On This Day - Oct. 27

312 CE - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross prior to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. 

Photo of the Day

Closeup of the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. 

In the News

Leftist Rousseff Narrowly Wins Second Term in Brazil
Pro-Europe Parties Secure Big Election Win in Ukraine: Exit Polls
Canada Parliament Shooter Made Video, Driven by Ideology: Police
Britain Ends Combat Role in Afghanistan, Last US Marines Hand Over Base
Hospitals Need Time, Training to Get Ready for Ebola

Quote of the Day

"Reconciliation and forgiveness are matters of the heart. They cannot be forced on the people". --Graeme Leung

Song of the Day

Smokestack Lightning

Artist - Howlin' Wolf

Album - Moanin' in the Moonlight

Film of the Day

Elephant

Director - Gus Van Sant 

Starring - Alex Frost, John Robinson

Wiki of the Day

Casta (Spanish: [ˈkasta], Portuguese: [ˈkaʃtɐ, ˈkastɐ]) is a Spanish and Portuguese term used in 17th and 18th centuries mainly in Spanish America and Spanish Philippines to describe as a whole the mixed-race people which appeared in the post-Conquest period. A parallel system of categorisation based on the degree of acculturation to Hispanic culture, which distinguished between gente de razón (Hispanics) and gente sin razón (non-acculturated natives), concurrently existed and worked together with the idea of casta.

The system of castas, or genízaros, was based on the principle that the character and quality of people varied according largely to their birth, color, race and origin of ethnic types. The system of castas was more than socio-racial classification. It impacted every aspect of life, including economics and taxation. Both the Spanish colonial state and the Church expected more tax and tribute payments from those of lower socio-racial categories.^[1][2] In Latin America, a person's socio-economic status generally correlated with race or racial mix in the known family background, or simply on phenotype (physical appearance) if the family background was unknown. Many wealthy persons and high government officials were of peninsular (Iberian) background, while African or indigenous ancestry, or even just dark skin, generally correlated with poverty and inferiority. Therefore, the whiter the heritage a person could claim, the higher in status they could claim; conversely, darker features meant less opportunity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casta

On This Day - Oct. 26

1977 CE - Ali Maow Maalin, the last person in the world to naturally contract the smallpox virus, is infected in Merca, Somalia. He will make a full recovery. The date will be remembered as the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination. 

Photo of the Day

A fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) in captivity.

In the News

US Nurse Quarantined Over Ebola Criticizes Her Treatment
Iraqi Security Forces and Kurds Gain Ground Against ISIS
Canadians Flock to Parliament Hill, Site of Attack on Soldier
War-Weary Ukraine Set to Pick Pro-Western Parliament in Election
Einstein's Gravity Waves Could Be Found with New Method

Quote of the Day

"Should not the Society of Indexers be knows as Indexers, Society of, The?". --Keith Waterhouse

Song of the Day

Possum Kingdom

Artist - Toadies 

Album - Rubberneck

Film of the Day

Paris, Texas

Director - Wim Wenders

Starring - Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell

Wiki of the Day

The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) began on August 26, 1883 (with origins as early as May of that year) and culminated with several destructive eruptions of the remaining caldera. On August 27, two thirds of Krakatoa collapsed in a chain of titanic explosions, destroying most of the island and its surrounding archipelago. Additional alleged seismic activity continued to be reported until February 1884, though reports of those after October 1883 were later dismissed by Rogier Verbeek's investigation. It was one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history, with at least 36,417 deaths being attributed to the eruption itself and the tsunamis it created. Significant additional effects were also felt around the world.

In the years before the 1883 eruption, seismic activity around the volcano was intense, with earthquakes felt as far away as Australia. Beginning 20 May 1883, steam venting began to occur regularly from Perboewatan, the northernmost of the island's three cones. Eruptions of ash reached an estimated altitude of 6 km (20,000 ft) and explosions could be heard in New Batavia (Jakarta) 160 km (99 mi) away. Activity died down by the end of May, and there was no further recorded activity for several weeks.

Eruptions started again around 16 June, featuring loud explosions and covering the islands with a thick black cloud for five days. On 24 June, a prevailing east wind cleared the cloud, and two ash columns were seen issuing from Krakatoa. The seat of the eruption is believed to have been a new vent or vents which formed between Perboewatan and Danan. The violence of the ongoing eruptions caused tides in the vicinity to be unusually high, and ships at anchor had to be moored with chains as a result. Earthquake shocks began to be felt at Anyer, West Java, and ships began to report large pumice masses appearing in the Indian Ocean to the west.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_eruption_of_Krakatoa

On This Day - Oct. 25

1415 CE - The army of King Henry V of England defeats the French at the Battle of Agincourt near modern-day Azincourt, during the Hundred Years' War. 

Photo of the Day

The Royal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden.

In the News

Canada Vows Tougher Laws as Citizens Worry in Face of Attacks
US Says Palestinian-American Killed by Israeli Forces
Attacks in Egypt's Sinai Kill 33 Security Personnel
China to Offer $82 Million in Fourth Round of Ebola Aid
The Discovery of Homo floresiensis: Tales of the Hobbit 

Quote of the Day

"If all men by nature desire to know, then they desire most of all the greatest knowledge of science". --Duns Scotus

Song of the Day

Dead Man's Party

Artist - Oingo Boingo

Album - Dead Man's Party

Film of the Day

Road to Wellville

Director - Alan Parker

Starring - Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick

Wiki of the Day

Blackadder is the name that encompasses four series of a BBC 1 period British sitcom, along with several one-off installments. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson, as the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder, and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick. Each series was set in a different historical period, with the two protagonists accompanied by different characters, though several reappear in one series or another, for example Melchett (Stephen Fry) and Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall).

The first series titled The Black Adder was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, while subsequent episodes were written by Curtis and Ben Elton. The shows were produced by John Lloyd. In 2000, the fourth series, Blackadder Goes Forth, ranked at 16 in the "100 Greatest British Television Programmes", a list created by the British Film Institute. Also in the 2004 TV poll to find "Britain's Best Sitcom", Blackadder was voted the second-best British sitcom of all time, topped by Only Fools and Horses. It was also ranked as the 20th-best TV show of all time by Empire magazine.^[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackadder