1858 – Giacomo Puccini
1862 – Connie Mack
1901 – Andre Kostelanetz
1912 – Lady Bird Johnson
1937 – Charlotte Lamb
1945 – Diane Sawyer
1949 – Maurice and Robin Gibb
1962 – Ralph Fiennes
2007 – TYWKIWDBI
A few days late because after all, who remembers their 14th birthday?
12-year-old Ali and his three friends do small jobs and petty crimes to survive and support their families. In a timely turn of events, Ali is entrusted to find a hidden underground treasure. However, in order to gain access to the tunnel where the treasure is buried, Ali and his gang have first to enroll at the near Sun School, a charitable institution that tries to educate street kids and child laborers.
"... leave your work aside so that we can discuss regarding the seized packages and take necessary actions on the case initiated in your name. If we don't hear from your end, then we will be forced to initiate impeachment processes. Press 1 to get connected to an officer."
"... leave your work aside so that we can discuss regarding the seized packages and take necessary actions on the case initiated in your name. If we don't hear from your end, then we will be forced to take litigation action against you. Please press 1 to talk to an immigration officer."
The annual "Christmas quiz" is now available as a pdf. If anyone has suggestions regarding the following questions, I'd appreciate seeing your suggestions in the Comments.
3.10 "what moves off diagonally from his place next to tour?" Is it the bishop ["fool'] in chess? - but its position is not immediately next to the "tour" [rook, castle].
4.6 "who justified going to bed at 9.45pm by claiming that he hadn't been to sleep for over a year?" - SOLVED
8.1 "for what was there a reason?" (must involve a nut)
9.3 "where did Mary sit to watch her love's returning?" (on the Scottish borders) - SOLVED
11.5 "who was the Abbess who accommodated Brigid and her guardian in the Castilian convent?" (presumably an "aunt") - SOLVED
13.1 "could also be porcine?" Maybe Pigalle?- SOLVED
13.10 "has an equivalent in E14?" Perhaps Cité?
14.5 "who denounced the hanging of a felon as murder and was sent away to run the family seat in the Borders?" Their name should be "Archibald", "Archie" etc.- SOLVED
The Royal Statistical Society has just posted their fiendishly difficult annual Christmas quiz.
Sample question:
"Identify the eight items below, each of which contains a deliberate error. What special name connects them, and which words appearing in #2/#7/#8 are often regarded as the origin of the name (loosely speaking, in the case of #7)?
Finally, continuing the theme of #2, which four of the individuals (taken in order) reveal another much-loved ground-dwelling creature with a distinctive morning cry?"
Feel free to offer answers in the Comments.
Addendum: #7 is by the another Evelyn (the A3 should be B5). This might open up the floodgates for the other phrases. I'll let someone else do them while I move on to a different puzzle.
Sarah Biffen (1784 – 2 October 1850), also known as Biffin, Beffin, or by her married name Mrs E.M. Wright, was a Victorian English painter born with no arms and only vestigial legs. She was 94 cm (37 in) tall... Despite her handicap she learned to read, and to write and paint using her mouth. She was apprenticed to a man named Dukes who exhibited her as an attraction throughout England. In the St. Bartholomew's Fair of 1808, she came to the attention of George Douglas, the Earl of Morton who then went on to sponsor her to receive lessons from a Royal Academy of Arts painter, William Craig. The Society of Arts awarded her a medal in 1821 for a historical miniature and the Royal Academy accepted her paintings.
When two members of Congress recently shared images of their well-armed families gathered in front of Christmas trees, many assumed it was merely an act of provocation, a loaded gesture designed to exasperate opponents and excite supporters...No matter their intended effect, the photos represent a tradition far older than our current penchant for political trolling — one that, like it or not, is part of widely held interpretations of the upcoming holiday and the beliefs of many who observe it. That is the tradition of Muscular Christianity...For more than a century, American Protestantism has been shaped by the movement known as Muscular Christianity, which arose to combat expressions of the faith that critics of the time claimed had become bookish, soft, sedentary and — as they judged it then — excessively feminine. Popular publications such as 1912’s “The Masculine Power of Christ; or, Christ Measured as a Man” argued that Jesus was “distinctly manly and virile,” and it was the task of the Christian to be so as well...“We believe in muscular Christianity,” one advocate of this form of the faith said in 1860. “We believe that the minister of muscle will fight a more valiant and stronger battle with the passions and prejudices of men … and that saints’ bodies as well as sinners’ are none the worse for an hour at the dumb bells or weights.”A somewhat more macho approach found particularly fertile ground in the expanding United States, where it meshed with myths of the frontier yielding to self-reliance and Manifest Destiny. Theodore Roosevelt was among its most prominent proponents. In 1903, the year he took a tour of 25 Western states, he declared, “I do not want to see Christianity professed only by weaklings; I want to see it a moving spirit among men of strength.”..More than 40 percent of White evangelicals own firearms, far outpacing other religious groups and the general population, according to a Pew Research Center study. In a sense, American evangelical culture is a significant part of American gun culture, and vice versa. Neither would be the same without the other. Their entwined influence can be seen in scriptural arguments for bringing firearms to church, as well as on hoodies extolling the trinity of “God, Guns and Trump” worn at the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6...Long implicit in evangelical understandings of scripture and tradition, the connection between God and guns has lately been finding more visible expression. On Dec. 25, Christians around the world will remember the birth of an infant often called the Prince of Peace. Some will also celebrate a man they’re certain would know how to handle an AR-15, and in this they see no contradiction.
"Fritz" lives inside a ~130 year old "Hopf" violin awaiting restoration at the workshop of Noel Sweetman in New Zealand.Photographed by OP using a Lumix S1R and a specially modified Laowa Probe Lens designed specifically to fit into the end pin block of violins.Fritz and his home aren't just one photo, but a blend of 47 images, focus stacked to create a sharp image from front to back. This sharpness is what gives the illusion that the space is large, we're used to seeing macro images with a shallow depth of field.
That ball of hair is affectionately known to violinists as a “violin mouse”. Even after cleaning many will ask for the mouse to be returned to the instrument for luck.
Two US Quidditch leagues are to change their names in order to "distance" themselves from Harry Potter author JK Rowling, following a trans row...The joint statement from USQ and MLQ said they hoped the name change would help them to "continue to distance themselves from the works of JK Rowling", who they say "has increasingly come under scrutiny for her anti-trans positions in recent years.""Our sport has developed a reputation as one of the most progressive sports in the world on gender equality and inclusivity, in part thanks to its gender maximum rule, which stipulates that a team may not have more than four players of the same gender on the field at a time," the statement continued...Rowling initially sparked controversy in June 2020 for posting tweets which took issue with the phrase "people who menstruate" - she objected to the avoidance of the use of the word "women".The author was also criticised by some for disputing the idea that male and female sexes do not exist."If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives," she tweeted.In a lengthy follow-up blog, she wrote her interest in trans issues stemmed from being a survivor of abuse and having concerns around single-sex spaces.She has continued to speak out. Last week, Rowling shared a news article about an MP who had branded as "absurdity" the idea of police saying they will record rapes by offenders with male genitalia as being committed by a woman if the attacker "identifies as a female"...Rowling's comments were applauded by some but criticised by others, and many high-profile people associated with her have distanced themselves from her comments about trans issues.
Cancel culture or call-out culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person. Those subject to this ostracism are said to have been "cancelled". The expression "cancel culture" has mostly negative connotations and is used in debates on free speech and censorship.
Addendum: A tip of the blogging cap to reader Lones Smith for providing this link with details of the controversy.
The marriage of Elisabeth Christine was dominated by the pressure upon her to give birth to a male heir. This she later fulfilled when she gave birth to a male heir named Archduke Leopold John in 1716. However, at age 7 months the infant Leopold died. She reportedly found the situation very stressing and was tormented by the loss of confidence in Charles VI that this caused. Three years after her marriage, court doctors prescribed large doses of liquor to make her more fertile, which gave her face a permanent blush. During her 1725 pregnancy, Charles unsuccessfully had her bedchamber decorated with erotic images of male beauty so as to make her expected baby male by stimulating her fantasy. After this, the court doctors prescribed a rich diet to increase her fertility, which made her so fat that she became unable to walk, experienced breathing problems, insomnia and dropsy and had to be lowered into her chairs by a specially constructed machine.
Among the earliest animals to breathe atmospheric oxygen and with some extinct species that grew to two meters in length, millipedes have lived on this planet for more than 400 million years... the millipede order Polyzoniida includes ca. 70 species with a distribution on all continents except Antarctica. Some of its members exhibit parental care of eggs, others ooze chemical defenses containing alkaloids that are sequestered by poison frogs, and some species roll into a ball for protection. Hatchlings emerge from the egg with four pairs of legs, and continuously add segments during development for an indeterminate period of time, even after adulthood...Surface climatic conditions fluctuated considerably across hundreds of millennia, but underground conditions probably remained comparatively stable. Troglophilic species often represent ancient vestiges of formerly widespread lineages that now persist in subterranean refugia.
Jada Madden... her fiancé and youngest child, an 8-month-old daughter, were home when a tornado hit their neighborhood."As soon as we hit the tub, everything was gone."We were at the back of the house, that's where the bathtub was at, and we ended up in the street." Madden grabbed her daughter and wrapped a pillow around her. They all three hunkered down to brace for impact. Seconds later, their house was gone. Their cars were across the street in their neighbor's yard. Their bathtub was in the middle of the road, with the shower wall on top of them..."
From reports of deaths that have resulted from attempted pranks and stunts on social media since 2018:
Collided with an oncoming car while playing a game of chicken
Fell sixty stories after doing pull-ups off the edge of a skyscraper
Got shot while blindfolded and pretending to be a hostage in a staged kidnapping
Got shot in the chest at close range while attempting to demonstrate that an encyclopedia was bulletproof
Got shot in the parking lot of a trampoline park after running toward a group of strangers with a butcher knife
Individuals can now get a whopping 7.12% direct from the U.S. government.That’s the new rate for Series I savings bonds bought from the U.S. Department of Treasury from now through April 2022 -- the second highest ever offered.The interest rate on the Series I bond is set twice a year based on recent changes to the the consumer price index for all urban consumers, so November’s pricing is based on the change from March to September.
The interest rate is guaranteed for the first six months and after that will rise or fall depending on inflation. You have to hold onto your investment for at least a year, and if you exit before five years, you’ll lose three months of interest.The maximum investment is $15,000 per calendar year, they aren’t tradeable, and purchases are limited to U.S. citizens, residents and employees.
Ten teachers were selected for a Dash for Cash giveaway at a junior hockey league game on Saturday night in Sioux Falls, S.D., enticed by the opportunity to make extra money for classroom improvements.At the signal, the educators got down on their knees and frantically scooped up as much currency as they could. They stuffed the bills into their shirts as the crowd murmured.The giveaway — organized by the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League, in conjunction with CU Mortgage Direct, a local lending company — was swiftly and widely criticized as being demeaning to teachers...In a statement posted on the team’s website on Monday afternoon, the Stampede and CU Mortgage Direct apologized and said that they would give an additional $500 to each of the teachers who competed in the event and to the 21 educators who were not selected. In total, they pledged to contribute an additional $15,500 to area teachers.“Although our intent was to provide a positive and fun experience for teachers, we can see how it appears to be degrading and insulting towards the participating teachers and the teaching profession as a whole,” the statement said. “We deeply regret and apologize to all teachers for any embarrassment this may have caused.”Reynold F. Nesiba, a Democratic state senator from Sioux Falls and a professor at Augustana University, said on Monday that while the organizers of the giveaway were “well intended,” the event was ill-conceived.“It just seems insulting and absurd to have teachers doing an event like this to raise a few hundred dollars for their classrooms,” Mr. Nesiba said. “It also seems disrespectful to the teachers. What other profession would be asked to fund-raise this way?”
babyelefant, n.Unit of measurement for appropriate social distancing
ellenbogengruss, n. A touching of elbows in greeting
fussgruss, n. A touching of feet in greeting
geisterküche, n. Ghost kitchen; a restaurant without eat-in dining
hamsteritis, n. A compulsion to hoard supplies such as toilet paper
kuschelkontakt, n. Cuddle contact; a person within one’s quarantine bubble
maskomat, n. A machine that dispenses masks
nacktnase, n. Naked nose; a person whose mask only covers their mouth
niesscham, n. The torment one feels when needing to sneeze in public
pandemiezirkus, n. Stressful living conditions during the pandemic
spuckwand, n. Spit wall; a barrier to prevent the exchange of air particles
todesküsschen, n. Little kiss of death, a reference to the risk of coronavirus transmission via traditional cheek-kiss greetings
Selections from a longer list at Harper's Magazine.
Built 1904-1905 beside Wiśniowa Avenue and Sudecka Street junction, the tower supplied water to the residents of the southern districts of Wrocław for many years. The tower is 63 meters high. It was equipped with an electric lift from the very beginning... Two sculptors, Taschner and Bednorz, decorated the lower part of the building with bas-reliefs in sandstone, representing fantastic creatures reminiscent of medieval bestiaries.
"The restaurant also had a television set, which sat in a corner with a “television light” on top—a prism of soft colors which supposedly kept people from ruining their eyes on TV waves."
Yes, indeedy, there were special TV lights. My aunt and uncle had one atop their set. That was circa 1959, and I believe the practice was old-fashioned by then. Theirs was a small (under a foot tall), dim lamp with a cylindrical shade that rotated, probably powered by heated air rising from the lamp. There was a mountain scene printed on the shade and as the cylinder rotated it made a waterfall appear to flow.
Ficus microcarpa, also known as Chinese banyan, Malayan banyan, Indian laurel, curtain fig, or gajumaru is a tree in the fig family Moraceae. It is native in a range from China through tropical Asia and the Caroline Islands to Australia...The largest known specimen is Auntie Sarah's Banyan at the Menehune Botanical Gardens near Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawai'i which is 110.0 feet (33.53 meters) in height, 250 feet (76.2 meters) in crown spread, and having over one thousand aerial trunks.
I first tried this in December of 2009 as a Christmas card, then revived the concept in 2017 and again in 2018 as a New Year's endeavor, which is what it will be this year.
Here are the instructions on how to participate:
1) In the comment section of THIS post, give me a LINK to a photo (or a bit of artwork or other image) that you have in your blog, or in your Flickr photostream or in some other online storage site that I can access. I'd prefer that you not email me the photo - just give the link and I'll go there and copy/paste it.* (but see addendum)
The picture can be of you, or your family, or your computer, or your cat, or whatever - it doesn't matter. It should belong to you (not a commercial image with copyright issues).
2) With the photo link send a brief (~25 words) greeting, directed to the other readers and visitors. This is to be a greeting to other readers, not a comment to me or about TYWKIWDBI.
3) Sign with the avatar name you use in commenting here, or in your blog, or your real name if you wish. This is not a venue to be used to say "Hi from anon." I recognize that a number of readers here prefer to leave comments anonymously - which is fine - but this greeting card is for identifiable people.
Note - as various trolls have realized, for TYWKIWDBI I am the "autocrat at the breakfast table" and reserve absolute right to control the content. For this venture I may edit comments for length and trim pictures if they are too big. I may limit the number of entries if there are too many, and I will absolutely vaporize anything that hints of spam or might be offensive to other readers.
And it doesn't need to be "Christmasy" - this will be posted after Christmas as a New Year's greeting, so it can celebrate the end of the past year or express hope about the one to come. But mostly it's just to say "hi" to other readers whose names you have seen in the comments.
*Addendum: I realize that not everyone has online places to store photos, so once again I will let you email me a photo/text/name if you have no other option. You can send it to the blog's address: retag4726(at)mypacks.net. But please send smallish pix (compress them with JPEG if needed). I don't want to have ten people send 5 MB photos and thus have my emailbox overfull so that I can't conduct my regular life. Thanks.
I'm looking forward to seeing what arrives. This was last year's collective greeting.
One of the classic physical signs of allergic rhinitis, here depicted in a 6-year-old girl. Brief discussion at the New England Journal of Medicine.
