Word of the day

Monkeyshine – mischievous or playful activity; antic, prank or trick.

Friday’s answers

Thursday’s questions were:

1. Who said: People don’t notice if it’s winter or summer if they’re happy.?

2. In which play by whom would you find the characters Oberon, Titania, Puck and Bottom?

3. It’s saison in French,  stagione in Italian, estación in Spanish and wa in Maori, what is it in English?

4. What are equinoxes and solstices and when do they occur?

5. Is the quote in question one right?

Points for answers:

Willdwan got four (only a half each for #2 and #4 which had two parts). However in the spirit of the season I’m awarding you an electronic batch of shortbread.

Gravedodger  and J Bloggs both got four and also win an electronic batch of shortbread.

Answers follow the break.

Radical incrementalism is working for NZ

Quote  of the day from Trans Tasman:

. . . The trust voters have in the Govt has been built up over six years of patient delivery of what National promised. And the trust will only be eroded when the Govt stops delivering on what voters expect of it.

This is why many commentators are missing the stand-out element in the political equation. The policy the Govt is following of “radical incrementalism” is what NZers want, and is delivering the rising prosperity most NZers seek. The new normal is low inflation, low interest rates and stable growth which is sustainable. It’s an economic environment unfamiliar to many NZers, but so attractive it is drawing many expatriates back to their homeland. NZ’s performance has been in sharp contrast with Aust’s, and the big challenge for the country will be to keep winning against its neighbour (and we’re talking not just about the Rugby World Cup in 2015). . .

Sustainable growth is something New Zealand hasn’t seen for decades.

It doesn’t mean there are not still problems to address and there are too many people who have yet to benefit from the growth.

But it does mean that radical incrementalism is working for New Zealand.

December 12 in history

627 Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeated Emperor Khosrau II‘s Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh.

1769 French explorer Jean François Marie de Surville  first sighted New Zealand near Hokianga.

1779 Madeleine Sophie Barat, French saint was born (d. 1865).

1805  Henry Wells, Founder of American Express, was born (d. 1878).

1812 The French invasion of Russia ended.

1821 Gustave Flaubert, French writer, was born  (d. 1880).

1862 USS Cairo sank on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.

1863  Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter, was born (d. 1944).

1893 Edward G. Robinson, American actor, was born  (d. 1973).

1870  Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the first black U.S. congressman.

1900 Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer, was born (d. 1988).

1901 Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John’s, Newfoundland.

1911 Delhi replaced Calcutta as the capital of India.

1915  Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor, was born (d. 1998).

1927  Robert Noyce, American inventor of the microship, was born (d. 1990) .

1929 John Osborne, English dramatist, was born (d. 1994).

1935  Lebensborn Project, a Nazi reproduction programme, was founded by Heinrich Himmler.

1936  Xi’an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.

1938  Connie Francis, American singer, was born .

1940 – Dionne Warwick, American singer, was born.

1941  Adolf Hitler announced the extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery.

1948 Batang Kali Massacre – 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacred 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.

1949 – Bill Nighy, English actor, was born.

1950  Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, led the congregation in her first services.

1956 Irish Republican Army‘s “Border Campaign” began.

1961 The first Golden Kiwi draw took place.

1963 Kenya gained its independence from the United Kingdom.

1964 Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya.

1965 Will Carling, English rugby union footballer, was born.

1979  Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe.

1982 Women’s peace protest at Greenham Common – 30,000 women held hands and formed a human chain around the 14.5 kilometres (9.0 mi) perimeter fence.

1985 Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashed after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army‘s 101st Airborne Division.

1988 The Clapham Junction rail crash killed thirty-five and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains.

1991  Russian Federation gained independence from the USSR.

2000 – The United States Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore.

2006 Peugeot produced its last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry, formerly a major centre of the British motor industry.

2012 – North Korea successfully launched its first satellite, Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2, using a Unha-3 carrier rocket.

2012 – 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief took place at Madison Square Garden and was broadcast on 20 international television networks to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.