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Linda Griffiths

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank is a 1984 science-fiction television film starring Raul Julia and Linda Griffiths (pictured). Based on a 1976 short story by John Varley from the Eight Worlds series, the film takes place in a dystopian future where an employee at a conglomerate, played by Julia, gets trapped inside the company's computer, where he is monitored and later abetted by a character played by Griffiths as he affects the real world. It was co-produced by Canada's RSL Films in Toronto and the New York television station WNET. Because of its limited budget, the motion picture was shot on videotape instead of film and was pre-sold to small American cable companies. It premiered on CBC Television in 1984 and was broadcast on American Playhouse in 1985. The film had a mixed reception from critics. Overdrawn at the Memory Bank was featured in the eighth-season finale of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1997. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Naide Gomes at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics

... that Naide Gomes (pictured) broke the Portuguese long jump record fourteen times in her career, raising it from 6.56 metres to 7.12 metres?
... that Documented is the first non-Chinese newsroom in the United States with a WeChat account?
... that Mao Zedong ordered the lenient treatment of bandit leader Cheng Lianzhen as he thought it was rare to have a female bandit leader from an ethnic minority in China?
... that the building Seokjojeon was meant to symbolize the Korean Empire's authority, but it was completed just months before Japan annexed Korea?
... that during World War II, Fritz Strassmann, the co-discoverer of nuclear fission, concealed a Jewish woman in his home?
... that the first bridge over the Mississippi River was the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis?
... that nineteenth century tightrope walker Madame Saqui performed well into her seventies?
... that Michel Langevin described Rush's "Didacts and Narpets" as a Max Roach-esque avant-garde jazz piece?
... that Kaiapoi Pā has been incorrectly called Kaiapohia, a pun which can be translated as 'piling up of bodies for eating'?

In the news

Friedrich Merz

In the German federal election, the CDU/CSU, led by Friedrich Merz (pictured), wins the most seats in the Bundestag.
Archaeologists announce that the empty tomb Wadi C-4 near Luxor, Egypt, was that of the pharaoh Thutmose II.
At the British Academy Film Awards, Conclave wins four awards, including Best Film.
Mahamoud Ali Youssouf is elected chairman of the African Union Commission.
President of Romania Klaus Iohannis resigns from office, and is succeeded by Ilie Bolojan in an acting capacity.

On this day

February 24: Independence Day in Estonia (1918)

Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse

1711 – George Frideric Handel's Rinaldo, the first Italian-language opera written specifically for the London stage, premiered.
1809 – Napoleonic Wars: The British invasion of Martinique ends with the unconditional surrender of French admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (pictured), beginning a five-year occupation of the island.
1979 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Ugandan government forces fled Masaka as the Tanzania People's Defence Force bombarded and captured the town.
1989 – United Airlines Flight 811 experienced uncontrolled decompression after leaving Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii, blowing seats out of the aircraft and killing nine passengers.

Æthelberht of Kent (d. 616)
Judah Folkman (b. 1933)
Nina Simonovich-Efimova (d. 1948)
Leo Ornstein (d. 2002)

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Explanatory model of chronic pain

Chronic pain is considered a syndrome because of the associated symptoms that develop in those experiencing this disorder. Chronic pain is defined as reoccurring or persistent pain lasting more than three months. Chronic pain continues past normal healing times and therefore does not have the same function as acute pain, which is to signal that there is a threat so the body can avoid future danger. Pain can be categorized according to its location, cause, or the anatomical system which it affects. The newest standard for classifying chronic pain was created for the ICD-11. This new classification system emphasizes the cause of pain, underlying mechanisms, body sites, and the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain. This classification system differentiates chronic primary pain from chronic secondary pain, incorporates already existing diagnosis, and further characterizes chronic pain syndromes. (Full list...)

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The National Library of Poland is a central library of Poland and one of the oldest cultural institutions in the country. Established on 24 February 1928 by a decree of President Ignacy Mościcki, it traces its origins to the Załuski Library, one of the first public libraries in Europe, founded in 1747. The library's headquarters is located in the district of Ochota in Warsaw, with additional facilities at the Krasiński Palace, which houses its collection of early printed books and manuscripts. This photograph shows an aerial view of the main complex of the National Library of Poland, designed by Stanisław Fijałkowski and built 1962–1976, surrounded by Mokotów Field.

Photograph credit: Emptywords

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