Maya stelae are monuments that were fashioned by the Maya civilization
of ancient Mesoamerica. They consisted of tall sculpted stone shafts
and were often associated with low circular stones referred to as
altars, although their actual function is uncertain. Many stelae were
sculpted in low relief, although plain monuments are found throughout
the Maya region. Stelae became closely associated with the concept of
divine kingship and declined at the same time as this institution. The
production of stelae by the Maya had its origin around 400 BC and
continued through to the end of the Classic Period, around 900 AD,
although some monuments were reused in the Postclassic (c.
900–1521 AD). The major city of Calakmul in Mexico raised the greatest
number of stelae known from any Maya city, numbering at least 166,
although they are very poorly preserved. Stelae were essentially stone
banners raised to glorify the king and record his deeds, although the
earliest examples depict mythological scenes. Imagery developed
throughout the Classic Period, with Early Classic stelae (c.
250–600 AD) displaying non-Maya characteristics from the 4th century AD
onwards, with the introduction of imagery linked to the central Mexican
metropolis of Teotihuacan. As the Classic Period came to an end, stelae
ceased to be erected, with the last known examples being raised in
909–910 AD.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_stelae>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1621:
Myles Standish was elected as the first commander of the Plymouth
Colony militia, a position he would hold for the rest of his life.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_Standish>
1872:
Mariano Gómez, José Apolonio Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, collectively
known as Gomburza , were executed in Manila, Philippines, by Spanish
colonial authorities on charges of subversion arising from the 1872
Cavite mutiny.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomburza>
1913:
In the U.S. National Guard's 69th Regiment Armory in New York City, the
Armory Show opened, introducing Americans to avant-garde and modern
art.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armory_Show>
1964:
Gabonese military officers overthrew President Léon M'ba, but France,
honoring a 1960 treaty, forcibly reinstated M'ba the next day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Gabon_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
2003:
The London congestion charge, a fee that is levied on motorists
travelling within designated parts of London, came into operation in
parts of Central London.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pareidolia (n):
The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the
observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes
in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in reversed music
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pareidolia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Divine Light is always in man, presenting itself to the senses and
to the comprehension, but man rejects it.
--Giordano Bruno
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno>
The climate of Minnesota is typical of a continental climate, with cold
winters and hot summers. Minnesota's location in the Upper Midwest
allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the
United States. Winter in Minnesota is characterized by cold
temperatures as low as −60 °F (−51 °C). Snow is the main form of winter
precipitation, but freezing rain, ice, sleet, and occasionally rain are
all possible during the winter months. Common storm systems include
Alberta clippers or Panhandle hooks, some of which evolve into
blizzards. Annual snowfall extremes have ranged from over 170 inches
(432 cm) in the rugged Superior Highlands of the North Shore to as
little as 10 inches (25 cm) in southern Minnesota. Spring is a time of
major transition; snowstorms are common early, but by late spring as
temperatures begin to moderate the state experiences tornadoes,
averaging 24 per year. In summer, humid conditions help kick off
thunderstorm activity 30–40 days per year. Summer high temperatures as
hot as 114 °F (46 °C) are possible. Autumn weather in Minnesota is
largely the reverse of spring weather; the jet stream—which tends to
weaken in summer—begins to re-strengthen, leading to a quicker changing
of weather patterns and an increased variability of temperatures. By
late October and November these storm systems become strong enough to
form major winter storms.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Minnesota>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
The Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania,
proclaiming the restoration of an independent Lithuania governed by
democratic principles, despite the presence of German troops in the
country during World War I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania>
1923:
English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter unsealed the
burial chamber of Tutankhamun , an Egyptian Pharaoh of the Eighteenth
dynasty.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun>
1961:
The DuSable Museum, the first museum dedicated to the study and
conservation of African American history, culture, and art, was
chartered.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuSable_Museum_of_African_American_History>
1977:
Archbishop Janani Luwum of the Church of Uganda, a leading voice
against the regime of Idi Amin, was arrested for treason and murdered
the next day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janani_Luwum>
1985:
"The Hizballah Program" was released, describing the ideology and goals
of the Shia Islamic political and paramilitary organization Hizballah.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology_of_Hezbollah>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
balanephagous (adj):
[[acorn
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/balanephagous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What one knows is, in youth, of little moment; they know enough who
know how to learn.
--Henry Adams
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Adams>
John Wark (born 1957) is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of
his playing time with Ipswich Town. He won a record four Player of the
Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the
club's Hall of Fame. Wark had long spells at the club, which bookended
his career, and a third, brief interlude dividing his briefer periods
at Liverpool and Middlesbrough. A versatile player, Wark played most of
his professional games as a midfielder, although he sometimes played as
a central defender and on occasion as a striker. Born in Glasgow, Wark
represented Scotland in international football, winning 29 caps and
scoring seven goals. This included selection for Scotland in the 1982
FIFA World Cup in which he made three appearances and scored twice.
During his playing career, Wark appeared in the film Escape to Victory.
Since retiring as a professional player in 1996, he has continued to
work for Ipswich Town—since April 2009 in the corporate hospitality
department. His autobiography was published in 2009.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wark>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1493:
Christopher Columbus wrote an open letter describing his discoveries
and the unexpected items he came across in the New World, which was
widely distributed upon his return to Portugal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus%27s_Letter_on_the_First_Voyage>
1949:
Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux began excavations at Cave 1
of the Qumran Caves in the West Bank region of Jordan, the location of
the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qumran_Caves>
1965:
Canada adopted the Maple Leaf flag , replacing the Canadian Red Ensign.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Canada>
1979:
Don Dunstan resigned as Premier of South Australia, ending a decade of
sweeping social liberalisation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Dunstan>
2003:
In one of the largest anti-war rallies in history, millions around the
world in approximately 800 cities took part in protests against the
impending invasion of Iraq.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_15%2C_2003_anti-war_protest>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sherpa (n):
1. A male of the Sherpa people employed as a mountain guide or porter.
2. An expert sent by a country's leader to a summit meeting.
3. A
synthetic fabric with a long, thick pile, similar to faux fur,
imitation lamb wool, or fleece
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sherpa>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A religious education is an education which inculcates duty and
reverence. Duty arises from our potential control over the course of
events. Where attainable knowledge could have changed the issue,
ignorance has the guilt of vice. And the foundation of reverence is
this perception, that the present holds within itself the complete sum
of existence, backwards and forwards, that whole amplitude of time,
which is eternity.
--Alfred North Whitehead
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead>
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, an American science fiction film
released by Paramount Pictures, is the first film based on Star Trek, a
television series created by Gene Roddenberry (left, pictured with the
show's cast). The original television series was cancelled in 1969. The
success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind convinced Paramount that
science fiction films other than Star Wars could do well at the box
office, so the studio canceled production of the planned television
series Star Trek: Phase II and turned Phase II's pilot episode into a
film script. In the film, a mysterious and immensely powerful alien
cloud called V'Ger approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path,
and Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) assumes command of his old
starship—the USS Enterprise—to save the planet and determine V'Ger's
origins. Delays on set and in developing the film's optical effects
caused the production cost to soar. Released in North America on
December 7, 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture received mixed reviews
from critics, many of whom criticized the film for its lack of action
and over-reliance on special effects. The film earned $139 million
worldwide, falling short of studio expectations but convincing
Paramount to back a less expensive sequel.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek%3A_The_Motion_Picture>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1912:
Arizona became the 48th and last of the contiguous United States to be
admitted into the Union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona>
1919:
The first serious armed conflict of the Polish–Soviet War took place
near present-day Biaroza, Belarus.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Soviet_War>
1949:
The Knesset, the legislature of Israel, convened for the first time,
succeeding the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the
Jewish community's parliament during the British Mandate Era.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knesset>
1989:
A fatwa was issued for the execution of Salman Rushdie for authoring
The Satanic Verses, a novel Islamic fundamentalists considered
blasphemous.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_controversy>
2007:
The first of several bombings in Zahedan, Iran, claimed the lives of 18
members of the Revolutionary Guards.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Zahedan_bombings>
2008:
Steven Kazmierczak opened fire into a crowded lecture hall on the
campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, US, killing
five and injuring 24.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Illinois_University_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dearheart (n):
{{non-gloss definition
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dearheart>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration
finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed
mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every
wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not
Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his
brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
--William Shakespeare
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare>
Kingdom Hearts is an action role-playing game developed and published
by Square (now Square Enix) in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game
console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result
of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. The
game combines characters and settings from Disney animated features
with those from Square's Final Fantasy series. The story follows a
young boy, Sora, as he is thrown into an epic battle against the forces
of darkness. He is joined by Donald Duck and Goofy, classic Disney
characters who help him on his quest. Kingdom Hearts was a departure
from Square's standard role-playing games, introducing a substantial
action-adventure element to the gameplay. In addition, it has an
all-star voice cast which includes many of the Disney characters'
official voice actors. The game was praised for its unusual combination
of action and role-playing, as well as its unexpectedly harmonious mix
of Square and Disney motifs. It received numerous year-end "Best" video
game awards, was a dominating presence in the 2002 holiday season, and
went on to achieve Sony "Greatest Hits" status.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Hearts_%28video_game%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1301:
The title of Prince of Wales was granted for the first time to an heir
apparent to the English throne, Edward of Carnarvon.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_II_of_England>
1795:
The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the
ability of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to sue U.S. states in
federal courts, was ratified in order to overrule the U.S. Supreme
Court decision in Chisholm v. Georgia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Consti…>
1863:
In New Zealand's worst maritime tragedy, HMS Orpheus of the British
Royal Navy sank off the coast of Auckland, killing 189 crew out of the
ship's complement of 259.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Orpheus_%281860%29>
1907:
Over 3,000 women trudged through the cold and the rutty streets of
London in the Mud March, the first large procession organized by the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, to advocate for women's
suffrage.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_March_%28Suffragists%29>
2009:
A series of 400 individual bushfires ignited across the Australian
state of Victoria on Black Saturday, eventually resulting in 173 total
deaths, the highest ever loss of life from a bushfire in Australia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfires>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
discursion (n):
{{obsolete
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/discursion>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Extreme justice is an extreme injury: for we ought not to approve of
those terrible laws that make the smallest offences capital, nor of
that opinion of the Stoics that makes all crimes equal; as if there
were no difference to be made between the killing a man and the taking
his purse, between which, if we examine things impartially, there is no
likeness nor proportion.
--Thomas More
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_More>
Battersea Bridge is a cast iron and granite five-span cantilever bridge
crossing the River Thames in London, England. It is situated on a sharp
bend in the river, and links Battersea south of the river with Chelsea
to the north. The bridge replaced a ferry service that had operated
near the site since at least the 16th century. The first Battersea
Bridge was a toll bridge commissioned by John, Earl Spencer. A poor
design by Henry Holland made the bridge unpopular and dangerous both to
its users and to passing shipping. Although boats often collided with
it, the bridge was the last surviving wooden bridge on the Thames in
London, and was the subject of paintings by many significant artists
such as J. M. W. Turner, John Sell Cotman and James McNeill Whistler,
including Whistler's controversial and influential Nocturne: Blue and
Gold – Old Battersea Bridge. In 1879 the bridge was taken into public
ownership, and in 1885 demolished and replaced with the existing
bridge, designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette and built by John Mowlem &
Co. The narrowest surviving road bridge over the Thames in London, it
is one of London's least busy Thames bridges. The location on a bend in
the river makes the bridge a hazard to shipping, and it has been closed
many times due to collisions.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Bridge>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1778:
France and the United States signed the Treaty of Alliance and the
Treaty of Amity and Commerce, establishing military and commercial ties
respectively between the two nations.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Alliance_%281778%29>
1806:
Napoleonic Wars: When squadrons of British and French ships of the line
engaged in the Battle of San Domingo in the Caribbean Sea, the French
ships Impérial and Diomède ran aground to avoid capture, but were
caught and destroyed anyway.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Domingo>
1959:
Jack Kilby, an engineer at Texas Instruments, filed a patent
application for the first integrated circuit.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/integrated_circuit>
1987:
Mary Gaudron was appointed as the first female Justice of the High
Court of Australia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Gaudron>
2000:
Second Chechen War: Russia captured Grozny, the capital of Chechnya,
forcing the separatist Chechen government into exile.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grozny_%281999%E2%80%932000%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
living impaired (adj):
{{humorous
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/living_impaired>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We
didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought
for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same...
--Ronald Reagan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan>
Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil
production. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil
by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. The resultant
shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock
specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen
impurities. Shale oil extraction is usually performed above ground (ex
situ processing) by mining the oil shale and then treating it in
processing facilities. Other modern technologies perform the processing
underground (on-site or in situ processing) by applying heat and
extracting the oil via oil wells. The earliest description of the
process dates to the 10th century. The industry shrank in the mid-20th
century following the discovery of large reserves of conventional oil,
but high petroleum prices at the beginning of the 21st century have led
to renewed interest. As of 2010, major long-standing extraction
industries are operating in Estonia, Brazil, and China. Its economic
viability varies with the ratio of local energy input costs to energy
output value. National energy security issues have also played a role
in its development. Critics of shale oil extraction pose questions
about environmental management issues, such as waste disposal,
extensive water use and waste water management, and air pollution.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shale_oil_extraction>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
The first of five strong earthquakes hit the region of Calabria in
present-day southern Italy, killing more than 32,000 people over a
period of nearly two months.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1783_Calabrian_earthquakes>
1923:
Australian cricketer Bill Ponsford made 429 runs to break the world
record for the highest first-class score.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ponsford>
1958:
A Mark 15 nuclear bomb disappeared off the shores of Tybee Island,
Georgia, US after it was jettisoned during a practice exercise when the
bomber carrying it collided in midair with a fighter plane.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Tybee_Island_B-47_crash>
1963:
The European Court of Justice's ruling in Van Gend en Loos v
Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen established the principle of
direct effect, one of the basic tenets of European Union law.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/direct_effect>
2007:
After having driven 900 mi (1,448 km) overnight from Houston, Texas, to
Orlando, Florida, US, former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested
for the attempted kidnapping of Colleen Shipman, girlfriend of Nowak's
colleague and former love interest William Oefelein.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Nowak>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
at the feet of (preposition):
As a disciple, subordinate, or worshiper of
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/at_the_feet_of>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Enforced uniformity confounds civil and religious liberty and denies
the principles of Christianity and civility. No man shall be required
to worship or maintain a worship against his will.
--Roger Williams
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Williams>
Erie is an industrial city on the shore of Lake Erie and the regional
hub of northwestern of Pennsylvania. Named for the lake and the Native
American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the
state's fourth largest city (after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and
Allentown), with a population of 104,000. Erie's Metropolitan Area
consists of approximately 280,000 residents and an Urbanized Area
population of approximately 195,000. The city is the seat of government
for Erie County. Erie is in proximity to Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New
York; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Once teeming with heavy industry,
Erie's manufacturing sector remains prominent in the local economy,
though healthcare, higher education, and tourism are emerging as
greater economic drivers. More than four million people each year visit
Presque Isle State Park, for water recreation, and a new casino named
for the state park is growing in popularity. Erie is known as the
Flagship City because of the presence of Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship
Niagara. The city has also been called the Gem City because of the
"sparkling" lake. Erie won the All-America City Award in 1972.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie%2C_Pennsylvania>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
German scholar Constantin von Tischendorf rediscovered the Codex
Sinaiticus, a 4th century uncial manuscript of the Greek Bible, in
Saint Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus>
1899:
The Philippine–American War opened when an American soldier, under
orders to keep insurgents away from his unit's encampment, fired upon a
Filipino soldier in Manila.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War>
1974:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed a motor coach carrying
off-duty British Armed Forces personnel and their family members,
killing twelve and wounding fifty more.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M62_coach_bombing>
1992:
Venezuelan Army Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez failed in his attempt to
overthrow the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Venezuelan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempts>
1999:
The Panamanian-flagged freighter New Carissa ran aground near Coos Bay,
Oregon, US, causing one the worst oil spills in Oregon history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Carissa>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
score off (v):
1. To defeat (especially in an argument), get the better of.
2. To delete, especially from a list; to draw a line through
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/score_off>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.
--Charles Lindbergh
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh>
The Cottingley Fairies appear in a series of five photographs taken by
Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins who lived in
Cottingley, near Bradford in England. In 1917, when the first two
photographs were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10. The
pictures came to the attention of writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who
used them to illustrate an article on fairies he had been commissioned
to write for the Christmas 1920 edition of The Strand Magazine. Conan
Doyle, as a Spiritualist, was enthusiastic about the photographs, and
interpreted them as clear and visible evidence of psychic phenomena.
Public reaction was mixed; some accepted that the images were genuine,
but others believed they had been faked. Interest in the Cottingley
Fairies gradually declined after 1921. Both girls grew up, married and
lived abroad for a time. Yet the photographs continued to hold the
public imagination; in 1966 a reporter from the Daily Express newspaper
traced Elsie, who had by then returned to the UK. Elsie left open the
possibility that she believed she had photographed her thoughts, and
the media once again became interested in the story. In the early
1980s, both admitted that the photographs were faked using cardboard
cutouts of fairies copied from a popular children's book of the time.
But Frances continued to claim that the fifth and final photograph was
genuine. The photographs and two of the cameras used are on display in
the National Media Museum in Bradford.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1637:
The contract prices of rare tulip bulbs in the Dutch Republic, which
had been steadily climbing for three months, abruptly dropped, marking
the decline of tulip mania.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tulip_mania>
1852:
The Argentine Confederation were defeated in the Battle of Caseros by
an alliance consisting of the Empire of Brazil, Uruguay and the
Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes, ending the Platine
War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platine_War>
1931:
New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster, the 7.9 M<sub>W</sub> Hawke's
Bay earthquake, struck, killing 256.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Hawke%27s_Bay_earthquake>
1984:
A woman under the care of Dr. John Buster of the Harbor–UCLA Medical
Center in Los Angeles, California, US, gave birth to a baby that
resulted from the first successful embryo transfer from one person to
another.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/embryo_transfer>
2010:
A cast of L'Homme qui marche I by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti
sold for £65 million (US$103.7 million), setting the record for most
expensive sculpture sold at a public auction.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Homme_qui_marche_I>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sesquiquadrate (adj):
{{astronomy
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sesquiquadrate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Only he who has measured the dominion of force, and knows how not to
respect it, is capable of love and justice.
--Simone Weil
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_Weil>
Lord of the Universe is a 1974 American documentary film about Prem
Rawat at an event in November 1973 at the Houston Astrodome called
"Millennium '73". Lord of the Universe was first broadcast on PBS on
February 2, 1974, and released in a VHS format on November 1, 1991. The
documentary chronicles Maharaj Ji, his followers and anti-Vietnam War
activist Rennie Davis who was a spokesperson of the Divine Light
Mission at the time. A counterpoint is presented by Abbie Hoffman who
appears as a commentator. It includes interviews with several
protagonists, including followers, ex-followers, a mahatma, a
born-again Christian, and a Hare Krishna. The production team of Top
Value Television produced the documentary, using Portapak video
cameras. The TVTV team followed Maharaj Ji across the United States
over a period of six weeks, and edited a large amount of tape down to
the fifty-eight minute piece. The documentary was generally
well-received, and garnered its TVTV production team the 1974 Alfred I.
du Pont/Columbia University Award in Broadcast Journalism. The
documentary received a negative review in the New York Post, and
positive reviews in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the Los
Angeles Times, and the Chicago Sun-Times. The San Francisco Bay
Guardian wrote that the TVTV team had improved since their previous
work, but wanted them to move on to more challenging subjects.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Universe>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1653:
The Dutch colony New Amsterdam received municipal rights, thus becoming
a city on territory that is now New York City.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam>
1659:
Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first bottle
of South African wine.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_wine>
1982:
The Syrian army bombarded the town of Hama in order to quell a revolt
by the Muslim Brotherhood, killing about 7,000–25,000 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_massacre>
1994:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its final
ruling in Ney v. Landmark Education Corporation and Werner Erhard and
affirmed the decision of the District Court; Werner Erhard defaulted on
the payment due to Ney.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ney_v._Landmark_Education_Corporation_and_Wern…>
2004:
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer became the No. 1 ranked men's
singles player, a position he held for a record 237 weeks.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Federer>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
valediction (n):
A speech made, or phrase said, when [[leave
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/valediction>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'm not playing by their rules anymore!
--Bill Murray
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Murray>