On This Day
1009 – Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.
Pope Sergius IV (died 12 May 1012) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death. His temporal power was eclipsed by the patrician John Crescentius. Sergius IV may have called for the expulsion of Muslims from the Holy Land, but this is disputed. Since his time, the practice that the person who has been elected to the office of pope takes on a new name became a tradition.[1]
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Born On This Day
1526 – Augustus, Elector of Saxony (d. 1586)
Augustus (31 July 1526 – 11 February 1586) was Elector of Saxony from 1553 to 1586.
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FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
EarthSky News
This Day in Tech History
This Day In History
Interesting Facts
Word Genius: Word of the Day
Associated Press: Francine Pascal, author of beloved ‘Sweet Valley High’ books, dead at 92
Francine Paula Pascal (née Rubin, May 13, 1932 – July 28, 2024) was an American author best known for creating the Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High was the backbone of the collection, and was made into a popular television series.[2][3] There were also several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles have been re-released in recent years.[4]
Wickersham’s Conscience: A Return to Augustana Creek
Military Women’s Memorial Newsletter – Summer Update
By Sam Carr, The Conversation: Why Mourning a Pet Can Be Harder Than Grieving for a Person
By Will Dunham, Reuters: Gene involved in cell shape offers clues on left-handedness
By J. D. Biersdorfer, The New York Tomes: How to Clean Up Your Phone’s Photo Library to Free Up Space
Deleting duplicates, bad shots and other unwanted files makes it easier to find the good pictures — and gives you room to take more.
Conspiracy of Goodness
Sturgill Simpson explains why he’s now Johnny Blue Skies for Qobuz
Good lord!
Morning Briefing July 31, 2024 – Kellyn Miley
Beautiful!
he Mentality of the SEAL Team that killed Osama Bin Laden – Robert J. O’Neill
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) speaks on Vietnam veterans resolution – July 30, 2024
Recipes
The Kitchn: Torrejas (Mexican French Toast)
Little House Big Alaska: Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Chicken
Food Network Recipes: 35 Bacon Recipes To Serve Morning, Noon and Night
Just the Recipe: Paste the URL to any recipe, click submit, and it’ll return literally JUST the recipe- no ads, no life story of the writer, no nothing EXCEPT the recipe.
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel June 12, 2026Firstly, thank you for the Jaffle love. 🥰 Hit the Jaffle button above to see what he got up to today! Secondly – cake. Specifically, Coffee Cake! A classic crumb cake with a jammy cinnamon ribbon, loaded with lots and lots of nubbly, extra crunchy cinnamon streusel. Outrageously good. Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel This... […]Nagi
- Introducing Jaffle! June 10, 2026Meet Jaffle! Future Chief Taste Tester. Son of a Dozer friend. A little bundle of golden, fluffy joy! 48 hours of instant happiness I didn’t expect to get a new puppy so soon after saying goodbye to Dozer. To be honest, I wasn’t sure when I’d be ready. And I had it in my head... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 13 June 13, 2026Picture of the day An image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on a stained-glass window located in a church in St. Peters, Missouri. Today is the feast day of the Immaculate Heart in the Roman Catholic Church.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 12 June 12, 2026Picture of the day A memorial to victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in front the Stonewall Inn in New York City. On June 12, 2016, a terrorist shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, USA.
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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?