Seven Deadly Sins

pride, gluttony, melancholy (which was dropped in the 17th century in favor of sloth), lust, greed, envy, anger

opera

"La Traviata"
Verdi's opera is the story of the beautiful Parisian courtesan, Violetta, who falls in love with Alfredo. They set up house together, but his family's disapproval forces them apart. In the end, the lovers are briefly united, only to be separated again by death.

"Madame Butterfly"
Puccini's opera takes place at the turn of the 20th century in the pretty harbor town of Nagasaki. Cio-Cio-San marries a United States naval lieutenant, who then leaves her for three years. In the meantime, she has their child and names him "Trouble," waiting for the day when Lt. Pinkerton will return, and she will rename their son "Joy."

Some Ohio "Firsts"

In 1967 what Clevelander became the first black elected mayor of a major American city?
Answer: Carl B. Stokes (Cleveand)

Who in 1669 is believed to have been the first European explorer to visit the Ohio area?
Answer: La Salle

In 1922 she was the first woman in the nation to sit as a judge on a state supreme court.
Answer: Florence E. Allen

Native American Heritage

Ohio was home to five major American Indian tribes - the Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Shawnee and Wyandot - plus several smaller tribes.

some names and their native ties:

Erie - From the Erie Indians, whose name means"cat" or "wildcat."

Miami - For the Miami tribe, whose principal village, Pickawillany, was in western Ohio

Scioto - From an Indian word "scionto" meaning "deer."

Chillicothe - The Shawnee word "Chalahgawtha" translates as "principal town" or "town at the leaning bank."

Ohio - From an Iroquois word for "beautiful river."

source The Columbus Dispatch November 19, 2008

Distinguished 18th century Shawnee chief Keigh-tugh-qua was known by what name to the white settlers? Answer: Cornstalk

In 1763 what Ottawa chief unsuccessfully attempted to unite Indian tribes in Ohio country to wipe out the whites west of the Alleghenies? Answer: Pontiac

Seneca John, chief of the Senecas, was executed in 1828 for what crime against his brother, Cornstalk? Answer: "Witchcraft murder"

What Mohawk Indian leader, born in Ohio Country in 1742, became a colonel in the British Army? Answer: Thayendanega, or Joseph Brant

Mersenne

A Mersenne number is a number that can be expressed in the form 2 to the nth -1. Searching for higher and higher Mersenne primes is the unofficial national sport of mathematicians. The 45th and 46th Mersenne primes were found in 2008. The 46th has almost 13 million digits.
source Time magazine November 10, 2008.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Opened 2008 on Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. It keeps seed samples. Even if the facility loses power, the Arctic climate should keep the seeds viable for thousands of years.
source Time magazine November 10, 2008

A Cappella

Italian "in chapel style" ancient form of singing without instrumental accompaniment.

see June 6, 2009, trivia

Acronyms

ICANN International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

MRI magnetic resonance imaging
a. possible to make pictures of almost all the tissue in the body
b. possible to take pictures from almost every angle

PET position emission tomography
type of nuclear medicine imagery

CT computerised tomography
shows pictures only horizontally

HMMWV (humvee) High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (debuted in 1985)

TARP Troubled Asset Relief Program
program proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in fall 2008
(way for government to take bad mortgages off the loans of the nation's financial institutions)
(U.S government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions)

U.S. Presidential Succession

1. President
2. Vice President
3. Speaker of the House
4. Senate Pro Tem
5. Secretary of State
6. Secretary of the Treasury
7. Secretary of Defense
8. Attorney General

American Involvement in Wars from Colonial Times to the Present

(1.) DATES (2.) WAR in Which American Colonists or
United States Citizens Officially Participated
(3.) MAJOR COMBATANTS


July4, 1675- August 12, 1676 King Philip's War New England Colonies vs.
Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Nipmuck Indians

1689-1697 King William's War The English Colonies vs. France

1702-1713 Queen Anne's War The English Colonies vs. France

1744-1748 King George's War The French Colonies vs. Great Britain

1756-1763 French and Indian War The French Colonies vs. Great Britain
(Seven Years War)

1759-1761 Cherokee War English Colonists vs. Cherokee Indians

1775-1783 American Revolution English Colonists vs. Great Britain

1798-1800 Franco-American Naval War United States vs. France

1801-1805; Barbary Wars United States vs. Morocco, Algiers,
1815 Tunis, and Tripoli

1812-1815 War of 1812 United States vs. Great Britain

1813-1814 Creek War United States vs. Creek Indians

1836 War of Texas Independence Texas vs. Mexico

1846-1848 Mexican War United States vs. Mexico

1861-1865 Civil War Union vs. Confederacy

1898 Spanish-American War United States vs. Spain

1914-1918 World War I Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and
Austria-Hungary vs. Triple Entente:
Britain, France, and Russia. The
United States joined on the side of
the Triple Entente in 1917.

1939-1945 World War II Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan
vs. Major Allied Powers: United
States, Great Britain, France and
Russia

1950-1953 Korean War United States (as part of the United
Nations) and South Korea vs.
North Korea and Communist China

1960-1975 Vietnam War United States and South Vietnam
vs. North Vietnam

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion United States vs. Cuba

1983 Grenada United States Intervention

1989 US Invasion of Panama United States vs. Panama

1990-1991 Persian Gulf War United States and Coalition Forces
vs. Iraq

1995-1996 Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina United States as part of NATO acted peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia

2001 Invasion of Afghanistan United States and Coalition Forces vs.
the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to fight terrorism.

2003 Invasion of Iraq United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq


Source: The New York Public Library DeskReference, 3rd Edition

Some Pseudonyms and Pen names

Mary Ann Evans b. 1819 pen name George Eliot wrote Silas Marner and other novels

Clive Staples Lewis known as C.S. Lewis author of The Chronicles of Narnia

Charles L. Dogson pen name is Lewis Carroll author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland published in 1865

Samuel Clemens b. 1835 known as Mark Twain author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and other
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) used pen name Sieur Louis de Conte for his fictional biography of Joan of Arc

Leonard Slye known as Roy Rogers b. Cincinnati raised in Scioto County

Theodor Geisel 1904-1991 pen name is Dr. Seuss

Marshall Mathers b.1972 American singer known as Eminem

David Cornwell pen name is John Le Carre author of popular spy novels

Stephan King pen name Richard Bachman for many of his early works including The Long Walk and Roadwork

James Oliver Rigney, Jr.b.1948 is the real name Robert Jordan best known for Wheel of Time fantasy series

William Sidney Porter 1862-1910 pen name is O. Henry

Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790 used the pen name Silence Dogood for some of his publications
Benjamin Franklin first published Poor Richard's Almanac in 1732 under the name Richard Saunders

Nora Roberts b. 1950 (romance novelist) writes In Death novels (futuristic science-fiction police procedurals) under the pseudonym J. D. Robb
Also writes under the name Jill March and by error was published in the UK as Sarah
Hardesty

What is the difference between All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day?

All Saints' Day, also called Allhallows or Allhallowmas, is observed Nov. 1 by Protestants and Roman Catholics in celebration of Christian saints - particularly those who don't have their own feast days. All Souls' Day is recognized Nov. 2, mainly by Catholics, in remembrance of the dead.

source Columbus Dispatch Nov. 1, 2008, - (Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations of the World Dictionary)