July 30, 2006
Jellyfish Plague Spanish Shores
The summer heat has brought on a plague of jellyfish that is causing trouble for beachgoers in Spain. The jellyfish have flourished due to a glut of plankton brought on by high sea temperatures and a decline in natural predators like dolphins and turtles. The Red Cross says it has treated more than 10,000 jellyfish stings this summer in the eastern region of Catalonia.July 29, 2006
confluence
DEFINITION: (noun) A gathering, flowing, or meeting together at one juncture or point.
SYNONYMS: meeting.
USAGE: He had long noted that the greatest disasters were rarely the result of one misfortune but were the result of a confluence of several of them.
Max Nordau
Nordau was a Hungarian Zionist leader, physician, author, and social critic. He co-founded the World Zionist Organization together with Theodor Herzl, and was president or vice president of several Zionist congresses. As a social critic, he wrote a number of controversial books, including The Conventional Lies of Our Civilization, Degeneration, and Paradoxes. Nordau was a fully assimilated and acculturated European Jew when what major event sparked his interest in Zionism?Umberto I of Italy Assassinated
Umberto I, son of Vittorio Emanuele II of the House of Savoy, was the King of Italy from January 9, 1878 until his death. Officially nicknamed "the Good," he was deeply loathed in left-wing circles because of his hard-line conservatism and support of the Bava Beccaris massacre in Milan. He was the only modern King of Italy to be assassinated. How many attempts on his life did he escape before he was killed?Vegan Diet Helps Control Diabetes Symptoms
Researchers found that people who ate a low-fat vegan diet lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet. Those adhering to the vegan diet, which cuts out all meat and dairy, also ended up with better kidney function. Participants said the vegan diet was easier to follow than other food regimens.Khalil Gibran
Gibran was a Lebanese poet and novelist who wrote in both English and Arabic. In 1895, at the age of 12, he caught the attention of his public school teachers in Boston. He later moved to Paris and studied with Auguste Rodin, then settled in New York in 1912 and devoted himself to writing and painting. Fusing elements of Eastern and Western mysticism, he achieved lasting fame with such aphoristic, poetic works as The Prophet and Jesus, the Son of Man.July 28, 2006
Looking for Happiness? Try Denmark!
According to a new report by British scientist Adrian White, the happiest country in the world is Denmark, while Burundi is the most unhappy. White said the main factors affecting happiness were wealth, education, and health provision. He based his study on data from 178 countries; countries involved in conflicts, such as Iraq, were not included.cymatium
DEFINITION: (noun) A molding for a cornice; in profile it is partly concave and partly convex.
SYNONYMS: cyma.
USAGE: When the crown molding of an entablature is of the cyma form, it is called a cymatium.
Marcel Duchamp
Duchamp was a French/American artist often associated with the Dada and Surrealist movements of the 1920s. His paintings and sculptures served to break down prevailing notions about "fine art" and deliver poignant political and social critiques of mainstream and "highbrow" culture. He developed the term "readymade" to refer to found objects chosen by the artist as art. His most famous works include Nude Descending a Staircase and Fountain. What is featured in the latter work?Maximilien Robespierre Guillotined
A disciple of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and a capable articulator of the beliefs of the left-wing bourgeois, Robespierre was known to his contemporaries as "The Incorruptible" because of his selfless devotion to the French Revolution. He was an influential member of the Committee of Public Safety, which oversaw the period in which the revolutionaries consolidated their power, commonly known as the Reign of Terror. What famous statement did Robespierre make regarding the execution of Louis XVI?- » About
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