120px|Marojejy Massif and the surrounding forests
Marojejy National Park is a national park in the SAVA Region of
northeastern Madagascar. It covers 55,500 ha (214 sq mi) and is
centered around the Marojejy Massif, a mountain chain which rises to an
elevation of 2,132Â m (6,995Â ft). Access to the area around the massif
was restricted to only research scientists when the site was set aside
as a strict nature reserve in 1952. In 1998, it was opened to the
public when it was converted into a national park. It became part of
the World Heritage Site known as the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in
2007. The wide range of elevations and rugged topology of the massif
create diverse habitats that transition quickly with changes in
altitude. Warm, dense rainforest can be found at lower elevations,
followed by shorter forests at higher elevations, followed still by
cloud forest, and topped near the peaks with the only remaining
undisturbed mountain scrub in Madagascar. Better growing conditions for
plants can be found on the eastern side of the mountain, which receives
more rain than the western side. This habitat diversity lends itself to
high levels of biodiversity. At least 118Â species of bird, 148Â species
of reptile and amphibian, and 11Â species of lemur are known to occur
within Marojejy National Park. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marojejy_National_Park>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1492:
Believing he had reached India, Christopher Columbus made landfall on
San Salvador Island in the Caribbean, sparking a series of events that
led to the European colonization of the Americas.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus>
1964:
The Soviet Voskhod 1 mission became the first multi-person space flight
as well as the first without spacesuits.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voskhod_1>
1988:
Sri Lankan Civil War: Indian troops mounted a failed assault on Jaffna
University, which served as the Tamil Tigers' military headquarters.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffna_University_Helidrop>
1999:
Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup against the
government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Pakistani_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
2002:
A series of bombs planted by Islamist militant group Jemaah Islamiyah
exploded in Bali, Indonesia, killing 202 people and injuring 209
others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bali_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jawan (n):
(India) An (Indian) infantryman; a soldier
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jawan>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I admit that my visions can never mean to other men as much as they do
to me. I do not regret this. All I ask is that my results should
convince seekers after truth that there is beyond doubt something worth
while seeking, attainable by methods more or less like mine. I do not
want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics, or the
founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I
want each man to cut his own way through the jungle.
--Aleister Crowley
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley>
120px|The Battle of Valcour Island
The naval Battle of Valcour Island took place on October 11, 1776, on
Lake Champlain. The battle is generally regarded as one of the first
naval battles of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the first
fought by the United States Navy. The Continental Army had retreated
from Quebec to Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point in June 1776 after
British forces were massively reinforced. They spent the summer of 1776
fortifying those forts, and building additional ships to augment the
small American fleet already on the lake. British General Guy Carleton
had a 9,000-man army at Fort Saint-Jean, but needed to build a fleet to
carry it on the lake. By early October, the British fleet, which
significantly outgunned the American fleet, was ready for launch. On
October 11, Arnold drew the British fleet to the strait between Valcour
Island and the western shore, a position he had carefully chosen to
limit British advantages. In the battle that followed, many of the
American ships were damaged or destroyed. That night, Arnold snuck the
American fleet past the British one, beginning a retreat toward Crown
Point and Ticonderoga. Unfavorable weather hampered the American
retreat, and more of the fleet was either captured or grounded and
burned before it could reach Crown Point. Upon reaching Crown Point
Arnold had the fort's buildings burned and retreated to Ticonderoga.
(more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1531:
Huldrych Zwingli, a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, was
killed in battle in the Second War of Kappel.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huldrych_Zwingli>
1634:
A storm tide on the coast of North Frisia caused a massive flood that
killed at least 8,000 people and split the island of Strand into three
smaller islands.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burchardi_flood>
1852:
The University of Sydney , Australia's oldest university, was
inaugurated in Sydney two years after the New South Wales Legislative
Council established it with the passage of the University of Sydney
Act.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Sydney>
1941:
Armed insurgents from the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia
attacked Axis occupied zones in the city of Prilep, beginning the
National Liberation War of Macedonia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Liberation_War_of_Macedonia>
1942:
World War II: At the Battle of Cape Esperance on the northwest coast of
Guadalcanal, American ships intercepted and defeated a Japanese fleet
on their way to reinforce troops on the island.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Esperance>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
microcosm (n):
1. A smaller system which is representative of or analogous to a larger
one.
2. (archaic) A small, complete world
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/microcosm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you'll be criticized
anyway. You'll be "damned if you do, and damned if you don't."
--Eleanor Roosevelt
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt>
Waddesdon Road railway station was a small halt in open countryside in
Buckinghamshire, England. It was opened in 1871 as part of a short
horse-drawn tramway to assist with the transport of goods from and
around the Duke of Buckingham's extensive estates in Buckinghamshire
and to connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham
Railway at Quainton Road. In 1872 the line was expanded and converted
for passenger use, becoming known as the Brill Tramway. In 1899 the
operation of the line was taken over by the London-based Metropolitan
Railway. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken into public
ownership to become the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground,
and despite its rural setting Waddesdon Road station became a part of
the London Transport system. The new management could not see a future
for the line as a financially viable passenger route, and Waddesdon
Road, along with the rest of the former Brill Tramway, was closed in
late 1935. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1446:
Scholars in the court of Sejong the Great promulgated the new Korean
alphabet, now known as Hangul.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul>
1514:
Mary Tudor , sister of Henry VIII of England, became queen consort of
France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Tudor%2C_Queen_of_France>
1874:
The Universal Postal Union, then known as the General Postal Union, was
established with the signing of the Treaty of Bern to unify disparate
postal services and regulations so that international mail could be
exchanged freely.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_Union>
1888:
The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., at the time the world's
tallest building, officially opened to the general public.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument>
1983:
South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan survived an assassination attempt
in Rangoon, Burma.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangoon_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
understudy (v):
1. To study or know a role, so as to be able to replace its normal
performer if required.
2. To act as an understudy (to, for someone)
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/understudy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you
can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
All you need is love.
--John Lennon
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Lennon>
110px|Triton
Triton is the largest moon of the planet Neptune, discovered on
October 10, 1846, by William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the
Solar System with a retrograde orbit, which is an orbit in the opposite
direction to its planet's rotation. At 2700Â km in diameter, it is the
seventh-largest moon in the Solar System. Because of its retrograde
orbit and composition similar to Pluto's, Triton is thought to have
been captured from the Kuiper belt. Triton consists of a crust of
frozen nitrogen over an icy mantle believed to cover a substantial core
of rock and metal. The core makes up two-thirds of its total mass.
Triton has a mean density of 2.061Â g/cm3 and is composed of
approximately 15–35% water ice. Triton is one of the few moons in the
Solar System known to be geologically active. As a consequence, its
surface is relatively young, with a complex geological history revealed
in intricate and mysterious cryovolcanic and tectonic terrains. Part of
its crust is dotted with geysers believed to erupt nitrogen. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
451:
The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council in
Christianity, opened. It repudiated the Eutychian doctrine of
monophysitism, and set forth the Chalcedonian Creed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Chalcedon>
1076:
Demetrius Zvonimir, the last native king who exerted any real power
over the entire Croatian state, was crowned.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demetrius_Zvonimir_of_Croatia>
1897:
Composer Gustav Mahler was appointed the director of the Vienna Court
Opera.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler>
1967:
Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader Che Guevara was captured
near La Higuera, Bolivia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara>
2001:
At Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, Scandinavian Airlines Flight SK686
collided on take-off with a Cessna Citation II business jet, killing
118 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linate_Airport_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
stylite (n):
(historical) A Christian ascetic who lived alone on top of a tall
pillar
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stylite>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One always feels that a merely educated man holds his philosophical
views as if they were so many pennies in his pocket. They are separate
from his life. Whereas with a cultured man there is no gap or lacuna
between his opinions and his life. Both are dominated by the same
organic, inevitable fatality. They are what he is.
--John Cowper Powys
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Cowper_Powys>
80px|The Cure
"Just Like Heaven" is a song by the British alternative rock band The
Cure. The group wrote most of the song during recording sessions in
southern France in 1987. The lyrics were written by the band's frontman
Robert Smith (pictured), who drew inspiration from a past trip to the
sea shore with his future wife. Before Smith had completed the lyrics,
an instrumental version of the song was used as the theme for the
French television show Les Enfants du Rock. "Just Like Heaven" was the
third single released from the band's 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss
Me, while Smith's memories of the trip formed the basis for the song's
accompanying music video. The song became The Cure's first American hit
and in 1988 reached number 40 on the Billboard charts. It has been
highly praised by critics and covered by artists such as Dinosaur Jr.
and Katie Melua. Smith has said he considers "Just Like Heaven" to be
one of the band's strongest songs. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Like_Heaven_%28song%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1513:
War of the League of Cambrai: A Venetian army under Bartolomeo
d'Alviano was decisively defeated by the Spanish army commanded by
Ramón de Cardona and Fernando d'Avalos.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_La_Motta_%281513%29>
1571:
The Ottoman Empire was decisively defeated by a Western Christian
coalition for the first time near the Gulf of Corinth in the Battle of
Lepanto, the last major galley battle in history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lepanto>
1868:
Cornell University in Ithaca, New York opened, with an initial
enrollment of 412 students the next day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University>
1933:
Five French airline companies merged to form Air France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France>
2003:
Californians voted to recall Governor Gray Davis from office and
elected Arnold Schwarzenegger from a list of 135 candidates.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gubernatorial_recall_election%2C_20…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
immure (v):
1. To cloister, confine, imprison: to lock up behind walls.
2. To put or bury (for example, the remains of a person) within a wall
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/immure>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We must be clear that when it comes to atoms, language can be used only
as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing
facts as with creating images and establishing mental connections.
--Niels Bohr
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr>
110px|Telopea speciosissima
Telopea speciosissima is a large shrub in the Proteaceae family.
Endemic to New South Wales, it is the floral emblem of that state.
T. speciosissima grows as a shrub to 3 or 4 m (10–13 ft) high and 2 m
(7Â ft) wide, with dark green leaves and several stems rising from a
pronounced woody base known as a lignotuber. It is most renowned for
its striking large red inflorescences (flowerheads) in spring, each
made up of hundreds of individual flowers. These are visited by the
eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus), birds such as honeyeaters
(Meliphagidae), and insects. Telopea speciosissima has featured
prominently in art, architecture and advertising, particularly since
federation. Commercially grown in several countries as a cut flower, it
is also cultivated in the home garden, although it requires good
drainage, yet adequate moisture, and is vulnerable to fungal disease
and pests. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
69 BC:
Third Mithridatic War: Forces of the Roman Republic captured the
Armenian capital city Tigranakert.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tigranocerta>
1683:
German immigrants to the Pennsylvania Colony founded Germantown, the
first permanent German settlement in North America.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American>
1976:
Two bombs placed by CIA-linked anti-Castro Cuban exiles exploded aboard
Cubana Flight 455, killing all 78Â aboard.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubana_Flight_455>
1981:
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated while attending a
parade in Cairo to mark the eighth anniversary of the Crossing of the
Bar Lev Line at the start of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Sadat>
1985:
Police constable Keith Blakelock was killed during rioting in the
Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham, London.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Keith_Blakelock>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
novity (n):
1. An innovation; a novelty.
2. Novelty; newness
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/novity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear
me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
--Alfred Tennyson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Tennyson>
100px|Title page from The Author's Farce
The Author's Farce is a play by the English playwright and novelist
Henry Fielding, first performed on 30Â March 1730 at the Little Theatre,
Haymarket. Written in response to the Theatre Royal's rejection of his
earlier plays, The Author's Farce was Fielding's first theatrical
success. The first and second acts deal with the attempts of the
central character, Harry Luckless, to woo his landlady's daughter, and
his efforts to make money by writing plays. In the second act, he
finishes a puppet theatre play titled The Pleasures of the Town, about
the Goddess Nonsense's choice of a husband from allegorical
representatives of theatre and other literary genres. After its
rejection by one theatre, Luckless's play is staged at another. The
third act becomes a play within a play, in which the characters in the
puppet play are portrayed by humans. The Author's Farce ends with a
merging of the play's and the puppet show's realities. The play
established Fielding as a popular London playwright, and the press
reported that seats were in great demand. Although largely ignored by
critics until the 20th century, most agree that the play is primarily a
commentary on events in Fielding's life, signalling his transition from
older forms of comedy to the new satire of his contemporaries.
(more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
610:
Heraclius was crowned Byzantine Emperor, after having personally
beheaded the previous emperor Phocas.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclius>
1789:
French Revolution: Upset about the high price and scarcity of bread,
thousands of Parisian women and their various allies marched on the
royal palace at Versailles.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Women%27s_March_on_Versailles>
1908:
Prince Ferdinand became the first Tsar of Bulgaria since the Ottoman
invasion in the 14th century.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Bulgaria>
1962:
Dr. No, the first in the James Bond film series, was released.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._No_%28film%29>
1973:
Seven nations signed the European Patent Convention, providing an
autonomous legal system according to which European patents are
granted.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Patent_Convention>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
amber (noun):
1. Translucent fossilized tree resin, generally yellow or orange but
sometimes blue, often used as jewelry.
2. (in British English) The middle light in a set of three traffic
lights, between the red and the green lights.
3. (in biology, biochemistry and genetics) The RNA codon UAG, which
stops the third stage of protein production, translation
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/amber>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The only real hope of people today is probably a renewal of our
certainty that we are rooted in the earth and, at the same time, in the
cosmos. This awareness endows us with the capacity for
self-transcendence. Politicians at international forums may reiterate a
thousand times that the basis of the new world order must be universal
respect for human rights, but it will mean nothing as long as this
imperative does not derive from the respect of the miracle of Being,
the miracle of the universe, the miracle of nature, the miracle of our
own existence. Only someone who submits to the authority of the
universal order and of creation, who values the right to be a part of
it and a participant in it, can genuinely value himself and his
neighbors, and thus honor their rights as well.
--Václav Havel
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Havel>
125px|Sounders FC players lift the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Open Cup trophies
after repeating as champions by winning the 2010 final.
The 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final was played on October 5,
2010, at Qwest Field (now CenturyLink Field) in Seattle, Washington.
The match determined the winner of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a
tournament open to amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated
with the United States Soccer Federation. This was the 97th edition of
the oldest competition in United States soccer. Seattle Sounders FC won
the match, defeating the Columbus Crew 2–1. The final drew an
attendance of 31,311, surpassing the 81-year-old record for the event.
Sounders FC became the first team since 1983 to win two consecutive
U.S. Open Cup championships and the first Major League Soccer club to
ever do so. As a result of its U.S. Open Cup championship, Seattle
earned a berth in the preliminary round of the 2011–12 CONCACAF
Champions League, as well as a $100,000 cash prize. The Crew received
the runner-up prize of $50,000. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1824:
Mexico enacted its first constitution, defining the nation as a federal
republic.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1824_Constitution_of_Mexico>
1957:
Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 1 , the first artificial satellite to orbit
the Earth, was launched by an R-7 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
near Tyuratam, Kazakh SSR.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1>
1967:
Hassanal Bolkiah became Sultan of Brunei upon the abdication of his
father, Omar Ali Saifuddien III.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassanal_Bolkiah>
1997:
Armored car driver David Ghantt stole $17.3Â million from his employer,
one of the largest cash robberies in U.S. history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loomis_Fargo_Bank_Robbery>
2003:
A suicide bomber killed 21 people and injured more than 50 others
inside the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Israel.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_restaurant_suicide_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ruthful (adj):
1. Full of sorrow; sorrowful; woeful; rueful.
2. Causing pity; piteous
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ruthful>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Disunion and civil war are at hand; and yet I fear disunion and war
less than compromise. We can recover from them. The free States alone,
if we must go on alone, will make a glorious nation.
--Rutherford B. Hayes
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rutherford_B._Hayes>
120px|Daily weather map from October 6, 1941, depicting a hurricane
nearing the southeast Florida coast
The 1941Â Florida hurricane was a strong tropical cyclone that
affected the Bahamas, Florida, and the southeastern United States in
October 1941. The fifth known storm of the 1941Â Atlantic hurricane
season, it was first observed to the north of the Virgin Islands on
October 3. The storm tracked generally westward through the Bahamas,
reaching peak winds of 120 miles per hour (190Â km/h). After moving
across southern Florida the hurricane emerged into the Gulf of Mexico
and made another landfall along the Florida Panhandle. Turning
northeast, it crossed Georgia and South Carolina, and entered the
Atlantic Ocean on October 8. In the Bahamas, where winds reached 104
miles per hour (167Â km/h), the storm killed three people. The city of
Nassau was struck particularly hard. In Florida, damage was relatively
severe, and included the deaths of several people. High winds brought
down trees and powerlines, though the storm was characterized by highly
unusual rainfall patterns. Storm surge in the Everglades region flooded
local streets. As the storm progressed northward, the city of
Tallahassee suffered widespread power outages and damage to numerous
vehicles. Throughout the state, the hurricane inflicted $675,000
(1941Â USD) in damages. The cyclone later killed one person in Georgia.
(more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
World War I: Following his armed forces' defeat to the Allied Powers,
Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand I abdicated in favor of his son Boris III .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Bulgaria>
1951:
Korean War: The First Battle of Maryang San, primarily pitting
Australian and British forces against communist China, began.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Maryang_San>
1981:
The hunger strike by Irish Republican Army prisoners at the Maze jail
in Belfast ended after seven months and 10 deaths.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Irish_hunger_strike>
1990:
East and West Germany officially joined to form the first fully
sovereign united German state since the end of World War II.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification>
2003:
Roy Horn of the American entertainment duo of Siegfried & Roy was
mauled by a tiger during a performance at The Mirage hotel and casino
resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_%26_Roy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unitive (adj):
Causing or characterized by unity or union
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unitive>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have always felt that no matter how inscrutable its ways and means,
the universe is working perfectly and working according to a greater
plan than we can know.
--John Perry Barlow
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow>