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Yan Ruisheng is a 1921 Chinese silent film directed by Ren Pengnian, starring Chen Shouzi and Wang Caiyun. A docudrama based on the murder of Wang Lianying the previous year, it follows a young man named Yan Ruisheng who kills a courtesan to steal her jewellery. When the crime is discovered, he and his accomplices flee, but Yan is captured and executed. China's first full-length feature film, Yan Ruisheng was produced as domestic short films were becoming increasingly common. It emphasized accuracy to real life in its casting and setting; the stars were chosen based on their physical resemblance to those involved, while extensive use of location shooting allowed scenes to be set in places associated with the murder. A commercial success upon release, the critical reception of its technical aspects was positive but the subject matter was challenged and the film faced several calls for banning. The film is thought to be lost. (Full article...)

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Shorty Gallagher

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... that in 1988 a young nun was kidnapped from her convent by her own family?

In the news

Jürgen Habermas

The Winter Paralympics close in northern Italy.
German philosopher Jürgen Habermas (pictured) dies at the age of 96.
Chilean architect Smiljan Radić Clarke is awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
In cricket, the Men's T20 World Cup concludes with India defeating New Zealand in the final.
Mojtaba Khamenei is elected Supreme Leader of Iran following the assassination of his father, Ali Khamenei.

On this day

March 16

Samoset greeting the Pilgrims

597 BC – Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II captured Jerusalem and installed Zedekiah as King of Judah.
1621 – Samoset, a member of the Abenaki tribe, walked into Plymouth Colony and greeted the Pilgrims in English (depicted).
1960 – African American civil rights activists in Savannah, Georgia, conducted a sit-in, commencing the Savannah Protest Movement.
2001 – A series of bomb blasts in the city of Shijiazhuang, China, killed 108 people.
2002 – Sofia Gubaidulina's Johannes-Ostern was premiered in Hamburg, together with her Johannes-Passion, by soloists, choirs and orchestras from the Mariinsky Theatre and the NDR.

Xuande Emperor (b. 1399)
Rosa Bonheur (b. 1822)
Rock-Olga (b. 1940)
Jean Bellette (d. 1991)

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Jon Stewart

The 78th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2005 and took place on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. Televised in the United States by ABC, the ceremony was produced by Gilbert Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Jon Stewart hosted the show for the first time. Crash won three awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Brokeback Mountain, King Kong, and Memoirs of a Geisha, with three each. The telecast garnered more than 39 million viewers in the United States. (Full list...)

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The dunnock (Prunella modularis) is a small passerine bird in the accentor family, Prunellidae. It is native to much of temperate Europe and parts of southwest Asia, including the Caucasus, northern Iran and Lebanon, and is also widely distributed in New Zealand after being introduced there in the 19th century. The dunnock inhabits lowland environments such as woodlands, shrubs, hedgerows and gardens, where it usually feeds on the ground. About 14 centimetres (5.5 in) long, it has a streaked brown back and grey head, a fine pointed bill, and produces a thin, tinkling song and a shrill tseep call. Dunnocks build nests low in bushes or conifers and typically lay three to five unspotted blue eggs. Their breeding system is variable, with different combinations of males and females sometimes sharing parental care.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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