Month: April 2022

The Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá’í faith is an emerging global religion founded by Bahá’u’lláh, a 19th-century Iranian exile. It is a doctrinal outgrowth of Babism, with Bahá’u’lláh revered as the Promised One of the earlier religion. Bahá’í faith proclaims the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity. It is concerned with social ethics and has no priesthood or sacraments. Emphasis is laid upon simplicity of living and upon service to the suffering. How many Bahá’ís are there today? Discuss

perverse

awkward – Comes from Old Norse awk, “perverse,” and weard, “in the direction of,” i.e. “turned back upon itself” or “turned backward.” More…

crabby, crabbed – Crabby and crabbed derive from a crab’s sideways movement and habit of snapping (thought to suggest a perverse or irritable nature). More…

peeve – A back-formation from peevish, “perverse, obstinate.” More…

queer – Comes from the German root quer, “across, oblique, perverse.” More…

The Notre-Dame Affair (1950)

The Notre-Dame Affair was an anti-Catholic intervention performed by radical members of the Lettrist movement on Easter Sunday 1950. During a quiet moment in the Easter High Mass, Michel Mourre, disguised as a Dominican monk, climbed to the rostrum and declaimed a blasphemous anti-sermon on the death of God. Not surprisingly, his statements enraged the thousands of faithful present at the mass, who went after Mourre and his co-conspirators and may well have lynched them had it not been for whom? Discuss

Appomattox Day

The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, in the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, when Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union army accepted the surrender of General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy. The most widespread celebration of Appomattox Day took place in 1965 during the Civil War centennial year. The day was noted across the country with costumed pageants, books and articles reflecting on the war, and concerts of martial music. Although the anniversary is not observed on a yearly basis, reenactments of the historic surrender are held periodically. Discuss

J. William Fulbright (1905)

Fulbright, a Rhodes Scholar, served in the US Department of Justice, taught law, and was president of the University of Arkansas before becoming a member of US Congress. His Fulbright Act provides grants that enable thousands of Americans to study abroad and allow overseas students to study in the US. It was passed into law in 1946 and earned him international recognition. Fulbright’s Senate career was marked by his opposition to the Vietnam War and what other notable cases of dissent? Discuss

Nessie: The Loch Ness Monster

Although most experts agree that the monster said to live in Scotland’s Lake Ness does not exist, the Loch Ness Monster is alive and well in the popular imagination and has been rearing its enormous head in legends dating all the way back to 565 CE. Some theorize that “Nessie” is related to the long-extinct plesiosaur, a Mesozoic marine reptile, but this is challenged by the fact that Lake Ness was frozen solid during recent ice ages. What are some other theories about Nessie’s origins? Discuss

platform

lectern, podium, dais, rostrum – A lectern is the stand on which the speaker’s notes are placed, the podium is the platform on which the speaker and lectern stand, a dais is a platform for several people, and a rostrum is a platform for one or more. More…

pulpit – From classical Latin pulpitum, “platform, stage.” More…

hustings – Its early meaning of “platform” led to its sense of “any place from which campaign speeches are made” and “political campaigning.” More…

rostrum – Latin for “beak,” it first referred to part of the Rome Forum decorated with bird beaks and used as a platform for speakers. More…