The early history of the kingdoms of Gowa and Talloq can be traced back
to 1300, when the Makassar kingdom of Gowa emerged as an agrarian
chiefdom in the Indonesian peninsula of South Sulawesi. Talloq was
founded two centuries later when a prince from Gowa fled to the coast
after his defeat in a succession dispute. The coastal location of the
new polity allowed it to exploit maritime trade to a greater degree than
Gowa. The growth of early Gowa was supported by a rapid increase in wet
rice cultivation. Verdant forests were cleared to make way for rice
paddies. The population may have increased tenfold between the
thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Gowa and Talloq became close allies
in the sixteenth century and dominated most of the peninsula, following
wide-ranging administrative and military reforms. Around 1600 the twin
kingdoms converted to Islam, defeated their rivals and became the most
important powers in eastern Indonesia, with Fort Somba Opu (pictured) as
one of their centers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_history_of_Gowa_and_Talloq>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1822:
USS Alligator engaged three pirate schooners off the coast of
Cuba in one of the West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_9_November_1822>
1888:
Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in London; she was widely believed
to be the fifth and final victim of the notorious unidentified serial
killer Jack the Ripper.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jane_Kelly>
1913:
The "Big Blow" storm reached its maximum intensity in the Great
Lakes Basin of North America, destroying 19 ships and 68,300 tons of
cargo, and killing more than 250 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Storm_of_1913>
1967:
French comic book heroes Valérian and Laureline first appeared
in Pilote magazine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val%C3%A9rian_and_Laureline>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
trounce:
1. (transitive) To beat severely; to thrash.
2. (transitive) To beat thoroughly, to defeat heavily; especially
(games, sports) to win against (someone) by a wide margin.
3. (transitive) To chastise or punish physically or verbally; to scold
with abusive language.
4. (transitive, Britain, regional) To punish by bringing a lawsuit
against; to sue. [...]
5. (intransitive, Britain, dialectal) To walk heavily or with some
difficulty; to tramp, to trudge.
6. (intransitive, Britain, dialectal) To pass across or over; to
traverse.
7. (intransitive) To travel quickly over a long distance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trounce>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are star stuff, which has taken its destiny into its own
hands. The loom of time and space works the most astonishing
transformations of matter. Our own planet is only a tiny part of the
vast cosmic tapestry, a starry fabric of worlds yet untold. Those worlds
in space are as countless as all the grains of sand on all the beaches
of the earth. Each of those worlds is as real as ours. In every one of
them there’s a succession of incidents, events, occurrences, which
influence its future. Countless worlds, numberless moments, an immensity
of space and time, and our small planet at this moment — here we face
a critical branch point in history. What we do with our world, right now
will propagate down through the centuries and powerfully affect the
destiny of our descendants. It is well within our power to destroy our
civilization and perhaps our species as well. If we capitulate a
superstition or greed or stupidity, we can plunge our world into a
darkness deeper than the time between the collapse of classical
civilization and the Italian Renaissance. But we are also capable of
using our compassion and our intelligence, our technology and our
wealth, to make an abundant and meaningful life for every inhabitant of
this planet, to enhance enormously our understanding of the universe and
to carry us to the stars.
--Carl Sagan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan>
The letter-winged kite (Elanus scriptus) is a small, rare bird of prey
that is found only in Australia. Measuring around 35 cm (14 in) in
length with a wingspan of 84–100 cm (33–39 in), the adult has
predominantly pale grey and white plumage and prominent black rings
around its red eyes. It gains its name from a distinctive black "M" or
"W" shape on the underwing, seen when in flight. This marking
distinguishes it from the otherwise similar black-shouldered kite. The
species begins breeding rapidly in response to rodent outbreaks, with
pairs nesting in loose colonies of up to 50 birds each. Three to four
eggs are laid and incubated for around 30 days, though the eggs may be
abandoned if the food source disappears. Chicks are fledged within five
weeks of hatching. Roosting in well-foliaged trees during the day, the
letter-winged kite hunts for rodents mostly at night, hovering in midair
above grasslands and fields.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter-winged_kite>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1861:
American Civil War: The USS San Jacinto stopped the British
mailship RMS Trent and arrested two Confederate envoys en route to
Europe, sparking a major diplomatic crisis between the United Kingdom
and the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Affair>
1939:
Georg Elser unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Adolf
Hitler with a time bomb, but killed eight people and injured more than
sixty-two others instead.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Elser>
1974:
British peer Lord Lucan disappeared without a trace, a day
after allegedly murdering his children's nanny Sandra Rivett.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bingham,_7th_Earl_of_Lucan>
2006:
Israeli artillery mistakenly shelled a row of houses in the
Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, killing 19 Palestinians and wounding
more than 40 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_shelling_of_Beit_Hanoun>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mentalese:
(philosophy, psychology) A hypothetical non-verbal language in which
concepts are represented in the mind.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mentalese>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is sooth that sin is cause of all this pain; but all shall be
well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
These words were said full tenderly, showing no manner of blame to me
nor to any that shall be saved. Then were it a great unkindness to blame
or wonder on God for my sin, since He blameth not me for sin. And in
these words I saw a marvellous high mystery hid in God, which mystery He
shall openly make known to us in Heaven: in which knowing we shall
verily see the cause why He suffered sin to come. In which sight we
shall endlessly joy in our Lord God.
