Thunderbirds is a mid-1960s British science-fiction television series
created by Gerry Anderson (pictured) and Sylvia Anderson, produced by
their company AP Films and distributed by ITC. It was their fifth series
to be filmed using a hybrid technique known as "Supermarionation", which
combined scale-model special effects sequences with scenes featuring
marionette puppet characters. Two series were made, totalling 32
episodes. Set in the mid-2060s, Thunderbirds follows the adventures of
International Rescue, a secret organisation founded by ex-astronaut Jeff
Tracy. Their advanced rescue machines are led by the Thunderbirds, a
fleet of five vehicles piloted by Jeff's adult sons. The series
premiered on the ITV network on 30 September 1965 and has since been
broadcast in at least 66 other countries. Widely considered the
Andersons' most popular and commercially successful series, it has
received particular praise for its effects and music. It was followed by
two feature-length film sequels in the 1960s and a live-action film
adaptation in 2004. A computer-animated remake, Thunderbirds Are Go,
premiered on ITV in 2015.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbirds_(TV_series)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
737:
Muslim conquest of Transoxiana: Turgesh tribes attacked the
exposed Umayyad baggage train, which had been sent ahead of the main
force, and captured it.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Baggage>
1399:
Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, deposed Richard II to
become Henry IV of England, merging the Duchy of Lancaster with the
crown.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV_of_England>
1882:
The Vulcan Street Plant, the first hydroelectric central
station to serve a system of private and commercial customers in North
America, went on line in Appleton, Wisconsin, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_Street_Plant>
1965:
Members of the 30 September Movement attempted a coup against
the Indonesian government, which was crushed by the military under
Suharto, leading to a mass anti-communist purge with over 500,000 people
killed over the following months.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_killings_of_1965%E2%80%9366>
2005:
The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published controversial
editorial cartoons depicting Muhammad, sparking protests across the
Muslim world by many who viewed them as Islamophobic and blasphemous.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
censure:
1. To criticize harshly.
2. To formally rebuke.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/censure>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love is the ark appointed for the righteous, Which annuls the
danger and provides a way of escape. Sell your cleverness and buy
bewilderment. Cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment intuition.
--Rumi
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rumi>
The Choiseul pigeon (Microgoura meeki) is an extinct species that was
endemic to the island of Choiseul in the Solomon Islands. Its closest
living relative is believed to be the thick-billed ground pigeon, and
some authors have suggested that the Choiseul pigeon may be a link
between that species and the crowned pigeons. The adult pigeon was
largely blue-grey, with an orange belly and a distinctive slate-blue
crest. The bird's head sported a blue frontal shield surrounded by black
feathers and a bicoloured beak. It was described as having a beautiful
rising and falling whistling call. It is believed to have been a
terrestrial species that laid a single egg in an unlined depression in
the ground. It roosted in pairs or small groups of three or four in
small shrubs and was reportedly very tame, allowing hunters to pick it
up off its roost. The indigenous peoples reported that the species was
driven to extinction by feral cats, as the pigeon had never previously
confronted a carnivorous mammal on Choiseul. The last unconfirmed report
of a Choiseul pigeon was in the early 1940s.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choiseul_pigeon>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1774:
The publication of The Sorrows of Young Werther raised the 24
-year-old Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to international fame.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther>
1940:
Two Avro Ansons of No. 2 Service Flying Training School RAAF
collided in mid-air over Brocklesby, New South Wales, Australia, remain
locked together after colliding, and landed safely (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_Brocklesby_mid-air_collision>
1957:
An explosion at the Soviet nuclear reprocessing plant Mayak
released 74 to 1850 PBq of radioactive material.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_disaster>
1962:
Alouette 1, Canada's first satellite, and the first satellite
constructed by a country other than the Soviet Union or the United
States, was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alouette_1>
2005:
John Roberts became the 17th Chief Justice of the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Roberts>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ex delicto:
(law) Of a legal obligation: arising from a delict or tort, or some
other wrongful act.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ex_delicto>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth:
and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your
prince.
--Book of Daniel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel>
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie,
published by Microsoft Game Studios, and released on September 14, 2010,
for the Xbox 360 video game console. Players control Noble Six, a member
of an elite supersoldier squad, when the human world known as Reach is
attacked in the year 2552 by the alien Covenant. Developed after the
2007 release of Halo 3, the game is a prequel to the original Halo game
trilogy. Reach 's music was composed by longtime Halo composers
Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, who aimed for a more somber
sound to match the story. Reach was announced at the Electronic
Entertainment Expo 2009 in Los Angeles. It grossed $200 million on its
launch day, setting a new record for the franchise. The game sold well
in most territories, moving more than three million units its first
month in North America. Critical reception was positive, and generally
praised the game's graphics and sound, but the plot and characters were
less positively received.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo:_Reach>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1066:
William the Conqueror and his fleet of around 600 ships landed
at Pevensey, Sussex, beginning the Norman conquest of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_conquest_of_England>
1542:
Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the first
European to travel along the coast of California, landed at what is now
the city of San Diego.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Cabrillo>
1891:
Railway workers in Montevideo founded the Central Uruguay
Railway Cricket Club, which later changed its name to Peñarol, now
Uruguay's most successful football club.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%C3%B1arol>
1963:
Whaam!, now considered one of Roy Lichtenstein's most important
works, debuted at an exhibition held at the Leo Castelli Gallery, New
York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaam!>
1996:
Former President of Afghanistan Mohammad Najibullah was
tortured and murdered by the Taliban.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Najibullah>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pleonasm:
1. (uncountable, rhetoric) Redundancy in wording.
2. (countable) A phrase involving pleonasm, that is, a phrase in which one
or more words are redundant as their meaning is expressed elsewhere in
the phrase.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pleonasm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am not bothered by the fact that I am unknown. I am bothered
when I do not know others.
--Confucius (孔子 · Kongzi)
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Confucius>
The Stockton and Darlington Railway operated in north-east England from
1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives,
its first line connected coal mines near Shildon with Stockton-on-Tees
and Darlington, and was officially opened on 27 September 1825. The
movement of coal to ships became a lucrative business, and the line was
soon extended to a new port and town at Middlesbrough. Passengers were
carried in coaches drawn by horses until carriages hauled by steam
locomotives were introduced in 1833. The company suffered severe
financial difficulties at the end of the 1840s and was nearly taken over
by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway, before profiting from the
discovery of iron ore in Cleveland. The company was taken over by the
North Eastern Railway in 1863, transferring 200 route miles (320 km) of
line and about 160 locomotives, but continued to operate independently
as the Darlington Section until 1876. Much of the original route is now
served by the Tees Valley Line, operated by Northern Rail. The railway's
opening in 1825 was seen as proof of the effectiveness of steam
railways, and its anniversary was celebrated in 1875, 1925 and 1975.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton_and_Darlington_Railway>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1422:
The Treaty of Melno was signed, establishing the
Prussian–Lithuanian border, which afterwards remained unchanged for
about 500 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Melno>
1822:
In a letter to the Paris Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-
Lettres, Jean-François Champollion announced his initial successes in
deciphering the Rosetta Stone.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Champollion>
1875:
The Ellen Southard wrecked in a storm at Liverpool, England;
the United States Congress subsequently awarded 27 gold Lifesaving
Medals to the lifeboat men who rescued her crew.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Southard>
1908:
The first production of the Ford Model T automobile was built
at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_T>
1983:
Software developer Richard Stallman announced plans for the
Unix-like GNU operating system, the first free software developed by the
GNU Project.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
stile:
1. A set of steps surmounting a fence or wall, or a narrow gate or
contrived passage through a fence or wall, which in either case allows
people but not livestock to pass.
2. A vertical component of a panel or frame, such as that of a door or
window. […]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stile>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of
servitude than the animated contest of freedom — go home from us in
peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands
which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity
forget that you were our countrymen!
--Samuel Adams
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams>
The three-dollar piece was a gold coin produced by the United States
Bureau of the Mint from 1854 to 1889. Designed by Mint Chief Engraver
James B. Longacre, the obverse ("heads" side) bears a representation of
Lady Liberty wearing a headdress of a Native American princess, and the
reverse displays a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco. Longacre
sought to make it as different as possible from the quarter eagle ($2.50
piece), striking it on a thinner planchet and using a distinctive
design. Although over 100,000 were struck in the first year, the coin
saw little use. It circulated somewhat on the West Coast, where gold and
silver were used to the exclusion of paper money, but what little place
it had in commerce in the East was lost in the economic disruption of
the Civil War, and was never regained. The piece was last struck in
1889, and Congress ended the series the following year. Although many
dates were struck in small numbers, the rarest was produced at the San
Francisco Mint in 1870 (1870-S); only one such coin is known with
certainty to exist.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-dollar_piece>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1087:
William II, son of William the Conqueror, was crowned King of
England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_II_of_England>
1687:
The Parthenon in Athens was partially destroyed during an armed
conflict between the Venetians under Francesco Morosini and Ottoman
forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon>
1917:
First World War: The Battle of Polygon Wood, part of the Third
Battle of Ypres, began near Ypres, Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Polygon_Wood>
1983:
Soviet Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov averted a possible
worldwide nuclear war by deliberately certifying what otherwise appeared
to be an impending attack by the United States as a false alarm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident>
2010:
Scottish aid worker Linda Norgrove and three Afghan colleagues
were kidnapped by members of the Taliban in the Kunar Province of
eastern Afghanistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Linda_Norgrove>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
heave:
1. (transitive) To lift with difficulty; to raise with some effort; to lift
(a heavy thing). […]
2. (intransitive) To make an effort to vomit; to retch.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heave>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For
decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
--T. S. Eliot
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot>
Serpens is a constellation of the northern hemisphere, representing a
serpent. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century
astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations
defined by the International Astronomical Union. It is unique among the
modern constellations in being split into two non-contiguous parts, the
head (Serpens Caput) to the west and the tail (Serpens Cauda) to the
east. Between these two halves lies the constellation of Ophiuchus, the
"Serpent-Bearer", with the body of the serpent passing behind Ophiuchus.
The brightest star in Serpens is the red giant star Alpha Serpentis,
with an apparent magnitude of 2.63. The Eagle Nebula and its associated
cluster (pictured) are located in Serpens, as is the nearby star-forming
region Westerhout 40. Extragalactic objects in Serpens include Seyfert's
Sextet, one of the densest galaxy clusters known; Arp 220, the
prototypical ultraluminous infrared galaxy; and Hoag's Object, the most
famed of the rare ring galaxies.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpens>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
275:
After the assassination of Aurelian, Tacitus was chosen by the
Senate to succeed him as Roman emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Claudius_Tacitus>
1790:
Peking opera (performer pictured) was born when the Four Great
Anhui Troupes introduced Anhui opera to Beijing in honor of the Qianlong
Emperor's eightieth birthday.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_opera>
1911:
An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the
French battleship Liberté detonated the forward ammunition magazines
and destroyed the ship.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_battleship_Libert%C3%A9>
1964:
Unrest and frustration amongst many indigenous Mozambican
populations against Portuguese rule erupted in a war for independence
that lasted ten years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambican_War_of_Independence>
1983:
In one of the largest prison escapes in British history, 38
Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners hijacked a prison meals
lorry and smashed their way out of HM Prison Maze in County Antrim,
Northern Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maze_Prison_escape>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dichotomy:
1. A separation or division into two; a distinction that results in such a
division. […]
2. (astronomy) A phase of the moon when it appears half lit and half dark,
as at the quadratures. […]
3. (biology) A fork (bifurcation) in a stem or vein.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dichotomy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The past is never dead. It's not even past.
--William Faulkner
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Faulkner>
Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama,
adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name.
Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy.
Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was
a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E; Network.
BBC One originally broadcast the 55-minute episodes from 24 September to
29 October. The A&E; Network aired the serial in double episodes on
three consecutive nights beginning 14 January 1996. Critically acclaimed
and a popular success, Pride and Prejudice was honoured with several
awards, including a BAFTA Television Award for Jennifer Ehle for "Best
Actress" and an Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume
Design for a Miniseries or a Special". The role of Mr Darcy elevated
Colin Firth to stardom. The New York Times called the adaptation "a
witty mix of love stories and social conniving, cleverly wrapped in the
ambitions and illusions of a provincial gentry".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1995_TV_serial)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
622:
Muhammad and his followers completed their Hijra from Mecca to
Medina to escape religious persecution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(Islam)>
1180:
The Byzantine Empire was weakened by the death of Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_I_Komnenos>
1890:
Wilford Woodruff, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, wrote the first draft of a manifesto which officially
disavowed the continuing practice of plural marriage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890_Manifesto>
1957:
Barcelona's Camp Nou, currently the largest stadium in Europe
with a seating capacity of 99,354, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Nou>
1975:
Dougal Haston and Doug Scott on the Southwest Face expedition
became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest by any of
its faces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_British_Mount_Everest_Southwest_Face_exp…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
alas:
A type of depression which occurs in Yakutia, formed by the subsidence
of permafrost.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alas>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Papa Hegel he say that all we learn from history is that we learn
nothing from history. I know people who can't even learn from what
happened this morning. Hegel must have been taking the long view.
--John Brunner
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brunner>
The Actions along the Matanikau were the two most prominent engagements
across the Matanikau River in Guadalcanal during World War II. In the
first of these separate but related actions (23–27 September 1942),
elements of three U.S. Marine battalions attacked Japanese troop
concentrations around the river. The attack was intended to destroy any
Japanese forces in the area and to disrupt their attempts to stage
attacks on the Marine's defenses at Lunga Point by denying their use of
Point Cruz peninsula, the village of Kokumbona, and a series of ridges
and ravines stretching inland from the coast. The Japanese repulsed this
attack. In the second action (6–9 October), a larger force of Marines
crossed the river and inflicted heavy casualties on an infantry
regiment. This forced the Japanese to retreat from their positions east
of the Matanikau and hindered their preparations for a planned major
offensive on the U.S. Lunga defenses set for later in October.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actions_along_the_Matanikau>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1459:
Yorkist forces led by Richard Neville defeated Lancastrian
troops at the Battle of Blore Heath in Staffordshire, England, a major
battle of the Wars of the Roses.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blore_Heath>
1568:
Anglo–Spanish War: At San Juan de Ulúa (in modern Veracruz,
Mexico), Spanish naval forces forced English privateers to halt their
illegal trade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Juan_de_Ul%C3%BAa_(1568)>
1875:
Billy the Kid was arrested for the first time after stealing
clothes from a laundryman, beginning his life as an infamous American
outlaw and gunman.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Kid>
1932:
The Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz merged with Al-Hasa and Qatif to
form the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with Ibn Saud as the first monarch and
Riyadh as the capital city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_of_Saudi_Arabia>
2010:
Teresa Lewis became the first woman to be executed by the US
state of Virginia since 1912, and the first woman in the state to be
executed via lethal injection.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Lewis>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
balebos:
1. (Judaism) Master of the house, head of the household, host.
2. (Judaism) House owner, homeowner.
3. (Judaism, by extension) Boss, person in charge (of anything).
4. (Judaism) Important man, bourgeoisie.
5. (Judaism) Layman, congregant, non-clergy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/balebos>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe that we are soft creatures in a world with some very
hard edges. It's remarkable that we survive at all, much less do high
deeds or write great music. I think … tension … is a condition of
our existence, and I do my best to depict it.
--Brian McNaughton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_McNaughton>
Chetro Ketl is an Ancestral Puebloan great house and American
archeological site located in Chaco Culture National Historical Park,
New Mexico. Construction on Chetro Ketl began c. 990 and was largely
complete by 1075. Following the onset of a severe drought, most Chacoans
emigrated from the canyon by 1140. The great house was rediscovered in
1823 by the Spanish governor of New Mexico and explored in 1849 by the
US Army Corps of Engineers. Chaco scholars estimate that it required
more than 500,000 man-hours, 26,000 trees, and 50 million sandstone
blocks to erect Chetro Ketl. The building contained around 400 rooms and
was the largest great house by area in Chaco Canyon, covering nearly 3
acres (1.2 ha). Chetro Ketl's purpose is widely debated, but many
archeologists believe the building was a place of large-scale ceremony
that held an important position within the larger Chacoan system. The
building has deteriorated significantly since its rediscovery in the
early 19th century, and its usefulness as a source of information about
Chacoan culture is slowly diminishing.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chetro_Ketl>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
French Revolution: One day after the National Convention voted
to abolish the monarchy, the French First Republic came into being.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_First_Republic>
1862:
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation, declaring the freedom of all slaves in Confederate
territory by January 1, 1863.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation>
1922:
After nine days, the Great Fire of Smyrna was extinguished,
having caused tens of thousands of deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Smyrna>
1955:
ITV was founded as the first commercial television network in
the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITV_(TV_network)>
1965:
The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a
resolution calling for an unconditional ceasefire in the Indo-Pakistani
War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1965>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nothospecies:
(botany) A hybrid which is formed by direct hybridization of two
species, not other hybrids.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nothospecies>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I urge you to work together in promoting a true, worldwide ethical
mobilization which, beyond all differences of religious or political
convictions, will spread and put into practice a shared ideal of
fraternity and solidarity, especially with regard to the poorest and
those most excluded.
--Pope Francis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pope_Francis>
Kareena Kapoor (born 1980) is an Indian Bollywood actress. She is the
daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of
actress Karisma Kapoor. Her achievements include six Filmfare Awards,
four IIFA Awards, and three Screen Awards. One of Bollywood's highest-
paid actresses, she has played a variety of characters and appeared in a
range of film genres. After making her acting debut in Refugee (2000),
Kapoor established herself as a leading actress in 2001 with her roles
in Aśoka and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.... This initial success was
followed by roles in a series of commercial failures. The year 2004
marked a turning point for her when she played a sex worker in Chameli.
She earned wide recognition for her roles in Dev and Omkara, then
starred in Jab We Met (2007). Kapoor achieved further success by
featuring as the female lead in four of India's top-grossing
productions—3 Idiots (2009), Golmaal 3 (2010), Bodyguard (2011), and
Ra.One (2011)—and received praise for her roles in Kurbaan (2009) and
Heroine (2012). Married to actor Saif Ali Khan, Kapoor's off-screen life
is the subject of widespread coverage in India.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareena_Kapoor>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: The Great Fire of New York broke
out during British occupation of New York City, destroying up to 1,000
buildings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_New_York_(1776)>
1860:
Second Opium War: Anglo-French forces earned a decisive victory
against Qing dynasty troops in the Battle of Palikao, allowing them to
capture Beijing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palikao>
1937:
J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy children's novel The Hobbit, which
later served as a predecessor to The Lord of the Rings, was first
published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit>
1965:
Portugal outraged the United Kingdom by announcing its
acceptance of a mission in Lisbon independently representing Rhodesia
(or Southern Rhodesia), a British colony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesian_mission_in_Lisbon>
2013:
Unidentified gunmen began a three-day attack on the upmarket
Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, resulting in the deaths of 67
people with at least another 175 wounded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westgate_shopping_mall_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gizzardless:
1. Without a gizzard; without guts or innards.
2. (figuratively) Lacking courage, cowardly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gizzardless>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The only deadly sin I know is cynicism.
--Henry L. Stimson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_L._Stimson>