House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton‑Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. The show's premise originated with Paul Attanasio, while David Shore, who is credited as creator, was primarily responsible for the conception of the title character. It is largely filmed in Century City. House often clashes with his fellow physicians, including his own diagnostic team, because many of his hypotheses about patients' illnesses are based on subtle or controversial insights. His flouting of hospital rules and procedures frequently runs him afoul of his boss (and, later, girlfriend), hospital administrator and Dean of Medicine Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein). House's only true friend is Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), head of the Department of Oncology. Critically acclaimed for much of its run, House maintains high viewer ratings. Distributed to 66 countries, House was the most watched television program in the world in 2008.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_%28TV_series%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1541:

The expedition led by Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto became the first documented Europeans to reach the Mississippi River. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto

1882:

U.S. President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act into law, implementing a ban on Chinese immigration to the United States that eventually lasted for over 60 years until the 1943 Magnuson Act. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act

1927:

Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French warheroes Charles Nungesser and Francois Coli disappeared after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Bird

1945:

A parade to celebrate the end of World War II in Sétif, Algeria, ended in French gendarmes firing on rioters and killings of French settlers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9tif_and_Guelma_massacre

1963:

In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam opened fire into a crowd of Buddhists protesting against a government ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesākha, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hue_Phat_Dan_shootings

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

anodyne (adj): 1. Assuaging pain; soothing. 2. Provoking only a weak response or reaction; bland, inoffensive http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anodyne

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It is possible for a dictator to govern in a liberal way. And it is also possible for a democracy to govern with a total lack of liberalism. Personally I prefer a liberal dictator to democratic government lacking liberalism. --Friedrich Hayek http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek