The Battle of the Tenaru was a land battle between the Imperial Japanese
Army and Allied forces on August 21, 1942, at Guadalcanal in the Solomon
Islands during World War II. The U.S. Marines were defending the Lunga
perimeter around Henderson Field, which had been captured by the Allies
on August 7. The Japanese unit, commanded by Kiyonao Ichiki (pictured),
was sent to recapture the airfield and drive the Allied forces off the
island. Underestimating the strength of the Allied forces, Ichiki's unit
conducted a nighttime frontal assault on Marine positions at Alligator
Creek on the east side of the perimeter and were defeated with heavy
losses. The Marines counterattacked after daybreak, and about 800 of
Ichiki's original 917 men were killed. After Tenaru, the Japanese
realized that Allied forces on Guadalcanal were much greater in number
than originally estimated and sent larger forces for their later
attempts to retake Henderson Field. (This article is part of a featured
topic: Guadalcanal Campaign.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Guadalcanal_Campaign>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
The national colours of Italy first appeared on a tricolour
cockade in Genoa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockade_of_Italy>
1944:
World War II: A combined Canadian–Polish force captured the
town of of Falaise, France, in the final offensive of the Battle of
Normandy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tractable>
1963:
South Vietnamese special forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, the
brother of President Ngô Đình Diệm, raided and vandalised Buddhist
pagodas (one pictured) across the country, arresting thousands and
leaving hundreds dead.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%C3%A1_L%E1%BB%A3i_Pagoda_raids>
2015:
Passengers on a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris confronted
and subdued an attacker who attempted a mass shooting.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Thalys_train_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
berserk:
1. Furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control.
2. (by extension)
3. Bizarre; weird.
4. Wildly joyous; ecstatic.
5. (historical) Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a
frenzy”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/berserk>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The necessary had been accomplished. That’s the way Les
Invisibles work. Singular, unquantifiable events. Impossible to treat
statistically, to define with theory.
--Lucius Shepard
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lucius_Shepard>
Dr. No is the sixth novel by the English author Ian Fleming to feature
his British Secret Service agent James Bond. Written at Fleming's
Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, it was first published in the United
Kingdom by Jonathan Cape in 1958. In the novel Bond looks into the
disappearance in Jamaica of two fellow MI6 operatives who had been
investigating Doctor No. Bond travels to No's Caribbean island and meets
Honeychile Rider, who is there to collect shells. They are captured and
taken to a luxurious facility carved into a mountain. The character of
Doctor No, the son of a German missionary and a Chinese woman, was
influenced by Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories. Dr. No was the first of
Fleming's novels to face widespread negative reviews in Britain, but it
was received more favourably in the United States. The story was adapted
in 1962 as the first film in the Bond series, with Sean Connery in the
lead role. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ian Fleming's
James Bond novels and short stories.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Ian_Fleming%27s_Jam…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1909:
Pluto was photographed for the first time at the Yerkes
Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, U.S., 21 years before it was
officially discovered by Clyde Tombaugh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto>
1950:
Korean War: United Nations forces repelled an attempt by North
Korea to capture the city of Taegu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taegu>
1989:
The final stage of the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South
Australia, was completed, at the time the world's longest and fastest
guided busway with buses travelling a total of 12 km (7.5 mi) at
maximum speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-Bahn_Busway>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mezzanine:
1. (architecture)
2. An intermediate floor or storey in between the main floors of a
building; specifically, one that is directly above the ground floor
which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, and so
resembles a large balcony overlooking the ground floor; an entresol.
3. (by extension) An apartment, room, etc., on such an intermediate
floor.
4. (Canada, US) The lowest balcony in an auditorium, cinema, theatre,
etc.; the dress circle.
5. (obsolete)
6. Additional flooring laid over a floor to bring it up to some height
or level.
7. In full mezzanine window: a small window at the height of a mezzanine
floor (sense 1.1) or an attic, used to light these floors.
8. (theater, obsolete) A floor under the stage, from which contrivances
such as traps are worked.
9. (banking, business) Characteristic of or relating to high-interest
loans which have no collateral, and are regarded as intermediate in
nature, ranking above equity but below secured loans.
10. (engineering) Fulfilling an intermediate or secondary function.
11. (transitive) To fit (a building or other place) with a mezzanine
floor.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mezzanine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are moments, as I myself have emphasized on different
occasions, in which "kairos," the right time, is united with "logos,"
the "eternal truth," and in which the fate of philosophy is decided for
a special period.
--Paul Tillich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich>
Confirmation bias is a tendency for people to favor information that
confirms their preconceptions. As a result, people recall information
from memory selectively, and interpret it in a biased way, in particular
for emotionally significant issues and established beliefs. Biased
search, interpretation and recall have been invoked to explain attitude
polarization (disagreeing parties diverging further when they are
exposed to the same evidence), belief perseverance (beliefs persisting
after the evidence for them is shown to be false), the primacy effect
(data encountered early in a series being given more weight) and
illusory correlation (people falsely perceiving an association between
two events or situations). Explanations for these biases include wishful
thinking and the limited human capacity to process information.
Confirmation biases contribute to overconfidence in personal beliefs and
can maintain or strengthen beliefs in the face of contrary evidence.
This can lead to disastrous decisions, especially in organizational,
military and political contexts.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1745:
Bonnie Prince Charlie raised the Jacobite standard at
Glenfinnan, Scotland, in an attempt to regain the British throne for his
father, beginning the Jacobite rising of 1745.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobite_rising_of_1745>
1759:
Seven Years' War: At the Battle of Lagos, British ships, having
damaged several French vessels the previous day, pursued the remainder
of the fleet to Lagos, Portugal, and continued the battle there in
violation of Portuguese neutrality.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lagos>
2002:
Second Chechen War: A Russian Mil Mi-26 was brought down by
Chechen separatists with a man-portable air-defense system near
Khankala, killing 127 people in the deadliest helicopter crash in
history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Khankala_Mi-26_crash>
2017:
Around 250,000 farmed non-native Atlantic salmon were
accidentally released into the wild near Cypress Island, Washington.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Island_Atlantic_salmon_pen_break>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dress:
1. (transitive)
2. (also reflexive and figuratively) To put clothes (or, formerly,
armour) on (oneself or someone, a doll, a mannequin, etc.); to clothe.
3. (specifically) To attire (oneself or someone) for a particular
(especially formal) occasion, or in a fashionable manner.
4. To design, make, provide, or select clothes (for someone).
5. To arrange or style (someone's hair).
6. (also figuratively) To adorn or ornament (something).
7. To arrange a display of goods in, or to decorate (a shop or shop
window).
8. (nautical) To ornament (a ship) by hoisting the national colours at
the peak and mastheads, and setting the jack forward; when "dressed
full", the signal flags and pennants are added.
9. To apply a dressing to or otherwise treat (a wound); (obsolete) to
give (a wounded person) medical aid.
10. To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something)
suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
11. To prepare, treat, or curry (animal hide or leather).
12. To prepare the surface of (a material, usually lumber or stone).
13. (historical or England, regional) To remove chaff or impurities from
(flour, grain, etc.) by bolting or sifting, winnowing, and other
methods.
14. (fishing) To prepare (an artificial fly) to be attached to a fish
hook.
15. (agriculture, horticulture) To cultivate or tend to (a garden, land,
plants, etc.); especially, to add fertilizer or manure to (soil); to
fertilize, to manure.
16. (butchering) To cut up (an animal or its flesh) for food;
specifically (hunting), to remove the internal organs (of a game animal)
shortly after it has been killed so that the carcass cools more quickly;
to field dress.
17. (cooking) To prepare (food) for cooking or eating, especially by
seasoning it; specifically, to add a dressing or sauce (to food,
especially a salad).
18. (film, television, theater)
19. To design, make, or prepare costumes (for a play or other
performance); also, to present (a production) in a particular costume
style.
20. To prepare (a set) by installing the props, scenery, etc.
21. (military) To arrange (soldiers or troops) into proper formation;
especially, to adjust (soldiers or troops) into straight lines and at a
proper distance from each other; to align.
22. (Northern England, archaic) To treat (someone) in a particular
manner; specifically, in an appropriate or fitting manner; (by
extension, ironic) to give (someone) a deserved beating; also, to give
(someone) a good scolding; to dress down. [...]
23. (intransitive)
24. To put on clothes.
25. (specifically) To attire oneself for a particular (especially
formal) occasion, or in a fashionable manner.
26. Of a thing: to attain a certain condition after undergoing some
process or treatment to fit or prepare it for use. [...]
