Anglophones often assume that “Jacques” is the French equivalent of “Jack”. It’s actually the French equivalent of “James”. Both names are derived from “Jacob”.
“Jack” is a nickname for “John”.
The French song Frère Jacques is a round that is commonly taught to young children. Its lyrics are:
Erato Street is in an uptown neighborhood in New Orleans in which the nine parallel streets all bear the names of the Greek Muses. Erato is the Greek Muse of Lyric Poetry.
Plato referred to the poetess Sappho as ‘the tenth muse’. The title has been used to refer to leading female poets on many occasions since.
A poetess is believed to have existed before any men applied themselves to that art. EnHeduAnna was an Akkadian priestess in the Sumerian city-state of Ur, 4300 years ago. Regarded by literary and historical scholars as possibly the earliest known author and poet, she may be the first woman in history whose name is known to us.
ETA:
I have found an on-line English translation of some of the work of enHeduAna, at
The earliest sunrise for the year in Sydney occurs on 6 December.
Only two Terrytoons cartoon characters have gotten Oscar nominations for their cartoons: Mighty Mouse and Sidney the Elephant.
The 2011 Bradley Cooper technothriller Limitless received not a single Oscar nomination (although I would’ve nominated it for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Special Effects, had I been asked).
A cooper is a craftsman who makes wooden barrels.
Annie Edson Taylor was the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. She performed the feat on October 24, 1901 - her 63rd birthday.
Niagara Park is a station on the Main Northern railway line in NSW, serving the Central Coast suburb of the same name.
The Great Northern Railway was one of the most popular among American modelers, owing to its Mountain Goat logo, which lasted until 1970. It then merged with the Chicago Burlington and Qunicy to form the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN), which then merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form the current BNSF Railway.
On 13 July 2037 a total solar eclipse will be visible from Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) in the Northern Territory. Totality will last for 3 minutes and 11 seconds.
Uluru / Ayers Rock in NT (Northern Territory) is but an 1,800 mile drive from Sydney. Named after Henry Ayers, its name isn’t Ayer’s Rock, nor is it Ayers’ Rock, but is Ayers Rock. It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The hottest part of the day at Uluru is between 2.30 pm and 6.30 pm.
*Comment: I just realized that some may think that my post is me being snarky about the name and if there’s an apostrophe or not. That was not intended at all, and I apologize to Cunctator if you saw it that way. When I looked it up and saw the beautiful drive from Alice Springs that includes seeing Kings Canyon and the West MacDonnell Ranges it piqued my curiosity and I might just put that drive on my ever-growing bucket list.
So many things to do, places to go, and people to see, yet so little time…
<Links>
Red Centre Way: http://www.travelnt.com/alice-springs-and-surrounds/things-to-do/red-centre-way.aspx
Uluru - images: uluru - Google Search
Kings Canyon - images (NT, of course, not the US National Park in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains): kings canyon australia - Google Search
West MacDonnell Ranges - images: West MacDonnell Ranges australia - Google Search
</Links>
There’s some beautiful lands there to explore on an overland excursion!
Thanks,
Bullitt
*
The battlefield of Franklin, Tenn., site of a terrible Confederate defeat on November 30, 1864, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. Unfortunately, much of the battlefield has been lost to development in the decades since.
(Note) “Terrible” and “unfortunately” sound more like editorial comments, than empirical trivia.
The American invasion by William Walker to take over Nicaragua was turned back at the battlefield of Hacienda San Jacinto in Tipatipa, on September 14, 1856, by the national army and indigenous irregulars from Matagalpa. Walker was executed four years later in Honduras.
The orchestras of Freddy Martin, Guy Lombardo, and Kay Kyser all reached the Top Ten in the 1940’s with recordings of the novelty song “Managua, Nicaragua”. It’s a wonderful town, you buy a hacienda for a few pesos down …