Nil Battey Sannata (Hindi slang for 'Good for Nothing') is a 2015 Indian
comedy-drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (pictured) in her
feature debut. Produced by Aanand L. Rai, Ajay Rai, and Alan McAlex, the
film was co-written by Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary, and Nitesh
Tiwari. Swara Bhaskar starred as Chanda Sahay, a high-school drop-out
household maid and the single mother of a sullen young girl named
Apeksha, played by Ria Shukla. The film's theme is a person's right to
change their life, irrespective of social status. The film garnered
critical acclaim for its realistic narrative and its cast, especially
Bhaskar. In 2017 Iyer won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director;
Screen Awards went to Bhaskar for Best Actress (Critics) and to Shukla
for Best Child Artist. The film totalled around ₹69 million
(US$830,000) at the box office. It was remade in Tamil as Amma Kanakku
and in Malayalam as Udaharanam Sujatha.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nil_Battey_Sannata>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1924:
A private senator's bill by Herbert Payne to introduce
compulsory voting in Australia became law.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Payne>
1954:
A team of Italian climbers became the first to reach the summit
of K2, the world's second-highest mountain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Italian_expedition_to_K2>
1964:
The space probe Ranger 7 captured thousands of close-up
photographs of the Moon (example pictured) over its final minutes of
flight and transmitted them to Earth before crashing on the lunar
surface.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_7>
2014:
Gas explosions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, killed 32 people and
injured 321 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kaohsiung_gas_explosions>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
summit:
1. The topmost point or surface of a thing; the apex, the peak.
2. The highest point of a hill, mountain, or similar geographical
feature.
3. (mathematics) A vertex of a polygon or polyhedron.
4. (nautical, rail transport, road transport) The highest point of a
canal, railway, road, etc.
5. (obsolete)
6. (botany) Synonym of anther (“the pollen-bearing part of the stamen of
a flower”); also (rare), synonym of stigma (“the sticky part of a flower
that receives pollen during pollination”)
7. (crystallography, rare) One of the two vertices of a crystal with a
rhombohedral shape where the angles of each face are equal; also, the
highest point of a crystal with a pyramidal or tetrahedral shape.
8. (figurative)
9. The highest point of achievement, development, etc., that can be
reached; the acme, the pinnacle.
10. (politics)
11. (archaic) The highest level of political leadership.
12. (by extension) An assembly or gathering of the leaders of countries
to discuss issues of international significance; also (loosely), an
important or high-level gathering or meeting.
13. (transitive, climbing, informal) To reach the summit (noun sense
1.1) of (a mountain).
14. (intransitive)
15. (climbing, informal) To reach the summit of a mountain.
16. (politics) To attend a summit (noun sense 2.2.2). [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/summit>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but
just as much to stand up to our friends.
--Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher%27s_Stone>
>From 1345 to 1347, the Hundred Years' War between the English and the
French flared up. Determined to renew the conflict, King Edward III of
England despatched a small force to south-west France where they won
victories at Bergerac and Auberoche. In 1346 an English army of 10,000
men landed in northern Normandy, devastated the region, and stormed and
sacked Caen (pictured). They then cut a swath to within 20 miles
(32 km) of Paris, turned north, and inflicted a heavy defeat on the
French army at the Battle of Crécy. They exploited this by laying siege
to Calais. The period from the English victory outside Bergerac to the
start of the siege of Calais is known as Edward III's annus mirabilis
(year of marvels). After an eleven-month siege, which stretched both
countries' financial and military resources to the limit, the town fell,
and for more than two hundred years it served as an English entrepôt
into northern France. (This article is part of a featured topic:
Hundred Years' War, 1345–1347.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Hundred_Years%27_Wa…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1811:
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (depicted), a leader of the Mexican
War of Independence, was executed by Spanish forces in Chihuahua City,
Mexico.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Hidalgo_y_Costilla>
1871:
The boiler of the Staten Island Ferry Westfield II exploded at
South Ferry in New York City, killing at least 45 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Island_Ferry>
1990:
British Conservative member of Parliament Ian Gow was killed
outside his home in a car bombing by the Provisional Irish Republican
Army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Gow>
2014:
More than 150 people died after heavy rains triggered a
landslide in the village of Malin in Maharashtra, India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Malin_landslide>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pavement special:
(slang) A dog (especially a stray dog) of miscellaneous ancestry; a
mongrel, a mutt.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pavement_special>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How I'm moved. How you move me With your beauty's potency.
