Thoughts for the Day

Today in History (July 10th):

1509: Birthdays: Protestant theologian John Calvin.

1723: Birthdays: British judge William Blackstone.

1778: Louis XVI declared war on Great Britain.

1834: Birthdays: Painter James Whistler.

1839: Birthdays: German brewer Adolphus Busch.

1856: Birthdays: Inventor Nikola Tesla.

1871: Birthdays: French novelist Marcel Proust.

1875: Birthdays: Educator Mary McLeod Bethune.

1890: Wyoming was admitted to the United States as the 44th state.

1920: Birthdays: TV news anchor/commentator David Brinkley.

1921: Birthdays: Social activist Eunice Kennedy Shriver; Boxer Jake LaMotta.

1922: Birthdays: Author Jean Kerr.

1925: The so-called Monkey Trial, in which John Scopes was accused of teaching evolution in school, a violation of state law, began in Dayton, Tenn., featuring a classic confrontation between William Jennings Bryan, the three-time presidential candidate and fundamentalist hero, and legendary defense attorney Clarence Darrow.

1926: Birthdays: Actor Fred Gwynne.

1927: Birthdays: Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.

1938: Industrialist Howard Hughes and a crew of four flew around the world in 91 hours, setting a speed record.

1942: Birthdays: Musician Ronnie James Dio.

1943: Birthdays: Tennis star Arthur Ashe.

1945: Birthdays: Tennis star Virginia Wade; Actor Ron Glass.

1946: Birthdays: Actor Sue Lyon.

1947: Birthdays: Folksinger Arlo Guthrie.

1954: Birthdays: Baseball Hall of Fame member Andre Dawson.

1962: The pioneer telecommunications satellite Telstar began relaying TV pictures between the United States and Europe.

1980: Birthdays: Actor Jessica Simpson.

1985: Coca-Cola, besieged by consumers dissatisfied with the new Coke introduced in April, dusted off the old formula and dubbed it Coke Classic.

1989: Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and countless other Warner Bros. cartoon characters and radio and TV comic creations, died from complications of heart disease. He was 81.

1991: In Moscow, Boris Yeltsin was inaugurated as the first freely elected president of the Russian republic.

1992: Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was sentenced to 40 years in prison for cocaine racketeering.

1999: The U.S. team won the Women’s World Cup in soccer, defeating China in the final on penalty kicks.

2008: Gasoline approached $10 a gallon in Oslo, Norway, highest in the world, an international research company reported.

2009: General Motors completed its race through bankruptcy with the signing of a contract with the U.S. government, which got 61 percent of the company. The recovery plan included considerable shrinkage, including the closing of factories and layoffs of 21,000 union workers.

2010: After more than two centuries, Britain said it had decided to do end its once-a-decade census survey and look for an alternative.

2011: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World, Britain’s best-selling weekly newspaper, abruptly ceased publication amid allegations that its reporters and investigators had hacked into telephones of royalty, politicians, celebrities, homicide victims, families of fallen soldiers and others to illegally gain material for stories.

2012: An Israeli court acquitted former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of corruption but found him guilty of breach of trust. The charges stemmed from a period before he was PM.


Quotes

“Happiness is beneficial for the body but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind.” – Marcel Proust, French novelist

“I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: “No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.'” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“War is fear cloaked in courage.” – General William Westmoreland

A bigger erection creates more contact levitra sildenafil and pressure in her genitals and last longer in bed for sexual feed, you must satisfy her. PDE5 meds if brought with unlawful medications, viagra online no prescription for example, euphoria pills or poppers may trigger hypotension (low circulatory strain levels) and passing in serious cases. During the consultation with physician discount viagra pharmacy you should inform your doctor about your previous medicines. After noticing the ongoing and continuous bad effects of impotency on the world population the medical science starts the production and manufacturer of some suitable anti-impotency patterns by accumulating all the knowledge the experts have earned during the research robertrobb.com order cheap cialis work. “Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage.” – Ray Bradbury, writer (1920-2012)

“Nothing so soothes our vanity as a display of greater vanity in others; it makes us vain, in fact, of our modesty.” – Louis Kronenberger, writer (1904-1980)


Aphra Behn (1640-1689) English writer:

“Come away; poverty’s catching.”

“Each moment of a happy lover’s hour is worth an age of dull and common life.”

“Faith, sir, we are here today, and gone tomorrow.”

“He that knew all that learning ever writ, Knew only this – that he knew nothing yet.”

“Love ceases to be a pleasure when it ceases to be a secret.”

“Money speaks sense in a language all nations understand.”

“Nothing is more capable of troubling our reason, and consuming our health, than secret notions of jealousy in solitude.”

“One hour of right-down love is worth an age of dully living on.”

“Patience is a flatterer, sir and an ass, sir.”

“That perfect tranquillity of life, which is nowhere to be found but in retreat, a faithful friend and a good library.”

“There is no sinner like a young saint.”


vainglory

PRONUNCIATION: (VAYN-glor-ee; vayn-GLOR-ee)

MEANING: (noun)
1. Excessive pride in one’s achievements, abilities, qualities, etc.
2. Vain display.

ETYMOLOGY: Vainglory is from Middle English vein glory, ultimately from Latin vana gloria, “empty pride,” from vana, “empty” and gloria, “glory, pride.” The adjective form is vainglorious.

USAGE: “Spurred by the vainglory of being the first person in recent memory to locate an antique musket on the archaeological site, James was spurred on to achieve greater glories.”


standpat

PRONUNCIATION: (STAND-pat)
http://wordsmith.org/words/standpat.mp3

MEANING:
(adjective), Refusing to consider change in one’s beliefs and opinions, especially in politics.
(noun), One who refuses to consider change.

ETYMOLOGY: In a game of poker, to stand pat is to play one’s hand as dealt, without drawing other cards. From pat (apt). Earliest documented use: 1910.

USAGE: “This activism, rather than Mr Harper’s standpat response, resonates with the average Canadian, says Nik Nanos, a pollster.” – Please Have the Decency to Panic; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 11, 2008.

Explore “standpat” in the Visual Thesaurus.
http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=standpat


femme fatale

PRONUNCIATION: (fem fuh-TAHL) plural femmes fatales (fem fuh-TAHLZ)
http://wordsmith.org/words/femme_fatale.mp3

MEANING: (noun), An attractive and seductive woman, especially one who leads others into disaster.

ETYMOLOGY: From French, literally fatal woman. Earliest documented use: 1879.

USAGE: “The film sees Depp’s math teacher character falling for Jolie’s femme fatale as she spins a web of mystery.” – John Irish; A Minute With: Angelina Jolie; Reuters (UK); Dec 9, 2010.

Explore “femme fatale” in the Visual Thesaurus.
http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=femme+fatale


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