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The Gnomon Chronicles is a work of fiction and nonfiction by Karl Jones (nonfiction). Fresh content daily.
Film buff? See Movie night.

October 22

Better Than News

The Bride of RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction horror film about the brilliant but troubled Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who falls under the control of the sinister mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products, whose ruthless new CEO (Elsa Lanchester) is seeking the perfect mate (Boris Karloff).
The Dune Knight is 2008 action-ecology film starring Christian Bale and Timothée Chalamet.
Pork Chop Infidel is a 1959 American biographical drama war film starring Gregory Peck, Deborah Kerr, and Rip Torn.
The Boggle of the Bulge is a 1965 American war film about a team of Boggle players who must repel the German offensive before the hourglass timer runs out.
Patton III is an American epic psychological war thriller film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and William Peter Blatty, and starring George C. Scott as General George S. Patton and Karl Malden as General Omar Bradley.
"Do You Believe in Warships" is a song by American rock band The Lovin' Bombshell.

Beyond Plausible

"Have You Never Been Holden" is a song by Olivia Newton-John dedicated to J D. Salinger.

In Other Words

Double Indemnity 2: The Cubist Paradigm is an American screwball comedy romance art history film starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, reprising their roles from Double Indemnity (1944).

Are You Sure ...

• ... that The Horn-Swoggling of Pelham One Two Three is a 1974 American thriller film involving adult temper tantrums and irresponsible handgun discharge?

• ... that cryptologist Laurance Safford (22 October 1893 – 15 May 1973) established the Naval cryptologic organization after World War I, and headed the effort more or less constantly until shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?

• ... that physicist and engineer Karl Guthe Jansky (22 October 1905 – 14 February 1950) discovered radio waves emanating from the Milky Way while investigating sources of static for his employer, Bell Laboratories; that his discovery was widely publicized, and several scientists were interested in Jansky's discovery, but radio astronomy remained a dormant field for several years, as the Great Depression then in progress, and observatories were wary of taking on any new and potentially risky projects?

Selected Anniversaries

1659: Chemist and physician Georg Ernst Stahl born. His works on phlogiston will be accepted as an explanation for chemical processes until the late 18th century.
1792: Astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil dies. He discovered what are now known as the Messier objects M32, M36 and M38, as well as the nebulosity in M8, and he was the first to catalogue the dark nebula sometimes known as Le Gentil 3 (in the constellation Cygnus).
1879: Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb (it lasted 13½ hours before burning out).
1893: Cryptologist Laurance Safford born. Safford will establish the Naval cryptologic organization after World War I, and head the effort more or less constantly until shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
1905: Physicist and engineer Karl Guthe Jansky born. He will be one of the founding figures of radio astronomy.
1922: Chemist Marc Julia born. Julia (along with his colleague Jean-Marc Paris) will discover the Julia olefination reaction in 1973.
1927: Physicist, engineer, and inventor Nikola Tesla introduces six new inventions including single-phase electric power.

Topic of the Day

Food and Beverages

Mummite is a brand of edible yeast spread derived from Egyptian mummies.
Promotional poster from the Cthulhu Pie Quality Control Board.
Canopic Snickers is an unlicensed transdimensional corporation which manifests itself as an ancient Egyptian candy bar with alleged life extension properties.
"A Devil Sold Fruit" is an anagram of "David Otis Fuller".
Dormammu & Doctor Strange is an animated children's supernatural food television series sponsored by Hostess Fruit Pies.
Alien Gourmand is a talk show featuring non-human species discussing food and fine dining. Broadcast live from the Greater Sol System Co-Prosperity Sphere, and available at a discreet yet convenient safe house near you.
Hitler's Pineapple is a 2021 documentary film about Nazi research proctologists seeking a new "Death's Head" pineapple cultivar to placate the Führer's unholy appetites.
Spätzle is the nematode of pasta'