"City of Angels" is a song by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars
(pictured), featured on their fourth studio album Love, Lust, Faith and
Dreams (2013). The song's name is a reference to Los Angeles, and the
lyrics were influenced by its culture. Written by lead vocalist Jared
Leto, who also produced the song with Steve Lillywhite, "City of Angels"
is imbued with elements of arena rock and 1980s music; the track has
been cited as an example of the album's variety and experimentation. It
was generally acclaimed by music critics, who commended the composition,
the lyrics, and Leto's vocal performance. The song was released in
October 2013 as the third single from the album, reaching number eight
on the US Alternative Songs chart. An accompanying music video that
features well-known entertainers and colorful personalities sharing
their visions about Los Angeles was positively reviewed by critics; it
received the Loudwire Music Award for Best Rock Video and was nominated
for Best Cinematography at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Thirty
Seconds to Mars performed "City of Angels" on their major concert tours
from 2013 through 2015.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Angels_(Thirty_Seconds_to_Mars_song)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
879:
Pope John VIII officially recognised Croatia as an independent
state, and Branimir as its Duke.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branimir_of_Croatia>
1864:
American Civil War: The Union and Confederate armies fought to
a draw at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, with nearly 32,000
casualties combined.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spotsylvania_Court_House>
1904:
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the
international sport governing body of association football, was founded
in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA>
1927:
Aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, American aviator Charles
Lindbergh completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight, flying
from Roosevelt Field near New York City to Paris – Le Bourget Airport.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh>
1981:
The Italian government released the membership list of
Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that had been implicated
in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due>
More anniversaries:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due>
May 20
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due>
May 21
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_21>
May 22
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_21>
Archive
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/May>
By email
<https://en.wikipedia.orghttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-…>
List of historical anniversaries
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_anniversaries>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cloudburst:
A sudden heavy rainstorm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cloudburst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have come to believe … that the stage may do more than
teach, that much of our current moral instruction will not endure the
test of being cast into a lifelike mold, and when presented in dramatic
form will reveal itself as platitudinous and effete. That which may have
sounded like righteous teaching when it was remote and wordy, will be
challenged afresh when it is obliged to simulate life itself.
--Jane Addams
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Addams>
The Bread-Winners is an 1883 anti-labor novel by John Hay, who was
Assistant Secretary to the President under Abraham Lincoln and
McKinley's final Secretary of State. Originally published anonymously in
installments in The Century Magazine, the book attracted wide interest
and provoked considerable speculation over the author's identity. Hay
wrote his only novel as a reaction to several strikes that affected him
and his business interests in the 1870s and early 1880s. In the main
storyline, a wealthy former army captain, Arthur Farnham, organizes
Civil War veterans to keep the peace when the Bread-winners, a group of
lazy and malcontented workers, call a violent general strike. Hay had
left hints as to his identity in the novel, and some guessed right, but
he never acknowledged the book as his, and it did not appear with his
name on it until after his death in 1905. Hay's hostile view of
organized labor was soon seen as outdated, and the book is best
remembered for its onetime popularity and controversial nature.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bread-Winners>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
794:
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, King Æthelberht II of
East Anglia was beheaded on the order of King Offa of Mercia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelberht_II_of_East_Anglia>
1609:
Thomas Thorpe published the first copies of Shakespeare's
sonnets (title page pictured), possibly without William Shakespeare's
consent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_sonnets>
1875:
Representatives from seventeen countries signed the Metre
Convention which set up an institute for the purpose of coordinating
international metrology and for coordinating the development of the
metric system.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre_Convention>
1996:
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws in Colorado that would
have prevented any jurisdiction in the state from taking any
governmental action to protect homosexual citizens from discrimination
on the basis of their sexual orientation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romer_v._Evans>
2012:
The first of two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy,
resulting in seven deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Northern_Italy_earthquakes>
More anniversaries:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Northern_Italy_earthquakes>
May 19
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Northern_Italy_earthquakes>
May 20
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_20>
May 21
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_20>
Archive
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/May>
By email
<https://en.wikipedia.orghttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-…>
List of historical anniversaries
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_anniversaries>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
much of a muchness:
(idiomatic) Of two or more things, having little difference of any
significance between them.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/much_of_a_muchness>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he
can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need
nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on
and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows
wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to
supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the
subject.
--John Stuart Mill
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill>
The Tetrarch, a British light tank with a 2-pounder gun, was deployed in
the Second World War. Vickers-Armstrongs produced over 100 of them, but
the tanks had design flaws and most remained in Britain. Twenty were
sent to the USSR as part of the Lend-Lease program. In early 1941 one
Royal Armoured Corps squadron used in overseas amphibious operations was
equipped with Tetrarchs, and in May 1942 a few joined the British force
invading Madagascar. During the British airborne landings in Normandy in
June 1944, the 6th Airborne Division used around 20 Tetrarchs, but those
not lost in accidents proved to be inferior in firepower and armour to
the German armoured fighting vehicles. The tanks were removed from
direct engagement with German armour, and all were replaced with
Cromwell cruiser tanks and M22 Locusts by December. Tetrarchs did not
see any further combat, and the last was retired in 1950. There were
several variations on the design, including the Alecto self-propelled
gun and the Light Tank Mk VIII, but none of these were used in active
service with the British Army.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Tank_Mk_VII_Tetrarch>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
715:
The papacy of Gregory II began; his conflict with Byzantine
emperor Leo III eventually led to the establishment of the popes'
temporal power.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_II>
1499:
Thirteen-year-old Catherine of Aragon, the future first wife of
Henry VIII of England, was married by proxy to his brother, 12-year-old
Arthur, Prince of Wales.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Aragon>
1780:
A combination of thick smoke, fog, and heavy cloud cover caused
darkness to fall on parts of Canada and the New England area of the
United States by noon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England%27s_Dark_Day>
1911:
Parks Canada, the world's first national park service, was
established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the
Interior.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks_Canada>
1991:
Despite a boycott by the local Serb population, voters in
Croatia passed a referendum supporting independence from the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_independence_referendum,_1991>
More anniversaries:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_independence_referendum,_1991>
May 18
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_independence_referendum,_1991>
May 19
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_19>
May 20
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_19>
Archive
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/May>
By email
<https://en.wikipedia.orghttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-…>
List of historical anniversaries
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_anniversaries>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
front runner:
(idiomatic) One of the most likely winners in a contest, election, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/front_runner>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Progress leads to confusion leads to progress and on and on
without respite. Every one of the many major advances … created sooner
or later, more often sooner, new problems. These confusions, never twice
the same, are not to be deplored. Rather, those who participate
experience them as a privilege.
--Abraham Pais
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Pais>
The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes designed and built 1,050 of them for 54
customers from 1981 to 2004. The twinjet has a two-crewmember glass
cockpit, a conventional tail, a low-drag supercritical wing design, and
turbofan engines that allow takeoffs from relatively short runways and
at high altitudes. Intended for short and medium routes, variants of the
757 can carry 200 to 295 passengers for a maximum of 3,150 to 4,100
nautical miles (5,830 to 7,590 km). The 757 was designed concurrently
with a wide-body twinjet, the 767, and pilots can obtain a common type
rating that allows them to operate both aircraft. Passenger 757-200s
(the most popular model) have been modified for cargo use; military
derivatives include the C-32 transport, VIP carriers, and other multi-
purpose aircraft. All 757s are powered by Rolls-Royce RB211 or Pratt &
Whitney PW2000 series turbofans. Eastern Air Lines and British Airways
were first to place the 757 in commercial service, in 1983. The airliner
had recorded eight hull-loss accidents, including seven fatal crashes,
as of April 2015.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_757>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1388:
During the Battle of Buyur Lake, General Lan Yu led a Chinese
army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of Toghus Temur, the Khan of
Northern Yuan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Buyur_Lake>
1869:
One day after surrendering at the Battle of Hakodate, Enomoto
Takeaki turned over Goryōkaku to Japanese forces, signaling the
collapse of the Republic of Ezo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ezo>
1896:
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Plessy v.
Ferguson, upholding the legality of racial segregation in public
transportation under the "Separate but equal" doctrine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson>
1955:
Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000
Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French
Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of
the First Indochina War, ended.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Passage_to_Freedom>
2005:
A second photo by the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed the
discovery of two new moons of Pluto: Nix and Hydra.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(moon)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
upend:
1. (transitive) To end up; to set on end.
2. To tip or turn over.
3. To destroy, invalidate, overthrow, or defeat.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/upend>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite
answers to its questions, since no definite answers can, as a rule, be
known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves;
because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible,
enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance
which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because,
through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the
mind is also rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the
universe which constitutes its highest good.
--Bertrand Russell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell>
The two Rivadavia-class battleships were constructed for Argentina as a
part of a wider South American naval arms race. To counter Brazil's two
Minas Geraes-class dreadnought battleships, Argentina began seeking bids
for at least two of their own in 1908. Over the next two years, multiple
shipbuilders from five countries vied for the contracts, complemented by
efforts from their respective governments. Argentina's choice in early
1910 of the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, based in the United States,
shocked the European bidders, but could partly be explained by the
American steel trust's ability to produce steel at a lower cost than any
other country. Amid increasing tension in Europe that would lead to the
First World War, newspapers speculated that the Argentine dreadnoughts
would be sold to a European nation. Under diplomatic pressure, the
Argentines decided to keep the ships; after numerous delays, they
arrived in the country in February and May 1915. The dreadnoughts were
modernized in the 1920s, and in the latter half of their life were
frequently employed as training ships and diplomatic envoys. Both were
sold for scrap in the late 1950s.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivadavia-class_battleship>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1590:
Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen consort of Scotland in the
abbey church at Holyrood Palace.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Denmark>
1792:
Twenty-four stock brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement to
establish the New York Stock Exchange.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Stock_Exchange>
1865:
The International Telecommunication Union, an international
organization that standardizes and regulates international radio and
telecommunications, was founded as the International Telegraph Union in
Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Telecommunication_Union>
1902:
The Antikythera mechanism, the oldest known surviving geared
mechanism, was discovered among artifacts retrieved from a shipwreck off
the Greek island of Antikythera.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism>
1995:
After 18 years as Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac was
inaugurated as President of France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Chirac>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
morpheme:
(linguistics) The smallest linguistic unit within a word that can carry
a meaning, such as "un-", "break", and "-able" in the word
"unbreakable".
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/morpheme>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My view is this: We teach nothing. We do not teach physics nor
do we teach students. (I take physics merely as an example.) What is the
same thing: No one is taught anything! Here lies the folly of this
business. We try to teach somebody nothing. This is a sorry endeavour
for no one can be taught a thing. What we do, if we are successful, is
to stir interest in the matter at hand, awaken enthusiasm for it, arouse
a curiosity, kindle a feeling, fire up the imagination. To my own
teachers who handled me in this way, I owe a great and lasting debt.
--Julius Sumner Miller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julius_Sumner_Miller>
Wilfred Rhodes (1877–1973) was an English professional cricketer who
played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, he
took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs. He holds the world records for
the most appearances made in first-class cricket (1,110 matches) and for
the most wickets taken (4,204). He completed the double of 1,000 runs
and 100 wickets in an English cricket season a record 16 times. Rhodes
played for Yorkshire and England into his fifties, and in his final Test
in 1930 was, at 52 years and 165 days, the oldest player who has
appeared in a Test match. Beginning his career for Yorkshire in 1898 as
a slow left arm bowler, Rhodes quickly established a reputation as one
of the best slow bowlers in the world. His batting steadily improved
until, by the First World War, he was also regarded as one of the
leading batsmen in England and had established an effective opening
partnership with Jack Hobbs. As a bowler, Rhodes was noted for his great
accuracy, variations in flight and, in his early days, sharp spin.
Following his retirement from playing cricket, he briefly coached at
Harrow School and was given honorary membership of the Marylebone
Cricket Club in 1949.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Rhodes>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1771:
The Battle of Alamance—the final battle of the War of the
Regulation, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over issues of
taxation and local control—was fought.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alamance>
1811:
Peninsular War: An allied force of British, Spanish, and
Portuguese troops clashed with the French at the Battle of Albuera south
of Badajoz, Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Albuera>
1918:
The Sedition Act was passed in the United States, forbidding
Americans from using "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive
language" about the United States government, flag, or armed forces
during the ongoing World War I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition_Act_of_1918>
1960:
American physicist Theodore Maiman operated the first working
laser (example pictured) at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu,
California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser>
1975:
Based on the results of a referendum held about one month
earlier, Sikkim abolished its monarchy and was annexed by India,
becoming its 22nd state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikkim>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hue and cry:
1. (historical) The public pursuit of a felon; accompanied by shouts to
warn others to give chase.
2. (by extension) A loud and persistent public clamour; especially one of
protest or making some demand.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hue_and_cry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Acceptance is right. Kindness is right. Love is right. I pray,
right now, that we're moving into a kinder time when prejudice is
overcome by understanding; when narrow-mindedness, and narrow-minded
bigotry is overwhelmed by open-hearted empathy; when the pain of
judgmentalism is replaced by the purity of love.
--Janet Jackson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Janet_Jackson>
"4 Minutes", by American singer-songwriter Madonna (pictured), was
released as the lead single of her eleventh studio album Hard Candy
(2008), featuring vocals by American singers Justin Timberlake and
Timbaland. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100,
giving Madonna her 37th top-ten single and breaking the all-time record
previously held by Elvis Presley. It also received positive reviews and
topped the charts in twenty-one countries, including Australia, Canada,
Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. An uptempo dance-pop song
with an urban and hip hop style, "4 Minutes" incorporates Timbaland's
characteristic bhangra beats, with brass, foghorns and cowbells. It was
performed by Madonna on the promotional tour for Hard Candy and the
2008–09 Sticky & Sweet Tour. The song received two Grammy Award
nominations for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Best Remixed
Recording, Non-Classical at the 2009 ceremony. In the accompanying music
video, Madonna and Timberlake are running away from a giant black screen
that devours everything in its path, including them, in the end. She
cited the song as the inspiration for the documentary I Am Because We
Are (2008).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Minutes_(Madonna_song)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1602:
English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold led the first recorded
European expedition to visit Cape Cod in present-day Massachusetts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_Gosnold>
1793:
Inventor Diego Marín Aguilera, the "father of aviation" in
Spain, flew one of the first gliders for about 360 m (1,180 ft).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Mar%C3%ADn_Aguilera>
1869:
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (both pictured)
founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, breaking away from the
American Equal Rights Association which they had also previously
founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Woman_Suffrage_Association>
1997:
During the dedication of the Laos Memorial in Arlington
National Cemetery, the United States first publicly acknowledged its
role in the Laotian Civil War, which had ended 22 years earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotian_Civil_War>
2010:
Upon her return to Sydney three days before her 17th birthday,
Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail non-stop and
unassisted around the world.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Watson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
plangent:
Having a loud, mournful sound.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/plangent>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One might think you knew all about witches, to hear you chatter.
But your words prove you to be very ignorant of the subject. You may
find good people and bad people in the world; and so, I suppose, you may
find good witches and bad witches. But I must confess most of the
witches I have known were very respectable, indeed, and famous for their
kind actions.
--L. Frank Baum
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum>
The 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (founded May
1944) was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the
armed wing of the Nazi Party that served alongside the German armed
forces during World War II. Composed of Muslim Albanians with mostly
German and ethnic German Yugoslav officers and non-commissioned
officers, it was named for medieval Albanian lord George Kastrioti
Skanderbeg, who had defended the region of Albania against the Ottoman
Empire. The division committed numerous atrocities in predominantly Serb
areas, and rounded up Jews in Pristina for deportation to the Bergen-
Belsen concentration camp on 14 May 1944. Its only significant military
actions took place during a German anti-Partisan offensive in the German
occupied territory of Montenegro in June and July. It was then deployed
as a guard force in Kosovo, where it was quickly overrun by the
Partisans. Reinforced by German Kriegsmarine (navy) personnel and with
less than 500 Albanians remaining in its ranks, it was disbanded on 1
November 1944. Divisional commander SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor
der Waffen-SS August Schmidhuber was later found guilty of war crimes by
a Belgrade court and executed in 1947.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Waffen_Mountain_Division_of_the_SS_Skand…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1264:
Second Barons' War: King Henry III was defeated at the Battle
of Lewes and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort
(statue pictured) the de facto ruler of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_of_Lewes>
1787:
Delegates from the thirteen U.S. states convened the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the
intention of revising the Articles of Confederation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Convention_(United_States)>
1931:
Five people were killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers opened
fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85dalen_shootings>
1940:
World War II: The bulk of Dutch forces surrendered to the
Wehrmacht, ending the Battle of the Netherlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Netherlands>
1961:
In Anniston, Alabama, US, a mob of Ku Klux Klansmen attacked
the buses of the Freedom Riders, who were riding interstate buses in the
South in mixed racial groups to challenge local segregation laws.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Riders>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sumptuous:
Magnificent, luxurious, splendid.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sumptuous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is the interest of the individual and of all society, that he
should be made, at the earliest period, to understand his own
construction, the proper use of its parts, and how to keep them at all
times in a state of health.
--Robert Owen
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Owen>
Blackrock is a 1997 Australian drama film directed by Steven Vidler and
written by Nick Enright. In Blackrock, a fictional beachside working-
class suburb, a young surfer witnesses his friends raping a girl. When
she is found murdered the next day, he is torn between revealing what he
saw and protecting his friends. Filming locations included Stockton, New
South Wales, where a girl named Leigh Leigh was murdered in 1989. While
the film was never marketed as the story of her death, many viewers
incorrectly believed it to be a factual account of the crime. Her family
objected to what they saw as a fictionalisation of her murder, and
residents of Stockton opposed the decision to shoot scenes there. The
film received generally positive critical reviews in Australia, where it
was nominated for five AACTA Awards and won two AWGIE Awards, though it
received mixed reviews elsewhere. Adapted from Enright's play of the
same name, the film stars Laurence Breuls, Simon Lyndon and Linda
Cropper, and features the first credited film performance of Heath
Ledger.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackrock_(film)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1638:
Construction began in Delhi on the Red Fort (Lahori Gate
pictured), the residence of the Mughal emperors, now an iconic symbol of
India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Fort>
1888:
Princess Isabel of the Empire of Brazil signed the Lei Áurea
into law, formally abolishing slavery in Brazil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Brazil>
1917:
Ten-year-old Lúcia Santos and her cousins Francisco and
Jacinta Marto reportedly began experiencing a Marian apparition near
Fátima, Portugal, now known as Our Lady of Fátima.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_F%C3%A1tima>
1985:
Eleven members of the American black liberation group MOVE were
killed when a Philadelphia police helicopter dropped a bomb on their
house during a raid.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOVE>
2005:
Uzbek Interior Ministry and National Security Service troops
fired into a crowd of protesters in Andijan, Uzbekistan, killing
anywhere from 187, the official count of the government, to a reported
1,500 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andijan_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mama bear:
(slang) A woman, especially a mother, who is extremely protective of a
child or children.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mama_bear>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
He that made all things for love, by the same love keepeth them,
and shall keep them without end.
--Julian of Norwich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich>
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a 2009 action-adventure video game based on the
DC Comics superhero. Written by veteran Batman comics writer Paul Dini
(pictured), it was developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by
Eidos Interactive in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive
Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles and
Microsoft Windows. In the main storyline, Batman's archenemy, the Joker,
instigates an elaborate plot to seize control of Arkham Asylum and trap
Batman inside with many of his incarcerated foes. Kevin Conroy, Mark
Hamill, and Arleen Sorkin reprised their roles as Batman, the Joker, and
his sidekick Harley Quinn respectively. The game is presented in third-
person perspective with a primary focus on Batman's combat and stealth
abilities, detective skills, and gadgets that can be used in combat and
exploration. The game received critical acclaim—particularly for its
narrative—and won several awards, including Best Action Adventure
game, Best Game, and Game of the Year from different media outlets. It
held the Guinness World Record for "Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero
Game Ever". Arkham Asylum 's success launched a series of
Batman: Arkham sequels, beginning in October 2011 with Batman: Arkham
City.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Arkham_Asylum>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1510:
Zhu Zhifan, the Prince of Anhua (in modern Shaanxi, China),
began an unsuccessful revolt against the reign of the Zhengde Emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Anhua_rebellion>
1865:
In the last major clash of arms of the American Civil War, the
Union Army engaged the Confederates along the banks of the Rio Grande
east of Brownsville, Texas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palmito_Ranch>
1885:
The Provisional Government of Saskatchewan was decisively
defeated at the Battle of Batoche, which led to the end of the North-
West Rebellion three days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Batoche>
1955:
The Allied occupation of Austria came to an end, with the
nation regaining its independence ten years after the end of World
War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Austria>
1975:
The Cambodian navy seized the American container ship SS
Mayaguez in recognized international waters, but claimed as territorial
waters by Cambodia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayaguez_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
deskfast:
Breakfast eaten at work, particularly while sitting at a desk.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deskfast>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Mysticism: to dwell on the unseen, to withdraw ourselves from
the things of sense into communion with God — to endeavour to partake
of the Divine nature; that is, of Holiness. When we ask ourselves only
what is right, or what is the will of God (the same question), then we
may truly be said to live in His light.
--Florence Nightingale
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale>