Thursday, November 2, 2006

 

Spotlight: Let them eat birthday cake. On this date in 1755, French queen Marie Antoinette was born. Married to Louis XVI when she was 14 years old, Marie Antoinette was often criticized for her extravagant spending and insensitivity to the citizenry. The royal couple was arrested and charged with treason during the French Revolution, in 1792. Both were executed by guillotine, Louis in January 1793 and Marie Antoinette nine months later, in October 1793. Kirsten Dunst plays the titular role in Sofia Coppola's new film, Marie Antoinette, which premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was recently released to theaters in the US.

Quote: "There is nothing new except what has been forgotten." — Marie Antoinette

Word of the day: obloquy -- 1) abusive language  2) ill repute (© )

Holiday: All Souls' Day (Catholicism)

Today's News:

• North Korea: is returning to disarmament talks because it wants its bank accounts unfrozen (story)
• PlayStation 3: beware of pre-order scams (story)
• resveratrol: huge doses of this red wine ingredient protect mice against obesity-related illnesses (story)
• Bob Barker: 34-year host of The Price Is Right is ready to "come on down" (story)

Today's History:

• Balfour Declaration: the British declared support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine (1917)
• Spruce Goose: huge boat-plane was successfully test-flown (1947)
• US presidential election of 1948: the Chicago Tribune reported (erroneously) that "Dewey Defeats Truman"

Today's Birthdays:

• Daniel Boone: US frontiersman (1734-1820)
• James K. Polk: Manifest Destiny POTUS (1795-1849)
• Warren G. Harding: Teapot Dome POTUS (1865-1923)
• Nelly: rapper (28?)