The Shawshank Redemption is an American drama film written and directed
by Frank Darabont, first released on September 23, 1994. Based on the
1982 Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, it
tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who is sentenced
to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary (prison pictured) for the murder
of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence. Over the
following two decades, he befriends a fellow prisoner, contraband
smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), and becomes instrumental
in a money laundering operation led by the prison warden Samuel Norton
(Bob Gunton). The film received positive reviews, but earned only
$16 million during its initial theatrical run. After garnering seven
Academy Award nominations, it was one of the top rented films of 1995,
and totaled $58.3 million at the box office after a theatrical re-
release. In 2015, the Library of Congress selected the film for
preservation in the National Film Registry.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1803:
Maratha troops were defeated by forces of the British East
India Company at the Battle of Assaye, one of the decisive battles of
the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Assaye>
1952:
U.S. vice-presidential candidate Richard Nixon delivered the
"Checkers speech", one of the first political uses of television to
appeal directly to the populace.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers_speech>
2002:
The initial version of the Firefox web browser was released by
the Mozilla Organization.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox>
2016:
Following a number of high-profile sexual assaults, major
reforms were enacted to strengthen laws related to rape in Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_in_Germany>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
tellurian:
1. (formal or literary) Of or relating to the earth; (specifically,
chiefly science fiction) inhabiting planet Earth as opposed to other
planets.
2. (mineralogy) Of a mineral: containing tellurium.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tellurian>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
For all their laughter, ghouls are a dull lot. Hunger is the fire
in which they burn, and it burns hotter than the hunger for power over
men or for knowledge of the gods in a crazed mortal. It vaporizes
delicacy and leaves behind only a slag of anger and lust. They see their
fellows as impediments to feeding, to be mauled and shrieked at when the
mourners go home.
--Brian McNaughton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_McNaughton>