Pigeon photography was an aerial photography technique invented in 1907
by Julius Neubronner, court apothecary of Empress Frederick, who also
used pigeons for film special effects and to deliver medications. A
homing pigeon was fitted with an aluminum breast harness to which a
lightweight time-delayed miniature camera could be attached. The
technique was publicized at the 1909 Dresden International Photographic
Exhibition. It was successfully demonstrated at the first German
Aviation Show and at the 1910 and 1911 Paris Air Shows. The lack of
military or commercial interest in the technology after the First World
War led Neubronner to abandon his experiments, but his idea was briefly
resurrected in the 1930s by a Swiss clockmaker, and reportedly also by
the German and French militaries. There was interest in the concept
even during the Cold War, by the American Central Intelligence Agency.
The construction of sufficiently small and light cameras with a timer
mechanism, and the training and handling of the birds to carry the
necessary loads, presented major challenges, as did the limited control
over the pigeons' position, orientation and speed when the photographs
were being taken. Today some researchers, enthusiasts, and artists
similarly employ small digital photo or video cameras with various
species of wild or domestic animals.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeon_photography>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1234:
An Englishman lost the Battle of the Curragh in Ireland , at the same
place where an Australian would win the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge
in Scotland many years later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Curragh>
1918:
The British Armed Forces started to grant personnel the power to fly.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force>
1970:
The first of over 670,000 gremlins were released into North America to
crush imported machines.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Gremlin>
2002:
Five years after the Dutch government allowed more people to marry,
they decided it was acceptable to kill one's spouse.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_Netherlands>
2006:
As mandated by a 2005 Act of the British Parliament, several British
policing agencies joined together to become very serious and organised.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_Organised_Crime_Agency>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ataraxia (n):
(literary, Greek philosophy) A pleasure that comes when the mind is at
rest
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ataraxia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
144px
I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to
treat everything as if it were a nail.
--Abraham Maslow
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow>
Body Count is the eponymous debut album of American heavy metal band
Body Count. Released in 1992, the album material focuses on various
social and political issues ranging from police brutality to drug
abuse. The album presents a turning point in the career of Ice-T
(pictured), who co-wrote the album's songs with lead guitarist Ernie C
and performed as the band's lead singer. Previously known only as a
rapper, Ice-T's work with the band helped establish a crossover
audience with rock music fans. The album produced one single, "There
Goes the Neighborhood". Body Count is best known for the inclusion of
the controversial song "Cop Killer", which was the subject of much
criticism from various political figures, although many defended the
song on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech. Ice-T
eventually chose to remove the song from the album, although it
continues to be performed live. While the album received mixed reviews,
it was ranked among The Village Voice's list of the 40 Best Albums of
1992, and is believed to have helped pave the way for the mainstream
success of the rapcore genre, although the album itself does not
feature rapping in any of its songs.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Count_%28album%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1822:
Greek War of Independence: Ottoman troops began the massacre of over
20,000 Greeks on the island of Chios.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chios_Massacre>
1889:
The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris, becoming a global icon of
France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower>
1930:
To avoid government censorship, Hollywood movie studios instituted
their own set of industry censorship guidelines, popularly known as the
Hays Code.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Production_Code>
1964:
Brazilian Armed Forces led an overthrow of Brazilian President João
Goulart and established a military government that would last for 21
years.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Brazilian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wry (adj):
1. Turned away, contorted (of the face or body).
2. Dryly humorous; sardonic or ironic.
3. Twisted, bent, crooked
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
188px
Fate with jealous eye does see
Two perfect loves, nor lets them
close:
Their union would her ruin be,
And her tyrranic power depose.
And therefore her decrees of steel
Us as the distant Poles have placed
(Though Love's whole world on
us doth wheel)
Not by themselves to be embraced,
Unless the giddy heaven fall,
And earth some new convulsion tear;
And, us to join, the world should all
Be cramped into a
planisphere.
As lines (so loves) oblique may well
Themselves in every angle
greet:
But ours so truly parallel,
Though infinite, can never meet.
Therefore the love which us doth bind,
But Fate so enviously debars,
Is the conjunction of the mind,
And
opposition of the stars.
--Andrew Marvell
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Marvell>
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary is a
neo-Gothic church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Moscow. Located in the Central Administrative Okrug, it
is one of only two Catholic churches in Moscow and the largest in
Russia. The construction of the cathedral was proposed by the Czarist
government in 1894. Groundbreaking was in 1899; construction work began
in 1901 and was completed ten years later. Three-aisled and built from
red brick, the cathedral is based on a design by architect Tomasz
Bohdanowicz-Dworzecki. The style was influenced by Westminster Abbey
and Milan Cathedral. With the help of funds from Catholic parishes in
Russia and its neighbouring states, the church was consecrated as a
chapel for Moscow's Polish parish in 1911. In the aftermath of the
Russian Revolution, in order to promote state atheism, the government
ordered many churches closed; the cathedral was closed in 1938. During
World War II, it was threatened with demolition, and was used after the
war for civil purposes, as a warehouse and then a hostel. In 1996,
following the fall of communism, it once again became a church, and in
2002 it was elevated to the status of cathedral. Following an extensive
and costly program of reconstruction and refurbishment, the cathedral
was reconsecrated in 2005.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Immaculate_Conception_%28Mosc…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1282:
Sicilians began to rebel against the rule of the Angevin King Charles I
of Naples, starting the War of the Sicilian Vespers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Vespers>
1842:
American physician Crawford Long became the first person to use
diethyl ether as an anesthetic in a surgical procedure.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawford_Long>
1918:
Bolshevik and Dashnak forces suppressed a Muslim revolt in Baku,
Azerbaijan, resulting up to 30,000 deaths.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_Days>
1954:
The Yonge–University–Spadina line, the first subway in Canada and the
busiest in Toronto, opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonge%E2%80%93University%E2%80%93Spadina_line>
2009:
Twelve gunmen attacked the Manawan Police Training School in Lahore,
Pakistan, and held it for several hours before security forces were
able to retake it.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Lahore_police_academy_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
eat crow (v):
(chiefly US, idiomatic) To recognize that one has been shown to be
mistaken or outdone, especially by admitting that one has made a
humiliating error
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eat_crow>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
108px213px
But my God, how beautiful Shakespeare is, who else is as mysterious
as he is; his language and method are like a brush trembling with
excitement and ecstasy. But one must learn to read, just as one must
learn to see and learn to live.
--Vincent van Gogh
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh>
William Walton (1902–1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year
career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from
film scores to opera. His best-known works include Façade – An
Entertainment, the cantata Belshazzar's Feast and his First Symphony.
Born in Lancashire, the son of a musician, Walton was a chorister and
then an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. On leaving the
university, he was taken up by the literary Sitwell siblings, who
provided him with a home and a cultural education. His earliest work of
note was a collaboration with Edith Sitwell, Façade, which at first
brought him notoriety as a modernist, but later became a popular ballet
score. Other early works that made his name were a Viola Concerto and
Belshazzar's Feast. By middle age, he had ceased to be regarded as a
modernist, and some of his compositions of the 1950s were criticised as
old-fashioned. In his last years, his works came back into critical
fashion; his later compositions, dismissed by critics at the time of
their premieres, were revalued and regarded alongside his earlier
works. (more...)
Recently featured: Court of Chancery – Hurricane Eloise – Admiralty
Islands campaign
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walton>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1461:
Yorkist troops defeated Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Towton in
Yorkshire, England, the largest battle in the Wars of the Roses up
until that time with approximately 20,000 casualties.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Towton>
1807:
German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovered 4 Vesta,
the brightest asteroid and the second-most massive body in the asteroid
belt.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Vesta>
1911:
The M1911 single-action, semi-automatic pistol developed by American
firearms designer John Browning became the standard-issue side arm in
the United States Army.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1911_pistol>
1941:
Second World War: British Royal Navy and Australian Navy ships
intercepted and sank or severely damaged the ships of the Italian Regia
Marina near Crete.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Matapan>
1999:
The strongest earthquake to hit the foothills of the Himalayas in more
than ninety years killed 103 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Chamoli_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
otorhinolaryngology (n):
(medicine) The study of diseases of the ear, nose and throat
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/otorhinolaryngology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
144px
I am like a tree,
From my top boughs I can see
The footprints
that led up to me.
--R. S. Thomas
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/R._S._Thomas>
100px|The Court of Chancery during the reign of George I. Painting by
Benjamin Ferrers
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that
followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and
possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had
jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law,
the administration of the estates of lunatics and the guardianship of
infants. Its initial role was somewhat different, however; as an
extension of the Lord Chancellor's role as Keeper of the King's
Conscience, the Court was an administrative body primarily concerned
with conscientious law. Thus the Court of Chancery had a far greater
remit than the common law courts, whose decisions it had the
jurisdiction to overrule for much of its existence, and was far more
flexible. Until the 19th century, the Court of Chancery was able to
apply a far wider range of remedies than the common law courts, such as
specific performance and injunctions, and also had some power to grant
damages in special circumstances. With the shift of the Exchequer of
Pleas towards a common law court, the Chancery was the only equitable
body in the English legal system. (more...)
Recently featured: Hurricane Eloise – Admiralty Islands campaign –
Charlie Macartney
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Chancery>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
193:
Praetorian Guards assassinated Roman Emperor Pertinax and sold the
throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertinax>
1862:
American Civil War: An invasion of the New Mexico Territory by the
Confederate States Army was halted at the Battle of Glorieta Pass.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Glorieta_Pass>
1910:
Near Martigues, France, French aviator Henri Fabre's Fabre Hydravion
became the first seaplane to take off from water under its own power.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabre_Hydravion>
1933:
A passenger aboard the Imperial Airways biplane City of Liverpool set a
fire on board, causing it to break apart in mid-air and crash.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_Imperial_Airways_Dixmude_crash>
1979:
British Prime Minister James Callaghan was defeated by one vote in a
motion of no confidence by the House of Commons after his government
struggled to cope with widespread strikes by trade unions during the
"Winter of Discontent".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_vote_of_no_confidence_in_the_government_o…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lacrimae rerum (n plural):
The “tears of things”; the inherent tragedy of existence
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lacrimae_rerum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I saw an angel close by me, on my left side, in bodily form. This I am
not accustomed to see, unless very rarely. Though I have visions of
angels frequently, yet I see them only by an intellectual vision, such
as I have spoken of before. It was our Lord's will that in this vision
I should see the angel in this wise. He was not large, but small of
stature, and most beautiful — his face burning, as if he were one of
the highest angels, who seem to be all of fire: they must be those whom
we call cherubim.
--Teresa of Ávila
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Teresa_of_%C3%81vila>
100px|Hurricane Eloise in the Gulf of Mexico before striking Florida
Hurricane Eloise was the most destructive tropical cyclone of the
1975 Atlantic hurricane season. Eloise formed as a tropical depression
on September 13 to the east of the Virgin Islands. The depression
tracked westward as it intensified into a tropical storm, and after
passing north Puerto Rico, Eloise briefly attained hurricane intensity.
However, the storm quickly weakened back into a tropical storm upon
making landfall over Hispaniola. After eventually striking the northern
Yucatan Peninsula, the cyclone entered the Gulf of Mexico and became a
Category 3 hurricane on September 23. Eloise made landfall along the
Florida Panhandle west of Panama City before moving inland across
Alabama and eventually dissipating on September 24. The storm produced
torrential rainfall throughout Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, causing
extensive flooding, over 40 deaths, and severe damage. Thousands in
these areas were left homeless. As Eloise progressed westward, it
affected Cuba, though to a lesser extent. Upon making landfall in
Florida, Eloise generated winds reportedly gusting to 155 mph
(249 km/h). Hundreds of buildings were demolished by the powerful winds
and strong storm surge. Torrential rains along the entire East Coast of
the United States created an unprecedented and far-reaching flooding
event, especially into the Mid-Atlantic States. The storm killed 80
people along its entire track, and due to its severe impacts, the name
"Eloise" was retired from the list of Atlantic tropical cyclone names.
(more...)
Recently featured: Admiralty Islands campaign – Charlie Macartney –
Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Eloise>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1782:
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, a leading British
Whig Party statesman, began his second non-consecutive term as Prime
Minister of Great Britain.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Watson-Wentworth%2C_2nd_Marquess_of_Ro…>
1915:
Typhoid Mary, the first person to be identified as an asymptomatic
carrier of typhoid fever, was placed into quarantine, where she would
spend the rest of her life.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid_Mary>
1977:
Two Boeing 747 airliners collided on a foggy runway at Los Rodeos
Airport on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people in the
worst aircraft accident in aviation history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster>
1980:
Nelson Bunker Hunt and his brother failed in their attempt to corner
the world market in silver, causing panic in commodity and futures
exchanges.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Thursday>
1998:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug sildenafil,
better known by the trade name Viagra, for use as a treatment for
erectile dysfunction, the first pill to be approved for this condition
in the United States.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sildenafil>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fan death (n):
The urban legend originating in South Korea that if an electric fan is
left running overnight in a closed room it can cause the death of those
inside
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fan_death>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
88px88px100px100px100px
Today, there are too many points of view of equal value and prestige,
each showing the relativity of the other, to permit us to take any one
position and to regard it as impregnable and absolute. Only this
socially disorganized intellectual situation makes possible the
insight, hidden until now by a generally stable social structure and
the practicability of certain traditional norms, that every point of
view is particular to a social situation.
--Karl Mannheim
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Mannheim>
100px|The first wave of US troops lands on Los Negros, Admiralty
Islands, 29 February 1944
The Admiralty Islands campaign was a series of battles in the New
Guinea campaign of World War II in which the United States Army's 1st
Cavalry Division occupied the Japanese-held Admiralty Islands. Acting
on reports from airmen that there were no signs of enemy activity and
the islands may have been evacuated, General Douglas MacArthur
accelerated his timetable for capturing the islands and ordered an
immediate reconnaissance in force. The campaign began on 29 February
1944 when a force landed on Los Negros, the third largest island in the
group. By using a small, isolated beach where the Japanese had not
anticipated an assault, the force achieved tactical surprise, but the
islands proved to be far from unoccupied. A furious battle developed
for control of the Admiralties. In the end, air superiority and command
of the sea allowed the Allies to heavily reinforce their position on
Los Negros. The 1st Cavalry Division was then able to overrun the
islands. The campaign officially ended on 18 May 1944. The Allied
victory completed the isolation of the major Japanese base at Rabaul
that was the ultimate objective of the Allied campaigns of 1942 and
1943. A major air and naval base was developed in the Admiralty Islands
that became an important launching point for the campaigns of 1944 in
the Pacific. (more...)
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Movement – Altrincham
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty_Islands_campaign>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1484:
William Caxton printed the first English translation of Aesop's Fables.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesop%27s_Fables>
1913:
First Balkan War: After a five-month siege, the Bulgarian Second Army
captured the Ottoman city of Adrianople.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adrianople_%281913%29>
1939:
Spanish Civil War: Nationalists began their final offensive of the war,
at the end of which they controlled almost the entire country.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_offensive_of_the_Spanish_Civil_War>
1978:
Four days before the scheduled opening of Japan's Narita International
Airport , a group of protesters destroyed much of the equipment in the
control tower with Molotov cocktails.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narita_International_Airport>
1997:
Police in Rancho Santa Fe, California, discovered the bodies of 39
members of Heaven's Gate who had died in an apparent cult suicide.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_%28religious_group%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
immolate (v):
1. To kill as a sacrifice.
2. To destroy, especially by fire
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/immolate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
29px
33px 123px 33px
In the Name of Allah the Merciful, the
Compassionate, Who manifests Himself through everything, the revelation
of a clear knowing to whomsoever He wishes, peace be upon you, my son.
This praise belongs to Allah Who manifests Himself on the head of a pin
to whom He wishes, so that one testifies that He is not, and another
testifies that there is none other than He. But the witnessing in the
denying of Him is not rejected, and the witnessing in the affirming of
Him is not praised.
--Mansur Al-Hallaj
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mansur_Al-Hallaj>
100px|1920's-era photograph of Charlie Macartney
Charlie Macartney (1886–1958) was an Australian cricketer who played
in 35 Tests between 1907 and 1926. He was known as The Governor-General
in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flamboyant
strokeplay, which drew comparisons with his close friend and role model
Victor Trumper. Making his Test debut in 1907, his most noteworthy Test
contribution in his early career was a match-winning ten wicket haul at
Headingley in 1909. It was around this time that Macartney befriended
Trumper and began to transform himself into an audacious attacking
batsman. The First World War stopped all first-class cricket and
Macartney enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. Upon the
resumption of cricket, Macartney stamped himself as one of the leading
batsmen in the world with his performances during the 1921 Ashes tour.
Macartney produced an Australian record score in England of 345 against
Nottinghamshire, which led to him being named one of the five Wisden
Cricketers of the Year in 1922. After missing the 1924–25 series due to
mental illness or a recurrence of war injuries, Macartney departed
international cricket on the 1926 tour of England. Macartney was
posthumously inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2007.
(more...)
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Ring-tailed lemur
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Macartney>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1655:
Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan, the largest
natural satellite of the planet Saturn.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_%28moon%29>
1807:
The Slave Trade Act became law, abolishing the slave trade in the
British Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807>
1948:
Meteorologists at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City issued the
world's first tornado forecast after noticing conditions similar to
another tornado that had struck five days earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Tinker_Air_Force_Base_tornadoes>
1957:
West Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg
signed the Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic
Community.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Rome>
1995:
American computer programmer Ward Cunningham established the first
wiki site, the WikiWikiWeb.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wiki>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
in a pig's eye (prep. phrase):
(idiomatic) Very unlikely; probably never
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in_a_pig%27s_eye>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
44px
Our whole evolution has reached a stage where nearly every man is
either ruler or ruled; sometimes he is both. By this the attitude of
dependence has been greatly strengthened, for a truly free man does not
like to play the part of either the ruler or the ruled. He is, above
all, concerned with making his inner values and personal powers
effective in a way as to permit him to use his own judgment in all
affairs and to be independent in action.
--Rudolf Rocker
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rudolf_Rocker>
100px|Logo for the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement is an environmental movement
that calls for all people to abstain from reproduction to cause the
gradual voluntary extinction of mankind. VHEMT supports human
extinction primarily because it would prevent environmental
degradation. The group states that a decrease in the human population
would prevent a significant amount of man-made human suffering. The
extinctions of non-human species and the scarcity of resources required
by humans are frequently cited by the group as evidence of the harm
caused by human overpopulation. VHEMT was founded in 1991 by Les U.
Knight, an activist who became involved in the environmental movement
in the 1970s and thereafter concluded that human extinction was the
best solution to the problems facing the Earth's biosphere and
humanity. Knight publishes the group's newsletter and serves as its
spokesperson. Although the group is promoted by a website and
represented at some environmental events, it relies heavily on coverage
from outside media to spread its message. Many commentators view its
platform as unacceptably extreme, though other writers have applauded
VHEMT's perspective. In response to VHEMT, some journalists and
academics have argued that humans can develop sustainable lifestyles or
can reduce their population to sustainable levels. Others maintain
that, whatever the merits of the idea, because of the human
reproductive drive mankind will never voluntarily seek extinction.
(more...)
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Nuffield College, Oxford
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Human_Extinction_Movement>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1721:
Johann Sebastian Bach presented Margrave Christian Ludwig of
Brandenburg-Schwedt with six concertos, now commonly called the
Brandenburg concertos (no. 1 featured).
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_concertos>
1860:
Rōnin samurai of the Mito Domain assassinated Japanese Chief Minister
Ii Naosuke, upset with his role in the opening of Japan to foreign
powers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakuradamon_incident_%281860%29>
1922:
Irish War of Independence: In Belfast, Northern Irish police broke into
a house and murdered a Catholic family in reprisal for the deaths of
two policemen the day before.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMahon_murders>
1927:
Chinese Civil War: In the midst of a battle between the Communists and
Nationalists, warships from six countries bombarded Nanjing in defense
of the foreign citizens living there.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing_incident>
1944:
Second World War: Captured Allied airmen began "the Great Escape",
breaking out of the German prison camp Stalag Luft III.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
siesta (n):
An afternoon nap, especially the one taken after lunch in some cultures
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/siesta>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Almighty Freedom! give my venturous song
The force, the charm that to thy voice belong;
Tis thine to shape
my course, to light my way,
To nerve my country with the patriot lay,
To teach all men where all
their interest lies,
How rulers may be just and nations wise:
Strong in thy strength I bend
no suppliant knee,
Invoke no miracle, no Muse but thee.
--Joel Barlow
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joel_Barlow>
110px|Altrincham Old Market Place
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of
Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south
of the River Mersey about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Manchester city
centre, 3 miles (5 km) south-southwest of Sale and 10 miles (16 km)
east of Warrington. As of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of
41,000. Historically a part of Cheshire, Altrincham was established as
a market town in 1290, a time when most communities were based around
agriculture rather than trade, and there is still a market in the town
today. Further socioeconomic development came with the extension of the
Bridgewater Canal to Altrincham in 1765 and the arrival of the railway
in 1849, stimulating industrial activity in the town. Outlying villages
were absorbed by Altrincham's subsequent growth, along with the grounds
of Dunham Massey Hall, formerly the home of the Earl of Stamford, and
now a tourist attraction with three Grade I listed buildings and a deer
park. Altrincham today is an affluent commuter town, partly because of
its transport links. It is also a centre for sport, home to Altrincham
F.C. and an English Premier League ice hockey club, Manchester Phoenix.
(more...)
Recently featured: Ring-tailed lemur – Buildings of Nuffield College,
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altrincham>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
American Revolution: Patrick Henry made his "Give me Liberty, or give
me Death!" speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses, urging military
action against the British Empire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_me_Liberty%2C_or_give_me_Death%21>
1848:
Captained by William Cargill, Scottish settlers on the John Wickliffe
arrived at what is now Port Chalmers in the Otago Region of New
Zealand.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cargill>
1879:
Fighting in the War of the Pacific between Chile and a
Peruvian–Bolivian alliance opened with the Battle of Topáter.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Pacific>
1989:
Two researchers announced the discovery of cold fusion, a claim which
was later discredited.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cold_fusion>
2007:
Iranian military personnel seized 15 British Royal Navy personnel from
HMS Cornwall, claiming that the British ship sailed into Iran's
territorial waters.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Iranian_seizure_of_Royal_Navy_personnel>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
escapade (n):
A daring or adventurous act; an undertaking which goes against
convention
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/escapade>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe that love is the main key to open the doors to the "growth"
of man. Love and union with someone or something outside of oneself,
union that allows one to put oneself into relationship with others, to
feel one with others, without limiting the sense of integrity and
independence.
--Erich Fromm
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erich_Fromm>