Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. (1994)

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was a landmark US Supreme Court case on intellectual property in which the court reviewed whether a parody of Roy Orbison’s song, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” by a rap group violated the Copyright Act of 1976. The court of appeals held that the parody did not constitute fair use, but the Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the commercial character of the song did not create a presumption that the parody violated fair use. What rap group recorded the parody? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Magellan Day

The island of Guam, largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean, about 3,000 miles west of Hawaii, was found on this date in 1521 by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan. The island was formally claimed by Spain in 1565 and was later ceded to the US as a prize at the end of the Spanish-American War. Today, Guam is the site of major US military installations. Guamanians celebrate their island’s founding with an official holiday on the first Monday in March with fiestas and sailboating. This day is also known as Discovery Day. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Pieter Cornelis “Piet” Mondrian (1872)

Mondrian was a Dutch painter whose work foreshadowed the rise of abstract art in the 1940s and 1950s. He went to Paris in 1910 where he developed his geometric, nonobjective style, which he called neoplasticism. It is characterized by the elimination of sensuality from artwork and the restriction of pictorial language to its most basic elements—the straight line, primary colors, and the neutrals of black, white, and gray. Along with Theo van Doesburg, Mondrian was a leader of what art movement? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Proto-Sinaitic Script

Despite a century of study, researchers can agree on the decipherment of only a single phrase of Proto-Sinaitic script, a Middle Bronze Age alphabet dating to 1500 BCE. The Proto-Sinaitic script is one of two similar undeciphered scripts dated to that period and believed to be ancestral to nearly all modern alphabets. Many experts believe the language of Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions is Semitic, and cite the one phrase that was interpreted as proof of this hypothesis. What is the phrase? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nasir Khusraw Embarks on Seven-Year Middle East Journey (1046)

Khusraw, a Persian poet, philosopher, scholar, and traveler, is considered one of the great writers of Persian literature. His most famous work is the Safarnama, an account of his seven-year journey through the Islamic world, during which time he made pilgrimages to the holy shrines of Mecca and Medina and visited many cities, including Jerusalem and Cairo. The work stands out as the most authentic account of the Islamic world at that time. He traversed what distance in those seven years? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Alamo Day

In 1836, a garrison of Texans took a stand against the Mexican Army at a Franciscan mission in San Antonio, named after the grove of cottonwood trees (alamo in Spanish) that surrounded it. Led by William Barret Travis, the band of volunteers was beseiged for 13 days by Mexican soldiers. Travis refused to surrender, and the Alamo was overrun on the morning of March 6. Only women and children survived. The heroic action at the Alamo gave the Texans time to organize the forces necessary to save their independence movement. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac (1619)

Cyrano de Bergerac was a French writer and freethinker who satirized the customs and beliefs of his time. He wrote two romances about visits to the moon that are classics of early modern science fiction and inspired later writers such as Jonathan Swift. His swaggering personality, evinced by the many duels he fought over insults to his unusually large nose, was romanticized by Edmond Rostand in the verse drama Cyrano de Bergerac. How much of the play is an accurate reflection of his life? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Chekhov’s Gun

Chekhov’s gun is a literary technique in which a seemingly insignificant element is introduced early in a story and later becomes crucial to the plot. It is named for famed Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, who felt strongly that any object introduced in a story must be used, or it should not be featured in the first place. The technique has remained popular and is widely used in modern literature, film, and television. What popular fantasy novels frequently feature this plot device? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary