Christopher Wallace (1972–1997), best known as The Notorious B.I.G.,
was an American rapper/hip hop artist. Wallace was raised in the
Brooklyn borough of New York City and began rapping when he was a
teenager. The release of Wallace's debut album Ready to Die in 1994 made
him a central figure in the East Coast hip hop scene and increased New
York's visibility in the genre at a time when West Coast artists were
more common in the mainstream. While recording his second album, Wallace
was heavily involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip hop feud
dominating the scene at the time. On March 9, 1997, Wallace was killed
by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His
double-disc set Life After Death, released 16 days later, hit No. 1 on
the U.S. album charts and was certified Diamond in 2000 (one of the few
hip hop albums to receive this certification). Wallace was noted for his
"loose, easy flow", dark semi-autobiographical lyrics and storytelling
abilities. Two more albums have been released since his death. In 2012,
The Source ranked him No. 3 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All
Time. He has certified sales of 17 million units in the United States.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notorious_B.I.G.>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
484:
Alaric II succeeded his father Euric as king of the Visigoths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaric_II>
1612:
Galileo became the first person to observe the planet Neptune,
although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune>
1879:
The Tay Rail Bridge, spanning the Firth of Tay in Scotland
between Dundee and the Wormit, collapsed during a violent storm while a
train was passing over it, killing all on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay_Bridge_disaster>
1912:
The San Francisco Municipal Railway, operator of the city's
famed cable car system (cable car pictured), opened its first line.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Municipal_Railway>
1935:
Politician Pavel Postyshev revived the New Year tree tradition
in the Soviet Union when Pravda published his letter asking for them to
be installed in schools, children's homes, Young Pioneer Palaces,
children's clubs, children's theaters, and cinema theaters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Postyshev>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
brawn:
Physical strength; muscularity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brawn>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is difficult for the matter-of-fact physicist to accept the view that
the substratum of everything is of mental character. But no one can deny
that mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience, and all
else is remote inference — inference either intuitive or deliberate.
--Arthur Stanley Eddington
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Stanley_Eddington>
Hōshō was the world's first commissioned ship to be designed and built
as an aircraft carrier, and the first aircraft carrier of the Imperial
Japanese Navy (IJN). Commissioned in 1922, the ship was used for testing
aircraft and equipment, and to evaluate operational methods and tactics.
She provided valuable lessons and experience for the IJN in early
carrier air operations. Hōshō and her aircraft participated in the
Shanghai Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the Sino-Japanese
War in 1937. During those two conflicts, her aircraft supported Imperial
Japanese Army ground operations and engaged in combat with aircraft of
the Nationalist Chinese Air Force. The small size of the ship and her
assigned airgroups (usually around 15 aircraft) limited the
effectiveness of her contributions. As a result, the carrier was placed
in reserve after her return to Japan from China and she became a
training carrier in 1939. During World War II, Hōshō participated in
the Battle of Midway in June 1942 in a secondary role. After the battle,
the carrier resumed her training role for the duration of the conflict
and survived the war with only minor damage. She was used as a
repatriation transport after the war and was scrapped in 1946.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_H%C5%8Dsh%C5%8D>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
537:
The current Hagia Sophia building in Istanbul, originally built
as a church before it later became a mosque in 1453 and then a museum in
1935, was inaugurated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia>
1918:
A public speech by famed Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski
in Poznań sparked the Greater Poland Uprising against Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacy_Jan_Paderewski>
1966:
The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the
world, was discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Swallows>
1979:
Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet troops stormed Tajbeg Palace
outside of Kabul and killed Afghan President Hafizullah Amin and his 300
elite guards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafizullah_Amin>
2007:
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was
assassinated while she was leaving a political rally of Pakistan Peoples
Party supporters at Liaquat National Bagh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Benazir_Bhutto>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hooey:
(slang) Silly talk or writing; nonsense.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hooey>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is nothing of such force as the power of a person content merely
to be himself, nothing so invincible as the power of simple honesty,
nothing so successful as the life of one who runs alone.
--Louis Bromfield
<https://en.wikiquote.org//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Bromfield>
Psilocybe aztecorum is a species of psilocybin mushroom in the
Strophariaceae family. Known only from central Mexico, the fungus grows
on decomposing woody debris, and is found in mountainous areas at
elevations of 3,200 to 4,000 m (10,500 to 13,000 ft), typically in
meadows or open, grassy forests associated with Hartweg's Pine. The
mushrooms have convex to bell-shaped caps 1.5–2 cm (0.6–0.8 in) in
diameter, set atop slender cylindrical stems that are up to 7.5 cm
(3.0 in) long. The color of the caps changes with variations in
hydration, and ranges from dark chestnut brown to straw yellow or
whitish when dry. The species was first reported by French mycologist
Roger Heim in 1956 as a variety of Psilocybe mexicana before he
officially described it under its current name a year later. Named for
its association with the Aztec people, P. aztecorum may have been one
of the sacred mushroom species, or teonanácatl ("flesh of the gods"),
reported in the codices of 16th-century Spanish chronicler Bernardino de
Sahagún. The mushrooms are still used for spiritual ceremonies by
Nahuatl Indians in the Popocatépetl region, although this traditional
usage is waning.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybe_aztecorum>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1606:
The first recorded performance of the play King Lear, a tragedy
by William Shakespeare based on the legendary King Lear of Britain, was
held.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear>
1862:
American Civil War: Confederate defenders were victorious in
the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou as the Union Army attempted to capture the
city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickasaw_Bayou>
1919:
American baseball player Babe Ruth was sold by the Boston Red
Sox to their rivals, the New York Yankees, starting the 84-year-long
Curse of the Bambino.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Bambino>
1991:
The Supreme Soviet officially dissolved itself, completing the
dissolution of the Soviet Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union>
2006:
The Hengchun earthquake struck off the southwest coast of
Taiwan, on the anniversaries of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that
devastated coastal communities across Southeast and South Asia, and of
the 2003 Bam earthquake that destroyed areas of southeastern Iran.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rebarbative:
Irritating, repellent.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rebarbative>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We’re creators by permission, by grace as it were. No one creates
alone, of and by himself. An artist is an instrument that registers
something already existent, something which belongs to the whole world,
and which, if he is an artist, he is compelled to give back to the
world.
--Henry Miller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Miller>
William the Conqueror (c. 1028 – 1087) was the first Norman King of
England. He had been Duke of Normandy since 1035, although his
illegitimate status and youth caused him difficulties and he did not
secure his hold over the duchy until about 1060. In the 1050s and early
1060s William became a contender for the English throne, then held by
his childless relative Edward the Confessor. Among other potential
claimants was the powerful English earl Harold Godwinson, who Edward
named as the next king on his deathbed in January 1066. William argued
that Edward had previously promised him the throne, and that Harold had
sworn to support William's claim. William invaded England in September
1066, defeating Harold at the Battle of Hastings, and was crowned on
Christmas Day 1066. Several unsuccessful rebellions followed, but by
1075 William's hold on England was mostly secure. William's final years
were marked by difficulties in his continental domains, troubles with
his eldest son, and threatened invasions of England by the Danes. In
1086 he ordered the compilation of the Domesday Book, listing all the
landholders in England and their holdings. He died in September 1087 on
campaign in northern France, and was buried in Caen.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1643:
Captain William Mynors of the East India Company vessel, the
Royal Mary, landed at an uninhabited island and named it Christmas
Island.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Island>
1815:
The Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest continuously
performing arts organization in the United States, premiered at King's
Chapel in Boston.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handel_and_Haydn_Society>
1926:
Emperor Taishō died of a heart attack, and was succeeded by
his son, Hirohito, who became the longest-reigning Emperor of Japan
until his death in 1989.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirohito>
1989:
Romanian Revolution: Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife
Elena were condemned to death and executed under a wide range of
charges.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C8%99escu>
2009:
Aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar_Farouk_Abdulmutallab>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wassail:
To go from house to house at Christmastime, singing carols.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wassail>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Do you hear the people sing Lost in the valley of the night? It is the
music of a people Who are climbing to the light. For the wretched of the
earth There is a flame that never dies. Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise. They will live again in freedom In the Garden of
the Lord. They will walk behind the plough-share, They will put away the
sword. The chain will be broken And all men will have their reward!
