The Spanish conquest of Guatemala was a protracted conflict during the
Spanish colonization of the Americas, in which Spanish colonizers
gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of
Guatemala into the colonial viceroyalty of New Spain. The Maya kingdoms
resisted integration into the Spanish Empire with such tenacity that
their defeat took almost two centuries. Pedro de Alvarado arrived in
Guatemala from the newly conquered Mexico in early 1524, commanding a
mixed force of Spanish conquistadors and native allies, mostly from
Tlaxcala and Cholula. The Itza Maya and other lowland groups in the
Petén Basin were first contacted by Hernán Cortés in 1525, but
remained independent and hostile to the encroaching Spanish until 1697,
when a concerted Spanish assault led by Martín de Urzúa y Arizmendi
finally defeated the last independent Maya kingdom. The indigenous
peoples of Guatemala lacked key elements of Old World technology such as
a functional wheel, horses, steel and gunpowder; they were also
extremely susceptible to Old World diseases, against which they had no
resistance.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Guatemala>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: The Great Fire of New York broke
out during British occupation of New York City, destroying up to 1,000
buildings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_New_York_(1776)>
1860:
Second Opium War: Anglo-French forces earned a decisive victory
against Qing Dynasty troops in the Battle of Palikao, allowing them to
capture Beijing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palikao>
1938:
The Great New England Hurricane made landfall on Long Island,
New York, killing at least 500 people and injuring about 700 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_New_England_hurricane>
1942:
The prototype model of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, a four-
engine heavy bomber that became one of the largest aircraft to see
service during World War II, flew for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress>
1999:
A 7.6 Mw earthquake struck Jiji, Nantou County, Taiwan, killing
2,416 people, injuring over 11,000 others and causing about
NT$300 billion in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/921_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
infanticide:
The murder of an infant.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infanticide>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I
hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it.
If at the end your cheerfulness is not justified, at any rate you will
have been cheerful.
--H. G. Wells
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._G._Wells>
StarCraft: Ghost is a military science fiction stealth-action video game
under suspended development by Blizzard Entertainment. Part of
Blizzard's StarCraft series, the game was announced on September 20,
2002, and was to be developed by Nihilistic Software for the Nintendo
GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 video game consoles. Several delays in
development caused Blizzard to move back the release date and the game
has not yet materialized. Nihilistic Software ceded development to
Swingin' Ape Studios in 2004 before Blizzard bought the company, and
plans for the GameCube version were canceled in 2005. Blizzard announced
in March 2006 that the game is on "indefinite hold" while the company
investigated seventh generation video game console possibilities.
Subsequent public statements from company personnel have been
contradictory about whether production will be renewed or planned story
elements will be worked into other products.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft:_Ghost>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1260:
The second of two major Prussian uprisings by the Prussian
tribe of Balts began against the Teutonic Knights.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_uprisings>
1498:
A tsunami caused by the Meiō Nankaidō earthquake washed away
the building housing the statue of the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in in
Kamakura, Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dtoku-in>
1697:
The Treaty of Ryswick was signed between France and the Grand
Alliance, ending the Nine Years' War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Ryswick>
1977:
A series of celestial sightings of unknown nature was observed
in the western Soviet Union, Finland and Denmark.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrozavodsk_phenomenon>
2008:
An explosive-laden truck detonated in front of the Marriott
hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 54 people and injuring 266 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabad_Marriott_Hotel_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
anthelmintic:
A drug for the treatment of intestinal worm infestation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anthelmintic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make
the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways
or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results...
but it is the effort that's heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire
those who fight the good fight.
--George R. R. Martin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_R._R._Martin>
The Concert in Central Park is the first live album by American folk
rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in February 1982 on Warner Bros.
Records. It was recorded in September 1981 at a free benefit concert in
Central Park, New York City, where the pair performed in front of more
than 500,000 people. Proceeds from the endeavor went toward the
redevelopment and maintenance of the run-down green space in the middle
of Manhattan. This concert and album marked the start of a short-lived
reunion for Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. The concept of a benefit
concert in Central Park had been proposed by Parks Commissioner Gordon
Davis and promoter Ron Delsener. Television channel HBO agreed to carry
the concert, and worked with Delsener to decide on Simon & Garfunkel as
the appropriate act for this event. Besides hit songs from their years
as a duo, their set-list included material from their solo and duo
careers, and covers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Concert_in_Central_Park>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1356:
Hundred Years' War: English forces led by Edward the Black
Prince decisively won the Battle of Poitiers and captured King Jean II
of France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Poitiers>
1692:
Salem witch trials: As Giles Corey was being crushed to death
for refusing to enter a plea to charges of witchcraft, his last words
were reportedly, "More weight!"
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_Corey>
1846:
Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin
Giraud, experienced a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La
Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_La_Salette>
1964:
An armed revolt by Montagnards serving in the Army of the
Republic of Vietnam against the rule of Nguyen Khanh led to the deaths
of 70 ethnic Vietnamese soldiers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyen_Khanh>
1982:
:-) and :-( were first proposed by Scott Fahlman for use as
emoticons.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticon>
1991:
Ötzi, a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about
3300 BC, was discovered by two German tourists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jump down someone's throat:
To criticise with excessive and unexpected harshness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jump_down_someone%27s_throat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One soul was ours, one mind, one heart devoted, That, wisely doating,
ask'd not why it doated. And ours the unknown joy, which knowing kills.
But now I find how dear thou wert to me; That man is more than half of
nature's treasure, Of that fair beauty which no eye can see, Of that
sweet music which no ear can measure; And now the streams may sing for
other's pleasure, The hills sleep on in their eternity.
--Hartley Coleridge
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hartley_Coleridge>
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. National
Monument and National Preserve in the Snake River Plain in central
Idaho, at an average elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.
The protected area features one of the best-preserved flood basalt areas
in the continental United States. The Monument was established on
May 2, 1924. In November 2000, a presidential proclamation by President
Clinton greatly expanded the Monument area. The National Park Service
portions of the expanded Monument were designated as a National Preserve
in August 2002. The Monument and Preserve encompass three major lava
fields and about 400 square miles (1,000 km2) of sagebrush steppe
grasslands. All three lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho,
with some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world,
including the deepest known on Earth at 800 feet (240 m).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craters_of_the_Moon_National_Monument_and_Pre…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
14:
Tiberius (bust pictured), one of Rome's greatest generals,
succeeded his stepfather Augustus as Roman emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius>
1850:
The United States Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which
declared that all runaway slaves be brought back to their masters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_Slave_Act_of_1850>
1879:
The Blackpool Illuminations in the English seaside town of
Blackpool, billed as "the greatest free light show on earth", were
switched on for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_Illuminations>
1895:
Daniel David Palmer gave the first chiropractic adjustment to
deaf janitor Harvey Lillard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_chiropractic>
1939:
The Nazi propaganda radio programme Germany Calling, with a
host nicknamed "Lord Haw-Haw", began broadcasting to audiences in the
United Kingdom and the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Haw-Haw>
1947:
The National Security Act came into effect, establishing the
United States Air Force as a separate branch of the U.S. military, as
well as the Central Intelligence Agency.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chirality:
The phenomenon, in chemistry, physics and mathematics, of objects being
unidentical mirror images of each other, like a person's left and right
hands.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chirality>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that
all likewise should learn to hear it.
--Samuel Johnson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson>
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is a 1974 nonfiction narrative book by American
author Annie Dillard. Told from a first-person point of view, the book
details an unnamed narrator's explorations near her home, and
contemplations on nature and life. The title refers to Tinker Creek,
which is outside Roanoke in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Dillard
began writing Pilgrim in the spring of 1973, using her personal journals
as inspiration. Separated into four sections that signify each of the
seasons, the narrative spans the period of one year in thoughts on
solitude, writing, and religion, as well as scientific observations on
the flora and fauna. Touching upon themes of faith, nature, and
awareness, Pilgrim is also noted for its study of theodicy and the
inherent cruelty of the natural world. The book is analogous in design
and genre to Henry David Thoreau's Walden, the subject of Dillard's
master's thesis at Hollins College. Pilgrim has been lauded by critics,
won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction, and in 1999 was
included in Modern Library's list of 100 Best Nonfiction Books.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_at_Tinker_Creek>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1716:
French soldier Jean Thurel enlisted in the Régiment de
Touraine at the age of 17, beginning a career of military service that
would span 90 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Thurel>
1849:
American slave Harriet Tubman escaped; she would become famous
for orchestrating the rescues of more than 70 other slaves via the
"Underground Railroad".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Tubman>
1976:
Enterprise, the first Space Shuttle built for NASA, was rolled
out of the manufacturing facilities in Palmdale, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise>
1980:
The Polish trade union Solidarity was founded as the first
independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Solidarity>
2006:
Mass protests across Hungary erupted after Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány's private speech was leaked to the public, in which he
admitted that the Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006
election.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_protests_in_Hungary>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rapine:
The seizure of someone's property by force; plunder.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in
balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy.
--Ken Kesey
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Kesey>
William McKinley (1843–1901) was the 25th President of the United
States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his death. McKinley led the
nation to victory in the Spanish–American War, raised protective
tariffs to promote American industry, and maintained the nation on the
gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals. McKinley's
administration ended with his assassination in September 1901, but his
presidency began a period of over a third of a century dominated by the
Republican Party. McKinley served in the Civil War and rose from private
to brevet major. After the war, he settled in Canton, Ohio, where he
practiced law and married Ida Saxton. In 1876, he was elected to
Congress, where he became the Republican Party's expert on the
protective tariff, which he promised would bring prosperity. His highly
controversial 1890 McKinley Tariff, together with a Democratic
redistricting effort aimed at gerrymandering him out of office led to
his defeat in the Democratic landslide of 1890.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McKinley>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
786:
Harun al-Rashid became the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his
brother al-Hadi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_al-Rashid>
1752:
In adopting the Gregorian calendar under the terms of the
Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, the British Empire skipped eleven days
(September 2 was followed directly by September 14).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_(New_Style)_Act_1750>
1927:
In a freak automobile accident, dancer Isadora Duncan was
strangled to death in Nice, France, by her scarf after it got caught on
the wheel of a car in which she was a passenger.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan>
1954:
In a top secret nuclear test, a Soviet Tu-4 bomber dropped a
40-kiloton atomic weapon just north of Totskoye village, exposing some
45,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians to nuclear fallout.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totskoye_range_nuclear_tests>
1982:
President-elect of Lebanon Bachir Gemayel was assassinated when
a bomb exploded in the Beirut headquarters of the Phalange.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachir_Gemayel>
2003:
Kumba Ialá, the President of Guinea-Bissau, was deposed in a
bloodless coup.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumba_Ial%C3%A1>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
comeuppance:
A negative outcome which is justly deserved.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/comeuppance>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Agnosticism is a perfectly respectable and tenable philosophical
position; it is not dogmatic and makes no pronouncements about the
ultimate truths of the universe. It remains open to evidence and
persuasion; lacking faith, it nevertheless does not deride faith.
Atheism, on the other hand, is as unyielding and dogmatic about
religious belief as true believers are about heathens. It tries to use
reason to demolish a structure that is not built upon reason.
--Sydney J. Harris
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_J._Harris>
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the
Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock. Oldham
is surrounded by several smaller towns which together form the
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, of which Oldham is the administrative
centre. Historically a part of Lancashire, and with little early history
to speak of, Oldham rose to prominence during the 19th century as an
international centre of textile manufacture. It was a boomtown of the
Industrial Revolution, and among the first ever industrialised towns,
rapidly becoming "one of the most important centres of cotton and
textile industries in England". At its zenith, it was the most
productive cotton spinning mill town in the world, spinning more cotton
than France and Germany combined. Oldham's textile industry began to
fall into decline during the mid-20th century, and its last mill closed
in 1998. The demise of textile processing in Oldham depressed the local
economy. Today Oldham is a predominantly residential town, and a centre
for further education and the performing arts. It is, however, still
distinguished architecturally by the surviving cotton mills and other
buildings associated with that industry.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldham>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
509 BC:
The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Capitoline Hill, the
most important temple in Ancient Rome, was dedicated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_Optimus_Maximus>
1229:
Ögedei Khan (pictured), the third son of Genghis Khan, was
proclaimed Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96gedei_Khan>
1759:
Seven Years' War: British forces defeated the French at the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City, New France, though
General James Wolfe was mortally wounded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Plains_of_Abraham>
1848:
An explosion drove a large iron rod completely through the head
of Phineas P. Gage, making him an important early case of brain damage
affecting personality and behavior.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage>
1964:
South Vietnamese Generals Lam Van Phat and Duong Van Duc staged
a coup attempt after junta leader Nguyen Khanh demoted them.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_1964_South_Vietnamese_coup_attempt>
1987:
A radioactive item was scavenged from an abandoned hospital in
Goiânia, Brazil, resulting in four deaths and serious contamination in
249 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gooseberry:
1. A fruit closely related to the currant.
2. Any of several other unrelated fruits, such as the Chinese gooseberry
(kiwifruit) or the Indian gooseberry (amla).
3. (British, informal) An unwanted additional person: Robert and Susan were
so in love that nobody could go near them without feeling like a
gooseberry.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gooseberry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The good, the new, comes from exactly that quarter whence it is not
looked for, and is always something different from what is expected.
Everything new is received with contempt, for it begins in obscurity. It
becomes a power unobserved.
--Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ludwig_Andreas_Feuerbach>
William S. Sadler (1875–1969) was an American surgeon, psychiatrist
and author who helped publish The Urantia Book, a document that resulted
from his relationship with a man whom he believed to be channeling
extraterrestrials and celestial beings. Mentored by John Harvey Kellogg,
he became a doctor and practiced medicine in Chicago. Sadler and his
wife were speakers on the Chautauqua adult education circuit in 1907. He
became a highly paid, popular orator and wrote over 40 books on medical
and spiritual topics, advocating a holistic approach to health. Sometime
between 1906 and 1911, Sadler attempted to treat a patient who spoke to
him in unusual voices while sleeping. Sadler spent years observing the
sleeping man and eventually decided the man had no mental illness and
that his words were genuine. The man's communications were eventually
published in The Urantia Book, and the Urantia Foundation was created to
assist Sadler in spreading the book's message. Although it never became
the basis of an organized religion, the book attracted followers who
devoted themselves to its study, and the Urantia movement continued
after Sadler's death.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Sadler>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
War of 1812: Although the Maryland Militia lost the Battle of
North Point, they were able to delay the British advance against
Baltimore, buying time for the defense of the city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_North_Point>
1910:
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, one of the largest-scale choral
works in the classical concert repertoire, was first performed in
Munich.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._8_(Mahler)>
1933:
Hungarian-American physicist Leó Szilárd conceived of the
idea of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light in
Bloomsbury, London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd>
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army began the Battle of
Edson's Ridge in an effort to retake Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Edson%27s_Ridge>
1974:
Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia was deposed by the Derg,
a military junta.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selassie_I>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vocable:
1. A word or utterance, especially with reference to its form rather than
its meaning.
2. A syllable or sound without specific meaning, used together with or in
place of actual words in a song.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vocable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is something inside us which we don't like to face up to, from
which we try to protect ourselves, but which nevertheless remains, since
we don't leave Earth in a state of primal innocence. We arrive here as
we are in reality, and when the page is turned and that reality is
revealed to us — that part of our reality which we would prefer to
pass over in silence — then we don't like it any more.
--Stanisław Lem
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Lem>
Daspletosaurus ("frightful lizard") is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod
dinosaur that lived in western North America between 77 and 74 million
years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. Fossils of the only named
species (D. torosus) were found in Alberta, although other possible
species from Alberta and Montana await description. Closely related to
the much larger and more recent Tyrannosaurus, Daspletosaurus was a
multi-ton bipedal predator equipped with dozens of large, sharp teeth.
Daspletosaurus had the small forelimbs typical of tyrannosaurids,
although they were proportionately longer than in other genera. As an
apex predator, Daspletosaurus was at the top of the food chain, probably
preying on large dinosaurs like the ceratopsid Centrosaurus and the
hadrosaur Hypacrosaurus.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daspletosaurus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1226:
The Catholic practice of Eucharistic adoration among lay people
formally began in Avignon, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharistic_adoration>
1649:
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland: Oliver Cromwell's New Model
Army ended the Siege of Drogheda, took over the town and massacred its
garrison.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Drogheda>
1758:
Seven Years' War: The Battle of Saint Cast took place near
Saint-Cast, with France handing Britain a decisive defeat.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saint_Cast>
1847:
Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna" (audio featured), one of the
most famous American songs ever written, premiered at a concert in an
ice cream shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh!_Susanna>
2001:
Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners for a
series of suicide attacks against targets in New York City and the
Washington, D.C. area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
in memoriam:
In memory (of); as a memorial.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in_memoriam>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet
enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to
our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and
to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand
scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful
than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic
truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the
new. The world is often unkind to new talents, new creations. The new
needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new; an extraordinary
meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and
its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking, is a
gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I
have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto,
"Anyone can cook". But I realize — only now do I truly understand what
he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can
come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than
those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's
opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be
returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more. in
--Ratatouille
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ratatouille>
Monteverdi's lost operas comprise seven of the ten operas written or
part-written by the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi (pictured)
between 1607 and 1643, during the early baroque period. Apart from a few
fragments, the music for these seven works has been lost, though in some
cases the librettos have survived. Opera as a genre emerged during
Monteverdi's creative lifetime, and he became a principal exponent of
this new form, first at the Mantuan court and later as director of music
at St Mark's Basilica in Venice. The loss of these works, written during
a critical period of early opera history, has been much regretted by
historians and musicologists, but reflects the habit of the times, when
stage music was thought to have little relevance beyond its initial
performance and often vanished quickly. Contemporary documents,
including many letters written by Monteverdi, have provided most of the
available information on the lost works, and have established that four
of them were completed and performed in the composer's lifetime. Of the
little music that has survived, the lamento from L'Arianna (1608) is
well known as a concert piece and is frequently performed.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monteverdi%27s_lost_operas>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1509:
An estimated 10,000 people died in Constantinople due to an
earthquake so strong it was known as "the Lesser Judgement Day".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1509_Istanbul_earthquake>
1547:
Anglo-Scottish Wars: English forces defeated the Scots at the
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh near Musselburgh, Lothian, Scotland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pinkie_Cleugh>
1898:
In an act of "propaganda of the deed", Italian anarchist Luigi
Lucheni fatally stabbed Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Geneva,
Switzerland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Elisabeth_of_Austria>
1946:
While riding a train to Darjeeling, Sister Teresa Bojaxhiu,
later Mother Teresa, experienced what she later described as "the call
within the call", directing her "to leave the convent and help the poor
while living among them".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa>
1961:
At the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, German driver Wolfgang von
Trips's vehicle collided with another, causing it to become airborne and
crash into a side barrier, killing him and 15 spectators.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_von_Trips>
2008:
CERN's Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and highest-
energy particle accelerator, was first powered up beneath the Franco-
Swiss border near Geneva.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
variadic:
(Computing, mathematics, linguistics) Taking a variable number of
arguments; especially, taking arbitrarily many arguments.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/variadic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I stood willingly and gladly in the characters of everything — other
people, trees, clouds. And this is what I learned, that the world's
otherness is antidote to confusion — that standing within this
otherness — the beauty and the mystery of the world, out in the fields
or deep inside books — can re-dignify the worst-stung heart.
--Mary Oliver
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mary_Oliver>