Venustiano Carranza (1859)

After Mexican leader Porfirio Díaz was deposed in 1911, a protracted power struggle ensued. Carranza was the third person in as many years to assume executive power after Díaz’s ouster, but revolutionary leaders Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata objected and responded with force. Carranza prevailed, but his failure to implement key provisions of the liberal constitution of 1917 led to further unrest, and he was killed in 1920. What does carrancear, coined during Carranza’s tenure, mean? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Consonance and Dissonance

Consonance and dissonance are perceived qualities of musical chords and intervals, distances in pitch between two tones. Consonance is often described as relative “stability” and dissonance as “instability.” Despite the fact that words like “unpleasant” and “grating” are often used to explain the sound of dissonance, all music with a harmonic or tonal basis—even music perceived as generally harmonious—incorporates some degree of dissonance. What emotions are dissonant chords said to express? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Messina Earthquake (1908)

Messina is a busy seaport and commercial center in northeastern Sicily, Italy, opposite the Italian mainland. On the morning of December 28, 1908, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Messina, followed by a 40-foot (12-meter) tsunami. About 80,000 people were killed, and at least 90 percent of Messina’s buildings, including its churches and palaces, were destroyed. Afterward, the city was completely rebuilt under standards for quake-resistant construction. What happened to the survivors? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Russian Winter Festival Moscow

The Russian Winter Festival is a festival of arts and a time of holiday partying largely in Moscow, Russia, and somewhat less grandly in other cities of the former Soviet Union. In Moscow, there are circuses, performances of Russian fables for children, and other special theatrical presentations as well as traditional outdoor parties with troika (sled) rides, folk games, and dancing around fir trees. On New Year’s Eve, children wait for gifts from “Grandfather Frost“—who wears a red robe and black boots and has a white beard—and his helper, Snow Girl. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Pío Baroja y Nessi (1872)

Considered the foremost Spanish novelist of his time, Baroja was part of the Generation of ’98, a group of writers who, in the face of defeat in the Spanish-American War, proclaimed a moral and cultural rebirth for Spain. He wrote almost 100 novels, including 11 trilogies and, perhaps his most ambitious project, a 22-volume cycle about a 19th-century insurgent. Baroja’s writings largely concern the intellectual and political climate of his homeland. What career did he give up to be a writer? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Sublime

Derived from a Latin term meaning “uplifted,” the word “sublime” is used to describe something of overwhelming greatness, grandeur, or beauty. In aesthetics—the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and expression of beauty—the concept of the sublime was first developed in On the Sublime, a landmark treatise on literary criticism traditionally attributed to the Greek philosopher Longinus. Why do some philosophers believe that beauty and the sublime are two different things? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Rome and Vienna Airport Attacks (1985)

Nearly three months after Israel’s bombing of Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters in Tunisia, terrorists retaliated in two nearly simultaneous attacks at European airports. At Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome, Italy, gunmen opened fire and threw grenades at the Israeli airline’s ticket counter, while at an airport in Vienna, Austria, terrorists threw grenades into a crowd awaiting a flight to Tel Aviv. In all, 19 people were killed and more than 100 hurt. Who claimed responsibility? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Manuela Sáenz (1797)

Until recently, Sáenz’s contributions to the South American independence movement were largely overlooked. For eight years, she dedicated herself to the cause—and to her lover, revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar, whom she once saved from an assassination attempt. For that, he nicknamed her Libertadora del Libertador, or Liberator of the Liberator. Bolívar’s death in 1830 left Sáenz vulnerable to his opponents, and she was exiled and left destitute. What honor was she accorded in 2010? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary