Malkin Tower is the site of perhaps the best-known alleged witches'
coven in English legal history. It was the home of Elizabeth Southerns
and her granddaughter Alizon Device, two of the chief protagonists in
the Lancashire witch trials of 1612. A pedlar collapsed soon after
refusing to sell Alizon some pins. She and her grandmother were summoned
to the home of local magistrate Roger Nowell on suspicion of causing
harm by witchcraft, and were thereafter detained in the gaol at
Lancaster Castle. Friends met at Malkin Tower on 6 April 1612 (Good
Friday), allegedly to plot their escape by blowing up the castle. Nowell
learned of the meeting and concluded that it had been the scene of a
witches' coven. Eight of those attending were subsequently arrested and
tried for causing harm by witchcraft, seven of whom were found guilty
and executed; the house may have been demolished shortly after the
trials. The only firm evidence for its location comes from the official
account by the clerk to the court, who places it somewhere in the Forest
of Pendle (pictured). Archaeological excavations in the area have failed
to discover any confirmed remains of the building.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malkin_Tower>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
475:
Romulus Augustulus took the throne as the last ruling emperor of
the Western Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Augustulus>
1822:
Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of the First Mexican Empire
dissolved the Mexican Congress and replaced it with a military junta
answerable only to him.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agust%C3%ADn_de_Iturbide>
1913:
Public transportation workers in Indianapolis, Indiana, US,
went on strike, shutting down mass transit in the city and sparking
riots when strikebreakers attempted to restart services.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis_Streetcar_Strike_of_1913>
1973:
Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escaped from
Mountjoy Prison in Dublin after a hijacked helicopter landed in the
prison's exercise yard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountjoy_Prison_helicopter_escape>
2011:
The United Nations declared that the world's population had
exceeded seven billion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_Billion_Actions>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cauldron:
A large bowl-shaped pot used for boiling over an open flame.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cauldron>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The imagination may be compared to Adam's dream — he awoke and
found it truth.
--John Keats
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Keats>
The Rudd Concession, a written concession for exclusive mining rights in
Matabeleland, Mashonaland and other adjoining territories in southern
Africa, was granted by King Lobengula of Matabeleland to Charles Rudd
(pictured), James Rochfort Maguire and Francis Thompson, three agents
acting on behalf of the politician and businessman Cecil Rhodes, on 30
October 1888. The concession conferred on the grantees the sole rights
to mine throughout Lobengula's country, as well as the power to defend
this exclusivity by force, in return for weapons and a regular monetary
stipend. Despite Lobengula's retrospective attempts to disavow it on the
grounds of alleged deceit by the concessionaires regarding the settled
terms, it proved the foundation for the royal charter granted by the
United Kingdom to Rhodes' British South Africa Company in October 1889,
and thereafter for the Pioneer Column's occupation of Mashonaland in
1890, which marked the beginning of white settlement, administration and
development in the country. The Company officially named the territory
Rhodesia, after Rhodes, in 1895, and governed it until 1923.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudd_Concession>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1226:
Tran Thu Do, head of the Tran clan of Vietnam, forced Ly Hue
Tong, the last emperor of the Ly dynasty, to commit suicide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tran_Thu_Do>
1863:
Seventeen-year-old Danish Prince Vilhelm arrived in Athens to
become George I (pictured), King of Greece.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_I_of_Greece>
1973:
Istanbul's 1,510-metre (4,950 ft) long Bosphorus Bridge was
completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the
Bosphorus Strait.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosphorus_Bridge>
1983:
As the military dictatorship came to an end, Argentina's first
democratic election in a decade resulted in Raúl Alfonsín being
elected President of Argentina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_general_election,_1983>
1993:
The Troubles: Three members of the Ulster Defence Association
opened fire in a crowded pub during a Halloween party, killing eight
civilians and wounding thirteen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greysteel_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
trainiac:
(informal) A railway enthusiast.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trainiac>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The
Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their
religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations... This radical
change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the
people was the real American Revolution.
--John Adams
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Adams>
Georgette Heyer (1902–74) was a British historical romance and
detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she
turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth
(title page pictured). After These Old Shades became popular despite its
release during the General Strike, Heyer determined that publicity was
not necessary for good sales and refused to give interviews thereafter.
She essentially established the historical romance genre and its
subgenre Regency romance. To ensure accuracy, Heyer kept detailed notes
on all aspects of Regency life. While some critics thought the novels
were too detailed, others considered the detail to be her greatest
asset. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance novel and one
thriller each year. Her husband often provided basic plot outlines for
the thrillers, leaving Heyer to develop character relationships and
dialogue. Although many critics describe Heyer's detective novels as
unoriginal, others praise them for their wit and plots. Her success was
sometimes clouded by problems with tax inspectors and alleged
plagiarists. Heyer continued writing until her death; her last book, My
Lord John, was published posthumously.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgette_Heyer>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
Lt. William Broughton, a member of Captain George Vancouver's
discovery expedition, observed a peak in what is now Oregon, US, and
named it Mount Hood after British admiral Samuel Hood.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hood>
1863:
American Civil War: The Battle of Wauhatchie, one of the few
night battles of the war, concluded with the Union Army opening a supply
line to troops in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wauhatchie>
1923:
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk became the first President of Turkey, a
new nation founded from remnants of the Ottoman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey>
1969:
A student at UCLA sent the first message on the ARPANET, the
precursor to the Internet, to a computer at Stanford Research Institute.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET>
1998:
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission presented its report on
Apartheid in South Africa, condemning both the Apartheid Government and
the African National Congress for committing atrocities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_(South_Af…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
peri-urban:
Immediately adjoining an urban area; between the suburbs and the
countryside.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peri-urban>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There never comes a point where a theory can be said to be true.
The most that one can claim for any theory is that it has shared the
successes of all its rivals and that it has passed at least one test
which they have failed.
--Alfred Jules Ayer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Jules_Ayer>
George Herriman (1880–1944, seen in a self-portrait) was an American
cartoonist best known for the comic strip Krazy Kat (1913–44). He
started as a newspaper cartoonist in 1897 and introduced Krazy Kat in
the strip The Dingbat Family in 1910. A Krazy Kat strip began in 1913;
in its main motif, Ignatz Mouse pelted Krazy with bricks, which the
naïve Kat interpreted as symbols of love. The strip was noted for its
poetic dialogue, fantastic backgrounds, and experimental page layouts.
Herriman was drawn to the landscapes of Monument Valley and the
Enchanted Mesa, and his artwork used Navajo and Mexican motifs against
shifting desert backgrounds. More influential than popular, Krazy Kat
had an appreciative audience among people in the arts. Gilbert Seldes'
article "The Krazy Kat Who Walks by Himself" was the earliest example of
a critic from the high arts giving serious attention to a comic strip.
Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst gave Herriman a lifetime
contract with King Features Syndicate, guaranteeing him a comfortable
living. The Comics Journal placed the strip first on its list of the
greatest comics of the 20th century, and his work has been a primary
influence on many cartoonists.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Herriman>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
312:
Constantine the Great defeated Maxentius at the Battle of the
Milvian Bridge in Rome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Milvian_Bridge>
1886:
In New York Harbor, U.S. President Grover Cleveland dedicated
the Statue of Liberty (pictured), a gift from France, to commemorate the
centennial of the Declaration of Independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty>
1893:
In Saint Petersburg, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky led the first
performance of his Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathétique, nine days
before his death.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._6_(Tchaikovsky)>
1995:
The world's deadliest subway disaster took place in Baku,
Azerbaijan, when an electrical malfunction caused a fire that killed 289
passengers and injured 265 more.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Baku_Metro_fire>
2009:
The detonation of a car bomb by an as-yet unidentified party in
Peshawar, Pakistan, killed 137 people and injured more than 200 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_October_2009_Peshawar_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mulct:
(law) A fine or penalty, especially a pecuniary one.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mulct>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I see the triumph of good over evil as a manifestation of the
error-correcting process of evolution.
--Jonas Salk
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonas_Salk>
George Went Hensley (c. 1880–1955) was an American Pentecostal
minister. He experienced a religious conversion around 1910 and came to
believe that the New Testament commanded all Christians to handle
venomous snakes. Although illiterate, he was a licensed minister of the
Church of God from 1915 to 1922. He was arrested on moonshine-related
charges and sentenced to a term in a workhouse, from which he escaped.
He then held revival services in Ohio, and established churches, known
as the Church of God with Signs Following, in Tennessee and Kentucky.
His services ranged from small meetings in houses to gatherings with
hundreds of attendees and media attention. He was arrested for violating
laws against snake handling at least twice. He claimed to have survived
more than 400 snake bites, but fell ill after being bitten during a
service in 1955. He refused medical attention and died the next day.
Despite his personal failings—he had conflicts with his family because
of his drunkenness, frequent travels, and lack of steady
income—Hensley convinced many residents of rural Appalachia that snake
handling was commanded by God, and his followers continued the practice
after his death.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Went_Hensley>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1682:
William Penn landed at New Castle, Delaware Colony, on his way
to founding the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Philadelphia>
1838:
Governor of Missouri Lilburn Boggs issued Missouri Executive
Order 44, ordering all Mormons to leave the state or be killed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Executive_Order_44>
1907:
Hungarian gendarmes fired into a crowd of people gathering for
the consecration of the local church in Csernova (now Ružomberok,
Slovakia), killing fifteen people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%8Cernov%C3%A1_massacre>
1958:
General Ayub Khan deposed Iskander Mirza in a bloodless coup
d'état to become the second President of Pakistan, less than three
weeks after Mirza had appointed him the enforcer of martial law.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayub_Khan_(President_of_Pakistan)>
1981:
Cold War: Soviet Whiskey-class submarine U 137 ran aground near
Sweden's Karlskrona naval base (monument pictured), sparking an
international incident termed "Whiskey on the rocks".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_S-363>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wife-beating question:
A question which presupposes some controversial premise, such that it
cannot be directly answered without incriminating oneself; a loaded
question.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wife-beating_question>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our words must be judged by our deeds; and in striving for a
lofty ideal we must use practical methods; and if we cannot attain all
at one leap, we must advance towards it step by step, reasonably content
so long as we do actually make some progress in the right direction.
--Theodore Roosevelt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt>
George Jones (1896–1992) was a senior commander in the Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF). He served as Chief of the Air Staff from
1942 to 1952, the longest continuous tenure of any RAAF chief. During
World War I, Jones fought as an infantryman at Gallipoli before
transferring to the Australian Flying Corps. Posted to a fighter
squadron in France, he achieved seven victories to become an ace, and
was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After a short spell in
civilian life, he joined the newly formed RAAF in 1921, and rose
steadily through training and personnel commands prior to World War II.
Jones was a surprise appointee as Chief of the Air Staff, and his
achievements were coloured by a divisive relationship with the head of
RAAF operations in the Pacific, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock. This
was partly the result of a divided command structure, which neither man
had any direct role in shaping. After World War II, Jones had overall
responsibility for transforming what was then the world's fourth largest
air force into a peacetime service that was also able to meet overseas
commitments in Malaya and Korea. He was promoted to air marshal in 1948,
and knighted in 1953.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jones_(RAAF_officer)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1708:
The final stone of St Paul's Cathedral (pictured), rebuilt
after the original burned down in the 1666 Great Fire of London, was
laid by the son of its architect, Christopher Wren.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral>
1881:
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, one of the most famous
gunfights in the history of the American Old West, took place in
Tombstone, Arizona, between the faction of Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton's
gang.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral>
1944:
World War II: In one of the largest naval battles in modern
history, Allied forces defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle
of Leyte Gulf in the seas surrounding the Philippine island of Leyte.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf>
1979:
President of South Korea Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the
director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and a long-time
friend, Kim Jae-kyu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Chung-hee>
1985:
The Australian government returned ownership of Uluru, also
known as Ayers Rock, to the local Pitjantjatjara people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluru>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
antihero:
(literature) A protagonist who proceeds in an unheroic manner, such as
by criminal means, via cowardly actions, or for mercenary goals.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/antihero>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The greatest achievements of men, were at first, nothing but
dreams of the minds of men who knew that dreams are the seedlings of all
achievements. A burning desire, to be and to do, is the starting point,
from which the dreamer must take off.
--Napoleon Hill
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Napoleon_Hill>
Georges Bizet (1838–75) was a French composer, mainly of opera, whose
final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently
performed in the opera repertory. As a young composer during the 1860s
he struggled for recognition; he began many theatrical projects, but
found that the main Parisian opera theatres preferred the established
classics to the works of newcomers. Two early operas—Les pêcheurs de
perles and La jolie fille de Perth—failed to achieve initial success
on the stage. The production of Carmen was delayed through fears that
its themes of betrayal and murder would offend audiences; after its
premiere in 1875, Bizet was convinced that the work was a failure. He
died of a heart attack three months later, aged 36, unaware that Carmen
would prove an enduring success. After his death Bizet's other work was
largely forgotten. Manuscripts were given away or lost, and published
versions were often the result of revision by other hands. As his operas
began to be performed more frequently in the 20th century, commentators
increasingly acclaimed Bizet as a brilliant and original composer, whose
premature death was a significant loss to French musical theatre.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Bizet>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1760:
George III became King of Great Britain and Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom>
1875:
The first performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1,
one of his most popular compositions, was given in Boston with Hans von
Bülow as soloist.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._1_(Tchaikovsky)>
1920:
Irish playwright and politician Terence MacSwiney died after 74
days on hunger strike in Brixton Prison, bringing the Irish struggle for
independence to international attention.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_MacSwiney>
1944:
USS Tang, the United States Navy submarine credited with
sinking more ships than any other American submarine, sank when it was
struck by its own torpedo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tang_(SS-306)>
1971:
The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, replacing the
Republic of China with the People's Republic of China as China's
representative at the United Nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations>
1983:
The United States and Caribbean allies invaded Grenada, six
days after Bernard Coard seized power in a violent coup d'état.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Grenada>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
verily:
1. Truly, doubtlessly, in truth.
2. Confidently, certainly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verily>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Those who compare the age in which their lot has fallen with a
golden age which exists only in imagination, may talk of degeneracy and
decay; but no man who is correctly informed as to the past, will be
disposed to take a morose or desponding view of the present.
--Thomas Macaulay
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Macaulay>
The Battle of Goliad was the second skirmish of the Texas Revolution.
Early on October 9, 1835, rebellious Texas settlers attacked the Mexican
Army soldiers garrisoned at Presidio La Bahía (pictured), a fort near
the Mexican Texas settlement of Goliad. It was halfway between the
Mexican garrison at San Antonio de Béxar and the major port of Copano.
Texians were plotting to kidnap Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos,
who was en route to Goliad, although they knew before their arrival that
he had departed for San Antonio de Béxar. The garrison at La Bahía was
understaffed and could not mount an effective defense of the perimeter.
Using axes borrowed from townspeople, the Texians chopped through a door
and entered the complex before the bulk of the soldiers were aware of
their presence. After a 30-minute battle, the Mexican garrison
surrendered. The majority of the Mexican soldiers were instructed to
leave Texas, and the Texians confiscated $10,000 worth of provisions and
several cannons, later used in the Siege of Béxar. The victory isolated
Cos's men in Béxar from the coast, forcing them to rely on a long
overland march to request or receive reinforcements or supplies.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Goliad>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1260:
Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, was assassinated by a fellow
Mamluk leader, Baibars, who then seized power for himself.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baibars>
1795:
As a result of the Third Partition of Poland, the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ceased to exist as an independent state
as its territory was divided between Austria, Prussia, and Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth>
1931:
The George Washington Bridge (pictured), today the world's
busiest motor vehicle bridge, connecting New York City to Fort Lee, New
Jersey, was dedicated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge>
1945:
The UN Charter, the constitution of the United Nations, entered
into force after being ratified by the Republic of China, France, the
Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and a majority of
the other signatories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Charter>
2007:
Chang'e 1, the first satellite in the Chinese Lunar Exploration
Program, was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_1>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
miniver:
A light gray or white fur used to trim the robes of judges or state
executives, used since medieval times.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miniver>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
the poet, his presence ursine and kind, shifting his weight in
a chair too small for him, quietly says, and shyly: "The Poet never must
lose despair." Then our eyes indeed meet and hold. All of us know,
smiling in common knowledge — even the palest spirit among us,
burdened as he is with weight of abstractions — all of us know he
means we mustn't, any of us, lose touch with the source, pretend it's
not there, cover over the mineshaft of passion...
--Denise Levertov
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Denise_Levertov>
The American Cream Draft is a rare draft horse breed, the only such
breed developed in the United States that is still in existence. It is
recognized by its cream color, known as "gold champagne", produced by
the action of the champagne gene upon a chestnut base color, and by its
amber eyes, also characteristic of the gene; the only other color found
in the breed is chestnut. Like several other breeds of draft horses, the
American Cream is at risk for the autosomal recessive genetic disease
junctional epidermolysis bullosa. The breed was developed in Iowa during
the early 20th century, beginning with a cream-colored mare named Old
Granny. The Great Depression threatened the breed's existence, but
several breeders worked to improve the color and type of the breed, and
in 1944 a breed registry was formed. The mechanization of farming in the
mid-20th century led to a decrease in the breed's population and the
registry became inactive for several decades. It was reactivated in 1982
and population numbers have slowly grown since then. However, population
numbers are still considered critical by The Livestock Conservancy and
the Equus Survival Trust.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Cream_Draft>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
425:
Valentinian III became emperor of the Western Roman Empire at
the age of six.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentinian_III>
1812:
General Claude François de Malet began a conspiracy to
overthrow Napoleon, claiming that the Emperor died in Russia and that he
was now the commandant of Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malet_coup_of_1812>
1956:
The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student
demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central
Budapest to the Parliament building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956>
1983:
Lebanese Civil War: Suicide bombers destroyed two barracks in
Beirut, killing 241 U.S. servicemen and 58 French paratroopers of the
international peacekeeping force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing>
1993:
The Troubles: A Provisional Irish Republican Army's attempted
bombing of a meeting of loyalist paramilitary leaders failed, killing
one of the perpetrators, one UDA member and eight civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shankill_Road_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
palatal:
1. (anatomy) Pertaining to the palate.
2. (dentistry, not comparable) Of an upper tooth, on the side facing the
palate.
3. (phonetics) Articulated at the hard palate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palatal>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nothing is more curious than the almost savage hostility that
Humour excites in those who lack it.
--George Saintsbury
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Saintsbury>
Quatermass II is a British science-fiction serial, originally broadcast
by BBC Television in 1955. It is the second in the Quatermass series by
writer Nigel Kneale, and the first of those serials to survive in its
entirety in the BBC archives. It is also the earliest surviving complete
British science-fiction television production. The serial sees Professor
Bernard Quatermass of the British Experimental Rocket Group being asked
to examine strange meteorite showers. His investigations lead to his
uncovering a conspiracy involving alien infiltration at the highest
levels of the British Government. As some of Quatermass's closest
colleagues fall victim to the alien influence, he is forced to use his
own unsafe rocket prototype, which recently caused a nuclear disaster at
an Australian testing range, to prevent the aliens from taking over
mankind. Although sometimes compared unfavourably to the first and third
Quatermass serials, Quatermass II was praised for its allegorical
concerns of the damaging effects of industrialisation and the corruption
of governments by big business. It is described on the British Film
Institute's "Screenonline" website as "compulsive viewing."
(Full article...).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quatermass_II>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1740:
A two-week massacre of ethnic Chinese in Batavia, Dutch East
Indies, came to an end with at least 10,000 people killed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1740_Batavia_massacre>
1797:
Dropping from a hydrogen balloon 3,200 feet (980 m) above
Paris, André-Jacques Garnerin carried out the first descent using a
frameless parachute (schematic pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9-Jacques_Garnerin>
1877:
The Blantyre mining disaster, Scotland's worst mining accident,
occurred when an explosion at a colliery in Blantyre killed 207 miners.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blantyre_mining_disaster>
1907:
A bank run forced New York's Knickerbocker Trust Company to
suspend operations, which triggered the Panic of 1907.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1907>
1962:
Cold War: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced that Soviet
nuclear weapons had been discovered in Cuba and that he had ordered a
naval "quarantine" of the island nation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_missile_crisis>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
subduct:
1. (transitive) To draw or push under or below.
2. (intransitive) To move downwards underneath something.
3. (rare) To remove; to deduct; to take away; to disregard.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/subduct>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Political correctness is the natural continuum from the party
line. What we are seeing once again is a self-appointed group of
vigilantes imposing their views on others. It is a heritage of
communism, but they don't seem to see this.
--Doris Lessing
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Doris_Lessing>
The Battle of the Nile was fought between the British and French navies
at Aboukir Bay on the Egyptian coast from 1 to 3 August 1798. It ended
in victory for the British under Horatio Nelson (pictured). It was the
climax of a Mediterranean naval campaign during the previous three
months, as a large French convoy sailed to Alexandria carrying an
expeditionary force under Napoleon Bonaparte, pursued by Nelson and his
fleet. After the French army had landed in Egypt, the French fleet
anchored in what its commander believed was a formidable defensive
position. When the British fleet arrived, Nelson ordered an immediate
attack on both sides of the French position simultaneously. Trapped in a
crossfire, the leading French warships were battered into surrender. The
centre initially repelled the attack but was defeated after renewed
assault from British reinforcements. The battle reversed the strategic
situation in the Mediterranean and encouraged other European countries
to turn against France. Bonaparte's army was trapped and was later
defeated at the Siege of Acre. Nelson was made Baron Nelson and
proclaimed a hero across Europe, and his captains were also highly
praised.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Nile>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1096:
The Seljuk forces of Kilij Arslan destroyed the army of the
People's Crusade as it marched toward Nicaea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Crusade>
1600:
Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated the leaders of rival Japanese clans at
the Battle of Sekigahara in what is now Sekigahara, Gifu, clearing the
path for him to form the Tokugawa shogunate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sekigahara>
1858:
French composer Jacques Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the
Underworld, featuring music most associated with the can-can (audio
featured), was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens in
Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus_in_the_Underworld>
1921:
George Melford's wildly successful silent film The Sheik, which
would propel its leading actor Rudolph Valentino to stardom, premiered.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_Valentino>
1983:
At the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures,
the length of a metre was redefined as the distance light travels in
vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gleek:
1. (archaic) To jest, ridicule, or mock; to make sport of.
2. (informal) To discharge a thin stream of liquid through the teeth or
from under the tongue.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gleek>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the
journey that matters in the end.
--Ursula K. Le Guin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin>
Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc. was a decision in 1992 by the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that applied
American intellectual property law to the reverse engineering of
computer software. Issues in the case included the scope of copyright,
permissible uses for trademarks, and the scope of the fair use doctrine
for computer code. It arose after video game publisher Accolade
published several games for the Sega Genesis (pictured), disassembling
it to publish games without being licensed by Sega. The U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of Sega,
preventing Accolade from publishing any more games for the Genesis and
requiring them to recall all of their Genesis games on sale. Accolade
appealed on the grounds that their reverse engineering of the Genesis
was protected under fair use. The Ninth Circuit reversed the district
court's order and ruled that Accolade's use of reverse engineering to
publish Genesis titles was protected under fair use, and that its
alleged violation of Sega trademarks was the fault of Sega. The case is
frequently cited in matters involving reverse engineering and fair use
under copyright law.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1572:
Eighty Years' War: Soldiers of the Spanish Tercios waded across
the river Scheldt at its mouth, walking overnight in water to chest
height, to relieve the siege of Goes in the Spanish Netherlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief_of_Goes>
1740:
Per the terms of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, Maria Theresa
assumed the throne of the Habsburg Monarchy in Austria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa>
1941:
World War II: German soldiers began a massacre of thousands of
civilians in Kragujevac in Nazi-occupied Serbia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kragujevac_massacre>
1973:
Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, formally
opened the Sydney Opera House on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House>
1982:
During a UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC
Haarlem, a large number of attendees tried to leave the Grand Sports
Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium at the same time, resulting in a
stampede that caused 66 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luzhniki_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unciform:
Of the shape of a hook; hook-shaped.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unciform>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A society which is mobile, which is full of channels for the
distribution of a change occurring anywhere, must see to it that its
members are educated to personal initiative and adaptability. Otherwise,
they will be overwhelmed by the changes in which they are caught and
whose significance or connections they do not perceive.
--John Dewey
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dewey>
Bart King (1873–1965) was an American cricketer, active in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. King was part of the Philadelphia team
that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World
War I. This period of cricket in the United States was dominated by
"gentlemen cricketers"—men of independent wealth who did not need to
work. King, an amateur from a middle-class family, was able to devote
time to cricket thanks to a job set up by his teammates. A skilled
batsman who proved his worth as a bowler, King set numerous records in
North America during his career and led the first-class bowling averages
in England in 1908. He successfully competed against the best cricketers
from England and Australia. King was the dominant bowler on his team
when it toured England in 1897, 1903, and 1908. He dismissed batsmen
with his unique delivery, which he called the "angler," and helped
develop the art of swing bowling. Sir Pelham Warner described Bart King
as one of the finest bowlers of all time, and Donald Bradman called him
"America's greatest cricketing son." (Full article...).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_King>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1469:
Ferdinand II of Aragon married Isabella I of Castile (both
pictured), a marriage that paved the way to the unification of Aragon
and Castile into a single country, Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_I_of_Castile>
1781:
American Revolutionary War: British forces led by Lord
Cornwallis officially surrendered to Franco-American forces under George
Washington, ending the Siege of Yorktown.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown>
1904:
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines, the country's
largest university in terms of enrollment, opened as the Manila Business
School.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytechnic_University_of_the_Philippines>
1943:
Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, was
first isolated by researchers at Rutgers University.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptomycin>
1986:
President of Mozambique Samora Machel and 43 others were killed
when his presidential aircraft crashed in the Lebombo Mountains just
inside the border of South Africa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samora_Machel>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
insensate:
1. Having no sensation or consciousness; unconscious; inanimate.
2. Senseless; foolish; irrational.
3. Unfeeling, heartless, cruel, insensitive.
4. (medicine, physiology) Not responsive to sensory stimuli.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/insensate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I intend no Monopoly but a Community in Learning: I study not for
my own sake only, but for theirs that study not for themselves.
--Thomas Browne
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Browne>
The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR;) was a
railway company that constructed the deep-level underground railway that
is now the core central section of London's Piccadilly line. The
GNP&BR;, formed in 1902 through a merger of two older companies, was a
subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
(UERL). A number of different routes were planned, but most were
rejected by Parliament. When it opened in 1906, the GNP&BR;'s line
served 22 stations (Russell Square pictured) and ran for 14.17
kilometres (8.80 mi) between its western terminus at Hammersmith and
its northern terminus at Finsbury Park. A short branch connected Holborn
to the Strand. Most of the route was in a pair of tunnels, with 1.1
kilometres (0.68 mi) at the western end above ground. Within a year of
opening it became apparent to the management and investors that the
estimated passenger numbers for the GNP&BR; and the other UERL lines
were over-optimistic. Despite improved integration and cooperation with
the other tube railways, the GNP&BR; struggled financially, and in 1933
it and the rest of the UERL were taken into public ownership.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern,_Piccadilly_and_Brompton_Railw…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
320:
Pappus of Alexandria, one of the last great Greek mathematicians
of antiquity, observed an eclipse that allowed historians to calculate
the approximate dates of his life.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pappus_of_Alexandria>
1009:
Under orders from Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church now within the walled
Old City of Jerusalem, was destroyed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre>
1851:
Moby-Dick, a novel by American writer Herman Melville, was
first published as The Whale.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick>
1967:
The Soviet space probe Venera 4 performed direct analysis of
the environment of Venus and became the first spacecraft to land on
another planet, although it stopped working before that.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_4>
2004:
SPDC Chairman Senior General Than Shwe announced that Burmese
Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was "permitted to retire on health grounds",
but then had him arrested.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khin_Nyunt>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
stipulate:
(botany; not comparable) Having stipules; that is, having outgrowths
borne on either side of the base of the leafstalk.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stipulate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Where lies the final harbor, whence we unmoor no more? In what
rapt ether sails the world, of which the weariest will never weary?
Where is the foundling’s father hidden? Our souls are like those
orphans whose unwedded mothers die in bearing them: the secret of our
paternity lies in their grave, and we must there to learn it.
--Moby-Dick
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moby-Dick>
Herrerasaurus was one of the earliest dinosaurs. Its name means
"Herrera's lizard", after Victorino Herrera, a goatherd who discovered
the first specimen. All known fossils of Herrerasaurus have been
discovered in northwestern Argentina in rocks dated to 231.4 million
years ago. It was a lightly built bipedal carnivore with a long tail and
a relatively small head. Its length is estimated at 3–6 meters
(10–20 ft) and it may have weighed around 210–350 kilograms
(463–772 lb). The type species, Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis, was
described by Osvaldo Reig in 1963 and is the only species assigned to
the genus. Where Herrerasaurus and its close relatives lie on the early
dinosaur evolutionary tree is unclear. For many years, it was known from
very fragmentary remains. However, with the discovery of an almost
complete skeleton and skull in 1988, Herrerasaurus has been classified
as either an early theropod or an early saurischian, with many
researchers treating it at least tentatively as the most primitive
member of Theropoda. It is a member of the Herrerasauridae, a family of
similar genera that were among the earliest of the dinosaurian
evolutionary radiation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herrerasaurus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1604:
German astronomer Johannes Kepler observed an exceptionally
bright star, now known as Kepler's Supernova (remnant nebula pictured),
which had suddenly appeared in the constellation Ophiuchus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler%27s_Supernova>
1943:
The Holocaust: Three days after a successful revolt by inmates,
Sobibor extermination camp in eastern Poland was closed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobibor_extermination_camp>
1956:
Queen Elizabeth II opened the world's first commercial nuclear
power plant at Calder Hall in Cumbria, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield>
1992:
Having gone to the wrong house for a Halloween party, Japanese
exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori was shot and killed by the homeowner
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshihiro_Hattori>
2010:
Mary MacKillop was canonised to become the only Australian to
be recognised by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_MacKillop>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sine qua non:
An essential or indispensable element, condition, or ingredient.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sine_qua_non>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The job is to ask questions — it always was — and to ask them
as inexorably as I can. And to face the absence of precise answers with
a certain humility.
--Arthur Miller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller>
Lê Quang Tung (1923–63) was the commander of the Army of the Republic
of Vietnam Special Forces under the command of Ngô Đình Nhu, brother
of South Vietnam's president, Ngô Đình Diệm. During the 1950s, Tung
was a high-ranking official in Nhu's Cần Lao, a secret political
apparatus which maintained the Ngô family's grip on power. Appointed as
commander of the special forces in 1960, his leadership was noted more
for repressing dissidents than fighting the Viet Cong insurgents. His
most well-known attack was the raid on Xá Lợi pagoda in August 1963
in which hundreds died or disappeared. Tung's main military programme
was a scheme in which army personnel attempted to infiltrate North
Vietnam for intelligence gathering and sabotage. The program was
ineffective, with the vast majority of infiltrators being killed or
captured. Tung was also reported to be planning an assassination attempt
on Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam.
Following the pagoda raids, America terminated funding to Tung's men
because they were used as a political tool rather than against the
communists. Along with Diệm and Nhu, Tung was assassinated during the
November 1963 coup.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Quang_Tung>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1793:
Marie Antoinette (pictured), queen consort of Louis XVI, was
guillotined at the Place de la Révolution in Paris at the height of the
French Revolution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Antoinette>
1869:
Girton College, one of the 31 constituent colleges of the
University of Cambridge and England's first residential college for
women, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girton_College,_Cambridge>
1951:
The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, was
assassinated in Rawalpindi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaquat_Ali_Khan>
1968:
To protest racism in the United States, African American
athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos performed the Black Power salute
during a medal ceremony at the Mexico City Summer Olympics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute>
1975:
Five journalists for Australian television networks based in
the town of Balibo were killed by Indonesian special force soldiers
prior to their invasion of East Timor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sparge:
1. To sprinkle or spray
2. To introduce bubbles into a liquid.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sparge>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
None of us can help the things life has done to us. They're done
before you realize it, and once they're done they make you do other
things until at last everything comes between you and what you'd like to
be, and you've lost your true self forever.
--Eugene O'Neill
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eugene_O%27Neill>
The Blue-faced Honeyeater is a passerine bird of the Honeyeater family
Meliphagidae and is common in northern and eastern Australia and
southern New Guinea. A large honeyeater at around 29.5 cm (11.6 in) in
length, it has distinctive plumage, with olive upperparts, white
underparts and a black head and throat with white nape and cheeks. Males
and females are similar in external appearance. Adults have a blue area
of bare skin on each side of the face readily distinguishing them from
juveniles, which have yellow or green patches of bare skin. Found in
open woodland, parks, and gardens, it appears to be sedentary in parts
of its range and locally nomadic in other parts; however, the species
has been little studied since it was first described by the
ornithologist John Latham in 1802. Its diet is mostly composed of
invertebrates, supplemented with nectar and fruit. Its propensity for
feeding on the flowers and fruit of bananas in north Queensland has
given it the common name of "Bananabird". Blue-faced Honeyeaters often
take over and renovate old babbler nests, in which the female lays and
incubates two or rarely three eggs. Three subspecies are recognised.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-faced_Honeyeater>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1529:
The Siege of Vienna ended as the Austrians repelled the
invading Turks, turning the tide against almost a century of unchecked
conquest throughout eastern and central Europe by the Ottoman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Vienna>
1764:
English historian Edward Gibbon observed friars singing Vespers
at Capitoline Hill in Rome, inspiring him to write The History of the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon>
1970:
Thirty-five construction workers were killed when a section of
the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapsed due to structural failure.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Gate_Bridge>
1997:
On the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, the first supersonic land
speed record was set by Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green in the jet-
propelled car ThrustSSC when it achieved a speed of 1,228 km/h (763
mph).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThrustSSC>
2003:
Chinese space program: Shenzhou 5, China's first manned space
mission, was launched, carrying astronaut Yang Liwei.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenzhou_5>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
allomother:
A human or other animal that provides some maternal care for the young
born by another.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/allomother>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Facilis descensus Averni: noctes atque dies patet atri ianua
Ditis; sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras. hoc opus, hic
labor est. The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent,
and easy is the way: But to return, and view the cheerful skies, In this
the task and mighty labor lies. with translation by
--John Dryden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dryden>
Brockway Mountain Drive is an 8.883-mile (14.296 km) scenic highway
just west of Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the
United States. Drivers can access the road from state highway M-26 on
either end near Eagle Harbor to the west or Copper Harbor to the east in
the Keweenaw Peninsula. The drive runs along the ridge of Brockway
Mountain on the Keweenaw Fault and climbs to 1,320 feet (402 m) above
sea level, 720 feet (220 m) above the surface of Lake Superior. Several
viewpoints along the route allow for panoramas of Lake Superior
(pictured from the road), Copper Harbor, and undeveloped woodland. On a
clear day, Isle Royale (approximately 50 miles (80 km) away) can be
seen. Brockway Mountain was named for David D. Brockway, one of the
pioneer residents of the area. The road was constructed by the county
road commission with funding through Depression-era work programs in
1933. It was briefly used as a connection for the parallel state highway
after it opened. Since it opened, it has been recognized nationally and
locally in several media outlets for its picturesque qualities, usually
in profiles of Keweenaw County, the Upper Peninsula or other scenic
drives.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brockway_Mountain_Drive>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
American Civil War: In the Battle of Bristoe Station, the
Union II Corps was able to surprise and repel the Confederate attack
on the Union rear guard, resulting in a Union victory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bristoe_Station>
1888:
French inventor Louis Le Prince filmed Roundhay Garden Scene,
the earliest surviving motion picture, in Roundhay, Leeds, West
Yorkshire, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Le_Prince>
1943:
World War II: During the second raid on Schweinfurt, the US
8th Air Force suffered so many losses that it lost air supremacy over
Germany for several months.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Raid_on_Schweinfurt>
1953:
Israeli military commander Ariel Sharon and his Unit 101
special forces attacked the village of Qibya on the West Bank,
destroying 45 buildings, killing 42 villagers, and wounding 15 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qibya_massacre>
1973:
After student protests against the Thai military government
turned to violence, King Bhumibol Adulyadej announced that Prime
Minister Thanom Kittikachorn had resigned.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Thai_popular_uprising>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
iatrogenic:
(of a medical condition) Induced by the words or actions of the
physician.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/iatrogenic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a
single human being can be taught to feel … the moment you feel, you're
nobody-but-yourself. To be nobody-but-yourself-in a world which is doing
its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight
the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop
fighting.
--E. E. Cummings
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings>
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is a 1996 point-and-click
adventure game developed by Revolution Software. The player assumes the
role of George Stobbart, an American tourist in Paris, as he unravels a
conspiracy. The game takes place in both real and fictional locations in
Europe and the Middle East. Charles Cecil (pictured), writer and
director of the game, began researching the Knights Templar for the game
in 1992. It was built with Revolution's Virtual Theatre engine, which
was also used for the company's previous two games. The game is serious
in tone, but also features humor and graphics in the style of classic
animated films. The million-selling title was critically acclaimed and
won various awards. It is regarded as one of the best examples of
adventure gaming and many developers have cited it as an influence.
After its initial release on Windows, Mac OS, and PlayStation, it was
ported to the Game Boy Advance, Palm OS, and Windows Mobile. The game
spawned a number of sequels collectively known as the Broken Sword
series. From 2009 to 2012, a director's cut version was available for
various operating systems.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_Sword:_The_Shadow_of_the_Templars>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1307:
Agents of King Philip IV of France launched a dawn raid,
simultaneously arresting many members of the Knights Templar (seal
pictured), and subsequently torturing them into "admitting" heresy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar>
1843:
B'nai B'rith, the oldest continually operating Jewish service
organization in the world, was founded in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%27nai_B%27rith>
1885:
The Georgia Institute of Technology was established in Atlanta
as part of Reconstruction plans to build an industrial economy in the
post-Civil War Southern United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Institute_of_Technology>
1921:
The Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia signed the Treaty of Kars with the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey to establish the contemporary borders between Turkey and the
South Caucasus states.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Kars>
1943:
World War II: With a new government led by General Pietro
Badoglio, parts of Italy switched sides to the Allies and declared war
on the Axis Powers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Badoglio>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
purple prose:
Extravagant or flowery writing, especially in a literary work.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/purple_prose>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When you're weary Feeling small When tears are in your eyes I
will dry them all I'm on your side When times get rough And friends just
can't be found Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down.
--Paul Simon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Simon>
John W. Johnston (1818–89) was an American lawyer and Democratic
politician from Abingdon, Virginia. He served in the Virginia State
Senate, and represented Virginia for 13 years in the U.S. Senate after
the American Civil War. He had been ineligible to serve in Congress
because of the Fourteenth Amendment, which forbade anyone from holding
public office who had sworn allegiance to the United States and then
sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. However, his
restrictions were removed at the suggestion of the Freedmen's Bureau
when he aided a dying former slave after the War. He was the first
person who had sided with the Confederacy to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Issues in his senatorial career included the Arlington Memorial debate,
as he found the initial proposal to relocate the dead distasteful, yet
wanted to defend the memory of Robert E. Lee. He was also an outspoken
Funder during Virginia's heated debate as to how much of its pre-War
debt the state ought to have been obliged to pay back. The controversy
culminated in the formation of the Readjuster Party and the appointment
of William Mahone as its leader, ending Johnston's Senate career.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W._Johnston>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1398:
The Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand
Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen signed the Treaty of
Salynas, the third attempt after the 1384 Treaty of Königsberg and the
1390 Treaty of Lyck to cede Samogitia to the Knights.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Salynas>
1492:
Believing he had reached the East Indies, Christopher Columbus
made landfall on an island in the Caribbean, sparking a series of events
that led to the European colonization of the Americas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus>
1871:
The Criminal Tribes Act entered into force in British India,
giving law enforcement sweeping powers to arrest, control, and monitor
the movements of the members of 160 specific ethnic or social
communities that were defined as "habitually criminal".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Tribes_Act>
1928:
An "iron lung" medical ventilator (example from the 1950s
pictured), designed by Philip Drinker and colleagues at Children's
Hospital, Boston, was used for the first time to treat poliomyelitis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_pressure_ventilator>
1988:
Sri Lankan Civil War: Indian troops mounted a failed assault on
Jaffna University, which served as the Tamil Tigers' military
headquarters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffna_University_Helidrop>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jawan:
(India) An (Indian) infantryman; a soldier.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jawan>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The motive, principle, and end of the religious life is to make
an absolute gift of self to God in a self-forgetting love, to end one's
own life in order to make room for God's life.
--Edith Stein
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Stein>
Ficus obliqua, commonly known as the small-leaved fig, is a tree native
to eastern Australia, New Guinea, eastern Indonesia to Sulawesi and
islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is a banyan of the genus
Ficus, which contains around 750 species worldwide in warm climates,
including the edible fig. Beginning life as a seedling, which grows on
other plants (epiphyte) or on rocks (lithophyte), F. obliqua can grow
to 60 m (200 ft) high and nearly as wide with a pale grey buttressed
trunk, and glossy green leaves. The small round yellow fruit ripen and
turn red at any time of year, although they peak in autumn and winter
(April to July). Known as a syconium, the fruit is an inverted
inflorescence with the flowers aligning an internal cavity. F. obliqua
is pollinated by two species of fig wasp—Pleistodontes greenwoodi and
P. xanthocephalus. Many species of bird, including pigeons, parrots and
various passerines, eat the fruit. It is used as a shade tree in parks
and public spaces, and is well-suited for use as an indoor plant or in
bonsai. All parts of the tree have been used in traditional medicine in
Fiji.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_obliqua>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1142:
The Treaty of Shaoxing, ending the Jurchen campaigns against
the Song Dynasty, was formally ratified when a Jin envoy visited the
Southern Song court.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurchen_campaigns_against_the_Song_Dynasty>
1531:
Swiss Reformation leader Huldrych Zwingli was killed in battle
when Catholic cantons attacked in response to a food blockade being
applied by his alliance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huldrych_Zwingli>
1776:
American Revolutionary War: The British Royal Navy defeated
American ships at the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain, but
gave American forces enough time to prepare their defenses for the
Saratoga campaign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valcour_Island>
1968:
Apollo 7 (lift-off pictured), the first manned mission of
NASA's Apollo program, and the first three-man American space mission,
launched from Complex 34 in present-day Cape Canaveral, Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_7>
1987:
Sri Lankan Civil War: The Indian Peace Keeping Force began
Operation Pawan to take control of Jaffna from the Tamil Tigers to
enforce their disarmament as a part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pawan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
microcosm:
1. A smaller system which is representative of or analogous to a larger
one.
2. A small natural ecosystem; an artificial ecosystem set up as an
experimental model.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/microcosm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One of the blessings of age is to learn not to part on a note of
sharpness, to treasure the moments spent with those we love, and to make
them whenever possible good to remember, for time is short.
--Eleanor Roosevelt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt>
Kellie Loder (born 1988) is an independent singer-songwriter from
Newfoundland who plays drums, guitar and piano. Having written her first
song at age 16 about a cousin who died in a traffic accident, Loder was
studying nursing at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University of
Newfoundland when she released her first album, The Way, in August 2009.
Later that year, she won a talent-search contest hosted by YC
Newfoundland, a Christian youth conference. As part of the award, Loder
was given time with music industry and production professionals who
helped her with Imperfections & Directions, her second album, which was
released at the 2010 YC Newfoundland. Loder's nursing studies hampered
her ability to showcase Imperfections & Directions by touring. Loder was
nominated as Female Artist of the Year at the 2010 MusicNL awards, and
then as Gospel Artist of the Year in 2011. Imperfections & Directions
was nominated as Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year at the
2012 Juno Awards. Loder has asserted that she chose to begin her career
in Contemporary Christian music because it gives purpose to her music.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellie_Loder>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
680:
Hussein ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad, was killed in the Battle
of Karbala by the forces of Yazid I, whom Hussein had refused to
recognise as caliph.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karbala>
1846:
English astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, the
largest moon of the planet Neptune.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)>
1933:
In the first proven act of air sabotage in the history of
commercial aviation, a United Airlines Boeing 247 exploded in mid-air
near Chesterton, Indiana, US, killing all seven people aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_United_Airlines_Boeing_247_mid-air_explo…>
1943:
World War II: The Kempeitai, the military police arm of the
Imperial Japanese Army, arrested and tortured over 50 civilians and
civilian internees on suspicion of their involvement in a raid on
Singapore Harbour during Operation Jaywick.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Tenth_Incident>
1973:
United States Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned after being
charged with tax evasion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiro_Agnew>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
beefcake:
1. (informal) Imagery of one or more muscular, well-built men.
2. (informal) A muscular, well-built, desirable man.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beefcake>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five o'clock
has the whole afternoon from one to five ruined for him already.
--Lin Yutang
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lin_Yutang>
The Diary of a Nobody is an English comic novel written by the brothers
George and Weedon Grossmith. Originally serialised in Punch magazine, it
first appeared in book form in 1892. It records daily events in the
lives of a London clerk, Charles Pooter, his family and numerous friends
and acquaintances; most of its humour derives from Pooter's unconscious
and unwarranted sense of his own importance, and the frequency with
which this delusion is punctured by gaffes and minor social
humiliations. The daily routines and modest ambitions described in the
Diary were recognised by contemporary readers, and provided later
generations with glimpses of the past that it became fashionable to
imitate. Before their collaboration the brothers had pursued successful
stage careers, George as the principal comedian in the Gilbert and
Sullivan operas for 12 years; Weedon had earlier trained as an artist
and illustrator. Although the Diary's initial reception was muted, it
grew in popularity and helped to establish a 20th-century genre of
humorous popular fiction based on lower or lower-middle class
aspirations. It has been the subject of several stage and screen
adaptations.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diary_of_a_Nobody>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1708:
Great Northern War: Russia defeated Sweden at the Battle of
Lesnaya on the Russian–Polish border in present-day Belarus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lesnaya>
1888:
The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., at the time the
world's tallest building, officially opened to the general public.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument>
1913:
The ocean liner SS Volturno caught fire in the middle of a
gale in the North Atlantic, burned, and sank, resulting in about 130
deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Volturno_(1906)>
1963:
A landslide displaced large amounts of water from the Vajont
Dam in northern Italy, causing waves and floods that quickly swept away
several villages and killed almost 2,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajont_Dam>
1983:
South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan survived an assassination
attempt in Rangoon, Burma.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangoon_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
understudy:
1. To study or know a role, so as to be able to replace its normal
performer if required.
2. To act as an understudy (to, for someone).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/understudy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA.
Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your
awareness of NUTOPIA. NUTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports,
only people. NUTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic. All people of
NUTOPIA are ambassadors of the country. As two ambassadors of NUTOPIA,
we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations of
our country and our people.
--Yoko Ono
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yoko_Ono>
Ex parte Crow Dog is an 1883 decision by the Supreme Court of the
United States that followed the death of one member of a Native American
tribe at the hands of another on reservation land. Crow Dog (pictured)
was a member of the Brulé band of the Lakota Sioux. On August 5, 1881,
he shot and killed Spotted Tail, a Lakota chief; there are different
accounts of the background to the killing. The tribal council dealt with
the incident according to Sioux tradition, and Crow Dog paid restitution
to the dead man's family. However, the U.S. authorities then prosecuted
Crow Dog for murder in a federal court. He was found guilty and
sentenced to hang. The Supreme Court held that unless authorized by
Congress, federal courts had no jurisdiction to try cases where the
offense had already been tried by the tribal council, and so Crow Dog
was released. The case led to the Major Crimes Act in 1885, which placed
15 major crimes under federal jurisdiction if committed by an Indian
against another Indian on a reservation or tribal land. This case was
the beginning of the plenary power legal doctrine that has been used in
Indian case law to limit tribal sovereignty.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_parte_Crow_Dog>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1076:
Demetrius Zvonimir, the last native king who exerted any real
power over the entire Croatian state, was crowned.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demetrius_Zvonimir_of_Croatia>
1871:
Four large fires broke out in the United States, including the
Great Chicago Fire and the Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin, the latter being
the deadliest fire in U.S. history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_Fire>
1918:
World War I: After his platoon suffered heavy casualties during
the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France's Forest of Argonne, American
Sergeant Alvin C. York led the seven remaining men on an attack against
a German machine gun nest, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_C._York>
1967:
Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader Che Guevara was
captured near La Higuera, Bolivia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara>
2001:
At Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, Scandinavian Airlines Flight
SK686 collided on take-off with a Cessna Citation II business jet,
killing 118 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linate_Airport_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
choreography:
1. The art of creating, arranging and recording the dance movements of a
ballet, etc.
2. The representation of these movements by a series of symbols.
3. The notation used to construct this record.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/choreography>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To know a thing well, know it limits. Only when pushed beyond its
tolerances will true nature be seen. Do not depend only on theory if
your life is at stake.
--Chapterhouse : Dune
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dune#Dune.23hapterhouse:_Dune_.281985.29>
Stanley Bruce (1883–1967) was the eighth Prime Minister of Australia,
serving from 1923 to 1929. He was a barrister and businessman before
being wounded in the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I. Elected to
parliament in 1918 as a member of the Nationalist Party, he served as
treasurer in the government of Billy Hughes before replacing him as
prime minister in 1923. Bruce overhauled federal government
administration and oversaw its transfer to the new capital, Canberra.
His "men, money and markets" scheme was an ambitious attempt to rapidly
expand Australia's population and economic potential through massive
government investment and closer ties with Great Britain and the rest of
the British Empire. But his heavy-handed response to industrial unrest
and attempts to overhaul labour laws led to a landslide defeat in 1929.
After politics, Bruce became involved with the League of Nations until
the outbreak of World War II. After the war, he was a leading advocate
of development aid, a founder of the Food and Agriculture Organization,
the first chancellor of the Australian National University and the first
Australian to sit in the House of Lords (as Viscount Bruce of
Melbourne).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Bruce>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1513:
War of the League of Cambrai: A Venetian army under Bartolomeo
d'Alviano was decisively defeated by the Spanish army commanded by
Ramón de Cardona and Fernando d'Avalos.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_La_Motta_(1513)>
1763:
Following Great Britain's acquisition of New France after the
end of the Seven Years' War, King George III issued a Royal
Proclamation closing most of this land to the residents of the Thirteen
Colonies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Proclamation_of_1763>
1933:
Five French airline companies merged to form Air France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France>
1976:
Hua Guofeng succeeded Mao Zedong as Chairman of the Communist
Party of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Guofeng>
1993:
The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood came to an end
after 103 days, as the Mississippi River at St. Louis finally dropped
below flood stage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1993>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
croggy:
A ride on the handlebars or crossbar of a bicycle.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/croggy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Letheri are masters at corrupting words, their meanings. They
call war peace, they call tyranny liberty. On which side of the shadow
you stand decides a word's meaning. Words are the weapons used by those
who see others with contempt. A contempt which only deepens when they
see how those others are deceived and made into fools because they
choose to believe. Because in their naivety they thought the meaning of
a word was fixed, immune to abuse.
--Steven Erikson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Erikson>