Read lot of books

Hoaxes did Mark Twain devise

shanmugananda — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:10:50 +0000

He devised several hoaxes in this stories: Tom Sawyer’s death and his subsequent funeral, the two old thespians that bilked a town with their promise to put on a Shakespearian play, the loading of the jumping frog with lead shot, and episodes in the Connecticut Yankee that involved tricking Merlin. In real life, there is some thought that he and his fellow telegraphers perpetrated the Great Airship hoax late in the 1890s. They would “report” seeing a dirigible overhead in various locations that would have had to travel at supersonic speeds to account for the short times and great distances
between sightings.

Why was Louis XVI unpopular?

shanmugananda — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 12:33:54 +0000

King Louis XVI and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette inherited an enormous state debt (by Louis XIV and Louis XV). Also, Louis XVI was indecisive and not firm enough to rule. Radical financial reforms by Turgot and Malesherbes angered the nobles and were blocked by the parlements who insisted that the King did not have the legal right to levy new taxes. So Turgot was dismissed in 1776 and Malesherbes resigned in 1776 to be replaced by Jacques Necker. Necker supported the American Revolution, and proceeded with a policy of taking out large international loans instead of raising taxes. When this policy failed miserably, Louis dismissed him, and replaced him in 1783 with Charles-Alexandre de Calonne, who increased public spending to buy the country’s way out of debt. Again this failed, so Louis convoked the Assembly
of Notables in 1787 to discuss a revolutionary new fiscal reform proposed by Calonne. When the nobles were told the extent of the debt, they were shocked into rejecting the plan. This negative turn of events signaled to Louis that
he had lost the ability to rule as an absolute monarch, and he fell into depression.

According to Hoyle

shanmugananda — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:30:44 +0000

What games do we play ‘according to Hoyle’? In 1742, Edmond Hoyle was making some extra money by teaching people to play cards. When he couldn’t find a set of rules for the game of whist — a forerunner to bridge — he wrote them himself in A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist. The publication quickly became one of the 18th century’s best-selling books. He went on to write rule books on backgammon, piquet, quadrille and chess. Though he is no longer the authority on bridge, backgammon is still played “according to Hoyle.” The catchphrase “according to Hoyle” came to signify the final authority on a topic or any official rules. The date of Hoyle’s death in 1769, is celebrated as “According to Hoyle” Day.

Auguste Rodin

shanmugananda — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:37:12 +0000

Auguste Rodin with his ‘The Creation of Man’
Being repeatedly rejected by the school of your dreams needn’t always be a setback. Auguste Rodin made three unsuccessful attempts to get into École des Beaux-Arts, continuing to work on his craft in spite of the rebuffs. His first major work, the Age of Bronze, was both hailed and condemned for its authenticity. The bronze statue of a man raising his arms toward his head was so lifelike that many of Rodin’s critics accused him of casting a mold of the model. Eventually, Rodin’s work drew great acclaim, and he was commissioned to create the door for a proposed Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Called the Gates of Hell, some of Rodin’s most famous pieces — e.g., The Thinker and The Kiss — were created for it. Auguste Rodin was born
on November 12 th of 1840.

Who killed Macbeth?

shanmugananda — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:05:07 +0000

During 1057, Macbeth was killed in battle by Malcolm III; years earlier, Macbeth had killed Malcolm’s father, Duncan I, to acquire the throne. These historical events were woven into William Shakespeare’s famous play Macbeth. Shakespeare based his version of the story on Holinshed’s Chronicles, an account written by Raphael Holinshed. Holinshed and his associates chronicled the histories of England, Scotland and Ireland, compiling earlier writings, tables, maps and chronologies. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and King Lear borrow heavily from Holinshed’s writings.

Rockettes

shanmugananda — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:16:40 +0000

How did the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes get their name? Choreographer Russell Markert formed a women’s precision dance troupe in St. Louis in 1925 called the Missouri Rockets. The group was performing in Manhattan and was spotted by impresario S. L. (Roxy) Rothafel, who headlined them at his eponymous Roxy Theater as “The Roxyettes.” Rothafel moved the troupe to the Radio City Music Hall when it opened in 1932, and the name morphed into The Rockettes. Markert, born in 1899, was the chief choreographer and director from the beginning until his retirement in 1971. The Rockettes continue to present the Christmas Spectacular each year at Radio City, performing in four or five 90-minute shows six days a week for six weeks. The dancers — all between the heights of 5’6″ and 5’10 1/2″ (1.6 and 1.8 meters)
— kick about 300 times a show. In a room backstage, there are large basins of water chilled to about 45° F (7° C) for icing down swollen feet and sore legs.

Poker Face

shanmugananda — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:57:49 +0000

“You got to know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em…” To many, the game of poker still calls up an image of a group of men sitting around a table in a saloon, cowboy hats in place, guns holstered, drinks in hand. Today, poker — a card game of gambling, bluffs, luck and skill — has gone upscale. Celebrities like Ben Affleck, Gabe Kaplan, Jennifer Tilly and James Woods are regulars at poker tournaments; college students play in their dorm rooms; families gather around the table for a friendly game. In 1876, gunslinger “Wild Bill” Hickok, who brought some law and order to the Wild West, was shot and killed while playing poker at a saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota; he was holding pairs of aces and eights, which became known as the “dead man’s hand.”

Spider-Man

shanmugananda — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:48:44 +0000

What kind of spider bit Peter Parker, giving him the powers that made him Spider-Man? Peter Parker was on a high-school field trip when he was bitten by a radioactive common house spider. He immediately began to feel the effects of the bite: extraordinary strength and agility, the ability to cling to most kinds of surfaces and what he called “spider-sense,” a sensitivity to approaching danger. Spider-Man made his debut in Marvel Comics Amazing Fantasy issue #15 on August 1, 1962. His appearance spun into his own comic book series, which grew into an animated TV show and a series of three films, starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi. When Raimi and producers of a potential fourth installment in the series disagreed over the story line, Raimi pulled out of the project. Maguire left with him and a search was on for a new Spider-Man. Last month newcomer Andrew Garfield was chosen for the role.

Minutemen Off to Battle

shanmugananda — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:12:00 +0000

Tensions were high in 1775, as British troops approached Lexington, MA. The conflict between Britain and its American colonies was intensifying, and the redcoats were en route to seize arms purportedly stockpiled in nearby Concord. Some 70 minutemen waited on the green in Lexington, and as the British came near, a shot was fired. It is still not clear who fired that first shot heard round the world, but it is called the shot that began the American Revolution. The nervous redcoats, believing themselves under attack, immediately fired back, killing eight of the colonists. By the time they had pushed on to Concord, the arms had been removed and approximately 300 militiamen were there to meet them. The British were forced to retreat to Boston. In the end, some 270 British and 95 Americans were killed that day
in what became known as the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

How do you clap in sign language?

shanmugananda — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:15:38 +0000

While clapping is possible for any person who has two hands, as a expression of appreciation toward a deaf person who cannot hear, the sound produced is sort of pointless. You will see deaf people clap if they are expressing appreciation of a hearing person who can hear the sound of two hands hitting each other or if a deaf person is going along with a largely hearing audience. Deaf people and audiences often use their hands to show appreciation to performers or speakers but in an entirely soundless way.
Follow me: raise both your hands to about shoulder level by bending your elbows, keeping them loosely by your sides. Fan your fingers out comfortably — palm out. At this point you should be in a “surrender” position either standing or sitting. Now rotate your wrists back and forth to the left then right (or right then left, if you prefer). Continue rotating your wrists with fingers spread back and forth for as long as you want to express your appreciation to the speaker or performer. This gesture is sometimes referred to, in theatrical circles, as “jazz hands”, though I’m not sure if the deaf community has a name for it.