"All About That Bass" is the debut single of American singer-songwriter
Meghan Trainor (pictured), released through Epic Records on June 30,
2014. The song was included on Trainor's first extended play (EP) Title
(2014) and her studio album of the same name (2015). Written by Trainor
and producer Kevin Kadish, "All About That Bass" is a bubblegum pop,
doo-wop and hip hop track. Trainor, who struggled with her negative body
image as a teenager, was inspired to write the song to promote self-
acceptance. Some music critics praised the song's production and
memorable message, while others called it a novelty song and criticized
the failure of its lyrics to empower all body types. The song was
nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 57th Annual
Grammy Awards. It was the best-selling song in the United States by a
female artist during the 2010s, and was certified Diamond by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_About_That_Bass>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1894:
London's Tower Bridge, a combined bascule and suspension bridge
over the River Thames, was inaugurated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge>
1934:
German chancellor Adolf Hitler began a purge of the SA, the
Nazi Party's paramilitary wing, and other political rivals in the Night
of the Long Knives, executing at least 85 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives>
2009:
Yemenia Flight 626 crashed into the Indian Ocean near the
Comoros, killing 152 people, with French schoolgirl Bahia Bakari the
sole survivor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenia_Flight_626>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
plat:
1. A plot of land; a lot.
2. A map showing the boundaries of real properties (delineating one or
more plots of land), especially one that forms part of a legal document.
3. (obsolete) A plot, a scheme.
4. (transitive) To create a plat; to lay out property lots and streets;
to map. […]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/plat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love, then, hath every bliss in store; 'Tis friendship, and 'tis
something more. Each other every wish they give; Not to know love is
not to live.
--John Gay
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Gay>
Berlin, Ontario, changed its name to Kitchener by referendum in May and
June 1916. Named in 1833 after the capital of Prussia and later the
German Empire, Berlin was heavily German-Canadian, and its residents
enjoyed a blend of British and German culture. The name Berlin became
unsavoury for residents after Great Britain and Canada's entry into the
First World War, as German Canadians experienced increasing anti-German
sentiment. In a vote characterized by intimidation and high voter
turnout, the 19 May 1916 referendum on changing the name narrowly
passed; a second vote to choose the new name saw low turnout. The vote
settled on Kitchener, named for British field marshal War Secretary Lord
Kitchener. The city was officially renamed on 1 September 1916. After
the war, the city experienced a decline in its German culture with
German Canadians being culturally assimilated into the broader Canadian
identity.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_to_Kitchener_name_change>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
The first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War,
the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet, was fought near Cape May, New Jersey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turtle_Gut_Inlet>
1864:
A passenger train fell through an open swing bridge into the
Richelieu River near present-day Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, killing as
many as 99 people and injuring 100 others in Canada's worst railway
accident.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St-Hilaire_train_disaster>
1914:
During the second day of anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo (aftermath
pictured), numerous buildings owned by ethnic Serbs were vandalized and
looted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Serb_riots_in_Sarajevo>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
citerior:
(literary) Chiefly in place names: situated on the nearer side.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/citerior>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No man can draw a free breath who does not share with other men a
common and disinterested ideal. Life has taught us that love does not
consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the
same direction. There is no comradeship except through union in the same
high effort.
--Antoine de Saint Exupéry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
Phillip Davey (1896–1953) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria
Cross. Along with his unit, the 10th Battalion, he landed at Anzac Cove,
Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915. He fought with his unit against the
Ottoman army until he was evacuated sick in early November. He rejoined
his battalion on the Western Front in October 1916. In January 1918 he
was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in rescuing a wounded man
under fire. He was promoted to corporal in April. On 28 June, in the
lead-up to the capture of Merris, he killed an eight-man German machine-
gun crew, saving his platoon from annihilation, for which he was awarded
the Victoria Cross. During this action he was severely wounded. He
returned to Australia to be discharged, and was employed by South
Australian Railways before dying in 1953, having suffered for years with
bronchitis and emphysema. His medals are displayed in the Hall of Valour
at the Australian War Memorial.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Davey>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
Belgian musician Adolphe Sax patented his design of the
saxophone (example pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphe_Sax>
1956:
Polish workers demanding better working conditions began
massive protests in Poznań, but were later violently repressed by the
Polish People's Army and the Internal Security Corps.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozna%C5%84_protests_of_1956>
2016:
Gunmen attacked Istanbul's Atatürk Airport, killing 45 people
and injuring more than 230 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Atat%C3%BCrk_Airport_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
onager:
1. The Asiatic wild ass or hemione (Equus hemionus), an animal of the
horse family native to Asia; specifically, the Persian onager, Persian
wild ass, or Persian zebra (Equus hemionus onager).
2. (military, historical) A military engine acting like a sling which
threw stones from a bag or wooden bucket powered by the torsion from a
bundle of ropes or sinews operated by machinery; a torsion catapult.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/onager>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not
be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we
may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these
smaller differences.
--John Wesley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Wesley>
CM Punk (born 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler, best
known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), in which his
434-day reign as WWE Champion stands as the sixth-longest in history.
His professional career on the independent circuit, primarily with Ring
of Honor (ROH), began in 1999, and he won the ROH World Championship
once. He signed with WWE in 2005, won several championships, and became
WWE's 19th Triple Crown Champion in 203 days, the fastest wrestler to
achieve this. He is also the only back-to-back Money in the Bank winner,
won Superstar of the Year at the 2011 Slammy Awards, and was twice voted
Wrestler of the Year. His wrestling character was consistently portrayed
as outspoken, confrontational, sharp-tongued, anti-establishment,
straight edge, and iconoclastic. He retired from professional wrestling
in 2014, and then pursued a short-lived career in mixed martial arts. He
later worked as a commentator with Cage Fury Fighting Championships
(CFFC), and as an analyst on WWE Backstage.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CM_Punk>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1571:
Queen Elizabeth I issued a royal charter establishing Jesus
College, the first Protestant college at the University of Oxford.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_College,_Oxford>
1954:
Jacobo Árbenz resigned as President of Guatemala following a
CIA-led coup against his administration.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobo_%C3%81rbenz>
1994:
Members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas
in Matsumoto, Nagano, killing eight people and injuring more than five
hundred others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsumoto_sarin_attack>
2017:
Websites of Ukrainian organizations were swamped by a massive
cyberattack, blamed on Russian military hackers, using the malware
Petya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petya_%28malware%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pushbike:
1. (Australia, New Zealand, Britain, informal) A pedal bicycle, as
distinguished from a motorized bicycle.
2. (intransitive, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, informal) To travel
by pushbike.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pushbike>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions,
it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a
plus and a minus.
--Emma Goldman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman>
Shojo Beat was a shōjo manga magazine published in North America by Viz
Media. Launched in June 2005 as a sister magazine for Shonen Jump, it
featured serialized chapters from six manga series per issue, as well as
articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime, fashion and beauty. Viz
launched a related imprint of the same name for female-oriented manga,
light novels and anime. Targeted at women aged 16 to 18, the first issue
of Shojo Beat launched with a circulation of 20,000. By 2007, the
average circulation was approximately 38,000 copies, with half coming
from subscriptions rather than store sales. It was well received by
critics, though some found the early issues boring and poorly written.
In May 2009, Viz announced that it was discontinuing the magazine; the
July 2009 issue was the last released. Fans were disappointed at the
news. Industry experts felt its loss left female manga fans without a
magazine of their own, but praised Viz for continuing the Shojo Beat
imprint and branding for its shōjo manga and anime releases.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shojo_Beat>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1889:
Bangui, the capital and largest city of the present-day Central
African Republic, was founded in French Congo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangui>
1996:
Irish crime reporter Veronica Guerin was murdered while stopped
at a traffic light, an event that helped establish Ireland's Criminal
Assets Bureau.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_Guerin>
2015:
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges (plaintiff
pictured) that the right of same-sex couples to marry is guaranteed by
the Fourteenth Amendment.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obergefell_v._Hodges>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
indri:
One of the largest living lemurs, Indri indri, which is native to
Madagascar.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/indri>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No art can be judged by purely aesthetic standards, although a
painting or a piece of music may appear to give a purely aesthetic
pleasure. Aesthetic enjoyment is an intensification of the vital
response, and this response forms the basis of all value judgements. The
existentialist contends that all values are connected with the problems
of human existence, the stature of man, the purpose of life. These
values are inherent in all works of art, in addition to their aesthetic
values, and are closely connected with them.
--Colin Wilson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colin_Wilson>
Grevillea juniperina, the prickly spider-flower, is a plant of the
family Proteaceae native to eastern New South Wales and south-eastern
Queensland in Australia. It is a small prickly-leaved shrub from 0.2 to
3 m (8 in to 10 ft) high, generally growing on clay-based or alluvial
soils in eucalypt woodland. Scottish botanist Robert Brown described
G. juniperina in 1810, and seven subspecies are recognised. The flower
heads (inflorescences) appear from winter to early summer and are red,
orange or yellow. Birds visit and pollinate the flowers. G. juniperina
plants are killed by bushfire, regenerating afterwards from seed. The
species adapts readily to cultivation and has been important in
horticulture as it is the parent of many popular garden hybrids.
