Dr. No is the sixth novel by the English author Ian Fleming to feature
his British Secret Service agent James Bond. Written at Fleming's
Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, it was first published in the United
Kingdom by Jonathan Cape in 1958. In the novel Bond looks into the
disappearance in Jamaica of two fellow MI6 operatives who had been
investigating Doctor No. Bond travels to No's Caribbean island and meets
Honeychile Rider, who is there to collect shells. They are captured and
taken to a luxurious facility carved into a mountain. The character of
Doctor No, the son of a German missionary and a Chinese woman, was
influenced by Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories. Dr. No was the first of
Fleming's novels to face widespread negative reviews in Britain, but it
was received more favourably in the United States. The story was adapted
in 1962 as the first film in the Bond series, with Sean Connery in the
lead role. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ian Fleming's
James Bond novels and short stories.).
Read more:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Ian_Fleming%27s_James_Bond_novels_and_short_stories>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1909:
Pluto was photographed for the first time at the Yerkes
Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, U.S., 21 years before it was
officially discovered by Clyde Tombaugh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto>
1950:
Korean War: United Nations forces repelled an attempt by North
Korea to capture the city of Taegu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taegu>
1989:
The final stage of the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South
Australia, was completed, at the time the world's longest and fastest
guided busway with buses travelling a total of 12 km (7.5 mi) at
maximum speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-Bahn_Busway>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
mezzanine:
1. (architecture)
2. An intermediate floor or storey in between the main floors of a
building; specifically, one that is directly above the ground floor
which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, and so
resembles a large balcony overlooking the ground floor; an entresol.
3. (by extension) An apartment, room, etc., on such an intermediate
floor.
4. (Canada, US) The lowest balcony in an auditorium, cinema, theatre,
etc.; the dress circle.
5. (obsolete)
6. Additional flooring laid over a floor to bring it up to some height
or level.
7. In full mezzanine window: a small window at the height of a mezzanine
floor (sense 1.1) or an attic, used to light these floors.
8. (theater, obsolete) A floor under the stage, from which contrivances
such as traps are worked.
9. (banking, business) Characteristic of or relating to high-interest
loans which have no collateral, and are regarded as intermediate in
nature, ranking above equity but below secured loans.
10. (engineering) Fulfilling an intermediate or secondary function.
11. (transitive) To fit (a building or other place) with a mezzanine
floor.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mezzanine>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are moments, as I myself have emphasized on different
occasions, in which "kairos," the right time, is united with
"logos,"
the "eternal truth," and in which the fate of philosophy is decided for
a special period.
--Paul Tillich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich>