Brad Alan Van Pelt (April 5, 1951 – February 17, 2009) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).  A two-time All-American (1971, 1972) and the 1972 Maxwell Award winner as college football's best player, he was drafted by the New York Giants, earning five Pro Bowl selections during his ten years with the team. He rounded out his career with the Los Angeles Raiders from 1984 to 1985 and the Cleveland Browns in 1986.  Van Pelt is the father of former Denver Broncos and Houston Texans quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt.

Early years
Van Pelt attended Owosso High School, which was a member of the Big Nine Conference in Owosso, Michigan. Dean Howe covered high school sports for the Flint Journal and recalled an incident involving Van Pelt:

He was like a man among boys. He was about 6-5, 220. One night, his coach from Owosso called in and said he got 32 rebounds in a game. I didn't put that in the paper. I didn't believe that. So, the next game I went out when they played Davison and I just counted his rebounds and he got (42). He was just so dominant.

In 1969 he was named all-state as a quarterback and first-team all-league in basketball, baseball and two ways in football. The Detroit Tigers and California Angels tried to sign Van Pelt directly out of high school, but he declined.

College career
He played college football at nearby Michigan State University where he was a two-time All-American at safety, in 1971 and  1972 and also won the Maxwell Award as the nation's best player, the first time a defensive back won the award. He was also named Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year and Columbus Touchdown Club Defensive Player of the Year. His career coincided with the last three years of the tenure of legendary Spartans coach Duffy Daugherty.

In his college career, Van Pelt had fourteen interceptions returning two of them for touchdowns.  He followed his senior season playing in the East-West Shrine Game, the Hula Bowl, and the College All-Star Game.  Van Pelt also played basketball and baseball at MSU, earning a total of seven varsity letters.

Professional career
As a member of the Giants, Van Pelt was a member of the Crunch Bunch, a team of fierce linebackers composed of Van Pelt, Brian Kelley, Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson.  The group is widely considered one of the best linebacking combos in NFL history. He was also named the player of the decade for the 1970s by the Giants.

During his 11-year career with the franchise, the Giants posted a winning record only once, in 1981, when New York reached the playoffs for the only time in a 20-year stretch between 1964 and 1983.  Van Pelt also has the unusual distinction of playing for the franchise in four different home stadiums: Yankee Stadium, the Yale Bowl, Shea Stadium, and Giants Stadium.  He also played for five Giants head coaches: Alex Webster, Bill Arnsparger, John McVay, Ray Perkins, and Bill Parcells.

Van Pelt wore number 10 with the Giants, his college number, even though the NFL instituted a jersey numbering system for the 1973 season, which then limited linebackers entering the league to numbers 50 through 59. He was allowed to wear 10 because he was the backup kicker in his rookie year. Van Pelt wore number 91 with the Raiders and wore number 50 with the Browns.

Post NFL
In addition to being teammates, the four Crunch Bunch members were close friends. They knew each other longer as buddies than as players and frequently talked on the phone, played golf and attended memorabilia signing events. Van Pelt was quoted in 2004:

I feel as comfortable with (Carson, Kelley and Taylor) as I do with my brothers. Obviously, your brothers are your brothers. But these three are probably the closest thing to them. Brian and I played 11 years together. I played nine with Harry. Lawrence being the guy (he is), it didn't take long for him to fit right in and become one of the guys. I can't really explain why but they're the only three I stay close with.

The Crunch Bunch went to Puebla, Mexico on October 26, 2004, to promote Habitat for Humanity and assist 3,000 volunteers who were building 150 houses. While there, they met and talked with former president Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.

Van Pelt went back to school to complete coursework for his degree in 1998 and in 2000, he was elected to the Sports Hall of Fame at Michigan State University. In 2001, Van Pelt was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in the class with Steve Young. He was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, but was not elected. In 2009, Van Pelt was inducted into the East-West Shrine Game Hall of Fame. He participated in the 48th East-West Shrine Game in 1972. The year before his death, he and his fiancée, Deanna, purchased a home in Harrison, Michigan, where his two brothers and mother reside. They spent most of their time there.

Van Pelt was inducted into the New York Giants Ring of Honor during the 2011 season at halftime in a game between the Giants and the Green Bay Packers.

Death
On February 17, 2009, Van Pelt was found by his longtime fiancée, slumped in a chair, dead from an apparent heart attack. He was 57 and had no known heart condition; but his father had died at an early age from heart problems.

Van Pelt's death was a shock to the Crunch Bunch. Harry Carson commented, "I am just so glad that I got to know the man more so than the athlete." Brian Kelley stated:

It was total devastation. I've known Brad since '73 -- 36 years. I've known him longer than my wife and my kids. Football was 11 years of our life. We had 25 other years when we were together, did things together and still are doing them together, us and LT and Harry Carson.
It's sort of like losing a limb because the four of us are so close. To lose one of us is tough. It's even tough to believe it happened. ... I'm just going to miss him, miss seeing him at Giants games, miss him calling me about stupid stuff.

See also
 History of the New York Giants (1979–93)

References

External links
 Gola, Hank. "Giants Pro Bowl linebacker Brad Van Pelt dies of heart attack at 57," New York Daily News, Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
 Weber, Bruce. "Former Giants Linebacker Brad Van Pelt Dies at 57," The New York Times, Thursday, February 19, 2009.

1951 births
2009 deaths
American football linebackers
American football safeties
Cleveland Browns players
Los Angeles Raiders players
Michigan State Spartans baseball players
Michigan State Spartans football players
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players
New York Giants players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Maxwell Award winners
National Conference Pro Bowl players
People from Owosso, Michigan
American people of Dutch descent
Players of American football from Michigan
Baseball players from Michigan
Basketball players from Michigan
American men's basketball players

Brad Van Pelt


Gabriel Pascal (4 June 1894 – 6 July 1954) was a Hungarian movie producer and director.

Gabriel Pascal was born in Transylvania (which is now part of Romania) in 1894. Pascal is best known for having turned some of the best plays by the famous Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw into successful movies. His most famous movie made from one of Shaw's plays was Pygmalion in 1938. Pygmalion tells the story of a bet that two rich men made over whether one of them, Professor Higgins, could turn a poor uneducated girl into a sophisticated lady. The movie was so successful that after Gabriel Pascal died it was made into a huge Broadway musical called My Fair Lady, and amazingly this musical was then made into another movie. So Pygmalion was first a play, then a movie based on the play, then a play based on the movie, and then a new play based on the movie made from the old play. It is therefore quite a remarkable history and it was Gabriel Pascal's idea to make the play a musical, though he did not live long enough to do it himself.

Early life
Gabriel Pascal invented his name and no one seems to know his real one. He claimed to have memories of being rescued by Gypsies from a burning building when he was a tiny child and that the Gypsies taught him to beg, steal, and do acrobatic tricks, but no one knows if this is true. It is unclear what parts of his fabulous account of his childhood are true as there are no formal records of him prior to the age of 17 when he was enlisted in military school in Holics, Hungary, by a mysterious Catholic priest. Gabriel Pascal, who was decidedly unfit for military life, became interested in theater and studied at the Academy of the Hofburg Theater in Vienna. Later his interest expanded into the newly burgeoning cinema and he made movies in Germany and Italy with sporadic success.

Pascal had one son, Peter, conceived in Germany during the delirium of a fever with his landlady's sister Elsie. Unable to care even for himself, Pascal fled to Holland. After WWII ended, at last on his feet with the success of Pygmalion and Major Barbara, Pascal rushed to Germany to search for his son Peter, but he was listed among the missing Hitler Youth. Elsie had been killed by a bomb.

Early career
As a young man, Pascal found a job tending horses in Hungary. Leading the horses through the forest to a stream each day, Pascal developed the habit of riding bareback naked through the Hungarian countryside. One day he accidentally rode stark naked through the outdoor set of a silent movie in production and was "discovered." The film's director asked him to repeat the ride for the cameras and he joined the group. Soon he was making his own movies.

Pascal had another auspicious encounter when he was young while walking along the shore of the Mediterranean. An old man, George Bernard Shaw, was swimming naked holding onto a buoy. A conversation ensued and Shaw dared the young Pascal on the shore to take off his clothes and join him in the water. He was impressed when Pascal immediately did so and this began their friendship. Shaw was impressed with Pascal's youthful enthusiasm for art and his bravado and invited him to come visit him one day when he was entirely broke. This chance meeting was to play a major role in Pascal's later career.

Pascal began his producing career making silent movies in Italy for German distribution through UFA Studios in Berlin. His directorial debut was Populi Morituri in which he also starred. He later produced horror movies in Germany. His most famous was Unholy Tales in 1932. It was an anthology of short spooky stories, including some by Edgar Allan Poe, tied together by the adventures of a black cat and is considered by some to be a forgotten horror classic.

Meher Baba
In 1933, during a trip to Hollywood, Pascal was contacted by Princess Norina Matchabelli about a movie project based on the teachings of her guru Meher Baba. Pascal got very caught up in this project, bringing movie writers Hy Kraft and Karl Vollmöller into helping him work up treatments and even making a trip to India to discuss the project further with Meher Baba. By the time Pascal arrived in India, however, Meher Baba did not seem in any hurry to complete the movie, saying it could wait and inviting Pascal to live with him in India. Most ordinary men would have been discouraged, but Pascal took energetically to the austere life of an eastern ascetic, even shedding his western garb for eastern clothing. He took a liking to Meher Baba and maintained a correspondence with him all of his life. Meher Baba nicknamed Pascal "Phoenix" and alternately "Panther."

Pascal remained in contact with his guru Meher Baba right up to the end of his life and met with him in person one last time in New York in 1952. Even in this final meeting there was mention of the movie that Pascal had agreed to try to make for Baba.

Late career
In time, however, Pascal's desire to make his mark on cinema returned and Pascal took a ship back to America penniless but undaunted. He landed in San Francisco where he spent some time deciding what to do next. Then it struck him to approach George Bernard Shaw (the most famous living playwright in the English speaking world at the time), whom Pascal had met auspiciously many years earlier. During that earlier meeting Shaw, who had been impressed with the young Pascal's passion for art and cinema, had told him to pay him a visit when he was entirely penniless. Pascal was now exactly that. He then sought out Shaw, first by going to N.Y. hidden in the toilet of the train, then convincing a sea captain to give him a lift to England.

Somehow he did convince Shaw to give him the rights to his plays, beginning with Pygmalion (1938), which was an enormous international hit, both critically and financially. Pascal followed up Pygmalion with Major Barbara (1941) which he directed as well as produced. Major Barbara was filmed in London during the bombing by the Nazis. During air raids the crew and cast had to dodge into bomb shelters. Pascal never stopped the production and the movie was completed on schedule. But Pascal became more and more extravagant, finally losing his credibility with Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) which was the most expensive British movie ever made at that time and a terrible financial and critical flop, although it is more highly regarded today. Pascal famously insisted on importing sand from Egypt to achieve the right cinematic colors for this extravaganza. Shaw had become more difficult to work with also. After the success of Pygmalion, which was shortened in its transition from stage to screen, as plays generally are, he increasingly refused to let his plays be cut. The result was that Major Barbara and Caesar and Cleopatra were not only filmed virtually complete, but with additional scenes by Shaw himself. Each of the two movies ran over two hours.

Pascal did manage to produce one more movie, Androcles and the Lion, in 1952. By this time he was increasingly sick with cancer of the liver.

The famous estate trial
In spring of 1954, in New York City, just before his passing Pascal had planned a trip to India to see Meher Baba one last time. He was having an affair and divorcing his wife at the time. One day he impulsively wrote on a piece of hotel stationery to his mistress, "If I die on my trip to India I leave my entire estate to you." He signed and dated it before two witnesses, a cook and a maid in the hotel who did not speak English but only Chinese. This was an absurd gesture since Pascal was totally in debt. He died within a short time of this letter in July 1954, and within two years of his death the musical My Fair Lady, which Pascal had managed to retain an option on by borrowing money from a Baba follower named Margaret Scott, opened on Broadway. Thus, soon after his death, his estate, which had been worth nothing on his deathbed, grew to an estimated value of two million dollars. There was a large court battle in which his wife Valerie (who he was not fully divorced from at the time of his death) and the mistress fought over his estate. His odd last will and testament on the hotel stationery was entered as evidence in support of his mistress and the case was well-publicized. Several Meher Baba followers were involved in his life at the end including Harold Rudd who testified at his trial. The result of the trial was an even split of Pascal's royalties from My Fair Lady between the mistress and Pascal's estranged wife, each receiving well over one million dollars in settlement. His wife Valerie attempted to pay back the borrowed option money to Margaret Scott, but by the time the settlement came through Mrs. Scott had fallen from a New York apartment window to her death. Valerie therefore paid the money to Margaret's daughter instead.

Legacy
Pascal is best remembered as one of the big Hungarian movie producers, like the famous Alexander Korda. He was the only producer ever to have major movie deals with seven separate countries on three continents: Hungary, Italy, Germany, China, India, England, and the US. He was also the only man to ever convince George Bernard Shaw to adjust his scripts to the new medium of cinema, gaining concessions from Shaw that no other man could. Pascal even invented the famous line for Pygmalion, later appearing in the theatrical and movie versions of My Fair Lady, "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" and Shaw, by now publicly referring to Pascal as a "genius," wrote the line into the script. He was one of the most extravagant men of his time, named in 1938 as one of the world's most famous men by Time magazine along with Adolf Hitler. He is less known for his deep interest in the spiritual and his boundless enthusiasm for art as a direct and honest route to God. He is even less known for his lifelong devotion to spiritual master Meher Baba. His life is well documented in the beautifully written biography by his wife Valerie, The Disciple and His Devil, published by McGraw-Hill in 1970 and republished by iUniverse in 1984. After Pascal's death, Valerie married the famous publisher and philanthropist George T. Delacorte Jr. and spent the rest of her life supporting charitable foundations under the name Valerie Delacorte.

References

Other websites

 Photos of Gabriel Pascal

1894 births
1954 deaths
Hungarian movie directors
Transylvania
Hungarian movie producers

Gabriel Pascal


The Rector's Palace (; ) is a palace in the city of Dubrovnik that used to serve as the seat of the Rector of the Republic of Ragusa between the 14th century and 1808. It was also the seat of the Minor Council and the state administration. Furthermore, it housed an armoury, the powder magazine, the watch house and a prison.

The rector's palace was built in the Gothic style, but it also has Renaissance and Baroque elements, harmoniously combining these elements.

Originally it was a site of a defence building in the early Middle Ages. It was destroyed by a fire in 1435 and the city-state decided to build a new palace. The job was offered to the master builder Onofrio della Cava of Naples, who had previously built the aqueduct. It became a Gothic building with ornaments sculpted by Pietro di Martino of Milan. A gunpowder explosion badly damaged the building in 1463. The renewal was offered to the architect Michelozzo of Florence. But he was rejected in 1464 because his plans were too much in the style of the Renaissance. Other builders continued the work. The capitals of the porch were reshaped in Renaissance style probably by Salvi di Michele of Florence. He continued the reconstruction from 1467 on. The building suffered damages from the earthquake of 1520 and again in 1667. Reconstruction was in Baroque style. A flight of stairs and a bell were added in the atrium. In 1638 the Senate erected a monument to Miho Pracat (by Pietro Giacometti of Recanati), a rich shipowner from Lopud, who had bequeathed his wealth to Dubrovnik.

The History Department of the Museum of Dubrovnik has operated in the palace since 1872.

References

Further reading

 Dubrovnik, history, culture, art heritage by Antun Travirka; Forum, Zadar, 2014;

Republic of Ragusa
Buildings and structures in Dubrovnik
Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century
Museums in Dubrovnik
Tourist attractions in Dubrovnik

Rector's Palace, Dubrovnik


Cefn Bryn is an ancient ridge in Britain. It is a 5-mile-long Old Red Sandstone ridge in south Wales, in the heart of the Gower Peninsula, in the City and County of Swansea.  Local people colloquially refer to it as the "backbone of Gower", as it protrudes from surrounding limestone. The highest point on the ridge (188m/617 ft ) is the second highest point in the peninsula, offering panoramic views of the surrounding country and seas.  The swathes of grassland around the ridge are known as Cefn Bryn Common.

Along the ridge of the hill, banked by grassy common on both sides is the road from Cilibion to Reynoldston.  The road was previously known as the Old Coal Road and Red Road.  Wandering sheep, wild ponies and cows can be seen along the road.  Large swells and dips can be encountered along the route, formed by swallets and sinkholes in the surrounding limestone.  The highest point of the road intersects with the ridge summit.

Arthur's Stone

Just north of the ridge summit of Cefn Bryn, there is a neolithic burial ground, known as "Arthur's Stone" (). Its name comes from a legend that the ancient British King Arthur threw a large stone from Llanelli which landed on this spot.

It is believed that during the Bronze Age Cefn Bryn was used extensively for ceremonies and rituals.  Beneath the bracken on the hill over sixty cairns have been discovered.  Most of these are likely to be no  more than collections of stones cleared by local farmers; but just north-west of Arthur's Stone three prominent cairns have been excavated that prove their ancient role - the largest being Great Cairn, a circular heap of stones above a central grave.

Broad Pool

There is a small fresh water pool called Broad Pool at the foot of the eastern approach to the ridge.  This pool is known to have existed since 1645, and has dried out and been re-excavated twice.  Today it is a protected nature reserve.  It lies in a shallow basin on the limestone plateau beneath Cefn Bryn, and consists of an acidic pond, heath and bog, which is important for aquatic plants, amphibians, dragonflies (including Southern Damselfly) and wetland birds.

References

External links
Explore Gower: Cefn Bryn
The Gower Information Center: Broad Pool
Local Features West: Gower Walks
Broad Pool and Bog
Geological Society - Cefn Bryn

4th-millennium BC architecture
Archaeological sites in Swansea
Bronze Age Wales
Buildings and structures in Swansea
Geology of Wales
Megalithic monuments in Wales
Prehistoric sites in Swansea
Gower Peninsula
Mountains and hills of Swansea
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in West Glamorgan
Stone Age Britain
Stone Age sites in Wales
Ridges of Wales
Monuments and memorials in Swansea

Cefn Bryn


Warcraft: Lord of the Clans is a novel written by writer Christie Golden. It is based on Blizzard Entertainment and was published in 2004. It is the second book in series of Warcraft.

The story was originally meant to be used for game but the project was canceled. The story itself wasn´t bad idea and role of main character was significant for games like Warcraft III or World of Warcraft. So the writer had to remake the story to form of book. She had only six weeks to do that.

Main story

Story is about son of orc Warchief. It started when he was a little baby. One day he and his parents were attacked by human soldiers in forest. Warchief and his wife were killed and one of humans took little orc baby with him to their base. The human was Aedelas Blackmoore and he named the baby Thrall which means slave to humans.
Blackmoore wasn´t sorry for him, he just wanted to use him as a source of power. His plan was to use Thrall as a Warchief and control through him orcs to serve Blackmoore.

Thrall and some other orcs were prisoned and learned to handle every weapon and how to use battle tactics effectively. They also tought Thrall basics of reading and writing. But he wanted to escape human base and find someone of his kind. One day his only human friend Taretha helped him. She set the base in fire and gave Thrall a chance to escape. Which he managed. After some time he found orc clan led by Grom Hellscream. When he learned some basic informations about orcs from Grom he headed to find his original clan, Frostwolf clan. There he met their shaman Drek´thar and Warchief Doomhammer. Drek´thar learned Thrall ancient ways of shamanism and Doomhammer told him about his parent´s death.

When Thrall managed art of shamanism, he raised together with Doomhammer an army against humans. Orcs won but Doomhammer died. In his last moments he granted Thrall the title of Warchief. Thrall decided to attack human base, home of Aedelas Blackmoore. He wanted to rescue imprisoned orcs there. They attacked and they succeeded in taking base. But only Blackmoore remained alive. Thrall went to his house, and when he entered he saw Blackmoore standing over dead body of Taretha. Angry Thrall killed blackmoore without any mercy. At the end he crushed base using his shamanistic powers and he informed other orc clans that they have new leader.

American fantasy books
2004 books

Warcraft: Lord of the Clans


Alternative fuel vehicles are vehicles that use energy that comes from something other than petroleum (oil). (Gasoline and diesel fuel come from petroleum).  Most of the alternative energy does not need to be imported from other countries, so money stays in the country.  Some (but not all) come from renewable sources. Many produce less pollution than gasoline or diesel.

Alternative fuel vehicles cover a wide range of engines and motors.
 Electric vehicle - no pollution from the car, but there can be some pollution where the electricity is made
 Natural gas vehicle - a fossil fuel, but burns much cleaner than gasoline, and there is more natural gas available than petroleum
 Biodiesel vehicle - diesel fuel that comes from plant (or sometimes animal) oils
 Ethanol vehicle - quite often ethanol is mixed with gasoline, from 10% to 85% ethanol (called E10 or E85)
 Methanol vehicle - Methanol and ethanol are used in many of the fastest race cars
 Butanol vehicle - similar to ethanol and methanol, this can be made from many biofuels, but is not commonly used
 Hydrogen car - also called a fuel cell vehicle, or FCV
 Compressed air vehicle - this technology works, but vehicles are still in the demonstration stage, and range can be a problem
 Propane (or liquefied petroleum gas, LPG)

Also, there are bicycles, rickshaws, and two and three-wheeled human powered vehicles.

Other websites
 Alternative Fuels Development Center (U.S. Department of Energy)

References

Green vehicles
Energy in transport

Alternative fuel vehicle


A time horizon is a future point in time when something must be "done" (a "deadline") or will be "over" (a "time limit").  Either way, the matter will be closed when the time horizon is reached.

Common time horizons people use are:
end of day, usually meaning the working day;
the weekend;
end of month;
fiscal quarter;
end of school term;
end of calendar year
and end of fiscal year.

It is very important to know at what time horizon something you are doing will be scored, evaluated, marked or paid for.

Sports, for example football (soccer) and basketball, often have time limits. Baseball and others do not, which sometimes causes problems.

Time

Time horizon


Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies  east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland.

History
The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been contested through the ages. The beach and estate were used as a staging post for various raids on nearby Tantallon Castle from the 14th to the 17th century. Troops were also stationed here to prevent landings by the French during the Napoleonic Wars in 1798. Before bloodshed touched the area, the 8th century Christian missionary Saint Baldred was based in nearby Scoughall, and several features of the area have been named after him, such as "Ghegan Rock" (Churchman's Haven).

In quieter times, the ownership of the estate has changed hands on several occasions. Seacliff House was built in 1750 by Robert Colt. It was later bought by George Sligo who in 1841 employed the famous Scottish architect David Bryce to build a new house in baronial style on the core of the older house. From 1854 until 1885 the house was owned by the orientalist John Watson Laidlay and he lived here with his family including Johnny Laidlay.

In 1907 the house was gutted by fire, killing the owner, Andrew Laidlay. Although plans were drawn up by Robert Lorimer for its restoration in 1911 these were never carried out.

The exterior survives almost complete with gables, turrets and bartizans. The outbuildings were later purchased by the Royal Navy who established a top-secret research base there during World War I. The station, known as HMS Scottish Seacliff, was mainly used for navigation training and U-Boat defence.

Robert Louis Stevenson was related to the Dale family, who still own and farm much of the land around Seacliff today.

Modern day
Seacliff Beach is private, and entry for cars is controlled by a coin-operated barrier. The area is largely unspoiled and attracts surfers, dog-walkers, riders and summer picnickers.

Seacliff Harbour is a sheltered spot accessible through a narrow channel, all blasted out of the red sandstone cliffs. This was constructed in 1890 by Andrew Laidlay, the then laird, who used a steam engine and compressed air to cut the stone. It was once home to boats owned by fishermen and landowners but today it is rarely used by boats and more for diving and dive training. The entrance measures just three metres across and it is the smallest harbour in the UK.

The estate is home to farming, the Seacliff Haulage depot and a small number of cottages.

See also
List of places in East Lothian
Canty Bay

External links
North Berwick History
Ports and Harbours of the UK (Seacliff)

References

 Lost Houses of Scotland, by Marcus Binney, John Harris, and Emma Winnington, SAVE Britain's Heritage, London, July 1980.

Tourist attractions in East Lothian
Environment of East Lothian
North Berwick

Seacliff


A Minister can be a Member of Parliament, or a Clergyman (person who works as a Minister in the Church). This article talks about a Minister as a Member of Parliament.

What is a minister?
In the United Kingdom and other countries that follow the Westminster System, a Minister is a Member of Parliament who has a special role dealing with a certain area of Government.  In the British Government, there are Ministers for lots of different things, like Children, Work & Pensions and Culture, Media & Sport.  There are descriptions (things that describe) of what these people do at the bottom of this page.

Ministers in the government report to the Prime Minister, who also tells them what they need to do in relation to their jobs.  The Deputy Prime Minister also reports to the Prime Minister.

Other Ministers, even though they are not called Ministers, include the Foreign Secretary, and the Home Secretary.

What describes these jobs?

Minister for Children

The Minister for Children looks after children's rights - these are laws which take care of how children are treated by their parents or guardians (a guardian is someone who looks after a child when their parents are not able to), and their care in society.  The job means that this Minister has a special role in the lives of all children in the UK.

Minister for Work and Pensions

This Minister looks after jobs (Employment) and money given to people who are in need (Welfare Benefits).  They set the rules saying what people who have no job must do to try and get one, and how much money people who have no job or are in need, get to live on.  The Minister also sets rules about what happens to people who do not do enough to find a job, or who break the law by working while they are getting Welfare Benefits.

Minister for Culture, Media and Sport

This Minister has a special role which means they promote (make popular) British Culture and Traditions.  They also take care of Broadcasting laws and laws about what newspapers and television stations can and cannot do.  Also, they have a duty to promote sporting activities which take place in Britain and help the government attract major sports events to Britain (the recent decision to let Britain host the Olympic Games in 2012 is an example of this).

There are a lot of other Ministers in the Government, and you can find out about them by writing to the Houses of Parliament in London.  Their address is:The Houses of ParliamentWestminsterLondonSW1A 0AA'

What about other countries?

Other countries also have Ministers who, like those in Britain, deal with special things related to how people live.  You can find out about them by looking at the Wikipedia in your own country.

References

Government occupations

Minister (government)


The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a 3200 km telegraph line that joined Darwin with Port Augusta in South Australia. Completed in 1872 the Overland Telegraph Line allowed fast communication between Australia and the rest of the world. It was one of the great engineering feats of 19th century Australia. It followed the route discovered by the explorer John McDouall Stuart in 1862. It was probably the most important milestone in Australia's telegraphic history.

Because of the limits of technology, the telegraph messages could only travel about 300 km along the line. Repeater stations were built at regular intervals so that the messages could be resent. Some of the stations became the start of cities such as Alice Springs or Tennant Creek, while others became forgotten ruins, such as the Peake Repeater Station built near Freeling Springs in South Australia.

References

Other websites
 A Wire Through the Heart An ABC movie on the Telegraph Line
History of Australia
Telegraphy

Australian Overland Telegraph Line


The North West Shelf Venture, situated in the north-west of Western Australia, is Australia's largest resource development project. It involves the extraction of petroleum (mostly natural gas and condensate) at offshore production platforms, onshore processing and export of liquefied natural gas, and production of natural gas for industrial, commercial and domestic use within the state.

Project
With investments totalling $25 billion since the early 1980s, the project is the largest resource development in Australian history.  In the late 1980s, it was the largest engineering project in the world. The Venture is underpinned by huge hydrocarbon reserves within the Carnarvon Basin, with only about one-third of the Venture's estimated total reserves of  of gas produced to date.

It is owned by a joint venture of six partners  BHP, BP, Chevron, Shell, Woodside Petroleum and a 50:50 joint venture between Mitsubishi and Mitsui & Co  with each holding an equal one-sixth shareholding. Along with being a joint venture partner, Woodside is the project operator on behalf of the other participants.

Assets
The venture currently has three currently active offshore facilities. A fourth, North Rankin B is under construction:

 North Rankin A (NRA)
Commissioned in 1984, North Rankin A was the then-largest gas production platform in the world, capable of producing 1,815 million cubic feet (51,400,000 m³) of gas per day and up to  of condensate. Modifications have increased the facility's capacity by 50% and it remains one of the world's largest gas platforms.
It is located 135 km north-west of Karratha and can accommodate more than 120 people. It services 25 production wells in the North Rankin and Perseus fields.

 Goodwyn A (GWA)
At a cost of $2bn, the platform was, when commissioned in early 1995, the largest single offshore oil and gas investment ever made in Australia.
In late 2001, the Goodwyn platform was linked to the Echo/Yodel gas and condensate fields via a 23 km  pipeline.  Hydrocarbons from the Goodwyn field are transferred via a subsea pipeline to North Rankin before being transported to Karratha for processing.  It is designed for up to 30 production wells (19 currently), including five re-injection wells. It accommodates 137 people.
It has a production capacity of 32,000 tonnes of gas per day.

 Cossack Pioneer Floating Production Storage and Off-Loading (FPSO)
The facility was commissioned in late 1995 and produces up to  of crude oil which is offloaded via a flexible line to oil tankers moored astern. Located 34 km east of the North Rankin A platform, it is moored to a riser turret which is connected by flexible flowlines to subsea production wells at the Wanaea, Cossack, Lambert and Hermeson gas fields.
It has a storage capacity of  of oil and a production capacity of  of oil per day.
In May 2008, Woodside announced plans to replace the 13-year-old vessel with a view to extending oil output to 2025-2030.

The condensate is transported to the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga) onshore facility on the mainland 130 km away by two  and  undersea pipes.

Other assets include:
 LNG and condensate loading facilities at Withnell Bay at Karratha including jetties, LNG storage tanks and other infrastructure, and supported by Dampier Port Authority.

 Karratha gas plant. In 2008, the facility capacity was increased to 16.3 million tonnes per year with the commissioning of a fifth, 4.4 million tonnes per year LNG production train.  As well as processing gas for export, the facility supplies domestic supplies to consumers and businesses in Western Australia.  The facility also processes condensate which is extracted from the gaseous hydrocarbons during processing.
 A fleet of nine purpose built LNG cargo ships.  The ships are powered using gas vapour from the storage tanks on board which is used to run steam turbines.  Each of the ships is equipped with four spherical tanks giving a total capacity of 125,000 cubic metres (138,500 cubic metres in the case of the most recently delivered Northwest Swan) and utilise docking facilities at the Karratha gas plant's Withnell Bay terminal. A subsidiary company, North West Shelf Shipping Service Company Pty Ltd manages the shipping operations.

In March 2008, the partners approved a A$5 billion North Rankin 2 project which will underpin supply commitments to customers in Asia beyond 2013.  The project will recover remaining low pressure gas from the ageing North Rankin and Perseus gas fields using compression. It will include the installation of a new platform (North Rankin B) which will stand in about 125 metres of water and will be connected by a 100-metre bridge to the existing North Rankin A platform.

Production and sales

The first LNG shipments went to Japan in 1989. Two hundred shipments per year (about one shipment every 1.5 days) in the purpose built LNG carriers totalling more than seven million tons are made around the world.  Markets include sales to long term customers in Japan and spot buyers in China, Spain, South Korea and the United States.

To date, the venture has produced more than 1000 cargoes of light crude oil (natural gas condensate). Condensate is sold on the international energy market.

In 2002, a contract was signed to supply 3 million tonnes of LNG a year from the North West Shelf Venture to China. The contract was worth $25 billion: between $700 million and $1 billion a year for 25 years. The price was guaranteed not to increase until 2031, and, as international LNG prices were increasing, by 2015 China was paying one-third as were Australian consumers.

The venture is Western Australia's largest single producer of domestic gas providing about 65% of total State production. Pipeline gas is processed at the consortium's Karratha facility, and transported to customers in southern Western Australia via the 1530 km Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.  A subsidiary company, North West Shelf Gas Pty Ltd markets the domestic gas component to customers in Western Australia through private contracts and sales to Alinta.

Engineering heritage award
The first two phases of the project received an Engineering Heritage International Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

See also
Gorgon gas project

References

Further reading
 Trunkline : the magazine for Woodside people. Perth, W.A. Published for staff of Woodside group of companies by the Government and Public Affairs Division. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Feb. 1992)- Trunkline (Perth, W.A)

BP
BHP
Mitsui & Co.
Liquefied natural gas plants
Natural gas in Western Australia
North West Shelf
Oil fields of Australia
Pilbara
Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers
Shell plc

North West Shelf Venture


Carol Ann Abrams ( Kelvin; September 23, 1942 – June 3, 2012) was an American television and film producer. She and her husband, television producer Gerald W. Abrams, are the parents of film director and producer J. J. Abrams and screenwriter Tracy (née Abrams) Rosen.

Early life
Born Carol Ann Kelvin in New York City to Lee (1915–2008) and Harry Kelvin (1911–1986), she earned a bachelor's degree with honors from Penn State University. After marrying Gerald Abrams and having two children, Abrams obtained a real estate license, specializing in properties in West Los Angeles and nearby Bel Air. She entered Whittier Law School when she was 39 years old and graduated valedictorian of her class. Her professors included lawyer-turned-celebrity journalist and TMZ founder, Harvey Levin. She worked as a professor at Whittier College for five years before entering the entertainment industry.

Career
She developed and executive produced The Ernest Green Story, a 1993 television film which aired on the Disney Channel. The film following the true story of Ernest Green, played in the film by actor Morris Chestnut, one of the Little Rock Nine during the 1957 forced integration of Little Rock Central High School. The film premiered at Little Rock Central High School with an introduction by Bill Clinton, who was the President-Elect of the United States at the time. It aired on the Disney Channel in January 1993 and won a Peabody Award. She produced two television movies for CBS, Second Honeymoon in 2001, and Two Against Time in 2002. She later began a writing career, authoring two books, Grandparents & Grandchildren and Teen Knitting Club.

Death
Abrams died from cancer on June 3, 2012, aged 69, at her home in Los Angeles. She was surrounded by her husband, children, a sister, and five grandchildren.

References

External links

Listing with the California Bar

1942 births
2012 deaths
American women film producers
American film producers
American women television producers
California lawyers
Deaths from cancer in California
Jewish American academics
Whittier College faculty
Whittier Law School alumni
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Television producers from New York City
J. J. Abrams
Film producers from New York (state)

Carol Ann Abrams


Diabetic retinopathy, is the most common eye disease caused by diabetes, it damages the retinas in both eyes, causing vision problems which may lead to blindness.

It affects up to 80 percent of all patients who have had diabetes for 10 years or more. However it is possible that at least 90% of these new cases could be kept from becoming severe with early diagnosis and proper treatment.

Signs and symptoms

Diabetic retinopathy often has no early warning signs. As new blood vessels form at the back of the eye as a part of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), they can bleed (ocular hemorrhage) and blur vision. The first time this happens, it may not be very severe. In most cases, it will leave just a few specks of blood, or spots, floating in a person's visual field, though the spots often go away after a few hours.

These spots are often followed within a few days or weeks by a much greater leakage of blood, which blurs vision. In extreme cases, a person will only be able to tell light from dark in that eye. It may take the blood anywhere from a few days to months or even years to clear from the inside of the eye, and in some cases the blood will not clear. These types of large hemorrhages tend to happen more than once, often during sleep.

On funduscopic exam, a doctor will see spots, flame hemorrhages, and dot-blot hemorrhages.

Elevation of blood-glucose levels can also cause edema (swelling) of the crystalline lens  as a result of sorbitol (sugar alcohol) building up in the lens. This edema often causes temporary myopia (nearsightedness). A common sign of swelling of the lens  is blurring of distance vision while near vision remains adequate.

Treatment

Scatter laser surgery

During the first three stages of diabetic retinopathy, no treatment is needed, unless there is macular edema. To prevent diabetic retinopathy from getting worse, diabetics should control their levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol.

Proliferative retinopathy is treated with scatter laser surgery, which helps to shrink the abnormal blood vessels. During the surgery 1,000 to 2,000 laser burns are placed in the areas of the retina away from the macula, causing the abnormal blood vessels to shrink. Two or more sessions usually are required to complete treatment. There may be some loss of peripheral (side) vision, and color vision, and night vision may also be slightly reduced.

Scatter laser treatment works best before the abnormal fragile, new blood vessels which grow because of the disease have started to bleed. Treatment may still be possible after bleeding has begun in some cases.

Focal laser surgery
Macular edema is treated with focal laser treatment. Up to several hundred small laser burns are placed in the areas of retinal leakage surrounding the macula. These burns cauterize the blood vessels, reduces tha amount of leakage and fluid build-up in the retina. The surgery is usually done in one session but further treatments may be needed. If both eyes are affected by macular edema only one is treated at a time usually a few weeks apart.

Focal laser treatment stabilizes vision and reduces the risk of vision loss by 50 percent. In a small number of cases, if vision is lost, it can be improved.

Viteroctomy
Viteroctomy is the surgical removal of the vitreous humur. The vitreous humur is a clear, thick, gel-like fluid, that fills the inside of the eyeball and helps it to maintain its shape.
This treatment is done in cases of proliferative retinopathy that causes severe scar tissue to form on the retina or when new blood vessels continue to grow on the retina after laser treatments.

Drug treatment
According to research done by the National Eye Institute, prompt treatment of diabetic macular edema with the drug Lucentis, with or without laser treatment, resulted in better vision than laser treatment alone, or steroid injections. When injected into the eye, Lucentis, and two other similar drugs, Avastin or Aylea, reduce fluid leakage and interfere with the growth of new blood vessels in the retina.

References

Other websites
 Diabetic Retinopathy  Resource Guide from the National Eye Institute (NEI).

Diseases and disorders of the eye
Diabetes mellitus

Diabetic retinopathy


Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream is a book written by Hunter S. Thompson. The book is based on an article Thompson wrote for Rolling Stone magazine. It was later made into a movie directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro.

The beginnings of the novel
What originally was a two-hundred-fifty-word photo-caption-job for Sports Illustrated grew to a novel-length feature story for Rolling Stone. Thompson said publisher Jann Wenner had "liked the first 20 or so jangled pages enough to take it seriously on its own terms and tentatively scheduled it for publication — which gave me the push I needed to keep working on it". He had first submitted a 2,500 word manuscript to Sports Illustrated that was "aggressively rejected".

Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo were based on Thompson and Acosta's life and experiences.  Thompson wrote that he concluded their March trip by spending some thirty-six hours alone in a hotel room "feverishly writing in my notebook" about his experiences. The genesis of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream is in that notebook.

Plot
The novel does not have a clear plot. Frequently, it is difficult for a reader to know what is imaginary to the fictional characters and what is really happening as fact.
The story accounts for two trips to Las Vegas, Nevada, that Hunter S. Thompson and attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta took in March and April 1971. The first trip spawned from an exposé Thompson was writing for Rolling Stone magazine about the Mexican-American television journalist Ruben Salazar, whom officers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office had shot and killed with a tear gas grenade fired at close range during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War in 1970. Thompson was using Acosta — a prominent Mexican-American political activist and attorney — as a central source for the story, and the two found it difficult for a brown-skinned Mexican to talk openly with a white reporter in the racially tense atmosphere of Los Angeles, California. The two needed a more comfortable place to discuss the story and decided to take advantage of a Sports Illustrated magazine offer to write photograph captions for the annual Mint 400 desert race being held in Las Vegas.

Weeks later, Thompson and Acosta returned to Las Vegas to report for Rolling Stone on the National District Attorneys Association's Conference on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs being held from the April 25 to 29, 1971, and to add material to the larger Fear and Loathing narrative. Besides attending the attorneys' conference, Thompson and Acosta looked for ways in Vegas to explore the theme of the American Dream, which was the basis for the novel's second half, which Thompson referred at the time as "Vegas II". On April 29, 1971, he began writing the full manuscript in a hotel room in Arcadia, California, in his spare time while completing "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan", the article chronicling the slain Chicano journalist Rubén Salazar.

Rolling Stone magazine cover article
In November 1971, Rolling Stone published the combined texts of the trips as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream as a two-part article illustrated by Ralph Steadman, who, two years before, had worked with Thompson on a Scanlan's Monthly article titled "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved".

Publication of book and reception
The next year, Random House quickly published the hardcover edition, with additional Steadman illustrations; The New York Times said it is "by far the best book yet on the decade of dope", with Tom Wolfe describing it as a "scorching epochal sensation".

1971 books
20th-century American novels
Las Vegas in fiction
Works about drugs
American autobiographies

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas


Devon is a county in southwest England. Sometimes called by its historical name Devonshire. Devon is the fourth largest county in England by area, and has the longest road network of any county in England.

History
After the last ice age, Devon was one of the first places in England where people started to live. Archaeologists have found many old places in Devon with ancient buildings. For example, many ruins of old buildings have been found in an area called "Dartmoor", which is now a National Park.

Devon gets its name from the Dumnonii, a name that the invading Romans gave to the Celtic tribe in that area. The Romans invaded Devon about AD 50. The name Dumnonii means "a person who lives in a deep valley", and it comes from the hills and valleys of the area. The Roman army stayed in Devon for about 350 years. Their base was in the city of Exeter.

It was a long time before anyone else invaded Devon. Saxons came to Devon in the 7th century, and the King of Wessex may have attacked in 614. There was a conflict between Devon and Wessex for 200 years. Some historians think that Wessex won the war by about 715 but others think this did not happen until at least 936. Eventually Wessex took control, but the Kings of Devon still had some power.

A person living at the time called William of Malmesbury said that in Exeter both Britons and Saxons were equal in 927 but that King Athelstan of Wessex then chased the Britons from Exeter. From place names and church dedications it seems that the British did not go far and later came back into Exeter because an area in the city was called "Britayne" until recently.

A large number of Devon placenames include (or are) the word "combe" (e.g. Ilfracombe). This word comes from the Brythonic (Celtic) language and is like the Welsh word "cwm". Another typical Devon word is "tor" which is also Brythonic, and like the Welsh word "twr".
Both of these words are often found in neighbouring counties, but Devon has the greatest number. Overall Devon has a number of other placenames that are Brythonic and others that come from Old English, and a few that come from Norse. Devon's placenames are like those of western Somerset and eastern Cornwall which was also part of the old kingdom of "Dumnonia".

Starting in the 9th century, groups of Viking raiders tried to invade Devon. This continued until the Norman Conquest. The name of Lundy Island comes from the Viking language, which was called Norse. The Vikings are remembered for moving the cathedral from Crediton to Exeter.

Devon has been involved in most of the civil conflicts in England since 1066:
 During the Norman Conquest of England, Exeter was surrounded by William the Conqueror's army for 18 days.
 In 1140, the towns of Exeter and Plympton were both defended against King Stephen.
 There were small battles in Devon during the Wars of the Roses.
 The army of Perkin Warbeck surrounded and attacked Exeter in 1497.
 The Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549: rebels from Cornwall and Devon marched towards London.
 The towns of Exeter and Dartmouth were both besieged (surrounded by the enemy) during the English Civil War.
 When William of Orange invaded Britain in 1688 (the Glorious Revolution), he landed at Brixham.

There are many famous (well known) people from Devon, especially seamen. For example, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Walter Raleigh all come from Devon. Many other famous people were also born in Devon: for example, the author Agatha Christie was born in the town of Torquay.

Flag
Devon has its own flag. It is linked to St Petroc, who is a local saint with links to Devon and nearby counties. The flag was chosen after winning a competition on the BBC Devon website in 2003.

Economy
Devon is less wealthy than many parts of England, for example the south east. This is because the traditional industries of Devon, for example fishing, mining and farming are declining. The European Union has given parts of Devon help (Objective 2). For example, grants of money have been given to help new industries grow. Tourism has become more important recently as a part of the economy of Devon.

An epidemic of Foot and Mouth disease in 2001 led to many farmers losing their cattle, so they lost a lot of money. Other industries also lost a lot of income because of this.

Politics
The main city of Devon is Plymouth. Exeter is where the county council is based. The county of Devon is split up into districts. Each district is run by a district council. Some things are the job of the county council and others are the job of the district council. There are also smaller town and parish councils inside the districts.

Plymouth and Torbay are not run by the county council, but have their own special councils. These councils do the jobs of both a county and a district council. These type of areas are called unitary authorities.

Districts in Devon

The numbers on the map are linked to the numbers below.

 Exeter
 East Devon
 Mid Devon
 North Devon
 Torridge
 West Devon
 South Hams
 Teignbridge
 Plymouth (Unitary)
 Torbay (Unitary)

Members of Parliament
 Ben Bradshaw
 Angela Browning
 Geoffrey Cox
 Oliver Colvile
 Linda Gilroy
 Nick Harvey
 Adrian Sanders
 Alison Seabeck
 Sarah Wollaston
 Gary Streeter
 Hugo Swire
 Richard Younger-Ross

Cities towns and villages

This is a list of the main towns and cities of Devon:

Interesting places
 Dartmoor
 Exmoor
 Jurassic Coast (a World Heritage Site)
 Lundy Island
 Buckfast Abbey
 Castles in Devon

Rivers
 River Avon
 River Axe
 River Dart
 River Erme
 River Exe
 River Otter
 River Tamar (the border between Devon and Cornwall)
 River Tavy
 River Taw
 River Teign
 River Torridge

Other websites

Note: The links below are not in simple English.
 Devon County Council
 BBC Devon

Ceremonial counties of England

Devon


Basketball is a team sport where one team, usually consisting of five players in each team, play against each other on a rectangular court. The objective is to get the ball through a hoop mounted high on a backboard on the opponent's side of the court, while preventing the opponent from shooting it into your team's hoop. It is a very popular sport worldwide, played with a round and usually orange(orange-brown) ball that bounces. Basketball players mainly use skills such as dribbling, shooting, running, and jumping. Each made baskPENISet is worth two points, while a basket made from beyond the three-point line is worth three points. If a player gets into too much physical contact, they may be given free throws which are worth one point each. The game typically lasts for four-quarters and the team with the most points at the end of the four-quarters win the game. If the score is tied at the end of the game, there will be additional play time, called overtime, to allow one team to win the match.

The game is played between men's teams or between women's teams. Basketball has been played in the Summer Olympic Games since 1936. The shot clock rule started in 1954 for professional basketball. The first basketball game took place in 1892, where the court was half the size of what it is today. In 1891 the game was invented by James Naismith.

The history of basketball
In early December 1891, James Naismith (1861–1939), a Canadian physical education teacher at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, invented an indoor game called basketball. He invented the sport to keep his students from becoming bored during the winter. Naismith wrote the basic rules and then nailed a peach basket onto a 20-foot tall pole. Unlike modern basketball hoops, the bottom of the peach-basket was still there, so after a point was scored, somebody had to get the ball out of the basket with a long stick. Over time, people made a hole at the bottom of the basket so the ball could go through more easily.  The first game of basketball was played at the International Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Springfield, Massachusetts. The score of the first game of basketball ever played was 1-0. There is a sculpture in Springfield, outside where the first game was held. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is also in Springfield.

For that first game of basketball in 1891, Naismith used two half-bushel peach baskets as goals, which gave the sport its name. The students were enthusiastic. After much running and shooting, William R. Chase made a midcourt shot, which was the only score in that historic contest. Word spread about the newly invented game, and numerous associations wrote Naismith for a copy of the rules, which were published in the January 15, 1892, issue of the Triangle, the YMCA Training School's campus paper.

Since the rules had not been formally written, there was no maximum number of players then, unlike today. This also meant that there were no set rules to the game; Naismith only observed how it was played and changed the rules accordingly.

Rules

The aim of basketball is to score more points than the other team, by making the ball in the basket. Players on one team try to stop players on the other team from scoring. Baskets can be worth 1, 2, or 3 points. Each normal score is worth two points; however, if a player throws the ball into the hoop from behind the large arched line on the court, called the "3-point line," the score is worth three points. You get points by "shooting" (throwing or dropping) the ball into the opponents' basket. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
The ball is moved forward by shooting, passing (throwing or handing off) or dribbling it. The ball may not be carried by a player who is walking or running without dribbling it. If this rule is violated, it is called a travel.

Equipment
The court, where the game is played, is a rectangle, and at both end lines there is a goal called a "hoop" in the shape of a circle basket with the bottom cut out.

In each game of basketball these things are required:
 Basketball
 Basketball court
 Basketball hoop and backboard

Teams
Basketball is played with two teams, with 5 players from each team on the court at one time. The maximum number of players on the bench differs by the league. In international play, a maximum of 7 players is allowed on the bench, resulting in a roster of 12 players. The NBA has 13-player rosters; college and high school teams have 15-player rosters. When a player wants to substitute for another player on the court, they let the score bench know. The referees will signal for the player waiting to come into the court. The player that was in the game comes off the court and the player that was  sitting on the bench goes inside the game. This is called a substitution. In regional matches, in some areas, a minimum of 3 players are required to be on the bench. In India, there might be leeway in the number depending on the category of the tournament you're playing in.

Playing regulations
A game of basketball is made up of four different quarters, each ten (or in the National Basketball Association, 12) minutes long. In the NCAA, or National Collegiate Athletic Association, there are 2  20 minute halves. At the start of every game the referee throws the basketball up in the air, and one player from each team tries to hit it to their teammates, that is called a "jump ball."

At the start of each quarter the team who has the possession arrow pointing towards their hoop gets the ball. Then the arrow is switched, and the next team gets the ball next quarter.

After four-quarters, the team who scores the most points wins. If the two teams score the same number of points, there is a five-minute "overtime" to see who can score more points. "Overtime" can be played over and over until one team finally scores more points.

If a player does something illegal in the game, it is called a "foul." If a player fouls someone on the other team who is shooting the basketball, the player who was fouled gets to shoot "free throws" from the "foul line." A free throw is a shot that no one is allowed to try to block. A free throw is shot from the straight line in front of the hoop. Each successful free throw is worth one point.

If a player fouls an opponent who is not shooting, the other team gets the ball, and can throw it in bounds from the sideline. Players can do three things with the ball: "dribble" (bounce) the ball, "pass" the ball to a teammate, or "shoot" the ball at the hoop. The player with the ball tries to keep the ball and not let the other team get it.

The ball can't be kicked or hit with the fist. If this is violated, the other team gets possession of the ball and gets to throw it in from the nearest out of bounds area.

Once a player commits five fouls, he is no longer allowed to play in the game, and a player on the bench must go in the game immediately. If a team commits four fouls, the opposing team gets to shoot a free throw on any next foul that doesn't involve shooting. (Depending on the league).

Officials
In a game of basketball, there are a number of officials who are not from either team, who are there to help. Officials are important to the game, and help it run efficiently. Here is a list of some of these people:
 Umpire: There are either one, two, three, four or five umpires in a game of basketball. It is the umpires' job to make the game more fair by enforcing the rules of the game. The umpires take into consideration the spirit and intent of the player before making any call. In the NBA and WNBA, the term "umpire" is not used; the person who has this role is called the referee.
 Referee: The use of this word varies between rule sets.
 Under the rules of FIBA (the worldwide governing body for the sport), the NCAA (U.S. college basketball), and NFHS (U.S. high schools), there is one referee in a game of basketball. He is the "head" umpire. The referee has all the jobs of the umpires along with a couple more responsibilities. He is also the one that makes the final decision for most problems and is the one who throws the ball up for the tip off at the start of the match.
 The first ever recorded female referee is Isabelle Johnson from Melbourne.
 The first ever recorded male referee is Campbell Grech from Melbourne.
 Timekeeper: There is one timekeeper whose job is to keep track of the time and to tell the umpires when time for each quarter has run out.
 Scorekeeper: There is one scorekeeper whose job is to keep track of and record all points scored, shots attempted, fouls made and timeouts called.
 Assistant Scorekeeper: There is one assistant scorekeeper. His job is to assist the scorekeeper, by telling him the players who score points, and to hold up a number for each foul called, showing everyone the number of fouls the specified player has for the game.
 Shot Clock Operator: There is one shot clock operator and his job is to keep resetting and holding the device when needed or told to by an umpire. This person needs to have good reflexes and quickness, as he has to quickly reset the timer when the game resumes.

Fans and media in North America will often use "referee" to describe all on-court officials, whether their formal titles are "referee", "umpire", or "crew chief".

Basketball terms/fouls
There are some basketball terms that players have to understand when playing the game. Here are some terms:
 Draft pick is an eligible player selected to play for one of thirty teams in the NBA
 Free throw is a basketball throw from the free-throw line from either personal, technical, unsportsmanlike or disqualifying fouls. Each free-throw made is worth one point. The amount of free-throws attempted are determined by the following:
 missed field goal and a drawn foul will result in 2 free throws
 made field goal and a drawn foul will result in 1 free throw
 missed 3-point attempt and a drawn foul will result in 3 free throws
 made 3-point attempt and a drawn foul will result in 1 free throw
 unsportsmanlike foul will result in 2 free throws and the same team's possession. (In all North American rule sets, this foul is called a "flagrant foul", with the same penalty.)
 technical foul will result in 2 free throws and the same team's possession. (In the NBA and WNBA, technical fouls result in 1 free throw instead of 2.)
 Field goal is any made shot in normal play. Field goals are worth 2 points, unless the shooter was outside the three-point line, in which case it is worth 3 points.
 Personal foul is any contact, committed by a player of the other team, thought, by the umpires, to have caused a disadvantage.
 Technical foul is a violation of certain basketball rules. They include:
 fighting or threatening to fight with another person
 entering the basketball court when it is not a substitution time
 a player being out of bounds (away from the court) to gain an advantage
 having too many players play on the court
 refusing to sit on the bench
 returning to play when a player is disqualified (loses his privileges to play).
 yelling and/or swearing at another player or an official.
 Rebound is the act of catching the basketball after a shot has been attempted, but missed.
 Assist is to pass a teammate the ball, which then the teammate immediately shoots into the basketball ring successfully. 2-3 dribbles are allowed after catching the ball for assist to be counted.
 Steal is to take the ball away from a person who is dribbling, shooting or passing without physically touching the person (committing a foul).
 Turnover is when the team that controls the ball loses control and the other team gains control.
 Walkover is the automatic victory of a team if the opposing team withdraws, is disqualified or there is not any competition at all.
 Substitution is the act of replacing a player from the court to an another player sitting on the bench.
 Double dribble is when a player dribbles the ball and picks it up and then dribbles it again without having shot or passed it. Dribbling the ball with two hands is also a double dribble. If a player double dribbles, the ball is automatically given to the other team.
 Carry is when a player physically turns the ball over with their hands while dribbling it.
 Travel is when a player in possession of the ball moves both feet without dribbling the ball. If a player travels, the ball is automatically given to the opposing team.
 Shot clock is a clock designed to limit the time a team has to shoot a basketball. The shot clock is different in different leagues, but it is usually between 24 seconds and 35 seconds. After time runs out, the ball is automatically given to the opposing team unless they shot, before the clock runs out, and hit the rim or the ball enters the basket.
 Substitute (subs) is when a player on the bench swaps for a player on the court. The player on the bench is allowed to play and the player sits on the bench.
 Jump ball happens at the start of every game. This is where the ball gets thrown up from the centre circle and one person from each team jumps for it, aiming to hit it to one of his teammates.
 Alternating possession At the start of the game there is a jump ball. Whichever team "wins" the jump ball gets the arrow pointed towards their goal. Each time the ball gets given to the team who is trying to score in the direction of the arrow it gets turned.
 Clutch is a shot made at a difficult moment in the game, usually when the shot clock is about to run out, or if the team losing by 1 or 2 points suddenly wins the game because of the clutch shot.
 Backcourt violation is when a player crosses the half-court line and walks backwards over the line while in possession of the ball, or passes to another player who is behind the half-court line. Note that this rule does not apply if a defensive player taps the ball, and it goes beyond the half-court line, and the offensive player retrieves it in the "backcourt".
 3-second violation is when a player stands in the lane (an area marked by the big square in front of the basket) for more than 3 seconds. The offensive team that commits a 3-second violation will lose the possession of the ball. The defensive team that commits a 3-second violation will receive a technical foul.
 8- or 10-second violation is when the team with the ball fails to advance the ball past the center line within the allowed time. The offensive team will lose possession. The allowed time is 8 seconds in international play, the NBA, and WNBA, and 10 seconds in college and high school play for both males and females. Women's college basketball was the last level of basketball to add this violation, only doing so for the 2013–14 season.

Positions in basketball
In professional basketball teams, each player has a position. A position is a job or role that a player has to take part in to play the game. If everyone is doing their job correctly, the team is usually successful.
 Point guard (PG) (1) - point guards are responsible for leading the team on offense. They have to take the ball out (to dribble the ball halfway across their team's court side into the opposing team's court side) and plan an "attack" or "play" - to pass the ball to a player and he passes on to another player and so on till a player shoots the basketball. Point guards can be small, but they have to be very fast and possess good ball-handling. But the most important thing for the PG is a wide view. PG should control the game when on offense. That's why PG is called 'the coach on the court'.
 Shooting guard (SG) (2) - shooting guards generally are a little bit taller and slower than point guards. They have to make good shots from far distances (like three-point lines).
 Small forward (SF) (3) - small forwards are generally taller than both point guards and shooting guards. They are the team's most versatile player, doing everything from rebounding and assisting to scoring.
 Power forward (PF) (4) - power forwards are usually one of the strongest players who play inside the 3-point line. Their job is to receive rebounds from under the basket and score in the opposing team's basket, although it is unusual for a power forward to score most points for the team.
 Center (C) (5) - Centers will usually be the tallest player on the team. They score close to the basket, rebound and block shots on the defensive end. They also start the game in the tip off.

Other positions, more usual in professional basketball teams, are used in basketball.
 Swingman - a basketball player who can play both small forward and shooting guard positions.
 Stretch four (also wdwa) - a basketball player who can play both power forward and small forward positions. The term "stretch four" comes from the concept of a power forward ("four") capable of "stretching" a defense with outside shooting ability.
 Point forward - a basketball player who can play both point guard and forward (either small forward or power forward) positions.
 Forward-center - a basketball player who can play both forward (usually power forward) and center positions.

Variations
There are many types of basketball. Some are for people with disabilities, others are played more by a specific group, some are played using only half the court, and some are for wwadwdawdawhen there are fewer players.

3 on 3
This is the most popular "pick up game" variation of basketball. Pick up games are when teams are chosen on the court instead of having official teams. Due to there being no referee, this more casual gamewawd has more relaxed rules than official games. Instead of 5 players, there are only three players on each team, hence the name.

While the exact rules vary from place to place, there are several common rules typically found in most games, including:
 The game is played on a half-court instead of a full-court.
 Players call their own fouls and violations.
 Players inbound the ball from the top of the three-point line.
 After a turnover, the team that gets the ball must take it out past the free-throw or three-point line before trying to score.
 On any foul, the ball is inbounded. There is no foul shot.
 Normal shots are worth one point, with shots beyond the 3-point are worth 2 points.
 The game is played to a pre-determined set score rather than being timed.
 First possession is decided by one or more players awdawd 3-awdwdjbawhdbuawijdoiwajpoint shots to see who goes first. (If one player, if the shot is made his/her team gets the ball first, if not, the other team gets the ball. Sometimes called "shooting die".)

There are officially sponsored 3 on 3 tournaments, though the game is mostly played without an official league.

Variations with 2 player and 4 player teams often follow this same format.

Twenty-one
Twenty-one (21) is a variation of basketball that does not include teams. It is often played with odd-numbers of players or when there are too few players for 3 on 3 games.

The object of 21 is to score exactly 21 points. Players keep track of their own scores and call out their points after making a basket. All players play defense against all other players and compete for the rebound on a miss.

When a player makes a shot, he or she scores 2 points and is then awarded a chance to score an additional 3 points by attempting a series of free-throws. If a player makes a free-throw, he or she is awarded an additional point and an additional free-throw. If a player makes three straight free-throws they are then given the ball a the top of the key and the other players may then defend.

One special rule is that if a player gets 20 points and then misses a free-throw, or scores 17 points and then makes all three free-throws, their score is set back to 15. This is because their next basket would put them over 21 points, and the object of the game is to get exactly 21.

Due to there being no teams, there are a number of special rules to 21:
 The game is played on a half-court instead of a full-court.
 There are no fouls, travelling violations, or out-of-bounds. Play continues despite any of these. However, flagrantly breaking the rules by not dribbling, intentionally double dribbling, or by fouling too harshly is not accepted and is dealt with by the other players.
 Some players use an honor system, returning the ball to a player who was fouled too hard.
 The defenders do not usually all gang up on the person with the ball, instead last person to shoot and miss defends while the rest are "back up" and look for the rebound.

H-O-R-S-E
The game H-O-R-S-E, (pronounced horse) is played by two or more players. The player in control of the ball tries to make a shot however they want. The other player has to repeat their shot. If they miss, they get an H added, until they get enough letters to finish the word horse and they lose. If the player who has the ball missed their shot, no letter is added and control moves to the next player.

Wheelchair basketball
In this variation, the players are all seated in a wheelchair. This is often played by people who cannot walk or are unable to play normal basketball. The rules are altered slightly, but the game follows the same general concepts.

Related pages

 Women's basketball
 National Basketball Association
 National Basketball League (Australasia)
 Basketball Bundesliga

References

Other websites

 FIBA , Fédération Internationale de Basketball / International Basketball Federation
 IWBF, International Wheelchair Basketball Federation

Springfield, Massachusetts
Summer Olympic sports

Basketball


Ender in Exile  is a science fiction novel by American writer Orson Scott Card, part of the Ender's Game series, published on November 11, 2008. It takes place between the two award-winning novels Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. It could also be considered a parallel novel to the first three sequels in the Shadow Saga, since the entirety of this trilogy takes place in the span of Ender in Exile. The novel concludes a dangling story line of the Shadow Saga, while it makes several references to events that take place during the Shadow Saga. From yet another perspective, the novel expands (or replaces) the last chapter of the original novel Ender's Game. On the one hand, it fills the gap right before the last chapter, and on the other hand, it fills the gap between the last chapter and the original (first) sequel (both named Speaker for the Dead). Ender in Exile begins one year after Ender has won the bugger war, and begins with the short story "Ender's Homecoming" from Card's webzine Intergalactic Medicine Show.  Other short stories that were published elsewhere are included as chapters of the novel.

Plot

One year after the Buggers (Formics) were defeated and the Battle School children have returned to Earth, Ender is still unable to return with them because there would be wars over which country would keep Ender to use for its own ends. Ender is offered the governorship of the first human colony to be planted on one of the Buggers' former worlds, a planet that will eventually become known as Shakespeare.  His sister Valentine decides to accompany Ender on his journey because she is sick of being controlled by her older brother, Peter, and because she wants to restore the relationship with Ender that she had lost when he left to go to Battle School.

On their way to the Shakespeare colony, Valentine begins writing her History of the Bugger Wars books while Ender has an unspoken power struggle with the captain of the ship, Admiral Quincy Morgan. There is also a romance between Ender and a girl named Alessandra. Once the ship lands on Shakespeare, Ender, who had spent much of his trip learning the names and lives of the colony's residents, takes charge of the colony and wins the colonists over.

Ender serves as governor of Shakespeare for a few years.  Near the end of his time as governor, Ender and a young boy from the colony named Abra go to find a site for a new shipment of colonists. Ender wants the new settlement to be far enough away from the other settlements that there will not be competition between them right away, and so they can develop separately.

In the process of finding a location for the new settlement, Ender stumbles upon what seems to be the equivalent of a note from the Buggers.  It is a structure made to look like a game he used to play in Battle School.  When Ender investigates, he finds the living pupa of a Bugger Hive Queen that is fertilized and prepared to make hundreds of thousands of offspring upon its maturation.

The find leads Ender to write his first book as the Speaker for the Dead. The book, titled The Hive Queen, tries to look at the Bugger wars and their eventual destruction from the point of view of the Buggers. Later, Peter Wiggin, nearing the end of his life and knowing that Ender wrote the story, asks him to write one for him for when he dies.  This book becomes known as The Hegemon.

After this, Ender resigns as governor and leaves the colony for another called Ganges. The leader of Ganges is Virlomi.  Here he encounters Randall Firth, who believes himself to be the son of Achilles de Flandres, and even refers to himself by the name Achilles.

Randall spreads propaganda accusing Ender of xenocide in an attempt to discredit Virlomi and get revenge against Peter Wiggin, who he believes is responsible for his father's defeat.  Randall tries twice to meet with Ender and discredit him somehow.  On the second visit, his plan is to cleverly provoke Ender into killing him so that people will see how violent and dangerous he is, but Ender does not attack.

Instead Ender tries to convince Randall that he is not Achilles' son, but that he is in fact the son of Bean and Petra; hence where he gets his gigantism from. Eventually, Ender manages to convince Randall of his parents' identity by allowing Randall to brutally defeat him in a one-sided fistfight, the entire time asserting that he could never hurt his friends' child.  Randall ends up changing his name to Arkanian Delphiki amidst his guilt for Ender's horrifying wounds.

After Ender heals a bit, he, Valentine, and the Hive Queen pupa board a starship to go to a new place.

Original publication as short stories
Several of the chapters of the novel were originally published in electronic form as short stories in Card's webzine Intergalactic Medicine Show :

The story "Ender's Homecoming"  comprises the entire first chapter of the book. Aside from the email message at the end being placed at the beginning of chapter 2, the chapter is unchanged from the original short story.  It was originally published in the January 2008 issue of Intergalactic Medicine Show.
"A Young Man with Prospects" comprises the entire fifth chapter with an added email at the very beginning, describing how the Toscanos were selected to go to the colony, which wasn't in the original short story. The story was originally published in electronic form in the February 2007 issue of Intergalactic Medicine Show.
The story "Ender in Flight" was originally published in the April 2008 issue of Intergalactic Medicine Show.  It is very spread out throughout the book, and the email from Admiral Chamrajnagar to Admiral Quincy Morgan is included in the book.  It spans from the end of chapter 7 through the end of chapter 10, continues in chapters 13 and 14, and finishes in chapter 16.
"The Gold Bug" was published in the July 2007 issue of Intergalactic Medicine Show and reprinted in 2011 in the anthology Alien Contact. It was also adapted into an Ender comic and can be found as an added bonus in the Marvel Comics hardcover edition of Red Prophet: The Tales Of Alvin Maker. Parts of the story "The Gold Bug" occur in chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the book; some parts aren't included in the book, including a big part of the beginning of the short story.

Relationship between "Gold Bug" and "A Young Man with Prospects"
According to Card while he was writing the short story "The Gold Bug," he started to think about how Ender got to the colony.  As a result, he came up with a story idea which involved a power struggle between Ender and the ship's captain.  However, since Card did not want the story to be only about Ender and the captain he decided to put a mother and daughter on the ship.  When he first began writing about Alessandra and Dorabella Toscano, it was supposed to have been the opening for that story, but as he sat down to plan the scenes, they developed into a story of their own, which became the short story "A Young Man with Prospects," published in February 2007 and later incorporated into the novel as chapter 5.

Characters

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin
Valentine Wiggin - Ender's older sister, also known as "Demosthenes"
Peter Wiggin - Ender's older brother, Hegemon of the Free People of Earth, also known as "Locke"
John Paul Wiggin - Ender's father
Theresa Wiggin - Ender's mother
Hyrum Graff - Minister of Colonization
Mazer Rackham - Ender's mentor
Petra Arkanian - Battle School graduate, wife of Julian Delphiki, (Bean.)
Virlomi - Battle School graduate, Governor of Ganges colony
Alessandra Toscano - a young woman and Ender's friend
Dorabella Toscano - Alessandra's mother
Admiral Quincy Morgan - captain of the spaceship which brings colonists and supplies to Shakespeare
Vitaly Denisovitch Kolmogorov - original Governor of Shakespeare colony
Sel Menach - Chief xenobiologist and later Acting Governor of Shakespeare
Ix Tolo - Xenobiologist on Shakespeare colony
Po - Ix's older son
Abra - Ix's younger son
Arkanian Delphiki - also known as Randall Firth or Achilles, son of Petra Arkanian and Julian Delphiki ("Bean")

See also

List of Ender's Game characters
Orson Scott Card bibliography

References
Notes

External links

 Publication information for Ender in Exile: Ganges available from Card's website
 About Ender in Exile and Orson Scott Card at Tor Books

 Orson Scott Card Spotlight

2008 American novels
2008 science fiction novels
Ender's Game series books
Interquel novels
Tor Books books

Ender in Exile