Trivia of the Day 10 May 2012

May 10, 1920
Beavers represent themselves

Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa to send its own minister to Washington, not the
British ambassador, to represent the country.

May 10, 1924:
J. Edgar Hoover begins his legacy with the FBI

J. Edgar Hoover is named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation
(now the FBI) on this day in 1924. By the end of the year he was
officially promoted to director. This began his 48-year tenure in power,
during which time he personally shaped American criminal justice in the
20th century.

May 10, 1940:
Churchill becomes prime minister

Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, is called to replace
Neville Chamberlain as British prime minister following the latter's
resignation after losing a confidence vote in the House of Commons.

*****

May 10, 2012
Word of the Day

picaresque\pik-uh-RESK\

adjective

: of or relating to rogues or rascals; also : of, relating to,
suggesting, or being a type of fiction dealing with the episodic
adventures of a usually roguish protagonist

"His specialty was the picaresque novel, which took the hero (with the
reader happily perched on his shoulder) on a wild ride…." — From an
article by Martin Rubin in The Washinton Times, March 16, 2012

"Joey embarks on an unwitting, picaresque odyssey through this terrible
'war to end all wars,' crossing paths with a pair of young German
deserters and a French teenage girl, and then doing hard time hauling
cannons and supplies for the Germans."— From a review by Kevin Lally in
Film Journal, December 21, 2011

"Picaresque" derives from Spanish "picaresco," which means "of or
relating to a picaro." The word "picaro," which also derives from
Spanish, means "rogue" or "bohemian." "Picaro" describes a type of
character that has long been a popular subject for fictional narrative.
Typically, the picaresque novel centers around a wandering individual of
low standing who happens into a series of adventures among people of
various higher classes, often relying on wits and a little dishonesty to
get by. The first known novel in this style is Lazarillo de Tormes
(circa 1554), an irreverent work about a poor boy who works for a series
of masters of dubious character. The novel has been attributed to Diego
Hurtado de Mendoza, but his authorship is disputable.

*****

Question of the Day

What Bogart movie won the Best Picture Oscar in 1943?

Yesterdays Question

Which movie star actor played the characters Dixon Steele, Charlie
Allnut, and Philip Francis Queeg?

Answer

Humphrey Bogart