The Jin campaigns against the Song Dynasty were a series of wars that
took place in the 12th and 13th centuries between the Jurchen Jin
Dynasty and the Chinese Song Dynasty. The Jin invaded the Song in 1125
and captured the Song capital of Kaifeng in 1127, imprisoning Emperor
Qinzong and Huizong (pictured). The Jin conquered northern China and
remnants of the Song retreated to southern China, relocating the capital
to Hangzhou. A treaty ended the war in 1142 and settled the boundary
along the Huai River. Prince Hailing invaded the Song in 1161, but lost
at Caishi and was assassinated shortly after. A Song invasion of the Jin
motivated by revanchism in 1206–08 and a Jin invasion of the Song in
1217–24 were both unsuccessful. The Song allied with the Mongols in
1233, and jointly captured the last refuge of the Jin emperor in 1234,
the year the Jin collapsed. The wars between the Song and Jin gave rise
to an era of technological, cultural, and demographic changes in China.
The Jin adopted the political and cultural institutions of past Chinese
dynasties, gunpowder weapons like the fire lance were introduced, and
the Song resettled and rebuilt their government in southern China.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_campaigns_against_the_Song_Dynasty>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
314:
Sylvester I, during whose pontificate the great churches of Rome
were built, began his reign as pope.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sylvester_I>
1747:
The London Lock Hospital, the first clinic specialising in the
treatment of venereal diseases, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Lock_Hospital>
1846:
After having come to blows over the construction of a bridge,
the citizens of two neighboring towns united to form the city of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (skyline pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee>
1971:
The Vietnam Veterans Against the War opened the Winter Soldier
Investigation, a three-day media event to publicize war crimes and other
atrocities by American forces and their allies during the Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Soldier_Investigation>
2010:
Avatar became the first film to earn over $2 billion worldwide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
smaragdine:
Having the colour of emeralds.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smaragdine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider. 
--Augustine of Hippo
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo>
Lemurs of Madagascar is a reference work and field guide giving
descriptions and biogeographic data for all the known lemur species in
Madagascar (ring-tailed lemur pictured). It also provides general
information about lemurs and their history and helps travelers identify
species they may encounter. The primary contributor is Russell
Mittermeier, president of Conservation International. The first edition
in 1994 received favorable reviews for its meticulous coverage, numerous
high-quality illustrations, and engaging discussion of lemur topics,
including conservation, evolution, and the recently extinct subfossil
lemurs. The American Journal of Primatology praised the second edition's
updates and enhancements. Lemur News appreciated the expanded content of
the third edition (2010), but was concerned that it was not as portable
as before. The first edition identified 50 lemur species and
subspecies, compared to 71 in the second edition and 101 in the third.
The taxonomy promoted by these books has been questioned by some
researchers who view these growing numbers of lemur species as
insufficiently justified inflation of species numbers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemurs_of_Madagascar_(book)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1661:
Two years after his death, Oliver Cromwell's remains were
exhumed for a posthumous execution and his head was placed on a spike
above Westminster Hall in London, where it remained until 1685.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell%27s_head>
1847:
The town of Yerba Buena in Mexican California was renamed San
Francisco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco>
1948:
Nathuram Godse fatally shot Mahatma Gandhi (pictured), the
political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence
movement, at Birla House in Delhi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi>
1964:
In a bloodless coup, General Nguyen Khanh overthrew General
Duong Van Minh's military junta in South Vietnam, less than three months
after Minh executed a bloody coup himself.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_South_Vietnamese_coup>
1972:
On Bloody Sunday, members of the British Parachute Regiment
shot at twenty-six civil rights protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland,
killing at least thirteen people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1972)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mignon:
Small and cute; pretty in a delicate way; dainty.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mignon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I like to think (it has to be!) of a cybernetic ecology where we
are free of our labors and joined back to nature, returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters, and all watched over by machines of loving grace.
--Richard Brautigan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Brautigan>
At 14.45 miles (23.26 km), the West Virginia segment of Interstate 70
(I-70) is the shortest in any state through which I-70 passes on its way
from near Cove Fort, Utah, to near Baltimore, Maryland. Part of the U.S.
Interstate Highway System, it crosses the Northern Panhandle region of
West Virginia through Ohio County and the city of Wheeling. The Fort
Henry Bridge carries I-70 from Wheeling Island across the Ohio River and
into downtown Wheeling before the freeway enters the Wheeling Tunnel.
I-470, the lone auxiliary Interstate Highway in West Virginia, is
intersected near Elm Grove. Before crossing into Pennsylvania, I-70
passes The Highlands, a major shopping center, and the Bear Rock Lakes
Wildlife Management Area. Between 27,000 and 53,000 vehicles use the
freeway daily. The I-70 designation was brought to the Northern
Panhandle with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and a
controlled-access highway was built across the panhandle, bypassing
portions of the old National Road constructed in 1818 to connect
Wheeling and Cumberland, Maryland. The first portions of I-70 were
opened in 1963, and construction was completed across the panhandle by
1971.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_70_in_West_Virginia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
757:
An Lushan, leader of a revolt against the Tang Dynasty and
emperor of Yan, was murdered by his own son, An Qingxu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan>
1856:
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issued a Warrant under the
Royal sign-manual that established the Victoria Cross, originally to
recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the
Crimean War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Cross>
1891:
Liliʻuokalani was proclaimed the last monarch and only queen
regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliuokalani>
1944:
World War II: At least 38 people were killed and about a dozen
injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai,
Lithuania) was attacked by Soviet partisan units.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koniuchy_massacre>
2006:
India's Irfan Pathan became the first bowler to take a Test
cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irfan_Pathan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
obviate:
(transitive) To bypass a requirement or make it unnecessary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obviate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child
may have peace.
--Thomas Paine
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine>
Paul Henderson (born 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey
player. A left winger, he played 13 seasons in the National Hockey
League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta
Flames and 5 in the World Hockey Association for the Toronto Toros and
Birmingham Bulls. He played over 1,000 games, scoring 376 goals and
758 points. He is best known for leading Team Canada to victory at the
1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Played at the height of
the Cold War, the series was viewed as a battle for both hockey and
cultural supremacy. Henderson scored the game-winning goal in the sixth,
seventh and eighth games, the last of which was voted the "sports moment
of the century" by The Canadian Press. Henderson played in two NHL All-
Star Games and has twice been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
(individually and as a member of the 1972 national team). He was
inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in
2013. A born-again Christian, Henderson became a minister and
motivational speaker after his playing career, and has co-written three
books. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2012.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Henderson>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1077:
Pope Gregory VII lifted the excommunication of Henry IV after
the Holy Roman Emperor made his trek from Speyer to Canossa Castle to
beg the pope for forgiveness for his actions in the Investiture
Controversy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_to_Canossa>
1393:
King Charles VI of France was nearly killed when several
dancers' costumes caught fire during a masquerade ball.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal_des_Ardents>
1754:
Horace Walpole first coined the word "serendipity" in a letter
he wrote to a friend, saying that he derived the term from the Persian
fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Walpole>
1964:
An unarmed US Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission
was shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19, killing all
three aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_T-39_shootdown_incident>
1984:
Tropical Storm Domoina made landfall in southern Mozambique,
causing some of the most severe flooding recorded in the region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Domoina>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
penumbra:
A partially shaded area around the edges of a shadow, especially an
eclipse.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penumbra>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am a sincere man from where the palm tree grows, and before I
die I wish to pour forth the verses from my soul.
--José Martí
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mart%C3%AD>
Crocodilia is an order of large, predatory, semi-aquatic reptiles. They
appeared in the Late Cretaceous, and include true crocodiles,
alligators, caimans, and gharials. Solidly built animals, they have long
flattened snouts, eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of the head and
laterally compressed tails. Their skin is thick and covered in scales;
they have conical teeth and a powerful bite. They swim well and can move
quite rapidly on land. They are found mainly in lowlands in the tropics,
but alligators are also found in the United States (American alligator
pictured) and China. They are largely carnivorous; some specialise on
fish while others have generalised diets. They are typically solitary
and territorial. In some species, females care for their young. Eight
species have attacked humans, the largest number of attacks being by the
Nile crocodile. Crocodilian populations are threatened by habitat
destruction and being hunted by humans, but farming the reptiles has
reduced the unlawful trade in wild skins. They have appeared in art
since at least Ancient Egypt. Tales of crocodile tears date to the 9th
century, repeated by Sir John Mandeville in 1400 and William
Shakespeare.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodilia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1343:
Pope Clement VI (cameo pictured) issued the papal bull
Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_VI>
1785:
The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, one of the oldest
public universities in the United States, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Georgia>
1944:
World War II: The Soviet Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
successfully lifted the Siege of Leningrad, 872 days after it began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad>
1967:
The Apollo 1 spacecraft was destroyed by fire at the Kennedy
Space Center, killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger
Chaffee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1>
1974:
The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of Brisbane,
broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Brisbane_flood>
2011:
Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution began as over 16,000
protestors demonstrated in Sana'a to demand governmental changes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Revolution>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cop on:
(Ireland, informal, idiomatic) Common sense.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cop_on>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Customs and convictions change; respectable people are the
last to know, or to admit, the change, and the ones most offended by
fresh reflections of the facts in the mirror of art.
--John Updike
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Updike>
Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) was an American general who played a
prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received
the Medal of Honor, as did his father, was one of only five men to rise
to the rank of General of the Army in the U.S. Army, and was the only
man to become a field marshal in the Philippine Army. After graduating
first in his West Point class in 1903, MacArthur participated in the
1914 occupation of Veracruz and served on the Western Front during
World War I, becoming the U.S. Army's youngest major general.
Thereafter he held a variety of posts, including Superintendent of West
Point and Chief of Staff. He retired in 1937, but was recalled to active
duty during World War II. After the Japanese invasion of the
Philippines, he escaped with his family and staff to Australia, where he
became Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area. He fulfilled a famous
pledge to return to the Philippines, and officially accepted Japan's
surrender on 2 September 1945. Overseeing the occupation of Japan from
1945 to 1951, he implemented many reforms, and led the United Nations
Command in the Korean War until President Harry Truman had him relieved
of his commands in April 1951.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1500:
Spanish navigator, explorer, and conquistador Vicente Yáñez
Pinzón reached the north coast of what today is Brazil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicente_Y%C3%A1%C3%B1ez_Pinz%C3%B3n>
1564:
Livonian War: A Lithuanian surprise attack resulted in a
decisive defeat of the numerically superior Russian forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ula>
1863:
American Civil War: After the disastrous result of the Battle
of Fredericksburg and a failed offensive against Robert E. Lee, Union
Army General Ambrose Burnside was relieved from command of the Army of
the Potomac.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Burnside>
1952:
Spontaneous anti-British riots erupted in Cairo following the
killings of 50 Egyptian auxiliary police the day before.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Fire>
1991:
Factions led by warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his rebel
group, the United Somali Congress, ousted President of Somalia Siad
Barre from office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siad_Barre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
monoousian:
(theology) Having one and the same nature or essence, especially with
regard to the persons of the Trinity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monoousian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Let's give this entity which you call soul another name.
Soul has too many incorrect meanings for humans, too many verbal
reverberations, too many contrary definitions. Speak the word soul, and
unbelievers will automatically become deaf to what follows. Those who
believe in souls will always hear you through the mental constructs that
they formed on Earth. Let us call this nonmatter twin the... ah... ka…
--Philip José Farmer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer>
The Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar was a fifty-cent
commemorative coin issued by the U.S. Bureau of the Mint in 1936, part
of the wave of commemoratives authorized by Congress and struck that
year. Intended to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Elgin,
the piece was designed by local sculptor Trygve Rovelstad. The obverse
depicts an idealized head of a pioneer man. The reverse shows a grouping
of pioneers, and is based upon a sculptural group that Rovelstad hoped
to build as a memorial to those who settled Illinois, but which was not
erected in his lifetime. He hoped that the coin would both depict and be
a source of funds for the memorial. Texas coin dealer L.W. Hoffecker,
who assisted Rovelstad, was able to sell about 20,000 coins, four-
fifths of the issue: the remaining 5,000 were returned to the Mint for
melting. Unlike many commemorative coins of that era, the piece was not
bought up by dealers and speculators, but was sold directly to
collectors at the issue price. Art historian Cornelius Vermeule
considered the Elgin coin among the most outstanding American
commemoratives.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin,_Illinois,_Centennial_half_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1554:
Jesuit missionaries José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbrega
established a mission at São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, which
grew to become São Paulo, Brazil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo>
1704:
English colonists from the Province of Carolina and their
native allies began a series of brutal raids against a largely pacific
population of Apalachee in Spanish Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachee_massacre>
1949:
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented the first
Emmy Awards to honor excellence in the American television industry.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy_Award>
1971:
Idi Amin Dada seized power in a military coup d'état from
President Milton Obote, beginning eight years of military rule in
Uganda.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin>
2004:
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (artist's impression
pictured) landed on Mars and rolled into Eagle crater, a small crater on
the Meridiani Planum.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lose face:
(idiomatic) To lose the respect of others; to be humiliated or
experience public disgrace.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lose_face>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we
ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take
delight in it while we have it. If change is of the essence of existence
one would have thought it only sensible to make it the premise of our
philosophy.
--W. Somerset Maugham
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._Somerset_Maugham>
Sudirman (1916–50) was a high-ranking military officer during the
Indonesian National Revolution. The first commander-in-chief of the
Indonesian Armed Forces, he was declared a National Hero in 1964. A
teacher when the Japanese occupied the Indies in 1942, he joined the
Japanese-sponsored Defenders of the Homeland and oversaw the Japanese
surrender in Banyumas after Indonesia proclaimed its independence.
Elected commander-in-chief in November 1945, he ordered an assault on
British and Dutch forces at Ambarawa, strengthening his popular support.
During the next three years negotiations with the Dutch failed and in
December 1948 the Dutch tried to capture Yogyakarta, the republican
capital. While the political leadership sheltered, Sudirman led a small
group of soldiers in a seven-month guerrilla campaign. When the Dutch
began withdrawing, he wanted to continue fighting them but was
forbidden. Sudirman retired because of illness and died soon after the
Dutch recognised Indonesia's independence. His guerrilla campaign has
been credited with developing the army's esprit de corps, and the
100-kilometre (62 mi) long route he took must be followed by Indonesian
cadets before graduation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudirman>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
41:
Cassius Chaerea and the disgruntled Praetorian Guards murdered
Roman emperor Caligula (bust pictured), replacing him with his uncle
Claudius.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula>
1857:
The University of Calcutta, the first modern university in the
Indian subcontinent, was established in Calcutta.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Calcutta>
1900:
Second Boer War: Boer forces stopped a British attempt to break
the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spion_Kop>
1968:
Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launched Operation
Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider
fighting around Long Binh and Bien Hoa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Coburg>
2009:
Klaus, the most damaging storm since Lothar and Martin in
December 1999, made landfall near Bordeaux, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Klaus>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
alicorn:
(now historical) The horn of a unicorn considered as a medical or
pharmacological ingredient.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alicorn>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one
can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is
unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in
big things, and happy in small ways.
--Edith Wharton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Wharton>
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is a crossover fighting game
featuring characters from Capcom's video game franchises and from
various anime series by Tatsunoko Production. The game was released in
Japan for arcades and the Wii video game console in December 2008. It
was released for the Wii in North America, Japan, and Europe in January
2010, featuring additional characters and an online mode. Players engage
in combat with a team of two characters or with a single giant character
and attempt to knock out their opponents. It is the seventh Capcom-
designed installment in their Vs. fighting game series, which includes
the Marvel vs. Capcom and Capcom vs. SNK series, and the first to be
fully rendered in 3D graphics. The game is designed around a simplified
three-button attack system, which was inspired by the simplistic control
schemes commonly used by both the Vs. series and the Wii. The game
received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its
approachable gameplay for newcomers and depth for veteran players.
However, reviewers had mixed experiences with its online component, and
found Arcade mode lacking in replay value.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatsunoko_vs._Capcom:_Ultimate_All-Stars>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
393:
Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaimed his nine-year-old son
Honorius co-emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorius_(emperor)>
1570:
James Hamilton shot and killed James Stewart, 1st Earl of
Moray, in the first recorded assassination using a firearm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart,_1st_Earl_of_Moray>
1789:
Bishop John Carroll purchased a plot of land that would be the
home of the future Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic University
in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_University>
1945:
German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz ordered the beginning of
Operation Hannibal, which became one of the largest emergency
evacuations by sea in history, with over 1 million people transferred
over 15 weeks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hannibal>
1997:
Madeleine Albright was sworn in as the first female United
States Secretary of State, the highest-ranking woman in the history of
the U.S. government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Albright>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
blueberrying:
The act of gathering blueberries.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blueberrying>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A cultural inheritance may be acquired between dusk and dawn, and
many have been so acquired. But the new "culture" was an inheritance of
darkness, wherein "simpleton" meant the same thing as "citizen" meant
the same thing as "slave." The monks waited. It mattered not at all to
them that the knowledge they saved was useless, that much of it was not
really knowledge now… empty of content, its subject matter long since
gone. Still, such knowledge had a symbolic structure that was peculiar
to itself, and at least the symbol-interplay could be observed. To
observe the way a knowledge-system is knit together is to learn at least
a minimum knowledge-of-knowledge, until someday — someday, or some
century — an Integrator would come, and things would be fitted
together again. So time mattered not at all. The Memorabilia was there,
and it was given to them by duty to preserve, and preserve it they would
if the darkness in the world lasted ten more centuries, or even ten
thousand years...
--Walter M. Miller, Jr.
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller,_Jr.>
Gymnopilus maritimus is a species of Cortinariaceae fungus first
collected in northern Sardinia, Italy, in 2006. The species produces
moderately sized, sturdy mushrooms of a reddish-orange colour. The cap,
which can measure up to 70 millimetres (3 in) across, is covered in
orange fibrils, and sometimes has small scales. The yellowish stem
measures up to 110 mm (4 in) in length by 8 mm (0.3 in) in width,
and sometimes shows remnants of the partial veil. The mushrooms have
thick gills of a variable colour, ranging from yellow to rust but
staining darker, and the yellow flesh has a mild taste. The mushrooms
leave a rusty-brown spore print, while the spores themselves measure
from 7.5 to 11.5 micrometres in length. The species is most similar in
appearance to G. arenophilus and G. fulgens, but is not closely
related to either and is not particularly similar to any of its closest
relatives. The species has been found only on coastal sand dunes near
Olbia, Sardinia, where it was observed growing at the base of Juncus
maritimus (the sea rush), between the winter months of October and
January. However, there is speculation that it may also grow elsewhere
in Europe.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnopilus_maritimus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
565:
Justinian the Great deposed Eutychius, Patriarch of
Constantinople, after he refused the Byzantine Emperor's order to adopt
the tenets of the Aphthartodocetae, a sect of Monophysites.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Eutychius_of_Constantinople>
1905:
Russian Revolution: Peaceful demonstrators, led by Father Gapon
(pictured), a Russian Orthodox priest, were massacred outside the Winter
Palace in St. Petersburg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1905)>
1924:
Ramsay MacDonald took office as the first British Prime
Minister from the Labour Party.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsay_MacDonald>
1944:
World War II: The Allies commenced Operation Shingle, an
amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno,
Italy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Shingle>
1984:
Apple Computer introduced the Macintosh, the first successful
personal computer to use a graphical user interface, during Super
Bowl XVIII with its groundbreaking "1984" television commercial.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(advertisement)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enthesis:
(anatomy) The point at which a tendon, ligament, or muscle inserts into
a bone.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enthesis>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As a Buddhist, I was trained to be tolerant of everything except
intolerance.
--U Thant
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/U_Thant>
The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is an elected constitutional
officer in the executive branch of the state government of New Jersey in
the United States. The person elected to this position is the second
highest-ranking official in the state government. Before 2010, New
Jersey was one of a few U.S. states that did not have a lieutenant
governor. Two men were appointed to the office during brief periods in
New Jersey's colonial era (1664–1776), but for most the state's
history, the senate president would become "acting governor" during
vacancies in the governor's office. After the resignations of Governors
Christine Todd Whitman in 2001 and Jim McGreevey in 2004, the state had
several acting governors in the span of a few years. Popular sentiment
and political pressure from the state's residents and news media outlets
sought a better rule for gubernatorial succession. In a referendum, the
state's voters authorized a 2006 amendment of the State Constitution to
create the position. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, voters elected
Republican Kim Guadagno (pictured) to be the first to serve in the post
in its modern form.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Governor_of_New_Jersey>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
763:
The Abbasid Caliphate crushed the Alid Revolt when one of the
rebellion leaders was mortally wounded in battle near Basra in what is
now Iraq.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alid_Revolt_(762%E2%80%93763)>
1525:
The Anabaptist Movement was born when founders Conrad Grebel,
Felix Manz, and George Blaurock re-baptized each other and other
followers in Zürich, Switzerland, believing that the Christian
religious practice of infant baptism is invalid because a child cannot
commit to a religious faith.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabaptist>
1912:
Raymond Poincaré (pictured), who would pursue hardline anti-
German policies, began his first term as Prime Minister of France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Poincar%C3%A9>
1968:
Vietnam War: The Vietnam People's Army attacked Khe Sanh Combat
Base, a U.S. Marines outpost in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam,
starting the Battle of Khe Sanh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khe_Sanh>
1997:
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 395–28 to reprimand
Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the
House to be so disciplined.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt_Gingrich>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
palinspastic:
(geology, of a map) Showing the previous location of geological
features, correcting for any intervening crustal movements.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palinspastic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is bad policy to fear the resentment of an enemy.
--Ethan Allen
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ethan_Allen>
Tiruchirappalli is the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Tamil
Nadu and is the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli District.
Its recorded history begins in the 3rd century BC, when it was under
the rule of the Cholas. The city has also been ruled by the Pandyas,
Pallavas, Vijayanagar Empire, Nayak Dynasty, the Carnatic state and the
British. It played a crucial role in the Carnatic Wars (1746–63)
between the British and the French East India companies. During British
rule, the city was popular for the Trichinopoly cigar, its unique brand
of cheroot. Monuments include the Rockfort (pictured), the
Ranganathaswamy temple and the Jambukeswarar temple. It is an important
educational centre in Tamil Nadu, housing nationally recognised
institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management and the National
Institute of Technology. The presence of a large number of energy
equipment manufacturing units in and around the city has earned it the
title of "Energy equipment and fabrication capital of India". Located
almost at the centre of Tamil Nadu, the city has become a major road and
railway hub in the state and is served by Tiruchirappalli International
Airport.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiruchirappalli>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1576:
León in Guanajuato, Mexico, was founded by order of Viceroy
Martín Enríquez de Almanza of New Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n,_Guanajuato>
1785:
Tây Sơn forces of Vietnam annihilated an invading Siamese
army who were attempting to restore Nguyễn Ánh to the throne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_R%E1%BA%A1ch_G%E1%BA%A7m-Xo%C3%A0i_…>
1946:
Favouring stronger executive power than the draft constitution
for the French Fourth Republic provided, Charles de Gaulle resigned as
President of the Provisional Government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_de_Gaulle>
1992:
Air Inter Flight 148 crashed into the Vosges Mountains while
circling to land at Strasbourg Airport near Strasbourg, France,
resulting in 87 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Inter_Flight_148>
2007:
A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completed a
1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of
inaccessibility for the first time since 1958, and for the first time
ever without mechanical assistance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_of_inaccessibility>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
casuistry:
1. The process of answering practical questions via interpretation of rules
or cases that illustrate such rules, especially in ethics.
2. (pejorative) A specious argument designed to defend an action or
feeling.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/casuistry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Experience is what you get while looking for something else.
--Federico Fellini
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Federico_Fellini>
No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit (No. 2 OCU) is a fighter training
unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Located at RAAF Base
Williamtown, New South Wales, it trains pilots to operate the McDonnell
Douglas F/A-18 Hornet (pictured), conducts refresher courses, and trains
future Hornet instructors. Pilots new to the Hornet enter No. 2 OCU
after first qualifying to fly fast jets at No. 79 Squadron and
undertaking initial fighter combat instruction at No. 76 Squadron. Once
qualified on the F/A-18, they are posted to one of the RAAF's
operational Hornet squadrons. No. 2 OCU was established as No. 2
(Fighter) Operational Training Unit in April 1942. During World War II
it provided training on a wide range of aircraft, including P-40
Kittyhawks, Vultee Vengeances, Avro Ansons, CAC Boomerangs, Supermarine
Spitfires and Airspeed Oxfords. Disbanded in March 1947, the unit was
re-formed at Williamtown in March 1952 in response to the demand for
more highly trained pilots in the Korean War. It was renamed No. 2
(Fighter) Operational Conversion Unit in September 1958, and before the
Hornet it conducted training with the CAC Sabre, Dassault Mirage III,
and Macchi MB-326.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._2_Operational_Conversion_Unit_RAAF>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
649:
War against the Western Turks: The forces of Kucha surrendered
after a siege led by Tang Dynasty general Ashina She'er, establishing
Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_campaign_against_Kucha>
1746:
During the Second Jacobite Rising, Bonnie Prince Charlie
occupied the town of Stirling, Scotland, but failed to capture its
castle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling>
1862:
American Civil War: In their first significant victory, Union
forces defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Mill Springs near
modern Nancy, Kentucky.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mill_Springs>
1917:
Approximately 50 tons of TNT exploded at a munitions factory in
Silvertown in West Ham, present-day Greater London, killing over 70
people and injuring over 400 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvertown_explosion>
1996:
A tank barge and a tug grounded on a beach in South Kingstown,
Rhode Island, US, spilling an estimated 828,000 US gallons
(3,130,000 l) of home heating oil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Cape_oil_spill>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ascertain:
To find out definitely; to discover or establish.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ascertain>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Gaily bedight, A gallant knight, In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long, Singing a song, In search of Eldorado.
--Edgar Allan Poe
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe>
Nigersaurus (meaning "Niger reptile") is a genus of rebbachisaurid
sauropod dinosaur that lived during the middle Cretaceous period, about
115 to 105 million years ago. It was discovered in the Elrhaz Formation
in an area called Gadoufaoua, in Niger. Fossils of this dinosaur were
first described in 1976, but it was only named in 1999. The genus
contains a single species, N. taqueti, named after French
palaeontologist Philippe Taquet, who discovered the first remains. At
9 m (30 ft) long—small for a sauropod—it weighed around 4 tonnes,
comparable to a modern elephant. It had a wide muzzle filled with more
than 500 teeth, which were replaced every 14 days. Unlike other
tetrapods, its jaws were wider than the skull, its teeth were located
far to the front, and it fed with its head close to the ground. It lived
in a riparian habitat, and its diet probably consisted of soft plants,
such as ferns, horsetails, and angiosperms. It is one of the most common
fossil vertebrates found in the area, and shared its habitat with other
dinosaurian megaherbivores, as well as large theropods and
crocodylomorphs.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigersaurus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1788:
The armed tender HMS Supply, the first ship of the First
Fleet, arrived at Botany Bay, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany_Bay>
1884:
Welsh physician William Price was arrested for attempting to
cremate his deceased infant son; he was acquitted in the subsequent
trial, which led to the legalisation of cremation in the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Price_(physician)>
1915:
Japanese Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu issued the Twenty-One
Demands to China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-One_Demands>
1977:
The mysterious Legionnaires' disease was found to be caused by
a previously unknown bacterium now known as Legionella (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires%27_disease>
1983:
Thirty years after his death, the International Olympic
Committee restored gold medals to American athlete Jim Thorpe, who had
had them stripped for playing semi-professional baseball before the 1912
Summer Olympics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
scuttle:
(transitive) To deliberately sink a ship or boat by order of the
vessel's commander or owner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scuttle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
"Is," "is." "is" — the idiocy of the word haunts me. If it
were abolished, human thought might begin to make sense. I don't know
what anything "is"; I only know how it seems to me at this moment.
∴ ∵
--Robert Anton Wilson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson>
Slay Tracks (1933–1969) is the debut extended play (EP) by the
American indie rock band Pavement. The group, then consisting of
founding members Stephen Malkmus (pictured in 2005) and Scott Kannberg,
recorded Slay Tracks with producer and future member Gary Young during a
four-hour session on January 17, 1989. The EP was released as a
7" vinyl record on the band's own record label Treble Kicker. The music
in Slay Tracks is influenced by indie and punk rock bands, including
Swell Maps and The Fall, and many of the lyrics are inspired by life in
the band's hometown of Stockton, California. Although only 1000 copies
were pressed, the EP became an underground hit. Most of its initial
reviews were from independently produced zines, and it met with
generally positive reactions. The songs on Slay Tracks would later
appear on the 1993 compilation Westing (By Musket and Sextant),
reaching a wider audience than the EP's limited initial release. The
release of Slay Tracks was significant to Pavement's signing to Drag
City, and later to Matador Records. All of the songs from it were played
live throughout Pavement's history.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slay_Tracks_(1933%E2%80%931969)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1377:
Pope Gregory XI moved the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon,
effectively becoming the last Avignon Pope.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XI>
1524:
Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano set sail westward from
Madeira to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_da_Verrazzano>
1781:
American Revolutionary War: American forces won a surprising
victory over the British at the Battle of Cowpens, one of the most
pivotal battles of the war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cowpens>
1989:
Patrick Purdy opened fire in an elementary school in Stockton,
California, killing five and wounding 30 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Elementary_School_shooting_(Stockto…>
1991:
Harald V, the current King of Norway, succeeded to the throne
upon the death of his father Olav V.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_V_of_Norway>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
indigent:
Poor; destitute; in need.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/indigent>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All I know is that I'm tired of being clever Everybody's clever
these days. Take a win Take a fall I never wanted your love But I needed
it all…   
--Zooey Deschanel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zooey_Deschanel>
Steamtown, U.S.A. was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam
excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls,
Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. The museum was founded by millionaire
seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount and was operated by the Steamtown
Foundation after his death in 1967. Due to Vermont's air quality
regulations restricting steam excursions, declining visitor attendance,
and track use disputes, some of the collection was relocated to
Scranton, Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s and the rest was sold.
Steamtown, U.S.A. failed to attract the expected 200,000–400,000
visitors in Scranton and, facing bankruptcy, it sold more of the
collection. In 1986, the U.S. House of Representatives approved funding
to begin the process of making it a National Historic Site. Historical
research was carried out by the National Park Service (NPS) on the
remaining equipment. By 1995, Steamtown had been acquired and developed
by the NPS as the Steamtown National Historic Site with a $66 million
allocation. Several more pieces have been removed from the collection as
a result of the government acquisition. Part of the Blount collection is
still on display in Scranton.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamtown,_U.S.A.>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1780:
American Revolutionary War: The British Royal Navy gained their
first major naval victory over their European enemies in the war when
they defeated a Spanish squadron in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent
(pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_St._Vincent_(1780)>
1862:
The beam of a pumping engine broke at the Hartley Colliery in
Northumberland, England, and fell down the shaft trapping the men below,
resulting in the deaths of 204 men.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartley_Colliery_Disaster>
1920:
The League of Nations, the first intergovernmental organisation
whose principal mission was to maintain world peace, held its first
council meeting in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations>
1942:
TWA Flight 3 crashed into Potosi Mountain in Nevada, killing
actress Carole Lombard and all of the other 21 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_3>
1964:
The musical Hello, Dolly! opened at the St. James Theatre on
Broadway, and would go on to win ten Tony Awards, a record that stood
for 35 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello,_Dolly!_(musical)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
smurf account:
(Internet slang) An alternate account used by a known or experienced
user to appear to be someone else.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smurf_account>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
From now to the end of consciousness, we are stuck with the task
of defending art.
--Susan Sontag
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Susan_Sontag>
Hobey Baker (1892–1918) was an American amateur athlete of the early
twentieth century, widely regarded by his contemporaries as one of the
best athletes of his time. He excelled at ice hockey and football at
Princeton University, where he was a member of three national
championship teams, and became a noted amateur hockey player for the St.
Nicholas Club in New York City, helping the club win a national amateur
championship. Baker graduated in 1914 and worked for J.P. Morgan Bank
until he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service. During World War I he
served with the 103rd and 13th Aero Squadrons before being promoted to
captain and named commander of the 141st Aero Squadron. Baker died in
December 1918 after a plane he was test-piloting crashed, hours before
he was due to return to America. In 1921, Princeton named its new hockey
arena the Hobey Baker Memorial Rink. He was one of the first nine
inductees in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945 and was also inducted into
the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975, making him the only person to
be in both Halls of Fame. The Hobey Baker Award is presented annually to
the best collegiate hockey player in the United States.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobey_Baker>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
The Republic of New Connecticut declared its independence from
several jurisdictions and land claims of the British colonies of New
Hampshire and New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Republic>
1885:
American photographer Wilson Bentley took the first known
photograph of a snowflake (example pictured) by attaching a bellows
camera to a microscope.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Bentley>
1937:
Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican forces both
withdrew after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the
Corunna Road.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Corunna_Road>
1975:
Portugal signed the Alvor Agreement with UNITA, the MPLA, and
the FNLA, ending the Angolan War of Independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_War_of_Independence>
1981:
Hill Street Blues, one of American television's most critically
acclaimed shows, aired its pilot episode, "Hill Street Station".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_Street_Station>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
floccinaucinihilipilificate:
(colloquial) To describe or regard something as worthless.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/floccinaucinihilipilificate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Of what consequence to you, reader, is my obscure individuality?
I live, like you, in a century in which reason submits only to fact and
to evidence. My name, like yours, is truth-seeker. My mission is written
in these words of the law: Speak without hatred and without fear; tell
that which thou knowest.
--Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pierre-Joseph_Proudhon>
A British Army helicopter was destroyed in a friendly fire incident
during the Falklands War, killing its four occupants. In the early hours
of 6 June 1982, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Cardiff was looking for
aircraft supplying the Argentine forces on the Falkland Islands. An Army
Air Corps Gazelle helicopter (example pictured) was making a routine
delivery to British troops on East Falkland. Cardiff's crew assumed it
was hostile, given its speed and course, and fired two missiles,
destroying it. When the wreckage was found, the loss was attributed to
enemy fire. Although Cardiff was suspected, scientific tests on the
wreckage were inconclusive. No formal inquiry was held until four years
later. Defending their claim that the helicopter had been lost in
action, the UK Ministry of Defence stated that they had not wanted to
upset relatives while they were still trying to ascertain how the
Gazelle had been shot down. The board of inquiry did not blame any
individuals but identified factors including a lack of communication
between the army and the navy and the army's decision to turn off
helicopters' identification friend or foe transmitters.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_British_Army_Gazelle_friendly_fire_incid…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1724:
Philip V, the first Bourbon ruler of Spain, abdicated the
throne to his eldest son Louis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_V_of_Spain>
1814:
Sweden and Denmark–Norway signed the Treaty of Kiel, whereby
Frederick VI of Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden in return for the
Swedish holdings in Pomerania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Kiel>
1907:
A 6.5 Mw earthquake struck Kingston, Jamaica, resulting in at
least 800 deaths, which was at the time considered one of the world's
deadliest earthquakes recorded in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1907_Kingston_earthquake>
1954:
Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson Motor Car Company merged to become
American Motors in an effort to create one multibrand company capable of
challenging the "Big Three" as an equal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Motors>
1978:
Austrian logician Kurt Gödel (pictured), who suffered from an
obsessive fear of being poisoned, died of starvation after his wife was
hospitalized and unable to cook for him.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_G%C3%B6del>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
orgulous:
Proud; haughty; disdainful.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/orgulous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The great fault of all ethics hitherto has been that they
believed themselves to have to deal only with the relations of man to
man. In reality, however, the question is what is his attitude to the
world and all life that comes within his reach. A man is ethical only
when life, as such, is sacred to him, and that of plants and animals as
that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all
life that is in need of help. Only the universal ethic of the feeling of
responsibility in an ever-widening sphere for all that lives — only
that ethic can be founded in thought. ... The ethic of Reverence for
Life, therefore, comprehends within itself everything that can be
described as love, devotion, and sympathy whether in suffering, joy, or
effort.  
--Albert Schweitzer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Schweitzer>
Roxy Ann Peak is a 3,576-foot-tall (1,090 m) mountain in the Western
Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. Composed of several geologic
layers, the majority of the peak is of volcanic origin and dates to the
early Oligocene. It is primarily covered by oak savanna and open
grassland on its lower slopes, and mixed coniferous forest on its upper
slopes and summit. Despite the peak's relatively small topographic
prominence of 753 feet (230 m), it rises 2,200 feet (670 m) above
Medford, and it is the city's most important viewshed, open space
reserve, and recreational resource. Roxy Ann Peak was originally settled
8,000 to 10,000 years ago by ancestors of the native Latgawa tribe. In
the early 1850s, a sudden influx of non-indigenous settlers led to the
Rogue River Wars. After the wars, the Latgawa were forced away from the
region onto reservations. The peak was named in the late 1850s after one
of its first landowners, Roxy Ann Bowen. In 1937, the 1,740-acre
(704.2 ha) Prescott Park was created on the peak's upper slopes and
summit from land donated by the Lions Club and the federal government,
and the park is largely undeveloped.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxy_Ann_Peak>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1842:
First Anglo-Afghan War: William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in
the British Army, arrived at Jalalabad, Afghanistan, the sole European
survivor of the massacre of over 4,500 military personnel and over
10,000 civilian camp followers retreating from Kabul, excluding a few
prisoners released later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brydon>
1910:
The first public radio broadcast, a live performance of the
opera Cavalleria rusticana, was sent out over the airwaves from the
Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_of_public_radio_broadcasting>
1953:
Josip Broz Tito was inaugurated as the first President of
Yugoslavia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Broz_Tito>
1968:
American singer Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At
Folsom Prison live at the Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Folsom_Prison>
2012:
The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef
off the shore of Isola del Giglio, Tuscany, and partially sank.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gherao:
(India) A protest in which a group of people surrounds a politician,
building, etc. until demands are met.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gherao>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Faith cannot be given to man. Faith arises in a man and
increases in its action in him not as the result of automatic learning,
that is, not from any automatic ascertainment of height, breadth,
thickness, form and weight, or from the perception of anything by sight,
hearing, touch, smell or taste, but from understanding. 
--G. I. Gurdjieff
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._I._Gurdjieff>
The Bohemian Waxwing is a passerine bird that breeds in the northern
forests of Eurasia and North America. It has mainly buff-grey plumage,
black face markings and a pointed crest. Its wings are patterned white
and bright yellow, and some feather tips have the red waxy appearance
that give this species its English name. Its breeding habitat is
coniferous forests, usually near water. The pair build a lined cup-
shaped nest in a tree or bush for a clutch of 3–7 eggs, incubated by
the female alone for 13–14 days. Many birds desert their nesting
range in winter and migrate further south. Large numbers of Bohemian
Waxwings sometimes travel well beyond their normal winter range in
search of the fruit that makes up most of their diet. Waxwings can be
very tame in winter, entering towns and gardens in search of food, rowan
berries being a particular favourite. They can metabolise alcohol
produced in fermenting fruit, but can still become intoxicated,
sometimes fatally. The Bohemian Waxwing's high numbers and very large
breeding area mean that it is classified as being of Least Concern by
the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Waxwing>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1554:
Bayinnaung, who later assembled the largest empire in the
history of Southeast Asia, was crowned king of the Burmese Taungoo
Dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayinnaung>
1777:
Mission Santa Clara de Asís (pictured), a Spanish mission that
formed the basis of both the city of Santa Clara, California and Santa
Clara University, was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Santa_Clara_de_As%C3%ADs>
1911:
The University of the Philippines College of Law was founded,
eventually graduating many of the leading Filipino political figures
since then.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_Philippines_College_of_Law>
1964:
Rebels led by John Okello overthrew Sultan Jamshid bin
Abdullah, ending 200 years of Arab dominance in Zanzibar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanzibar_Revolution>
2010:
A 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti, affecting an estimated three
million people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
heave in sight:
(nautical) To appear at a distance, to emerge in the field of vision.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heave_in_sight>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Justice is itself the great standing policy of civil society;
and any eminent departure from it, under any circumstances, lies under
the suspicion of being no policy at all.
--Edmund Burke
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke>
Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná (1801–56) was a
politician of the Empire of Brazil, widely regarded by historians as one
of the most influential statesmen of his time. He was elected in 1830 to
represent Minas Gerais in the Chamber of Deputies. After Pedro I
abdicated in 1831, the regency created to govern Brazil during the
minority of Pedro II soon dissolved into chaos. Paraná formed a
political party in 1837, and he and his party provided a stalwart
defence of constitutional order. As president of Rio de Janeiro
Province, he helped put down a rebellion headed by the opposition
Liberal Party. In 1843, he became the de facto first president of the
Council of Ministers, but resigned after a quarrel with the Emperor.
After years in opposition, in 1849, Paraná was appointed as president
of Pernambuco Province and then helped to forge an successful alliance
in 1851 with Uruguay against the Argentine Confederation. In 1853
Paraná was again appointed president of the Council of Ministers. His
electoral reforms caused severe harm to the system of parliamentary
government and led to a virtual split in his party. He died unexpectedly
while still in office.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hon%C3%B3rio_Hermeto_Carneiro_Le%C3%A3o,_Marq…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1055:
Theodora (pictured on coin), the daughter of Constantine VIII
and Helena, daughter of Alypius, became Byzantine Empress.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodora_(11th_century)>
1693:
An intensity XI earthquake, the most powerful in Italian
history, struck the island of Sicily.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1693_Sicily_earthquake>
1879:
British forces under Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand without
authorisation from the British Government, beginning the Anglo-Zulu War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zulu_War>
1964:
In a landmark report, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued
the warning that smoking may be hazardous for one's health, concluding
that it has a causative role in lung cancer, chronic bronchitis,
emphysema, and other illnesses.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_and_Health:_Report_of_the_Advisory_Co…>
1986:
The Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, Australia, at the time the
longest prestressed concrete free-cantilever bridge in the world,
opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Leo_Hielscher_Bridges>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
superannuated:
Obsolete, antiquated.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/superannuated>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is but one indefectibly certain truth, and that is the
truth that pyrrhonistic scepticism itself leaves standing, — the truth
that the present phenomenon of consciousness exists.
--William James
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_James>
A waveguide filter is an electronic filter that is constructed in
waveguide technology. Waveguides are hollow metal tubes inside which an
electromagnetic wave may be transmitted. Filters are a basic component
of electronic engineering designs and have numerous applications.
Waveguide filters are most useful in the microwave band of frequencies,
where they are a convenient size and have low loss. Examples are found
in satellite communications, telephone networks, and television
broadcasting. Waveguide filters were developed during World War II for
radar and electronic countermeasures, but afterwards soon found civilian
applications. Post-war development was concerned with reducing size,
first with new analysis techniques that eliminated unnecessary
components, then by innovations such as dual-mode cavities and ceramic
resonators. Waveguides can support a variety of electromagnetic wave
modes: both a disadvantage, spurious modes frequently cause problems,
and an advantage; dual-mode designs can be much smaller. The chief
advantages of waveguide filters are ability to handle high power and low
loss. The chief disadvantages are bulk and cost compared to technologies
like microstrip.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waveguide_filter>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
9:
The Western Han Dynasty of China ended after the throne was
usurped by Wang Mang (pictured), who founded the Xin Dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Dynasty>
236:
Pope Fabian, who is said to have been chosen by the Holy Spirit
by having a dove land on his head, began his papacy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Fabian>
1863:
Service began on the Metropolitan Railway between Paddington
and Farringdon Street, today the oldest segment of the London
Underground.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Railway>
1929:
The Adventures of Tintin, a series of popular comic books
created by Belgian artist Hergé, first appeared in a children's
supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin>
1954:
BOAC Flight 781 suffered an explosive decompression at altitude
and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, killing everyone on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_781>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
zeptomole:
(chemistry, physics) A small amount of a substance, especially a
countable number of atoms or molecules.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zeptomole>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I think, here is your emblem To hang in the future sky; Not the
cross, not the hive, But this; bright power, dark peace; Fierce
consciousness joined with final Disinterestedness; Life with calm death;
the falcon’s Realist eyes and act Married to the massive Mysticism of
stone, Which failure cannot cast down Nor success make proud.
--Robinson Jeffers
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robinson_Jeffers>
John Adair (1757–1840) was an American pioneer, soldier and statesman.
He was the eighth Governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both
the U.S. House and Senate. Adair participated in the Revolutionary War
and the Northwest Indian War, and was elected to eight terms in the
Kentucky House of Representatives. He ascended to the U.S. Senate to
fill the seat vacated by John Breckinridge's resignation, but failed to
win the subsequent election due to his implication in the Burr
conspiracy. He was eventually acquitted of any wrongdoing, but the
negative publicity kept him out of politics for more than a decade.
Adair's participation in the War of 1812, and his defense of Kentucky's
soldiers against charges of cowardice at the Battle of New Orleans,
restored his reputation. He returned to the state House in 1817 and was
elected governor three years later on a platform of financial relief for
Kentuckians hit hard by the Panic of 1819. He created the Bank of the
Commonwealth, but other financial reforms were deemed unconstitutional
by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, touching off the Old Court – New
Court controversy. He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adair>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
475:
Basiliscus became Byzantine Emperor after Zeno was forced to
flee Constantinople.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basiliscus>
1816:
Inventor Humphry Davy first tested his Davy lamp, a safety lamp
containing a candle for use in coal mines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_lamp>
1909:
Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition, planted the
British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km) from the South Pole, the
furthest anyone had ever reached at that time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farthest_South>
1972:
The Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association
lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, ending a 33-game winning streak, the
longest of any team in American professional sports.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers>
2004:
Twenty-eight illegal Albanian emigrants died when their
inflatable boat stalled near the Karaburun Peninsula while on the way to
Brindisi, Italy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karaburun_tragedy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
carpe diem:
Seize the day, make the most of today, enjoy the present.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carpe_diem>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Self-knowledge is no guarantee of happiness, but it is on
the side of happiness and can supply the courage to fight for it.
--Simone de Beauvoir
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_de_Beauvoir>
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864–92) was a
member of the British Royal Family. He was the eldest son of Albert
Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Alexandra, Princess
of Wales (later Queen Alexandra), and the grandson of the reigning
monarch, Queen Victoria. From the time of his birth, he was second in
the line of succession to the throne, but he did not become king because
he died before his father and his grandmother. He travelled the world
extensively as a naval cadet and joined the army, but did not undertake
any active military duties. After two unsuccessful courtships, he was
engaged to be married to Mary of Teck in late 1891. Just a few weeks
later, he died in an influenza pandemic. Mary later married his younger
brother, George, who became King George V in 1910. Albert Victor's
intellect, sexuality and sanity have been the subject of much
speculation. Rumours in 1889 linked him with the Cleveland Street
scandal, which involved a homosexual brothel, but there is no conclusive
evidence verifying or disproving them. Some authors have argued that he
was the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper but the claim is widely
dismissed.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert_Victor,_Duke_of_Clarence_and_Av…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1697:
Scottish student Thomas Aikenhead became the last person in
Britain to be executed for blasphemy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aikenhead>
1790:
George Washington delivered the first State of the Union
address in New York City, then the provisional capital of the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union_address>
1977:
Three bombs attributed to Armenian nationalists exploded across
Moscow, killing 37 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Moscow_bombings>
1981:
A local farmer reported a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence,
France, claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully
documented sighting of all time".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-en-Provence_Case>
2004:
RMS Queen Mary 2 (pictured), at the time the longest, widest
and tallest passenger ship ever built, was christened by her namesake's
granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary_2>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
factitious:
1. Created by humans; artificial.
2. Counterfeit, fabricated.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/factitious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We cannot have peace if we are only concerned with peace. War is
not an accident. It is the logical outcome of a certain way of life. If
we want to attack war, we have to attack that way of life. Disarmament
cannot be achieved nor can the problem of war be resolved without being
accompanied by profound changes in the economic order and the structure
of society.
--A. J. Muste
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A._J._Muste>
Cyclone Rewa affected six countries and killed 22 people on its 28-day
journey across the South Pacific Ocean in December 1993 and
January 1994. It developed from a tropical disturbance on 28 December
while situated south of Nauru. Crossing from the South Pacific basin
into the Australian region, the system strengthened steadily as it
paralleled the eastern Australian coast. Rewa initially peaked in
intensity as a Category 4 tropical cyclone on 2 January, then
weakened and returned to the South Pacific basin. Rewa re-entered the
Australian basin on 10 January and reintensified to Category 5 severe
tropical cyclone status by 17 January. Rewa transitioned into an
extratropical cyclone on 20 January, with its remnants bringing heavy
rain to New Zealand. Nine people in a banana dinghy en route to Rossel
Island were presumed drowned after wreckage from their boat was found.
In Queensland, three people were killed in traffic accidents caused by
the storm, and another fatality occurred when a boy became trapped in a
storm pipe. One death took place in New Caledonia, while flooding caused
eight drownings in Papua New Guinea. Following the storm, the name Rewa
was retired.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Rewa>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1558:
Francis, Duke of Guise, retook Calais, England's last
continental possession, for France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calais>
1610:
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei made his first observation
of the four Galilean moons through his telescope: Ganymede, Callisto, Io
and Europa, although he was not able to distinguish the latter two until
the following day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)>
1797:
The first official Italian tricolour was adopted by the
government of the Cispadane Republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Italy>
1979:
The Vietnam People's Army captured the Cambodian capital city
Phnom Penh, deposing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, which marked the end
of large-scale fighting in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian%E2%80%93Vietnamese_War>
1989:
Akihito (pictured), the current Emperor of Japan, took the
throne upon the death of his father Hirohito, who became known by the
posthumous name Emperor Shōwa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihito>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
burgess:
1. An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a citizen.
2. (historical) A town magistrate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/burgess>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Until we consider animal life to be worthy of the
consideration and reverence we bestow upon old books and pictures and
historic monuments, there will always be the animal refugee living a
precarious life on the edge of extermination, dependent for existence on
the charity of a few human beings.
--Gerald Durrell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gerald_Durrell>