Frederick III (1831–1888) was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99
days in 1888 during the Year of the Three Emperors. Following the
unification of Germany in 1871 his father, William I, then King of
Prussia, became the German Emperor, and on William's death at the age
of 90 on 9 March 1888, the throne passed to Frederick, having by then
been the Crown Prince for 27 years. Frederick was suffering from cancer
of the larynx and died on 15 June 1888, aged 56, following unsuccessful
medical treatments for his condition. The timing of Frederick's death,
and the length of his reign, are important topics among historians. The
reign of Frederick III is considered a potential turning point in
German history; many historians believe if Frederick succeeded to the
throne sooner, he would have transformed Germany into a liberal state.
They argue this would have averted the events preceding World War I.
Other historians contend that Frederick's influence and political
leanings were greatly exaggerated, noting that he tended to defer to
his father and Bismarck when confronted, and would not have dared to
challenge their conservatism even as ruler.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III%2C_German_Emperor>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1893:
The USS Indiana , the lead ship of her class and the first battleship
in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the
time, was launched.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indiana_%28BB-1%29>
1914:
In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Greeks living in southern Albania
proclaimed the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_Republic_of_Northern_Epirus>
1972:
The ten-day siege of a mountain lodge near Karuizawa, Nagano
prefecture, Japan, where members of the paramilitary group United Red
Army held a woman hostage, ended when police stormed the building, an
event that became the first marathon live broadcast in the country,
lasting 10 hours and 40 minutes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asama-Sans%C5%8D_incident>
1997:
GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, struck the Earth for
80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well
beyond the Milky Way.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRB_970228>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Stockholm syndrome (n):
A psychological condition in which a hostage emotionally bonds to his
or her captor
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Virtue refuses facility for her companion ... the easy, gentle, and
sloping path that guides the footsteps of a good natural disposition is
not the path of true virtue. It demands a rough and thorny road.
--Michel de Montaigne
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michel_de_Montaigne>
The Mount Cayley volcanic field is a north–south trending volcanic zone
on the coast of British Columbia that stretches 31 km (19 mi) from the
Pemberton Icefield to the Squamish River. The field is located in the
Sea-to-Sky Corridor of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It forms
the central segment of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, the Canadian
portion of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which extends from Northern
California. Most of the Cayley volcanoes were formed during periods of
volcanism under sheets of glacial ice throughout the last glacial
period. These subglacial eruptions formed steep, flat-topped volcanoes
and subglacial lava domes, most of which have been entirely exposed by
deglaciation. The field gets its name from Mount Cayley, the largest
and most persistent volcano, located at the southern end of the Powder
Mountain Icefield. This icefield covers much of the central portion of
the volcanic field and is one of the several glacial fields in the
Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. Eruptions along the length of
the field began between 1.6 and 5.3 million years ago. At least
23 eruptions have occurred throughout its eruptive history. This
volcanic activity ranged from effusive to explosive, with magma
compositions ranging from basaltic to rhyolitic.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Cayley_volcanic_field>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1560:
The Treaty of Berwick was signed, which set the terms under which an
English fleet and army could come to Scotland to expel the French
troops who were defending the Regency of Mary of Guise.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berwick_%281560%29>
1812:
Manuel Belgrano raised the Flag of Argentina, which he designed, for
the first time in the city of Rosario, during the Argentine War of
Independence.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Belgrano>
1962:
Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bombed the
Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed assassination attempt of
President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_South_Vietnamese_Independence_Palace_bomb…>
1982:
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, known for its performances of Gilbert
and Sullivan's Savoy operas, gave its last performance.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Oyly_Carte_Opera_Company>
1989:
A wave of protests, riots and looting known as the Caracazo resulted in
a death toll of anywhere between 275 and 3000 people in the Venezuelan
capital Caracas and its surrounding towns.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracazo>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
endeavour (v):
{{obsolete
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/endeavour>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in
each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow>
Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on
Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel Dustbin Baby. It was first broadcast on
BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as
April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as a baby,
and Juliet Stevenson as Marion Bean, April's adoptive mother. The
screenplay was written by Helen Blakeman, and the film was produced by
Kindle Entertainment. Dustbin Baby deals with themes including maternal
bond, bullying, and youth crime. The story revolves around April
running away on her fourteenth birthday, while Marion searches for her.
