Thursday, August 24, 2006

Spotlight: Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges was born on this date in 1899. Borges' father financed his first book of poems, Fervor de Buenos Aires, in 1923. The book was a quiet success in Argentina, and he went on to contribute poems, essays and short stories to magazines. His short stories were especially popular, combining metaphysics and fantasy. Some of the more famous anthologies include Ficciones (1944), Extraordinary Tales (1955) and Collected Fictions (1998). Borges was named director of Argentina's National Library, was a professor of English at the University of Buenos Aires and was the founder of several journals.

Quote: "Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is." – Jorge Luis Borges

Word of the day: pettifogger -- petty, quibbling, unscrupulous lawyer (© )

Today's News:

• miscarriage: may be prevented by aspirin in cases of recurrence (story)
• Canberra: officials plan to feed contraceptives to kangaroos to thin out population (story)
• Medicare: US health program mails out $50 million in mistaken reimbursements (story)
• cricket: Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's hearing postponed (story)

Today's History:

• Mount Vesuvius: erupted, burying the Roman cities of Stabiae, Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; some 20,000 people died (79)
• Washington, DC: was invaded by the British during the War of 1812; the Capitol and White House were set ablaze (1814)
• Mexico: became independent of Spain (1827)

Today's Birthdays:

• Kenny Baker: actor who plays R2-D2 in Star Wars (72)
• Cal Ripken, Jr.: Baltimore Orioles baseball superstar, holds record for consecutive games played — 2,632 (46)
• Rupert Grint: Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies (18)