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Newcastle Herald

Saturday September 23, 2006

GR

Today's fact

A truffle is an exotic fungus used in French cooking and is found by specially trained pigs in often obscure locations

Today's word

Blandishment (BLAN-dish-muhnt): Speech or action that flatters and tends to coax, entice, or persuade; allurement often used in the plural.

It happened today

From our files 1940: The two sitting members in the North Messrs D. O. Watkins (Newcastle) and R. James (Hunter) have been returned with substantial majorities (in the weekend's federal election).

Today in history

1846: The planet Neptune is discovered by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.

1965: Roma Mitchell is appointed to the South Australian Supreme Court: the first female judge in Australia.

1997: Lawyers announce that British nurses Lucille McLauchlan and Deborah Parry have been convicted for the murder of their Australian colleague Yvonne Gilford in Saudi Arabia.

2003: An Indian court sentences one man to death by hanging and 12 others to life in prison for killing a Christian missionary from Australia and his two young sons in an arson attack in 1999.

Born today

Augustus Caesar, first Roman emperor (63BC-14AD); Raymond Chandler, US writer (1888-1959); Haile Selassie I, emperor of Ethiopia (1892-1975); Mickey Rooney, US actor-entertainer (1920-); Ray Charles, pictured, US singer-composer (1930-2004); Julio Iglesias, Spanish singer (1943-); Bruce Springsteen, US rock singer (1949-); Lote Tuqiri, Australian rugby player (1979-).

Odd Spot

It's one musical performance where your mobile phone can and should ring. US jazz composer David Baker is encouraging people to use their phones during the debut performance of Concertino for Cellular Phones and Orchestra that will open the 20th anniversary season of the Chicago Sinfonietta classical music festival next month.

Today's text

"God has said, 'I will never leave you, I will never abandon you!' " Hebrews 13:5

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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