--Les Misérables
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_(musical)>
Cosima Wagner (1837–1930) was the daughter of pianist and composer
Franz Liszt, and the second wife of composer Richard Wagner. She was
previously married to the conductor Hans von Bülow. With Wagner she
founded the Bayreuth Festival as a showcase for his stage works; after
his death she directed the festival for more than 20 years, building its
repertoire to form the Bayreuth canon of ten operas and establishing it
as a major event in the world of musical theatre. She opposed theatrical
innovations and adhered closely to Wagner's original productions of his
works, an approach continued by her successors long after her retirement
in 1907. Under her influence, Bayreuth became identified with anti-
Semitism and theories of German racial and cultural superiority. This
was a defining feature of Bayreuth for decades, into the Nazi era which
closely followed her death in 1930; thus, although she is widely
perceived as the saviour of the festival, her legacy remains
controversial.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosima_Wagner>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
Six Confederate veterans of the American Civil War founded the
Ku Klux Klan, which would later become a white supremacist group.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan>
1914:
British and German soldiers interrupted the First World War to
celebrate Christmas, beginning the Christmas truce.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce>
1968:
Astronaut William Anders of the NASA Apollo 8 mission, the
first manned voyage to orbit the Moon, took the famous photograph known
as "Earthrise" (pictured), showing the Earth rising above the lunar
surface.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthrise>
1980:
Witnesses reported the first of several sightings of
unexplained lights in the sky near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest,
Suffolk, England, an incident called "Britain's Roswell".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendlesham_Forest_incident>
2008:
The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, began
attacks on several villages in Haut-Uele District, Democratic Republic
of the Congo, resulting in at least 400 deaths and numerous atrocities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Christmas_massacres>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bullshot:
1. A cocktail made from vodka and beef bouillon.
2. (neologism, video games) A phony screenshot created for promotional
purposes.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bullshot>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though
that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create
complete human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives
in a free society.
--Dana Gioia
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dana_Gioia>
New York State Route 319 was a state highway in Chenango County, New
York, in the United States. It was 5.47 miles (8.80 km) long and
connected the hamlet of Preston to the nearby city of Norwich. What
became NY 319 was originally built during the early 19th century as the
privately owned Norwich and Preston Turnpike. The state of New York
assumed ownership in the early 20th century, and the Preston–Norwich
state highway was designated as NY 319 as part of the 1930 renumbering
of state highways in New York. Maintenance of NY 319 was split between
the state and the city of Norwich, with the New York State Department of
Transportation handling the part of the route west of the city limits.
In 1962, the New York State Legislature approved a highway maintenance
swap that would transfer the state-maintained section of NY 319 to
Chenango County when a new alignment was constructed for NY 23 through
the northwestern part of the county. The project was completed in July
1984, at which time the NY 319 designation was completely removed and
Chenango County assumed maintenance of the route's former alignment west
of Norwich. The new county road was redesignated County Route 10A.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_319>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1888:
During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh
stalked his friend French painter Paul Gauguin with a razor, and then
afterwards cut off the lower part of his own left ear and gave it to a
prostitute.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh>
1957:
Ian Craig of Australia became the youngest Test cricket captain
in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Craig>
1958:
The Tokyo Tower (pictured), the tallest self-supporting steel
structure in the world at 332.5 metres (1,091 ft), opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Tower>
1972:
In one of the most famous plays in the history of American
football, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris made the
Immaculate Reception of a pass by quarterback Terry Bradshaw near the
end of a playoff game.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Reception>
1990:
About eighty-eight percent of the population in Slovenia voted
to secede from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Slovenia>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
relict:
1. Something which, or someone who, survives or remains after the loss of
others (compare relic).
2. (archaic) The surviving member of a married couple; a widow or widower.
3. (biology, ecology) A species, organism or ecosystem which was once
widespread but which is now found only in a few areas: some think the
Loch Ness monster is a relict from the age of dinosaurs.
4. (geology) A structure or other feature which has survived from a
previous age: dark rims are a relict of a primary interaction between
basalt and seawater.
5. (linguistics) A word or language which survives as an archaicism.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/relict>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Even happiness itself may become habitual. There is a habit of looking
at the bright side of things, and also of looking at the dark side.
--Samuel Smiles
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Smiles>
Blackburn Olympic F.C. was an English association football club based in
Blackburn, Lancashire, in the late 19th century. Although it was only in
existence from 1878 to 1889, it is significant in the history of
football in England as the first club from the north of the country and
the first from a working-class background to win the Football
Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup, trophy pictured).
The cup had previously been won only by teams of wealthy amateurs from
the home counties, and Olympic's victory against Old Etonians F.C. in
1883 marked a turning point in the sport's transition from a pastime for
upper-class gentlemen to a professional sport. Olympic, however, proved
unable to compete with wealthier and better-supported clubs in the
professional era. Most of Olympic's home matches took place at the
Hole-i'-th-Wall stadium, named after an adjacent public house. One
Olympic player, James Ward, was selected for the England team while
playing for the club. Six other former or future England internationals
played for Olympic, including Jack Hunter, who was the club's coach at
the time of Olympic's FA Cup win.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Olympic_F.C.>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1807:
In an effort to avoid engaging in the Napoleonic Wars, the
United States Congress passed the Embargo Act, forbidding American ships
from engaging in trade with foreign nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embargo_Act_of_1807>
1944:
World War II: US Army General Anthony McAuliffe responded to
the German ultimatum of surrender during the Battle of the Bulge with a
single word, "NUTS!"
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_McAuliffe>
1947:
The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the
Constituent Assembly.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Italy>
1997:
Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquished the disputed title of
President of Somalia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_Farrah_Aidid>
2001:
Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power
in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rebirth:
1. Reincarnation, new birth subsequent to one's first: rebirth of the soul
in a new body.
2. Revival, reinvigoration: the rebirth of feminism, the rebirth of the
Handelian oratorio.
3. Spiritual renewal: rebirth in Christ, the doctrine of rebirth through
baptism.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rebirth>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When all's said and done, all roads lead to the same end. So it's not so
much which road you take, as how you take it.
--Charles de Lint
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_de_Lint>
The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs
according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on
21 December 2012. This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year
cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical
alignments and numerological formulae have been proposed as pertaining
to this date, though none have been accepted by mainstream scholarship.
A New Age interpretation of this transition is that this date marks the
start of a time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a
positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 2012 may mark
the beginning of a new era. Others suggest that the date marks the end
of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios suggested for the end
of the world include the arrival of the next solar maximum, an
interaction between Earth and the black hole at the centre of the
galaxy, or Earth's collision with a planet called "Nibiru". Scholars
from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of such cataclysmic
events occurring in 2012. Mayanist scholars state that predictions of
impending doom are not found in any of the extant classic Maya accounts,
and that the idea that the Long Count calendar "ends" in 2012
misrepresents Maya history and culture.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
South Carolina became the first of eleven slave states to
secede from the United States, leading to the eventual creation of the
Confederate States of America and later the American Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America>
1946:
Frank Capra's popular Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life was
first released in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life>
1955:
Cardiff was proclaimed as the capital of Wales.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff>
1999:
Portugal transferred sovereignty of Macau, which it had
administered since the mid-16th century, to China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau>
2007:
Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch was stolen from the
São Paulo Museum of Art.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Suzanne_Bloch>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
b'ak'tun:
A period, in Maya calendrical reckoning, of 144 000 days, which is
394.25 solar years.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/b%27ak%27tun>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Individuality is only possible if it unfolds from wholeness.
--David Bohm
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Bohm>
James Tod (1782–1835) was an English officer of the British East India
Company and an Oriental scholar. He combined his official role and his
amateur interests to create a series of works about the history and
geography of India, particularly the area then known as Rajputana
(present-day Rajasthan). He travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the
Bengal Army and rose quickly in rank. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War,
during which Tod was involved in the intelligence department, he was
appointed Political Agent for some areas of Rajputana. His task was to
help unify the region under the control of the East India Company. While
Tod was initially successful, his methods were questioned. Over time,
his work was restricted and his areas of oversight were significantly
curtailed. In 1823, due to declining health and reputation, Tod resigned
and returned to England. He then published a number of academic works
about India, based on materials collected during his travels. His major
works have been criticised as inaccurate and biased. However, he is
highly regarded in some areas of India and his accounts of India in
general and the Rajputs in particular had a significant impact on
British views for many years.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tod>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1154:
Henry II was crowned King of England in London's Westminster
Abbey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England>
1828:
Nullification Crisis: Vice President of the United States John
C. Calhoun wrote the South Carolina Exposition and Protest to protest
the Tariff of 1828.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina_Exposition_and_Protest>
1843:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, a novella about the miser
Ebenezer Scrooge and his conversion after being visited by three
Christmas ghosts, was first published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol>
1932:
The BBC's World Service was launched as BBC Empire Service.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_World_Service>
1964:
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the ruling junta of South
Vietnam led by Nguyen Khanh, initiated a coup, dissolving and arresting
members of the High National Council, a civilian advisory body.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_1964_South_Vietnamese_coup>
1997:
SilkAir Flight 185 crashed into the Musi River in Indonesia in
what was determined to be a murder-suicide by the captain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SilkAir_Flight_185>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
doomsayer:
One who makes dire predictions about the future; one fond of predicting
disaster.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doomsayer>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an
Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with
each other, with the season, or with me. in
--A Christmas Carol
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol>
Final Fantasy is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. It
centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video
games (RPGs), but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and
other merchandise. The first game in the series, published in 1987, was
conceived by Sakaguchi as his last-ditch effort in the game industry;
the title was a success and spawned sequels. The video game series has
since branched into other genres. Although most Final Fantasy
installments are supposedly independent stories with different settings
and main characters, they feature identical elements that define the
franchise. Plots center on a group of heroes battling a great evil while
exploring the characters' internal struggles and relationships. The
series has been commercially and critically successful; it is Square
Enix's best selling video game franchise, with more than 100 million
units sold, and one of the best-selling video game franchises. It was
awarded a star on the Walk of Game in 2006, and holds seven Guinness
World Records in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008. It has
also introduced many features now common in role-playing video games and
has been credited with helping to popularize console-based RPGs in
markets outside Japan.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1892:
The first performance of the fairy tale-ballet The Nutcracker
was held at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker>
1912:
Amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson announced the discovery of
fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human, known as
Piltdown Man, which later turned out to be a hoax.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piltdown_Man>
1939:
Second World War: The German Luftwaffe victory over the Royal
Air Force in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight greatly influenced both
sides' future air strategy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Heligoland_Bight_(1939)>
1966:
Epimetheus (pictured), one of the moons of Saturn, was
discovered, but was mistaken as Janus. It took 12 years to determine
that they are two distinct objects sharing the same orbit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimetheus_(moon)>
1996:
The school board of Oakland, California, passed a controversial
resolution officially declaring African American Vernacular English as a
separate language or dialect.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Ebonics_controversy>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
pergola:
A framework in the form of a passageway of columns that supports a
trelliswork roof; used to support and train climbing plants.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pergola>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Come, Desire of nations, come, fix in us thy humble home; rise, the
woman's conquering Seed, bruise in us the serpent's head. Adam's
likeness, Lord, efface; stamp thine image in its place. Second Adam from
above, Reinstate us in thy love. Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to
the new born King!"
--Charles Wesley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley>