Sep 30, 2014

On This Day - Sept. 30

1791 CE - The first performance of The Magic Flute, the last opera by Mozart to make its debut, takes place at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria. 




Photo of the Day
San Siro stadium, Milan, Italy. 

In the News
Quote of the Day
"The richest people in the world aren't particularly smart or happy. And the happiest people in the world aren't particularly rich or smart..." --Frank Zappa

Song of the Day

Film of the Day




Wiki of the Day
Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. With 80,000 festival visitors, and including personnel a total of roughly 86,000 attendees in 2011,[2] it attracts all kinds of metal music fans, such as fans of black metal, death metal, power metal, thrash metal, gothic metal, folk metal, and even metalcore, nu metal and hard rock from around the world.
The festival was first held in 1990 as a small event for local German bands. W:O:A is usually held at the beginning of August and lasts three days.
Since 2002, the Wacken Firefighters, the local volunteer fire department band, opens the festival.


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sep 29, 2014

On This Day - Sept. 29

480 BCE - The Greek navy, under Themistocles, defeats the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis during the second Persian invasion of Greece. 




Photo of the Day
In the News



Quote of the Day
"Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves..." ---Rainer Maria Rilke

Song of the Day
Gold Digger
Artist - Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx
Album - Late Registration




Film of the Day



Wiki of the Day
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft.[1]
Since each cylinder bank is essentially a straight-6, this configuration has perfect primary and secondary balance no matter which V angle is used and therefore needs no balance shafts. A V12 with two banks of six cylinders angled at 60°, 120° or 180° (with the latter configuration usually referred to as a flat-12) from each other has even firing with power pulses delivered twice as often per revolution as a straight-6. This allows for great refinement in a luxury car. In a racing car, the rotating parts can be made much lighter and thus more responsive, since there is no need to use counterweights on the crankshaft as is needed in a 90° V8 and less need for the inertial mass in a flywheel to smooth out the power delivery. In a large displacement, heavy-duty engine, a V12 can run slower than smaller engines, prolonging engine life.


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sep 28, 2014

On This Day - Sept. 28

48 BCE - Pompey Magnus is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopater after retreating to Egypt following his defeat by Julius Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus in central Greece.




Photo of the Day




In the News




Quote of the Day
"Tyrants, in the course of time, must eventually be overthrown because of the continual opposition of the oppressed. It is an unchanging Law, a constant rule, the penalty is certain, albeit that it is very slow coming to fruition". --Francesco Mario Pagano
Song of the Day




Film of the Day

Wiki of the Day
Trepanning, also known as trephination, trephining or making a burr hole (the verb trepan derives via Old French and therefrom via Medieval Latin from the Greek noun of relevant meaning trypanon, literally "(a) borer, (an) auger")[1][2] is a surgical intervention in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the human skull, exposing the dura mater to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases. It may also refer to any "burr" hole created through other body surfaces, including nail beds. It is often used to relieve pressure beneath a surface. A trephine is an instrument used for cutting out a round piece of skull bone.
Evidence of trepanation has been found in prehistoric human remains from Neolithic times onward. Cave paintings indicate that people believed the practice would cure epileptic seizures, migraines, and mental disorders.[3] The bone that was trepanned was kept by the prehistoric people and may have been worn as a charm to keep evil spirits away. Evidence also suggests that trepanation was primitive emergency surgery after head wounds[4] to remove shattered bits of bone from a fractured skull and clean out the blood that often pools under the skull after a blow to the head. Such injuries were typical for primitive weaponry such as slings and war clubs.[5]


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sep 27, 2014

On This Day - Sept. 27

1908 CE - The first Ford Model T automobile rolls out of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan. 




Photo of the Day
Various Venezuelan coins. 
In the News



Quote of the Day
"People crushed by law have no hopes but from power. If laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to laws; and those who have much to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous". --Edmund Burke

Song of the Day

Film of the Day

Wiki of the Day
Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name is most commonly used to refer to Sir Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe.[1] Such clubs were rumoured to be the meeting places of "persons of quality"[2] who wished to take part in immoral acts, and the members were often very involved in politics. Neither the activities nor membership of the club are easy to ascertain.[3][4]
The first Hellfire Club was founded in London in 1719, by Philip, Duke of Wharton and a handful of other high society friends.[5] The most notorious club associated with the name was established in England by Sir Francis Dashwood,[6] and met irregularly from around 1749 to around 1760, and possibly up until 1766.[7] In its later years, the Hellfire was closely associated with Brooks's, established in 1764. Other clubs using the name "Hellfire Club" were set up throughout the 18th century. Most of these clubs were set up in Ireland after Wharton's were dispelled.[8]


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sep 26, 2014

On This Day - Sept. 26

1580 CE - Sir Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation of the Earth. 




Photo of the Day




In the News



Quote of the Day
"The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull". --Dean Acheson




Song of the Day
Artist - Eddie Floyd
Album - Knock On Wood




Film of the Day
Director - Bruce A. Evans




Wiki of the Day
A castrato (Italian, plural: castrati) is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.
Castration before puberty (or in its early stages) prevents a boy's larynx from being transformed by the normal physiological events of puberty. As a result, the vocal range of prepubescence (shared by both sexes) is largely retained, and the voice develops into adulthood in a unique way. Prepubescent castration for this purpose diminished greatly in the late 18th century and was made illegal in Italy in 1870.
As the castrato's body grew, his lack of testosterone meant that his epiphyses (bone-joints) did not harden in the normal manner. Thus the limbs of the castrati often grew unusually long, as did the bones of their ribs. This, combined with intensive training, gave them unrivalled lung-power and breath capacity.[1] Operating through small, child-sized vocal cords, their voices were also extraordinarily flexible, and quite different from the equivalent adult female voice. Their vocal range was higher than that of the uncastrated adult male (see soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, sopranist, countertenor and contralto). Listening to the only surviving recordings of a castrato, one can hear that the lower part of the voice sounds like a "super-high" tenor, with a more falsetto-like upper register above that.


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sep 25, 2014

On This Day - Sept. 25

1066 CE - The English victory at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the resulting death of the Norwegian king, Harald Hardrada, marks the end of the Viking invasions of England.




Photo of the Day
Bill Reid's sculpture The Raven and The First Men, depicting a Haida creation myth.




In the News


Quote of the Day
"Nothing is more curious than the almost savage hostility that Humour excites in those who lack it". --George Saintsbury




Song of the Day
Artist - Iron Butterfly




Film of the Day
Director - Paul Verhoeven




Wiki of the Day
The Rigveda (Sanskrit: ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise, verse"[1] and veda "knowledge") is a sacred Indo-Aryan collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns[2] still being used in India. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts (śruti) of Hinduism known as the Vedas.
It is one of the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language.[3] Philological and linguistic evidence indicate that the Rigveda was composed in the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent, most likely between c. 1500–1200 BCE,[4][5][6] though a wider approximation of c. 1700–1100 BCE has also been given.[7][8][note 2]
The Rigveda contains several mythological and poetical accounts of the origin of the world, hymns praising the gods, and ancient prayers for life, prosperity, etc.[11] Some of its verses are still recited as Hindu prayers, at religious functions and other occasions, putting these as the world's oldest religious texts in continued use.


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Sep 24, 2014

On This Day - Sept. 24

1957 CE - US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, sends troops of the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, to oppose the Arkansas National Guard, protect the Little Rock Nine and enforce the desegregation of schools. 




Photo of the Day
A fish ladder at Swansea Barrage in Wales, designed to aid salmon in negotiating the weir.




In the News
Quote of the Day
"Raise your eyes and count the small gang of your oppressors who are only strong through the blood they suck from you and through your arms which you lend them unwillingly". --Georg Büchner




Song of the Day
Album - Bad Hair Day




Film of the Day
Amarcord
Director - Federico Fellini
Starring - Bruno Zanin, Magali Noël, Pupella Maggio




Wiki of the Day
Foie gras (/ˌfwɑːˈɡrɑː/, French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. By French law,[1] foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force-feeding corn with a gavage, although in Spain[2] and other countries outside of France it is occasionally produced using natural feeding.[3]
Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy in French cuisine. Its flavor is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of an ordinary duck or goose liver. Foie gras is sold whole, or is prepared into mousse, parfait, or pâté, and may also be served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as steak. French law states that "Foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France."[4]
The technique of gavage dates as far back as 2500 BC, when the ancient Egyptians began keeping birds for food and deliberately fattened the birds through force-feeding.[5] Today, France is by far the largest producer and consumer of foie gras, though it is produced and consumed worldwide, particularly in other European nations, the United States, and China.[6]


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)