Elizabeth Needham was an English procuress and brothel-keeper of
18th-century London, who has been identified as the bawd greeting Moll
Hackabout in the first plate of William Hogarth's series of satirical
etchings, A Harlot's Progress. Although Needham was notorious in London at
the time, little is recorded of her life, and no genuine portraits of her
survive. Her house was the most exclusive in London and her customers came
from the highest strata of fashionable society, but she eventually fell foul
of the moral reformers of the day and died as a result of the severe
treatment she received after being sentenced to stand in the pillory.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Needham
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1065:
London's Westminster Abbey, built by Edward the Confessor between 1045 and
1050, was consecrated.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Abbey)
1836:
At the Old Gum Tree near present-day Adelaide, Royal Navy Rear–Admiral John
Hindmarsh read a proclamation establishing the British province of South
Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Australia)
1879:
The Tay Bridge, spannning the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and
the Wormit, collapsed as a train passed over it, killing all on board.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay_Rail_Bridge)
1895:
History of film: Using their cinematograph in Paris, the Lumière brothers
showed motion pictures to a paying audience for the first time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_and_Louis_Lumi%C3%A8re)
1948:
The Douglas DC-3 airliner NC16002, en route from San Juan, Puerto Rico to
Miami, Florida, USA, inexplicably disappeared in the area known as the
Bermuda Triangle.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NC16002_disappearance)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
querulously (adv) With grumbling, complaining, or whining.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/querulously)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The forces of moderation and democracy must, and will, prevail against
extremism and dictatorship. I will not be intimidated. ... Despite threats
of death, I will not acquiesce to tyranny, but rather lead the fight against
it. --Benazir Bhutto
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto)
The Battle of Shiloh was a major battle in the Western Theater of the
American Civil War, fought on April 6 and April 7, 1862, in southwestern
Tennessee. Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and
P.G.T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack against the Union Army of Maj.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and came very close to defeating his army. The
Confederate battle lines became confused during the fierce fighting, and
Grant's men instead fell back in the direction of Pittsburg Landing to the
northeast. A position on a slightly sunken road, nicknamed the "Hornet's
Nest", defended by the men of Brig. Gens. Benjamin M. Prentiss's and W.H.L.
Wallace's divisions, provided critical time for the rest of the Union line
to stabilize under the protection of numerous artillery batteries. Gen.
Johnston was killed during the first day's fighting, and Beauregard, his
second in command, decided against assaulting the final Union position that
night. Reinforcements from Gen. Buell arrived in the evening and turned the
tide the next morning, when he and Grant launched a counterattack along the
entire line. The Confederates were forced to retreat from the bloodiest
battle in United States history up to that time, ending their hopes that
they could block the Union advance into northern Mississippi.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1831:
Aboard HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin left Plymouth, England, on what became an
historic expedition to South America that made his name as a naturalist.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_voyage_of_HMS_Beagle)
1918:
A public speech by famed Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski in Poznań
sparked the Greater Poland Uprising against Germany and Prussia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Poland_Uprising_(1918%E2%80%931919)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Poland_Uprising_%281918%E2%80%931919%29>
)
1945:
The international ratification of the Bretton Woods Agreement established
the International Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_Woods_system)
1949:
Indonesian National Revolution: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands signed
papers that relinquished sovereignty of most of the Dutch East Indies,
officially recognising the independence of Indonesia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_National_Revolution)
1979:
Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet troops stormed Tajbeg Palace outside of
Kabul and killed Afghan President Hafizullah Amin and his 300 elite guards.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafizullah_Amin)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
snowclone (n) A type of cliché which uses an old idiom formulaically in
a new context.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snowclone)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am utterly convinced that Science and Peace will triumph over Ignorance
and War, that nations will eventually unite not to destroy but to edify, and
that the future will belong to those who have done the most for the sake of
suffering humanity.
--Louis Pasteur
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_Pasteur)
Thespis is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between
dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. It was never
published, and most of the music is now lost. However, Gilbert and Sullivan
would go on to become one of the most famous and successful partnerships in
Victorian England, creating a string of comic opera hits, including H.M.S.
Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, that continue to be
popular. Thespis premièred in London at the Gaiety Theatre on 26 December
1871. Like many productions at that theatre, it was written in a broad,
burlesque style, considerably different from Gilbert and Sullivan's later
works. It was a modest success—for a Christmas entertainment of the time—and
closed on 8 March 1872, after a run of 63 performances. It was advertised as
"An entirely original Grotesque Opera in Two Acts". The story follows an
acting troupe headed by Thespis, the legendary Greek father of the drama,
who temporarily trade places with the gods on Mount Olympus, who have grown
elderly and ignored. The actors turn out to be comically inept rulers.
Having seen the ensuing mayhem down below, the angry gods return, sending
the actors back to Earth as "eminent tragedians, whom no one ever goes to
see."
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thespis
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1606:
The first recorded performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear, based on
the legend of King Lear of Britain, was held.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear)
1790:
French Revolution: Louis XVI of France gave his Royal Assent to the Civil
Constitution of the Clergy, subordinating the Roman Catholic Church in
France to the French government.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Constitution_of_the_Clergy)
1898:
Physicists Pierre and Marie Curie announced the discovery of a new element,
naming it radium.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium)
1908:
Boxer Jack Johnson became the first African American Heavyweight Champion of
the World after defeating Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_(boxer)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_%28boxer%29>
)
2004:
An undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra,
Indonesia generated a series of devastating tsunamis that killed more than
225,000 people in eleven countries.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
piecemeal (adv) 1. Piece by piece; in small amounts, stages, or degrees.
2. Into pieces or parts.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/piecemeal)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The responsibility of the great states is to serve and not to dominate the
world.
--Harry S. Truman
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman)
Robert Sterling Yard (1861 – 1945) was an American writer, journalist and
wilderness activist. Yard graduated from Princeton University and spent the
first twenty years of his career as a journalist, editor and publisher. In
1915 he was recruited by his friend Stephen Mather to help publicize the
need for an independent national park agency. Their numerous publications
were part of a movement that resulted in legislative support for a National
Park Service in 1916. Yard served as head of the National Parks Educational
Committee for several years after its conception, but tension within the NPS
led him to concentrate on non-government initiatives. He became executive
secretary of the National Parks Association in 1919. Yard worked to promote
the national parks as well as educate Americans about their use. Creating
high standards based on aesthetic ideals for park selection, he also opposed
commercialism and industrialization of what he called "America's
masterpieces". These standards caused discord with his peers. After helping
to establish a relationship between the NPA and the United States Forest
Service, Yard later became involved in the protection of wilderness areas.
In 1935 he became one of the eight founding members of The Wilderness
Society and acted as its first president from 1937 until his death eight
years later. Yard is now considered an important figure in the modern
wilderness movement.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sterling_Yard
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
800:
Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, a title that had been out of use
in the West since the abdication of Romulus Augustus in 476.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiritimati)
1066:
William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England at
Westminster Abbey, completing the Norman Conquest, the last successful
foreign conquest of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_England)
1776:
American Revolutionary War: George Washington and his army crossed the
Delaware River to launch a surprise attack on Hessian mercenaries at the
Battle of Trenton.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_crossing_of_the_Delaware)
1947:
The Constitution of the Republic of China went into effect, amid the ongoing
Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communists.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Republic_of_China)
1991:
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the Soviet Union.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nativity (n) Birth; the place, time and circumstances of a birth.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nativity)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
--Isaac Watts
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts)
The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977 by James L. Elliot,
Edward W. Dunham, and Douglas J. Mink. Two additional rings were discovered
in 1986 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, and two outer rings were found in
2003–2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope. Additional faint dust bands and
incomplete arcs may exist between the main rings. The rings are extremely
dark—the bond albedo of the rings' particles does not exceed 2%. They are
likely composed of water ice with the addition of some dark
radiation-processed organics. The majority of Uranus's rings are opaque and
only a few kilometres wide. The ring system contains little dust overall; it
consists mostly of large bodies 0.2–20 m in diameter. The relative lack of
dust in the ring system is due to aerodynamic drag from the extended Uranian
exosphere—corona. The rings of Uranus are thought to be relatively young, at
not more than 600 million years. The mechanism that confines the narrow
rings is not well understood. The Uranian ring system probably originated
from the collisional fragmentation of a number of moons that once existed
around the planet. After colliding, the moons probably broke up into
numerous particles, which survived as narrow and optically dense rings only
in strictly confined zones of maximum stability.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Uranus
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
An expedition led by English explorer James Cook reached Christmas Island,
the largest coral atoll in the world.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiritimati)
1814:
The Treaty of Ghent was signed in Ghent, present-day Belgium, ending the War
of 1812 between the United Kingdom and the United States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Ghent)
1865:
Six Confederate veterans of the American Civil War founded the Ku Klux Klan,
which would later become a white supremacist group.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan)
1906:
Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first radio broadcast,
which included his playing a song on the violin and reading a passage from
the Bible.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessenden)
1974:
Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin, Australia, eventually destroying more than 70
percent of the city.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Tracy)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
workshop (n) 1. A small room where things are manufactured, or light
industrial work is done.
2. A brief intensive course of education for a small
group.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/workshop)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and
unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes
the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not
the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men
that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance,
can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and
glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is
nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he
lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten
thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of
childhood.
--Francis Pharcellus Church
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Francis_Pharcellus_Church)
Preity Zinta (born 1975) is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in
Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu and English-language movies.
After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting
debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year. These
performances earned her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, and she was
later recognised for her role as a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna
(2000). She subsequently played a variety of character types, and in doing
so has been credited with changing the image of a Hindi film heroine. Zinta
received her first Filmfare Best Actress Award in 2003 for her performance
in the drama Kal Ho Naa Ho. She went on to play the lead female role in two
consecutive annual top-grossing films in India: the science fiction film
Koi... Mil Gaya, her biggest commercial success, and the star-crossed
romance Veer-Zaara, which earned her critical acclaim. She was later noted
for her portrayal of independent, modern Indian women in Salaam Namaste and
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, top-grossing productions in overseas markets. These
accomplishments have established her as a leading actress of Hindi cinema.
In addition to movie acting, Zinta has written a series of columns for BBC
News Online South Asia, is a regular stage performer, and along with
boyfriend Ness Wadia she is a co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket
team Kings XI Punjab.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preity_Zinta
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
962:
Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine
troops stormed the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the
Baptist.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine-Arab_Wars_(780-1180)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine-Arab_Wars_%28780-1180%29>
)
1620:
Construction of the Plymouth Colony, an English colonial venture in what is
today Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA, began two days after the first landing
party arrived at the site.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony)
1823:
A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas, was
first published. The poem was later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Visit_from_St._Nicholas)
1947:
The transistor, invented by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William
Shockley, was first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor)
1972:
The Nicaraguan capital of Managua was struck by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake,
killing more than 10,000.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Nicaragua_earthquake)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
with bated breath (adv) (idiomatic) Eagerly; with great anticipation.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/with_bated_breath)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I think we should be very clear on this... this country was founded on the
principles of the Enlightenment... It was the idea that people could talk,
reason, have dialogue, discuss the issues. It wasn't founded on the idea
that someone would get struck by a divine inspiration and know everything
right from wrong. I mean, people who founded this country had religion, they
had strong beliefs, but they believed in reason, in dialogue, in civil
discourse. We can't lose that in this country. We've got to get it back.
--Wesley Clark
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wesley_Clark)
The Sunderland Echo is an evening provincial newspaper serving the
Sunderland, South Tyneside and East Durham areas of North East England. The
newspaper was founded by Samuel Storey, Edward Backhouse, Edward Temperley
Gourley, Charles Palmer, Richard Ruddock, Thomas Glaholm and Thomas Scott
Turnbull in 1873, as the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette.
Designed to provide a platform for the Radical views held by Storey and his
partners, it was also Sunderland's first local daily paper. The inaugural
edition of the Echo was printed in Press Lane, Sunderland on 22 December
1873; 1,000 copies were produced and sold for a halfpenny each. The Echo
survived intense competition in its early years, as well as the depression
of the 1930s and two World Wars. Sunderland was heavily bombed in the Second
World War and, although the Echo building was undamaged, it was forced to
print its competitor's paper under wartime rules. It was during this time
that the paper's format changed, from a broadsheet to its current tabloid
layout, because of national newsprint shortages.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunderland_Echo
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1808:
German composer Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Fifth Symphony, currently
one of the most popular and well-known compositions in all of European
classical music, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._5_(Beethoven)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._5_%28Beethoven%29>
)
1864:
American Civil War: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the
Sea ended with the capture of Savannah, Georgia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman%27s_March_to_the_Sea)
1978:
Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping uses the opening of the Third Plenum of the
11th CPC Central Committee to launch economic reform and opening up.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China_(1…<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China_%2…>
)
1989:
Romanian Revolution: After a week of bloody demonstrations, Ion Iliescu took
over as President of Romania, ending the Communist dictatorship of Nicolae
Ceauşescu.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Iliescu)
2001:
Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in
Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ursine (adj) 1. Of or relating to bears.
2. Having the appearance or characteristics of a
bear.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ursine)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The holiness of the real
Is always there, accessible
In total immanence. The nodes
Of transcendence coagulate
In you, the experiencer,
And in the other, the lover.
--Kenneth Rexroth
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Rexroth)
The equipartition theorem is a formula from statistical mechanics that
relates the temperature of a system with its average energies. The original
idea of equipartition was that, in thermal equilibrium, energy is shared
equally among its various forms; for example, the average kinetic energy in
the translational motion of a molecule should equal the average kinetic
energy in its rotational motion. Like the virial theorem, the equipartition
theorem gives the total average kinetic and potential energies for a system
at a given temperature, from which the system's heat capacity can be
computed. However, equipartition also gives the average values of individual
components of the energy. It can be applied to any classical system in
thermal equilibrium, no matter how complicated. The equipartition theorem
can be used to derive the classical ideal gas law, and the Dulong–Petit law
for the specific heat capacities of solids. It can also be used to predict
the properties of stars, even white dwarfs and neutron stars, since it holds
even when relativistic effects are considered. Although the equipartition
theorem makes very accurate predictions in certain conditions, it becomes
inaccurate when quantum effects are significant, namely at low enough
temperatures.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
69:
Vespasian became the fourth Roman Emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Four_Emperors)
1844:
The Rochdale Pioneers, usually considered the first successful cooperative
enterprise, opened their store in Rochdale, England, and formed the basis
for the modern cooperative movement.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Pioneers)
1937:
The animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, based on the
fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm, premiered to a widely receptive
audience.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_%281937_film%29>
)
1962:
Rondane National Park, Norway's first national park, was established.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondane_National_Park)
1988:
Pan Am Flight 103: A Libyan government sponsored terrorist bomb exploded and
destroyed a Boeing 747 in flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270,
including 11 on the ground.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sheepishly (adv) Meekly; self-consciously; with embarrassment.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sheepishly)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If there is a God, I don't think He would demand that anyone bow down or
stand up to Him. I often have a suspicion that God is still trying to work
things out and hasn't finished.
--Rebecca West
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rebecca_West)
Richard Hawes (1797 – 1877) was a United States Representative from Kentucky
and the second Confederate Governor of Kentucky. Originally a Whig, Hawes
became a Democrat following the of the Whig party in the 1850s. At the
outbreak of the American Civil War, Hawes was a supporter of Kentucky's
doctrine of armed neutrality. When the Commonwealth's neutrality was
breached in September 1861, Hawes fled to Virginia and enlisted as a brigade
commissary under Confederate general Humphrey Marshall. He was elected
Confederate governor of the Commonwealth following the late George W.
Johnson's death at the Battle of Shiloh. Hawes and the Confederate
government traveled with Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee, and when Bragg
invaded Kentucky in October 1862, he captured Frankfort and held an
inauguration ceremony for Hawes. The ceremony was interrupted, however, by
forces under Union general Don Carlos Buell, and the Confederates were
driven from the Commonwealth following the Battle of Perryville. Hawes
relocated to Virginia, where he continued to lobby President Jefferson Davis
to attempt another invasion of Kentucky. Following the war, he returned to
his home in Paris, Kentucky, swore an oath of allegiance to the Union, and
was allowed to return to his law practice.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hawes
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1803:
As part of the Louisiana Purchase, New Orleans was transferred from France
to the United States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase)
1917:
The Cheka, the first Soviet secret police, was founded. Felix Dzerzhinsky
was appointed as its leader.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheka)
1951:
Experimental Breeder Reactor I near Arco, Idaho, USA became the world's
first electricity-generating nuclear power plant when it produced sufficient
electricity to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_Breeder_Reactor_I)
1995:
The NATO-led IFOR began peacekeeping in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFOR)
1999:
Portugal transferred sovereignty of Macau to the People's Republic of China.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nebulously (adv) 1. (idiomatic) Vaguely, without clear purpose or
specific intention.
2. In a manner like that of a cloud or haze.
3. As if viewed through a cloud or haze.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nebulously)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the
most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of
the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight
against: any religion, or government which limits or destroys the
individual. This is what I am and what I am about. I can understand why a
system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for it is the
one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system. Surely I can
understand this, and I hate it and I will fight against it to preserve the
one thing that separates us from the uncreative beasts. If the glory can be
killed, we are lost.
--John Steinbeck
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck)
Clem Hill (1877 - 1945) was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test
matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the
Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolific run
scorer, Hill scored 3,412 runs in Test cricket—a world record at the time of
his retirement—at an average of 39.21 per innings, including seven
centuries. In 1902, Hill was the first batsman to make 1,000 Test runs in a
calendar year, a feat that would not be repeated for 45 years. His innings
of 365 scored against New South Wales for South Australia in 1900–01 was a
Sheffield Shield record for 27 years. His Test cricket career ended in
controversy after he was involved in a brawl with cricket administrator and
fellow Test selector Peter McAlister in 1912. He was one of the "Big Six", a
group of leading Australian cricketers who boycotted the 1912 Triangular
Tournament in England when the players were stripped of the right to appoint
the tour manager. The boycott effectively ended his Test career. After
retiring from cricket, Hill worked in the horse racing industry as a
stipendiary steward and later as a handicapper for races including the
Caulfield Cup.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clem_Hill
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1843:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, a novella about Ebenezer Scrooge, was
first published.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol)
1972:
NASA astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt aboard
Apollo 17 returned to Earth. No human has visited the Moon since.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17)
1984:
The People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed the
Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to the transfer of sovereignty of
Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declaration)
1997:
Titanic is released in theaters. This movie would become the most
financially successful movie in U.S. history, grossing approximately $1.8
billion worldwide.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_%281997_film%29>
)
2007:
The Lakotah people, a Native American tribe, proclaim independence and
withdraw all their treaties with the United States. They then proceed to
establish the Republic of Lakotah, with an ongoing process of international
recognition as a separate country.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakotah)
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
hymnody (n) 1. The writing, composing, or singing of hymns or psalms.
2. The hymns of a particular church or of a
particular time.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hymnody)
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
In such an ugly time the true protest is beauty.
--Phil Ochs
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phil_Ochs)