120px|Photograph of the planet Neptune (large, background) and its moon
Triton (small, foreground), taken by [[Voyager 2 as it entered the
outer Solar System]]
The definition of planet has comprised many different things. Over
the millennia, use of the term was never strict and its meaning has
blurred to include or exclude a variety of objects. By the end of the
19th century, the word planet had settled into a comfortable working
term. It applied only to objects in the Solar System; a number small
enough that any differences could be dealt with on an individual basis.
After 1992 however, astronomers began to discover many additional
objects beyond the orbit of Neptune, as well as hundreds of objects
orbiting other stars. These discoveries not only increased the number
of potential planets, but expanded their variety and peculiarity. The
issue of a clear definition for planet came to a head in 2005 with the
discovery of the trans-Neptunian object Eris, a body larger than the
smallest then-accepted planet, Pluto. In its 2006 response, the
International Astronomical Union released its decision on the matter.
This definition, which applies only to the Solar System, states that a
planet is a body that orbits the Sun, is massive enough for its own
gravity to make it round, and has "cleared its neighbourhood" of
smaller objects around its orbit. Under this new definition, Pluto,
along with the other trans-Neptunian objects, does not qualify as a
planet. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1201:
John Komnenos the Fat briefly seized the throne of the Byzantine Empire
from Alexios III Angelos, but he was soon caught and executed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Komnenos_the_Fat>
1917:
World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele began near Ypres in West
Flanders, Belgium, with the Allied Powers aiming to force German troops
to withdraw from the Channel Ports.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Passchendaele>
1941:
The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring
ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to settle "the final solution of
the Jewish question".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Solution>
1991:
The Soviet Union and United States signed the bilteral START I treaty,
the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history, which
eventually removed 80% of all strategic nuclear weapons then in
existence.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/START_I>
2006:
Following intestinal surgery, Fidel Castro provisionally transferred
the duties of the Cuban presidency to his brother Raúl .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006%E2%80%932008_Cuban_transfer_of_presidenti…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
orography (n):
The scientific study of mountains, or the mountainous features of a
given region
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/orography>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change. When that
crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are
lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop
alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available
until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable.
--Milton Friedman
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman>
100px|Australian Imperial Force light horsemen, 1914
The use of horses in World War I reflected a transitional period in
the evolution of armed conflict. Cavalry units were initially
considered essential, but the vulnerability of the horse to modern
machine gun and artillery fire eventually fostered interest in
mechanized forces. All of the major combatants in World War I began the
conflict with cavalry forces. Germany and Austria–Hungary stopped using
them on the Western Front soon after the war began, but they continued
to be deployed in a limited fashion on the Eastern Front well into the
war. On the Allied side, the United Kingdom used mounted infantry and
cavalry charges throughout the war, but the United States used cavalry
for only a short time. Horses were mainly used for reconnaissance and
for carrying messengers, as well as to pull artillery, ambulances, and
supply wagons. The presence of horses often increased morale among the
soldiers at the front, but contributed to disease and poor sanitation
in camps. The value of horses was such that by 1917 it was made known
to some troops that the loss of a horse was of greater tactical concern
than the loss of a human soldier. Ultimately, the Allied blockade
prevented the Central Powers from importing horses to replace those
lost, which contributed to Germany's defeat. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
762:
Al-Mansur, the Caliph of Islam, founded the city of Baghdad to be the
capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Baghdad>
1811:
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla , an early leader of the Mexican War of
Independence, was executed by Spanish authorities.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Hidalgo_y_Costilla>
1865:
Off the coast of Crescent City, California, the steamship Brother
Jonathan, carrying a large shipment of gold coins that would not be
retrieved until 1996, struck an uncharted rock and sank, killing 225
people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Jonathan_%28steamer%29>
1930:
Uruguay defeated Argentina, 4–2, in front of their home crowd at
Estadio Centenario in Montevideo to win the first Football World Cup.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup>
2006:
Lebanon War: The Israeli Air Force attacked a three-story building near
the South Lebanese village of Qana, killing at least 28 civilians,
including 16 children.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qana_airstrike>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gravid (adj):
Pregnant (now especially of animals)
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gravid>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and moon were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to
be,
And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou — THOU art Being and
Breath,
And what THOU art may never be destroyed.
--Emily Brontë
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emily_Bront%C3%AB>
100px|Christopher Smart
The English poet Christopher Smart was confined to mental asylums
from 1757 until 1763. Smart was admitted into St Luke's Hospital for
Lunatics on 6 May 1757. While in St Luke's he wrote Jubilate Agno and A
Song to David, the poems considered to be his greatest works. Although
many of his contemporaries agreed that Smart was "mad", accounts of his
condition and its ramifications varied, and some felt that he had been
committed unfairly. Smart was diagnosed as "incurable" while at St
Luke's, and when they ran out of funds for his care he was moved to Mr.
Potter's asylum. Smart's isolation led him to abandon the poetic genres
of the 18th century that had marked his earlier work, and to write
religious poetry. His asylum poetry reveals a desire for "unmediated
revelation", and it is possible that the self-evaluation found in his
poetry represents an expression of evangelical Christianity. Late
18th-century critics felt that Smart's madness justified them in
ignoring his A Song to David, but during the following century Robert
Browning and his contemporaries considered his condition to be the
source of his genius. It was not until the 20th century that critics
reconsidered Smart's case and began to see him as a revolutionary poet.
(more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1014:
Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: Forces of the Byzantine Empire defeated
troops of the Bulgarian Empire at the Battle of Kleidion in the
Belasica Mountains near present-day Klyuch, Bulgaria.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kleidion>
1693:
Nine Years' War: France won a pyrrhic victory over the Allied forces of
William III of England at the Battle of Landen in present-day
Neerwinden, Belgium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Landen>
1836:
The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, commemorating those who fought and died
for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, was
formally inaugurated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe>
1967:
Vietnam War: During preparation for another strike in the Gulf of
Tonkin, the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal was hit by a series of
chain-reaction explosions caused by an unusual electrical anomaly on
its flight deck, killing 134 sailors and injuring 161 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_USS_Forrestal_fire>
1987:
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R.
Jayewardene signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in an ultimately
unsuccessful attempt to resolve the ongoing Sri Lankan Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Sri_Lanka_Accord>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
incontrovertibly (adv):
In a way that cannot be denied or gainsaid
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/incontrovertibly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free —
They would not listen
They did not know how,
Perhaps they'll listen now.
--Don McLean
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Don_McLean>
100px|Jack Warner
Jack Warner (1892–1978) was a Canadian-born American film executive
who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios
in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Warner's 45-year career was
longer than that of any other traditional Hollywood studio mogul. He
worked with his brother, Sam Warner, to procure the technology for the
film industry's first talking picture. Although Warner was feared by
many of his employees and inspired ridicule with his uneven attempts at
humor, he earned respect for his shrewd instincts and toughmindedness.
He recruited many of Warner Bros.' top stars and promoted the
hard-edged social dramas for which the studio became known. Although he
was a staunch Republican, Warner encouraged film projects that promoted
the agenda of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. He
speedily grasped the threat posed by European fascism and criticized
Nazi Germany well before America's involvement in World War II. During
the postwar era Warner supported an anti-Communist crusade that
culminated in the "blacklisting" of Hollywood directors, actors,
screenwriters, and technicians. Despite his controversial public image,
Warner remained a force in the motion picture industry until his
retirement in the early 1970s. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1896:
Miami, today the principal city and the center of the South Florida
metropolitan area, the seventh largest metro area in the United States,
was incorporated with a population of just over 300.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Miami>
1914:
Austria-Hungary declared war after rejecting Serbia's conditional
acceptance of only part of the July Ultimatum following the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, starting World
War I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I>
1995:
Two followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh were convicted for the
attempted assassination of the United States Attorney for the District
of Oregon.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rajneeshee_assassination_plot>
2001:
At the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Australian Ian
Thorpe became the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single
World Championships.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Thorpe>
2010:
In the deadliest air accident in Pakistan history, Airblue Flight 202
crashed into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, killing all 152
aboard.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airblue_Flight_202>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
somnial (adj):
Pertaining to dreams
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/somnial>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily
be infinite.
--Karl Popper
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Popper>
The Point Park Civic Center was a proposed civic center for downtown
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the confluence of the Allegheny and
Monongahela Rivers forms the Ohio River. The structure was designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright on commission from Edgar J. Kaufmann in the late
1940s. Wright initially envisioned a circular building more than 1000
feet (300 m) in diameter and 175 feet (50 m) tall. The structure,
containing an opera house, sports arena, three movie theaters, and a
convention hall, was wrapped with a spiraling strip of road. The plan
expressed Wright's insistence on bringing the automobile into the
social setting. It did not find favor with Pittsburgh authorities. To
make the design more palatable to its audience, Wright developed a
radically different proposal for a monolithic tower supporting bridges
across the Allegheny and Monongahela. This too was unsuccessful, and
none of Wright's work for the site was ever built. The site is now
occupied by Point State Park. The unused design has garnered scholarly
attention, and elements of it have been compared to other Wright
designs, such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and his unrealized
plans for Monona Terrace. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Park_Civic_Center>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1054:
Siward, Earl of Northumbria, led an invasion of Scotland and defeated
Macbeth, King of Scotland, in a battle north of the Firth of Forth.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siward%2C_Earl_of_Northumbria>
1302:
Byzantine–Ottoman Wars: The Ottoman emirate scored its first major
victory against the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Bapheus in
Bithynia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bapheus>
1663:
The Parliament of England passed the second of the Navigation Acts,
which required that all goods bound for the American colonies had to be
sent in English ships from English ports.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navigation_Acts>
1921:
University of Toronto researchers led by Frederick Banting proved that
the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/insulin>
1942:
World War II: Allied forces halted the Axis invasion of Egypt.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_El_Alamein>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
captious (adj):
Tending to find fault at any opportunity; prone to raising petty
objections
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/captious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I've been sleeping through my life
Now I'm waking up
And I want to stand in the sunshine
I have
never been ecstatic
Had a flower but it never bloomed
In the darkness of my wasted
youth
It was hiding in the shadows
Learning to become invisible
Uncover
me.
--Juliana Hatfield
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Juliana_Hatfield>
100px|Lord Ashfield
Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield (1874–1948) was managing director,
then chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
(UERL) from 1910 to 1933 and chairman of the London Passenger Transport
Board (LPTB) from 1933 to 1947. At a young age, he held senior
positions in the developing tramway systems of Detroit and New Jersey.
In 1907, his management skills led to his recruitment by the UERL,
which was struggling through a financial crisis. He quickly integrated
the company's management and used advertising and public relations to
improve profits. As managing director of the UERL from 1910, he led the
take-over of competing underground railway companies and bus and tram
operations to form an integrated transport operation known as the
Combine. He was Member of Parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne from
December 1916 to January 1920 and was President of the Board of Trade
between December 1916 and May 1919. He returned to the UERL and then
chaired it and its successor the LPTB during the organisation's
greatest period of expansion between the two World Wars, making it a
world-respected organisation considered an exemplar of the best form of
public administration. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1581:
The Act of Abjuration, the formal declaration of independence of the
Dutch Low Countries from the Spanish king, Philip II, was signed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Abjuration>
1759:
French and Indian War: Rather than defend Fort Carillon near
present-day Ticonderoga, New York, from an approaching 11,000-man
British force, French Brigadier General François-Charles de Bourlamaque
withdrew his troops and attempted to blow the fort up.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ticonderoga_%281759%29>
1882:
Boer mercenaries declared their independence from the Transvaal
Republic and established the Republic of Stellaland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellaland>
1945:
The Labour Party won the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a
landslide, replacing Winston Churchill as Prime Minister with Clement
Attlee .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election%2C_1945>
2008:
One day after similar bombings in Bangalore, 21 bombs exploded in
Ahmedabad, India, killing 56 people and injuring over 200 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Ahmedabad_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lethargy (n):
A condition of extreme drowsiness or apathy
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lethargy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are so captivated by and entangled in our subjective consciousness
that we have forgotten the age-old fact that God speaks chiefly through
dreams and visions.
--Carl Jung
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Jung>
Maximian (c. 250 – c. 310) was Roman Emperor from 285 to 305. He was
Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the
latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose
political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian
established his residence at Trier but spent most of his time on
campaign. From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the
Rhine frontier. After Carausius's rebellion in Northern Gaul was put
down in 296, Maximian moved south to combat piracy near Hispania and
Berber incursions in Mauretania. When these campaigns concluded, he
returned to Rome in 299 to receive a triumph. After several years of
leisure, he retired as Augustus at Diocletian's request in 305.
However, he took up the title once again the following year, joining
his son Maxentius in rebellion. After a failed leadership challenge in
307, Maximian fled to the court of Constantine in Trier. At the Council
of Carnuntum in November 308, Diocletian forced Maximian to once again
renounce his imperial claim. In early 310, Maximian attempted to seize
Constantine's title while the emperor was on campaign on the Rhine. Few
supported him, and he was captured by Constantine. He committed suicide
later that year on Constantine's orders.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximian>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1261:
Alexios Strategopoulos led the Nicaean forces of Michael VIII
Palaiologos to recapture Constantinople, re-establish the Byzantine
Empire, and end the Latin Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexios_Strategopoulos>
1722:
Samuel Shute, Governor of Massachusetts, declared war on the Abenaki
people to begin Dummer's War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummer%27s_War>
1893:
The Corinth Canal , connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic
Gulf through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth in the Aegean Sea, opened to
sea traffic.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinth_Canal>
1978:
Two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists were killed by police at
Cerro Maravilla in Villalba.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerro_Maravilla_incident>
2000:
Air France Concorde Flight 4590, en route from Paris to New York City,
crashed in Gonesse, France, killing all 100 passengers and nine crew
members, as well as four people on the ground.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
passing (adv):
To a surpassing degree; extremely
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/passing>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The central task of education is to implant a will and a facility for
learning; it should produce not learned but learning people. The truly
human society is a learning society, where grandparents, parents, and
children are students together.
In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the
future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world
that no longer exists.
--Eric Hoffer
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer>
85px|Cui Jian
"Nothing to My Name" is the English title of a 1986 Mandarin-language
rock song by Cui Jian (pictured). It is widely considered Cui's most
famous and most important work, and one of the most influential songs
in the history of the People's Republic of China. The song is
recognized as the first rock song in China and was an unofficial anthem
for Chinese youth and activists during the Tiananmen Square protests of
1989. Both in its lyrics and instruments, the song mixes traditional
Chinese styles with modern rock elements. In the lyrics, the singer
addresses a girl who is scorning him because he has nothing. The song
has also been interpreted as being about the dispossessed youth of the
time, because it evokes a sense of disillusionment and lack of
individual freedom that was common among the young generation during
the 1980s. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1411:
Forces of Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles, fought an army commanded
by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, at the Battle of Harlaw near
Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Harlaw>
1701:
French explorer Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac established Fort
Pontchartrain du Détroit in New France, which later grew and became the
city of Detroit.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit>
1927:
The Menin Gate war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, marking the starting
point for one of the main roads out of the town that led Allied
soldiers to the front line during World War I, was unveiled.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menin_Gate>
1980:
At the Moscow Olympics, Australia's Quietly Confident Quartet swimming
team won the gold medal in the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay, the
only time that the United States, who were boycotting these games, has
not won the event at Olympic level.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_at_the_1980_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93…>
2007:
The Libyan government extradited six foreign medical workers who were
charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with
HIV in 1998.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV_trial_in_Libya>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mari complaisant (n):
A husband who tolerates his wife's infidelity
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mari_complaisant>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The three greatest fools of history have been Jesus Christ, Don Quixote
. . . and me!
--Simón Bolívar
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar>
100px|Portrait of Henry, Prince of Wales, and John Harington, by Robert
Peake the Elder
Robert Peake the elder (c. 1551–1619) was an English painter active
in the later part of Elizabeth I's reign and for most of the reign of
James I. In 1604, he was appointed picture maker to the heir to the
throne, Prince Henry, and in 1607, serjeant-painter to King James I, a
post he shared with John De Critz. Peake is often called "the elder",
to distinguish him from his son, the painter and printseller William
Peake (c. 1580–1639) and from his grandson, Sir Robert Peake (c.
1605–1667), who followed his father into the family print-selling
business. Peake was the only English-born painter of a group of four
artists whose workshops were closely connected. The others were De
Critz, Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, and the miniature painter Isaac
Oliver. Between 1590 and about 1625, they specialised in brilliantly
coloured, full-length "costume pieces" (example pictured) that are
unique to England at this time. It is not always possible to attribute
authorship between Peake, De Critz, Gheeraerts and their assistants
with certainty. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1927:
Wilfred Rhodes of England and Yorkshire became the only person to reach
1,000 first-class cricket matches.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Rhodes>
1970:
Qaboos overthrew his father Said bin Taimur to become Sultan of Oman.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qaboos_bin_Said_al_Said>
1983:
Air Canada Flight 143 made an emergency landing in Gimli, Manitoba,
Canada, without loss of life after the crew was forced to glide the
aircraft when it completely ran out of fuel.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider>
1995:
Hale–Bopp , one of the most widely observed comets of the twentieth
century, was discovered by two independent observers, Alan Hale and
Thomas Bopp, at a great distance from the Sun.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hale%E2%80%93Bopp>
2002:
On the 50th anniversary of its founding, the European Coal and Steel
Community disbanded, and its activities and resources were absorbed by
the European Community.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Coal_and_Steel_Community>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
illation (n):
The act of deducing; a deduction or inference
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/illation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are two kinds of truth: the truth that lights the way and the
truth that warms the heart. The first of these is science, and the
second is art. Neither is independent of the other or more important
than the other. Without art science would be as useless as a pair of
high forceps in the hands of a plumber. Without science art would
become a crude mess of folklore and emotional quackery. The truth of
art keeps science from becoming inhuman, and the truth of science keeps
art from becoming ridiculous.
--Raymond Chandler
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Raymond_Chandler>
85px|The coat of arms of Canada as depicted in 1957
Canadian heraldry is the cultural tradition and style of coats of
arms and other heraldic achievements in modern and historic Canada.
Derived mainly from heraldic traditions in France and the United
Kingdom, Canadian heraldry also incorporates distinctly Canadian
symbols, especially native flora and fauna, references to the First
Nations and other aboriginal peoples of Canada, and uniquely Canadian
elements such as the Canadian pale, derived from the Canadian flag. In
1988, governance of both personal and corporate heraldry in Canada was
patriated from the heraldic authorities in England and Scotland with
the formation of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, which now has
exclusive jurisdiction over granting awards of arms in Canada. Coats of
arms are used throughout Canada by all levels of government, in many
cases including royal insignia as a mark of authority. All citizens of
Canada have the right to petition for an award of arms, as do other
entities including businesses and religious institutions. The granting
of arms is regarded as an honour from the monarch, via the Governor
General, and thus are bestowed only on those whom the Chief Herald has
deemed worthy of receiving a grant of arms. (more...)
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_heraldry>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
American Civil War: Confederate forces unsuccessfully attacked Union
troops at the Battle of Atlanta.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Atlanta>
1894:
Despite finishing in first place in the world's first auto race,
Jules-Albert de Dion did not win, as his steam-powered car was against
the rules.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules-Albert_de_Dion>
1977:
After having been removed from power by the Gang of Four the year
before, Deng Xiaoping returned to leadership positions within the
Communist Party of China.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deng_Xiaoping>
1992:
Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from his luxurious private
prison and would spent the next 17 months on the run.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar>
2005:
London metropolitan police killed Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian
immigrant, after misidentifying him as being involved in the previous
day's failed bombing attempts.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jean_Charles_de_Menezes>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
contumely (n):
Offensive language or behaviour; insult, scorn
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contumely>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There was no pain when I awoke,
No pain at all. Rest, like a goad,
Spurred my eyes open — and light
broke
Upon them like a million swords:
And she was there. There are no
words.
Heaven is for a moment's span.
And ever.
--Stephen Vincent Benét
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Vincent_Ben%C3%A9t>