The Analytical Review was a periodical established in London in 1788 by
the publisher Joseph Johnson (pictured) and the writer Thomas Christie.
Part of the Republic of Letters, it provided summaries and analyses of
new publications and acted as a forum for radical political and
religious ideas. Although it aimed at impartiality, its articles were
often critical of the British government and supportive of the French
revolutionaries. While the journal had low circulation numbers for its
day, it still influenced popular opinion and was feared by the
administration of William Pitt the Younger. Government supporters
founded the Anti-Jacobin Review in 1797, which criticized the radical
politics of the Analytical and monitored it for unpatriotic and
irreligious sentiments. The Analytical Review focused on politics,
philosophy, natural history, and literature. Its prominent writers (who
signed their work with pseudonymous initials) included the poet William
Cowper, the moralist William Enfield, the physician John Aikin, and the
polemicist Mary Wollstonecraft. It suspended publication in December
1798 after Johnson was convicted of seditious libel and other
contributors had died or retired.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_Review>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1805:
Napoleonic Wars: Lord Nelson signalled "England expects that
every man will do his duty" to the rest of his Royal Navy forces before
they defeated Pierre-Charles Villeneuve and his combined
French–Spanish navy at the Battle of Trafalgar off the coast of
Spain's Cape Trafalgar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_expects_that_every_man_will_do_his_du…>
1854:
Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses were sent to
Turkey to help treat wounded British soldiers fighting in the Crimean
War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale>
1910:
HMS Niobe arrived in Halifax Harbour to become the first large
ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Niobe_(1897)>
1944:
World War II: German forces surrendered to American troops,
ending the three-week-long Battle of Aachen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aachen>
1978:
After reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft,
Frederick Valentich disappeared in unexplained circumstances while
piloting a Cessna 182L light aircraft over the Bass Strait to King
Island, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Frederick_Valentich>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gleek:
1. (archaic) To jest, ridicule, or mock; to make sport of.
2. (informal) To discharge a thin stream of liquid through the teeth or
from under the tongue.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gleek>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If a man is not rising upwards to be an angel, depend upon it,
he is sinking downwards to be a devil. He cannot stop at the beast. The
most savage of men are not beasts; they are worse, a great deal worse.
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Taylor_Coleridge>
James Chadwick (1891–1974) was an English physicist who was awarded
the 1935 Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery of the neutron, and
who led the British team that worked on the Manhattan Project during the
Second World War to produce atomic bombs. He studied under Ernest
Rutherford in Manchester and Hans Geiger in Berlin, where he
demonstrated that beta radiation produced a continuous spectrum, not
discrete lines as had been thought. He later became Rutherford's
Assistant Director of Research at the Cavendish Laboratory of the
University of Cambridge. Chadwick's research led to his discovery of the
neutron in 1932; he later measured its mass. In 1935 he became a
professor at the University of Liverpool, which he made an important
centre for the study of nuclear physics. During the Second World War,
Chadwick carried out research as part of the Tube Alloys project to
build an atomic bomb, and wrote the final draft of the MAUD Report,
which inspired the U.S. government to begin serious atomic bomb research
efforts. He later served as the British scientific advisor to the U.N.
Atomic Energy Commission and as Master of Gonville and Caius College,
Cambridge.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Chadwick>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1572:
Eighty Years' War: Soldiers of the Spanish Tercios waded across
the river Scheldt at its mouth, walking overnight in water to chest
height, to relieve the siege of Goes in the Spanish Netherlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief_of_Goes>
1740:
Per the terms of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, Maria Theresa
assumed the throne of the Habsburg Monarchy in Austria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa>
1944:
World War II: Fulfilling a promise he made two years previous,
General Douglas MacArthur landed on Leyte to begin the recapture of the
entire Philippine Archipelago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte>
1977:
Three members of the American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd died
when their chartered plane crashed in Gillsburg, Mississippi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Convair_CV-300_crash>
2011:
Libyan Civil War: Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya,
was captured during the Battle of Sirte and killed less than an hour
later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Muammar_Gaddafi>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unciform:
Of the shape of a hook; hook-shaped.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unciform>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The revelation of the Divine Reality hath everlastingly been
identical with its concealment and its concealment identical with its
revelation. That which is intended by "Revelation of God" is the Tree of
divine Truth that betokeneth none but Him, and it is this divine Tree
that hath raised and will raise up Messengers, and hath revealed and
will ever reveal Scriptures. From eternity unto eternity this Tree of
divine Truth hath served and will ever serve as the throne of the
revelation and concealment of God among His creatures, and in every age
is made manifest through whomsoever He pleaseth.
--The Báb
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/B%C3%A1b>
Briarcliff Manor is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York,
less than 30 miles (48 km) north of New York City. Its motto is "A
Village between Two Rivers", reflecting its location between the Hudson
and Pocantico Rivers. It extends into the towns of Mount Pleasant and
Ossining, and includes the communities of Scarborough and Chilmark. In
the precolonial era, the area was inhabited by a band of the Wappinger
tribes of Native Americans. In the early 19th century, the area was
known as Whitson's Corners. Walter William Law moved to the area and
purchased lands during the 1890s; he also developed the village,
establishing schools, churches, parks and the Briarcliff Lodge. The
village was incorporated in 1902, growing from 331 people when
established to 7,867 in the 2010 census. It is primarily residential and
has a relatively wealthy population. Its recreational facilities and
parks, about 180 acres (73 ha), are all accessible to the public. The
village has an elected local government, with departments including
police, fire, recreation, and public works (Village Hall pictured). A
2012 study found it had the second-lowest crime rate in the state.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briarcliff_Manor,_New_York>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay>
1864:
American Civil War: Despite incurring nearly twice as many
casualties as the Confederates, the Union Army emerged victorious in the
Battle of Cedar Creek.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cedar_Creek>
1914:
First World War: Allied forces engaged German troops in the
First Battle of Ypres.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres>
1989:
The Troubles: The Guildford Four had their convictions quashed
after serving 15 years for their alleged involvement in the Guildford
pub bombings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guildford_Four_and_Maguire_Seven>
2004:
Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan was abducted in Baghdad by
unidentified kidnappers, who murdered her about four weeks later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hassan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
insensate:
1. Having no sensation or consciousness; unconscious; inanimate.
2. Senseless; foolish; irrational.
3. Unfeeling, heartless, cruel, insensitive.
4. (medicine, physiology) Not responsive to sensory stimuli.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/insensate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The severe Schools shall never laugh me out of the Philosophy of
Hermes, that this visible world is but a picture of the invisible.
--Thomas Browne
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Browne>
The Battle of Caishi was a major naval engagement of the Jin–Song wars
that took place on November 26–27, 1161. Although a peace treaty in
1142 had settled the border between the two states, putting the Jin in
control of northern China and the Song in control of the south, Prince
Hailing of Jin was intent on uniting them under a single emperor.
Without much resistance, his army pushed through to the Yangtze River,
which he planned to cross at Caishi, south of modern-day Nanjing. The
Song were fortified along the Yangtze front. Hailing embarked from the
shore of the Yangtze on November 26, but the Song fleet, equipped with
trebuchets (example pictured) that launched incendiary bombs made of
gunpowder and lime, decisively defeated the light ships of the Jin navy.
Hailing was assassinated by his own men shortly after the battle. A
military coup had taken place in his absence, enthroning Emperor
Shizong, and a peace treaty signed in 1165 ended the conflict. Modern
studies suggest that the battle was smaller and that both sides were
more evenly matched than traditional accounts suggest. Nonetheless, the
victory boosted the Song infantry's morale and halted the Jin's southern
advance.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Caishi>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1009:
Under orders from Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church now within the walled
Old City of Jerusalem, was destroyed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre>
1386:
A special Pontifical High Mass in the Church of the Holy Spirit
commemorated the opening of Heidelberg University.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg_University>
1540:
An expedition led by Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto
destroyed the fortified village of Mabila in what is now the U.S. state
of Alabama, killing Chief Tuskaloosa in the process.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskaloosa>
1968:
At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American Bob Beamon set
a world record of 8.90 m in the long jump, a mark that stood for 23
years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Beamon>
2004:
SPDC Chairman Senior General Than Shwe announced that Burmese
Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was "permitted to retire on health grounds",
but then had him arrested.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khin_Nyunt>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
stipulate:
(botany; not comparable) Having stipules; that is, having outgrowths
borne on either side of the base of the leafstalk.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stipulate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts this arm?
But if the great sun move not of himself; but is as an errand-boy in
heaven; nor one single star can revolve, but by some invisible power;
how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think
thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that
living, and not I.
--Moby-Dick
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moby-Dick>
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso
pianist of the Romantic period. He grew up in Warsaw but left Poland,
never to return, aged 20. He settled in Paris, obtaining French
citizenship in 1835. From 1837 he maintained an often troubled
relationship with the French writer George Sand. A brief and unhappy
visit to Majorca with her was one of his most productive periods of
composition. All of Chopin's compositions include the piano. Most are
for solo piano, although he also wrote two piano concertos, a few
chamber pieces, and some songs to Polish lyrics. Many contain elements
of Polish folk music and of the classical tradition of J.S. Bach, Mozart
and Schubert. His innovations in style, musical form, and harmony, and
his association of music with nationalism, were influential throughout
and after the late Romantic period. His music, his status as one of
music's earliest "superstars", his association with political
insurrection, his love life and his early death have made him a leading
symbol of his era. His works remain popular, and he has been the subject
of numerous films and biographies of varying degrees of historical
accuracy.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1558:
Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, was founded by order
of King Sigismund II Augustus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_Poland>
1604:
German astronomer Johannes Kepler observed an exceptionally
bright star, now known as Kepler's Supernova, which had suddenly
appeared in the constellation Ophiuchus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler%27s_Supernova>
1964:
Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opened the
artificial Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of the capital Canberra.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Burley_Griffin>
1989:
The 6.9 Mw Loma Prieta earthquake struck California's San
Francisco Bay Area, killing 63 people, injuring 3,757, and leaving at
least 8,000 homeless.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake>
1994:
Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov was assassinated in the
offices of Moskovskij Komsomolets during his investigations into alleged
corruption among high ranks of the Russian military.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Kholodov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sine qua non:
An essential or indispensable element, condition, or ingredient.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sine_qua_non>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The philosopher places himself at the summit of thought; from
there he views what the world has been and what it must become. He is
not just an observer, he is an actor; he is an actor of the highest kind
in a moral world because it is his opinion of what the world must become
that regulates society.
--Henri de Saint-Simon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_de_Saint-Simon>
Tintin in Tibet is the twentieth volume of The Adventures of Tintin, the
comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The cartoonist considered it
his favourite Tintin adventure and an emotional effort, as he created it
while suffering from traumatic nightmares and a personal conflict while
deciding to leave his wife of three decades for a younger woman. The
comic, serialised from 1958–59 in Tintin magazine, tells of the young
reporter Tintin in search of his friend Chang Chong-Chen, whom the
authorities claim has died in a plane crash in the Himalayas. Convinced
that Chang has survived, Tintin leads his companions across the
Himalayas to the plateau of Tibet, along the way encountering the
mysterious Yeti. Themes in Hergé's story include extrasensory
perception, the mysticism of Tibetan Buddhism (Tibetan monastery
pictured), and friendship. Tintin in Tibet has been translated into 32
languages, is highly regarded by critics, and has been praised by the
Dalai Lama, who awarded it the Light of Truth Award. The story was a
commercial success and was published in book form in 1960; the series
itself became a defining part of the Franco-Belgian comics tradition.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintin_in_Tibet>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
456:
Magister militum Ricimer defeated Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and
became master of the Western Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricimer>
1834:
Most of the Palace of Westminster in London was destroyed in a
fire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Parliament>
1923:
Roy and Walt Disney founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio
in Hollywood that eventually grew to become one of the largest media and
entertainment corporations in the world.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Company>
1934:
Surrounded by Kuomintang troops, Zhou Enlai, Bo Gu, and Otto
Braun led 130,000 Red Army soldiers and civilians on a "Long March" from
Jiangxi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March>
1984:
The Bill debuted on ITV, eventually becoming the longest-
running police procedural in British television history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bill>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sparge:
1. To sprinkle or spray
2. To introduce bubbles into a liquid.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sparge>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Supposing I was to tell you that it's just Beauty that's calling
me, the beauty of the far off and unknown, the mystery and spell of the
East which lures me in the books I've read, the need of the freedom of
great wide spaces, the joy of wandering on and on — in quest of the
secret which is hidden over there, beyond the horizon?
--Eugene O'Neill
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eugene_O%27Neill>
Tropical Storm Kiko was a strong tropical storm that capsized a boat off
the western coast of Mexico, killing at least 15 people. The 15th and
final tropical cyclone of the 2007 Pacific hurricane season, Kiko
developed out of a tropical wave that formed off the coast of Africa on
September 26 and traversed the Atlantic. The wave crossed over Central
America and entered the Pacific Ocean on October 8, where it spawned
Tropical Depression 15-E on October 15. The depression drifted to the
south over the next day before briefly being declared Tropical Storm
Kiko. It subsequently weakened into a tropical depression, but later
reattained tropical storm intensity. By October 18, Kiko was forecast
to make landfall along the western Mexican coastline as a moderate
tropical storm. As a precaution, port captains in the area shut down
shipping and residents were advised to avoid low-lying areas that might
flood and to move to temporary shelters. The cyclone turned to the west
without making landfall and reached its peak intensity of 70 mph
(110 km/h) on October 20. The tropical storm slowly weakened to a
remnant low-pressure area by October 24 and completely dissipated on
October 27.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Kiko_(2007)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1764:
English historian Edward Gibbon observed friars singing Vespers
at Capitoline Hill in Rome, inspiring him to write The History of the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon>
1864:
American Civil War: The Confederates captured Glasgow,
Missouri, although it had little long-term benefit as Price's Missouri
Expedition was defeated a week later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Glasgow>
1894:
Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery officer in the French
military, was wrongly arrested for treason.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_affair>
1917:
Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari was executed by a firing squad
for spying for Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Hari>
1954:
Hurricane Hazel made landfall in the Carolinas in the United
States before moving north to Toronto in Canada later the same day,
killing a total of 176 people in both countries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Hazel>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
allomother:
A human or other animal that provides some maternal care for the young
born by another.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/allomother>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Omnia vincit Amor et nos cedamus Amori. Love conquers all and we
must yield to Love.
--Virgil
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Virgil>
The Colorado River is the principal river of the Southwestern United
States and northwest Mexico. Rising in the western Rocky Mountains, the
1,450-mile (2,330 km) river drains a vast arid region of the Colorado
Plateau and the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts as it heads towards the Gulf
of California. Known for its dramatic scenery (Horseshoe Bend pictured)
and its whitewater, the Colorado carves numerous gorges, including the
Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. For 8,000 years, the Colorado Basin
was only sparsely populated by Native Americans, though some of their
ancient civilizations employed advanced irrigation techniques. Even
after becoming part of the U.S. in the 1800s, the Colorado River country
remained extremely remote until John Wesley Powell's 1869 river-running
expedition, which began to open up the river for future development.
Since the completion of Hoover Dam in 1935, the Colorado has been tamed
by an extensive system of dams and canals, providing for irrigation,
cities, and hydropower. Today the Colorado supports 40 million people in
seven U.S. and two Mexican states; with every drop of its water
allocated, it no longer reaches the sea except in years of heavy runoff.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1066:
Norman conquest of England: The forces of William the Conqueror
defeated the English army at Hastings and killed Harold Godwinson, the
last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings>
1888:
French inventor Louis Le Prince filmed Roundhay Garden Scene,
the earliest surviving motion picture, in Roundhay, Leeds, West
Yorkshire, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Le_Prince>
1939:
Second World War: The German submarine U-47 torpedoed and sank
the British Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak while the latter was
anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Royal_Oak_(08)>
1944:
Having been linked to a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler,
German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was forced to commit suicide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Rommel>
1964:
Leonid Brezhnev succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as General
Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Brezhnev>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
iatrogenic:
(of a medical condition) Induced by the words or actions of the
physician.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/iatrogenic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love is indeed Heaven upon Earth; since Heaven above would not
be Heaven without it: For where there is not Love, there is Fear: But
perfect Love casts out Fear.
--William Penn
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Penn>
The Capitol Loop is a state trunkline highway running through Lansing,
Michigan, in the United States that was commissioned on October 13,
1989. It forms a loop route off Interstate 496 through downtown near the
Michigan State Capitol complex, home of the state legislature and
several state departments. The trunkline follows a series of one-way and
two-way streets through downtown Lansing, directing traffic to the State
Capitol (pictured) and other government buildings. Unlike the other
streets downtown, the seven streets comprising the Capitol Loop are
under state maintenance and jurisdiction. The loop was originally
proposed in 1986 as part of a downtown revitalization effort. Almost
from the beginning the highway was affected by various controversies.
Local community leaders suggested renaming the Capitol Loop for Martin
Luther King, Jr., immediately before the state designated the highway.
Reconstruction projects along the loop in 2004–05 were also
contentious. In 2010, additional issues surfaced regarding the posting
and enforcement of speed limits on city streets in Michigan, including
the streets that make up the Capitol Loop.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Loop>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
54:
Claudius (bust pictured), the first Roman emperor to be born
outside Italy, died mysteriously, most likely by poison administered by
his wife Agrippina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius>
1710:
Queen Anne's War: The French surrender ending the Siege of Port
Royal gave the British permanent possession of Nova Scotia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Port_Royal_(1710)>
1843:
B'nai B'rith, the oldest continually operating Jewish service
organization in the world, was founded in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%27nai_B%27rith>
1917:
At least 30,000 people in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima,
Portugal, witnessed the "Miracle of the Sun".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_the_Sun>
1943:
World War II: With a new government led by General Pietro
Badoglio, parts of Italy switched sides to the Allies and declared war
on the Axis powers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Badoglio>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
purple prose:
Extravagant or flowery writing, especially in a literary work.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/purple_prose>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Far above the golden clouds, the darkness vibrates. The earth
is blue. And everything about it is a love song. Everything about it.
--Paul Simon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Simon>
Drakengard is an action role-playing video game developed for the
PlayStation 2 by Japan-based studio Cavia and published by Square Enix.
The first game in the Drakengard series, it was released in Japan in
September 2003 and in North America and Europe the following year; a
version for mobile phones was also released in Europe. The player
controls Caim, a deposed prince, and Angelus, a red dragon who forms a
magical pact with Caim to save both their lives. The story follows their
involvement in a religious war between the Union and the Empire, and
their quest to protect magical seals that keep the world in balance. The
game features a mixture of hack-and-slash ground-based missions
controlling Caim, aerial combat with Angelus, and role-playing elements.
It was conceived as a hybrid between the popular Dynasty Warriors series
and the aerial combat game Ace Combat. Drakengard was the debut project
for both producer Takamasa Shiba and writer and director Taro Yoko. It
sold well in Japan and received mixed to positive reviews in the west:
reviewers praised the game's story and music, but were mixed about the
graphics and criticized the gameplay for being repetitive.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakengard>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1799:
Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse became the first woman to make a
parachute descent, falling 900 m (3,000 ft) in a hot-air balloon
gondola.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Genevi%C3%A8ve_Labrosse>
1892:
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States was first used in
public schools to coincide with the opening of the World's Columbian
Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance>
1917:
First World War: New Zealand troops suffered 2,735 casualties,
including 845 deaths, in the First Battle of Passchendaele, making it
the nation's largest loss of life in one day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Passchendaele>
1984:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb at the
Grand Hotel in Brighton, England, in a failed attempt to assassinate
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and most of her cabinet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_hotel_bombing>
1999:
Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup against
the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Pakistani_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jawan:
(India) An (Indian) infantryman; a soldier.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jawan>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The cause of human sectarianism is not lack of sympathy in
thought, but in speech; and this it is our not unambitious design to
remedy.
--Aleister Crowley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley>