DIANE'S CORNER ...

Celebrate Safer Internet Day

Image result for person sitting at computer gif

The internet has been a boon and a curse for teenagers.
J. K. Rowling

The Internet has been an amazing invention that has undoubtedly changed the world in more ways than we can think of. Not all of those ways, unfortunately, have been positive. We can connect to people faster, find things easier, and transfer information at the speed of light. These very boons of communication can become the bane of safety. So much of our private lives and information get transferred over the internet, Safer Internet Day reminds us to protect ourselves from the dangers there and make the internet a little safer for everyone.

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History of Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day came to exist officially in 2012, when the US Department of Homeland Security and the European Commission decided it was time to help shepherd the growing beast that was the Internet into a playground that was safer for our youth. In America things got really going in 2013 when ConnectSafely.org was appointed to coordinate the efforts in the American theater, and they’ve been driving it forward a little more every year. Each year they choose a theme to help promote, and a goal that they intend to reach. What kinds of goals?

In 2015 they began to promote that year’s theme “Actions & Activism Toward a Better Net & World”, where they focused on concerns like bullying and integration with the National Parent Teacher Association, and working to use technology to help effect social change. This is a particularly powerful use of the tool, given that people from every walk of life and culture from around the world can connect and communicate in ways they never could before. That’s what the Internet was for, what it brought to us, and the world it helped bring together.

Bridget Beth Collins:

Botanical artist, painter, light seeker, magic weaver, flower nymph. She was first inspired to make her creations when she noticed the petals of one of the orange poppies in her garden reminded her of a goldfish. “Soon it started feeling like I could create things with flowers that I could never achieve with paint,” Collins said. “I’ve been so surprised by the creatures that leap out of the plants — birds especially. It doesn’t take much to create feathers with petals, and they look so real.”

Word of the Day

ailurophile

MEANING:

noun: One who loves cats. (The opposite of an ailurophile is "ailurophobe")

USAGE:

“It’s said in publishing that no cat book ever loses money. Maybe it’s true: bibliophiles tend to be ailurophiles, and both are tenacious breeds.”
Emily Toth; Meow mix; Women’s Review of Books (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Jul 1, 1995.

Idiom of the Day

Where on Earth

Adding 'on earth' is an idiomatic way of intensifying the word 'where'. For example, 'Where are my keys?' is a simple request for information. But 'Where on earth are my keys' implies that the person is frustrated and has been unable to find their keys and wonders where in the whole world they could be.

Example: Where on earth did you get that ridiculous hat? Where on earth are my keys?

Similar expressions: 'What on earth...?', 'Where in the world....?', 'Why on earth...?', 'How on earth...?' . The words 'on earth' or 'in the world' can be added to what, where, who, why or how to add emphasis.

This Day in History

1846 - "The Oregon Spectator", based in Oregon City, became the first newspaper published on the Pacific coast.

1861 - Samuel Goodale patented the moving picture peep show machine.

1881 - Phoenix, AZ, was incorporated.

1931 - Maxine Dunlap became the first woman licensed as a glider pilot.

1952 - In New York City, four signs were installed at 44th Street and Broadway in Times Square that told pedestrians "don't walk."

1953 - The Walt Disney’s film "Peter Pan" opened at the Roxy Theatre in New York City.

1958 - The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) formed a New York chapter. NARAS is better known as the Grammy Awards organization.

1961 - The first issue of the "Sunday Telegraph" was published.

1972 - Bob Douglas became the first black man elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

2001 - It was announced the Kelly Ripa would be Regis Philbin's cohost. The show was renamed to "Live! With Regis and Kelly."

DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, February 5

You enjoy surprising people and whether you want to or not, you often remain a bit of an enigma to the people around you. You have a strong intuitive side. Although you are actually quite accommodating and kind, you need to feel stirred and inspired in order to do something. You are following your own instincts and being true to your heart, and although it might seem like you are stubborn, you are also very original and honest. Famous people born today:

1723 John Witherspoon, Scottish-American president of the College of New Jersey who signed the Declaration of Independence, born in Gifford, Scotland (d. 1794)

1788 Robert "Bobbie" Peel, British Prime Minister(Tory/Conservative/Peelite: 1834-35; 1841-46), founder of the British Conservative Party and founder of the modern police force (Bobbies), born in Ramsbottom, England (d. 1850)

1891 Elizabeth Ryan, American doubles tennis champion (6 time Wimbledon champion), born in Anaheim, California (d. 1979)

1900 Adlai Stevenson II, American politician, US ambassador to UN (1961-65), Governor of Illinois (1949-53) and Democratic presidential candidate (1952, 56), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1965)

1915 Robert Hofstadter, American atomic physicistand Nobel laureate (electron scattering in atomic nuclei), born in NYC, New York (d. 1990)

1934 Don Cherry, Canadian hockey commentator(Hockey Night in Canada), born in Kingston, Ontario

1943 Nolan Bushnell, American electrical engineer(founded Atari, created Pong), born in Clearfield, Utah

1992 Neymar Jr., Brazilian soccer forward (world record transfer fee $263m FC Barcelona to PSG), born in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo

READERS INFO

1.

1914 -

William Seward Burroughs II
(February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997)

Burroughs was a writer and artist, a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author whose
influence is considered to have affected a range of popular
culture as well as literature. He wrote eighteen novels and
novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections
of essays.

2.

1948 -

-- Dick Button (figure skating) and Gretchen Fraser (slalom) won gold medals at the 1948 Winter Olympics. They were the first Americans to win Olympic gold medals in their respective sports. Button was also the first person to complete a double axel in competition (the single-axel jump was first performed in 1882 by Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, for whom the maneuver is named).

The 1948 Winter Olympics were particularly important because they were the first Olympics to take place after World War II. Switzerland was selected as the host country due to its neutrality during the war. St. Moritz was the city chosen because it had previously hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 1928 and many of the venues already existed. The use of existing venues helped make it cheaper and easier to prepare for the games at a time when many countries were still recovering from the effects of the war. There were 28 countries at this Olympics, but Japan and Germany were excluded.

The United States won a total of nine medals (three gold, four silver and two bronze) during the 22 events. Interestingly, the United States picked up two of its silver medals in the same event when Robert Fitzgerald and Kenneth Bartholomew finished in a three-way tie for second place during the 500 meters speed skating contest. Besides Dick Button's gold medal, the United States also won a gold and a bronze medal in the four-man bobsled, a bronze medal in the two-man bobsled event, and John Heaton won a silver in the skeleton (riding face down on a "skeleton" bobsled down a steep frozen track) competition. Finally, Gretchen Fraser won a silver in combined skiing, in addition to her gold medal in slalom.

3.

Wentworth Winter Wine Festival 2019

Jan 18 - Feb 17, 2019 | New Castle, NH

Wentworth by the Sea|588 Wentworth Rd

From multi-course Grand Vintner’s Dinners or A Big Tasting in the Grand Ballroom to weekday Flight Nights or Shell-Shocked, the oyster event in SALT’s lounge to the lavish Bubbles and Jazz Brunches, the common thread running throughout is always of excellence. Join the Wentworth by the Sea for a month of celebrating these masters of their craft and the inspiration they bring us.

further information: Winter Wine Festival 2019

4.

SF Beer Week 2019

Feb 1-10, 2019 | San Francisco, CA

SF Beer Week takes over the Bay Area with a full week of premier beer events and entertainment. Boasting over 600 events, this festival offers a chance to savor the rarest and most sought after crafts, attend delicious beer dinners prepared by culinary experts and become immersed in one of the best beer cultures in the nation.

further information: SF Beer Week 2019

Pictures of the day

Francis Bourgeois (1753–1811) was a British landscape and history painter, and court painter to King George III of the United Kingdom. In the late 18th century he became an art dealer and collector in association with Frenchman Noel Desenfans. The pair were commissioned by Polish king Stanisław August Poniatowski to compile a collection of paintings, which they spent five years doing, but Stanisław's exile in 1795 meant the contract could not be completed and they were left with a large art collection. Bourgeois outlived Desenfans and bequeathed them to Dulwich College with an additional £2000 to build a permanent building, which became the Dulwich Picture Gallery, England's first purpose-built public art gallery. This portrait of Bourgeois was painted by William Beechey (1753–1839) and hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Like Last Year’s Snow