Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) was a German-born French composer,
cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of
the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann.
Beginning as a cellist and conductor, Offenbach first wrote small-scale
one-act pieces, limited by theatrical licensing laws. These eased by
1858 when he premiered his first full-length operetta, Orphée aux
enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld). La belle Hélène (1864) and other
successes followed. The risqué humour (often about sexual intrigue) and
gentle satire in these pieces, together with Offenbach's facility for
melody, made them internationally known, and he was a powerful influence
on later operetta and musical theatre composers. His best-known works
were continually revived during the 20th century, and many of his
operettas continue to be staged in the 21st century. The Tales of
Hoffmann remains part of the standard opera repertory.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Offenbach>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1870:
Following the transfer of Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay
Company, Manitoba was established as a province of Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoba>
1943:
The all-female Emilia Plater Independent Women's Battalion was
formed in the Soviet Union's First Polish Army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_Plater_Independent_Women%27s_Battalion>
2009:
Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 crashed in northwestern Iran,
killing all 168 people aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Airlines_Flight_7908>
2012:
South Korean rapper Psy released his hit single "Gangnam
Style".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangnam_Style>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cisalpine:
1. On this side of the Alps (chiefly the south side where Rome is
located).
2. Alternative letter-case form of Cisalpine (“of or pertaining to
Gallicanism (“the doctrine that the church of France is autonomous,
especially in relation to the pope”); of or pertaining to cisalpinism
(“a movement in 18th–19th century Britain among Roman Catholics which
took the view that allegiance to the Crown was compatible with
allegiance to the pope, and that Roman Catholics should be emancipated
from various legal restrictions”)”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cisalpine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The choice we make in this election will shape the future of
America and the world for decades to come. I believe that with all my
soul. I know that millions of my fellow Americans believe it as well.
And some have a different view as to the direction our country should
take. Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy. It is part of
human nature. Politics must never be a killing field. I believe politics
ought to be an arena for peaceful debate, to pursue justice, to make
decisions guided by the Declaration of Independence and our
constitution. We stand for an America not of extremism and fury, but of
decency and grace. All of us now face a time of testing as the election
approaches. The higher the stakes, the more fervent the passion becomes.
This places an added burden on each of us to ensure no matter how strong
our convictions, we must never descend into violence.
--Joe Biden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden>
The UEFA Euro 2004 final was the final match of Euro 2004, the 12th
European Championship, organised by UEFA for the senior men's national
association football teams of its member associations. The match was
played at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, and contested by
Portugal and Greece. The two defences ensured that goal-scoring
opportunities were limited, and the score was 0–0 at half-time. Greece
scored the only goal of the match after 57 minutes when Angelos Basinas
took a corner kick to Angelos Charisteas, who sent a header past
goalkeeper Ricardo. Several pundits labelled Greece's tournament win the
greatest upset in the history of the European Championship, with their
pre-tournament bookmakers' odds at 150–1. Greece subsequently failed
to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and did not successfully defend
their European Championship in 2008. Portugal eventually won the
European Championship in 2016.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2004_final>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1874:
A fire destroyed 812 structures and killed 20 people in
Chicago, leading to reforms in the city's fire-prevention and
firefighting efforts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Fire_of_1874>
1902:
An expedition led by Peruvian explorer and farmer Agustín
Lizárraga discovered the Incan city of Machu Picchu (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agust%C3%ADn_Liz%C3%A1rraga>
1950:
Korean War: North Korean troops began attacking the
headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in present-day
Daejeon, South Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taejon>
2003:
Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative was leaked to and
published by journalist Robert Novak.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plame_affair>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cataphile:
1. A type of urban explorer who visits the ancient catacombs and
quarries linked by tunnels beneath Paris, France.
2. (by extension) An individual who explores subterranean catacombs,
mines, or quarries.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cataphile>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have hoped as many hopes and dreamed so many dreams, seen them
swept aside by weather, and blown away by men, washed away in my own
mistakes, that — I use to wonder if it wouldn't be better just to haul
off and quit hoping. Just protect my own inner brain, my own mind and
heart, by drawing it up into a hard knot, and not having any more hopes
or dreams at all. Pull in my feelings, and call back all of my
sentiments — and not let any earthly event move me in either
direction, either cause me to hate, to fear, to love, to care, to take
sides, to argue the matter at all — and, yet … there are certain
good times, and pleasures that I never can forget, no matter how much I
want to, because the pleasures, and the displeasures, the good times and
the bad, are really all there is to me. And these pleasures that you
cannot ever forget are the yeast that always starts working in your mind
again, and it gets in your thoughts again, and in your eyes again, and
then, all at once, no matter what has happened to you, you are building
a brand new world again, based and built on the mistakes, the wreck, the
hard luck and trouble of the old one.
--Woody Guthrie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie>
Alan Wace (13 July 1879 – 9 November 1957) was an English
archaeologist who served as director of the British School at Athens
between 1914 and 1923. He excavated widely in Thessaly, Laconia and
Egypt, and at the Bronze Age site of Mycenae in Greece. Along with Carl
Blegen, Wace argued against the established scholarly view that Minoan
Crete had dominated mainland Greek culture during the Bronze Age. His
excavations at Mycenae in the early 1920s established a chronology for
the site's domed tombs that largely proved his theory correct. Wace
served as the Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology at the
University of Cambridge between 1934 and 1944, and ended his career at
Alexandria's Farouk I University. During both world wars, he worked for
the British intelligence services, including as a section head for MI6
during the Second World War. His daughter, Lisa French, also became an
archaeologist and excavated at Mycenae.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wace>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1831:
Wallachian officials adopted the Regulamentul Organic, which
engendered a period of reforms that provided for the westernization of
the local society.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulamentul_Organic>
1943:
World War II: Operation Fustian, an Allied operation to
capture the Primosole Bridge in Sicily, was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Fustian>
1962:
In an unprecedented reshuffle, British prime minister Harold
Macmillan dismissed seven members of his cabinet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives_%281962%29>
1992:
Croatian War of Independence: The Croatian Army concluded
Operation Tiger, advancing 17 kilometres (11 miles) into the Dubrovnik
hinterland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tiger_%281992%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enby:
1. (neologism, informal) Pronunciation spelling of NB: a non-binary
person; a person whose gender identity is not strictly female or male;
one who is outside of the gender binary.
2. (neologism, informal) Pronunciation spelling of NB: non-binary;
having or pertaining to a gender identity that is not strictly female or
male, that is, outside of the gender binary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enby>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We have no idea where we are going, and sweeping, confident
articles on the future seem to me, intellectually, the most disreputable
of all forms of public utterance.
--Kenneth Clark
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clark>
Hypericum sechmenii (Seçmen's St John's wort) is a rare species of
flowering plant in the St John's wort family that is found in
Eskişehir Province in central Turkey. It was first described and
assigned to the genus Hypericum in 2009, and was later placed into the
section Adenosepalum. H. sechmenii is a perennial herb that grows 3 to
6 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) tall and blooms in June and July. The
stems of the plant are smooth and hairless, while the leaves are
leathery and lack leafstalks. Its flowers are arranged in corymbs, and
each has five bright yellow petals. Similar species are H. huber-
morathii, H. minutum, and H. thymopsis. Found among limestone rocks,
H. sechmenii has an estimated distribution of less than 10 square
kilometers (4 square miles), with fewer than 250 surviving plants.
Despite containing druse crystals and toxic chemicals that may deter
herbivory, the species is threatened by overgrazing, as well as climate
change and habitat loss.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_sechmenii>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1488:
Choe Bu, an official of the Joseon dynasty, returned to Korea
after months of shipwrecked travel in China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choe_Bu>
1801:
French Revolutionary Wars: A squadron of British ships of the
line defeated a larger squadron of Spanish and French vessels in the
Strait of Gibraltar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Algeciras>
1948:
Arab–Israeli War: Israel Defense Forces officer Yitzhak Rabin
signed an order to expel Palestinians from the towns of Lydda and Ramle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Palestinian_expulsion_from_Lydda_and_Ram…>
1962:
The English rock band the Rolling Stones played their first
concert, at the Marquee Club in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
public:
1. (countable, uncountable) Chiefly preceded by the: members of the
community or the people in general, regardless of membership of any
particular group.
2. (countable)
3. Preceded by a possessive determiner such as my, your, or their: a
group of people who support a particular person, especially a performer,
a writer, etc.; an audience, a following.
4. (informal) Short for public house (“an inn, a pub”); also (dated), in
full public bar: the more basic bar in a public house, as contrasted
with the lounge bar or saloon bar which has more comfortable seats,
personalized service, etc.
5. (often public relations) Often preceded by the and a qualifying word:
a particular demographic or group of people, or segment of the
population, sharing some common characteristic.
6. (sociology) A group of people sharing some common cultural,
political, or social interest, but not necessarily having any
interactions with each other.
7. (obsolete)
8. Chiefly preceded by the: a collective body of a politically organized
nation or state; a body politic, a nation, a state; also, the interest
or well-being of such a collective body; the common good.
9. (US, university slang) At Harvard University: a penalty imposed on a
student involving a grade reduction which is communicated to the
student's parents or guardian.
10. (uncountable) Chiefly in in public: the presence of spectators or
people generally; the open. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/public>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
War is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and
the infliction of death. It represents the total failure of the human
spirit.
--Robert Fisk
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Fisk>
Still Reigning is a live performance DVD by the thrash metal band
Slayer, released in 2004 through American Recordings. Filmed at the
Augusta Civic Center on July 11, 2004, the performance showcases Reign
in Blood (1986), Slayer's third studio album and its first to enter the
Billboard 200. The album was played in its entirety with the four
original band members on a set resembling their 1986 Reign in Pain Tour.
Still Reigning was voted "best live DVD" by the readers of Revolver
magazine, and received gold certification in 2005. In the finale, the
band is covered in stage blood while performing the song "Raining
Blood", leading to a demanding audio mixing process plagued by
production and technical difficulties. The DVD's producer Kevin Shirley
spent hours replacing cymbal and drum hits one-by-one. Later, Shirley
publicly aired his financial disagreements with the band and criticized
the quality of the recording.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_Reigning>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
British soldier Frederick John White died after a flogging,
leading to a campaign to end the practice in the British Army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Frederick_John_White>
1864 :
A riot broke out in Leicester, England, at the failed
launching of a hot air balloon (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicester_balloon_riot>
1928:
Ukrainian archaeologist Ivan Borkovský discovered a medieval
skeleton at Prague Castle; competing factions claimed the skeleton as
Germanic or Slavic in origin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Castle_skeleton>
1936:
New York City's Triborough Bridge, the "biggest traffic machine
ever built", opened to traffic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy_Bridge>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
yessum:
1. (US, dialectal, dated) Used to express agreement with a woman (and,
somewhat less commonly, a man): yes, ma'am.
2. (Australia) Alternative form of yes.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yessum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle
of the ring and laugh at the folks.
--Harper Lee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harper_Lee>
DeLancey W. Gill (1859–1940) was an American drafter, landscape
painter, and photographer. As a teenager, he moved in with an aunt in
Washington, D.C., after his mother and stepfather traveled west. He
eventually found himself employed as an architectural draftsman for the
Treasury. He created sketches and watercolor paintings of the city, with
a particular focus on the still-undeveloped rural and poorer areas of
the district. While working as an illustrator for the Smithsonian's
Bureau of American Ethnology in the 1890s, he was appointed as the
agency's photographer without prior photographic training. He took
portrait photographs that circulated widely of thousands of Native
American delegates to Washington, including notable figures such as
Chief Joseph and Geronimo. These photographs have come under modern
criticism for his frequent use of props and clothing, sometimes outdated
or inauthentic, given to the delegates.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLancey_W._Gill>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1942:
An American naval aviator discovered a downed Japanese
Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island, Alaska, which was later rebuilt
and flown to devise tactics against the aircraft during World War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akutan_Zero>
1966:
Martin Luther King Jr. led a rally in support of the Chicago
Freedom Movement, one of the most ambitious civil-rights campaigns in
the northern United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Freedom_Movement>
1999:
The United States defeated China in the final match of the
third FIFA Women's World Cup, setting records in both attendance and
television ratings for women's sports.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_FIFA_Women%27s_World_Cup>
2006:
Typhoon Ewiniar made landfall in South Korea, causing damages
across the country amounting to 2.06 trillion won (US$1.4 billion).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Ewiniar_%282006%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pet shop:
A shop that sells animals kept as domestic pets, and products for caring
for and feeding them.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pet_shop>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Even in the most insignificant details of our daily life, none of
us can be said to constitute a material whole, which is identical for
everyone, and need only be turned up like a page in an account-book or
the record of a will; our social personality is created by the thoughts
of other people. Even the simple act which we describe as "seeing some
one we know" is, to some extent, an intellectual process. We pack the
physical outline of the creature we see with all the ideas we have
already formed about him, and in the complete picture of him which we
compose in our minds those ideas have certainly the principal place. In
the end they come to fill out so completely the curve of his cheeks, to
follow so exactly the line of his nose, they blend so harmoniously in
the sound of his voice that these seem to be no more than a transparent
envelope, so that each time we see the face or hear the voice it is our
own ideas of him which we recognise and to which we listen.
--Marcel Proust
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcel_Proust>
The oceanic whitetip shark is a large requiem shark inhabiting tropical
and warm temperate seas. It has a stocky body with long, white-tipped,
rounded fins. The species is typically solitary but can congregate
around food concentrations. It is found worldwide between 45°N and
43°S latitudes in deep, open oceans. Bony fish and cephalopods are the
main components of its diet. Females give live birth after a gestation
period of nine to twelve months. Though slow-moving, it is
opportunistic, aggressive, and reputed to be dangerous to shipwreck
survivors. The shark was once extremely common and widely distributed;
up to the 16th century, mariners noted that this species was the most
common ship-following shark. The species has now been listed as
critically endangered, and recent studies show steeply declining
populations worldwide as the sharks are harvested for their fins and
meat, like many other shark species.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_whitetip_shark>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1877:
The inaugural Wimbledon Championship, the world's oldest tennis
tournament, began in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Wimbledon_Championship>
1896:
Politician William Jennings Bryan made his Cross of Gold speech
advocating bimetallism, considered one of the greatest political
speeches in American history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Gold_speech>
1958:
An earthquake struck Lituya Bay, Alaska; the subsequent
megatsunami, the largest in modern times, reached an elevation of
1,720 ft (524 m).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Lituya_Bay_earthquake_and_megatsunami>
1962:
In a seminal moment for pop art, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup
Cans exhibition opened at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell%27s_Soup_Cans>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
berth:
1. (nautical) Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for
a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in
the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.
2. (by extension) A place for a vessel to lie at anchor or to moor.
3. (by extension) A room in a vessel in which the officers or company
mess (“eat together”) and reside; also, a room or other place in a
vessel for storage.
4. (by extension) A place on a vessel to sleep, especially a bed on the
side of a cabin.
5. (by extension) A job or position on a vessel.
6. (by extension)
7. An assigned place for a person in (chiefly historical) a horse-drawn
coach or other means of transportation, or (military) in a barracks.
8. A bunk or other bed for sleeping on in a caravan, a train, etc.
9. (road transport) A place for a vehicle on land to park.
10. (figurative)
11. An appointment, job, or position, especially one regarded as
comfortable or good.
12. Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space for manoeuvring or safety.
13. (chiefly nautical, slang) A proper place for a thing.
14. (sports)
15. A position or seed in a tournament bracket.
16. A position on a field of play.
17. (transitive)
18. (nautical) To bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth (noun
sense 1.1); also, to provide a berth for (a vessel).
19. (specifically, astronautics) To use a device to bring (a spacecraft)
into its berth or dock.
20. (by extension, chiefly passive voice) To assign (someone) a berth
(noun sense 1.3 or sense 2.2) or place to sleep on a vessel, a train,
etc.
21. (figurative) To provide (someone) with a berth (noun sense 3.3) or
appointment, job, or position.
22. (intransitive)
23. (reflexive, nautical) Of a vessel: to move into a berth.
24. (by extension) Of a person: to occupy a berth. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/berth>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Any artist will tell you he's really only interested in the stuff
he's doing now. He will, always. It's true, and it should be like that.
--David Hockney
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Hockney>
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul
Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. Set in a
crime-ridden Detroit in the near future, it centers on police officer
Alex Murphy, played by Peter Weller (pictured), who is murdered by a
gang of criminals and revived by the megacorporation Omni Consumer
Products as a cyborg. The director emphasized violence throughout the
film, making it so outlandish that it became comical. RoboCop was a
financial success upon its release in July 1987, earning
$53.4 million. Reviewers praised it as a clever action film with deeper
philosophical messages and satire, but were conflicted about the
violence. The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing. RoboCop
has been critically reevaluated since its release and hailed as one of
the best films of the 1980s for its depiction of a cyborg coming to
terms with the lingering fragments of its humanity.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoboCop>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1874:
Members of the North-West Mounted Police at Fort Dufferin began
their March West, their first journey to the Canadian Prairies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_West>
1947:
Following reports of the capture of a "flying disc" by U.S.
Army Air Forces personnel near Roswell, New Mexico, the military stated
that the crashed object was a conventional weather balloon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_incident>
1966:
King Mwambutsa IV of Burundi was deposed in a coup d'état by
his son, Prince Charles Ndizi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mwambutsa_IV_of_Burundi>
2014:
German citizen Lars Mittank disappeared from Varna Airport,
Bulgaria; his last known movements were widely watched on YouTube.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Lars_Mittank>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
outlandish:
1. (archaic) Of or from a foreign country; not indigenous or native;
alien, foreign.
2. (by extension)
3. Appearing to be foreign; strange, unfamiliar.
4. Greatly different from common experience; bizarre, outrageous,
strange. [from late 16th c.]
5. (derogatory) Of a place: far away from where most people are located;
in the middle of nowhere, out of the way, remote.
6. (obsolete) A foreign language.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/outlandish>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
People must help one another; it is nature's law.
--Jean de La Fontaine
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_de_La_Fontaine>
Tales of Monkey Island is a graphic adventure video game developed by
Telltale Games under license from LucasArts. It is the fifth game in the
Monkey Island series, released a decade after the previous installment.
The game was released in five episodic segments between July and
December 2009. Players assume the role of Guybrush Threepwood, who
accidentally releases a voodoo pox and seeks a cure. The game was
conceived in late 2008 following renewed interest in adventure game
development within LucasArts. Production began in early 2009, led by
Dave Grossman (pictured). The game received generally positive reviews,
with praise for its story, writing, humor, voice acting and
characterization. Complaints focused on the quality of the game's puzzle
design, a weak supporting cast in the early chapters, and the game's
control system. Tales of Monkey Island garnered several industry awards
and was Telltale's most commercially successful project until Back to
the Future: The Game.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Monkey_Island>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1798:
Outraged by the XYZ Affair, the United States rescinded its
treaties with France, resulting in the undeclared Quasi-War, fought
entirely at sea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-War>
1907:
Inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris, American impresario
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. staged the first of his Ziegfeld Follies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florenz_Ziegfeld_Jr.>
1963:
The secret police of Ngô Đình Nhu, brother and chief
political adviser of South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm,
attacked a group of American journalists who were covering a protest
during the Buddhist crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Seven_Day_scuffle>
1991:
Yugoslav Wars: The signing of the Brioni Agreement ended the
Ten-Day War between SFR Yugoslavia and Slovenia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brioni_Agreement>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cahoots:
(originally US) Collaboration or collusion, chiefly for a nefarious
reason. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cahoots>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not
bother trying to say it in music.
--Gustav Mahler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler>
"Wildest Dreams" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor
Swift (pictured); it is the fifth single from her fifth studio album,
1989 (2014). Described by critics as synth-pop, dream pop, and
electropop, the song was written by Swift and its producers Max Martin
and Shellback. The lyrics feature Swift pleading with a lover to
remember her even after their relationship ends. Retrospectively,
critics have described "Wildest Dreams" as one of Swift's most memorable
songs. The single peaked within the top five on charts in Australia,
Canada, Poland, South Africa, and also the United States, where it
became 1989's fifth consecutive top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100.
The track was certified four-times platinum. The music video depicts
Swift as a classical Hollywood actress who falls in love with her co-
star; media publications praised the production as cinematic but accused
the video of glorifying colonialism. (This article is part of a
featured topic: 1989 (album).).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/1989_%28album%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
American Revolutionary War: American troops at Fort Ticonderoga
in New York completed a retreat from advancing British forces, causing
an uproar among the American public.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_Ticonderoga_%281777%29>
1809:
Napoleon's French forces defeated Archduke Charles' Austrian
army at the Battle of Wagram, the decisive confrontation of the War of
the Fifth Coalition.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wagram>
1936:
A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England
sent millions of gallons of water cascading 300 feet (90 m) into the
River Irwell.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Bolton_%26_Bury_Canal>
2009:
Jadranka Kosor became the first female prime minister of
Croatia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadranka_Kosor>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
termagant:
1. (archaic) Having the temperament of a termagant (noun sense 1); bad-
tempered, brawling, boisterous, turbulent. [...]
2. (archaic) A brawling, boisterous, and turbulent person or thing.
[...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/termagant>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal
and a return of politics to public service … we can make a start today
with the simple acknowledgement that public service is a privilege and
that your government should treat every single person in this country
with respect. If you voted Labour yesterday, we will carry the
responsibility of your trust as we rebuild our country. But whether you
voted Labour or not — in fact, especially if you did not — I say to
you directly, my government will serve you. Politics can be a force for
good. We will show that.
--Keir Starmer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Keir_Starmer>