12 June 2014

immanent

[im-uh-nuhnt]

adjective

1. remaining within; indwelling; inherent. He was unaware of the immanent power he had over his own life.
2. Philosophy . (of a mental act) taking place within the mind of the subject and having no effect outside of it. (Compare transeunt – producing an effect outside the mind).
3. Theology . (of the Deity) indwelling the universe, time, etc. (Compare transcendent – rise above or beyond the universe, time etc).

Origin:
1525–35; < Late Latin immanent- (stem of immanēns ), present participle of immanēre to stay in, equivalent to im- im-1 + man ( ēre ) to stay + -ent- -ent; see remain

Related forms
im·ma·nence, im·ma·nen·cy, noun
im·ma·nent·ly, adverb
non·im·ma·nence, noun
non·im·ma·nen·cy, noun
non·im·ma·nent, adjective

Can be confused: eminent, immanent, imminent.

Synonyms
1. innate, inborn, intrinsic.

Antonyms
1. extrinsic, acquired, superimposed.

Anagram

mean mint

Today’s aphorism

Anti-social behaviour is a trait of intelligence in a world full of conformists.

– Nikola Tesla

On this day

12 June – Russia Day, held every year in Russia since 1992 to celebrate the establishment of the Russian Federation, when the First Congress of the People’s Deputies of the Russian Federation adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on 12 June 1990.

12 June 1929 – birth of Anne Frank, author of the ‘Diary of Anne Frank’. On her 13th birthday (1942) she was given a diary which she kept while the family was in hiding from the German Army. The family hid for two years in a secret annex behind her father’s office. In 1944, the family was discovered and sent to concentration camps. She died on 12 March 1945 in Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The diary was published in 1947.

12 June 1967 – the US Supreme Court declares that inter-racial marriages are Constitutional and cannot be banned by the states.

12 June 1991 – Boris Yeltsin becomes Russia’s first democratically elected President following the end of the Soviet Union.

11 June 2014

crapulous

[krap-yuh-luhs]

adjective

1. given to or characterized by gross excess in drinking or eating.
2. suffering from or due to such excess.

Origin:
1530–40; < Late Latin crāpulōsus. See crapulent, -ous

Related forms
crap·u·lous·ly, adverb
crap·u·lous·ness, noun

Anagram

usurp cola
usual crop

Today’s quote

I had a very happy childhood, happy teenage years and I was famous by the time I was 22. A charmed life.

– Rik Mayall

On this day

11 June 1955 – during the 24 hour Le Mans race, a Mercedes 300 crashes at high speed. Debris, including the engine block, axles and bonnet, slams through the crowd killing 83 spectators. The bonnet decapitated a number of spectators who had been tightly packed into the stand. The driver was also killed.

11 June 1962 – Three prisoners escape from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island. The three men, Frank Morris, and brothers, Clarence and John Anglin were never found. Authorities believe it is most likely that the three men did not survive the swim across San Francisco Bay, although their bodies were never recovered.

11 June 2001 – Timothy McVeigh executed for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, which killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children or babies.

10 June 2014

ostracise / ostracize

[os-truh-sahyz]

verb (used with object), os·tra·cised, os·tra·cis·ing.

1. to exclude, by general consent, from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc, social rejection: His friends ostracised him after his father’s arrest.
2. to banish (a person) from his or her native country; expatriate.
3. (in ancient Greece) to banish (a citizen) temporarily by popular vote.
Also, especially British, os·tra·cise. American, ostracize.

Origin:
1640–50; < Greek ostrakízein, equivalent to óstrak ( on ) potsherd, tile, ballot (akin to óstreion oyster, shell) + -izein -ize

In the ancient city-state of Athens, ‘ostracism’ was an annual voting process to expel citizens who were considered to be a threat to the state or a potential tyrant. To be ostracised, meant to be exiled for 10 years from Athens. Ostraka referred to pottery shards that were used as voting tokens. Broken pottery was in abundance and was used as a kind of scrap paper as papyrus was too costly. Each year, Athenians would vote on whether to hold an ostracism. If ‘yes’, then names of nominees was scratched on the ostraka and submitted to the scribe in the Agora (assembly) and deposited in urns. Presiding officials then counted and sorted the shards into piles. The person with the biggest pile was ostracised if it met certain criteria. According to Plutarch, the vote was valid if the total number of votes cast was 6,000. According to Philochorus, the vote was valid if the ‘winner’ obtained at least 6,000 votes. Ostracism was outside of the justice process; there was no charge and no defence.

Related forms
os·tra·cis·a·ble, adjective
os·tra·ci·sa·tion, noun
os·tra·cis·er, noun

Synonyms
1. shun, snub, blacklist.

Antonyms
1. accept.

Anagram

I Socrates
coarse sit
ciao tress
orca sites
tacos rise

Today’s aphorism

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.

– Charles Dickens

On this day

10 June 323 BC – death of Alexander the Great, Macedonian King. He conquered the Persia Empire, which ruled Asia Minor, The Levant and Syria, Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. He then invaded India before returning to Persia. He died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, most likely by poisoning. Born 20 July 356 BC.

10 June 1838 – Myall Creek Massacre in Australia. 28 aborigines are murdered by 11 stockmen (10 Europeans and an African). After two trials, seven of the 11 colonialists involved in the killings were found guilty of murder and hanged on 18 December 1838. The leader of the colonialists, John Fleming, was never found. He was suspected of further massacres in the Liverpool Plains and New England regions. His brother, Joseph, was linked to massacres in the Maranoa area of Queensland.

10 June 1916 – British Army officer, Lawrence of Arabia leads an Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

10 June 1935 – Alcoholics Anonymous founded by two recovering alcoholics, using a 12-step program to help alcoholics overcome their addiction.

10 June 1967 – end of the Six Day War, when Israel and the Arab coalition consisting of Egypt, Jordan & Syria, agree to a UN mediated cease-fire.

9 June 2014

germane

[jer-meyn]

adjective

1. closely or significantly related; relevant; pertinent: Please keep your statements germane to the issue.
2. Obsolete . closely related.

Origin:

variant of german

Related forms
ger·mane·ly, adverb
ger·mane·ness, noun
non·ger·mane, adjective
un·ger·mane, adjective

Synonyms
1. related, applicable, apposite, appropriate, fitting, apt, suited.

Anagram

anger me

Today’s aphorism

Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.

– Charles Dickens

On this day

9 June 1870 – death of Charles Dickens, English writer and social critic. Author of numerous works, including The Pickwick Papers, David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist. Born 7 February 1812.

9 June 1915 – birthday of Les Paul, (born Lester William Polsfuss) American musician and inventor of the solid body electric guitar. The popular Gibson Les Paul was designed in collaboration with him. (Died 2009)

9 June 1934 – Donald Duck makes his film debut in the Disney short film, the Wise Little Hen.

9 June 1961 – birth of Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor, producer and author.

9 June 1963 – birth of Johnny Depp, American actor, singer, producer and director.

9 June 1967 – During the Six Day War, Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria.

9 Jun 1979 – The ‘Ghost Train Fire’ at Luna Park, Sydney (Australia) kills seven.

8 June 2014

mores

[mawr-eyz, -eez, mohr-]

plural noun Sociology .

– folkways of central importance accepted without question and embodying the fundamental moral views of a group. ‘Social mores have changed significantly over the last century’.

Origin:
1905–10; < Latin mōres, plural of mōs usage, custom

Synonyms
customs, conventions, practices.

Today’s aphorism

Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies.

– Gore Vidal

On this day

8 June 1921 – birth of Ivan Southall AM, DFC, Australian writer of young-adult fiction and non-fiction. Books include ‘Ash Road’, ‘Let the Balloon Go’, ‘Hill’s End’, ‘Fly West’ and ‘Josh. Died 15 November 2008.

8 June 1967 – During the Six Day War, Israel launched a naval and air assault on the USS Liberty as it sits in international waters near Egypt’s Gaza Strip. The attack left 34 US crewmen dead and injured 171 others. Israel claimed the attack was an accident, while some witnesses claimed it was deliberate.

7 June 2014

panopticon

[pan-op-ti-kon]

noun

– a building, as a prison, hospital, library, or the like, so arranged that all parts of the interior are visible from a single point.

Example:

‘Snowden showed us just how big the panopticon was’

– Headline from the Guardian, 5 June 2014

Origin:
1760–70; pan- + Greek optikón sight, seeing (neuter of optikós; see optic)

Anagram

no panic top
contain pop

Today’s aphorism

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

― Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

On this day

7 June 1099 – the First Crusade: Siege of Jerusalem begins.

7 June 1893 – Mohandas Gandhi commits his first act of civil disobedience.

7 June 1929 – The Lateran Treaty is ratified by the Italian Parliament, allowing Vatican City to become an independent sovereign state.

7 June 1954 – death of Alan Turing, British mathematician and computer scientist. Turing is considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. He invented the ‘Turing machine’ which formulated the computer algorithm. It’s the forerunner for the modern computer. During World War 2, Turing was instrumental in cracking German messages encrypted by the Enigma machine. Sadly, Turing’s achievements were overshadowed by him being charged with gross indecency after admitting to being in a homosexual relationship. On 31 March 1952, following his guilty plea, he was chemically castrated. Two years later, on 7 June 1954,Turing took his own life with cyanide. On 10 September 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologised on behalf of the British Government for the ‘appalling way he was treated’. On 23 December 2013, Queen Elizabeth II issued a posthumous royal pardon, clearing Turing of the charge of gross indecency. Born 23 June 1912.

7 June 1975 – the inaugural World Cup cricket match is held in London.

6 June 2014

maleficent

maleficent

[muh-lef-uh-suhnt]

adjective

– doing evil or harm; harmfully malicious: maleficent destroyers of reputations.

Origin:
1670–80; back formation from Latin maleficentia maleficence; see -ent

Can be confused: maleficent, malevolent.

Anagram

Lift menace
fiance melt
manic fleet
iceman left
flat icemen
face melt in
infect meal

Today’s aphorism

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.

– Carl Jung

On this day

6 June – Queensland Day, which celebrates the establishment of the colony of Queensland. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria gave her approval for the new colony by signing the Letters Patent. On the same day, an Order-in-Council gave Queensland its own Constitution.

6 June – Russian Language Day (UN) – coincides with the birthday of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet who is considered the father of modern Russian literature.

6 June 1799 – birth of Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet and author of the romantic era. Considered the father of modern Russian literature. He was born into Russian nobility. His matrilineal great grandfather, Abram Gannibal, was brought over as a slave from Africa and had risen to the aristocracy. Died during a duel on 10 February 1837.

6 June 1808 – Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, is crowned King of Spain.

6 June 1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London.

6 June 1939 – Judge Joseph Force Crater, known as the ‘Missingest man in New York’ is declared legally dead after going missing nine years earlier. His body has never been found, but his disappearance fueled allegations of corruption in the City government and lead to the downfall of political organisation, Tammany Hall.

6 June 1944 – D-day (Operation Overlord), when the Allies launch a massive invasion of Europe to combat the German war machine. Over a million troops from Allied troops storm the beaches of Normandy.

6 June 1961 – death of Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology. He developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes and collective unconscious. Born 26 July 1875.

6 June 1982 – the Lebanon War begins when Israeli forces under the command of the Defence Minister, Ariel Sharon, invade southern Lebanon, eventually pushing into Beirut. It lasted until June 1985. Israel suffered 657 dead and 3,887 wounded. Syrian and Palestinian casualties were 19,085 civilian and combatant deaths.

6 June 1984 – Tetris, one of the world’s biggest selling games, is released.

5 June 2014

goad

[gohd]

noun

1. a stick with a pointed or electrically charged end, for driving cattle, oxen, etc.; prod.
2. anything that pricks or wounds like such a stick.
3. something that encourages, urges, or drives; a stimulus. ‘The speech served to goad the team onto victory’.

verb (used with object)

4. to prick or drive with, or as if with, a goad; prod; incite.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English gode, Old English gād; compare Langobardic gaida spearhead

Related forms
goad·like, adjective
un·goad·ed, adjective

Synonyms
4. spur, push, impel.

anagram

a god

Today’s aphorism

You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

– Ray Bradbury

On this day

5 June 1967 – start of the Six Day War, when Israel attacked Egypt and Syria. During the six days of the War, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, West Bank and East Jerusalem, effectively doubling its size. Although Israel eventually withdrew from the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula, it continues to controversially occupy Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

5 June 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, Presidential candidate and brother of JFK, shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-born, Jordanian citizen. Kennedy died the following day. In an interview with David Frost in 1989, Sirhan stated that he opposed Kennedy’s support of Israel and plan to send 50 bombers to Israel to ‘obviously do harm to the Palestinians’. Sirhan was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

5 June 1989 – the ‘Tank Man’ halts a column of Chinese tanks in Beijing for more than half an hour, following protests in Tiananmen Square.

5 June 2000 – start of the Six Day War in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, between Ugandan and Rwandan forces, destroying a large part of the city.

5 June 2012 – death of Ray Bradbury, American fantasy, science-fiction, horror and mystery fiction writer. Author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustratred Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The movie Butterfly Effect uses a similar theory to that described in Bradbury’s short-story A Sound of Thunder. In one scene, a Sound of Thunder pennant is hanging on the dormitory door of the main character, Evan. Michael Moore’s movie Fahrenheit 9/11 was named after Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury was not happy with this and pressured Moore to change the title, which Moore refused to do. Born 22 August 1920.

4 June 2014

caprice

[kuh-prees]

noun

1. a sudden, unpredictable change, as of one’s mind or the weather.
2. a tendency to change one’s mind without apparent or adequate motive; whimsicality; capriciousness: With the caprice of a despotic king, he alternated between kindness and cruelty.
3. Music. capriccio ( def 1 ) .

Origin:
1660–70; < French < Italian; see capriccio

Synonyms
1. vagary, notion, whim, fancy.

Anagram

rice cap
care pic

Today’s aphorism

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

– Vincent Van Gogh

On this day

4 June 1988 – death of Sir Douglas Nichols KCVO, OBE. Aboriginal activist, raising awareness of aboriginal issues, including treating aborigines with dignity and as people. He played for Carlton football club in the A-grade Victorian Football League (VFL), leaving after racist treatment and joining the Northcote football club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). Nicholls became a minister and social worker. In 1957, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 1972 he was the first aborigine to be knighted. In 1976, he became the 28th governor of South Australia, the first aborigine to be appointed to a vice-regal position. He was born on 9 December 1906.

4 June 1989 – Tiananmen Square massacre, Beijing, China. Around a million people had flooded into Tiananmen Square over the past few days, protesting for democracy. On 4 June, the Chinese Army stormed the Square with tanks and armoured cars, killing hundreds of protestors, while arresting thousands of others.

3 June 2014

kitsch

[kich]

noun

– something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste.

Origin:
1925–30; < German, derivative of kitschen to throw together (a work of art)

Related forms
kitsch·y, adjective

Today’s quote

Ultimately Warhol’s private moral reference was to the supreme kitsch of the Catholic church.

– Allen Ginsberg

On this day

3 June 1924 – Death of Franz Kafka, Austrian novelist, who wrote in German. Two of his books (‘The Trial’ and ‘The Castle’) were published posthumously against his wishes. He wrote of a dehumanised world in which he explored paranoia, isolation, fear and bewilderment, from which the term ‘Kafka-esque’ has been coined. Born 3 July 1883.

3 June 1926 – birth of Allen Ginsberg, leading American beat-generation writer and poet. Died 5 April 1997.

3 June 1937 – Following his abdication in December 1936, former King Edward VIII of Britain, marries American divorcee, Wallis Simpson.

3 June 1968 – Andy Warhol, pop-artist, is shot by feminist Valerie Solanas, founder of the Society for Cutting Up Men (S.C.U.M.) because she felt that Warhol had too much control over her life. Warhol was seriously injured in the shooting. Doctors had to cut his chest open and massage his heart to keep him alive. Warhol survived the shooting, but suffered permanent physical effects. The shooting had a profound effect on the direction his life and art took.

3 June 1992 – Mabo Day: The High Court of Australia found in favour of Eddie Koiki Mabo who had challenged the principle of ‘terra nullius’ (or ‘uninhabited land’). Terra nullius had allowed the Commonwealth Government of Australia to legally take over and own land that had previously belonged to the indigenous people. Unfortunately, Eddie Mabo had died 3 months before the decision was handed down. The ‘Mabo Decision’ was a significant turning point in the history of Australia’s indigenous people, giving legal recognition of indigenous rights to native land title.