Both Jaqueline Wilson and critics responded positively to the film. It
was released on DVD on 12 January 2009. Dustbin Baby was awarded the
International Emmy in the children and young people category at the
2009 ceremony. Helen Blakeman won a Children's BAFTA for the
screenplay, while the film itself was shortlisted for a Children's
BAFTA in the drama category and shortlisted for the Kids' Vote award.
The film was also awarded the 2010 KidScreen Award for best one-off,
special, or TV movie aimed at a family audience and the KidScreen Award
for best acting.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dustbin_Baby_%28film%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1658:
Treaty of Roskilde: After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars
(1655–1661), the King of Denmark-Norway is forced to give up nearly
half his Danish territory to Sweden to save the rest.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Roskilde>
1815:
After escaping from Elba where had been exiled, Napoleon Bonaparte
returned to France and regained power for a period known as the Hundred
Days.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days>
1917:
New Orleans' Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded "Livery Stable
Blues", the first jazz single ever released.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livery_Stable_Blues>
1952:
Vincent Massey was sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General
of Canada.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Massey>
1995:
Barings Bank, the oldest merchant bank in London, collapsed after its
head derivatives trader in Singapore, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million
while making unauthorized speculative trades on futures contracts.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barings_Bank>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
made in the shade (adj):
In a condition characterized by comfort, success, easy living, or
general well-being
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/made_in_the_shade>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A day will come when there will be no battlefields, but markets opening
to commerce and minds opening to ideas. A day will come when the
bullets and bombs are replaced by votes, by universal suffrage, by the
venerable arbitration of a great supreme senate which will be to Europe
what Parliament is to England, the Diet to Germany, and the Legislative
Assembly to France.
A day will come when a cannon will be a museum-piece, as instruments
of torture are today. And we will be amazed to think that these things
once existed!
--Victor Hugo
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo>
Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711, and was
the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London
stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario
provided by Aaron Hill, and the work was first performed at the Queen's
Theatre in London's Haymarket on 24 January 1711. The story of love,
battle and redemption set at the time of the First Crusade is loosely
based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata ("Jerusalem
Delivered"), and its staging involved many original and vivid effects.
It was a great success with the public, despite negative reactions from
literary critics hostile to the contemporary trend towards Italian
entertainment in English theatres. Rinaldo was the most frequently
performed during Handel's lifetime. However, after 1731 the opera was
not staged for more than 200 years. Following a successful run at New
York's Metropolitan Opera in 1984, performances and recordings of the
work have become more frequent worldwide. Despite the lack of a
standard edition, with its spectacular vocal and orchestral passages
Rinaldo has been cited as one of Handel's greatest operas. Of its
individual numbers the soprano aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" has become a
particular favourite and is a popular concert piece.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinaldo_%28opera%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
138:
Roman Emperor Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius as his son and successor,
after the death of his first adopted son Lucius Aelius.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoninus_Pius>
1570:
Pope Pius V issued the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis to excommunicate
Queen Elizabeth I and her followers in the Church of England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regnans_in_Excelsis>
1870:
Representing Mississippi in the Senate, Hiram Rhodes Revels became the
first African American to serve in the United States Congress.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Rhodes_Revels>
1956:
In his speech On the Personality Cult and its Consequences to the 20th
Party Congress, Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the
personality cult and dictatorship of his predecessor Joseph Stalin.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Personality_Cult_and_its_Consequences>
1994:
Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim Arabs praying
at the mosque in Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, killing 29 people and
wounding 125 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarchs_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
anile (adj):
Characteristic of a crone or a feeble old woman
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anile>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When the state murders, it assumes an authority I refuse to concede:
the authority of perfect knowledge in final things.
--John Leonard (critic)
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Leonard_%28critic%29>
HMS Indefatigable was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy and the lead
ship of her class. Her keel was laid down in 1909 and she was
commissioned on 24 February 1911. When the First World War began, the
ship was serving with the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron (BCS) in the
Mediterranean, where she unsuccessfully pursued the battlecruiser
Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau of the German Imperial Navy as
they fled towards the Ottoman Empire. The ship bombarded Ottoman
fortifications defending the Dardanelles on 3 November 1914, then,
following a refit in Malta, returned to the United Kingdom.
Indefatigable was sunk on 31 May 1916 during the Battle of Jutland, the
largest naval battle of the war. Part of Vice-Admiral Sir David
Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet, she was hit several times in the first
minutes of the "Run to the South", the opening phase of the
battlecruiser action. Shells from the German battlecruiser Von der Tann
caused an explosion ripping a hole in her hull, and a second explosion
hurled large pieces of the ship 200 feet (61 m) in the air. Only three
of the crew of 1,017 survived.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Indefatigable_%281909%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1607:
Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, considered the first
fully developed opera, was first performed in Mantua (now in modern
Italy).
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Orfeo>
1822:
The first Swaminarayan temple, Swaminarayan Mandir in present-day
Ahmedabad, India, was inaugurated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shri_Swaminarayan_Mandir%2C_Ahmedabad>
1826:
The Treaty of Yandabo was signed, ending the First Anglo-Burmese War,
the longest and most expensive war in the history of the British Raj.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Yandabo>
1944:
World War II: The United States Army long-range penetration special
operations unit known as Merrill's Marauders began a 1000-mile
(1600 km) march over the Patkai region of the Himalayas and into the
Burmese jungle behind Japanese lines.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill%27s_Marauders>
2006:
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state of
emergency in an attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_state_of_emergency_in_the_Philippines>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dystrophy (n):
A wasting of body tissues, of genetic origin or due to inadequate or
defective nutrition
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dystrophy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns
home to find it.
--George A. Moore
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_A._Moore>
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World is an open letter
written on February 24, 1836 by William B. Travis, commander of the
Texian forces at the Battle of the Alamo, to settlers in Mexican Texas.
On February 23, the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, Texas, had been
besieged by Mexican forces led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
Fearing that his small group of men could not withstand an assault,
Travis wrote this letter seeking reinforcements and supplies from
supporters. The letter was initially entrusted to courier Albert
Martin, who carried it to Gonzales and then handed the letter to
Launcelot Smithers. Partially in response to the letter, men from
throughout Texas and the United States began to gather in Gonzales.
Between 32 and 90 of them reached the Alamo before it fell; the
remainder formed the nucleus of the army which eventually defeated
Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. After the Texas Revolution,
the original letter was delivered to Travis's family in Alabama, and in
1893, one of his descendants sold it to the State of Texas. For many
decades it was displayed at the Texas State Library; the original
letter is now protected and a copy is on display under a portrait of
Travis.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_People_of_Texas_%26_All_Americans_in_th…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1739:
The identity of English highwayman Dick Turpin, who had been living
under an alias in York, was uncovered by his former schoolteacher, who
recognised his handwriting, leading to Turpin's arrest.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Turpin>
1909:
The Silver Dart was flown off the ice of Baddeck Bay, a sub-basin of
Bras d'Or Lake on Cape Breton Island, making it the first controlled
powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AEA_Silver_Dart>
1941:
Plutonium was first chemically identified by chemist Glenn T. Seaborg
and his team at the University of California, Berkeley.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium>
1945:
World War II: In an Allied bombing run on Pforzheim, Germany,
approximately 31% of the population were killed and 83% of the
buildings were destroyed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Pforzheim_in_World_War_II>
2007:
A Virgin Trains Pendolino express train from London Euston to Glasgow
Central derailed near Grayrigg, Cumbria, UK, killing 109.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayrigg_derailment>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
accidentally on purpose (adv):
While appearing to be an accident, done deliberately
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/accidentally_on_purpose>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How shall Integrity face Oppression? What shall Honesty do in the face
of Deception, Decency in the face of Insult, Self-Defense before Blows?
How shall Desert and Accomplishment meet Despising, Detraction, and
Lies? What shall Virtue do to meet Brute Force? There are so many
answers and so contradictory; and such differences for those on the one
hand who meet questions similar to this once a year or once a decade,
and those who face them hourly and daily.
--W. E. B. Du Bois
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois>
Joseph Johnson (1738–1809) was an influential 18th-century London
bookseller. His publications covered a wide variety of genres and a
broad spectrum of opinions on important issues. Johnson is best known
for publishing the works of radical thinkers such as Mary
Wollstonecraft, William Godwin, and Joel Barlow as well as religious
Dissenters such as Joseph Priestley, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, and
Gilbert Wakefield. Johnson's friend John Aikin eulogized him as "the
father of the booktrade" and he has been called "the most important
publisher in England from 1770 until 1810" for his appreciation and
promotion of young writers, his emphasis on publishing cheap works
directed at a growing middle-class readership, and his cultivation and
advocacy of women writers at a time when they were viewed with
scepticism.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Johnson_%28publisher%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1245:
Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, was granted resignation by
Pope Innocent IV after having confessed to torture and forgery.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_%28Bishop_of_Finland%29>
1543:
Battle of Wayna Daga: Led by the Emperor Galawdewos, the combined army
of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeated a Muslim army led by Imam
Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wayna_Daga>
1919:
Bavarian socialist Kurt Eisner , who had organized the Socialist
Revolution that overthrew the Wittelsbach monarchy and established
Bavaria as a republic, was assassinated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Eisner>
1971:
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances, a United Nations treaty
designed to control psychoactive drugs, was signed at a conference of
plenipotentiaries in Vienna.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Substances>
1995:
American aviator Steve Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada,
after taking off from South Korea, becoming the first person to make a
solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Fossett>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
summarily (adv):
1. In a summary manner.
2. Over a short period of time, briefly
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/summarily>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the
sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is
no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen
or the police;
We must love one another or die.
--W. H. Auden
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._H._Auden>
Is This It is the debut studio album by American indie rock band The
Strokes. Recorded at Transporterraum in New York City with producer
Gordon Raphael, the album was first released on July 30, 2001, in
Australia, with RCA Records as the primary label. The record entered
the UK Albums Chart at number two and peaked at number 33 on the U.S.
Billboard 200, going on to achieve platinum status in several markets.
"Hard to Explain", "Last Nite", and "Someday" were released as singles.
For the album, The Strokes strived to capture a simple rock sound that
was not significantly enhanced in the studio. Band members molded
compositions largely through live takes during the recording sessions,
while lyricist Julian Casablancas continued to detail the lives and
relationships of urban youth. Following the completion of Is This It,
The Strokes embarked on a promotional world tour before its release.
The album's cover photograph courted controversy for being too sexually
explicit and was replaced for the U.S. market. The American track
listing was also amended in light of the September 11 terrorist
attacks. The record is considered crucial in the development of other
alternative bands and of the post-millennial music industry. It has
featured in several publications' lists of the best albums of the 2000s
and of all time.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_This_It>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1547:
Nine-year-old Edward VI was crowned King of England and Ireland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VI_of_England>
1685:
French colonists, led by Robert de La Salle, landed at Matagorda Bay in
present-day Texas, which later allowed the United States to claim the
region as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_colonization_of_Texas>
1959:
The Canadian government under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker cancelled
the Avro CF-105 Arrow interceptor aircraft program amid much political
debate.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_CF-105_Arrow>
1988:
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to secede from Azerbaijan
and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_War>
2009:
The Tamil Tigers attempted to crash two aircraft packed with C-4 in
suicide attacks on Colombo, Sri Lanka, but the planes were shot down
before they reached their targets.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_suicide_air_raid_on_Colombo>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
de novo (adj):
[[anew
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/de_novo>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our world is in profound danger. Mankind must establish a set of
positive values with which to secure its own survival.
This quest for enlightenment must begin now.
It is essential that
all men and women become aware of what they are, why they are here on
Earth and what they must do to preserve civilization before it is too
late.
--Richard Matheson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson>
The Battle of Musa Qala was a military action in Helmand Province,
southern Afghanistan, launched by the Afghan National Army and the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) against the Taliban on 7
December 2007. After three days of intense fighting, the Taliban
retreated into the mountains on 10 December. Musa Qala was officially
reported captured on 12 December, with Afghan Army troops pushing into
the town centre. Senior ISAF officers, including US general Dan K.