27. (slang) Ellipsis of cross-dress.
28. (butchering) Of an animal carcass: to have a certain quantity or
weight after removal of the internal organs and skin; also, to have a
certain appearance after being cut up and prepared for cooking.
29. (military, sometimes imperative as a drill command) Of soldiers or
troops: to arrange into proper formation; especially, to form into
straight lines and at a proper distance from each other.
30. (sports) Of a sportsperson: to put on the uniform and have the
equipment needed to play a sport.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dress>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true
is really true, there would be little hope of advance.
--Orville Wright
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Orville_Wright>
The Kharijites were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First
Muslim Civil War (656–661). The first Kharijites emerged from the
supporters of Caliph Ali while protesting against his peace talks with
Mu'awiya at the Battle of Siffin in 657. After Ali defeated the
Kharijites, he was assassinated in 661 by a vengeful Kharijite. As
caliph, Mu'awiya kept them in check until the power vacuum caused by the
Second Muslim Civil War allowed them to seize large areas in Persia and
Arabia. Weakened by internal disputes, they were defeated by subsequent
governments, although their revolts lingered on into the Abbasid period.
Ibadis are the sole surviving sect. Rejecting noble descent as a
requirement for the caliphal office, the Kharijites held that any pious
Muslim could become caliph. Most Kharijite groups branded other Muslims
as unbelievers. Mainstream Muslims have viewed the Kharijites as
religious extremists, although some modern Arab historians have stressed
their egalitarian tendencies.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharijites>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1612:
The trials of the Pendle and Samlesbury witches (statue
pictured), among the most famous of England's witch trials, began at the
assizes in Lancaster.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samlesbury_witches>
1945:
World War II: Amid a Soviet invasion of Japanese-held
Sakhalin, Japanese police massacred 18 Koreans in Kamishisuka.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakhalin_Koreans>
1948:
Australia won the fifth Test of the 1948 Ashes series, becoming
the first Test cricket team to go undefeated in England, earning them
the nickname "The Invincibles".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Test,_1948_Ashes_series>
1983:
Hurricane Alicia made landfall near Galveston, Texas, causing
$3 billion in damage and 21 fatalities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Alicia>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
prisoner of war:
A combatant or soldier who is captured by an enemy power during or
immediately after an armed conflict.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prisoner_of_war>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
America has meant so much to so many because we are the best hope
of freedom on earth. … Ladies and gentlemen, freedom must not and will
not die here. We must be very clear-eyed about the threat we face and
about what is required to defeat it. I have said since January 6, that I
will do whatever it takes to make sure Donald Trump is never again
anywhere near the Oval Office. This is a fight for all of us together.
I'm a conservative Republican. I believe deeply in the principles and
the ideals on which my party was founded. I love its history. And I love
what our party has stood for. But I love my country more. So, I ask you
tonight to join me. As we leave here, let us resolve that we will stand
together — Republicans, Democrats and independents — against those
who would destroy our republic. They are angry and they are determined,
but they have not seen anything like the power of Americans united in
defense of our Constitution and committed to the cause of freedom. There
is no greater power on this earth. And with God's help, we will prevail.
--Liz Cheney
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Liz_Cheney>
The Hill 303 massacre was a war crime that took place during the Korean
War on August 17, 1950, on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea, when
forty-one US Army soldiers held as prisoners of war were murdered.
Troops of the North Korean People's Army (KPA) surrounded elements of
the US 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, during
the Battle of Pusan Perimeter. Most of the US troops escaped but one
platoon misidentified KPA troops as South Korean reinforcements and was
captured. US forces counterattacked and as the KPA began to retreat one
of their officers ordered the prisoners to be shot so they would not
slow them down. US commanders subsequently broadcast radio messages and
dropped leaflets demanding that senior KPA commanders be held
responsible. The KPA commanders, concerned about the way their soldiers
were treating prisoners of war, laid out stricter guidelines for
handling captives. Memorials were later constructed on Hill 303 to
honor the victims of the massacre.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_303_massacre>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1560:
The Scottish Reformation Parliament approved a Protestant
confession of faith, initiating the Scottish Reformation and
disestablishing Catholicism as the national religion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Reformation>
1945:
The independence of Indonesia was proclaimed by Sukarno and
Mohammad Hatta, igniting a revolution against the Dutch Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_National_Revolution>
1959:
American musician Miles Davis released Kind of Blue, which
became one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed jazz
recordings of all time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kind_of_Blue>
2008:
Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the Beijing Summer
Olympics, the most golds by any person at a single games.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
embrown:
1. (transitive)
2. To make (something) brown; to brown.
3. To make (something) dark or dusky (“having a rather dark shade of
colour”); to brown, to darken.
4. (intransitive)
5. To become or make brown; to brown.
6. To become or make dark or dusky; to brown, to darken.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/embrown>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The universal civilization has been a long time in the making. It
wasn't always universal; it wasn't always as attractive as it is today.
… the beauty of the idea of the pursuit of happiness. Familiar words,
easy to take for granted; easy to misconstrue. This idea of the pursuit
of happiness is at the heart of the attractiveness of the civilization
to so many outside it or on its periphery. I find it marvelous to
contemplate to what an extent, after two centuries, and after the
terrible history of the earlier part of this century, the idea has come
to a kind of fruition. It is an elastic idea; it fits all men. It
implies a certain kind of society, a certain kind of awakened spirit.
… So much is contained in it: the idea of the individual,
responsibility, choice, the life of the intellect, the idea of vocation
and perfectibility and achievement. It is an immense human idea. It
cannot be reduced to a fixed system. It cannot generate fanaticism. But
it is known to exist, and because of that, other more rigid systems in
the end blow away.
--V. S. Naipaul
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V._S._Naipaul>
The speed of light in vacuum, denoted c, is a physical constant that is
exactly equal to 299,792,458 metres per second (approximately 186,282
miles per second, or one foot per nanosecond). According to standard
modern physics, visible light and all other electromagnetic radiation
moves at this constant speed in vacuum, and c is the fastest speed at
which matter, energy or any signal carrying information can travel
through space. Ole Rømer first demonstrated in 1676 that light does not
travel instantaneously by studying the apparent motion of Jupiter's moon
Io (diagram shown). In an 1865 paper, James Clerk Maxwell proposed that
light was an electromagnetic wave, and therefore travelled at the speed
c. According to the theory of special relativity, which interrelates
space and time, all observers will measure the speed of light as being
the same, regardless of the inertial reference frame of the observer or
the velocity of the object emitting the light.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_light>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1942:
The Holocaust: During the deportation of Jews from Slovakia,
President Jozef Tiso gave a speech describing Jews as "parasites" and
"the eternal enemy".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jozef_Tiso%27s_speech_in_Holi%C4%8D>
1945:
The Stanley Internment Camp in Hong Kong was liberated
following the announcement of the surrender of Japan in World War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Internment_Camp>
1962:
The English rock band the Beatles fired their drummer Pete
Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_Starr>
1986:
Typhoon Wayne formed over the South China Sea, going on to
become one of the longest-lived tropical cyclones in the north-western
Pacific, lasting 21 days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Wayne_%281986%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
catapeltic:
1. (military, weaponry, archaic) Pertaining to a catapult or catapults.
2. (military, weaponry, obsolete, rare) A catapult.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/catapeltic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Take heed of doing irrevocable acts in thy passion, As the
revealing of secrets, which makes thee a bankrupt for society ever
after: neither do such things which done once are done for ever, so that
no bemoaning can amend them. Sampsons hair grew again, but not his eyes:
Time may restore some losses, others are never to be repaird. Wherefore
in thy rage make no Persian decree which cannot be revers'd or repeald;
but rather Polonian laws which (they say) last but three dayes: Do not
in an instant what an age cannot recompence.
--Thomas Fuller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Fuller>
Darjeeling is a town in India's Eastern Himalayas, situated close to
the borders with Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China. In the mid-19th
century, when much of India was under East India Company rule,
Darjeeling was founded as a summer retreat. On the slopes below, tea
plantations were laid out where Darjeeling tea is grown. Thousands of
labourers from the surrounding regions built the town and worked in the
tea plantations. Their descendants constitute the majority of
Darjeeling's residents today and give the town a cosmopolitan ethnic
mix. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, ascending 2,100 metres
(7,000 ft), is a World Heritage Site and a popular tourist experience.
The local economy is largely dependent on tourism and tea growing.
Population growth has made unregulated construction, traffic congestion
and water shortages common. Deforestation has damaged the environment,
including the springs that supply the town's water.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darjeeling>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1038:
Upon the death of his uncle Stephen I, Peter became the second
king of Hungary.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter,_King_of_Hungary>
1942:
World War II: The tanker SS Ohio reached Malta as part of an
operation to deliver much-needed supplies during the siege of Malta.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pedestal>
1947:
Jawaharlal Nehru took office as the first prime minister of
India, a post he held for 18 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru>
1998:
The Troubles: A car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish
Republican Army killed 29 people and injured approximately 220 others in
Omagh, Northern Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omagh_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
teapoy:
(originally India) Originally, a three-legged decorative stand or table;
now, especially, one with recesses for holding tea caddies and/or a tea
service.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/teapoy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Those who oppose the novel most vociferously today are of the
opinion that intermingling with a different culture will inevitably
weaken and ruin their own. I am of the opposite opinion. The Satanic
Verses celebrates hybridity, impurity, intermingling, the transformation
that comes of new and unexpected combinations of human beings, cultures,
ideas, politics, movies, songs. It rejoices in mongrelization and fears
the absolutism of the Pure. Melange, hotchpotch, a bit of this and a bit
of that is how newness enters the world. It is the great possibility
that mass migration gives the world... The Satanic Verses is for change-
by-fusion, change-by-conjoining. It is a love song to our mongrel
selves.
--Salman Rushdie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Salman_Rushdie>
King's Highway 403 is a 400-series highway in Ontario, Canada, between
Woodstock and Mississauga, which branches off southwards from
Highway 401 and travels through Hamilton and Mississauga before
reuniting with the 401. It is concurrent and co-signed with the Queen
Elizabeth Way (QEW) for 22 km (14 mi) from Burlington to Oakville. The
403 designation was applied to a short stub in 1963; the entire route
was completed when the Brantford to Ancaster section opened on
August 15, 1997. The Woodstock to Burlington stretch was dedicated as
the Alexander Graham Bell Parkway in 2016. Most of Highway 403 runs
through suburbia, although the areas west of Hamilton are agricultural
except for Brantford. In Hamilton, Highway 403 descends the Niagara
Escarpment, then runs north of Hamilton Harbour to the QEW. It then
travels through Burlington and Oakville, departing from the QEW to the
north at the Mississauga–Oakville boundary. It then crosses
Mississauga's city centre before turning north and ends at Highway 401.
Some lanes continue north to Brampton as Highway 410.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_403>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1842:
American Indian Wars: General William J. Worth declared an end
to the Second Seminole War, fought between U.S. forces and the Seminole
people of Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Seminole_War>
1888:
One of the first recordings of music, of Arthur Sullivan's "The
Lost Chord" (audio featured), was played at a press conference in London
to introduce Thomas Edison's phonograph.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Chord>
2010:
The inaugural edition of the Youth Olympic Games opened in
Singapore for athletes aged between 14 and 18.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_Olympic_Games>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
athwart:
1. From side to side, often in an oblique manner; across or over.
2. Across the path of something, so as to impede progress.
3. (figuratively) Against the anticipated or appropriate course of
something; improperly, perversely, wrongly.
4. From one side to the other side of; across.
5. Across the course or path of, so as to meet; hence (figuratively), to
the attention of.
6. Across the course or path of, so as to oppose.
7. (figuratively)
8. Across; through.
9. Opposed to.
10. (nautical) Across the line of a ship's course, or across its deck.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/athwart>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All of a sudden I had to remember some words that Marlowe had
told me over fifteen years ago: "Dead men don't wear plaid." Hmm...
Dead men don't wear plaid. I still don't know what it means.
--Steve Martin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Martin>
Palladian architecture is an architectural style based on the work
of Andrea Palladio. Buildings which adhere to his concepts of symmetry,
perspective and the principles of classical architecture are described
as Palladian. This can be seen at Villa La Rotonda (pictured), one of
Palladio's most influential designs, which he began around 1565. The
style spread from Italy in the early 17th century and was introduced to
England by Inigo Jones. The early 18th century saw a resurgence led by
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, whose own Chiswick House, and
Holkham Hall with William Kent, are among the finest English Palladian
buildings. In North America, Palladianism was taken up by Thomas
Jefferson; his home, Monticello, was based on a design by Palladio. The
style was superseded by Neoclassical architecture in the later 18th
century, and in the 19th both were eclipsed by the Gothic Revival.
Palladio remains an influential architect and works in his style
continue to be built.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palladian_architecture>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1762:
Anglo-Spanish War: The United Kingdom captured Havana after a
five-week siege, holding it until the Treaty of Paris the following
year.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Havana>
1876:
The Bayreuth Festival, now known for showcasing the stage works
of Richard Wagner, was inaugurated under the direction of Wagner and his
wife Cosima.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosima_Wagner>
1999:
The Act on National Flag and Anthem was adopted, formally
establishing the Hinomaru (design illustrated) and "Kimigayo" as the
Japanese national flag and anthem, respectively.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_on_National_Flag_and_Anthem>
2004:
Hurricane Charley struck the U.S. state of Florida, just 22
hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie inflicted its own damage to the
region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Bonnie_%282004%29>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
sing small:
1. (idiomatic)
2. To assume a humble tone.
3. To not say anything; to keep quiet.
4. To play a minor part.
5. (singing, obsolete) To sing softly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sing_small>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The symbols of religion are ciphers of which the key is to be
found in moral experience. It is in vain we pore over the ciphers unless
we possess the key. To understand the meaning of a great religious
teacher we must find in our own life experiences somewhat akin to his.
To selfish, unprincipled persons whose heart is wholly set on worldly
ends, what meaning, for instance, can such utterances have as these?
"You must become like little children if you would possess the kingdom
of heaven;" "You must be willing to lose your life in order to save it;"
"If you would be first you must consent to be last." To the worldly-
minded such words convey no sense whatever; they are, in fact, rank
absurdity.
--Felix Adler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler>
Wipeout 2048 is a racing video game in which players pilot anti-gravity
ships around futuristic race tracks. It was developed by SCE Studio
Liverpool and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. A launch title
for the PlayStation Vita hand-held console, the game was released on
19 January 2012 in Japan and on 22 February in Europe. It is the ninth
instalment of the series Wipeout and the last game to be developed by
Studio Liverpool. Wipeout 2048 is a prequel to the first game in the
series. It was designed as a test-bed for the Vita. Studio Liverpool's
suggestions of a touchscreen device and two separate analogue sticks
were eventually incorporated into the console. Wipeout 2048 includes
downloadable content and an online multiplayer mode, and allows cross-
platform play with PlayStation 3 owners of Wipeout HD. Reviewers
agreed that the game's graphics and visuals showcased the power of the
Vita, but criticised its long loading times and other technical issues.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wipeout_2048>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1883:
The last known quagga (example pictured), a subspecies of the
plains zebra, died at Natura Artis Magistra, a zoo in Amsterdam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quagga>
1945:
An official administrative history of the Manhattan Project,
written by American physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth, was released to the
public days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smyth_Report>
2000:
Kursk, an Oscar-class submarine of the Russian Navy, suffered
an on-board explosion and sank in the Barents Sea during a military
exercise with 118 lives lost.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_submarine_disaster>
2016:
The state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company inaugurated the
first beer festival in North Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_North_Korea>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
training wheel:
1. (military, historical) A wheel forming part of the machinery of a
cannon or a similar firearm which is turned to train or aim the weapon
at a target.
2. (rail transport, archaic) Synonym of trailing wheel (“on a steam
locomotive, an unpowered wheel or axle located behind the driving
wheels”)
3. (chiefly Canada, US and in the plural, cycling) One of a pair of
small wheels, each attached to one side of a bicycle's rear wheel to
provide support for new riders.
4. (figuratively) Anything designed to make something easier for a
novice. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/training_wheel>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of
the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law
means applying the law evenly, without fear or favor. Under my watch,
that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing. All Americans
are entitled to the even handed application of the law, to due process
of the law, and to the presumption of innocence. Much of our work is by
necessity conducted out of the public eye. We do that to protect the
constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of
our investigations.… Let me address recent unfounded attacks on the
professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and
prosecutors. I will not stand by silently when their integrity is
unfairly attacked. The men and women of the FBI and the Justice
Department are dedicated, patriotic public servants. Every day, they
protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other
threats to their safety, while safeguarding our civil rights. They do so
at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. I am honored to work
alongside them. This is all I can say right now. More information will
be made available in the appropriate way and at the appropriate time.
--Merrick Garland
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland>