The golden-crowned sifaka is a medium-sized lemur characterized by
mostly white fur, prominent furry ears and a golden-orange crown. It is
one of the smallest sifakas, weighing around 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) and
measuring approximately 90 cm (35 in) from head to tail. Like all
sifakas, it is a vertical clinger and leaper, and its diet includes
mostly seeds and leaves. The golden-crowned sifaka lives in groups of
around five to six individuals, with groups containing a balanced number
of adult males and females. Its binomial name, Propithecus tattersalli,
denotes its discoverer, Ian Tattersall, who first spotted it in 1974.
Found in gallery, deciduous, and semi-evergreen forest, its restricted
range includes forest fragments around the town of Daraina in northeast
Madagascar. Its estimated population is between 6,000 and
10,000 individuals. Forest fragmentation, habitat destruction,
poaching, slash-and-burn agriculture, and other human factors threaten
its existence, and it is listed by the IUCN Red List as Endangered.
Lawlessness resulting from the 2009 political coup in Madagascar led to
increased poaching of this species, and many were sold to local
restaurants as a delicacy.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden-crowned_sifaka>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1894:
London's Tower Bridge (pictured), a combined bascule and
suspension bridge over the River Thames, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge>
1908:
A massive explosion occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska
River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, knocking over 80 million
trees over 2,150 square kilometres (830 sq mi).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event>
1934:
Adolf Hitler violently purged members of the Sturmabteilung,
its leader Ernst Röhm, and other political rivals on the Night of the
Long Knives, executing at least 85 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives>
1963:
A car bomb intended for Mafia boss Salvatore Greco killed seven
police and military officers near Palermo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciaculli_massacre>
1971:
The Soviet Soyuz 11 spacecraft suffered an uncontrolled
decompression during preparations for reentry, killing cosmonauts
Vladislav Volkov, Georgiy Dobrovolskiy and Viktor Patsayev—the only
human deaths to occur in space.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_11>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
miserabilist:
One who is unhappy, or extols being miserable as a virtue; a philosopher
of pessimism.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miserabilist>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All was taken away from you: white dresses, wings, even
existence. Yet I believe you, messengers. There, where the world is
turned inside out, a heavy fabric embroidered with stars and beasts, you
stroll, inspecting the trustworthy seams.
--Czesław Miłosz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Czes%C5%82aw_Mi%C5%82osz>
HMS Speedy was a 14-gun Speedy-class brig of the British Royal Navy.
Launched in 1782 at Dover, Speedy initially served off the British
coast. Transferred to the Mediterranean after the outbreak of the French
Revolutionary Wars, she spent the rest of her career there, winning fame
for herself in various engagements and often against heavy odds. Her
first commander in the Mediterranean, Charles Cunningham, served with
distinction with several squadrons, assisting in the capture of several
war prizes. His successor, George Cockburn, impressed his superiors with
his dogged devotion to duty. Speedy's next commander, George Eyre, lost
her to a superior French force on 9 June 1794. She was soon retaken,
and re-entered service under Hugh Downman, who captured a number of
privateers between 1795 and 1799. His successor, Jahleel Brenton, fought
a number of actions against Spanish forces off Gibraltar. Her last
captain, Lord Cochrane, forced the surrender of a much larger Spanish
warship, the Gamo. Speedy was finally captured by a powerful French
squadron in 1801 and donated to the Papal Navy by Napoleon the following
year. She spent five years with them under the name San Pietro, and was
broken up in 1807.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Speedy_(1782)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1613:
The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground after
a cannon employed for special effects misfired during a performance of
William Shakespeare's Henry VIII and ignited the theatre's roof.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre>
1776:
The first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War
was fought at the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet near Cape May, New Jersey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turtle_Gut_Inlet>
1967:
Actress Jayne Mansfield, her boyfriend Sam Brody, and their
driver were killed in a car accident outside of New Orleans, while her
children Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska Hargitay escaped with only minor
injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayne_Mansfield>
1974:
Isabel Perón was sworn in as the first female President of
Argentina, replacing her ill husband Juan Perón, who died two days
later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Mart%C3%ADnez_de_Per%C3%B3n>
2007:
Apple Inc. released the first generation iPhone, which
revolutionized the smartphone industry and made the company one of the
world's most valuable publicly traded companies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enterolith:
A mineral concretion in the intestinal tract.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enterolith>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To be a man is to be responsible: to be ashamed of miseries you
did not cause; to be proud of your comrades' victories; to be aware,
when setting one stone, that you are building a world.
