Charles Holden (1875–1960) was an English architect best known for
designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s,
for Bristol Central Library, the Underground Electric Railways Company
of London's headquarters at 55 Broadway and for the University of
London's Senate House. He also created many war cemeteries in Belgium
and northern France for the Imperial War Graves Commission. Although
not without its critics, his architecture is widely appreciated. He was
awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal for
architecture in 1936 and was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry in
1943. His station designs for London Underground became the
corporation's design standard influencing designs by all architects
working for the organisation in the 1930s. Many of his buildings have
been granted listed building status, protecting them from unapproved
alteration. Modestly believing that architecture was a collaborative
effort, he twice declined the offer of a knighthood.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Holden>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1431:
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen,
France, after being convicted of heresy in a politically motivated
trial.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc>
1815:
The East Indiaman ship Arniston was wrecked during a storm at
Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, present-day South Africa, with the
loss of 372 lives.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arniston_%28East_Indiaman%29>
1854:
The Kansas–Nebraska Act became law, establishing the U.S. territories
of Nebraska and Kansas, repealing the 1820 Missouri Compromise, and
allowing settlers in those territories to determine if they would
permit slavery within their boundaries.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas%E2%80%93Nebraska_Act>
1922:
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., featuring a sculpture of the
sixteenth U.S. President Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French,
opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial>
1967:
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu announced the establishment of Biafra, a
secessionist state in southeastern Nigeria, an event that sparked the
Nigerian Civil War one week later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nictate (v):
To wink or blink
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nictate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If I am not in the state of grace, may God put me there; and if I am,
may God so keep me.
--Joan of Arc
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc>
Deinonychus is a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur that
existed during the Early Cretaceous. It contains only a single species,
D. antirrhopus. Fossils of the 3.4 meter (11 ft) long dinosaur have
been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma,
though teeth attributed to Deinonychus have been found as far east as
Maryland. A 1960s study of Deinonychus revolutionized the way
scientists thought about dinosaurs, leading to the "Dinosaur
renaissance" and igniting a debate on whether dinosaurs were
warm-blooded. Where the popular conception of dinosaurs had been one of
plodding reptilian giants, the study's description of Deinonychus'
small body, sleek horizontal posture, ratite-like spine and enlarged
raptorial claws suggested an active, agile predator. As in other
dromaeosaurids, the tail vertebrae have a series of ossified tendons
and super-elongated bone processes. These features would seem to make
the tail into a stiff counterbalance, but fossils of closely-related
species suggest that, in life, the tail could swish to the sides with a
high degree of flexibility. Deinonychus teeth and other remains have
been found closely associated with those of the ornithopod
Tenontosaurus, implying that it was hunted or at least scavenged upon
by Deinonychus.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinonychus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1167:
A 1,600-man force of the Holy Roman Empire led by Christian of Buch and
Rainald of Dassel defeated a 10,000-man Papal States army.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monte_Porzio>
1453:
Constantinople fell to the besieging Ottoman army led by Sultan
Mehmed II, ending the Byzantine Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople>
1911:
English dramatist W. S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan dies while
saving a young woman from drowning in his lake.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._S._Gilbert>
1913:
The Rite of Spring, a ballet with music by Russian composer Igor
Stravinsky, was first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in
Paris.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring>
1953:
New Zealand explorer Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer
Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount
Everest .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary>
1985:
A wall at Brussels' Heysel Stadium collapsed under the pressure of
football fans escaping a riot before the European Cup Final between
England's Liverpool F.C. and Italy's Juventus F.C., killing 39 people
and injuring over 600 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heysel_Stadium_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
deathwatch (n):
1. Any of various insects which give off a ticking noise, especially
the deathwatch beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum.
2. A vigil held over a dying person
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deathwatch>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The most unfathomable schools and sages have never attained to the
gravity which dwells in the eyes of a baby of three months old. It is
the gravity of astonishment at the universe, and astonishment at the
universe is not mysticism, but a transcendent common-sense. The
fascination of children lies in this: that with each of them all things
are remade, and the universe is put again upon its trial.
--G. K. Chesterton
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton>
The Mono–Inyo Craters are a north–south-trending volcanic chain in
Eastern California that stretch 25 miles (40 km) from the northwest
shore of Mono Lake to south of Mammoth Mountain. The chain is located
in Mono County in the U.S. State of California. Eruptions along the
narrow fissure system under the chain began in the west moat of Long
Valley Caldera 400,000 to 60,000 years ago. Mammoth Mountain was formed
during this period. Multiple eruptions from 40,000 to 600 years ago
created Mono Craters and eruptions 5,000 to 500 years ago formed Inyo
Craters. The area has been used by humans for centuries. Obsidian was
collected by Mono Paiutes for making sharp tools and arrow points.Mono
Mills processed timber felled on or near the volcanoes for the nearby
boomtown Bodie in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Water
diversions into the Los Angeles Aqueduct system from their natural
outlets in Mono Lake started in 1941 after a water tunnel was cut under
Mono Craters. Mono Lake Volcanic Field and a large part of Mono Craters
gained some protection under Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area in
1984. Resource use along all of the chain is managed by the United
States Forest Service as part of Inyo National Forest.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono%E2%80%93Inyo_Craters>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1754:
French and Indian War: Led by 22-year-old George Washington, a company
of colonial militia from Virginia ambushed a force of 35 Canadiens in
the Battle of Jumonville Glen.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jumonville_Glen>
1905:
Japanese forces led by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō destroyed the Russian
Baltic Fleet in the Battle of Tsushima, the decisive naval battle in
the Russo-Japanese War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tsushima>
1918:
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, one of the first democratic
republics in the Muslim world, was proclaimed in Ganja by the
Azerbaijani National Council following the breakup of the
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan_Democratic_Republic>
1987:
West German Mathias Rust flew his Cessna 172 through the supposedly
impregnable Soviet air defense system and landed in Red Square in
Moscow.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust>
1998:
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission carried out five underground
nuclear tests, becoming the seventh country in the world to
successfully develop and publicly test nuclear weapons.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagai-I>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
personal space (n):
1. The area in which a person or animal usually moves and which it
knows well.
2. The area immediately surrounding someone which is felt to be
theirs, encroachment on which may cause discomfort or hostility
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/personal_space>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
War of any kind is abhorrent. Remember that since the end of World War
II, over 40 million people have been killed by conventional weapons.
So, if we should succeed in averting nuclear war, we must not let
ourselves be sold the alternative of conventional weapons for killing
our fellow men. We must cure ourselves of the habit of war.
--Patrick White
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patrick_White>
Ernst Lindemann (1894–1941) was a German naval captain and the only
commander of the battleship Bismarck during its eight months of service
in World War II. Born in 1894, he joined the German Imperial Navy
(German: Kaiserliche Marine) in 1913, and after his basic military
training, served on a number of warships during World War I as a
wireless telegraphy officer. After World War I, he served in various
staff as well as naval gunnery training positions. In May 1941,
Lindemann commanded Bismarck during Operation Rheinübung. The German
task force, under the command of Admiral Günther Lütjens, consisted of
the battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. It was to
break out of its base in German occupied Norway and attack British
merchant shipping lanes in the Atlantic Ocean. The force's first major
engagement was the Battle of the Denmark Strait which resulted in the
sinking of HMS Hood. Less than a week later, on 27 May, Lindemann and
most of his crew lost their lives during Bismarck's last battle. He was
posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz
des Eisernes Kreuzes), which recognized extreme bravery on the
battlefield or outstanding military leadership.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Lindemann>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1153:
Malcolm IV became King of Scotland at the age of twelve.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_IV_of_Scotland>
1799:
War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeated the French and
captured the strategically important town of Winterthur, Switzerland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Winterthur_%281799%29>
1930:
Standing at 319 metres (1,047 ft), New York City's Chrysler Building
opened as the world's tallest building before it was surpassed by the
Empire State Building 11 months later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Building>
1967:
Australians overwhelmingly approved two amendments to the Constitution
granting the government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous
Australians and to count them in the national census.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_referendum%2C_1967_%28Aboriginals%29>
2006:
An earthquake measuring about 6.3 Mw struck near the Indonesian city of
Yogyakarta on the southern side of the island of Java, killing at least
5,700 people, injuring at least 36,000, and leaving at least 1.5
million homeless.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2006_Java_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nefandous (adj):
Horrific; unspeakably appalling
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nefandous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am confirmed in my division of human energies. Ambitious people
climb, but faithful people build.
--Julia Ward Howe
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julia_Ward_Howe>
Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) was an English writer of novels, travel books
and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer. His
best-known works include his early satires Decline and Fall (1928) and
A Handful of Dust (1934), his novel Brideshead Revisited (1945) and his
trilogy of Second World War novels collectively known as Sword of
Honour (1952–61). Waugh, a conservative Roman Catholic whose views were
often trenchantly expressed, is widely recognised as one of the great
prose stylists of the 20th century. In the 1930s he travelled
extensively, often as a special newspaper correspondent. He served in
the British armed forces throughout the Second World War, first in the
Royal Marines and later in the Royal Horse Guards. All these
experiences, and the wide range of people he encountered, were used in
Waugh's fiction, generally to humorous effect; even his own mental
breakdown in the early 1950s, brought about by misuse of drugs, was
fictionalised. After his death in 1966 he acquired a new following
through film and television versions of his work, most memorably
Brideshead Revisited in 1982.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Waugh>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1328:
William of Ockham, originator of the methodological principle Occam's
razor, secretly left Avignon under threat from Pope John XXII.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Ockham>
1857:
American slave Dred Scott , who had previously unsuccessfully sued for
his freedom, was emancipated by Henry Taylor Blow, his original owner.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott>
1897:
Irish author Bram Stoker's most famous novel Dracula was first
published.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula>
1936:
The House Un-American Activities Committee was established to
investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities by people or
organizations suspected of having communist or fascist ties.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee>
1940:
World War II: A flotilla of "little ships" began a mass evacuation of
British, French and Belgian troops cut off by the German army during
the Battle of Dunkirk.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cleanskin (n):
1. A criminal with no prior criminal record.
2. (Australia) An unbranded farm animal.
3. (Australia) An unlabelled
bottle of wine
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cleanskin>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If there must be resolution and explanation, it must be something worth
its weight in mystery. Most times, I'd be content with the mystery.
--Caitlín R. Kiernan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Caitl%C3%ADn_R._Kiernan>
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy radio
series written by Douglas Adams and first broadcast in the United
Kingdom on BBC Radio 4 in 1978. The serial follows the adventures of
Englishman Arthur Dent and his friend Ford Prefect, an alien who writes
for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an intergalactic encyclopedia
and travelogue. After Earth is destroyed in the first episode, Dent and
Ford find themselves aboard a stolen spaceship piloted by a motley crew
including Zaphod Beeblebrox (Ford's semi-cousin and Galactic
President), a depressed robot called Marvin and an Earth woman calling
herself Trillian, who is the only other surviving human being. A second
series was transmitted in 1980 and the first series was adapted for
television. This in turn was followed by five novels, a computer game
and several other adaptations. Before his death in May 2001, Adams
considered writing a third radio series based on his novel Life, the
Universe and Everything. Dirk Maggs eventually directed and co-produced
radio series adaptations of that novel, as well as So Long, and Thanks
for All the Fish and Mostly Harmless in 2004–05.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_%28radi…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1810:
The Primera Junta, the first independent government in Argentina, was
established in an open cabildo in Buenos Aires , marking the end of the
May Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primera_Junta>
1895:
The Republic of Formosa was inaugurated in Taiwan, proclaiming
independence from Qing China.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Formosa>
1977:
Star Wars, a science fantasy film written and directed by George Lucas,
was released, becoming one of the most successful films of all time.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_IV%3A_A_New_Hope>
2000:
Israel withdrew its army from most of Lebanese territory, 22 years
after its first invasion in 1978.}
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Lebanon_conflict_%281982%E2%80%932000%29>
2002:
China Airlines Flight 611 crashed in the Taiwan Strait after breaking
up in mid-air, killing all 225 people on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_611>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
repel (v):
1. To force back; to drive away.
2. To cause repulsion or dislike
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/repel>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Be an artist superior to tricks of art. Show frankly, as a saint would
do, all your experience, your methods, tools, and means. Welcome all
comers to the freest use of the same. And out of this superior
frankness and charity, you shall learn higher secrets of your nature,
which gods will bend and aid you to communicate.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson>
Tiny Thompson (1903–1981) was a Canadian professional ice hockey
goaltender. He played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL),
first for the Boston Bruins, and later for the Detroit Red Wings. A
four-time Vezina Trophy winner, Thompson was inducted into the Hockey
Hall of Fame in 1959. He was a member of one Stanley Cup-winning team,
as a rookie in the 1928–29 season with the Boston Bruins. At the start
of the 1938–39 season, after ten full seasons with Boston, he was
traded to the Detroit Red Wings, where he completed the season, and
played another full one before retiring. During his NHL career, he
recorded 81 shutouts, the sixth highest of any goaltender. After
retiring from playing, he coached lower-league teams before becoming a
noted professional scout. Thompson helped popularize the technique of
catching the puck as a method of making a save. A competent
puckhandler, he was the first goaltender in the NHL to record an assist
by passing the puck with his stick to a fellow player.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_Thompson>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1883:
New York City's Brooklyn Bridge, at the time the longest suspension
bridge in the world, was opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge>
1948:
Arab–Israeli War: After five days of fighting, Egyptian forces finally
captured the Israeli kibbutz Yad Mordechai after the defenders had
abandoned it.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yad_Mordechai>
1960:
Cordón Caulle in the Andes of Ranco Province, Chile, began to erupt,
less than two days after the Valdivia earthquake struck the region.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyehue-Cord%C3%B3n_Caulle>
1970:
On the Kola Peninsula in Russia, drilling began on the Kola Superdeep
Borehole, eventually reaching 12,262 metres (40,230 ft), making it the
deepest hole ever drilled and the deepest artificial point on the
earth.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole>
1976:
In a wine competition in Paris, French judges shocked the wine industry
by rating California wines higher than French ones .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Paris_%28wine%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jacquerie (n):
A peasants' revolt
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jacquerie>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it
take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin'
in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
--Bob Dylan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan>
Boletus edulis is a basidiomycete fungus, widely distributed in the
Northern Hemisphere across Europe, Asia, and North America, and has
been introduced to southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The
fungus grows in deciduous and coniferous forests and tree plantations,
forming symbiotic ectomycorrhizal associations with living trees by
enveloping sheaths of fungal tissue around their underground roots. The
fungus produces spore-bearing fruit bodies above ground in summer and
autumn. The fruit body has a large brown cap which on occasion can
reach 35 cm (14 in) in diameter and 3 kg (6.6 lb) in weight. It has
tubes extending downward from the underside of the cap, rather than
gills. Prized as an ingredient in various foods, B. edulis is an edible
mushroom held in high regard in many cuisines, and is commonly prepared
and eaten in soups, pasta, or risotto. The mushroom is low in fat and
digestible carbohydrates, and high in protein, vitamins, minerals and
dietary fibre. Although it is sold commercially, it has not been
successfully grown in cultivation. Available fresh in autumn in
Central, Southern and Northern Europe, it is most often dried, packaged
and distributed worldwide.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1498:
Girolamo Savonarola of Florence was executed for heresy, uttering
prophecies, sedition, and other crimes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola>
1533:
The marriage of Henry VIII of England and his first wife Catherine of
Aragon was annulled.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Aragon>
1568:
The Dutch Revolt broke out when rebels led by Louis of Nassau invaded
Friesland at the Battle of Heiligerlee.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Revolt>
1706:
War of the Spanish Succession: Led by the Duke of Marlborough, the
allied forces of England, the Dutch Republic, and Denmark defeated the
Franco-Bavarian army in Ramillies, present-day Belgium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramillies>
1934:
American criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and
killed by police on a desolate road near their hideout in Bienville
Parish, Louisiana.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde>
1949:
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany came into effect as
the de facto constitution of West Germany.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law_for_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany>
2008:
To resolve a 29-year-old territorial dispute, the International Court
of Justice awarded Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to
Singapore.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedra_Branca_dispute>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
destitution (n):
The condition of being without the necessary resources for life;
extreme poverty
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/destitution>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Might the simple maxim, that honesty is the best policy be laid to
heart! Might a sense of the true aims of life elevate the tone of
politics and trade, till public and private honor become identical!
--Margaret Fuller
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Fuller>
God Hates Us All is the ninth studio album by American thrash metal
band Slayer. Released on September 11, 2001 the album received mixed
critical reviews, although it entered the Billboard 200 at number 28.
Recorded in three months at The Warehouse Studio in Canada, God Hates
Us All includes the Grammy Award-nominated "Disciple" and is the band's
last album to feature drummer Paul Bostaph. Guitarist Kerry King wrote
approximately 80% of the lyrics, adopting a different approach from
earlier recordings by including prevalent themes such as religion,
murder, revenge, and self-control. Limiting the lyrics to topics which
everyone could relate to, King wished to explore more in depth,
realistic subject matter. The band experimented musically by recording
two songs with seven-string guitars, and a further two with drop B
tunings. The album's release was delayed due to the graphic nature of
its artwork for which slip covers were created to cover the original
artwork, difficulties encountered during audio mixing, and the change
of distributor by the band's record label during the release period.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Hates_Us_All>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1826:
HMS Beagle departed on its first voyage from Plymouth for a
hydrographic survey of the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions of
South America.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle>
1915:
Lassen Peak in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California
violently erupted , the only volcanic eruption in the continental U.S.
in the 20th century until Mount St. Helens in 1980.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassen_Peak>
1958:
Ethnic rioting broke out in Ceylon, targeted mostly at the minority Sri
Lankan Tamils, resulting in up to 300 deaths over the next five days.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_riots_in_Ceylon>
1987:
During Hindu–Muslim rioting in Meerut, India, 19 members of the
Provincial Armed Constabulary allegedly massacred 42 Muslims and dumped
the bodies in water canals.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashimpura_massacre>
2003:
Swedish golfer Annika Sörenstam became the first woman to play in a PGA
Tour event in 58 years.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annika_S%C3%B6renstam>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
reveille (n):
The sounding of a bugle or drum early in the morning to awaken soldiers
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reveille>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The more we progress the more we tend to progress. We advance not in
arithmetical but in geometrical progression. We draw compound interest
on the whole capital of knowledge and virtue which has been accumulated
since the dawning of time.
--Arthur Conan Doyle
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle>
The asteroid belt is a region of the Solar System located roughly
between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by
numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets.
More than half the mass of the belt is contained in the four largest
objects: Ceres, 4 Vesta, 2 Pallas, and 10 Hygiea. These have mean
diameters of more than 400 km, while the remaining bodies range down to
the size of a dust particle. Individual asteroids within the main belt
are categorized by their spectra, with most falling into three basic
groups: carbonaceous (C-type), silicate (S-type), and metal-rich
(M-type). The asteroid belt formed from the primordial solar nebula as
a group of planetesimals, which in turn formed protoplanets. Between
Mars and Jupiter, gravitational perturbations from the giant planet
imbued the protoplanets with too much orbital energy for them to
accrete into a planet. Collisions became too violent and, instead of
sticking together, the planetesimals and most of the protoplanets
shattered. Asteroid orbits continue to be appreciably perturbed
whenever their period of revolution about the Sun forms an orbital
resonance with Jupiter. Other regions of small solar system bodies
include the centaurs, the Kuiper belt and scattered disk, and the Oort
cloud.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
879:
Pope John VIII became the first to officially recognise Croatia as a
nation-state, and Branimir as its Duke.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branimir_of_Croatia>
1674:
John III Sobieski , elected by the szlachta, became the King of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_III_Sobieski>
1881:
Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Barton>
1911:
Mexican President Porfirio Díaz and the revolutionary Francisco Madero
signed the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez to put an end to the fighting
between the forces of both men, and thus concluding the initial phase
of the Mexican Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Ciudad_Ju%C3%A1rez>
1946:
Manhattan Project physicist Louis Slotin accidentally triggered a
fission reaction at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and gave himself
a lethal dose of hard radiation, making him the second victim of a
criticality accident in history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Slotin>
1998:
Indonesian President Suharto resigned following the collapse of support
for his three-decade-long reign.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suharto>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
don't shoot the messenger (proverb):
The bearer of bad news should not be held accountable for the bad news
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/don%27t_shoot_the_messenger>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All seems Infected that th' Infected spy,
As all looks yellow to the Jaundic'd Eye.
--Alexander Pope
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope>
The 1906 French Grand Prix was a motor race held on 26 and 27 June
1906, on closed public roads outside the city of Le Mans. The Grand
Prix was organised by the Automobile Club de France (ACF) at the
prompting of the French automobile industry as an alternative to the
Gordon Bennett races, which limited each competing country's number of
entries regardless of the size of its industry. The ACF chose a
103.18-kilometre (64.11 mi) circuit, composed primarily of dust roads
sealed with tar, which would be lapped six times on both days by each
competitor, a combined race distance of 1,238.16 kilometres
(769.36 mi). Lasting for more than 12 hours overall, the race was won
by Ferenc Szisz driving for the Renault team. Renault's victory
contributed to an increase in sales for the French manufacturer in the
years following the race. Despite being the second to carry the title,
the race has become known as the first Grand Prix. The success of the
1906 French Grand Prix prompted the ACF to run the Grand Prix again the
following year, and the German automobile industry to organise the
Kaiserpreis, the forerunner to the German Grand Prix, in 1907.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_French_Grand_Prix>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
325:
The First Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the
Christian Church, was formally opened in present-day Iznik, Turkey.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea>
685:
The Picts defeated the Northumbrians near Dunnichen, severely weakening
the latter's power in northern Great Britain.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dunnichen>
1293:
Sancho IV, King of Castile and León, established what is now the
Complutense University of Madrid, today one of Spain's top public
universities.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complutense_University_of_Madrid>
1570:
The first modern atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by cartographer
Abraham Ortelius, was issued.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Ortelius>
1927:
By the Treaty of Jeddah, the United Kingdom recognized the sovereignty
of King Ibn Saud over Hejaz and Nejd, which later merged to become
Saudi Arabia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Saud_of_Saudi_Arabia>
2002:
East Timor gained independence from Indonesia, becoming the first new
sovereign state of the 21st century.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Timor>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
kinematic (adj):
Of or relating to motion or to kinematics
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kinematic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any
member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm
to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient
warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it
will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier,
because, in the opinions of others, to do so would be wise, or even
right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning
with him, or persuading him or entreating him, but not for compelling
him, or visiting him with any evil, in case he do otherwise.
--John Stuart Mill
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill>
Netley Abbey is a ruined medieval monastery in the village of Netley
near Southampton in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1239
as a house for monks of the austere Cistercian order. Despite being a
royal abbey, Netley was never rich, produced no influential scholars or
churchmen, and its nearly 300-year history was quiet. The monks were
best known to their neighbours for the generous hospitality they
offered to travellers on land and sea. In 1536, Netley was closed by
Henry VIII of England during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the
building was converted into a mansion by William Paulet, a wealthy
Tudor politician. The abbey was used as a country house until the
beginning of the eighteenth century, after which it was abandoned and
partially demolished for building materials. Subsequently the ruins
became a tourist attraction, and provided inspiration to poets and
artists of the romantic movement. In the early twentieth century the
site was given to the nation, and it is now a Scheduled Ancient
Monument, cared for by English Heritage. The extensive remains consist
of the church, cloister buildings, abbot's house, and fragments of the
post-Dissolution mansion.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netley_Abbey>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1828:
Congress passed the largest tariff in United States history, which
resulted in severe economic hardship in the American South.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff_of_1828>
1845:
Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition departed
from Greenhithe, England; the entire 129-man complement would be lost.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin%27s_lost_expedition>
1911:
Parks Canada, the world's first national park service, was established
as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks_Canada>
1997:
The Sierra Gorda Biosphere, which encompasses the most ecologically
diverse region in Mexico, was established as a result of grassroots
efforts.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Gorda>
2010:
In Bangkok, the Thai military concluded a week-long crackdown on
widespread protests by forcing the surrender of opposition leaders.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Thai_military_crackdown>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Ruritanian (adj):
1. Of or having the characteristics of adventure, romance, and
intrigue, as in works of romantic fiction.
2. Used to describe a fictitious and generic foreign government or
person, as used to state a general or hypothetical situation
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ruritanian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I wish to live because life has within it that which is good, that
which is beautiful and that which is love. Therefore, since I have
known all of these things, I have found them to be reason enough and —
I wish to live. Moreover, because this is so, I wish others to live for
generations and generations and generations.
--Lorraine Hansberry
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lorraine_Hansberry>
Taare Zameen Par is a 2007 Bollywood drama film directed by Aamir Khan,
written by Amole Gupte, and produced by Aamir Khan Productions. The
film explores the life and imagination of eight-year-old Ishaan
(Darsheel Safary). Although he excels in the arts, his poor academic
performance leads his parents to send him to a boarding school.
Ishaan's new art teacher (Aamir Khan) suspects that he is dyslexic, and
helps him to overcome his disability. The film made its cinematic debut
in India on 21 December 2007, and UTV Home Entertainment released a DVD
for Indian audiences in 2008. Less than two years later Walt Disney
Home Entertainment released an international edition DVD titled Like
Stars on Earth, marking the first purchase of distribution rights for
an Indian film by a global company. Taare Zameen Par has received
several awards, including the Filmfare Best Film Award for 2008 and the
2008 National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare. It was
India's official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film,
and the film's failure to progress to the nominations short list
sparked a debate about why no Indian film has ever won an Oscar. Media
outlets made comparisons between Taare Zameen Par and the British drama
Slumdog Millionaire, which won several Oscars that same year.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taare_Zameen_Par>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1652:
Rhode Island passed the first law in North America making slavery
illegal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island>
1944:
The Soviet Union forcibly deported the entire population of Crimean
Tatars as special settlers to Uzbek SSR and elsewhere in the country.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Tatars>
1980:
A popular uprising against the nationwide martial law imposed by South
Korean President Chun Doo-hwan's government began in Gwangju, but it
was ultimately crushed by the South Korean army about nine days later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_Democratization_Movement>
1991:
The Somali National Movement declared the independence of Somaliland ,
internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia,
following the collapse of central government during the Somali Civil
War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland>
2006:
The Parliament of Nepal unanimously voted to strip King Gyanendra of
many of his powers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_democracy_movement_in_Nepal>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
windmill (v):
To rotate with a sweeping motion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/windmill>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The impartiality which, in contemplation, is the unalloyed desire for
truth, is the very same quality of mind which, in action, is justice,
and in emotion is that universal love which can be given to all, and
not only to those who are judged useful or admirable. Thus
contemplation not only enlarges the objects of our thoughts, but also
the objects of our actions and our affections: it makes us citizens of
the universe, not only of one walled city at war with the rest. In this
citizenship of the universe consists man's true freedom, and his
liberation from the thralldom of narrow hopes and fears.
--Bertrand Russell
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell>
The CSI effect is any of several ways in which the exaggerated
portrayal of forensic science on crime shows such as CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation influences its public perception. The term most often
refers to the belief that jurors have come to demand more forensic
evidence in criminal trials, thereby raising the standard of proof for
prosecutors. Although this belief is widely held among American legal
professionals, several studies have shown that crime shows are unlikely
to cause such an effect. There are several other manifestations of the
CSI effect. Greater public awareness of forensic science has increased
the demand for forensic evidence in police investigations, which in
turn has significantly increased workloads for crime laboratories. The
number and popularity of forensic science degree programs at the
university level have greatly increased worldwide, though some new
programs have been criticized for inadequately preparing their students
for real forensic work. It is possible that forensic science shows
teach criminals how to conceal evidence of their crimes, thereby making
it more difficult for investigators to solve cases.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSI_effect>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1642:
The Société Notre-Dame de Montréal founded a permanent mission known as
Ville-Marie, which eventually grew into the city of Montreal
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal>
1902:
The Antikythera mechanism, the oldest known surviving geared mechanism,
was discovered among artifacts retrieved from a shipwreck off the Greek
island of Antikythera.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism>
1954:
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Brown v. Board of
Education, outlawing racial segregation in public schools because
"separate educational facilities are inherently unequal".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education>
1980:
On the eve of the Peruvian general election, the Maoist guerrilla group
Shining Path attacked a polling location in the town of Chuschi,
Ayacucho, starting the internal conflict in Peru.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/internal_conflict_in_Peru>
2009:
Dalia Grybauskaitė was elected the first female President of
Lithuania, receiving 68.18 percent of the vote.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalia_Grybauskait%C4%97>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
inquinate (v):
To sully or pollute
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inquinate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are cloudy moments when one asks himself if men do not deserve
all the disasters into which they rush! No — I recover myself — they do
not deserve them. But we, instead of saying "I wish" must say "I will."
And what we will, we must will to build it, with order, with method,
beginning at the beginning, when once we have been as far as that
beginning. We must not only open our eyes, but our arms, our wings.
--Henri Barbusse
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_Barbusse>
USS President was a 44-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of
the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose
construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Launched on 10
April 1800, she was the last to be completed. Her first duties with the
newly formed United States Navy were to provide protection for American
merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the
Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War. On 16 May 1811 President was
at the center of the Little Belt Affair, when her crew mistakenly
identified HMS Little Belt as HMS Guerriere, which was sought after for
impressing an American seaman. The ships exchanged cannon fire for
several minutes; Little Belt was heavily damaged. Subsequent U.S. and
Royal Navy investigations placed responsibility for the attack on each
other with no resolution. The incident contributed to tensions between
the U.S. and Great Britain that led to the War of 1812.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_President_%281800%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1204:
Fourth Crusade: Count Baldwin IX of Flanders was crowned the first
Latin Emperor in Constantinople.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_I_of_Constantinople>
1811:
Peninsular War: An allied force of British, Spanish, and Portuguese
troops clashed with the French at the Battle of Albuera south of
Badajoz, Spain.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Albuera>
1960:
American physicist Theodore Maiman operated the first working laser at
the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/laser>
1966:
Chinese leader Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution officially
as a campaign to rid China of its liberal bourgeoisie elements and to
continue revolutionary class struggle.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution>
1975:
Based on the results of a referendum held about one month earlier,
Sikkim abolished its monarchy and was annexed by India, becoming its
22nd state.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikkim>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
promiscuous (adj):
1. Made up of many disparate elements.
2. Indiscrimiate; applied to everything equally.
3. Undiscrimiating in
one's choice of sexual partners; sexually active with many different
people
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/promiscuous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have learned, by some experience, that virtue and patriotism, vice
and selfishness, are found in all parties, and that they differ less in
their motives than in the policies they pursue.
--William H. Seward
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_H._Seward>
The American Goldfinch is a North American bird in the finch family. It
is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to North Carolina during the
breeding season, and from just south of the Canadian border to Mexico
during the winter. The only finch in its subfamily which undergoes a
complete molt, the American Goldfinch displays sexual dimorphism in its
coloration; the male is a vibrant yellow in the summer and an olive
color during the winter months, while the female is a dull yellow-brown
shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male
displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract
a mate. The American Goldfinch is a granivore and adapted for the
consumption of seedheads, with a conical beak to remove the seeds and
agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. It is a social
bird, and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. The
breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late
July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. Human activity
has generally benefited the American Goldfinch. It is often found in
residential areas, attracted to bird feeders installed by humans, which
increase its survival rate in these areas. Deforestation also creates
open meadow areas which are the preferred habitat of the American
Goldfinch.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Goldfinch>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman
Suffrage Association, breaking away from the American Equal Rights
Association which they had also previously founded.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Woman_Suffrage_Association>
1966:
Disapproving of his handling of the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese
Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ ordered an attack on the forces of General
Tôn Thất Đính and ousted him from the position.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%B4n_Th%E1%BA%A5t_%C4%90%C3%ADnh>
1974:
A unit of the Golani Brigade assaulted an elementary school in Ma'alot,
Israel, where three armed members of the Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine had taken 115 people hostage, resulting in 28
deaths.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27alot_massacre>
1990:
Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold at auction in
Christie's New York office for a total of US$82.5 million, at the time
the world's most expensive painting.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Dr._Gachet>
1997:
The United States publicly acknowledged its role in the Laotian Civil
War twenty-two years after the war's end during a ceremony dedicating
the Laos Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotian_Civil_War>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
trompe-l'oeil (n):
(art) A painting designed to look very realistic, such that it acts as
an optical illusion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trompe-l%27oeil>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp which, when caught,
is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and
lovely thing that warms one's heart and brings its own reward.
--L. Frank Baum
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum>
Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United
States. The state population is over eight million. Its geography and
climate are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay,
which are home to much of its flora and fauna. The area's history
begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In May
1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first
permanent New World English colony. Virginia was one of the Thirteen
Colonies involved in the American Revolution. During the American Civil
War, Virginia joined the Confederate States of America, which named
Richmond its capital, and the state of West Virginia separated. The
Virginia General Assembly is the oldest legislature in the Americas,
and the state is unique for prohibiting governors from serving
consecutive terms. Virginia's economy is diversified with agriculture
in regions like the Shenandoah Valley, federal agencies in Northern
Virginia, and military facilities in Hampton Roads. The growth of the
media and technology sectors have made computer chips the leading
export, with the industry based on the strength of Virginia's public
schools and universities.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1264:
Second Barons' War: King Henry III was defeated at the Battle of Lewes
and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de
facto ruler of England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_of_Lewes>
1868:
Boshin War: Troops of the Tokugawa shogunate withdrew from the Battle
of Utsunomiya Castle and retreated north towards Nikkō and Aizu.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Utsunomiya_Castle>
1951:
Trains ran on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since
its preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be
operated by volunteers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talyllyn_Railway>
1955:
Cold War: Eight Eastern Bloc countries signed a mutual defense treaty
to establish the Warsaw Pact.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Pact>
1973:
The NASA space station Skylab was launched from Cape Canaveral.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dénouement (n):
The final revelation of a solution to a complicated mystery or
difficulty, especially as part of a dramatic plot
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/d%C3%A9nouement>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Is it not the interest of the human race, that every one should be so
taught and placed, that he would find his highest enjoyment to arise
from the continued practice of doing all in his power to promote the
well-being, and happiness, of every man, woman, and child, without
regard to their class, sect, party, country or colour?
--Robert Owen
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Owen>
The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf
War. It took place in and around the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji, from
29 January to 1 February 1991 and marked the culmination of the
Coalition's air campaign over Kuwait and Iraq, which had begun on 17
January 1991. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Saudi
Arabia from southern Kuwait. He ordered the 1st and 5th Mechanized
Divisions and 3rd Armored Division to conduct a multi-pronged invasion
toward Khafji, engaging American, Saudi and Qatari forces along the
coastline. These three divisions, which had been heavily damaged by
Coalition aircraft in the preceding days, attacked on 29 January. Most
of their attacks were fought off by U.S. Marines as well as U.S. Army
Rangers and Coalition aircraft, but one of the Iraqi columns occupied
Khafji on the night of 29–30 January. Between 30 January and 1
February, two Saudi Arabian National Guard battalions and two Qatari
tank companies attempted to retake control of the city, aided by
Coalition aircraft and American artillery. By 1 February, the city had
been recaptured at the cost of 43 Coalition soldiers dead and 52
wounded. The Iraqi Army lost between 60 and 300 dead, while an
estimated 400 were captured as prisoners of war. The battle serves as a
modern demonstration that air power can halt and defeat a major ground
operation. It was also a major test of the Saudi and Qatari armies.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khafji>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1373:
English mystic Julian of Norwich recovered from a severe illness,
during which she experienced a series of intense visions of Jesus
Christ; later she would describe them in Revelations of Divine Love,
the first known English language book written by a woman.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich>
1779:
Russian and French mediators negotiated the Treaty of Teschen to end
the War of the Bavarian Succession.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Bavarian_Succession>
1888:
Isabel the Redeemer , heiress of Brazil, signed the Lei Áurea into law,
formally abolishing slavery in Brazil.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/slavery_in_Brazil>
1992:
Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Gong in a public lecture in Changchun,
Jilin province, China.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi>
2008:
Nine bombs placed by the heretofore-unknown terrorist group Indian
Mujahideen exploded in 15 minutes in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaipur_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
faubourg (n):
A suburb
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/faubourg>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Always dying, never dead;
Ever ending, never ended;
Loathed in darkness,
Clothed in light,
He comes, to end a world,
As morning ends the night.
--Roger Zelazny
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Zelazny>
Hurricane Rick was the second-most intense Pacific hurricane on record
and the strongest to ever form during October. Developing south of
Mexico on October 15, 2009, Rick traversed an area favoring rapid
intensification, allowing it to become a hurricane within 24 hours of
being declared a tropical depression. An eye began to form during the
afternoon of October 16; once fully formed, the storm underwent another
period of rapid strengthening. During the afternoon of October 17, the
storm attained Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Several hours later, Rick attained its peak intensity as the
second-strongest Pacific hurricane on record with winds of 180 mph.
After maintaining this intensity for several hours, Rick began to
weaken in response to a combination of an eyewall replacement cycle and
increasing wind shear. On October 21, Rick quickly moved northeast,
brushing the tip of Baja California Sur before making landfall near
Mazatlán with winds of 55 mph (90 km/h). Several hours after moving
inland, the final advisory from the NHC was issued as the storm
weakened to a tropical depression and dissipated. Overall, the damage
from Rick was significantly less than what was initially anticipated.
Throughout Mexico, three people were killed by the storm, one in Oaxaca
and two in Baja California Sur.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Rick_%282009%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1364:
King of Poland Casimir III issued a royal charter to establish
Jagiellonian University, the nation's oldest university.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagiellonian_University>
1865:
American Civil War: In the last major clash of arms of the war, the
Union Army engaged the Confederates along the banks of the Rio Grande
east of Brownsville, Texas.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palmito_Ranch>
1881:
Under the threat of invasion, the Bey of Tunis Muhammad III as-Sadiq
signed the Treaty of Bardo to make Tunisia a French protectorate.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_occupation_of_Tunisia>
1968:
Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force began the defence of Fire
Support Base Coral in the largest unit-level action of the war for the
Australian Army.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Coral%E2%80%93Balmoral>
2006:
A cartoon that allegedly compared Iranian Azeris to cockroaches was
published in an Iranian magazine, sparking riots throughout the
country.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_newspaper_cockroach_cartoon_controversy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
psephology (n):
The study of voting and elections
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/psephology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own;
He who, secure within, can
say,
Tomorrow, do thy worst, for I have lived today.
Be fair, or foul, or
rain, or shine,
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not heaven
itself upon the past has power;
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.
--John Dryden
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dryden>
Shimer College is a small, private, undergraduate liberal arts college
in Chicago. Founded by Frances Wood Shimer in 1853 in Mt. Carroll,
Illinois, it was a women's school for most of its first century. It
joined with the University of Chicago in 1896, and became one of the
first junior colleges in the country in 1907. In 1950, it became a
co-educational four-year college, took the name Shimer College, and
adopted the university's curriculum of the Hutchins Plan of Great Books
and Socratic seminars. In 1958, Shimer separated from the university
and enjoyed national recognition and strong growth in the 1960s but was
forced by financial problems to abandon its campus in 1978. It then
moved to Waukegan, IL, remaining there until 2006, when it moved to the
National Register of Historic Places-listed campus of the Illinois
Institute of Technology in the Bronzeville neighborhood in the Douglas
community area of Chicago. Classes are exclusively small seminars in
which students discuss original source material rather than textbooks.
The Early Entrant Program, in place since 1950, allows students who
have not yet completed high school to start college early. Shimer has
the highest rate of doctoral productivity of any liberal arts college
in the country.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimer_College>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
330:
The city of Byzantium was consecrated as Constantinople, the new
capital of the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine the Great .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople>
1813:
William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth departed
westward from Sydney on an expedition to become the first Europeans
confirmed to cross the Blue Mountains.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mountains>
1880:
A land dispute between the Southern Pacific Railroad and settlers in
Hanford, California, turned deadly when a gun battle broke out, leaving
seven dead.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussel_Slough_Tragedy>
1946:
The United Malays National Organisation, today Malaysia's largest
political party, was founded, originally to oppose the constitutional
framework of the Malayan Union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Malays_National_Organisation>
1997:
Deep Blue became the first computer to defeat a world chess champion,
when it bested Garry Kasparov in six games.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue_%28chess_computer%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bereft (adj):
Deprived, robbed (of something)
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bereft>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public
relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
--Richard Feynman
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman>
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the
Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association. The team was
established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the
NBA's expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis,
Tennessee in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian team in the
NBA. Like most expansion teams, the Raptors struggled in their early
years; but after the acquisition of Vince Carter through a draft day
trade in 1998, the team set league attendance records and made the NBA
Playoffs in 2000, 2001, and 2002. After Carter left, Chris Bosh emerged
as the team leader. With the appointment of Bryan Colangelo as General
Manager and a revamp of the roster for the 2006–07 season, they
qualified for their first playoff berth in five years and captured
their first division title. In the following season, they advanced to
the playoffs again. In a bid to persuade Bosh to stay beyond the final
year of his contract, the team had a roster overhaul in the 2009–10
season. However, the attempt to make the playoffs was unsuccessful and
Bosh signed with the Miami Heat in July 2010, ushering in a new era for
the franchise.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Raptors>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1857:
The Sepoy Mutiny against the company rule by the British East India
Company, began.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857>
1869:
The golden spike ceremony was held at Promontory Summit, Utah,
celebrating the completion of North America's First Transcontinental
Railroad between the Missouri and Sacramento Rivers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Railroad>
1940:
World War II: A British force of 746 soldiers invaded and captured
Iceland without opposition.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Iceland>
1997:
A 7.3 Mw earthquake struck Iran's Khorasan Province, killing 1,567,
injuring over 2,300, leaving 50,000 homeless, and damaging or
destroying over 15,000 homes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Qayen_earthquake>
2005:
Ethnic Armenian Vladimir Arutyunian attempted to assassinate U.S.
President George W. Bush in Tbilisi, Georgia, using a hand grenade,
which failed to detonate.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Arutyunian>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
petrichor (n):
The distinctive smell present after the first rain to follow a warm,
dry period
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/petrichor>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Touch me
Take me to that other place
Reach me
I know I'm not a hopeless
case
What you don't have you don't need it
What you don't know you can
feel it somehow
--Bono
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bono>
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox
network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr.
Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), an unconventional and misanthropic medical
genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional
Princeton‑Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. The show's
premise originated with Paul Attanasio, while David Shore, who is
credited as creator, was primarily responsible for the conception of
the title character. It is largely filmed in Century City. House often
clashes with his fellow physicians, including his own diagnostic team,
because many of his hypotheses about patients' illnesses are based on
subtle or controversial insights. His flouting of hospital rules and
procedures frequently runs him afoul of his boss (and, later,
girlfriend), hospital administrator and Dean of Medicine Dr. Lisa Cuddy
(Lisa Edelstein). House's only true friend is Dr. James Wilson (Robert
Sean Leonard), head of the Department of Oncology. Critically acclaimed
for much of its run, House maintains high viewer ratings. Distributed
to 66 countries, House was the most watched television program in the
world in 2008.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_%28TV_series%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1541:
The expedition led by Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto became the
first documented Europeans to reach the Mississippi River.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto>
1882:
U.S. President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act into
law, implementing a ban on Chinese immigration to the United States
that eventually lasted for over 60 years until the 1943 Magnuson Act.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act>
1927:
Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris
to New York, French warheroes Charles Nungesser and Francois Coli
disappeared after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Bird>
1945:
A parade to celebrate the end of World War II in Sétif, Algeria, ended
in French gendarmes firing on rioters and killings of French settlers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9tif_and_Guelma_massacre>
1963:
In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
opened fire into a crowd of Buddhists protesting against a government
ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesākha, killing nine and
sparking the Buddhist crisis.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hue_Phat_Dan_shootings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
anodyne (adj):
1. Assuaging pain; soothing.
2. Provoking only a weak response or reaction; bland, inoffensive
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anodyne>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is possible for a dictator to govern in a liberal way. And it is
also possible for a democracy to govern with a total lack of
liberalism. Personally I prefer a liberal dictator to democratic
government lacking liberalism.
--Friedrich Hayek
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek>
Stanley Green (1915–1993) was a sandwich man who became a well-known
figure in London, England, during the latter half of the 20th century.
For 25 years, Green patrolled Oxford Street in the West End, carrying a
placard advocating "Less Lust, By Less Protein: Meat Fish Bird; Egg
Cheese; Peas Beans; Nuts. And Sitting", though the wording—and
punctuation—changed slightly over the years. Arguing that protein made
people lustful and aggressive, his solution was "protein wisdom", a
low-protein diet for "better, kinder, happier people". For a few pence,
passers-by could buy his 14-page pamphlet, Eight Passion Proteins with
Care, which reportedly sold 87,000 copies over 20 years. Green became
one of London's much-loved eccentrics, though his campaign to suppress
desire, as one commentator put it, was not invariably popular, leading
to two arrests for obstruction and the need to wear green overalls to
protect himself from spit. He nevertheless took great delight in his
local fame. The Sunday Times interviewed him in 1985, and his "less
passion, less protein" slogan was used by Red or Dead, the London
fashion house. When he died in 1993 at the age of 78, The Daily
Telegraph, The Guardian, and The Times published his obituary, and his
pamphlets, placards, and letters were passed to the Museum of London.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Green>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1794:
French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre established the Cult of the
Supreme Being as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_the_Supreme_Being>
1915:
World War I: The German submarine Unterseeboot 20 torpedoed and sank
the ocean liner RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lusitania>
1952:
The concept for the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern
computers, was first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/integrated_circuit>
1960:
Cold War: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that his country
was holding American pilot Francis Gary Powers, whose U-2 spy plane was
shot down over the Soviet Union six days earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident>
2007:
A team of Israeli archaeologists discovered the tomb of 1st century BC
ruler of Judea Herod the Great.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
favicon (n):
A small icon used to identify a given website or web page
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/favicon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand
With a grip that kills it.
--Rabindranath Tagore
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore>
1
0
May 6: Aaliyah
by English Wikipedia Article of the Day
05 May '11
05 May '11
Aaliyah (1979–2001) was an American recording artist, actress and
model. At age 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and Blackground
Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He introduced her to R. Kelly,
who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her
debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album sold three
million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America. After facing
allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her
contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records. Aaliyah worked with
record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One
in a Million; it sold 3.7 million copies in the United States and over
eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first
major film, Romeo Must Die. After completing Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah
filmed her part in Queen of the Damned. She released her third and
final album, Aaliyah, in July 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and
eight others were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after
filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". Since then,
Aaliyah's music has achieved commercial success with several posthumous
releases. She has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop,
earning her the nickname "Princess of R&B".
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaliyah>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1527:
Spanish and German troops sacked Rome, marking the symbolic end of the
Italian Renaissance.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance>
1863:
American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia, led by Robert E. Lee
and Stonewall Jackson , scored a Confederate victory at the Battle of
Chancellorsville near Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chancellorsville>
1882:
Irish Under-Secretary Thomas Henry Burke and Irish Chief Secretary Lord
Frederick Cavendish were stabbed to death by members of the radical
group Irish National Invincibles as they walked through the Phoenix
Park in Dublin.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Park_Murders>
1937:
The German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while
trying to land at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, killing
over 30 people on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg>
2002:
Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was assassinated by Volkert van der Graaf
for his controversial statements regarding Muslims.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pim_Fortuyn>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
percept (n):
The object of perception; something which has been perceived
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/percept>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it
has gained a hearing. Ultimately, after endlessly repeated rebuffs, it
succeeds. This is one of the few points in which it may be optimistic
about the future of mankind, but in itself it signifies not a little.
--Sigmund Freud
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud>
William Garrow (1760–1840) was a British barrister, politician and
judge known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, which
helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law
nations today. He introduced the phrase "innocent until proven guilty",
insisting that defendants' accusers and their evidence be thoroughly
tested in court. Garrow is best known for his criminal defence work,
which, through the example he set with his aggressive defence of
clients, helped establish the modern adversarial system used in most
common law systems. Garrow is also known for his impact on the rules of
evidence, coining the best evidence rule. His work was cited as
recently as 1982 in the Supreme Court of Canada and 2006 in the Irish
Court of Criminal Appeal. In 2009, BBC One broadcast Garrow's Law, a
four-part fictionalised drama of Garrow's beginnings at the Old Bailey;
a second series aired in late 2010.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Garrow>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1260:
Kublai Khan claimed the title of Khagan of the Mongol Empire after the
death of his older brother Möngke in the previous year.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kublai_Khan>
1860:
Led by Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, the volunteer Expedition of
the Thousand set sail from Genoa on a campaign to conquer the Kingdom
of the Two Sicilies.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_of_the_Thousand>
1940:
World War II: A squad of 250 Norwegian volunteers in Hegra Fortress
finally surrendered to a vastly superior Nazi force after a 25-day
siege.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hegra_Fortress>
1981:
After sixty-six days without food, Irish republican Bobby Sands died of
starvation in HM Prison Maze.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sands>
1992:
The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified 202 years
after it was proposed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-seventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sejunct (adj):
Separated; separate, distinct
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sejunct>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Do not interrupt the flight of your soul; do not distress what is best
in you; do not enfeeble your spirit with half wishes and half thoughts.
Ask yourself and keep on asking until you find the answer, for one may
have known something many times, acknowledged it; one may have willed
something many times, attempted it — and yet, only the deep inner
motion, only the heart's indescribable emotion, only that will convince
you that what you have acknowledged belongs to you, that no power can
take it from you — for only the truth that builds up is truth for you.
--Søren Kierkegaard
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard>