British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has set national elections there for July 4; polls suggest that his Conservative Party will lose badly. The date has some significance in British history c. 1776.
In several Indian religions, the term “rishi” refers to an accomplished or enlightened person.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak advised the nation of his decision to call for elections in a brief speech before 10 Downing Street, given in a driving rain. He was soaked by the end.
In Westminster parliamentary systems, elections are triggered by the dissolution of Parliament.
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an annual “conformation” dog show (in which dogs are evaluated for how well they conform to the established standards for their breed). It is held in the New York City area, and for many years was held in Madison Square Garden.
The show, and the kennel club which sponsors it, took its name from the Westminster Hotel in Manhattan, where a group of hunters and dog owners met regularly, and in 1877, decided to form a kennel club in order to put on a dog show.
Hey @knoodler I just want to say that your play reminded me of the song, Love Potion Number Nine.
Lyrics —
She bent down and turned around and gave me a wink
She said, “I’m gonna make it up right here in the sink”
It smelled like turpentine, it looked like Indian ink
I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink
A fun song.
In play —
One of the most iconic features of Madison Square Garden is its arena ceiling. It is the only concave stadium ceiling in the world.
A concert at Madison Square Garden by the rock group Nazgul resulted in massive casualties as a result of Ozymandias’s World War III-averting scheme in the graphic novel Watchmen.
Alan Moore is an English author, primarily known for his work in the comic book / graphic novel genre. Several of Moore’s works have been adapted for film, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and From Hell. He is widely considered to be one of the most talented writers in the genre.
Moore, who is known for his eccentricities and interest in the occult, has generally been critical of the film adaptations of his graphic novels.
@Bullitt: Good song! I know of Indian ink from its use in comics.
Lost Girls is a novel by Alan Moore that reimagines three famous novels: The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Due to its graphic and controversial nature it has been banned for sale in several countries. Currently it is available for sale in the US.
Five Children on the Western Front is a young adult novel by Kate Saunders that reimagines the world of E. Nesbit’s Five Children series of the early 1900s. Saunders realized that the children would have come to adulthood during World War I. Still grieving the death of her own son at age 19, she continued Nesbit’s story, thinking of parents who had lost children in wars. The book was widely praised and received a number of awards in the UK.
(I just read it and strongly recommend it)
General Jacob L. Devers (1887-1979) was a US Army field artillery officer. During WWI he was an artillery instructor at Fort Still, Oklahoma. During WWII he commanded part of the Western Front theater of operations.
Capt. Harry S. Truman of the Missouri National Guard commanded Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 35th Division, in France during World War I. He later went on to some minor political distinction.
The Battle of Verdun, which lasted from February of 1921 until December of the same year, was the longest battle of World War I. It began with a German attack on the French city of Verdun, and finally ended with victory by France. Germany suffered an estimated 430,000 troops killed or wounded, while France lost approximately 550,000 casualties.
Check your dates. WWI was fought between 1914 and 1918 and ended when Germany signed the armistice in that railroad coach on November 11, 1918.
-“BB”-
Fat-fingered. Meant to say 1916.
Mea culpa.
The presidential election of 1916 was extremely close and very similar to the election of 2000 and Charles Evans Hughes was originally declared the winner. California’s 13 electoral votes would decide who won the election and their results took a week to report due to the close margin of victory. Woodrow Wilson won California by 3773 votes with third parties receiving 70,311 votes.
Former major league center fielder William “Mookie” Wilson is both the uncle and stepfather of Preston Wilson, who also became a center fielder in the major leagues.
Mookie married Rosa Gilbert in 1978, while he was playing in the minor leagues; at the time of their wedding, Rosa had a young son, Preston, who had been fathered by Mookie’s brother, Richard Wilson.
Despite not playing in a Major League Baseball game, Josh Gibson has been declared the MLB’s all-time career leader in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging percentage. He also holds the all-time single-season records in all three categories. His .372 batting average surpasses Ty Cobb’s .367, and his .718 slugging percentage overtakes Babe Ruth’s .690.
Mookie is a not uncommon nickname in the MLB. There is also Mookie Betts. But there is also a Mooki…
The Mooki River is in Australia, in the eastern part of New South Wales. It flows for about 80 miles. Its endpoints are at the following coordinates:
● Mooki River ▲ -30.9708, 150.2793 ⇦ at Namoi River
● Mooki River ▲ -31.631648, 150.308993 ⇦ at Omaleah Creek, Phillips Creek
Those endpoints are about 45 miles apart as the crow flies (or as the emu walks).
It is about 165 miles north northwest of Sydney, NSW AUS.
Part of the Mooki River follows a windy road named, uhh, Windy Road (coords ▲ -31.511319, 150.439248).
The Mooki River is about 271 miles north northwest of “The Dish”, or CSIRO Parkes Observatory.
The Dish movie (2000) tells about CSIRO Parkes Observatory’s role in the Apollo 11 moon landing.
One of my favorite movies. It’s difficult to find, but if you can find it streaming or DVD or other medium, please LMK!
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, an amateur pilot, did not actually meet privately with the three Apollo 11 astronauts - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins - during their visit to the United Kingdom. That was an incident created by the writers of The Crown.