--Kate Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush>
Sava was a river monitor, originally built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy
as SMS Bodrog. She and two other monitors fired the first shots of
World War I in the early hours of 29 July 1914, when they shelled
Serbian defences near Belgrade. During the war, she fought the Serbian
and Romanian armies, and was captured in its closing stages. She was
transferred to the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
(later Yugoslavia), and renamed Sava. During the Axis invasion of
Yugoslavia in April 1941, she fought off several air attacks, but was
scuttled on 11 April. Sava was later raised by the Axis puppet state,
the Independent State of Croatia, and continued to serve under that name
until 1944 when she was again scuttled. Following World War II, Sava
was raised again, and was refurbished to serve in the Yugoslav Navy from
1952 to 1962. She became a gravel barge after that, but was restored and
opened as a floating museum in November 2021.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_monitor_Sava>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1693:
Nine Years' War: French troops defeated the forces of the Grand
Alliance led by William III of England at the Battle of Landen in
present-day Neerwinden, Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Landen>
1818:
French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel submitted a memoir on
the diffraction of light to the Royal Academy of Sciences, providing
strong support for the wave theory of light.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel>
1914:
The Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay in
the U.S. state of Massachusetts, opened on a limited basis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod_Canal>
1954:
The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of J. R. R.
Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, was published by Allen & Unwin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
racemate:
1. A mixture which is racemic (“containing equal amounts of
dextrorotatory and levorotatory stereoisomers and therefore not
optically active”).
2. (archaic) Any ester or salt of racemic acid.
3. (chiefly sports) One participating in the same race as others. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/racemate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is when we all play safe that we create a world of utmost
insecurity. It is when we all play safe that fatality will lead us to
our doom. It is in the "dark shade of courage" alone that the spell can
be broken.
--Dag Hammarskjöld
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dag_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld>
Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth studio album by the American
singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen (pictured), released on June 2,
1978, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded during sessions in New
York City with the E Street Band from June 1977 to March 1978, after
a series of legal disputes between Springsteen and his former manager
Mike Appel. Darkness musically strips the Wall of Sound production of
its predecessor, Born to Run, for a rawer hard rock sound emphasizing
the band as a whole. The lyrics focus on ill-fortuned characters who
fight back against overwhelming odds. Released three years after Born to
Run, Darkness did not sell as well but reached number five in the United
States. Critics initially praised the album's music and performances but
were divided on the lyrical content. In recent decades, Darkness has
attracted acclaim as one of Springsteen's best works and has appeared on
lists of the greatest albums of all time.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkness_on_the_Edge_of_Town>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1866:
At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream became the youngest artist and
first woman to receive a commission from the United States government
for a statue—that of Abraham Lincoln currently in the U.S. Capitol
rotunda.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinnie_Ream>
1911:
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition began with the departure
of SY Aurora from London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasian_Antarctic_Expedition>
1939:
During the excavation of a 7th-century ship burial at Sutton
Hoo in Suffolk, England, archaeologists discovered a helmet that is
widely associated with King Rædwald of East Anglia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A6dwald_of_East_Anglia>
2005:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army announced the formal end
of its armed campaign to overthrow British rule in Northern Ireland and
create a united Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
san fairy ann:
(Australia, New Zealand, UK, military slang, humorous, obsolete) It
doesn't matter.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/san_fairy_ann>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Rocking on a lazy billow With roaming eyes, Cushioned on a
dreamy pillow, Thou art now wise. Wake the power within thee
slumbering, Trim the plot that's in thy keeping, Thou wilt bless the
task when reaping Sweet labour's prize.
--John Stuart Blackie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Blackie>
The Aston Martin DB9 is a two-door grand touring car produced by the
British carmaker Aston Martin from 2004 until its discontinuation on
27 July 2016. The coupe debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003,
while the Volante convertible debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in 2004.
