Today’s WOTD – 15 October 2012

dido
[dahy-doh]
noun
plural didos, didoes. Usually, didos, didoes. Informal .
1. a mischievous trick; prank; antic.
2. a bauble or trifle.

For example:

‘I looked for stories about Frank Dunning and his famous bad temper, but found none; if he had ever been arrested, the story hadn’t made it into the newspaper’s Police Beat column, which was good-sized on most days and usually expanded to a full page on Mondays, when it contained a full summary of the weekend’s didoes (most of which had happened after the bars closed).’

– from the Stephen King novel, ‘11.22.63‘

Today’s aphorism

‘ … ’cause a man with a briefcase can steal more money than any man with a gun’.

– Don Hensley, The Eagles, from the song ‘Gimme What You Got‘.

On this day

15 October 1917 – death of Mata Hari, (born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle), Dutch dancer, courtesan and spy. She was charged with espionage and executed by firing squad in France, after being accused of spying for Germany during World War I.

Today’s WOTD – 14 October 2012

fiducial

[fi-doo-shuhl, -dyoo-]
adjective
1. accepted as a fixed basis of reference or comparison: a fiducial point; a fiducial temperature.
2. based on or having trust. For example: ‘They had a fiducial dependence upon God.’

Today’s aphorism

‘Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other’s welfare, social justice can never be attained’.

Helen Keller

On this day

14 October 1066 – Battle of Hastings. When King Edward of England died, William the Duke of Normandy felt the throne should go to him. Meanwhile, Earl Harold Godwinson (cousin of King Edward) felt the throne was his. The two went to battle with William decisively defeating Harold. The battle changed history as William brought England under Norman rule and stripped the Saxons of their rights. King William introduced three major changes, firstly, he made himself the principal authority, having executive, judicial and legislative power. (This was replaced centuries later by the Westminster System, which separates these three powers). Secondly, William  introduced a new language and culture, by replacing 300 years of Anglo-Saxon culture with a French dialect. Thirdly, he introduced the feudal system in which a plot of land (called a fief) would be given to loyal followers.

14 October 1322 – Scotland forces led by Robert the Bruce defeat England at Byland, forcing King Edward II to grant Scotland’s independence.

14 October 1959 – death of Errol Flynn, Australian-born American actor. Born 20 June 1909.

adjective:

ETYMOLOGY:

USAGE:

Today’s aphorism

‘Many a man stumbles across the truth, then picks himself up and hurries on as though nothing had happened’.

Winston Churchill

On this day

13 October 54AD – death of Claudius, Roman Emporer.

13 October 1307 – Pope Clement V orders the overthrow, arrest and torture of Knights Templar in France. This is believed to be the origin of Black Friday or Friday the 13th being unlucky.

Today’s WOTD – 11 October 2012

zyzzyva

[ziz-uh-vuh]

Today’s aphorism

‘What’s better than beating Collingwood by 10 goals? Beating them by five points.’

George Harris (President of Carlton Football Club 1964-1974, 1978-1980). This comment angered Collingwood fans as it was made after Carlton beat Collingwood by 5 points in the 1979 grand-final: 11.16.(82) to 11.11.(77).

On this day

11 October 1844 – birth of Henry John Heinz, founder of Heinz Company, responsible for canned baked beans. Died 14 May 1919.

11 October 1935 – death of Steele Rudd, Australian author, (pen-name for Arthur Hoey Davis). Wrote ‘On Our Selection‘, which introduced Australia to ‘Dad and Dave’. Born 14 November 1868.

11 October 1930 – Australian Rules football club, Collingwood, win the VFL premiership for the fourth consecutive year.

11 October 1939 – German theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein explains to the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the possibility of building an atomic bomb.

Today’s WOTD – 10 October 2012

ataraxia

[at-uh-rak-see-uh]
noun
a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquillity.

Related forms
ataractic
[at-uh-rak-tik]

ataraxic, adjective, noun

for example:

‘She was often in a state of ataraxia, not from a cocktail of medication, but from meditation.’

Today’s aphorism

‘Better to die standing, than to live on your knees’.

Che Guevara

On this day

10 October – World Day Against the Death Penalty.

10 October 1963 – death of Roy Cazaly, Australian Rules football legend, known for his high marks and ruck-work. Immortalised in the song, ‘Up there Cazaly‘, by The Two Man Band (Mike Brady & Peter Sullivan). Born 13 January 1893.

10 October 1963 – death of Édith Piaf, French singer. Born Édith Giovanna Gassion, 19 December 1915.

10 October 1965 – the ‘Vinland Map’, is presented by Yale University, which claims it was the first known map of America, drawn by Norseman Leif Eriksson around 1440.

Today’s WOTD – 9 October 2012

hustings 

[huhs-tingz]
noun ( used with a singular or plural verb )
1. (before 1872) the temporary platform on which candidates for the British Parliament stood when nominated and from which they addressed the electors.
2. any place from which political campaign speeches are made.
3. the political campaign trail.

For example:

‘Even before the election was formally called, the politicians from all parties had hit the hustings, kissing babies and hugging pensioners’.

Today’s aphorism

‘If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine’.

Che Guevara

On this day

9 October 1940 – birthday of John Lennon. English guitarist and singer-songwriter for the Beatles. Died 8 December 1980.

9 October 1967 – death of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Argentinian Marxist revolutionary, physician, author. Executed in Bolivia.

9 October 1969 – birth of P.J. Harvey, English musician.

9 October 1975 – Andrei Sakharov, Soviet dissident, wins Nobel Peace Prize.

Today’s WOTD – 8 October 2012

austral

[aw-struhl]
adjective
1. southern.
2. ( initial capital letter ) Australian.

noun, plural aus·tra·les  [-trah-les]
3. a monetary unit of Argentina, equal to 100 centavos: replaced the peso in 1985.

Example Sentences

– The austral winters and summers resemble one long night and one long day between weeks of sunrise and sunset.
– On a sunny austral morning, wheeler surveys a stone corral filled with the bobbing white heads of hundreds of alpacas.

Today’s aphorism

‘It is time in the West to defend not so much human rights as human obligations’.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

On this day

8 October 1769 – Captain James Cook lands at Poverty Bay, New Zealand.

8 October 1939 – birth of Paul Hogan, Australian actor.

8 October 1970 – Soviet dissident author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins Nobel Price for Literature. Author of ‘The Gulag Archipelago‘.

8 October 1971 – John Lennon releases the iconic song, ‘Imagine’.

8 October 1980 – Bob Marley collapses on stage in New York. The following day he collapses while jogging in Central Park. He is diagnosed with a brain tumour, which developed from a melanoma that had spread from his toe. He died on 11 May 1981.

Today’s WOTD – 7 October 2012

abstemious

[ab-stee-mee-uhs]
adjective
1. sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet.
2. characterized by abstinence: for example: ‘he lived an abstemious life’.
3. sparing, for example: ‘he maintained an abstemious diet’.

Today’s aphorism

‘Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?’

Edgar Allan Poe

On this day

7 October 1849 – death of Edgar Allan Poe, American poet and novelist, The Raven. Born 19 January 1809.

7 October 1913 – Henry Ford implements the moving assembly line … changing the face of manufacturing forever.

7 October 1931 – birth of Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop of South Africa. Won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

7 October 2001 – United States invades Afghanistan as they hunt for Osama Bin Laden and to take down the Taliban government for allowing him to live there.

Today’s WOTD – 6 October 2012

plenary

[plee-nuh-ree, plen-uh-]

adjective, plural ple·na·ries.

1. full; complete; entire; absolute; unqualified: plenary powers.
2. attended by all qualified members; fully constituted: a plenary session of Congress.
noun
3. a plenary session, meeting, or the like.
4. a book of the gospels or epistles and homilies read at the Eucharist

Today’s aphorism

‘Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable’.

John F. Kennedy

On this day

6 October 1961 – President John F. Kennedy advises Americans to build fall-out shelters, as Cold War paranoia continues to grow.

6 October 1966 – LSD declared illegal in the United States.

6 October 1978 – death of Johnny O’Keefe, Australian rock and roll legend. Known as J.O.K. or ‘The Wild One’. Born 19 January 1935.