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James Joyce(2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet andliterary critic.He contributed to the modernistavant-gardemovement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century. He is best known for his short story collectionDubliners,and for his novelsA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,UlyssesandFinnegans Wake.Together withVirginia WoolfandDorothy Richardson,he is credited with the development of thestream of consciousnesstechnique in which the same weight is given to both the internal world of the mind and the external world of events and circumstances as factors shaping the actions and views of fictional characters. His fictional universe is firmly rooted inDublinand reflects his family life and the events and friends and enemies from his school and college days. In this, he became both one of the most cosmopolitan and local of all the prominent English-languagemodernists.(Full article...)

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Did you know...

Rose barnacles inRoyal National Park

... that therose barnacle(examples pictured)eats only when the current is strong?
... thatDoris Tulifau,after founding an online campaign to counter Samoan gender-based violence, moved to Samoa to expand the campaign in person?
... that the 2014chariot racingvideo gameQvadrigawas inspired bya 1979 board game?
... that singerTomoko Aranbecame acity-popicon decades after her initial music career?
... that the owner ofa Montana TV stationbought anAmerican Legionhall, gutted by fire, to use as a studio building?
... thatErnesius,a 12th-centuryarchbishop of Caesarea,was once prevented from crossing the sea by such a severe storm that he refused to make a second attempt?
... thatOlde Raleigh Distilleryis not located within its namesake city?
... that archaeologists found evidence atTaur Ikhbeinehin the Gaza Strip of interactions between Egyptians andCanaanitesin the 4th millennium BC?
... that an emu namedEmmanuel Todd Lopezwas the target of adeath hoaxby undercover journalists?

In the news

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Ahmed al-Sharaa(pictured)is appointedpresidentofthe Syrian transitional government.
American EagleFlight 5342collides with an army helicopterover thePotomac RiverinWashington, D.C.,United States, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft.
Insumo,Hōshōryū Tomokatsubecomes the 74thyokozuna.
Inan ongoing offensive,the Rwandan-supportedMarch 23 MovementcapturesGoma,the capital ofNorth Kivuprovince in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On this day

February 2

Medieval artwork of Conrad II

1033– An assembly at theAbbey of PayernecrownedConrad II(pictured)king of Burgundy.
1725–J. S. Bachled the first performance of hischorale cantataMit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin,BWV 125,based onLuther's paraphraseof theNunc dimittis.
1848–Mexican–American War:During the American occupation ofMexico City,diplomats signed theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,which ended the war and hadMexico cede1.36 million square kilometres (530,000 sq mi) of territory and the United States payUS$15 million.
1913– New York City'sGrand Central Terminal,the world's largest train station by number ofplatforms,opened immediately after midnight.
1972–The Troubles:Protestorsburned the British Embassy in Irelandfollowing the massacre of 14 civilians in Derry by British forces.

Eleanor of Navarre(b.1426)
Gertrude Blanch(b.1897)
Hannah Ryggen(d.1970)
Mary Docherty(d.2000)

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Today's featured picture

Thehamerkop(Scopus umbretta) is a medium-sized wading bird. It is the only living species in the genusScopusand the family Scopidae. Its closest relatives are thought to be thepelicansand theshoebill,in the orderPelecaniformes.The shape of its head with a long bill and crest at the back is reminiscent of a hammer, which has given this species its name after theAfrikaansword for hammerhead. It is a medium-sized waterbird with brown plumage. It is found in Africa and Arabia, living in a wide variety ofwetlands,includingestuaries,lakesides, fish ponds,riverbanks,and rocky coasts. This hamerkop was photographed atLake Baringoin Kenya.

Photograph credit:Charles J. Sharp

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