Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, August 11, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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subterfuge
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| Article of the Day | |
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 YakuzaYakuza are members of traditional organized crime groups in Japan. Although yakuza membership declined in the 1990s following an anti-gang law passed by the Japanese government, there are thought to be nearly 90,000 active yakuza members in Japan today. Though, as a matter of principle, yakuza do not recognize direct theft as a legitimate enterprise, they frequently engage in a form of extortion known as sokaiya. How does it work? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mayan Long Count Calendar Begins (3114 BCE)The Long Count is one of the various ancient Mayan calendars that maintained complicated, cyclical measurements of time. It was intended to provide an accurate record of historical events and counts the days elapsed from a fixed starting point—calculated as August 11, 3114 BCE, the date of creation according to the Maya. Some believe that the calendar predicts the world's end on December 21, 2012, but scholars have widely rejected this claim. What was the significance of that date to the Maya? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alex Haley (1921)A descendent of African slaves, Haley began writing during a 20-year US Coast Guard career. He became a journalist, and earned national attention for The Autobiography of Malcolm X. His biggest success was 1976's Roots, a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of his ancestors beginning with their enslavement. A television adaptation became one of the most-watched programs in America, spurring interest in genealogy. Why then was the work excluded from a prominent anthology of literature? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Life is a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Rasa Leela Festival (Mathura, Uttar Pradesh) (2020)Janmashtami is the birthday of Krishna, the eighth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, which is observed on the new moon day of the month of Bhadrapada. In the city of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, an important center of Indian art and the birthplace of Krishna, a month-long festival is held during Bhadrapada. The Rasa Leela play cycle, a traditional operatic ballet based on the Krishna legend, is performed throughout the month. The Rasa Leela (or Ras-Lila) Festival takes its name from the ras, or dance, of Krishna, the divine flute-player, and his consort, Radha. More... | |