G. j. juniperina, a subspecies restricted to western Sydney and
environs, has its habitat threatened by housing development and other
factors.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grevillea_juniperina>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1678:
Venetian philosopher Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first
woman to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Cornaro_Piscopia>
1944:
World War II: U.S. Navy and Royal Navy ships bombarded
Cherbourg, France, to support U.S. Army units engaged in the Battle of
Cherbourg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Cherbourg>
1978:
The rainbow flag representing gay pride was first flown at the
San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_flag_%28LGBT%29>
2013:
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the CIA
acknowledged the existence of Area 51 (diagram pictured), a secretive
U.S. Air Force facility in Nevada and a subject of various UFO and other
conspiracy theories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
a mite:
(informal) To a small extent; in a small amount; rather.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a_mite>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection,
that one is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty,
that one does not push asceticism to the point where it makes friendly
intercourse impossible, and that one is prepared in the end to be
defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of
fastening one's love upon other human individuals.
--George Orwell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell>
The New Rochelle 250th Anniversary half dollar is a fifty-cent piece
struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1937 as a
commemorative coin to mark the 250th anniversary of the settling of New
Rochelle in Westchester County, New York. The coin's obverse (pictured)
depicts a fatted calf being led by John Pell, who sold the land on which
New Rochelle now stands; a "fatt calfe" was to be presented to him
annually on June 24 if he asked for it, lest New Rochelle's land be
forfeited back to him. The other side shows a fleur-de-lis, an element
of the city seal of New Rochelle and of France's La Rochelle, its
eponym. The piece is dated 1938 but was minted the previous year. Artist
Gertrude K. Lathrop designed the coin; she was hired based on her work
on the 1936 Albany Charter half dollar. New Rochelle's coin committee
sold the half dollar for $2.00 both locally and by mail order, sending
them to all 48 states and internationally, distributing them during 1937
and early 1938. Lathrop's work has been both praised and criticized by
numismatic commentators.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Rochelle_250th_Anniversary_half_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: Led by Napoleon, the French Grande Armée
crossed the Neman, beginning their invasion of Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia>
1880:
"O Canada" (audio featured), the present-day national anthem of
Canada, was first performed in Quebec City during a Saint-Jean-Baptiste
Day banquet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada>
1937:
The U.S. Navy's first two fast battleships, North Carolina and
Washington of the North Carolina class, were ordered from the New York
and Philadelphia Naval Shipyards, respectively.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina-class_battleship>
2010:
John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut at the Wimbledon
Championships, concluding the longest match in tennis history, which
lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isner%E2%80%93Mahut_match_at_the_2010_Wimbled…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
adynaton:
(rhetoric) A form of hyperbole that uses exaggeration so magnified as to
express impossibility; an instance of such hyperbole.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adynaton>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Well, I play purely from the heart, y'know, and so if it doesn't
work the first couple of hours, forget it. Unless we feel like we're
somehow on the right track then I'll keep on going. That's it, really; I
don't have any magic where I just press a button and it happens. It'll
either happen or it won't.
--Jeff Beck
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jeff_Beck>
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise
created and owned by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an
anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles Doctor Eggman, a mad
scientist. In addition to video games, Sonic incorporates printed media,
animations, a 2020 feature film, and merchandise. The first Sonic game,
released for the Sega Genesis on June 23, 1991, was developed after
Sega requested a mascot character to compete with Nintendo's mascot
Mario. Sonic's success helped Sega become one of the leading video game
companies during the fourth generation of video game consoles in the
early 1990s. When Sega exited the console market and shifted to third-
party development in 2001, it continued the series on Nintendo, Xbox,
and PlayStation systems. Sonic the Hedgehog is Sega's flagship franchise
and one of the bestselling video game franchises, having sold more than
140 million copies by 2016. Several Sonic games have been listed among
the greatest of all time. Although later games, notably the 2006 series
reboot, have been criticized for a perceived decline in quality, Sonic
is influential in the video game industry and is frequently referenced
in popular culture.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
Stand Watie became the last Confederate general of the American
Civil War to surrender to Union forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_Watie>
1894:
Led by French historian Pierre de Coubertin, an international
congress at the Sorbonne in Paris formed the International Olympic
Committee to revive the ancient Olympic Games.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Coubertin>
1946:
Canada's largest recorded onshore earthquake struck Vancouver
Island, British Columbia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Vancouver_Island_earthquake>
2013:
A group of militants stormed a high-altitude Pakistani
mountaineering base camp near Nanga Parbat in Gilgit-Baltistan, killing
ten climbers and one local guide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Nanga_Parbat_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ithyphallic:
1. (historical, Ancient Rome) Of or pertaining to the erect phallus that
was carried in bacchic processions.
2. (specifically) Of a poem or song: having the metre of an ode sung in
honour of the bacchic phallus.
3. Of or pertaining to an upward pointing, erect penis; (specifically)
of an artistic depiction of a deity or other figure: possessing an erect
penis.
4. (by extension) Lascivious, obscene.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ithyphallic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Well my heart knows me better than I know myself So I'm gonna
let it do all the talking.
--KT Tunstall
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/KT_Tunstall>
The Thankful Poor is an 1894 painting by the African-American painter
Henry Ossawa Tanner. It is a genre painting of two African Americans
praying at a table and shares themes with Tanner's other works like The
Banjo Lesson (1893). The painting is considered a milestone in African-
American art, notably for its countering of racial stereotypes by
portraying African-American culture in a dignified manner. This
depiction was influenced by Tanner's father and the African Methodist
Episcopal Church. Despite its popularity with critics, The Thankful Poor
was Tanner's last African-American genre work before he began to focus
on biblical scenes. After remaining hidden for years, the painting was
discovered in a storage closet of the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
in 1970, before being purchased by Camille and Bill Cosby in 1981 for
their private collection. In 2020, the painting was sold by the Cosbys
to Art Bridges, a foundation created by Alice Walton for loaning
artwork.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thankful_Poor>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1826:
Greek War of Independence: A combined Egyptian and Ottoman army
began an invasion of the Mani Peninsula, but were initially held off by
the Maniots at the fortifications of Vergas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Egyptian_invasion_of_Mani>
1957:
Ellen Fairclough became the first woman to be appointed to the
cabinet of Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Fairclough>
1973:
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its decision in the landmark
case Miller v. California, establishing the Miller test for determining
what is obscene material.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_test>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ski-through:
1. (skiing) Of a ski lodge or other hotel establishment: providing
skiers with the service of transporting their equipment, luggage, and
vehicles to other establishments so they can ski directly to those
establishments.
2. (skiing) Of a restaurant, shop, or other establishment or facility:
providing service to skiers while they are still wearing their skis.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ski-through>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense
in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by
faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous
from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint.
Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is
forgiveness.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr>
A pisco sour is a cocktail typical of South American cuisine. The
drink's name is a combination of the word pisco, which is its base
liquor, and the term sour, in reference to sour citrus juice and
sweetener components. Chile and Peru both claim the pisco sour as their
national drink, and each asserts exclusive ownership of both pisco and
the cocktail. The Peruvian pisco sour uses Peruvian pisco as the base
liquor and adds Key lime (or lemon) juice, syrup, ice, egg white, and
Angostura bitters. The Chilean version is similar, but uses Chilean
pisco and Pica lemon, and excludes the bitters and egg white. The
cocktail was invented by Victor Vaughen Morris, an American bartender
working in Peru in the early 1920s. In Chile, the invention of the drink
is attributed to Elliot Stubb, an English ship steward, at a bar in the
port city of Iquique in 1872, although the source for this attributed
the invention of the whiskey sour to Stubb, not the pisco sour. The two
kinds of pisco and the two variations in the style of preparing the
pisco sour are distinct in both production and taste, and the pisco sour
has become a significant and oft-debated topic of Latin American popular
culture.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco_sour>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
French Revolution: Members of the Third Estate took the Tennis
Court Oath (depicted), pledging not to separate until a new French
constitution was created.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Court_Oath>
1921:
Workers at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in Madras, India,
began a four-month strike.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_Buckingham_and_Carnatic_Mills_strike>
1943:
The Royal Air Force launched Operation Bellicose, the first
shuttle-bombing raid of the Second World War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bellicose>
1975:
Steven Spielberg's film Jaws was released, which became the
prototypical summer blockbuster and established the modern Hollywood
business model.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_%28film%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
steatopygous:
(physiology) Pertaining to steatopygia; having fat or prominent
buttocks.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/steatopygous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Two hearts, Two hearts that beat as one Our lives have just
begun.
--Lionel Richie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lionel_Richie>