On the Job is a 2013 Philippine crime-thriller film conceived and
directed by Erik Matti (pictured), who co-wrote it with Michiko
Yamamoto. Starring Gerald Anderson, Joel Torre, Joey Marquez and Piolo
Pascual, it tells the story of two prisoners (Anderson and Torre) who
are temporarily freed to carry out political executions, and two law
enforcers (Marquez and Pascual) investigating a case connected to the
prison gun-for-hire business. Star Cinema initially refused to produce
the film due to its violent content, but in 2012 agreed to co-produce it
with Reality Entertainment, Matti's independent film company. Filming
took place in Manila and lasted 33 days, on a production budget of
47 million pesos (about US$1.1 million). On the Job was praised at the
Directors' Fortnight at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The film was
released in the Philippines on August 28, 2013, and in the United
States and Canada on September 27. It received positive reviews from
foreign and domestic critics.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Job_%282013_film%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1772:
In an act of defiance against the Navigation Acts, American
colonists led by Abraham Whipple attacked and burned the British
schooner Gaspee (depicted).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaspee_Affair>
1856:
The first company of Mormon handcart pioneers left Iowa City
for Salt Lake City, Utah.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_handcart_pioneers>
1965:
Fighting began between the Viet Cong and the Army of the
Republic of Vietnam in the Battle of Đồng Xoài, one of the largest
battles in the Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_%C4%90%E1%BB%93ng_Xo%C3%A0i>
2010:
A child suicide bomber attacked a wedding in Nadahan,
Afghanistan, killing at least 40 people and injuring at least 70 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadahan_wedding_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ennead:
1. (obsolete) The number nine.
2. (rare) Any grouping or system containing nine objects.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ennead>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I really want the whole world, and Americans as well, not to get
used to this war. Yes, it is far from you, it lasts long, and you can
get tired of it, but please do not get used to it, because if everyone
gets used to it, this war will never end. Don't get used to the pain.
And when you start thinking that there may be some reason for this war,
it means that you are in the zone of Russian propaganda. Be careful,
hear the truth.
--Olena Zelenska
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Olena_Zelenska>
Lake Estancia was a former body of water in the Estancia Valley, in the
center of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Mostly fed by creek and
groundwater from the Manzano Mountains, the lake had diverse fauna,
including cutthroat trout. It appears to have formed when a river
system broke up. It reached a maximum water level (highstand) presumably
during the Illinoian glaciation and subsequently fluctuated between a
desiccated basin and fuller stages. Wind-driven erosion has excavated
depressions in the former lakebed that are in part filled with playas
(dry lake beds). The lake was one of several pluvial lakes in
southwestern North America that developed during the late Pleistocene.
Their formation has been variously attributed to decreased temperatures
during the ice age and increased precipitation; a shutdown of the
thermohaline circulation and the Laurentide Ice Sheet altered
atmospheric circulation patterns and increased precipitation in the
region. The lake has yielded a good paleoclimatic record.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Estancia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1810:
Journalist Mariano Moreno published Argentina's first
newspaper, the Gazeta de Buenos-Ayres.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariano_Moreno>
1917:
First World War: The British Army detonated 19 ammonal mines
under German lines, killing 10,000 in the deadliest non-nuclear man-made
explosion in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Messines_%281917%29>
1948:
Anti-Jewish riots broke out in the French protectorate in
Morocco, during which 44 people were killed and 150 injured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Anti-Jewish_riots_in_Oujda_and_Jerada>
1969:
The rock supergroup Blind Faith, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve
Winwood and Ginger Baker, played their only UK show in London's Hyde
Park in front of 100,000 fans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Faith>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
victual:
1. (archaic) Food fit for human (or occasionally animal) consumption.
2. (archaic, chiefly in the plural) Food supplies; provisions.
3. (specifically, obsolete)
4. Edible plants.
5. (Scotland) Grain of any kind.
6. (transitive, reflexive, chiefly military, nautical) To provide
(military troops, a place, a ship, etc., or oneself) with a stock of
victuals or food; to provision.
7. (intransitive, chiefly military, nautical) To lay in or procure food
supplies.
8. (intransitive) To eat.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/victual>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Experience isn't interesting until it begins to repeat itself —
in fact, till it does that, it hardly is experience.
--Elizabeth Bowen
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Bowen>
David Scott (born June 6, 1932) is a retired NASA astronaut, the
seventh person to walk on the Moon and the only commander of a
successful lunar landing mission still alive. Born in Texas, he attended
West Point and was commissioned in the Air Force, flying as a fighter
pilot in Europe, and then as a test pilot. He was selected in 1963 as
one of NASA's third group of astronauts. He first flew into space in
1966 as pilot of Gemini 8 alongside Neil Armstrong. Scott spent ten
days in orbit in March 1969 as command module pilot of Apollo 9. He
made his third and final spaceflight in 1971 as commander of Apollo 15,
the fourth crewed lunar landing, and explored the Moon with James Irwin
for three days. Scott retired from the Air Force in 1975 with the rank
of colonel. After serving as director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research
Center, he retired from the agency in 1977, entering the private sector.
He served as a consultant for several films about the space program,
including Apollo 13.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Scott>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1822:
Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian voyageur, was accidentally shot
in the stomach; medical investigations of his injury led to a greater
understanding of the processes of digestion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_St._Martin>
1894:
Governor Davis Hanson Waite ordered the Colorado state militia
to protect and support miners engaged in a five-month strike in Cripple
Creek.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek_miners%27_strike_of_1894>
1982:
Falklands War: The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Cardiff engaged
and destroyed a British Army helicopter in a friendly-fire incident.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_British_Army_Gazelle_friendly_fire_incid…>
2017:
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (soldiers
pictured) opened the Second Battle of Raqqa, the final phase of the
Raqqa campaign, capturing the de facto capital of the Islamic State four
months later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Raqqa_%282017%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
polemology:
The study of human conflict and war.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polemology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The illusion which exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand
truths.
--Aleksandr Pushkin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Pushkin>
The Four Freedoms is a series of four 1943 oil paintings by the American
artist Norman Rockwell (pictured). The paintings—Freedom of Speech,
Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear—refer to
Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union
address in which he identified essential human rights that should be
universally protected, a theme which became part of the United Nations
Charter. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post
alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. They became the
highlight of a year-long touring exhibition to promote war bonds sold to
support the American war effort, which raised over $132 million. The
paintings, now in the Norman Rockwell Museum, are his best-known works,
but critical review has not been entirely positive. Freedom from Want
became emblematic of what is now known as the "Norman Rockwell
Thanksgiving", with family at table as a turkey is served.
(This article is part of a featured topic: Four Freedoms.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Four_Freedoms>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1305:
Raymond Bertrand de Got was elected Pope Clement V, succeeding
Benedict XI, who died the previous year.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_V>
1862:
Vietnamese guerrilla leader Trương Định chose to fight on
against European forces, defying Emperor Tự Đức and the Treaty of
Saigon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%8Bnh>
1963:
British politician John Profumo admitted that he had lied to
the House of Commons about his involvement in a sex scandal with
Christine Keeler, and resigned from government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profumo_affair>
1997:
Anticipating a coup attempt, President Pascal Lissouba of the
Republic of the Congo ordered the detainment of his rival Denis Sassou
Nguesso, initiating a second civil war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Congo_Civil_War_%281997%E2%80…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rubbish:
1. (chiefly Australia, New Zealand, Britain) Garbage, junk, refuse,
trash, waste.
2. (by extension, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, Britain) An item, or
items, of low quality.
3. (by extension, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, Britain) Nonsense.
4. (archaic) Debris or ruins of buildings. […]
5. (transitive, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, Britain, colloquial) To
criticize, to denigrate, to denounce, to disparage.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rubbish>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Any attempts to alter the status of parts of Ukrainian territory
are a clear violation of international law, the UN Charter and
Ukraine’s Constitution, they further undermine sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Ukraine, and will not be recognised by the
European Union. Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved
in violations of international law and international humanitarian law
will be held accountable for these illegal actions. The European Union
remains unwavering in its support for Ukraine's independence,
sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urges the Russian Federation
to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all of its troops and
military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its
internationally recognised borders.
