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Faraaz Damji | 1 Feb 2007 04:12
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February 1: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

   Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 science fantasy film
   written and directed by George Lucas.  It was the fourth film to be
   released in the Star Wars saga, and the first in terms of internal
   chronology.  The film begins as two Jedi Knights are assigned as
   ambassadors to a trade dispute that is threatening the planet Naboo.
   When the situation turns violent, the Jedi, along with Padmé Amidala,
   the planet's queen, flee Naboo in an attempt to reach the capital
   world Coruscant in the hope of finding a peaceful end to the dispute.
   Along the way, the ship must stop for repairs on the planet Tatooine.
   It is there that the Jedi encounter Anakin Skywalker, a young slave
   boy who is unusually strong in the Force.  When the group returns to
   Naboo, they realize that the situation is much worse than they
   thought—the evil Sith have returned.  The release of the film on May
   19, 1999 came almost 16 years after the previous film in the series,
   Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.  The release was accompanied
   by extensive media coverage and great anticipation.  Despite mixed
   reviews by critics, it grossed US$924.3 million worldwide.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_I%3A_The_Phantom_Menace

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1796:
   The capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark to York, which was
   deemed to be less vulnerable to attack by the United States.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada)

1884:
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Faraaz Damji | 2 Feb 2007 05:13
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February 2: Seabird

   Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life in the marine
   environment.  Whilst seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and
   physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the
   same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in
   similar adaptations.  The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous, and
   modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene.  Seabirds live
   longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they
   invest a great deal of time in those young that they do have.  Most
   species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen
   birds to many millions.  They are famous for undertaking long annual
   migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some
   cases.  They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even
   feed on each other.  Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in
   some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely.
   Seabirds and humans have a long history together: they have provided
   food to hunters, guided fishermen to fishing stocks and led sailors to
   land.  Many species are currently threatened by human activities, and
   conservation efforts are underway.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seabird

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Today's selected anniversaries:

962:
   Pope John XII crowned Otto the Great as Holy Roman Emperor, the first
   in nearly 40 years.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_I%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor)
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Faraaz Damji | 5 Feb 2007 02:56
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February 5: T-34

   The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958.  It was
   widely regarded as the world's best tank when the Soviet Union entered
   the Second World War, and although its armour and armament were
   surpassed by later WWII tanks, it is credited as the war's most
   effective, efficient and influential design.  First produced at the
   KhPZ factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), it was the mainstay of
   Soviet armoured forces throughout World War II, and widely exported
   afterwards.  It was the most-produced tank of the war, and the second
   most-produced tank of all time, after its successor, the T-54/55
   series.  The T-34 was still in service with twenty-seven countries as
   late as 1996.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-34

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1859:
   Constantin von Tischendorf found the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century
   uncial manuscript of the New Testament, in a monastery at the foot of
   Mount Sinai in Egypt.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus)

1862:
   Bacardi, one of the world's largest rum producers, was founded as a
   small distillery in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacardi)

1899:
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Faraaz Damji | 4 Feb 2007 14:45
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February 4: Ecclesiastical heraldry

   Ecclesiastical heraldry is the tradition of heraldry developed by
   Christian clergy.  Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical
   heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses.  It
   is most formalized within the Roman Catholic Church, where most
   bishops, including the Pope, have a personal coat of arms.  Similar
   customs are followed by clergy in the Anglican Church, the Lutheran
   Church, the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, and the Orthodox Churches.
   Institutions such as schools and dioceses bear arms called impersonal
   or corporate arms.  Ecclesiastical heraldry differs notably from other
   heraldry in the use of special symbols around the shield to indicate
   rank in a church or denomination.  The most prominent of these symbols
   is the ecclesiastical hat, commonly the Roman galero or Geneva bonnet.
   The color and ornamentation of this hat carry a precise meaning.
   Cardinals are famous for the "red hat", but other offices are assigned
   a distinctive hat color.  The hat is ornamented with tassels in a
   quantity commensurate with the office.  Other symbols include the
   cross, the mitre and the crozier.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastical_heraldry

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1859:
   Constantin von Tischendorf found the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century
   uncial manuscript of the New Testament, in a monastery at the foot of
   Mount Sinai in Egypt.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus)
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Faraaz Damji | 6 Feb 2007 06:56
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February 6: Scouting

   Scouting is a worldwide youth movement aiming to develop young people
   physically, mentally and spiritually, so that they may play
   constructive roles in society.  Scouting began in 1907 when R.S.S.
   Baden-Powell, Lieutenant General in the British Army, held the first
   Scouting encampment at Brownsea Island, England.  Baden-Powell wrote
   the principles of Scouting in Scouting for Boys, based on his earlier
   military books, with influence and support of Seton of the Woodcraft
   Indians, Smith of the Boys' Brigade, and his publisher Pearson.  During
   the first half of the 20th century, the movement grew to encompass
   three major age groups for boys (Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Rover Scout)
   and for girls (Brownie Guide, Girl Guide and Girl Scout, Ranger
   Guide).  The movement employs the Scout method, a program of non-formal
   education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including
   camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, and sports.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1819:
   Stamford Raffles founded Singapore, a new trading post for the British
   East India Company.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford_Raffles)

1840:
   The British and the Māori signed the Treaty of Waitangi, considered as
   the founding document of New Zealand.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi)
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Faraaz Damji | 8 Feb 2007 02:18
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February 8: Vancouver

   Vancouver is a city in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, named
   for George Vancouver, an English explorer.  Vancouver is part of the
   Greater Vancouver Regional District metropolitan area.  With a
   population of 2,180,737 Vancouver is the largest metropolitan area in
   western Canada and the third largest in the country.  Vancouver has a
   very ethnically diverse population: more than half of its residents
   have a mother tongue other than English.  Its economy has traditionally
   relied on British Columbia's resource sectors: forestry, mining,
   fishing and agriculture.  It was first settled in the 1860s as a result
   of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, and developed
   rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan centre
   following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887.  The
   Port of Vancouver became internationally significant after the
   completion of the Panama Canal and reduced freight rates in the 1920s
   made it viable to ship export-bound prairie grain west through
   Vancouver.  It has since become the busiest seaport in Canada and
   exports more cargo than any other port in North America.  Vancouver is
   consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world.
   In 2006, the city was ranked the 56th most expensive city to live in
   among 144 major cities in the world and the second most expensive in
   Canada (after Toronto).

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1587:
   Mary, Queen of Scots was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on suspicion
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Faraaz Damji | 9 Feb 2007 23:47
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February 9: Scottish Parliament

   The Scottish Parliament is the national unicameral legislature of
   Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh.  The Parliament is
   a democratically elected body comprised of 129 members who are known
   as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).  Members are elected for
   four year terms under the proportional representation system.  The
   original Parliament of Scotland was the national legislature of the
   independent Kingdom of Scotland and existed from the early thirteenth
   century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of
   England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great
   Britain.  Following a referendum in 1997 where the Scottish people gave
   their consent, the current Parliament was established by the Scotland
   Act 1998 which sets out its powers as a devolved legislature.  The Act
   delineated the areas in which it can make laws by explicitly
   specifying powers that are "reserved" to the Parliament of the United
   Kingdom.  All matters that are not explicitly reserved are
   automatically the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.  The UK
   Parliament retains the ability to amend the terms of reference of the
   Scottish Parliament, and can extend or reduce the areas in which it
   can make laws.  The first meeting of the new Parliament took place on
   12 May 1999.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Parliament

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Today's selected anniversaries:

474:
   As the seven-year old Leo II was deemed too young to rule, his father
   Zeno was crowned as the co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
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Faraaz Damji | 11 Feb 2007 03:29
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February 11: Able Archer 83

   Able Archer 83 was a ten-day NATO exercise starting on November 2,
   1983 that spanned the continent of Europe and simulated a coordinated
   nuclear release.  It incorporated a new, unique format of coded
   communication, radio silences, participation by heads of state, and a
   simulated DEFCON 1 nuclear alert.  The realistic nature of the
   exercise, coupled with deteriorating relations between the United
   States and the Soviet Union and the anticipated arrival of
   "super-stealth" Pershing II nuclear missiles in Europe, led some in
   the USSR to believe that Able Archer 83 was a genuine nuclear strike.
   In response, the Soviets readied their nuclear forces and placed air
   units in East Germany and Poland on alert.  This relatively obscure
   incident is considered by many historians to be the closest the world
   has come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.  The
   immediate threat of nuclear war abruptly ended with the conclusion of
   the Able Archer 83 exercise on November 11.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1808:
   Anthracite coal was first experimentally burned as a residential
   heating fuel by Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthracite_coal)

1919:
   Friedrich Ebert became the first Reichspräsident of the Weimar
   Republic.
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Faraaz Damji | 12 Feb 2007 02:48
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February 12: Make Way for Ducklings

   Make Way for Ducklings is a children's picture book written and
   illustrated by Robert McCloskey.  First published in 1941, the book
   tells the story of a pair of mallard ducks who decide to raise their
   family on an island in the lagoon in Boston Public Garden, a park in
   the center of Boston, Massachusetts.  Make Way for Ducklings won the
   1942 Caldecott Medal for McCloskey's illustrations, executed in
   charcoal then lithographed on zinc plates.  As of 2003, the book had
   sold over two million copies.  The book's popularity led to the
   construction of a statue in the Public Garden of the mother duck and
   her eight ducklings, which is a popular destination for children and
   adults alike.  Praise for the book is still high over 60 years since
   its first publication, mainly for the enhancing illustrations and
   effective pacing.  It was criticised for having a loose plot, however,
   as well as poor characterization.  The book is extremely popular
   worldwide.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_Way_for_Ducklings

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1689:
   The Convention Parliament was convened to determine if James II, the
   last Roman Catholic king of England, had vacated the throne when he
   fled to France in 1688.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England)

1733:
   Georgia Day: James Oglethorpe founded the city of Savannah along with
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Faraaz Damji | 13 Feb 2007 17:25
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February 13: DNA

   DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the
   development and function of living organisms.  All living things
   contain DNA, although DNA viruses are usually considered non-living.
   The main role of DNA in the cell is the long term storage of
   information.  It is often compared to a blueprint, since it contains
   the instructions to construct other components of the cell, such as
   proteins and RNA molecules.  The DNA segments that carry genetic
   information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural
   purposes, or are involved in regulating the expression of genetic
   information.  In eukaryotes such as animals and plants, DNA is stored
   inside the cell nucleus, while in prokaryotes such as bacteria, the
   DNA is in the cell's cytoplasm.  The major function of DNA is to encode
   the sequence of amino acid residues in proteins, using the genetic
   code.  To read the genetic code, cells make a copy of a stretch of DNA
   in the nucleic acid RNA.  These RNA copies can then be used to direct
   protein biosynthesis, but they can also be used directly as parts of
   ribosomes or spliceosomes.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1689:
   Glorious Revolution: Instead of James Francis Edward Stuart the Prince
   of Wales acceding to the throne, his sister Mary and her husband
   William were proclaimed co-rulers of England.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_II_of_England)
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_III_of_England)
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