--Julian of Norwich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich>
The Second Fitna was a civil war in the Islamic community that began
with the death of Mu'awiya I in 680. The first Umayyad caliph, he had
become the sole ruler of the caliphate at the end of the First Fitna in
661, when Ali was assassinated and Ali's successor abdicated. After
Mu'awiya's death one of Ali's sons, Husayn ibn Ali, was invited to
overthrow the Umayyads but was killed with his small company at the
Battle of Karbala. His supporters continued the fight but were crushed
by the Umayyads at the Battle of Ayn al-Warda in 685. A second challenge
by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was initially successful, as most provinces
recognized him as caliph. Under the leadership of Abd al-Malik ibn
Marwan (depiction shown), the Umayyads reasserted control over the
caliphate after defeating Ibn al-Zubayr's forces at the Battle of Maskin
and killing him in the Siege of Mecca in 692. The events of the Second
Fitna intensified sectarian tendencies in Islam, leading to what would
become the Sunni and Shi'a sects.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Fitna>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1885:
Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first
transcontinental railroad across Canada, concluded with the driving of
the "last spike" in Craigellachie, British Columbia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Spike_%28Canadian_Pacific_Railway%29>
1916:
In the congressional elections, Jeannette Rankin became the
first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette_Rankin>
1949:
Oil was discovered in the Caspian Sea off the coast of
Azerbaijan, leading to the construction of Neft Daşları, the world's
first offshore oil platform.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neft_Da%C5%9Flar%C4%B1>
1987:
Singapore's first Mass Rapid Transit line was opened (train
pictured), beginning with train services between Yio Chu Kang and Toa
Payoh stations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Rapid_Transit_%28Singapore%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
where there is a will there is a way:
If someone wants or wills something strongly enough, a way can be found
to make it happen.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/where_there_is_a_will_there_is_a_way>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
This heart within me I can feel, and I judge that it exists. This
world I can touch, and I likewise judge that it exists. There ends all
my knowledge, and the rest is construction. For if I try to seize this
self of which I feel sure, if I try to define and to summarize it, it is
nothing but water slipping through my fingers. I can sketch one by one
all the aspects it is able to assume, all those likewise that have been
attributed to it, this upbringing, this origin, this ardor or these
silences, this nobility or this vileness. But aspects cannot be added
up. This very heart which is mine will forever remain indefinable to me.
Between the certainty I have of my existence and the content I try to
give to that assurance, the gap will never be filled. Forever I shall be
a stranger to myself.
--Albert Camus
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Camus>
The relationships between digital media use and mental health have been
investigated since the mid-1990s, but the delineation between beneficial
and pathological use of digital media has not been established, and
there are no widely accepted diagnostic criteria. Some experts consider
overuse a manifestation of underlying psychiatric disorders, but
moderate digital media use has been found beneficial to mental health.
Digital addictions and dependencies have also been widely studied. The
links between digital media use and mental health outcomes appear to
depend on the individuals and the platforms they use. The eleventh
revision of the International Classification of Diseases includes a
gaming disorder diagnosis (commonly known as video game addiction), but
neither it nor the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, Fifth Edition includes diagnoses for problematic internet use
or problematic social media use.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_media_use_and_mental_health>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1856:
Scenes of Clerical Life, the first work by English author
George Eliot (portrait shown), was submitted for publication.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenes_of_Clerical_Life>
1869:
In the first official American football game, Rutgers College
defeated the College of New Jersey 6–4 in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1869_New_Jersey_vs._Rutgers_football_game>
1939:
As part of their plan to eradicate the Polish intellectual
elite, the Gestapo arrested 184 professors, students and employees of
the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderaktion_Krakau>
1944:
The B Reactor at the Hanford Site in the U.S. state of
Washington produced its first plutonium, with the facility later going
on to create more for almost the entire American nuclear arsenal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Hansard:
1. (historical, also attributively) A member of a Hanse (“merchant
guild”), or a resident of a Hanse town. […]
2. (chiefly Britain, Commonwealth of Nations) The official report of
debates and other proceedings in the British and some Commonwealth
parliaments.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hansard>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'm an American, and always will be. I happen to love that big,
awkward, sprawling country very much — and its big, awkward, sprawling
people. Anyway, I don't like politics; and I don't make "political
gestures" … I don't even believe in politics. To me, politics is like
one of those annoying, and potentially dangerous (but generally just
painful) chronic diseases that you just have to put up with in your life
if you happen to have contracted it. Politics is like having diabetes.
It's a science, a catch-as-catch-can science, which has grown up out of
simple animal necessity more than anything else. If I were twice as big
as I am, and twice as physically strong, I think I'd be a total
anarchist.
--James Jones
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Jones>
Guy Fawkes (1570–1606) was one of a group of English Catholics who
planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which is commemorated in
Britain every 5 November as Guy Fawkes Night. He converted to
Catholicism and fought for Spain in the Eighty Years' War against
Protestant Dutch reformers in the Low Countries. In Spain he sought
support for a Catholic rebellion in England, but the court of
Philip III was unwilling to help him. He later met Thomas Wintour,
returned to England, and was introduced to Robert Catesby, who planned
to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the
throne. The plotters leased an undercroft beneath the House of Lords in
Westminster Palace, and Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder
that they stockpiled there. The authorities found Fawkes guarding the
explosives. He was arrested and died after falling from the scaffold
where he was to be hanged. (This article is part of a featured topic:
Gunpowder Plot.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Gunpowder_Plot>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1828:
Greek War of Independence: The French Morea expedition
(memorial pictured) to recapture Morea (now known as the Peloponnese)
ended when the last Ottoman forces departed the peninsula.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morea_expedition>
1943:
World War II: An unknown aircraft dropped four bombs on Vatican
City, which maintained neutrality during the war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_the_Vatican>
1967:
A train derailed near Hither Green maintenance depot in London,
killing 49 people and injuring 78 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hither_Green_rail_crash>
2009:
U.S. Army major Nidal Hasan went on a shooting rampage at Fort
Hood, Texas, the worst shooting ever to take place on an American
military base, killing 13.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Fort_Hood_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
swole:
1. (chiefly African American Vernacular, slang) Having large, well-
developed muscles; muscular.
2. (slang) Of the penis: erect; of a person: with an erection of the
penis; aroused, hard.
3. (slang) Followed by up: upset; experiencing strong negative emotion.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/swole>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Americans who know nothing else about firearms are all too
familiar with the name AR-15. It’s the semi-automatic weapon that
murderers have used in many of the most notorious and highest-casualty
gun killings of recent years: Aurora, Colorado. Newtown, Connecticut.
Orlando, Florida. San Bernardino, California. Now, with modified
versions, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Sutherland Springs, Texas … A
little bullet pays off so much in wound ballistics. That is what people
who choose these weapons know.
--James Fallows
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Fallows>
Cretoxyrhina is an extinct genus of the order Lamniformes of mackerel
sharks. Living in subtropical and temperate oceans worldwide about 107
to 73 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous, Cretoxyrhina was
one of the largest sharks of its time, 8 meters (26 ft) in length, and
also among the fastest, with estimated burst speeds of up to 70 km/h
(43 mph). It was an apex predator, preying on sharks and other large
fish, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, and occasionally dinosaurs.
Thanks to numerous discoveries of exceptionally well-preserved skeletons
during the 19th and 20th centuries, the type species, C. mantelli, is
one of the best-understood extinct sharks. These fossils show that it
may have had a lifespan of up to forty years and a general build similar
to the modern great white shark, but with facial and optical features
similar to those of thresher sharks and crocodile sharks. Its ability to
function in cold water was probably enhanced by regional endothermy.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretoxyrhina>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
Northwest Indian War: In the most severe defeat ever suffered
by U.S. forces at the hands of Native Americans, the Western Confederacy
won a major victory at the Battle of the Wabash near present-day Fort
Recovery in Ohio.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Clair%27s_defeat>
1912:
The keel of USS Nevada was laid down, beginning construction
on the first "super-dreadnought" of the United States Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_%28BB-36%29>
1964:
Ayatollah Khomeini was arrested by SAVAK and secretly exiled to
Turkey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhollah_Khomeini%27s_life_in_exile>
1995:
Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by
ultranationalist Yigal Amir while at a peace rally at Kings of Israel
Square in Tel Aviv.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Yitzhak_Rabin>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
othering:
(philosophy, politics) gerund of other: the process of perceiving or
portraying someone or something as essentially alien or different.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/othering>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.
--Will Rogers
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Will_Rogers>
Parinda (Bird) is an Indian crime drama film produced and directed by
Vidhu Vinod Chopra (pictured), and released on 3 November 1989. In the
film, Kishan (Jackie Shroff), who works for the underworld don Anna Seth
(Nana Patekar), faces off against his brother Karan (Anil Kapoor) in
gang warfare after Karan decides to avenge his friend's death. The
script was co-written by Chopra, Shiv Kumar Subramaniam and Imtiyaz
Husain. R. D. Burman composed the music and Khurshid Hallauri wrote the
lyrics. Parinda received critical acclaim when released, and is
considered by several critics and scholars to be the turning point in
the introduction of realism in Hindi cinema. It won two National Film
Awards and five Filmfare Awards, and was India's official selection for
the 1990 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, although it was
not nominated. In 2015, Chopra remade Parinda as a Hollywood film titled
Broken Horses starring Vincent D'Onofrio, Anton Yelchin and Chris
Marquette.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parinda>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1898:
After several months of military stalemate between French and
British forces in Fashoda (now in South Sudan), the French withdrew,
ending the Fashoda Incident.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashoda_Incident>
1935:
Almost 98 percent of reported votes in a Greek referendum
supported the restoration of George II as King of the Hellenes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_II_of_Greece>
1956:
Suez Crisis: During an invasion of the Gaza Strip, Israeli
soldiers shot dead hundreds of Palestinian refugees and local
inhabitants in Khan Yunis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Yunis_massacre>
1969:
U.S. president Richard Nixon made a plea for support from the
"silent majority", referring to those Americans who did not join in the
large demonstrations against the Vietnam War at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_majority>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
attainable:
Able to be accomplished, achieved, or obtained.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/attainable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In part by their apathy, in part by their passivity, and in part
actively, these masses of people make possible the catastrophes under
which they themselves suffer more than anybody else. To stress this
guilt on the part of masses of people, to hold them solely responsible,
means to take them seriously. On the other hand, to commiserate masses
of people as victims, means to treat them as small, helpless children.
The former is the attitude held by genuine freedom-fighters; the latter
the attitude held by the power-thirsty politicians.
--Wilhelm Reich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich>
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft have flown in
Australian service since 1984. In 1981, 75 "A" and "B" variants of the
F/A-18 were purchased for the Royal Australian Air Force to replace
Dassault Mirage III fighters. Hornets were part of the Australian
contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, flying patrols and close air
support sorties to assist coalition ground forces. They provided
security for the American air base at Diego Garcia in late 2001 and
early 2002, in addition to their domestic protection duties. Between
2015 and 2017 Hornets were deployed to the Middle East and struck
Islamic State targets as part of Operation Okra. Hornets are now at risk
of being outclassed by other fighters and air-defence systems, and will
leave Australian service entirely in the early 2020s. Four Hornets have
been destroyed in flying accidents, two were transferred to Canada in
2019 and several others have been retired.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F/A-18_Hornet_in_Australian…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1932:
The Australian military began a "war against emus" (soldier
with dead emu pictured), flightless native birds blamed for widespread
damage to crops in Western Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War>
1949:
The Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference ended with the
Netherlands agreeing to transfer sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies to
the United States of Indonesia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch%E2%80%93Indonesian_Round_Table_Conferen…>
1959:
American intellectual Charles Van Doren caused a national
scandal when he admitted that he had foreknowledge of the questions and
answers when he appeared on the television quiz show Twenty-One.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Van_Doren>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
amaranth:
1. (dated, poetic) An imaginary flower that does not wither.
2. Any of various herbs of the genus Amaranthus.
3. The characteristic purplish-red colour of the flowers or leaves of
these plants. amaranth colour:
4. (chemistry) A red to purple azo dye used as a biological stain, and
in some countries in cosmetics and as a food colouring.
5. (cooking) The seed of these plants, used as a cereal.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/amaranth>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The really unforgivable acts are committed by calm men in
beautiful green silk rooms, who deal death wholesale, by the shipload,
without lust, or anger, or desire, or any redeeming emotion to excuse
them but cold fear of some pretended future. But the crimes they hope to
prevent in that future are imaginary. The ones they commit in the
present — they are real.
--Lois McMaster Bujold
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lois_McMaster_Bujold>
"No Such Thing as Vampires" is the pilot episode of the American
paranormal romance television drama Moonlight. Premiering on CBS on
September 28, 2007, it was written by series creators and executive
producers Trevor Munson and Ron Koslow and directed by executive
producer Rod Holcomb. The pilot introduces Mick St. John (Alex
O'Loughlin, pictured), a private investigator and a vampire, along with
his love interest Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), his mentor Josef Kostan
(Jason Dohring), and his ex-wife Coraline Duvall (Shannyn Sossamon).
Originally titled Twilight, the project was renamed and recast when
picked up by CBS for the 2007–2008 American television season.
Although received poorly by critics, the pilot managed to finish first
for its night among total viewers and adults 18–49. Many critics
faulted the acting and writing, but some thought that the series showed
promise, and Dohring's performance was praised.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Such_Thing_as_Vampires>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1611:
The first recorded performance of Shakespeare's play The
Tempest was held at the Palace of Whitehall in London, exactly seven
years after the first certainly known performance of his tragedy
Othello, held in the same building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello>
1944:
World War II: An American F-13 Superfortress made the first
flight by an Allied aircraft over Tokyo since the Doolittle Raid in
April 1942.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_November_1944_reconnaissance_sortie_over_Ja…>
1959:
After being struck in the face with a hockey puck, Jacques
Plante played the rest of the game wearing a face mask, now mandatory
equipment for goaltenders in ice hockey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Plante>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cherub:
1. (biblical) A winged creature attending on God, described by Pseudo-
Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 5th–6th century) as the second highest
order of angels, ranked above thrones and below seraphim; similar to a
lamassu in the pre-exilic texts of the Hebrew Bible, more humanoid in
later texts.
2. An artistic depiction of such a being, typically in the form of a
winged child or a child's head with wings but no body.
3. (figuratively) A person, especially a child, seen as being
particularly angelic or innocent.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cherub>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask
that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that
you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great
Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and
break in pieces.
--Étienne de La Boétie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_de_La_Bo%C3%A9tie>
Michael Collins (born October 31, 1930) is a former astronaut and test
pilot who was the command module pilot of Apollo 11 in 1969. The first
person to perform more than one spacewalk, he is one of 24 people to
have flown to the Moon. Collins joined the U.S. Air Force after
graduating from West Point in 1952. He graduated in 1960 from the Air
Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School and was selected for NASA's
third group of astronauts in 1963. He made two spacewalks on his first
mission on Gemini 10 in 1966. During Apollo 11, he remained in orbit
around the Moon in the command module Columbia while his crewmates Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made the first crewed landing on the surface.
After retiring from NASA, Collins became Assistant Secretary of State
for Public Affairs and later director of the National Air and Space
Museum. Under his guidance, the museum opened on time and within budget
for the United States Bicentennial in 1976.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_%28astronaut%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1517:
According to some traditional accounts, Martin Luther
(depicted) posted his Ninety-five Theses onto the door of the All
Saints' Church in Wittenberg, present-day Germany, marking the beginning
of the Protestant Reformation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety-five_Theses>
1973:
Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escaped from
Mountjoy Prison in Dublin aboard a hijacked helicopter that landed in
the prison's exercise yard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountjoy_Prison_helicopter_escape>
1999:
Australian sailor Jesse Martin arrived in Melbourne, becoming
the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop, and
unassisted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Martin>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
bunny boiler:
(slang, humorous, derogatory) A person who acts (or may supposedly act)
obsessively or even dangerously towards another person with whom the
first person was previously, or wishes to be, in a relationship with.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bunny_boiler>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I assert that every man is a partialist; that nature secures him
as an instrument by self-conceit, preventing the tendencies to religion
and science; and now further assert, that, each man's genius being
nearly and affectionately explored, he is justified in his
individuality, as his nature is found to be immense; and now I add that
every man is a universalist also, and, as our earth, whilst it spins on
its own axis, spins all the time around the sun through the celestial
spaces, so the least of its rational children, the most dedicated to his
private affair, works out, though as it were under a disguise, the
universal problem. We fancy men are individuals; so are pumpkins; but
every pumpkin in the field, goes through every point of pumpkin history.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson>