Toastmasters International is a global educational organization which helps to improve English speaking skills and communication. In each club, members are led by the Toastmasters Manual to speak in front of an audience fluently, to think quickly and to react confidently.

History

The first Toastmasters club opened on October 22, 1924, at Santa Ana, California, United States by Ralph C. Smedley. It was called Smedley Club Number 1. Today there are over 13,000 clubs in 116 countries.

Clubs, meetings and membership

A typical Toastmasters club is made up of 20 - 30 people who gather weekly throughout the year. The club meetings last for about two hours and there are many roles. The meetings generally consist of the following:

An introduction circle at the beginning of the meeting gives the members, visitors and newcomers a chance to get to know each other and briefly and express his/her opinion on a certain question presented by a Chairman
Word of the Day is an unknown or interesting word, sentence, expression that is supposed to be used during the introduction circle or during the following meeting.
Invocation is a thoughtful thanks or idea to motivate members to do our best. It is a short prepared speech.
Toast of the Day is a short prepared speech, dedicated to something or somebody the speaker considers worthy to be admired or respected.
Table Topics gives members the opportunity to participate in impromptu speech situations
Prepared speeches are based on projects from the Communication and Leadership Program Manuals
Evaluation is a part of the meeting, during which each speaker is provided with valuable feedback
Closing Thought can be a thoughtful idea or a joke to close the meeting.

Anyone age 18 and above and who pays a fee can join the club and improve his/her speaking and communication skills.

Roles:
Chairman opens the meeting, leads the first part of the meeting, prepares a simple question for the introduction circle, welcomes other speakers, leads the business minutes.
Word Master introduces and explains the Word of the Day
Toastmaster guides the rest of the meeting, introduces the speakers, gives short information about the speakers, schedule or events.
Table Topics Master prepares a topic for impromptu (unprepared) speeches, usually several questions related to the chosen topic. He asks speakers to give a 2-minute speech with a structure - an opening, a body and a conclusion.
Table Topics Evaluator evaluates the chosen topic, the Table Topics Master and the speakers' presentations. He initiates voting for the best Table Topics Speaker.
Speaker presents a prepared speech, usually according to the Toastmasters Manual, usually two or three speakers are introduced.
General Evaluator leads the evaluation meeting - calls Evaluators, Timer and Grammarian. He/she also evaluates other roles and the meeting as a whole.
Evaluator evaluates the Speaker, according to the Toastmasters Manual; there is one Evaluator for each speech.
Timer measures time limits of both prepared and unprepared speeches, uses a special light device to show the time limits (green, yellow, red).
Grammarian follows mistakes made during the whole meeting, reports and corrects them, and explains grammatical rules.
Quiz Master prepares questions concerning the meeting activities and asks participants to answer the questions.

Competent Communication Manual

The Competent Communication Manual is a basic manual for Toastmasters. Members follow it to present ten speeches. Each of the ten topics is dedicated to improving one of the speaker's basic skills. The skills are:

The Ice Breaker
Organize Your Speech
Get to the Point
How to Say It
Your Body Speaks
Vocal Variety
Research Your Topic
Get Comfortable with Visual Aids
Persuade with Power
Inspire Your Audience

After completing all ten speeches the member gets a globally recognized certificate and he/she can continue strengthening his/her skills with the Advanced Communication Manuals.

International organizations
Public speaking
Santa Ana, California

Toastmasters International


An improvised explosive device (IED), more commonly known as roadside bomb, is a bomb that is constructed by people for other purposes than military action. Paramilitary groups often use such devices for terrorist activities. Unconventional warfare which is done by guerilla forces also uses such devices.

Improvised explosive device


Sidewinding is a type of locomotion unique to some snakes. They use it to move across loose or slippery ground like sand or mud.  It is often used by the Saharan horned viper, Cerastes cerastes, and the sidewinder rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes, to move across loose desert sands. It is also used by some snakes in Southeast Asia to move across tidal mud flats.  Other snakes can be induced to sidewind on artificial smooth surfaces, with various degrees of success. Sidewinding is not the only way snakes can move on sand.

Sidewinding is done by simply lifting all the segments with the same slope off the ground. In the movement, the snake's body is always in static (as opposed to sliding) contact with the ground.  The head seems to be "thrown" forward, and the body follows, being lifted from the prior position and moved forward to lie on the ground ahead of where it was originally.  Meanwhile, the head is being thrown forward again.  In this way, the snake slowly progresses at an angle, leaving a series of mostly straight, J-shaped tracks.  Because the  snake's body is in static contact with the ground, imprints of the belly scales can be seen in the tracks, and each track is almost exactly as long as the snake.

Below is a crude animated line-drawing showing sidewinding in action.  The light brown areas are the tracks left behind, and show where the body of the snake touched the ground.

This mode of locomotion overcomes the slippery nature of sand or mud by pushing off with only static portions on the body. The static nature of the contact points can be shown from the tracks of a sidewinding snake, which show each belly scale imprint, without any smearing. This mode of locomotion has very low caloric cost, less than ⅓ of the cost for a lizard or snake to move the same distance. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that sidewinding is associated with the sand being hot.

References

Snakes

Sidewinding


In Norse meethology, Thor (; frae Auld Norse Þórr) is a haimer-waldin god associate wi thunner, lichtnin, storms, aik trees, strenth, the pertection o fowk, as weel as sainin, healin an growthiness. The cognate deity in wider Germanic meethologie an paganism wis kent in Auld Inglis as Þunor an in Auld Heich German as Donar (runic þonar ), stemmin frae a Common Germanic *Þunraz (meanin "thunner").

Thor is a prominently mentioned god ootthrou the recordit history o the Germanic fowks, frae the Roman occupation o regions o Germania, tae the tribal expansions o the Migration Period, tae his heich popularity in the Viking Age, whan, in the face o the process o the Christianisation o Scandinavie, emblems o his haimer, Mjölnir, war worn an Norse pagan personal names conteenin the name o the god beir witness tae his popularity.

In Norse meethologie, lairgely recordit in Iceland frae tradeetional material stemmin frae Scandinavie, numerous tales an information aboot Thor are providit. In these soorces, Thor beirs at least fifteen names, is the husband o the gowden-haired goddess Sif, is the luver o the jötunn Járnsaxa, an is generally descrived as fierce eed, reid haired an reid beardit. Wi Sif, Thor faithert the goddess (an possible Valkyrie) Þrúðr; wi Járnsaxa, he faithert Magni; wi a mither that's name is nae recorded, he faithered Móði, an he is the stepfaither o the god Ullr. Bi wey o Odin, Thor haes numerous brithers, includin Baldr. Thor haes twa servants, Þjálfi an Röskva, rides in a cart or chariot pulled bi twa gaits, Tanngrisnir an Tanngnjóstr (that he eats an resurrects), an is ascribit three dwellins (Bilskirnir, Þrúðheimr, an Þrúðvangr). Thor walds the moontain-crushin haimer, Mjölnir, weirs the belt Megingjörð an the airn gluves Járngreipr, an awns the staff Gríðarvölr. Thor's exploits, includin his relentless slauchter o his foes an fierce battles wi the monstrous serpent Jörmungandr—an thair foretauld mutual daiths in the events o Ragnarök—are recordit ootthrou soorces for Norse meethologie.

Intae the modren period, Thor conteena'd tae be acknawledged in rural fowklair ootthrou Germanic regions. Thor is frequently referred tae in place names, the day o the week Fuirsday ("Thor's day" derived frae Auld Inglis Þūnresdæg - "Thunor's day"; oreeginally Þorsdagr in Auld Norse) beirs his name, an names stemmin frae the pagan period conteenin his awn conteena tae be uised the day. Thor haes inspired numerous warks o airt an references tae Thor appear in modren popular cultur. Lik ither Germanic deities, veneration o Thor is revived in the modren period in Heathenry.

Name
Auld Norse Þórr, Auld Inglis ðunor, Auld Heich German Donar, Auld Saxon thunar, an Auld Frisie thuner are cognates within the Germanic leid brainch, descendin frae the Proto-Germanic masculine noon *þunraz 'thunder'.

The name o the god is the oreegin o the weekday name Fuirsday. Bi employin a practice kent as interpretatio germanica in the Roman Empire period, the Germanic fowks adoptit the Roman weekly calendar, an replaced the names o Roman gods wi thair own. Laitin dies Iovis ('day o Jupiter') wis convertit intae Proto-Germanic *Þonares dagaz ("Thor's day"), frae which stems modren Scots "Fuirsday" an ither Germanic weekday cognates.

Attestations

Post-Roman Era

The first recordit instance o the name o the god appears in the Migration Period, whaur a piece o jewelry (a fibula), the Nordendorf fibula, datin frae the 7t century AD an foond in Bavarie, beirs an Elder Futhark inscription that conteens the name "Þonar", i.e. "Donar", the soothren Germanic form o the god's name.

A 9t-century AD codex frae Mainz, Germany, kent as the Auld Saxon Bapteesmal Vou, records the name o three Auld Saxon gods, UUôden (Auld Saxon "Wodan"), Saxnôte, an Thunaer, bi wey o thair renunciation as demons in a formula tae be repeatit bi Germanic pagans formally convertin tae Christianity.

Viking Age
In the 11t century, chronicler Adam o Bremen records in his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum that a statue o Thor, that Adam descrives as "michtiest", sits in the Temple at Uppsala in the centre o a treeple throne (flanked bi Woden an "Fricco") locatit in Gamla Uppsala, Swaden. Adam details that the fowk o Uppsala haed appyntit priests tae ilk o the gods, an that the priests war tae offer up saicrifeeces. In Thor's case, he conteenas, thir saicrifeeces war duin whan plague or faimin threitent. Earlier in the same wark, Adam relays that in 1030 an Inglis preacher, Wulfred, wis lynched bi assembled Germanic pagans for "profanin" a representation o Thor.

Post-Viking Age
In the 12t century, mair nor a century efter Norawa wis "offeecially" Christianised, Thor wis still bein invoked bi the population, as evidenced bi a stick beirin a runic message foond amang the Bryggen inscriptions in Bergen, Norawa. On the stick, baith Thor an Odin are cried upon for help; Thor is askit tae "receive" the reader, an Odin tae "awn" them. Aroond the 12t century, iconografie o the Christianisin 11t-century King Olaf II o Norawa (Saunt Olaf) absorbed elements o the native Thor; Olaf II haed becam a familiarly reid-beardit, haimer-waldin feegur.

Poetic Edda
In the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13t yeirhundred frae tradeetional soorce material reachin intae the pagan period, Thor appears (or is mentioned) in the poems Völuspá, Grímnismál, Skírnismál, Hárbarðsljóð, Hymiskviða, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Alvíssmál, an Hyndluljóð.

In the poem Völuspá, a deid völva recoonts the history o the universe an foretells the futur tae the disguised god Odin, includin the daith o Thor. Thor, she foretells, will dae battle wi the great serpent in the immense meethic war waged at Ragnarök, an thare he will slay the monstrous snake, yet efter he will anly be able tae tak nine steps afore neevin tae the venom o the beast. Efterwart, says the völva, the sky will turn black afore fire engulfs the warld, the starns will disappear, flams will dance afore the sky, steam will rise, the warld will be kivert in watter an then it will be raised again, green an fertile.

In the poem Grímnismál, the god Odin, in guise as Grímnir, an torturt, stairvit an thirsty, impairts in the young Agnar cosmological lore, includin that Thor resides in Þrúðheimr, an that, ivery day, Thor wades throu the rivers Körmt an Örmt, an the twa Kerlaugar. Thare, Grímnir says, Thor sits as juidge at the immense cosmological warld tree, Yggdrasil.

In Skírnismál, the god Freyr's messenger, Skírnir, threitens the fair Gerðr, wi that Freyr is smitten, wi numerous threits an curses, includin that Thor, Freyr, an Odin will be angry wi her, an that she risks thair "potent wraith".

Thor is the main chairacter o Hárbarðsljóð, whaur, efter traivelin "frae the east", he comes tae an inlet whaur he encoonters a ferryman that gies his name as Hárbarðr (Odin, again in disguise), an attempts tae hail a ride frae him. The ferryman, shootin frae the inlet, is immediately rude an obnoxious tae Thor an refuises tae ferry him. At first, Thor hauds his tongue, but Hárbarðr anerly becomes mair aggressive, an the poem suin becomes a flytin match atween Thor an Hárbarðr, aw the while revealin lore aboot the twa, includin Thor's killin o several jötnar in "the east" an berzerk weemen on Hlesey (nou the Dens island o Læsø). In the end, Thor ends up walkin insteid.

Thor is again the main chairacter in the poem Hymiskviða, whaur, efter the gods hae been huntin an hae eaten thair prey, thay hae an urge tae drink. Thay "sh[ak] the twigs" an interpret whit thay say. The gods decide that thay wad find suitable caudrons at Ægir's hame. Thor arrives at Ægir's hame an finds him tae be cheerfu, leuks intae his een, an tells him that he maun prepare feasts for the gods. Annoyed, Ægir tells Thor that the gods maun first bring tae him a suitable caudron tae brew yill in. The gods sairch but find na sic caudron onywhaur. Houiver, Týr tells Thor that he mey hae a solution; east o Élivágar lives Hymir, an he awns sich deep kettle.

Efter a lacuna in the manuscript o the poem, Hymiskviða abruptly picks up again wi Thor an Hymir in a boat, oot at sea. Hymir catches a few whauls at ance, an Thor baits his line wi the heid o the ox. Thor casts his line an the monstrous serpent Jörmungandr bites. Thor pulls the serpent on buird, an veeolently slams him in the heid wi his haimer. Jörmungandr shrieks, an a noisy commotion is heard frae unnerwatter afore anither lacuna appears in the manuscript.

Efter the seicont lacuna, Hymir is sittin in the boat, unhappy an totally seelent, as thay rowe back tae shore. On shore, Hymir suggests that Thor shoud help him cairy a whaul back tae his ferm. Thor picks baith the boat an the whauls up, an cairies it aw back tae Hymir's ferm. Efter Thor successfully smashes a creestal goblet bi thrawin it at Hymir's heid on Týr's mither's suggestion, Thor an Týr are gien the caudron. Týr canna lift it, but Thor manages tae row it, an so wi it they lea. Some distance frae Hymir's hame, an airmy o mony-heidit beins led bi Hymir attacks the twa, but are killt bi the haimer o Thor. Awtho ane o his gaits is lame in the leg, the twa manage tae bring the caudron back, hae plenty o yill, an sae, frae then on, return tae Ægir's for mair ivery winter.

In the poem Lokasenna, the hauf-god Loki angrily flyts wi the gods in the sea entity Ægir's haw. Thor daes nae attend the event, houiver, as he is awey in the east for unspecifee'd purposes. Taewart the end o the poem, the flytin turns tae Sif, Thor's wife, that Loki then claims tae hae sleepit wi. The god Freyr's servant Beyla interjects, an says that, syne aw o the moontains are shakin, she thinks that Thor is on his wey hame. Beyla adds that Thor will bring peace tae the quarrel, tae that Loki responds wi insults.

Thor arrives an tells Loki tae be seelent, an threitens tae rip Loki's heid frae his bouk wi his haimer. Loki asks Thor why he is sae angry, an comments that Thor will nae be so darin tae ficht "the wouf" (Fenrir) whan it eats Odin (a reference tae the foretauld events o Ragnarök). Thor again tells him tae be seelent, an threatens tae thraw him intae the sky, whaur he will niver be seen again. Loki says that Thor shoud nae brag o his time in the east, as he ance crooched in fear in the thumb o a gluve (a story involvin deception bi the magic o Útgarða-Loki, recoonted in the Prose Edda beuk Gylfaginning)—that, he comments, "wis haurdly lik Thor". Thor again tells him tae be seelent, threitenin tae brak ivery bane in Loki's bouk. Loki responds that he intends tae live a while yet, an again insults Thor wi references tae his encoonter wi Útgarða-Loki. Thor responds wi a fowert cry tae be silent, an threitens tae send Loki tae Hel. At Thor's feenal threat, Loki gies in, commentin that anly for Thor will he lea the haw, for "A ken alsne that ye dae strick", an the poem conteenas.

In the comedic poem Þrymskviða, Thor again plays a central role. In the poem, Thor wakes an finds that his pouerfu hammer, Mjöllnir, is missin. Thor turns tae Loki, an tells him that naebody kens that the haimer has been stolen. The twa gae tae the dwallin o the goddess Freyja, an so that he mey attempt tae find Mjöllnir, Thor asks her if he mey borrae her faither claik. Freyja grees, an says she wad lend it tae Thor even gin it war made o siller or gowd, an Loki flees aff, the faither claik whistlin.

In Jötunheimr, the jötunn Þrymr sits on a barrae, plaitin gowden collars for his female dugs, an trimmin the manes o his horse. Þrymr sees Loki, an asks whit coud be amiss amang the Æsir an the elfs; why is Loki alane in Jötunheimr? Loki responds that he haes bad news for baith the elfs an the Æsir—that Thor's hammer, Mjöllnir, is gane. Þrymr says that he has hidden Mjöllnir aicht leagues aneath the yird, frae which it will be retrieved, but anly if Freyja is brocht tae him as his wife. Loki flees aff, the faither claik whistlin, awey frae Jötunheimr an back tae the coort o the gods.

Thor asks Loki if his efforts war successfu, an that Loki shoud tell him while he is still in the air as "tales eften escape a sittin man, an the man leein doun eften bairks oot lies." Loki states that it wis indeed an effort, an a success an aw, for he haes diskivert that Þrymr haes the haimer, but that it canna be retrieved unless Freyja is brocht tae Þrymr as his wife. The twa return tae Freyja an tell her tae put on a bridal heid dress, as they will drive her tae Jötunheimr. Freyja, angry, gaes intae a rage, causin aw o the haws o the Æsir tae tremmle in her anger, an her necklace, the famed Brísingamen, faws frae her. Freyja pyntitly refuises.

As a result, the gods an goddesses meet an haud a thing tae discuss an debate the maiter. At the thing, the god Heimdallr puts forth the suggestion that, in place o Freyja, Thor shoud be dressed as the bride, complete wi jewels, weemen's cleidin doun tae his knees, a bridal heid-dress, an the necklace Brísingamen. Thor rejects the idea, yet Loki interjects that this will be the anly wey tae get back Mjöllnir. Loki pynts oot that, withoot Mjöllnir, the jötnar will be able tae invade an settle in Asgard. The gods dress Thor as a bride, an Loki states that he will gae wi Thor as his maid, an that the twa shall drive tae Jötunheimr thegither.

Efter ridin thegither in Thor's gait-driven chariot, the twa, guised, arrive in Jötunheimr. Þrymr commands the jötnar in his haw tae spread strae on the benches, for Freyja haes arrived tae be his wife. Þrymr recoonts his treisurt ainimals an objects, statin that Freyja wis aw that he wis missin in his walth.

Early in the even, the guised Loki an Thor meet wi Þrymr an the assemmled jötnar. Thor eats an drinks ferociously, consumin entire ainimals an three casks o mead. Þrymr finds the behaviour at odds wi his impression o Freyja, an Loki, sittin afore Þrymr an appearin as a "verra shrewd maid", maks the excuse that "Freyja's" behaviour is due tae her haein nae consumed onything for aicht entire days afore arrivin due tae her eagerness tae arrive. Þrymr then lifts "Freyja's" veil an wants tae kiss "her". Terrifeein een stare back at him, seeminly birnin wi fire. Loki says that this is acause "Freyja" haesnae slept for aicht nichts in her eagerness.

The "wretched sister" o the jötnar appears, asks for a bridal gift frae "Freyja", an the jötnar bring oot Mjöllnir tae "sanctifee the bride", tae lay it on her lap, an mairy the twa bi "the haund" o the goddess Vár. Thor lauchs internally whan he sees the haimer, taks haud o it, strikes Þrymr, beats aw o the jötnar, kills thair "aulder sister", an sae gets his haimer back.

In the poem Alvíssmál, Thor tricks a dwarf, Alvíss, tae his duim upon findin that he seeks tae wad his dauchter (unnamed, possibly Þrúðr). As the poem stairts, Thor meets a dwarf that talks aboot gettin mairied. Thor finds the dwarf repulsive an, apparently, realises that the bride is his dauchter. Thor comments that the waddin agreement wis made amang the gods while Thor wis gane, an that the dwarf maun seek his consent. Tae dae sae, Thor says, Alvíss maun tell him whit he wants tae ken aboot aw o the warlds that the dwarf haes veesitit. In a lang quaisten an answer session, Alvíss daes exactly that; he descrives naitural featurs as thay are kent in the leids o various races o beins in the warld, an gies an amoint o cosmological lore.

Houiver, the quaisten an answer session turns oot tae be a ploy bi Thor, as, awtho Thor comments that he haes truly niver seen onyane wi mair wiceheid in thair breist, Thor haes managed tae delay the dwarf eneuch for the Sun tae turn him tae stone; "day dawns on ye nou, dwarf, nou sun shines on the haw".

In the poem Hyndluljóð, Freyja offers tae the jötunn wumman Hyndla tae blót (saicrifeece) tae Thor sae that she mey be pertectit, an comments that Thor daes nae care muckle for jötunn weemen.

Prose Edda, Heimskringla, an sagas
In the prologue tae his Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson euhemerises Thor as a prince o Troy, an the son o king Memnon bi Troana, a dauchter o Priam. Thor, kent as Tror forby, is said tae hae mairied the prophetess Sibyl (identifee'd wi Sif). Thor is forder said here tae hae been raised in Thrace bi a chieftain named Lorikus, that he later slew tae assume the teetle o "King o Thrace", tae hae haed hair "fairer nor gowd", an tae hae been strang eneuch tae lift ten beirskins.

The name o the aesir is explained as "men frae Asie," Asgard bein the "Asie ceity" (i.e., Troy). Alternatively, Troy is in Tyrkland (Turkey, i.e., Asie Minor), an Asialand is Scythia, whaur Thor foondit a new ceity named Asgard. Odin is a remote descendant o Thor, remuived bi twal generations, that led an expedeetion athort Germany, Denmark an Swaden tae Noarwa.

In the Prose Edda, Thor is mentioned in aw fower beuks; Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, an Háttatal.

In Heimskringla, componed in the 13t century bi Snorri Sturluson, Thor or statues o Thor are mentioned in Ynglinga saga, Hákonar saga góða, Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar, an Óláfs saga helga. In Ynglinga saga chaipter 5, a hivily euhemerised accoont o the gods is providit, whaur Thor is descrived as haein been a gothi—a pagan priest—that wis gien bi Odin (that himsel is explained awey as haein been an exceedinly pouerfu magic-wieldin chieftain frae the east) a dwallin in the meethical location o Þrúðvangr, in whit is nou Swaden. The saga narrative adds that numerous names—at the time o the narrative, popularly in uise—war derived frae Thor.

References

Soorces

Sky an wather gods
Thunner gods
Germanic deities
Æsir
Sons o Odin

Thor


Year 480 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar.

Events

By place

Greece
 May – King Xerxes I of Persia marches from Sardis and onto Thrace and Macedonia.
 A force of 10,000 Greeks goes to the Vale of Tempe.
 August 11 – The Battle of Thermopylae ends in victory for the Persians under Xerxes.
 Pausanias becomes regent for Leonidas' son, Pleistarchus, after Leonidas I is killed at Thermopylae.
 Phocis and the coasts of Euboea are ruined by the Persians. Thebes and most of Boeotia join Xerxes.
 King Alexander I of Macedon must join Xerxes in a battle through Greece.
 August – The Persians win over the Greeks in the Battle of Artemisium.
 September 21 – The Persians sack Athens.  The people leave to Salamis and then Peloponnesus.
 September 28 – The Battle of Salamis brings victory to the Greeks.

Roman Republic
 Roman troops march against the Veintes.

Sicily
 Xerxes wants the Carthaginians to attack the Greeks in Sicily. Carthage sends across a large army.
 The Greek city of Himera asks for Carthaginian support in its fight with Akragas. With the help of Gelo, the Carthaginians are defeated in the Battle of Himera. After the defeat, Hamilcar kills himself.

Persian empire
 The Imperial treasury at the Persepolis Palace is completed after a building time of thirty years.

By topic

Arts
 The archaic period of sculpture ends in Greece.  The Severe (Early Classical) period starts(approximate date).
 A sculpture of a Dying warrior is made in the left corner of the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaea in Aegina (approximate date). Today, it is kept at the Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek in Munich, Germany.
 The sculpture of a Kritios Boy is made on Acropolis, Athens (approximate date). It is now kept in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
 Work begins on the detail Musicians and Dancers on a wall painting in the Tomb of the Lionesses in Tarquinia. It is finished about ten years later.

Births

 Euripides, Greek playwright (d. 406 BC)
 Antiphon, Attic orator (d. 411 BC)
 Philolaus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (d. c. 405 BC)

Deaths

 August 11 – Leonidas I, Agiad King of Sparta (died at Thermopylae)
 Xenophanes, Greek philosopher (b. 570 BC)
 Hamilcar, Carthaginian general

480 BC


The Euclidean algorithm is an algorithm. It can be used to find the biggest number that divides two other numbers (the greatest common divisor of two numbers).

What the algorithm looks like in words
Euclid solved the problem graphically. He said
If you have two distances, AB and CD, and you always take away the smaller from the bigger, you will end up with a distance that measures both of them.

The algorithm as an enumerated list
Start out with two positive integers m and n.
 If the value of m is less than the value of n, switch the values of m and n
 Find a number r equal to m modulo n
 Let m have the same value as n
 Let n have the same value as r
 If n does not have the value of 0, go to step 2
 The wanted value is in m.