Full-scale manufacture began in January 2004 for the coupe version and
in February 2005 for the Volante. The DB9 was designed by Ian Callum and
Henrik Fisker, and is the successor to the DB7, which Aston Martin
produced from 1994 to 2004. The car's chassis is composed of aluminium
and composite materials. In 2008 and 2010, minor alterations were
implemented to the DB9's exterior and engine, and in 2012 prominent
adjustments were made to its front fascia, interior and engine. The DB9
was adapted for racing by Aston Martin's racing division in the form of
the DBR9 and the DBRS9, both introduced in 2005. To commemorate the
discontinuation of the DB9, Aston Martin released the DB9 GT in 2015.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin_DB9>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1214:
Philip II of France decisively won the Battle of Bouvines, the
conclusive battle of the 1213–1214 Anglo-French War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bouvines>
1916:
First World War: British mariner Charles Fryatt was executed in
Bruges, Belgium, after a German court-martial found him guilty of being
a franc-tireur.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Fryatt>
1949:
The de Havilland Comet (prototype pictured), the world's first
commercial jet airliner to reach production, made its maiden flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet>
1990:
Jamaat al Muslimeen, a radical Islamic group, began a coup
attempt against the government of Trinidad and Tobago by taking
hostages, including Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson, before
surrendering five days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaat_al_Muslimeen_coup_attempt>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
organ gun:
(firearms, historical) A large, portable firearm normally supported by
wheels, in which bullets may be fired from a row of several tubes in
succession; it was chiefly used from the 14th to the 17th century.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/organ_gun>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In the name of the athletes. In the name of all judges. In the
name of all the coaches and officials. We promise to take part in these
Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of
fair play, inclusion and equality. Together we stand in solidarity and
commit ourselves to sport without doping, without cheating, without any
form of discrimination. We do this for the honour of our teams, in
respect for the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, and to make the
world a better place through sport.
--Olympic Oath
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Olympic_Games>
The 1896 Summer Olympics were the first international Olympic Games held
in modern history. The International Olympic Committee was established
in 1894 by a congress organized by Pierre de Coubertin in Paris. The
committee appointed the Greek capital Athens as the host city, and the
games took place from 6 to 15 April 1896. According to the committee,
14 nations took part, and 241 male athletes competed. The participants
were all European, or living in Europe, with the exception of the United
States team. More than 65 per cent of the competing athletes were Greek,
and Greece won the most medals overall, 47. The athletic highlight for
the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spyridon Louis.
The most successful competitor was the German wrestler and gymnast Carl
Schuhmann, with four victories. The 1896 Olympics were regarded as a
great success, with the largest international participation of any
sporting event to that date.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1887:
L. L. Zamenhof published Unua Libro, the first publication to
describe Esperanto, a constructed international language.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Zamenhof>
1936:
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial, dedicated to Canadian
Expeditionary Force members killed in the First World War, was unveiled
in Pas-de-Calais, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Vimy_Memorial>
1953:
The Battle of the Samichon River, the last engagement of the
Korean War, ended a few hours before the signing of the Korean Armistice
Agreement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Samichon_River>
2007:
After widespread controversy throughout Wales, Shambo, a black
Friesian bull that had been adopted by the local Hindu community, was
slaughtered due to concerns about bovine tuberculosis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambo>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Olympic Valley:
1. A valley formed by the river Alpheus, Ilia, Greece, site of Olympia.
2. An unincorporated community in Placer County, California, United
States.
3. A valley in the Sierra Nevada, Placer County, California, United
States, named after this community.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Olympic_Valley>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many
others. And I have been blessed a million times in return with the love
and support of the American people. I hope you have some idea how
grateful I am to all of you. The great thing about America is here kings
and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The
power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just
have to keep faith — keep the faith and remember who we are. We are
the United States of America, and there is simply nothing — nothing
beyond our capacity when we do it together. So, let’s act together,
preserve our democracy.
--Joe Biden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden>
The great cuckoo-dove (Reinwardtoena reinwardti) is a species of bird in
the pigeon family. First described by zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck
in 1824, it is found on islands from New Guinea to Wallacea in primary
forest and the forest edge. It is a large pigeon, and in adults the
head, neck, and breast are whitish or blue-grey, the underparts are
bluish-grey, the upperparts are chestnut-brown, and the outer wings are
black. Females differ from males in having yellower irises and duller
orbital skin. Juveniles are mainly dull grey-brown, with dirty-white
throats and bellies. The bird feeds on fruit and seeds, usually alone or
in pairs, but forms mixed flocks at fruit trees. It will defend fruiting
shrubs, an uncommon foraging behaviour among birds. Breeding occurs
throughout the year, although timing varies over its range. Nests are
platforms made of plant material and the clutch is one white egg. This
species is classified as least concern due to its large range and stable
population.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_cuckoo-dove>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1788:
Mozart completed his Symphony No. 40, one of his two extant
symphonies in a minor key.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._40_%28Mozart%29>
1898:
Spanish–American War: After more than two months of sea-based
bombardment, the United States invaded Puerto Rico.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_campaign>
1943:
The Grand Council of Fascism voted a motion of no confidence
against Benito Mussolini, who was arrested the same day by King Victor
Emmanuel III and replaced by Pietro Badoglio.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Fascist_regime_in_Italy>
2007:
Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the first female president of
India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratibha_Patil>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wreathe:
1. (also figurative) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting.
2. (transitive)
3. To coil, curl, or twist (something); to shape (something) into
circles or coils.
4. To adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath.
5. Of flowers, leaves, etc.: to form the shape of a wreath around
(something).
6. (chiefly passive voice) Often followed by in and the thing
encircling: to coil or spiral around, or encircle, (someone or
something); (by extension) to cover or envelop (someone or something).
7. (also reflexive, chiefly passive voice) Followed by about, around, or
round: to coil, twist, or wind (oneself or something) around a person or
thing; (by extension) to cause (oneself or something) to cover or
encircle a person or thing.
8. (chiefly passive voice) Often followed by together: to entwine or
twist (two or more people or things) together; to intertwine, to
interweave.
9. (archaic) To form (a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) by entwining or
twisting flowers, leaves, etc., together; also, to entwine or twist
(flowers, leaves, etc.) together to form a crown, garland, wreath, etc.
10. (Southeast England) To strengthen (an earthen embankment) with
hurdles of wattle.
11. (obsolete) To form (something) by entwining or twisting two or more
things together; also, to entwine or twist (something) with another
thing.
12.
13. (obsolete, Scotland, figurative) Followed by on: to place (a yoke,
symbolizing a burden) on someone's neck.
14. (intransitive)
15. Followed by about, around, or round: to coil, twist, or wind around
a person or thing.
16. Of mist, smoke, etc.: to move with a coiling, spiralling, or
twisting motion.
17. (obsolete, rare) Followed by with: to become intertwined with
something.
18. (obsolete, chiefly Scotland) Of snow: to form drifts. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wreathe>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When as the rye reach to the chin,And chopcherry, chopcherry
ripe within,Strawberries swimming in the cream,And school-boys playing
in the stream:Then O, then O, then O my true love said,Till that time
come again,She could not live a maid.
--George Peele
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Peele>
Ty Cobb was suspended for ten days during the 1912 baseball season. Cobb
was disciplined for beating Claude Lucker, a fan who had been heckling
him during the four-game series between Cobb's Detroit Tigers and the
New York Yankees. Cobb was ejected from the game on May 15, 1912, and
American League president Ban Johnson suspended him indefinitely. Cobb's
teammates took his side, and after defeating the Philadelphia Athletics
on May 17, told Johnson that they would not play again until Cobb was
reinstated. Johnson refused to do so. Seeking to avoid a $5,000 fine,
owner Frank Navin told manager Hughie Jennings to recruit a team; he did
so. Facing the Athletics, baseball's World Champions, the replacement
players, joined by Jennings and his coaches, lost 24–2, after which
Cobb persuaded his teammates to return. They and Cobb were fined, but
Navin paid. The walkout was baseball's first major league strike; it had
little effect, but teams put additional security into stadiums.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912_suspension_of_Ty_Cobb>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1567:
Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate in favour of her
one-year-old son, who became James VI.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_VI_and_I>
1959:
Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev and U.S. vice president
Richard Nixon held an impromptu debate at the opening of the American
National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park in Moscow.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_Debate>
1974:
The Metapolitefsi period began with Konstantinos Karamanlis
taking office as Prime Minister of Greece after the collapse of the
military junta.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metapolitefsi>
1980:
The Australian swimming team, nicknamed the Quietly Confident
Quartet, won the men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow
Olympics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_at_the_1980_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%9…>
2014:
Air Algérie Flight 5017 disappeared from radar shortly after
take-off from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; its wreckage was found the
following day in Mali with no survivors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Alg%C3%A9rie_Flight_5017>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unfathomable:
1. Impossible to fathom.
2. Especially of depth: physically incapable of being measured;
immeasurable.
3. (figurative) Impossible to grasp the extent of, or to fully know or
understand.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unfathomable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Friendships, like marriages, are dependent on avoiding the
unforgivable.
--John D. MacDonald
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_D._MacDonald>
Empire of the Sultans was a touring exhibition from 1995 to 2004
displaying objects from the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. Around
two hundred exhibits, including calligraphy, textiles, pottery (example
pictured), weapons, and metalwork, illustrated the art and daily life of
six centuries of the Ottoman Empire. Many of the objects had been
created for the leaders of the empire, the sultans. Two of the
calligraphic pieces were the work of sultans themselves. In the 1990s,
the exhibition was hosted by institutions in Switzerland, the United
Kingdom, and Israel, and its first catalogue was published by J. M.
Rogers. The exhibits visited thirteen cities in the United States from
2000 to 2004, despite controversies in the wake of the September 11
attacks and the Iraq War. Critics described the exhibition as wide-
ranging and informative. They praised it for showing beautiful art works
– naming the calligraphy in particular – and for presenting a fresh
view of Islam.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_the_Sultans>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1927:
Wilfred Rhodes of England and Yorkshire became the only person
to play in 1,000 first-class cricket matches.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Rhodes>
1942:
The Holocaust: The gas chambers at Treblinka extermination camp
began operation, killing 6,500 Jews who had been transported from the
Warsaw Ghetto the day before.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treblinka_extermination_camp>
1995:
Hale–Bopp, one of the most widely observed comets of the 20th
century, was independently discovered by astronomers Alan Hale and
Thomas Bopp.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hale%E2%80%93Bopp>
1999:
In Tulia, Texas, 47 people were arrested for dealing cocaine;
years later, 35 of the 47 were pardoned by the Governor of Texas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Tulia_drug_arrests>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lionism:
1. (historical)
2. The 19th-century practice of bringing a lion (“an interesting person
or object”) into one’s home as entertainment for visitors.
3. The state of being the lion (see above) of 19th-century hosts.
4. (by extension) The practice of lionizing (“treating a person as a
celebrity or someone important”); also, the state of being lionized.
5. (pathology) The state of a person having a leonine facies, that is,
facial features which resemble those of a lion as a result of some
disease, especially a form of leprosy which causes leontiasis (“a
medical condition characterized by an overgrowth of the cranial and
facial bones”).
6. (Rastafari) The ideals of Rastafarianism. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lionism>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my
intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have
traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear
choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to
do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to
unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald
Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until
Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.
--Kamala Harris
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris>
Thekla (820s or 830s – after 870) was a princess of the Amorian
dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. The eldest of seven children of the
emperor Theophilos and empress Theodora, she was proclaimed augusta (an
imperial title) in the late 830s. After her father's death in 842, her
mother became regent for her younger brother Michael III, and Thekla
was associated with the regime as a co-empress alongside Theodora and
Michael. Thekla was deposed by Michael, possibly alongside her mother,
in 856 and consigned to a convent in Constantinople. In one narrative,
accepted by some Byzantinists and rejected by others, she became the
mistress of Michael's friend and co-emperor Basil I, but was neglected
after Basil murdered Michael in 867 and took power as the sole emperor.
In this narrative, she took another lover, was discovered, and fell out
of favor, then was beaten and had her property confiscated.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thekla_%28daughter_of_Theophilos%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
American Civil War: Confederate forces unsuccessfully attacked
Union troops at the Battle of Atlanta.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Atlanta>
1894:
Jules-Albert de Dion finished first in the world's first motor
race, but did not win as his steam-powered car was against the rules.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules-Albert_de_Dion>
1944:
World War II: In opposition to the government-in-exile based
in London, the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation was
proclaimed to govern territory recaptured from Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Committee_of_National_Liberation>
1954:
A limited state of martial law was declared in Russell County,
Alabama, due to organized crime.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_martial_law_in_Russell_County,…>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
shabby:
1. Of clothing, a place, etc.: unkempt and worn or otherwise in poor
condition due to age or neglect.
2. Of a person: wearing ragged or very worn, and often dirty, clothing.
3. (figurative)
4. Of a person, their behaviour, etc.: despicable, mean; also, not
generous; stingy, tight-fisted.
5. (often in the negative) Poor in quality; also, showing little effort
or talent.
6. (medicine, archaic) Of the pulse: thready, weak.
7. (UK, dialectal or informal) Of weather: wet and dreary.
8. (UK, dialectal, veterinary medicine) Chiefly of sheep: affected by
shab or scab (“a skin disease”); scabby.
9. (transitive) To make (something) shabby (adjective sense 1); to
shabbify.
10. (intransitive) To become shabby; to shabbify.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shabby>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
America has never been better positioned to lead than we are
today. I know none of this could have been done without you, the
American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and
the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We've protected
and preserved our Democracy. And we've revitalized and strengthened our
alliances around the world. It has been the greatest honor of my life
to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek
reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the
country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties
as President for the remainder of my term.
--Joe Biden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden>