Illich
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich>
The Clemuel Ricketts Mansion is a Georgian style house made of
sandstone, built in 1852 or 1855 on the shore of Ganoga Lake in Colley
Township, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was
home to several generations of the Ricketts family, including R. Bruce
Ricketts and William Reynolds Ricketts. Originally built as a hunting
lodge, it was also a tavern and post office, and served as part of a
hotel for much of the 19th century. After 1903 the house served as the
Ricketts family's summer home, they kept it even as they sold over
65,000 acres (26,000 ha) to the state of Pennsylvania from 1920 to
1950. The house was included in the Historic American Buildings Survey
in 1936 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The original mansion is an L-shaped structure, two-and-a-half stories
high, with stone walls 2 feet (0.6 m) thick. It was built in a clearing
surrounded by old-growth forest with a view to the lake 900 feet (270
m) to the east. In 1913 a two-and-a-half story wing was added to the
north side of the house and the original structure was renovated. The
house has twenty-eight rooms, four porches, and its original hardware
and woodwork. Dormers and some windows were added in the renovation,
and electrical wiring and modern plumbing have been added since.
According to the NRHP nomination form, the Clemuel Ricketts Mansion "is
a stunning example of Georgian vernacular architecture".
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemuel_Ricketts_Mansion>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1833:
The Parliament of the United Kingdom abolished slavery throughout most
of the British Empire, with the exceptions of Ceylon, Saint Helena, and
the territories owned by the East India Company.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_Abolition_Act_1833>
1913:
The Buenos Aires Metro in Argentina, the first underground railway
system in the Southern Hemisphere and in Latin America, began
operations.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires_Metro>
1934:
Soviet politician Sergey Kirov was assassinated at the Smolny
Institute in Leningrad.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Kirov>
1955:
African-American Civil Rights Movement: Seamstress Rosa Parks was
arrested for violating the racial segregation laws of Montgomery,
Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white
man, precipitating the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks>
1990:
Channel Tunnel workers from the United Kingdom and France met 40 metres
(131 ft) beneath the English Channel seabed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hebetude (n):
Mental lethargy or dullness
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hebetude>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The AIDS crisis is evidence of a world in which nothing important is
regional, local, limited; in which everything that can circulate does,
and every problem is, or is destined to become, worldwide.
--Susan Sontag
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Susan_Sontag>