Month: May 2023

Mount Damavand

Mount Damavand is the highest peak in the Middle East with an elevation of 5,610 m (18, 405 ft). It is located in Iran in the middle of the Alborz mountain range, near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. In Zoroastrian texts and mythology, the three-headed dragon Aži Dahaka is chained within this dormant volcano, there to remain until the end of the world. In Persian mythology, the mountain is where Zahhak the Dragon King is slain by what hero? Discuss

Police Raid Symbionese Liberation Army Headquarters (1974)

The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was an American terrorist group responsible for various bank robberies, murders, and acts of violence between 1973 and 1975. The group is perhaps best known for kidnapping 19-year-old media heiress Patty Hearst, who later became a member of the SLA—a decision experts attribute to a psychological condition known as Stockholm syndrome—and participated in their heists. What happened to Hearst after police raided SLA headquarters in 1974, killing several members? Discuss

Maureen O'Sullivan (1911)

Maureen O’Sullivan’s acting career began when she met motion picture director Frank Borzage, who suggested that she take a screen test and then cast her in the film Song o’ My Heart. She went on to appear in a number of movies for several studios before being chosen to play Tarzan’s love interest, Jane Parker, in Tarzan the Ape Man and five other Tarzan features. In what other film did she play a character named Jane? Discuss

Cobalt

Cobalt is a silver-white, lustrous, hard, brittle metal that is chemically active and rarely occurs uncombined in nature. It is, however, often found in meteoric metal. Cobalt compounds have been used for centuries to impart a rich blue color to glass, glazes, and ceramics. The element has been detected in Egyptian sculpture and Persian jewelry from the third millennium BCE. The word cobalt is derived from the German word for “goblin.” Why was the element thus named? Discuss

vainglory

Definition: (noun) Boastful, unwarranted pride in one’s accomplishments or qualities.

Synonyms: boastfulness.

Usage: I share my substance with the poor, making no display of good works, lest I let hypocrisy and vainglory, those enemies that subtly take possession of the most watchful heart, find an entrance into mine.
Discuss

The First Academy Awards (1929)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was formed in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer and others to raise the standards of film production, and its first Academy Awards were presented not long after. Hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and director William C. DeMille, the first Academy Awards ceremony recognized individuals who had made outstanding film achievements in 1927 and 1928. The gold-plated statuettes given to awardees are popularly known as “Oscars.” How did they get this nickname? Discuss

Tamara de Lempicka (1898)

Tamara de Lempicka was a Polish painter whose bold artistic style epitomized the cool, sensual side of the Art Deco movement. Following her first major show, in Milan, Italy, de Lempicka emerged as the most fashionable portrait painter of her generation among the aristocracy, painting duchesses and grand dukes and socialites. She relocated to the US in 1939 and soon became a favorite artist of Hollywood’s stars. What current world-famous pop star is an avid collector of de Lempicka’s work? Discuss