On This Day
835 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled.[2]
The Sweet Dew incident (Ganlu incident, Chinese: 甘露事變) was an incident on December 14, 835,[1][2] in which Emperor Wenzong of the Chinese Tang dynasty, angry about the power of his eunuchs, conspired with the chancellor Li Xun and the general Zheng Zhu to slaughter the eunuchs. The plot failed, however, when the eunuchs realized what was happening and counterattacked with soldiers under their command. Li Xun, Zheng, as well as many of their associates and other officials were slaughtered, and thereafter, the eunuchs had an even firmer control over Emperor Wenzong and his government than before.[2][3]
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Born On This Day
1631 – Anne Conway, English philosopher and author (d. 1679)
Anne Conway (also known as Viscountess Conway; née Finch; 14 December 1631 – 23 February 1679[1]) was an English philosopher whose work, in the tradition of the Cambridge Platonists, was an influence on Gottfried Leibniz. Conway’s thought is a deeply original form of rationalist philosophy, with hallmarks of gynocentric concerns and patterns that lead some to think of it as unique among seventeenth-century systems.[2]
FYI
Anne Rice[1] (born Howard Allen Frances O’Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. She was best known for her series of novels The Vampire Chronicles. Books from The Vampire Chronicles were the subject of two film adaptations—Interview with the Vampire (1994) and Queen of the Damned (2002).
Born in New Orleans, Rice spent much of her early life in the city before moving to Texas, and later to San Francisco. She was raised in an observant Catholic family but became an agnostic as a young adult. She began her professional writing career with the publication of Interview with the Vampire (1976), while living in California, and began writing sequels to the novel in the 1980s. In the mid-2000s, following a publicized return to Catholicism, Rice published the novels Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, fictionalized accounts of certain incidents in the life of Jesus. Several years later she distanced herself from organized Christianity, citing disagreement with the Catholic Church’s stances on social issues but pledging that faith in God remained “central to [her] life.” However, she later considered herself a secular humanist.[2]
Rice’s books have sold over 100 million copies, making her one of the best-selling authors of modern times.[3][4] While reaction to her early works was initially mixed, she gained a better reception with critics in the 1980s. Her writing style and the literary content of her works have been analyzed by literary commentators. She was married to poet and painter Stan Rice for 41 years, from 1961 until his death from brain cancer in 2002 at age 60.[5][6] She and Stan had two children, Michele, who died of leukemia at age five, and Christopher, who is also an author.
In addition to her vampire novels, Rice authored books such as The Feast of All Saints (adapted for television in 2001) and Servant of the Bones, which formed the basis of a 2011 comic book miniseries. Several books from The Vampire Chronicles have been adapted as comics and manga by various publishers. Rice also authored erotic fiction under the pen names Anne Rampling and A. N. Roquelaure, including Exit to Eden, which was later adapted into a 1994 film.
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The Cordova Times: Hobo Jim to be honored at Anchorage event
Who knew in 2011?
Yakuza among first with relief supplies in Japan
TOKYO (Reuters) – Tons of relief goods have been delivered to victims of Japan’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami from a dark corner of society: the “yakuza” organized crime networks.
Yakuza groups have been sending trucks from the Tokyo and Kobe regions to deliver food, water, blankets and toiletries to evacuation centers in northeast Japan, the area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami which have left at least 27,000 dead and missing.
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WorkPlace Coach Blog: Dodge a Bullet: 29 ?s to Ask Your New Employer and Yourself Before You Say “Yes” to a Job Offer
By Peter Coy, Opinion New York Times: Consider giving to education-related charities
Courtesy of Stacy Hleihil, Huffman/O’Malley on Nextdoor
Uncivil or Unkind comments.
Can we all just start thinking twice about our reply before we actually post it? Ask yourself two things:
1. Is it unkind or uncivil? ie. Would it hurt the original poster’s feelings? Would I be willing to say it to their face?
2. Would my mom, my child, even God, be supportive of what I’m about to type?
So many people let their unkind, negative and judgmental side lead their fingers when they type. People that I know to be nice and pleasant people in person. However, these same people sit down behind a screen/keyboard and become spiteful and mean spirited. They turn into people I would be ashamed to call my friend. It becomes a Jekyll and Hyde scenario.
Come on guys! It’s the holidays, after another trying year too. Many people are barely holding on to their sanity and faith in mankind. Do better – Practice kindness. Show one another some compassion.
This site is supposed to be a friendly neighborhood site. Yet, I’ve seen more ugly behavior here than (I would imagine) in prison. Inmates are better to one another than we are here.
Lead with kindness. Express empathy and goodwill. Tell the person posting that you’re so sorry X happened, what can you/we/I do? Instead of criticizing and pointing out what they did wrong.
They know their fault in the matter, whether they acknowledge it in a public forum or not. You don’t need to kick them when they’re down.
Instead, put your hand out and say, “How can I help? Is there anything I can do to ease your suffering?”
Please take a minute and think about your reply before you hit post. Not all thoughts need to be expressed out loud.
Ideas
By Darja Dodu: Butterflies From Aluminum Cans
Recipes
By In The Kitchen With Matt: Easy Garlic Bread
By Jeromina The Decorated Donut: Hot Chocolate FUNNEL CAKE Wreath
By Jeromina The Decorated Donut: Ube Linzer Cookies (Purple Yam)
By ElisesEats: Galaxy Macarons
By CharlesT26: Realistic Chocolate Wood Log
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Ham and cheese omelette June 2, 2023I’ve updated the way I make omelettes. This “scrambled egg” approach is easier and yields a better result without having to worry about raw egg in the middle. Today’s omelette recipe is filled with ham and cheese. Sauté your ham first! Ham and cheese omelette I used to cook omelettes using the technique whereby you... […]Nagi
- Antipasto Chickpea Salad May 31, 2023I love this chickpea salad because it involves little more than opening jars, it keeps well for days and the chickpeas keep me full for longer. It’s like an antipasto platter, in the form of a protein-laden, good-for-you meal! Antipasto Chickpea Salad Professional food writers would probably describe chickpeas as a blank canvas for flavour.... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 3 June 3, 2023Picture of the day Amphycribral vascular bundle of a Fern Rhizome Pteridium aquilinum. Big cells with red cell wall are tracheids. They serve in the transport of water. Around the xylem there are xylem parenchyma and phloem cells. A single row layer of small cells (with red content) located circumferentially is endoderm. In the parenchyma […]
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 2 June 2, 2023Picture of the day Ascent to the steeple of the St. Viktor Church, Dülmen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
AV Club Wiki Wormhole
- The best movies to stream on Disney Plus right now June 3, 2023Of all the streaming services, Disney+ has the most desirable IP sitting around waiting to be exploited (meaning content already bought and paid for), like the Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel franchises, and now the Indiana Jones series. Starting in June, Disney+ is adding all four Indy adventures onto the service to whet…Read more...The A.V. Club
- The 5 best Easter eggs from Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse June 3, 2023As the sequel to the greatest Spider-Man movie of all time—and it’s not just us saying that now, Tom Holland officially agrees—this week’s Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse has a lot to live up to. But while we can all spend the next four years arguing over whether the new movie’s more expansive take on Miles…Read […]William Hughes
- Elliot Page recounts the time a famous acquaintance told him being gay "doesn't exist" June 3, 2023Elliot Page’s new memoir, Pageboy, comes out next week—which means that excerpts from the non-fiction book are already starting to spread online. The book details Page’s life in the entertainment industry, starting from when he was a child star, up through coming out as gay in 2014 and as trans in 2020. As revealed by…Read […]William Hughes
- Matthew Broderick says John Hughes wasn't the chillest dude June 3, 2023Read more...Peter Scobel
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Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?