The Heart of Thomas is a 1974 Japanese manga series written and
illustrated by Moto Hagio (pictured). Originally serialized in Shūkan
Shōjo Comic, a weekly manga magazine publishing shōjo manga – manga
aimed at young and adolescent women – the series follows the events
at a German all-boys school after the suicide of student Thomas Werner.
It is one of the earliest manga in the shōnen-ai (male–male romance)
genre. While The Heart of Thomas was initially poorly received by
readers, by the end of its serialization it was among the most popular
series in Shūkan Shōjo Comic. It significantly influenced shōjo manga
as a medium, with many of the stylistic and narrative hallmarks of the
series becoming standard tropes of the genre. The series has attracted
considerable scholarly interest, and has been adapted into a film, a
stage play, and a novel. In North America, an English-language
translation of The Heart of Thomas, translated by Rachel Thorn, was
published by Fantagraphics Books in 2013.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heart_of_Thomas>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1936:
Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Italian troops captured the
Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa unopposed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_the_Iron_Will>
1961:
Project Mercury: American astronaut Alan Shepard made a sub-
orbital spaceflight on board Freedom 7, becoming the second person to
travel into outer space.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-Redstone_3>
1981:
After a 66-day hunger strike, Irish republican Bobby Sands died
of starvation in HM Prison Maze.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sands>
1991:
Riots broke out in Washington, D.C., after a rookie police
officer shot a Salvadoran man in the chest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Washington,_D.C._riot>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lustrum:
1. (Ancient Rome, religion, historical) A ceremonial purification of all
the people, performed every five years after the taking of the census; a
lustration.
2. (by extension, literary) A period of five years.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lustrum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The presence of irony does not necessarily mean that the
earnestness is excluded. Only assistant professors assume that.
--Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Concluding_Unscientific_Postscript_to_Philoso…>
William Feiner (1792–1829) was a German Catholic priest and Jesuit who
became a missionary to the United States and eventually the president of
Georgetown College. Born in Münster, he taught in Jesuit schools in the
Russian Empire and Polish Galicia as a young member of the Society of
Jesus. He then emigrated to the United States several years after the
restoration of the Society, taking up pastoral work and teaching
theology in Conewago, Pennsylvania, before becoming a full-time
professor at Georgetown College. There, he also became the second
dedicated librarian of the college's library. Eventually, Feiner became
the president of Georgetown in 1826. While president, he taught theology
at Georgetown and led the congregation at Holy Trinity Church. Despite
being the leader of an American university, he never mastered the
English language. Long plagued by poor health due to tuberculosis, his
short-lived presidency ended after three years, just weeks before his
death.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Feiner>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1780:
The first running of the Epsom Derby horse race took place, won
by Diomed, owned by Sir Charles Bunbury.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1780_Epsom_Derby>
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Allied naval
forces at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first fleet action in which
aircraft carriers engaged each other.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea>
1974:
An all-female Japanese team reached the summit of Manaslu in
the Himalayas, becoming the first women to climb a peak higher than
8,000 metres (26,247 ft) above sea level.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manaslu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
walking carpet:
(slang, derogatory or humorous) An exceptionally hairy person.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/walking_carpet>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability
to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done,
whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be
learned; and, however early a man's training begins, it is probably the
last lesson that he learns thoroughly.
--T. H. Huxley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T._H._Huxley>
The 2020 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker
tournament held from 31 July to 16 August 2020 at the Crucible Theatre
in Sheffield. It was originally scheduled to take place from 18 April
to 4 May, but qualification and the main rounds were postponed due to
the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The event was intended to
allow limited live audiences, but apart from the first day and the final
it was played behind closed doors. The tournament was organised by the
World Snooker Tour, broadcast by the BBC, Eurosport and Matchroom Sport,
and sponsored by sports betting company Betfred. It had a total prize
fund of £2,395,000, with the winner receiving £500,000. The delayed
qualifying rounds took place from 21 to 28 July, involving 128
professional and invited amateur participants. The top 16 reached the
main stage of the tournament where they played the top 16 ranked
players. Judd Trump, the defending champion, lost in the quarter-final
stage to Kyren Wilson. Ronnie O'Sullivan (pictured) won his sixth world
title, defeating Wilson 18–8 in the final.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_World_Snooker_Championship>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1848:
The Benty Grange helmet, a boar-crested Anglo-Saxon helmet
similar to those mentioned in the contemporary epic poem Beowulf, was
discovered in Derbyshire, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benty_Grange_helmet>
1921:
Under the British Government of Ireland Act, Ireland was
partitioned into two self-governing territories, Northern and Southern
Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_Ireland>
1963:
Police in Birmingham, Alabama, used high-pressure water hoses
and dogs against civil-rights protesters, bringing scrutiny on racial
segregation in the southern United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_campaign>
1971:
Erich Honecker became First Secretary of the Socialist Unity
Party of Germany, the governing party of East Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Honecker>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
legman:
1. (originally US) A person hired to carrying out errands or (often)
menial tasks, frequently requiring travel from place to place; an errand
boy or errand girl, a runner.
2. (originally US, journalism) A reporter who frequently travels to
conduct research, interview witnesses, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/legman>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Copying is not theft Stealing a thing leaves one less left
Copying it makes one thing more That's what copying's for.
--Nina Paley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nina_Paley>
The Greek case was brought to the European Commission of Human Rights in
September 1967. It alleged violations of the European Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR) by the Greek junta, which had come to power in a
coup and launched widespread political repression. A second case
alleging additional violations, including of Article 3 forbidding
torture, was added in 1968. In 1968 and 1969, a subcommission questioned
witnesses and embarked on a fact-finding mission to Greece. Their report
proving systematic torture was leaked to the press and turned European
public opinion against Greece. On 12 December 1969, the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe considered a resolution to expel
Greece. To save face, foreign minister Panagiotis Pipinelis (pictured)
denounced the ECHR and walked out. Greece returned to the organization
after the Greek democratic transition in 1974. The case was influential
as a precedent in human rights jurisprudence, especially for the legal
definition of torture.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_case>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
American Civil War: Confederate general Stonewall Jackson was
wounded by friendly fire during the Battle of Chancellorsville, leading
to his death by pneumonia eight days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chancellorsville>
1964:
Vietnam War: An explosion caused by Viet Cong commandos led
USNS Card to sink in the port of Saigon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_USNS_Card>
2003:
Spurred on by the Indian Union Muslim League, a mob of Indian
Muslims killed eight Hindu fishermen in Kerala.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marad_massacre>
2011:
Osama bin Laden was shot and killed by U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6 in
a private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Osama_bin_Laden>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
turn turtle:
1. (intransitive) Especially of a boat or ship, or some other vehicle:
to turn upside down.
2. (intransitive, figuratively) To fail; to go belly up.
3. (intransitive, surfing) To roll upside down with one's surfboard
(usually a longboard) to allow a wave, especially a wave that has
already broken, to pass over.
4. (intransitive, historical) To capture a turtle by turning it on to
its back.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/turn_turtle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Philosophy is properly Home-sickness; the wish to be everywhere
at home.
--Novalis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Novalis>
The Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia was a republic within the
Caucasus region of the Soviet Union that existed from 1921 to 1931.
Formed in the aftermath of the Red Army invasion of Georgia in
February 1921, it was independent until December, when a treaty united
it with the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1931 it was replaced
with the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within Georgia.
Abkhazia was a major tobacco producer in this era, growing over half of
the Soviet Union's supply. It also produced tea, wine, and citrus
fruits, and became one of the wealthiest regions in the country. Its
sub-tropical climate made it a prime holiday destination; Joseph Stalin
and other Soviet leaders had dachas in the region and spent considerable
time there. An ethnically diverse region, Abkhazia was nominally led by
the Abkhaz people, who made up less than 30 percent of the population.
Other major groups included Georgians, Armenians, Greeks, and Russians.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Soviet_Republic_of_Abkhazia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1941:
Citizen Kane (scene pictured), a widely acclaimed film by actor
and director Orson Welles, premiered.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane>
1991:
In Major League Baseball, Rickey Henderson broke the record for
stolen bases on the same night that Nolan Ryan broke his own record for
no-hitters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolan_Ryan>
2016:
The evacuation of nearly 88,000 people began when a wildfire
swept through Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, and burned for another 14
months, becoming the costliest disaster in Canadian history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Fort_McMurray_wildfire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
working stiff:
(originally US, informal) An ordinary person who works in a non-
management position, especially one who works for wages rather than a
salary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/working_stiff>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as
to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by
what is deepest in themselves. All we need is to imagine our ability to
love developing until it embraces the totality of men and the earth.
--Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pierre_Teilhard_de_Chardin>
The Quelccaya Ice Cap (also known as the Quenamari Ice Cap) is the
second-largest glaciated area in the tropics, after Coropuna. Located in
the Cordillera Oriental in Peru's Andes, it covers an area of 42.8
square kilometres (16.5 sq mi) with ice up to 200 metres (660 ft)
thick. It is surrounded by tall ice cliffs and a number of outlet
glaciers, the largest of which is known as Qori Kalis Glacier. Quelccaya
is an important source of water, eventually nourishing the Inambari and
Vilcanota Rivers. It is regularly monitored and has a weather station.
Quelccaya was much larger in the past, merging with neighbouring
glaciers during the Pleistocene epoch. After reaching a secondary
highstand (area expansion) during the Little Ice Age, Quelccaya has been
shrinking due to human-caused climate change. Models predict that
without aggressive climate mitigation measures, Quelccaya is likely to
disappear during the 21st or 22nd century..
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_mitigation>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1927:
Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford became the first two
celebrities to imprint their handprints and footprints in cement
(Pickford's pictured) at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood,
California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grauman%27s_Chinese_Theatre>
1982:
Sixteen monks and a nun belonging to Ananda Marga in Calcutta,
India, were dragged out of taxis by persons unknown in three different
locations, beaten to death and then set on fire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijon_Setu_massacre>
2004:
The New Yorker published an online article and photographs
detailing accounts of torture and abuse by American military personnel
of Iraqi prisoners held at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
desiccate:
1. (transitive) To remove moisture from; to dry.
2. (transitive) To preserve by drying.
3. (intransitive, rare) To become dry; to dry up.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desiccate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Keep your hands open, and all the sands of the desert can pass
through them. Close them, and all you can feel is a bit of grit.
--Taisen Deshimaru
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Taisen_Deshimaru>
Whitehawk Camp is the remains of a causewayed enclosure, on Whitehawk
Hill near Brighton, England. Causewayed enclosures are a form of early
Neolithic earthwork, characterized by the enclosure of an area with
ditches that are interrupted by gaps, or causeways. Their purpose is not
known. The site consists of four roughly concentric circular ditches; at
least two ditches touch the outermost circuit from the outside, one of
which is thought to date to about two thousand years after the earliest
dated activity at the site. Whitehawk was first excavated in 1929 and
again in the winter of 1932–1933. In 1935 the area to be crossed by a
new road was excavated. In 1991, during the construction of a housing
development, a ditch was discovered and excavated. In 2011, an analysis
of radiocarbon dates concluded that the Neolithic part of the site was
probably constructed between 3650 and 3500 BC, and probably went out of
use some time between 3500 and 3400 BC.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitehawk_Camp>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1826:
Scottish astronomer James Dunlop discovered Centaurus A, one
of the nearest radio galaxies to Earth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurus_A>
1944:
Second World War: British agent Nancy Wake parachuted into
Auvergne, becoming a liaison between the Special Operations Executive
and the local Maquis group.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake>
1991:
A powerful tropical cyclone struck Chittagong, Bangladesh,
killing at least 138,000 people and leaving up to 10 million homeless
across the region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Bangladesh_cyclone>
2011:
Watched by a worldwide television audience of tens of millions,
Prince William and Catherine Middleton were married at Westminster Abbey
in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_William_and_Catherine_Middl…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
curate's egg:
(idiomatic) A thing which has good and bad parts, but is overall spoilt
by the bad.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/curate%27s_egg>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could
see their planet from a distance of, let's say 100,000 miles, their
outlook would be fundamentally changed. The all-important border would
be invisible, that noisy argument suddenly silenced. The tiny globe
would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a
unified facade that would cry out for unified understanding, for
homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and
white, not capitalist or communist; blue and white, not rich or poor;
blue and white, not envious or envied. I am not a naïve man. I don’t
believe that a glance from 100,000 miles would cause a Prime Minister to
scurry back to his parliament with a disarmament plan, but I do think it
would plant a seed that ultimately could grow into such concrete action.
--Michael Collins
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_%28astronaut%29>
The 4th Missouri Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served
in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Organized
on April 28, 1862, the regiment was present at the battle in Farmington
on May 9, and in Iuka on September 19. The regiment participated in
three charges against Union lines on October 3, 1862, during the Second
Battle of Corinth. On October 4, the regiment and its brigade attacked
fresh Union lines. Despite initial success, their attack was repulsed by
a Union counterattack. On November 7, 1862, the regiment was combined
with the 1st Missouri Infantry to form the 1st and 4th Missouri Infantry
Regiment (Consolidated). The combined unit served in the Vicksburg
campaign in 1863, before surrendering at the end of the Siege of
Vicksburg. After being exchanged, the men rejoined the Confederate Army
and served in the Atlanta campaign and the Battle of Franklin in 1864.
On May 9, 1865, the consolidated regiment surrendered during the Battle
of Fort Blakeley.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Missouri_Infantry_Regiment_%28Confederate…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
Fletcher Christian, the acting lieutenant on board the Royal
Navy ship Bounty, led a mutiny against the commander William Bligh in
the South Pacific.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty>
1910:
Flying from London to Manchester, French aviator Louis Paulhan
won the first long-distance aeroplane race in England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1910_London_to_Manchester_air_race>
1941:
World War II: Presaging a campaign of genocide against the
Serbs of Croatia, around 190 people were massacred by members of the
Ustaše movement in Gudovac.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gudovac_massacre>
2001:
American entrepreneur Dennis Tito boarded the Russian
spacecraft Soyuz TM-32 to the International Space Station, becoming the
world's first fee-paying space tourist.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Tito>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bounty:
1. (uncountable) Generosity; also (countable) an act of generosity.
2. (countable) Something given liberally; a gift.
3. (countable) A reward for some specific act, especially one given by
an authority or a government.
4. (specifically) A monetary reward for capturing (or, in the past,
killing) a person accused or convicted of a crime and who is at large;
also, a similar reward for capturing or killing an animal which is
dangerous or causing a nuisance.
5. (military, historical) Money paid to a person when becoming a member
of the armed forces, or as a reward for some service therein.
6. (countable, figuratively) An abundance or wealth.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bounty>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You never really understand a person until you consider things
from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around
in it.
--Harper Lee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harper_Lee>
The 1985 World Snooker Championship final was a snooker match played on
the weekend of 27–28 April 1985 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield,
England. It was the final of the 1985 World Snooker Championship between
defending world champion Steve Davis and 1979 runner-up Dennis Taylor
(both pictured). The best-of-35-frames match was split into four
sessions; Taylor was never ahead during the match, but tied at 17–17.
The deciding frame culminated with several shots on the final ball –
the black – which Taylor potted to win his only world championship.
The final climaxed in the early hours of 29 April and was viewed by
18.5 million people in the UK, as of 2020 the record for a post-
midnight television audience. The total match time of 14 hours and
50 minutes is the longest recorded for a best-of-35-frames match. The
match is one of the most famous snooker matches of all time and part of
the reason for the surge in the sport's popularity in the 1980s and
1990s.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_World_Snooker_Championship_final>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1521:
Filipino natives led by chieftain Lapulapu killed Portuguese
explorer Ferdinand Magellan at the Battle of Mactan (depicted).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapulapu>
1777:
American Revolutionary War: British Army regulars defeated
Patriot militias in the Battle of Ridgefield, galvanizing resistance in
the Connecticut Colony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ridgefield>
1904:
Chris Watson became the first prime minister of Australia from
the Labour Party.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Watson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
recrudescence:
1. The condition or state being recrudescent; the condition of something
(often undesirable) breaking out again, or re-emerging after temporary
abatement or suppression.
2. (medicine, by extension) The acute recurrence of a disease, or its
symptoms, after a period of improvement.
3. (botany) The production of a fresh shoot from a ripened spike.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/recrudescence>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My confidence in General Grant was not entirely due to the
brilliant military successes achieved by him, but there was a moral as
well as military basis for my faith in him. He had shown his single-
mindedness and superiority to popular prejudice by his prompt
cooperation with President Lincoln in his policy of employing colored
troops, and his order commanding his soldiers to treat such troops with
due respect. In this way he proved himself to be not only a wise
general, but a great man.
--Frederick Douglass
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass>
Bodashtart was a Phoenician ruler who reigned as King of Sidon
(c. 525 – c. 515 BC). He was a prolific builder, and his name is
attested on some 30 inscriptions near Sidon, Lebanon, the major source
of information on him. The earliest to be discovered was excavated in
Sidon in 1858 and was donated to the Louvre. Podium inscriptions
(example pictured) at the Temple of Eshmun were discovered between 1900
and 1922; some credit him with construction in the temple, while others
connect him and his son Yatonmilk with work there, emphasizing
Yatonmilk's legitimacy as heir. The most recently-discovered inscription
as of 2020 was found in the 1970s on the bank of the Bostrenos River,
crediting the king with the building of water canals to supply the
temple. Three of his Eshmun temple inscriptions have been left in place;
the others are housed in museums in Paris, Istanbul, and Beirut. He is
believed to have reigned for at least seven years, as evidenced by the
Bostrenos River bank inscription.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodashtart>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
U.S. Army soldiers cornered and fatally shot John Wilkes Booth,
the assassin of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, ending a twelve-day
manhunt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkes_Booth>
1933:
The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany,
was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo>
1989:
An editorial was published in the People's Daily denouncing the
growing unrest in Tiananmen Square in Beijing which would remain
contentious through the remainder of the protests.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_26_Editorial>
1994:
Just before landing at Nagoya Airport, Japan, the copilot of
China Airlines Flight 140 inadvertently triggered the takeoff/go-around
switch, causing the aircraft to crash and killing 264 of the 271 people
on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_140>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
prozymite:
(Roman Catholicism, historical, derogatory) One who administers the
Eucharist with leavened bread, in particular a member of the Eastern
Orthodox Church.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prozymite>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If mind is common to us, then also the reason, whereby we are
reasoning beings, is common. If this be so, then also the reason which
enjoins what is to be done or left undone is common. If this be so, law
also is common; if this be so, we are citizens; if this be so, we are
partakers in one constitution; if this be so, the Universe is a kind of
Commonwealth.
--Marcus Aurelius
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius>