Starship Troopers is a 1959 military science fiction novel by Robert A.
Heinlein (pictured). The first-person narrative follows Juan "Johnny"
Rico through his military service in the Mobile Infantry, most of which
takes place during an interstellar war between humans and an alien
species known as "Arachnids" or "Bugs". Interspersed with the
primary
plot are classroom scenes in which Rico and others discuss philosophical
and moral issues, including aspects of suffrage (restricted in Rico's
society), civic virtue, juvenile delinquency, and war; these discussions
have been described as expounding Heinlein's own political views. A
coming-of-age novel, Starship Troopers also critiques the US society of
the 1950s, arguing that a lack of discipline had led to a moral decline.
Starship Troopers brought to an end Heinlein's juvenile novel series. It
became one of his best-selling books, and won the Hugo Award for Best
Novel. The story has been adapted several times, including in a 1997
film version.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1843:
During a period of activity known as the Great Eruption, Eta
Carinae briefly became the second-brightest star in the night sky.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Carinae>
1984:
The anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao
Miyazaki was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausica%C3%A4_of_the_Valley_of_the_Wind_%28film%29>
2011:
A massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan and
triggered a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power
Plant.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_nuclear_disaster>
2012:
U.S. Army soldier Robert Bales murdered sixteen civilians and
wounded six others in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandahar_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
new normal:
(chiefly Canada, US, idiomatic) A current prevailing situation which has
emerged recently, that differs dramatically from the previous one and is
expected to remain.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/new_normal>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
My favorite word is "redemption." I like both its meaning and the
sound. My least favorite word is "maybe." "Maybe" is almost always a
"no" drawn out in cruel fashion.
--Libba Bray
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Libba_Bray>
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