12 September 2018

Ars Goetia

noun

First section of the Lesser Key of Solomon which contains descriptions of 72 demons that Solomon is said to have evoked and confined in a bronze vessel sealed by magic symbols, and that he obliged to work for him. A revised English edition of the Ars Goetia was published in 1904 by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley, as The Goetia based on manuscripts from the British Museum.

Today’s quote

When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn’t over for the veterans, or the family. It’s just starting.

– Karl Marlantes

On this day

12 September 1869 – death of Peter Roget, British lexographer and creator of Roget’s Thesaurus. (Born 18 January 1779).

12 September 1885 – the highest scoring soccer match in history is a Scottish Cup match played between Arbroath and Bon Accord. Arbroath won 36-0.

12 September 1990 – formal end of World War II. In 1945 there was no formal German state to accept the terms of surrender or the ongoing governing of Germany. The 1945 Potsdam Agreement set the provisional terms under which the Allies would govern Germany. The lack of a German government at the time, became known as ‘The German Question’ and was used by the U.S.A. as the reason for maintaining American bases in West Germany throughout the Cold War. It wasn’t until German re-unification in 1990, that the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) unified. To achieve full sovereignty the new unified state was required to accept the terms of the Potsdam Agreement. A settlement was then negotiated with the new German government between the new German state, the U.S.A, France, U.S.S.R and Britain, formally ending World War II. It should be noted, that hostilities between Russia and Japan have never formally ceased and talks for a treaty are still ongoing.

12 September 2001 – Ansett, Australia’s first commercial airline, collapses.

12 September 2003 – death of Johnny Cash, American singer and musician. Born 26 February 1932.

11 September 2018

lamia

[ley-mee-uh]

noun, plural lamias, lamiae [ley-mee-ee]

1. Classical Mythology. one of a class of fabulous monsters, commonly represented with the head and breast of a woman and the body of a serpent, said to allure youths and children in order to suck their blood.
2. a vampire; a female demon.
3. (initial capital letter, italics) a narrative poem (1819) by John Keats.

Origin of lamia

Middle English Latin Greek

1350-1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek lámia a female man-eater

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for lamia

Contemporary Examples

“The uprising has been a big challenge for us…really, the situation is awful,” said lamia Assem, director of marketing.
Winston Churchill’s Egyptian Getaway: The Old Cataract Hotel
Lauren Bohn
December 15, 2013

Historical Examples

But before it falls, a lamia comes to his aid and kills his sister.
Russian Fairy Tales
W. R. S. Ralston

“We had better get the lamia in condition first,” Trask said.
Space Viking
Henry Beam Piper

Suppose Dunnan comes and finds nobody here but Spasso and the lamia ?
Space Viking
Henry Beam Piper

The lamia bore a coiled snake with the head, arms and bust of a woman.
Space Viking
Henry Beam Piper

From the way the Space Scourge and lamia people laughed, it evidently was.
Space Viking
Henry Beam Piper

lamia can separate the elements and give beauty and pleasure unalloyed.
Keats: Poems Published in 1820
John Keats

Ceres was the goddess of harvest, the mother of Proserpine ( lamia, i. 63, note).
Keats: Poems Published in 1820
John Keats

Compare this conception of melancholy with the passage in lamia, i. 190-200.
Keats: Poems Published in 1820
John Keats

lamia struck his imagination, but his heart was given to Isabella.
Keats: Poems Published in 1820
John Keats

Today’s quote

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.

– Mahatma Gandhi

On this day

11 September 1297 – William Wallace leads Scottish forces to victory against the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

11 September 1941 – construction of the Pentagon commences in Washington DC. (Completed on 15 January 1943).

11 September 1948 – death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan. Leader of the Muslim League calling for the creation of Pakistan. Served as Pakistan’s first Governor-General from 15 August 1947 until his death. In Pakistan, his birthday is a national holiday. Born 25 December 1876.

11 September 1972 – Democratically elected President Salvador Allende of Chilé, is overthrown in a U.S. sponsored coup which brings to power General Augusto Pinochet. The Church Committee, commissioned by the U.S. Department of State to investigate covert C.I.A. operations in Chilé, found that Henry Kissinger had directed the C.I.A. to prevent the socialist Allende from being elected, then to undermine his presidency, before supplying arms to a military junta which succeeded in overthrowing Allendé. Thousands of people died or disappeared under Pinochet’s rule, with approximately 40,000 suffering human rights violations, including torture.

11 September 1987 – death of Peter Tosh, Jamaican reggae singer and musician. From 1963 to 1974, Tosh was a member of Bob Marley and Wailers until going solo. His most famous song is ‘Legalize It’, about legalising marijuana. Tosh’s album, ‘Bush Doctor’, included a duet with Mick Jagger in the song, ‘Don’t Look Back’. Tosh was a Rastafarian. He campaigned against apartheid, which he sang about on his album ‘Equal Rights’. Tosh was murdered on 11 September 1987, after three men broke into his house and tortured him in an effort to extort money. After several hours, one of the men shot Tosh in the head, killing him. Two other friends of Tosh’s were also killed. Born 19 October 1944.

11 September 2001 – 9/11 Terrorist Attacks in which four commercial airliners were hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists. Two planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, one plane hit the Pentagon in Washington DC and one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought with the hijackers. Approximately, 3,000 people died in the attacks.

7 September 2018

advent

[ad-vent]

noun

1. a coming into place, view, or being; arrival:
the advent of the holiday season.
2. (usually initial capital letter) the coming of Christ into the world.
3. (initial capital letter) the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.
4. (usually initial capital letter) Second Coming.

Origin of advent

Middle English, Latin

1125-1175; Middle English < Latin adventus arrival, approach, equivalent to ad- ad- + ven- (stem of venīre to come) + -tus suffix of verbal action

Synonyms

1. onset, beginning, commencement, start.

Second Coming

noun

1. the coming of Christ on Judgment Day.

Also called Advent, Second Advent.

Origin

First recorded in 1635-45

Related forms

post-Advent, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for advent

Contemporary Examples

Like Lent, the season of advent was a period of reflection and fasting, and items such as dairy and sugar were forbidden.
One Cake to Rule Them All: How Stollen Stole Our Hearts
Molly Hannon
December 24, 2014

I would venture to say that advent is something America needs right now, religious or not.
During Advent, Lots of Waiting, But Not Enough Hope
Gene Robinson
December 7, 2014

They told me that advent was all about waiting and hoping – that they were indeed a community of waiting and hoping.
During Advent, Lots of Waiting, But Not Enough Hope
Gene Robinson
December 7, 2014

Then came the horrors of World War I, with the advent of tanks and airplanes and poison gas.
How Clausewitz Invented Modern War
James A. Warren
November 24, 2014

The writer A. Lezhnev said, “I view the incident with Shostakovich as the advent of the same ‘order’ that burns books in Germany.”
When Stalin Met Lady Macbeth
Brian Moynahan
November 9, 2014

Historical Examples

The effect was, indeed, presently accomplished by the advent of Smithson into the office.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana

The visitor’s advent was announced again by the brass knocker on the front door.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser

He had so long and so passionately looked for the advent of that moment!
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola

“I think your mother wants to speak to you, Frank,” Alice said, upon this advent.
Alice Adams
Booth Tarkington

But with the advent of the boys from the barn there appeared reinforcements of the enemy.
Frank Roscoe’s Secret
Allen Chapman

Today’s quote

There will come a time when it isn’t ‘They’re spying on me through my phone’ anymore. Eventually, it will be ‘My phone is spying on me’.

― Philip K. Dick (1928-1982)

On this day

7 September 1876 – birth of C.J. Dennis, Australian poet (Songs of a Sentimental Bloke). Died 22 June 1938.

7 September 1936 – birth of Charles Hardin Holley, otherwise known as Buddy Holly. 1950s rock star, famous for songs such as ‘Peggy Sue’ and ‘That’ll be the day’. Died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959 with other musicians, Richie Valens, J.P. ‘Big Bopper’ Richardson and the pilot, Roger Peterson. Their deaths were immortalised in the Don McLean song, ‘American Pie’, when he sang about the day the music died.

7 September 1978 – death of Keith Moon, British musician, drummer for ‘The Who’. Born 23 August 1946.

4 September 2018

dotage

[doh-tij]

noun

1. a decline of mental faculties, especially as associated with old age; senility.
2. excessive fondness; foolish affection.

Origin of dotage

Middle English

1300-1350 Middle English word dating back to 1300-50; See origin at dote, -age

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for dotage

Contemporary Examples

Being politically astute, even in her dotage, Baroness Thatcher was aware what contention that could create.
Margaret Thatcher, Divisive Even in Death
Peter Jukes
April 12, 2013

Historical Examples

And was it not more than a good old man’s dotage, God rest his soul!
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

Now I am getting into my dotage and look on the dark side of everything.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

Today’s quote

A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.

– Marshall McLuhan

On this day

4 September 1937 – birth of Dawn Fraser AO MBE, Australian swimming legend. Won Olympic gold medals in 1956, 1960 and 1964, as well as a number of silver medals.

4 September 2006 – death of Steve Irwin, ‘The Crocodile Hunter’, Australian wildlife expert and television personality. (Born 22 February 1962).

3 September 2018

assart

[ahs-sart]

noun

British

historical

– piece of land converted from forest to arable use.

‘an assart cut from the woods a few years back’

More example sentences

‘In July 1203, at the height of the crisis in Normandy, King John instructed his chief forester, Hugh de Neville, to sell forest privileges ‘to make our profit by selling woods and demising assarts.’’
1.1 mass noun The action of converting forest to arable use.
‘heavy penalties were imposed for waste and assart’

Verb

[WITH OBJECT]

British

historical

– Convert (forest) to arable use.

‘the Earl of Salisbury was convicted of having assarted 2,300 acres of the parks in 1604’

More example sentences

‘In this system land around the village was gradually colonized from the waste (assarted), and cultivated for crops.’

‘Clearance of woodland and heath (assarting) continued, especially in the Weald of Kent and Sussex, in the Chiltern hills, and in the Arden district of Warwickshire.’

‘This land comprised dismembered lands of the old manses or lands won from the former or by assarting from the waste.’

‘In the period down to the early 1300s, he argued, it was population growth which explained the slow but steady economic expansion – the growth of towns, the process of assarting, and the quickening of activity generally.’

Origin

Late Middle English (as a noun): from Old French essarter, from medieval Latin ex(s)artare, based on ex ‘out’ + sar(r)ire ‘to weed’. The verb dates from the early 16th century.

Today’s quotes

What does it matter how many lovers you have if none of them gives you the universe?

– Jacques Lacan

On this day

3 September 1901 – Australian national flag flies for the first time. The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne has the honours. 3 September is celebrated each year as Australia’s National Flag Day.

3 September 1939 – Britain declares war on Germany.

3 September 1970 – death of Alan Wilson from barbiturate poisoning. It’s unclear whether his death was accidental or suicide. American guitarist and singer-songwriter for Canned Heat. He was 27. His death occurred exactly 14 months after the death of Rolling Stones founder and guitarist Brian Jones, two weeks before the death of Jimi Hendrix, four weeks before the death of Janis Joplin and exactly 10 months before the death of Jimmy Morrison, all of whom were 27 when they died, fanning concerns for musicians at this age and referencing the deaths as the 27 Club. Born 4 July 1943.

2 September 2018

swidden

[swid-n]

noun

1. a plot of land cleared for farming by burning away vegetation.

Origin of swidden

Middle English, Old Norse
1951; special use of dial. (N England) swidden area of moor from which vegetation has been burned off, noun use of swidden, swithen to singe < Old Norse svithna to be singed, derivative of svītha to singe (compare dial. swithe, Middle English swithen)

Dictionary.com

Today’s quote

As technology advances, it reverses the characteristics of every situation again and again. The age of automation is going to be the age of ‘do it yourself.’

– Marshall McLuhan

On this day

2 – 5 September 1666 – Great Fire of London. It destroyed 13,200 homes, leaving 70,000 of the 80,000 inhabitants homeless, 87 churches, St Paul’s Cathedral.

2 September 1752 – last day of the Julian calendar as the British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar. To balance the books, the next 10 days (3 – 13 September) are written off so the Gregorian commences on 14 September, which should have been 3 September in the Julian calendar.

2 September 1945 – Japan signs the ‘Instrument of Surrender’, on the USS Missouri, bringing World War II to an end.

2 September 1951 – Australia, New Zealand and United States sign the ANZUS Security Treaty, a defence pact.

2 September 1973 – death of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of ‘The Hobbit‘ and ‘Lord of the Rings‘. Born 3 January 1892.