Rock of the Week: granite

Person of the Day: Bertie Ahern, Prime Minister of Ireland.

Vocab Word(s) of the Day: corsair, a Barbary pirate or his fast ship.

Rock of the Week: quartz

Person of the Day: Vladimir Putin, president of Russia. He's odd for an Russian leader- he's young, has studied martial arts all his life, and is Christian. He also speaks English and excellent German. He also leans heavily towards the Soviet times, resurrecting the red flag and expressing the view that the fall of the Soviet Union was their great mistake.

Rock of the Week: quartz

Person of the Day: Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan

Vocab Word(s) of the Day: Stockholm syndrome A mental condition developed by someone who is being held hostage, in which they come to like their captors and, in many cases, actually fear those who would rescue them.

Rock of the Week: apatite

Person of the Day: Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium.

Vocab Word(s) of the Day: rufous: reddish in color.

zephyr, a slight breeze.

Misused or Overused Word of the Day: compendium is often used as if it means "a huge compilation" when it actually refers to "a short, complete summary, or abstract."

Country of the Month: Tanzania

The Honorable Mike DeWine
United States Senate
140 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-3503

Senator DeWine:

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for going to bat for the six Ohio soldiers who got into trouble recently. They should be cut some slack on this. They have families, they weren't given the necessary tools to do the job, and they want to survive this horrible war.

Person of the Day: Konstantinos Kramanlis, Prime Minister of Greece.

Vocab word(s)s ofthe day:
convivial: merry; festive; social.

When the bombing of Afghanistan began in 2001, I had no objections whatsoever.

After the horror of the 9/11 attacks, America somehow came together for a moment, united unlike any time since World War II. We set aside differences, seeking only to ensure the safety and continued survival of our nation. Our petty internecine suddenly seemed rather unimportant. We, as a nation, vowed to prevent another such attack no matter how painful the remedy.

Rock of the Week: gypsum It is hydrated. It is a sulfate. It contains calcium. It is a hydrated calcium sulfate. Still.

Person of the Day: Dr.Péter Medgyessy , Prime Minister of Hungary. Pronounced PAY-terr MEHD-yeh-shee

Vocab Word(s) of the Day:

peripatetic, adjective meaning "on foot." Also can mean "Aristotelian" since Aristotle taught while walking. Also can be a noun for "wanderer."

Rock of the Week: gypsum It's still a rock.

Person of the Day: Tenskwatawa (1775-1836); birth name was Lalawethika ("noisemaker"), known to white people as "The Prophet." Kispoko Shawnee and brother of Tecumseh. The Prophet urged complete rejection of European culture, preaching monogamy, sobriety, avoidance of food from cultivated crops/livestock Eventually led "witch hunts" that led to other Shawnees being burned at the stake as "witches."

Rock of the Week: gypsum Hydrated calcium sulfate.

Person of the Day: Lord Horatio Nelson, British admiral who won fame as a leading naval commander, particularly for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars.

Vocab Word(s) of the Day: vellum, an animal skin prepared as a parchment.

Rock of the Week: coal. The four types are, in order from lower-carbon to higher-carbon, lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite. Cannel coal is a type of bituminous coal. Coals are also distinguished by sulfur content.

Person of the Day: Samuel Bodman, Bush's pick for Energy Secretary.

Rock of the Week: coal

Person(s) of the Day: I try to always know the names and titles of all presidential cabinet members, and I have a few new ones to learn...

Jim Nicholson, Bush's pick for secretary of Veterans' Affairs.

Carlos M. Gutierrez, Bush pick for Commerce secretary.

Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns to be Agriculture secretary.

Bush croney Margaret Spellings nominated by Bush to be Education secretary.