McNeill, the overall ISAF commander, agreed to the assault on 17
November 2007. It followed more than nine months of Taliban occupation
of the town, the largest the insurgents controlled at the time of the
battle. ISAF forces had previously occupied the town, until a
controversial withdrawal in late 2006. It was the first battle in the
war in Afghanistan in which Afghan army units were the principal
fighting force. Statements from the British Ministry of Defence (MOD)
emphasised that the operation was Afghan-led, although the ability of
Afghan units to function without NATO control was questioned during the
battle. Military engagement over Musa Qala is part of a wider conflict
between coalition forces and the Taliban in Helmand. Both before and
after the battle, related fighting was reported across a larger area,
particularly in Sangin district to the south of Musa Qala.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Musa_Qala>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1600:
The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the most violent
eruption in the recorded history of South America.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaynaputina>
1884:
More than sixty tornadoes struck across the Southern United States,
believed to be among the largest and most widespread tornado outbreaks
in American history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_tornado_outbreak>
1910:
The football stadium Old Trafford in Greater Manchester, England,
hosted its first match between Manchester United and Liverpool.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Trafford>
1942:
World War II: In the largest attacks mounted by a foreign power against
Australia, more than 240 bombers and fighters of the Imperial Japanese
Navy bombed Darwin, Northern Territory.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Darwin>
1986:
The first module of the Soviet space station Mir was launched,
establishing the first long-term research station in space.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
brouhaha (n):
A stir: a fuss or uproar
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brouhaha>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
People have such terrible assumptions about ghosts — you know, phantoms
that haunt you, that make you scared, that turn the house upside down.
Yin people are not in our living presence but are around, and kind of
guide you to insights. Like in Las Vegas when the bells go off, telling
you you've hit the jackpot. Yin people ring the bells, saying, "Pay
attention." And you say, "Oh, I see now." Yet I'm a fairly skeptical
person. I'm educated, I'm reasonably sane, and I know that this subject
is fodder for ridicule. ... To write the book, I had to put that aside.
As with any book. I go through the anxiety, "What will people think of
me for writing something like this?" But ultimately, I have to write
what I have to write about, including the question of life continuing
beyond our ordinary senses.
--Amy Tan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Amy_Tan>
"Bring Us Together" was a political slogan popularized after the
election of Republican candidate Richard Nixon as United States
President in 1968. The text was derived from a sign which 13-year-old
Vicki Lynne Cole stated that she carried at Nixon's rally in her home
town of Deshler, Ohio, during the campaign. Richard Moore, a friend of
Nixon, told the candidate's speechwriters that he had seen a child
carrying a sign reading "Bring Us Together" at the Deshler rally. The
speechwriters, including William Safire, began inserting the phrase
into the candidate's speeches. Nixon mentioned the Deshler rally and
the sign in his victory speech on November 6, 1968, adopting the phrase
as representing his administration's initial goal—to reunify the
bitterly divided country. Cole came forward as the person who carried
the sign, and was the subject of intense media attention. Nixon invited
Cole and her family to the inauguration, and she appeared (shown in
video) on a float in the inaugural parade. The phrase "Bring Us
Together" was used ironically by Democrats when Nixon proposed policies
they considered divisive. Safire later expressed doubts that Cole's
sign ever existed.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bring_Us_Together>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1637:
Eighty Years' War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet
intercepted an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels
escorted by 6 warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Lizard_Point>
1873:
Vasil Levski , the national hero of Bulgaria, was executed in Sofia by
Ottoman authorities for his efforts to establish an independent
Bulgarian republic.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasil_Levski>
1970:
An American jury acquitted the "Chicago Seven" of conspiracy and
inciting riots stemming from protests during the 1968 Democratic
National Convention.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Seven>
2001:
Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese broke out in Sampit,
Indonesia, that would ultimately result in more than 500 deaths and
100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampit_conflict>
2007:
Terrorist bombs exploded on the Samjhauta Express train in Panipat,
Haryana, India, killing 68 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Samjhauta_Express_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gravlax (n):
[[salmon
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gravlax>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Where are we going? Do not ask! Ascend, descend. There is no beginning
and no end. Only this present moment exists, full of bitterness, full
of sweetness, and I rejoice in it all.
--Nikos Kazantzakis
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikos_Kazantzakis>