Definition: (noun) The combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume.
Synonyms: tone, quality.
Usage: The timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely.
Discuss
Month: July 2023
Camel Cup
What began in 1971 as a friendly camel race between two Alice Springs Lions Club members has grown into a major Australian event. Camels thrive in Alice Springs, which has one of the driest and harshest climates in Australia. Today the Camel Cup takes place at Blatherskite Park in Alice Springs and is only one of several camel-oriented events, which are accompanied by the eating and beer-drinking that are a hallmark of so many Australian festivals. Other events include polo on camels, helicopter rides, rickshaw races, the Miss Camel Cup competition, and fireworks. Discuss
Carlos Chagas (1879)
Chagas was a Brazilian physician who discovered in 1909 what is now called Chagas’ disease. Caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the disease of South and Central America usually affects children and is transmitted by the feces of infected insects. Chagas’s work is unique in the history of medicine in that he alone completely described a new infectious disease, including its pathogen, vector, host, clinical manifestations, and epidemiology. What insect often transmits Chagas disease? Discuss
hang on (someone's) words
To listen very closely, intently, or with obsequious attention to what someone is saying. Watch the video
Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri is a contemporary Indian-American (Bengali) author. Her debut, Interpreter of Maladies, addresses sensitive dilemmas in the lives of Indian immigrants, exploring themes involving marital difficulties, miscarriages, and the disconnection between first and second generation immigrants in the US. A film adaptation of her novel The Namesake was released in 2007. She has served as a vice president of what important organization? Discuss
stymie
First Issue of The Wall Street Journal Is Published (1889)
The most influential American business-oriented paper and one of the most respected dailies in the world, The Wall Street Journal has been printed continuously since it was founded in 1889 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. In that time, it has won more than 30 Pulitzer Prizes. It has one of the highest daily circulations in the US and a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million. Who acquired the newspaper’s parent company in 2007? Discuss
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926)
Kübler-Ross was a Swiss-American psychiatrist whose pioneering work in the field of thanatology—the study of death and dying—has had a lasting influence on the medical community. In her groundbreaking book, On Death and Dying, she first discussed what is now known as the Kübler-Ross model, which uses the “five stages of grief” to explain the experience of dying patients: denial, anger, bargaining for time, depression, and acceptance. What other medical movement did Kübler-Ross influence? Discuss
have (hand)writing like chicken scratch
To have very poor, messy, and/or illegible handwriting, likened to the marks made in the dirt by a chicken. Watch the video
Jet Li
Jet Li is a Chinese martial artist and action star, one of the few actors from China who have achieved fame outside of Asia. When he was 8, Li’s mother sent him to train in wushu, an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. He became an expert and won 15 gold medals in the Chinese championships, earning him fame and leading to a career as an action star. In 2004, Li suffered what injuries when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit the Maldives? Discuss