Monday, November 6, 2006

 

Spotlight: On this date in 1814, Antoine-Joseph (Adolphe) Sax was born. His father was a designer of musical instruments in Belgium and the younger Sax worked in his shop. He made many improvements to the bass clarinet and the clarinet. Later, as the proprietor of his own shop in Paris, Sax developed other instruments, the most successful of which were the saxhorn and the saxophone.

Quote: "Don't play the saxophone. Let it play you." — Charlie Parker

Word of the day: numinous -- 1) supernatural, mysterious
2) filled with a sense of the presence of divinity
3) appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense: spiritual (© )

Today's News:

• Saddam Hussein: world reacts with jubilation and fear (story)
• Russia: extremism on display during "Day of National Unity" (story)
• New York City Marathon: Brazilian wins in 2:9:58 (story)
• bottlenose dolphin: extra set of fins in captured specimen may mean these mammals once lived on land (story)
• Lewis Black: Daily Show comedian resonates with anger (story)

Today's History:

• college football: Rutgers beat Princeton in the 1st intercollegiate game (1869)
• October Revolution: began in St. Petersburg, Russia (1917)
• Australia: voted to keep Queen Elizabeth as its head of state (1999)

Today's Birthdays:

• Ignace Jan Paderewski: composer who was the first premier of independent Poland (1860-1941)
• James Naismith: inventor of basketball (1861-1939)
• Sally Field: Oscar-winning actress (60)
• Ethan Hawke: actor, Reality Bites (36)