--Antoine de Saint Exupéry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
The women's road race was one of the cycling events at the 2008 Summer
Olympics in Beijing, China. It took place on 10 August 2008, featuring
66 women from 33 countries. Heavy rain during the entire race made
conditions difficult for the competitors. A group of five was able to
break away during the final lap and worked together until the final
sprint, where Nicole Cooke (pictured) placed herself in position to win
the race. Cooke earned Great Britain's first medal at these Games and
200th Olympic gold medal overall. Emma Johansson of Sweden and Tatiana
Guderzo of Italy won the silver and bronze medals respectively. The race
also marked the first positive drug test of the 2008 Olympic Games, by
María Isabel Moreno of Spain. It was the seventh appearance of an
Olympic women's road race event and featured a longer course than any of
the previous six races. The race was run on the Urban Road Cycling
Course (one of Beijing's nine temporary venues), which is 102.6
kilometres (63.8 mi) in its entirety. Including a second lap around the
23.8 km (14.8 mi) final circuit, the total distance of the women's
race was 126.4 km (78.5 mi), less than half the length of the men's
race.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1743:
War of the Austrian Succession: In the last time that a British
monarch personally led his troops into battle, George II and his forces
defeated the French in Dettingen, Bavaria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dettingen>
1844:
Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and his
brother Hyrum were killed by an armed mob who stormed the prison where
they were incarcerated in Carthage, Illinois.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Joseph_Smith>
1905:
The crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin began a mutiny
against their oppressive officers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Potemkin>
1952:
The Congress of Guatemala passed Decree 900, redistributing
unused lands of sizes greater than 224 acres (0.9 km2) to local
peasants and having a major effect on the nation's land reform movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decree_900>
1977:
The former French Territory of the Afars and the Issas was
granted independence from France and became Djibouti.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djibouti>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
philander:
To make love to women; to play the male flirt.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/philander>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man is a creation of desire, not a creation of need.
--Gaston Bachelard
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gaston_Bachelard>
The 1898 United States Senate election in Ohio took place in that
state's legislature on January 12. The Republican incumbent, Mark Hanna,
had been appointed by Governor Asa Bushnell on March 5, 1897, to fill
the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Sherman; the appointment
was only good until the legislature met and made its own choice.
Republicans kept their majority in the election that November,
apparently assuring Hanna's election once the new body met in January
1898. However, the Ohio Republican party was bitterly divided into two
factions. Before the legislative session, the Democrats allied with a
number of Republicans, seeking to defeat Hanna, and took control of both
houses of the legislature. Intense politicking took place and some
lawmakers went into hiding fearing pressure by the other side. The
coalition decided on Cleveland Mayor Robert McKisson as their candidate
the day before the balloting began. Three Republican state
representatives who had voted with the Democrats to organize the
legislature switched sides and voted for Hanna, who triumphed with a
bare majority. Bribery was alleged; legislative leaders complained to
the US Senate, which took no action.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Ohio,_1898>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
not dog:
A vegetarian imitation-sausage, or hot dog sandwich made with one.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/not_dog>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
So long as you are a slave to the opinions of the many you have
not yet approached freedom or tasted its nectar … But I do not mean by
this that we ought to be shameless before all men and to do what we
ought not; but all that we refrain from and all that we do, let us not
do or refrain from merely because it seems to the multitude somehow
honorable or base, but because it is forbidden by reason and the god
within us.
--Julian
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian>
The 2012 tour of She Has a Name was a fringe theatre tour across Canada
of Andrew Kooman's She Has a Name, a play about human trafficking. The
tour was co-produced by Burnt Thicket Theatre and Raise Their Voice and
was directed by Stephen Waldschmidt. The five-person cast featured Carl
Kennedy, Evelyn Chew, Glenda Warkentin, Alysa van Haastert, and Sienna
Howell-Holden. Despite the fact that She Has a Name is set in Southeast
Asia, the producers deliberately cast mostly actors who were not of
Asian descent to avoid the impression that human trafficking happens
only in Asia. Panel discussions were held after the Saturday matinées
during the tour to raise awareness about human trafficking that takes
place in Canada and elsewhere. A Better World (ABW) partnered with Raise
Their Voice throughout the tour; while She Has a Name toured across
Canada to raise awareness about human trafficking, ABW raised money to
help women and children who had been trafficked in Thailand as part of
the country's prostitution industry. Critical ratings of the
performances that employed stars ranged between 3 and 5 stars out of
5.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_tour_of_She_Has_a_Name>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1900:
A Daoist monk discovered the Dunhuang manuscripts (sample
pictured), a cache of documents from the 5th to 11th centuries, in the
Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunhuang_manuscripts>
1913:
More than 50,000 Union and Confederate veterans gathered at the
Gettysburg Battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the largest
combined reunion of American Civil War veterans ever held.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_Gettysburg_reunion>
1944:
World War II: United States Navy and Royal Navy ships bombarded
Cherbourg, France, to support U.S. Army units engaged in the Battle of
Cherbourg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Cherbourg>
1978:
The rainbow flag representing gay pride first flew in the San
Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_flag_(LGBT_movement)>
2009:
Swedish authorities removed eight-year-old Domenic Johansson
from the custody of his parents on the grounds that he was not being
properly educated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domenic_Johansson_custody_case>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
flense:
To strip the blubber or skin from, as from a whale, seal, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flense>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The relative freedom which we enjoy depends of public opinion.
The law is no protection. Governments make laws, but whether they are
carried out, and how the police behave, depends on the general temper in
the country. If large numbers of people are interested in freedom of
speech, there will be freedom of speech, even if the law forbids it; if
public opinion is sluggish, inconvenient minorities will be persecuted,
even if laws exist to protect them.
--George Orwell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell>
Hiram Wesley Evans (1881–1966) was Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux
Klan, an American white supremacist group, from 1922 to 1939. Evans, a
dentist, joined the Klan's Dallas chapter in 1920. He quickly rose
through the ranks and, after ousting William J. Simmons as Imperial
Wizard, sought to transform the group into a political juggernaut.
Although Evans had led the kidnapping and torture of a black man while
leader of the Dallas Klan, as Imperial Wizard he publicly discouraged
vigilante actions. He also led major gatherings and marches, endorsed
several successful candidates in state elections, and promoted the Klan
as a nativist, Protestant group. Despite these efforts, the Klan was
buffeted by damaging publicity in the early 1920s, and the Great
Depression of the 1930s severely damaged the Klan's finances and Evans'
own income. In 1939 Evans, having lost favor within the Klan for
disavowing anti-Catholicism, was succeeded by James A. Colescott; the
following year he was fined $15,000 for price fixing. Historians credit
Evans with refocusing the Klan on political activities and recruiting
outside the Southern United States but note that the political influence
and membership gained were transitory.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Wesley_Evans>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1571:
Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi established a
council to govern the city of Manila, now the capital of the
Philippines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila>
1717:
The first Masonic Grand Lodge, the Premier Grand Lodge of
England, was founded in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_Grand_Lodge_of_England>
1880:
"O Canada" (audio featured), today the national anthem of
Canada, was first performed in Quebec City, Quebec, during a Saint-Jean-
Baptiste Day banquet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada>
1937:
The United States' first two "fast battleships", the North
Carolina class, were ordered from the New York and Philadelphia Naval
Shipyards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina-class_battleship>
1994:
A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress based at
Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane County, Washington, crashed, killing
all four crew members, and later providing a case study on the
importance of compliance with safety regulations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dead tree edition:
(idiomatic, pejorative, humorous) Paper version of a publication that
can be found online.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dead_tree_edition>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have said that God is pleased with nothing but love; but
before I explain this, it will be as well to set forth the grounds on
which the assertion rests. All our works, and all our labours, how grand
soever they may be, are nothing in the sight of God, for we can give Him
nothing, neither can we by them fulfil His desire, which is the growth
of our soul. As to Himself He desires nothing of this, for He has need
of nothing, and so, if He is pleased with anything it is with the growth
of the soul; and as there is no way in which the soul can grow but in
becoming in a manner equal to Him, for this reason only is He pleased
with our love.
--John of the Cross
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_of_the_Cross>
Laura Secord (1775–1868) was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812,
who undertook a 20-mile (32 km) walk out of American-occupied territory
to warn British forces of an impending American attack. Secord's husband
James was wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights in 1812, and was
still recovering when the Americans invaded the Niagara Peninsula in
1813. During the occupation, Secord learned of a planned American
attack, and stole away on the morning of 23 June to inform Lieutenant
James FitzGibbon in the territory still controlled by the British. The
information helped the British and their Mohawk warrior allies repel the
invading Americans at the Battle of Beaver Dams. Her contribution to the
war was little known during her lifetime, but since her death she has
been frequently honoured by Canada. Honours bestowed on her include
schools and a chocolate company named after her, as well as monuments, a
museum, a memorial stamp, and a statue at the Valiants Memorial in the
Canadian capital. Her story has taken on mythological overtones in her
home country, with many embellished versions of the tale, and she is the
subject of books, poetry, and plays.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Secord>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1280:
Reconquista: Troops of the Emirate of Granada defeated those of
the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Leon in the Battle of Moclín.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mocl%C3%ADn_(1280)>
1780:
American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army victory in the
Battle of Springfield effectively put an end to British ambitions in New
Jersey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Springfield_(1780)>
1926:
The College Board administered the first SAT, a major
standardized test for university and college admissions in the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT>
1956:
Gamal Abdel Nasser became President of Egypt, a post he would
hold until his death in 1970.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser>
1991:
The video game Sonic the Hedgehog was first released,
propelling the Sega Genesis 16-bit console into mass popularity.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(1991_video_game)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unbeknownst:
(followed by to) Without the knowledge of.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unbeknownst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All worthy work is open to interpretations the author did not
intend. Art isn't your pet — it's your kid. It grows up and talks back
to you.
--Joss Whedon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon>
Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 was a rubble masonry stone arch bridge
over Plunketts Creek in Plunketts Creek Township, Lycoming County, in
the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was built between 1840 and 1875,
probably closer to 1840, when the road along the creek between the
villages of Barbours and Proctor was constructed. It was named as the
third bridge to cross the creek, and was 75 feet (23 m) long. Its arch
spanned 44 feet (13 m), and its deck was 18 feet 8 inches (5.69 m)
wide. It carried a single lane of traffic, about 450 vehicles a day in
1996. The lumber, leather, and coal industries used the bridge and its
road in the 19th century. These almost all left by the early
20th century, and the villages declined. The area the bridge served
reverted mostly to second growth forest and it was used to access
Pennsylvania State Game Lands and a state pheasant farm. Plunketts Creek
Bridge No. 3 was considered "significant as an intact example of mid-
19th century stone arch bridge construction", and was added to the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on June 22, 1988. The bridge
was demolished after severe flood damage in January 1996, and it was
removed from the NRHP in 2002.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plunketts_Creek_Bridge_No._3>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1593:
Ottoman forces were crushingly defeated by the Habsburgs at
Sisak (now in Croatia), triggering the Long War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sisak>
1807:
The British warship HMS Leopard pursued and attacked the
American frigate USS Chesapeake in the belief that the latter had
deserters from the Royal Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake%E2%80%93Leopard_Affair>
1941:
World War II: As over 4.5 million Axis troops began their
invasion of the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian Activist Front started an
uprising to liberate Lithuania from Soviet occupation and establish a
new government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Uprising_in_Lithuania>
1969:
The surface of the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, US, caught on fire,
helping to spur the environmental movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_River>
2009:
Citing declining sales due to the emergence of digital
photography, the Eastman Kodak Company announced that it would
discontinue sales of the Kodachrome reversal film, concluding its
74-year run as a photography icon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachrome>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
avocation:
1. A hobby or recreational or leisure pursuit.
2. Pursuits; duties; affairs which occupy one's time; usual employment;
vocation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avocation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can
collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.
--Anne Morrow Lindbergh
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anne_Morrow_Lindbergh>
Ezra Meeker (1830–1928) was an American pioneer who traveled the
Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon in 1852, migrating from Iowa to the
Oregon Territory with his wife and newborn son. Although they endured
hardships in the journey of nearly six months, the entire Meeker party
survived. In 1862, he settled at the present site of Puyallup,
Washington, where he grew hops for use in brewing beer. His business
made him wealthy, and he served as Puyallup's first mayor, but an
infestation of hop aphids in 1891 destroyed his crops and took much of
his fortune. He made four trips to the Klondike during the gold rush
there, bringing groceries in an unsuccessful attempt to recoup his
losses. After the turn of the 20th century, Meeker, convinced that the
Oregon Trail was being forgotten, determined to bring it publicity. In
1906–1908, although in his late 70s, he retraced his steps along the
Oregon Trail by wagon, seeking to build monuments in communities along
the way; he reached New York and Washington, D.C., where he met
President Theodore Roosevelt. He wrote several books, and traveled the
Trail again several times in the final two decades of his life,
including by airplane in 1924.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Meeker>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1529:
War of the League of Cognac: The French army under Francis de
Bourbon was destroyed in Lombardy, present-day Italy, by the Spanish
army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Landriano>
1826:
Greek War of Independence: A combined Egyptian and Ottoman army
began their invasion of the Mani Peninsula, but they were initially held
off by the Maniots at the fortifications of Vergas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Egyptian_invasion_of_Mani>
1848:
In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and
Christian Tell proclaimed a new republican government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallachian_Revolution_of_1848>
1963:
Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was elected as Pope
Paul VI (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_VI>
2004:
SpaceShipOne completed the first privately funded human
spaceflight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
angst:
1. A feeling of acute but vague anxiety or apprehension often accompanied
by depression, especially philosophical anxiety.
2. More commonly, painful sadness or emotional turmoil, as teen angst.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/angst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Cause, Principle, and One eternal From whom being, life, and
movement are suspended, And which extends itself in length, breadth, and
depth, To whatever is in Heaven, on Earth, and Hell; With sense, with
reason, with mind, I discern, That there is no act, measure, nor
calculation, which can comprehend That force, that vastness and that
number, Which exceeds whatever is inferior, middle, and highest; Blind
error, avaricious time, adverse fortune, Deaf envy, vile madness,
jealous iniquity, Crude heart, perverse spirit, insane audacity, Will
not be sufficient to obscure the air for me, Will not place the veil
before my eyes, Will never bring it about that I shall not Contemplate
my beautiful Sun.
--Giordano Bruno
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno>
Odyssey Number Five is the fourth studio album by Australian rock band
Powderfinger (lead guitarist Ian Haug pictured), produced by Nick DiDia
and released on 4 September 2000. The album was the band's shortest
yet, focusing on social, political, and emotional issues that had
appeared in prior works, especially Internationalist. The album produced
four singles. The most successful, "My Happiness", reached number 4 on
the ARIA Singles Chart, won the 2001 ARIA Music Award for "Single of
the Year", and topped Triple J's Hottest 100 in 2000. The album also
featured "These Days", which topped Triple J's Hottest 100 in 1999. The
album was also ranked at number 1 in Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian
Albums of All Time poll in 2011. Many critics lauded the album as
Powderfinger's best work; one stated that the album was "the Finger's
Crowning Glory", however, others were critical of the "imitation"
contained in the album. Overall, the album won five ARIA Music Awards in
2001 and was certified platinum seven times. Odyssey Number Five was
Powderfinger's first album to chart in the United States, and the band
toured extensively around North America to promote its release.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey_Number_Five>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1685:
Monmouth Rebellion: The Duke of Monmouth declared himself King
of England at Bridgwater.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Scott,_1st_Duke_of_Monmouth>
1887:
Victoria Terminus, now the busiest railway station in India,
opened in Bombay on the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhatrapati_Shivaji_Terminus_railway_station>
1900:
Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army began a 55-day siege
of the Legation Quarter in Beijing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_the_International_Legations>
1947:
A Mafia hitman murdered gangster Bugsy Siegel in Beverly Hills,
California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugsy_Siegel>
1963:
The so-called "red telephone" was established between the White
House and the Kremlin, after the Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrated that
direct communications between the two nations were necessary.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow%E2%80%93Washington_hotline>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
demagogue:
(pejorative) An orator or leader who gains favor by pandering to or
exciting the passions and prejudices of the audience.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/demagogue>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It's time to start believing — Oh yes Believing who you are:
You are a shining star.
--Lionel Richie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lionel_Richie>