--European Union
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/European_Union>
Banksia canei, the mountain banksia, is a shrub of the subalpine areas
of Australia's Great Dividing Range, between Melbourne and Canberra.
First described in 1967, it superficially resembles B. marginata, but
is more closely related to another subalpine species, B. saxicola.
Although no subspecies are recognised, four geographically isolated
populations have been described. There is significant variation in the
shape of the leaves between populations. B. canei is generally
encountered as a shrub that grows up to 3 m (10 ft) high, with many
branches and narrow leaves, and with yellow inflorescences (flower
spikes) from late summer to early winter. Old flowers fall off the
spikes, and up to 150 seed-bearing follicles develop, which mostly
remain closed until burnt in a bushfire. Birds such as the yellow-tufted
honeyeater and various insects forage among the flower spikes. B. canei
is frost tolerant in cultivation, but copes less well with aridity or
humidity, and is often short-lived in gardens.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_canei>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1784:
Élisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly in an
untethered hot air balloon, covering 4 km (2.5 mi) and reaching an
estimated 1,500 m (4,900 ft) altitude.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lisabeth_Thible>
1920:
The Kingdom of Hungary lost 72 percent of its territory and
64 percent of its population with the signing of the Treaty of Trianon
in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Trianon>
1942:
World War II: The Battle of Midway, a major battle of the
Pacific War, began with a massive Japanese offensive on American forces
on Midway Atoll.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway>
1989:
Following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Assembly of
Experts elected Ali Khamenei to be Supreme Leader of Iran.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Khamenei>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ghrelin:
(biochemistry) A peptide hormone, secreted in the stomach when empty,
that increases appetite and secretion of growth hormone from the
pituitary gland.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ghrelin>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Exactly one hundred days ago we all woke up in a different
reality. Exactly one hundred days ago, different us woke up. When
Ukrainians are awakened not by the sun's rays, but by the explosions of
missiles that hit our homes, then completely different Ukrainians wake
up. In 2014, Russia came to us with one word, with a new word. And this
is the word "war". On February 24, Russia added another word to it,
making the phrase "full-scale war."
--Volodymyr Zelenskyy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy>
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is a platform game released on
June 3, 1986, as a sequel to Super Mario Bros. (1985) by Nintendo. It
was designed to be similar in style and gameplay for players who had
mastered the original. Players control Mario or Luigi to jump between
platforms and rescue the Princess from Bowser. It became the most
popular game in Japan for the Famicom Disk System, selling about
2.5 million copies. Deeming it too difficult for North American
audiences, Nintendo of America instead retrofitted another game as the
region's sequel. The Japanese sequel was renamed as The Lost Levels in
the 1993 compilation Super Mario All-Stars, the sequel's first
international release. Reviewers regarded the sequel as an extension of
the original's difficulty progression. The Lost Levels is remembered as
among the most difficult Nintendo games and regarded as a precursor to
the franchise's Kaizo subculture in which fans create and share ROM
hacks featuring nearly impossible levels.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros.:_The_Lost_Levels>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1892:
Liverpool F.C. (stadium pictured), one of England's most
successful football clubs, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C.>
1940:
Franz Rademacher, a Nazi official, proposed that the island of
Madagascar be made available as a destination for the resettlement of
the Jewish population of Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_Plan>
1963:
Buddhist crisis: South Vietnamese Army soldiers attacked
protesting Buddhists in Huế, with liquid chemicals from tear gas
grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalised.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%E1%BA%BF_chemical_attacks>
1982:
A failed assassination attempt was made on Shlomo Argov, the
Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom; this was later used as
justification for the First Lebanon War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shlomo_Argov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
disport:
(transitive, intransitive, reflexive, dated) To amuse oneself
divertingly or playfully; in particular, to cavort or gambol.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disport>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
According to new data just released by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, guns are the number one killer of children in
the United States of America. The number one killer. More than car
accidents. More than cancer. Over the last two decades, more school-
aged children have died from guns than on-duty police officers and
active-duty military combined. Think about that: more kids than on-duty
cops killed by guns, more kids than soldiers killed by guns. For
God’s sake, how much more are we willing to accept? How many more
innocent American lives must be taken before we say “enough”?
Enough.
--Joe Biden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden>
Loev is a 2015 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by
Sudhanshu Saria. It stars Dhruv Ganesh and Shiv Panditt (pictured) as
two friends who set off to the Western Ghats for a weekend trip.
Focusing on their complex emotional and sexual relationship, the film
drew heavily from Saria's personal experiences. Its title is a
deliberate misspelling of and is pronounced like the word "love". The
cinematographer Sherri Kauk shot the film in the summer of 2014 in
Mahabaleshwar in the Western Ghats in peninsular India, and in Mumbai.
Loev had its world premiere at the 2015 Tallinn Black Nights Film
Festival in Estonia, its North American premiere at the 2016 South by
Southwest Film Festival in Texas and its Indian premiere at the 2016
Mumbai International Film Festival. It won the Audience Award at the
2016 Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival. Ganesh died from
tuberculosis prior to the film's release. Loev was released on Netflix
on 1 May 2017.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loev>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1802:
Henry Hacking killed the Aboriginal Australian resistance
fighter Pemulwuy after Philip Gidley King ordered that he be brought in
dead or alive.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemulwuy>
1919:
First Red Scare: The anarchist followers of Luigi Galleani set
off eight bombs in eight cities across the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_United_States_anarchist_bombings>
1967:
Benno Ohnesorg, a German university student, was killed in West
Berlin while protesting against the visit of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
of Iran, sparking the formation of the militant 2 June Movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_June_Movement>
1994:
The Royal Air Force suffered its worst peacetime disaster when
a Chinook helicopter crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland, killing
all 29 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Scotland_RAF_Chinook_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rubicon:
1. A limit that when exceeded, or an action that when taken, cannot be
reversed.
2. (card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not
achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty.
3. (transitive, card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: to defeat
a player who has not achieved the rubicon.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rubicon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down You'd
treat if met where any bar is, Or help to half-a-crown.
--Thomas Hardy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardy>
Don Dunstan (1926–1999) was a South Australian politician. He was
first elected as Member for Norwood in 1953 and rose to prominence in
the late 1950s for campaigning against the death penalty. He became the
attorney-general of South Australia in 1965 and premier on 1 June 1967.
After resigning in 1968, he returned as premier after the 1970 election,
the first of four successive election wins. His administration was
socially progressive, enacting anti-discrimination laws, expanding
voting rights, and increasing the public service sector. However, the
economy began to stagnate and the burgeoning public service generated
claims of waste. His popularity decreased in 1978 when unsubstantiated
rumours of corruption and personal impropriety began, and he was accused
of improperly interfering with a judicial investigation. In 1979 he
collapsed from ill health and resigned from the premiership shortly
afterward. He continued to campaign for progressive social policy until
his death in 1999.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Dunstan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1676:
Scanian War: The Swedish warship Kronan, one of the largest
ships in the world at the time, sank at the Battle of Öland with the
loss of around 800 men.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_%C3%96land>
1861:
The first land battle of the American Civil War after Fort
Sumter took place in the village of Fairfax, Virginia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fairfax_Court_House_%28June_1861%29>
1942:
World War II: The crews of three Japanese submarines scuttled
their vessels and committed suicide after entering Sydney Harbour and
launching a failed attack.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Sydney_Harbour>
2015:
The river cruise ship Dongfang zhi Xing capsized in the
Yangtze, resulting in 442 deaths in China's worst peacetime maritime
disaster.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_Dongfang_zhi_Xing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
oxishly:
(rare) In a manner like that of an ox.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oxishly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost bounds.
--Carl von Clausewitz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz>