18 September 2018 – Rudra

18 September 2018

Rudra

[roo d-ruh]

noun, Vedic Mythology.

1. father of the storm gods and controller of the powers of nature.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Rudra

Historical Examples

The horrors of Rudra the deadly are the mantle of Śiva the gracious.
Hindu Gods And Heroes
Lionel D. Barnett

These are twenty-seven, or thirty-six in number, the sons of Rudra.
The History of Antiquity, Volume IV (of 6)
Max Duncker

Rudra, the god of the storm, is repeatedly invoked in the Rigveda.
The History of Antiquity, Volume IV (of 6)
Max Duncker

Where, O Rudra, is that gracious hand of thine, which is healing and comforting?
Demonology and Devil-lore
Moncure Daniel Conway

The Maruts, the sons of red Rudra, were the spirits of tempest and thunder.
Indian Myth and Legend
Donald Alexander Mackenzie

Shiva, as we have indicated, developed from Rudra, the storm god.
Indian Myth and Legend
Donald Alexander Mackenzie

Rudra and Indra are also represented in the form of the boar.
The Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India, Vol. II (of 2)
W. Crooke

They are the sons of Rudra and the mottled cloud-cow Pṛiçni.
A History of Sanskrit Literature
Arthur A. MacDonell

Indeed, the only deity in whom injurious features are at all prominent is Rudra.
A History of Sanskrit Literature
Arthur A. MacDonell

For better is the anger of Rudra than the blessings of other gods.
Curiosities of Superstition
W. H. Davenport Adams

Word Origin and History for Rudra

storm god in Vedic mythology, from Sanskrit Rudrah, according to Klein literally “the howler, roarer,” from stem of rudati “weeps, laments, bewails,” cognate with Latin rudere “to roar, bellow,” Lithuanian rauda “wail, lamentation,” Old English reotan “to wail, lament.”

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper


Today’s quote

Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded.

– Jimi Hendrix


On this day

18 September 1873 – ‘The panic of 1873’ – a severe economic crisis in Europe and the United States caused by a drop in demand for silver following Germany’s decision to abandon the silver standard after the Franco-Prussian Wars. ‘The Panic’ lasted until 1879. It was known as the ‘Great Depression’, until the financial crisis of the 1930s.

18 September 1965 – ‘Get Smart’ premieres on U.S. television.

18 September 1970 – death of Jimi Hendrix. American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was 27. Born 27 November 1942

17 September 2018 – Berith

17 September 2018

Berith

[Sephardic Hebrew breet; Ashkenazic Hebrew bris; English bris, brit]

noun, Hebrew.

1. Brith.

Origin of Berith

bərīth literally, covenant
Brithor Berith, Brit, Bris
[Sephardic Hebrew breet; Ashkenazic Hebrew bris; English bris, brit]

noun, Hebrew.

1. the Jewish rite of circumcising a male child eight days after his birth.

Compare Brith Milah.

Origin

bərīth literally, covenant

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Berith

Historical Examples

Abimelech has taken the whole city, but he can not take this temple of Berith.
New Tabernacle Sermons
Thomas De Witt Talmage

The temple of Berith must come down, and I do not care how it comes.
New Tabernacle Sermons
Thomas De Witt Talmage

One Inkepenne, a gentilman that Berith in his shield a scheker sylver and sables, was founder of it.
Bell’s Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Winchester
Philip Walsingham Sergeant


Today’s quote

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

– Khalil Gibran


On this day

17 September 1916 – Baron Manfred Von Richthofen (a.k.a The Red Baron), wins his first aerial combat in World War I.

17 September 1947 – the United State Department of Defense forms and is tasked with coordinating all defense related organisations in the U.S. The DoD is the largest employer in the world, with over 3.2 million employees, including active soldiers, sailors, airmen/women, and National Guard.

17 September 1951 – birth of Cassandra Peterson a.k.a Elvira, U.S. actress and host of late-night B-grade horror and sci-fi movies.

17 September 1961 – birth of Baz Luhrmann, Australian film director (Romeo and Juliet, Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge).

17 September 1966 – St George Dragons beat Balmain Tigers 23-4, to win the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) grand final for the 11th consecutive year. The longest premiership-winning streak in Australian sport.

17 September 1972 – M*A*S*H* premieres on NBC-TV.

17 September 1991 – first version of Linux released.

16 September 2018 – fractious

16 September 2018

fractious

fractious

[frak-shuhs]

adjective

refractory or unruly:
a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness.
readily angered; peevish; irritable; quarrelsome:
an incorrigibly fractious young man.

Origin of fractious

First recorded in 1715–25; fracti(on) + -ous

Related forms

frac·tious·ly, adverb
frac·tious·ness, noun
un·frac·tious, adjective
un·frac·tious·ly, adverb
un·frac·tious·ness, noun

Can be confused

factional factious fractious

Synonyms

1. stubborn, difficult. 2. testy, captious, petulant, snappish, pettish, waspish, touchy.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for fractious

Contemporary Examples

Relationships in her “blood family,” a distinction her brother pointedly made at her funeral, were often strained and fractious.
The Daily Beast logo
The Day the Fairytale Died
Marilyn Johnson
July 12, 2014

Starting with the House, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was largely successful in keeping his fractious caucus largely in check.
The Daily Beast logo
2014 New Year’s Resolutions for the D.C. Political Establishment
Ron Christie
January 2, 2014

The story told on these walls is a fractured and fractious one that consciously resists an easy narrative.
The Daily Beast logo
Finally, an Accurate Look Back at AIDS Activism in ‘Why We Fight’
Hugh Ryan
December 15, 2013

He was well aware of the fractious history between Congress and the White House on Gitmo and was determined to start anew.
The Daily Beast logo
Congress Cooperates, Obama Pushes Hard, and Closing Gitmo Has a Chance
Daniel Klaidman
December 12, 2013

We are a troubled and fractious country, in a difficult neighbourhood.
The Daily Beast logo
Rowdy Crowds At Mandela’s Memorial
Mark Gevisser
December 10, 2013

Historical Examples

Correy mooned around the Arpan sub-base like a fractious child.
The Terror from the Depths
Sewell Peaslee Wright

His voice had a fractious tone, as if he combated an unseen tyrant.
Country Neighbors
Alice Brown

I’ll break you to pieces, James H., if you are fractious; and I’ve got the weapons to do it with.
A Pessimist
Robert Timsol

You are old enough to know better, and yet you behave like a fractious child.
Menhardoc
George Manville Fenn

There’s a tray for each, of course; but a ball dress is such a fractious thing.
Moods
Louisa May Alcott


Today’s quote

I have no patience with dinosaurs.

– Adam West


On this day

16 September – International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

16 September 1908 – General Motors is founded by William C. Durrant.

16 September 1920 – The bombing of Wall St, New York, which kills 38 and injures 143. The crime has never been solved, but is believed to have been committed by Italian anarchists known as Galleanists, (after their leader Luigi Galleani), who were protesting against capitalism. The bomb had been placed in a horse wagon.

16 September 1927 – birth of Peter Falk, U.S. actor (Colombo) … ‘therrre ya go‘… (died 23 June 2011.

16 September 1975 – Papua New Guinea gains independence from Australia. PNG National Day.

16 September 1977 – death of Marc Bolan in a car accident. Singer/guitarist for T-Rex. (Born 30 September 1947 as Mark Feld).

16 – 18 September 1982 – Lebanese Christian militia (Phalange) massacres between 765 and 3,500 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. An inquiry in 1983 held Israeli troops indirectly responsible as they had surrounded the camps, controlling access to them, and were aware a massacre was occurring without taking steps to stop it.

15 September 2018 – Vaulderie

15 September 2018

Vaulderie

A term used by the French Inquisition to describe the act of forming a Satanic pact or connection with Satanic powers. People found guilty of Vaulderie were often tortured, imprisoned or burnt at the stake.

Anagram

I revalued
rude alive
value ride


Today’s quote

Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.

– Robert H. Schuller


On this day

15 September – International Day of Democracy.

15 September 1254 – birth of Marco Polo, Italian explorer. Died 9 January 1324.

14 September 2018 – Abigor

14 September 2018

Abigor

Proper noun

(also Eligos or Eligor) is a Great Duke of Hell, ruling 60 legions of demons. He discovers hidden things and knows the future of wars and how soldiers should meet. He also attracts the favor of lords, knights and other important persons. He is depicted in the form of a goodly knight carrying a lance, an ensign and a sceptre (a serpent to Aleister Crowley). Alternatively he is depicted as a ghostly spectre, sometimes riding a semi-skeletal (sometimes winged) horse, or the Steed of Abigor. This is a minion of Hell itself, and was a gift from Beelzebub. It was created from the remains of one of the horses of the Garden of Eden.

Anagram

bog air


Today’s quote

Resting on your laurels is as dangerous as resting when you are walking in the snow. You doze off and die in your sleep.

– Ludwig Wittgenstein


On this day

14 September 1752 – the British Empire commences using the Gregorian calendar instead of the Julian calendar. To balance the calendar, the 10 days from 3 September to 13 September are written off. This is because the Gregorian claimed the annual cycle was 365.2425 days. The Julian calendar averaged out at 365.25 days per year, but used 365 days each year with an extra day every four years to allow for the rounded down amount.

14 September 1812 – Fire of Moscow – French troops under the command of Napoleon defeat Russian troops in the Battle of Borodino and invade Moscow. Count Fyodor Rostopchin orders Russian citizens to destroy the Kremlin and other major buildings as they retreat. The fires burn for 4 days and destroy around 75% of Moscow.

14 September 1983 – birthday of Amy Winehouse. English singer-songwriter. Died 23 July 2011.

13 September 2018 – wonk

13 September 2018

wonk

[wongk]

noun Slang.

a student who spends much time studying and has little or no social life; grind.
a stupid, boring, or unattractive person.
a person who studies a subject or issue in an excessively assiduous and thorough manner:
a policy wonk.

Origin of wonk

1960–65, Americanism; of expressive orig.; nautical slang wonk “a midshipman”

Related forms

wonk·ish, adjective

Dictionary.com

Related Words

geek nerd brain grub bookworm grind dweeb poindexter swotter

Examples from the Web for

Contemporary Examples

He hired a disaffected ex-Democratic wonk as his top social-policy guy.
The Daily Beast logo
Paul Ryan: Still a Total Jerk
Michael Tomasky
April 3, 2014

He saw a problem, and—as a self-proclaimed “wonk”—immediately moved to solve it.
The Daily Beast logo
What Paul Ryan Gets Wrong About ‘Inner-City’ Poverty
Jamelle Bouie
March 12, 2014

But before long, Morgan was ready to get off the wonk and back to the Oval Office.
The Daily Beast logo
Piers Morgan Pesters Clintons About 2016 Plans At CGI
Nina Strochlic
September 25, 2013

The ACA and every wonk assumes rational people who can make good financial decisions.
The Daily Beast logo
How Obamacare Looks On the Ground
Megan McArdle
June 5, 2013

Heather Ryan is a graduate of Drake University and wonk living in the heart of presidential political bliss in Iowa.
The Daily Beast logo
Pageant Moms Aren’t All Crazy
Heather Ryan
May 18, 2011

Anagram

know


Today’s quote

‘Four in the morning is usually an unhappy time to be awake. It’s when unpleasant thoughts and pessimistic ideas come to the fore.

– Stephen King – from “End of Watch (The Bill Hodges Trilogy Book 3)


On this day

13 September 1503 – Michelango commences his iconic sculpture, ‘David’.

13 September 1922 – official highest temperature ever recorded: 57.8oC (138oF) at Azizya, Libya.

13 September 1940 – German Luftwaffe bombs Buckingham Palace, London, while King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) are in residence.

12 September 2018 – Ars Goetia

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

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.

10 September 2018 – Salic law

10 September 2018

Salic law

noun

1. a code of laws of the Salian Franks and other Germanic tribes, especially a provision in this code excluding females from the inheritance of land.
2. the alleged fundamental law of the French monarchy by which females were excluded from succession to the crown.
3. any law to the same effect.

Origin of Salic law

1540-1550 First recorded in 1540-50

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Salic law

Historical Examples

The texts of the Salic law give us incontrovertible evidence.
The Common Law
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

By the Salic law no woman or descendant of a woman could occupy the throne.
What Is Man? And Other Stories
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

But the common and vulgar fool says: Must observe the Salic law.
The book of the ladies
Pierre de Bourdeille Brantme

Anagram

saw lilac
claw sail


Today’s quote

The Few assume to be the deputies, but they are often only the despoilers of the Many.

– Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel


On this day

10 September – World Suicide Prevention Day.

10 September 1945 – birth of José Feliciano, Puerto Rican singer/musician.

9 September 2018 – spavined

9 September 2018

spavined

[spav-ind]

adjective

1. suffering from or affected with spavin [1. a disease of the hock joint of horses in which enlargement occurs because of collected fluids (bog spavin,) bony growth (bone spavin), or distention of the veins (blood spavin). 2. an excrescence or enlargement so formed.]

2. being of or marked by a decrepit or broken-down condition:
a spavined old school bus abandoned in a field.

Origin of spavined

late Middle English

1400-1450 First recorded in 1400-50, spavined is from the late Middle English word spaveyned. See spavin, -ed3

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for spavined

Contemporary Examples

It reminded him of the man who had a poor old lean, bony, spavined horse, with swelled legs.
Did Abraham Lincoln Actually Say That Obama Quote?
James M. Cornelius
September 8, 2012

Historical Examples

Alfred was provided with a rickety buggy and a spavined horse.
Watch Yourself Go By
Al. G. Field

I can size a player up as quick as a horse buyer can a spavined nag.
Baseball Joe at Yale
Lester Chadwick

Say, wouldst thou rise with a lantern jaw and a spavined knee?
Pierre; or The Ambiguities
Herman Melville

He rode on a bob-tailed, big-headed, spavined and spotted horse.
The King of Ireland’s Son
Padraic Colum

He got down off the bob-tailed, big-headed, spavined and spotted horse, and came in.
The King of Ireland’s Son
Padraic Colum

“Walks like a pair of spavined sugar tongs,” was Waddles’ comment.
Fore!
Charles Emmett Van Loan

“Looks like that car is spavined, or something,” commented Bill.
The Border Boys Across the Frontier
Fremont B. Deering

And they’re all tryin’ to borry money off’m me and sell me spavined hosses.
The Skipper and the Skipped
Holman Day

The position assumed by the spavined horse is often characteristic.
Lameness of the Horse
John Victor Lacroix

Anagram

visa pend
via spend
VIP sedan


Today’s quote

Time passes, and little by little everything that we have spoken in falsehood becomes true.

– Marcel Proust


On this day

9 September 1543 – Mary Stuart crowned ‘Queen of Scots’. She was 9 months old.

9 September 1828 – birth of Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, (‘Anna Karenina‘, ‘War and Peace‘). Died 20 November 1910.

9 September 1890 – birth of Harlan Sanders who eventually becomes a Colonel and chickens throughout Kentucky, and ultimately the rest of the world, are never the same again as he invents Kentucky Fried Chicken. Died 16 December 1980.

9 September 1907 – Birth of Horst Wessel. Berlin leader of the Nazi Party’s Stormtroopers. Wessel had written the lyrics to a song which became known as ‘Horst-Wessel-Lied‘ (The Horst Wessel Song). Later, it became the anthem for the Nazi Party and was renamed as ‘Deutschlandlied‘. Wessel was shot on 14 January 1930 by members of the Communist Party. As Horst lay seriously wounded in hospital, Joseph Goebbels labelled those responsible for the shooting as ‘degenerate subhuman Communists’. Wessel died in hospital on 23 February 1930 from blood poisoning. Following Wessel’s death, Goebbels portrayed Wessel as a matyr while targeting and dehumanising Communists. The Nazis used it as an excuse to implement authoritarian measures against Communists and other dissidents. In 1933, with the ascent to power by the Nazis, the person convicted of shooting Weller, was taken from jail and illegally executed. In 1935, two other people believed to be involved in it were put on trial and subsequently beheaded. Goebbels had been looking for a matyr, initially using Albert Leo Schlageter, who had been executed by the French for trying to blow up a train. Wessel provided the perfect matyr for Goebbels, because of his killers being Communists. Goebbels deliberately used Christian overtones in a eulogy he wrote about Wessel: ‘A Christian Socialist! A man who calls out through his deeds: ‘Come to me, I shall redeem you!’ … A divine element works in him. making him the man he is and causing him to act in this way and no other. One man must set an example and offer himself up as a sacrifice! Well, then, I am ready!‘ The Nazi-owned newspaper, Völkischer Beobachter, described Wessel as ‘hero of the brown revolution‘ and referred to his ‘sacrificial death‘ that ‘passionately inflamed millions who followed‘.

9 September 2004 – Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, bombed. 10 people killed.