Saturday, June 23, 2007

Spotlight: Banff National Park is Canada's first national park. It was made a natural reserve in 1885. On this date in 1887, Canada's parliament enacted the Rocky Mountains Park Act , based on the US Congress' Yellowstone National Park Act of 1872, establishing Banff as a national park. Located in Alberta, its 2,560 sq. miles (6641 sq. kilometers) contain mountains, forests, glaciers and ice fields. Lake Louise — named for Princess Louise — is one of the main tourist attractions of the park.

Quote: "Objects in a park suggest static repose rather than any ongoing dialectic. Parks are finished landscapes for finished art." — Robert Smithson

Today's News:

• IQ: is higher in firstborn sons, Norwegian study shows (story)
• Blackstone Group: raises over $4 billion in biggest IPO in 5 years (story)
• Patagonia: glacier-fed lake in southern Chile disappears (story)
• Australia: bans alcohol and pornography for Aborigines (story)
• Citizen Kane: is rated greatest movie, again; other movies switch rankings (story)

Today's History:

• Gamal Abdel Nasser: was elected president of Egypt (1956)
• Air India flight 182: crashed near Ireland, killing all 329 passengers and staff, after bomb exploded on board (1985)
• John Gotti: crime boss was sentenced to life in prison (1992)

Today's Birthdays:

• Alan Turing (1912-1954): a pioneer in computers and AI
• Bob Fosse (1927-1987): choreographer/dancer/director, Tony winner for Pippin, Oscar winner for Cabaret
• Clarence Thomas (59): conservative Supreme Court justice
• Randy Jackson (51): liberal American Idol judge
• Frances McDormand (50): Oscar winner for Fargo
• Zinedine Zidane (35): 1998 World Cup MVP