The algorithm in pseudocode
Note: This pseudocode uses modular arithmetic instead of subtraction. It does the same thing as above, but gets the answer faster.

Precondition: two positive integers m and n
Postcondition: the greatest common integer divisor of m and n
if m < n, swap(m,n)
while n does not equal 0
   r = m mod n
   m = n
   n = r
endwhile
output m

C/C++ source code
Iterative (Non-recursive):
int euclid_gcd(int m, int n)
{
	int temp = 0;
	if(m < n)
	{
		temp = m;
		m = n;
		n = temp;
	}
	while(n != 0)
	{
		temp = m % n;
		m = n;
		n = temp;
	}
	return m;
}

Recursive:
int euclid_gcd_recur(int m, int n)
{
	if(n == 0)
		return m;

	return euclid_gcd_recur(n, m % n);
}

Algorithms
Number theory

Euclidean algorithm


The genus Thryonomys, also known as the cane rats or grasscutters, is a genus of rodent found throughout Africa south of the Sahara, the only members of the family Thryonomyidae. They are eaten in some African countries and are a pest species on many crops. The family name comes from the Greek word thryon, meaning a "rush" or "reed" and mys meaning "mouse".

Characteristics
Cane rats range in body length from 35–60 centimetres. They attain weights of around 3-6kg and in some cases up to 10kg. They are heavily built rodents, with bristly brown fur speckled with yellow or grey. They live in marshy areas and along river and lake banks, and are herbivores, feeding on aquatic grasses in the wild. In agricultural areas they will – as the name suggests – feed on sugarcane in plantations, making them a significant crop pest.

Females give birth to litters of 2–4 young at least once a year, and more frequently in some areas. Cane rats are sexually mature and able to reproduce at 6 months of age.

Relationship with humans
Cane rats are widely distributed and farmers expend substantial energy fencing the rodents out of their fields, but they are also valued as a source of "bushmeat" in West and Central Africa. Like the guinea pig, their meat is of a higher protein but lower fat content than conventional livestock; it is also appreciated for its tenderness and taste.

In the savanna area of West Africa, people have traditionally captured wild cane rats and fattened them in captivity. More recently, intensive production of cane rats has been undertaken in countries such as Benin and Togo and agricultural extension services in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have also encouraged farmers to rear these rodents in rural and peri-urban areas. Research carried out over the last two decades has allowed the selection and improvement of stock for captivity and much of the knowledge and techniques for cane rat breeding has been determined from work carried out at the Benin-Germany breeding station, which was established in the mid-1980s. Practical information is now more readily available for farmers interested in cane rat breeding, but training is still advised.

Cane rats are not the most prolific of rodent species, but the high demand, attractive market price, and the small amount of investment required makes cane rats a suitable mini-livestock activity for income generation in many parts of West and Central Africa.

Conservation status
There are areas where they have been over-hunted, and savanna habitat is often at risk during the dry season from bushfires, which are lit during bushmeat hunting expeditions. However, the high exploitation of cane rats in the wild has not had a serious effect on their numbers, and in fact some researchers believe that their populations may actually be increasing due to deforestation and changing land use patterns in West Africa as they have adapted to deforested areas and occur in close proximity to farmlands and people.

References

External links

Rodents by common name
Hystricognath rodents
Extant Eocene first appearances
Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger

Cane rat


The Fourth Coalition fought in a war against Napoleon's French Empire from 1806–1807. The coalition was defeated.

Countries in the Coalition included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain. Several members of the coalition had previously been fighting France in the Third Coalition, and there wasn't any peace in between wars. On October 9, 1806, Prussia joined a new coalition, fearing that France was becoming more powerful after it defeated Austria and established the Confederation of the Rhine. Prussia and Russia prepared for a new campaign. Prussian troops moved to Saxony.

On 14 October 1806, the French defeated the Prussian army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstadt.  Then French forces occupied Prussia and captured Berlin. Later they advanced towards Poland and Russia. On 7-8 February 1807, the French and Russian armies fought the Battle of Eylau. There was no clear winner. On 14 June 1807, the French defeated the Russians at the Battle of Friedland. In July 1807, France made peace with Russia, ending the war. This left Napoleon as ruler of most of western and central Europe. The exceptions were Spain, Portugal, Austria, and a few smaller states. These were able to remain independent.

Even though the Fourth Coalition came to an end, Britain remained at war with France. Later that year, the Peninsular War started.

References

1800s in Europe
fourth coalition
19th-century conflicts

War of the Fourth Coalition


William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 Juin 1837) wis Keeng o the Unitit Kinrick o Great Breetain an Ireland an o Hanover frae 26 Juin 1830 till his daith. The third son o George III, William succeedit his elder brither George IV, as the last king an penultimate monarch o Breetain's Hoose o Hanover.

William served in the Ryal Navy in his youth an wis, baith in his ring an afterwards, nicknamed the "Sailor Keeng". He served in North Americae an the Caribbean. In 1789, he wis creatit Duke o Clarence an St Andras. Syne his twa aulder brithers dee'd withoot leavin legitimate issue, he inheritit the throne whan he wis 64 year auld. His ring saw several reforms: the puir law wis updatit, child labour restrictit, sclavery abolished in nearly aw o the Breetish Empire, an the Breetish electoral seestem refashioned bi the Reform Act 1832. Awtho William did nae engage in politics as muckle as his brither or his faither, he wis the last monarch tae appynt a prime meenister contrar tae the will o Pairlament. Throu his brither Adolphus, the Viceroy o Hanover, he grantit his German kinrick a short-leeved leeberal constitution.

At the time o his daith William haed na surviving legitimate childer, but he wis survived bi aicht o the ten illegitimate childer he had bi the actress Dorothea Jordan, wi that he cohabitit for twunty years. William wis succeedit in the Unitit Kinrick bi his niece Victoria an in Hanover bi his brither Ernest Augustus.

Issue
 Princess Charlotte o Clarence	27 Mairch 1819) died a few hours after being baptised, in Hanover.
 Stillborn child (5 September 1819)	born dead.
 Princess Elizabeth o Clarence	(10 December 1820 - 4 Mairch 1821) died young.
 Stillborn twin boys	(8 Aprile 1822)

References

1765 births
1837 daiths
Cardiovascular disease daiths in Ingland
Clarence an St Andrews
Munster
Fellaes o the Society o Antiquaries o Lunnon
Hanoverian princes
Keengs o Hanover
Knichts o the Gairten
Knichts o the Thristle
Laird Heich Admirals
Members o the Privy Cooncil o Great Breetain
Monarchs o the Unitit Kinrick
Fowk frae Wastmeenster
Princes o Great Breetain
Princes o the Unitit Kinrick
Protestant monarchs
Recipients o the Order o the Black Eagle
Supernumerary Knichts o the Order o the Haly Spirit
Recipients o the Order o Saunt Andrew
Buirials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
19t-century monarchs in Europe
Ryal Navy personnel o the Napoleonic Wars

William IV o the Unitit Kinrick


Remco Campert (28 July 1929 – 4 July 2022) was a Dutch author, poet and columnist.

Early years
Remco Wouter Campert was born in The Hague, son of writer and poet Jan Campert, author of the poem De achttien dooden, and actress Joekie Broedelet. His parents separated when he was three years old, causing him to sometimes live with either of his parents and sometimes his grandparents, depending on situations and circumstances. His father died in 1943 in a Nazi concentration camp, Neuengamme. Remco then went to live with his mother. They returned to Amsterdam after World War II in 1945, after having spent the three preceding years in the town of Epe.

His writings
In Amsterdam, he started a secondary education at the Amsterdam Lyceum, occasionally writing articles or drawing comics for the school's newspaper. As the years went on, he skipped more and more classes and spent increasing amounts of time in cinemas, jazz clubs or pubs. He finally left school without graduating. With Rudy Kousbroek, a school friend, he founded the magazine Braak in May 1950. Between 1949 and 1952 Campert drew cartoons for the Dutch magazine Mandrill and Het Parool and in the 1970s for Haagse Post too. In 1979 he drew comics for NRC Handelsblad.

Campert married Freddie Rutgers in 1949, but they separated five years later. In order to finance his living, Campert resorted to writing commercial texts or jingles as well as translating foreign literary works. He later married author Fritzi ten Harmsen van der Beek (daughter of comics artist Harmsen van der Beek), with whom he lived in Blaricum until 1957, when he returned to Amsterdam. He divorced his second wife and married Lucia van den Berg in 1961. They moved to Antwerp in 1964, but Campert returned to Amsterdam two years later. There, he met art gallery owner Deborah Wolf, with whom he lived until 1980.

He has mostly kept quiet about his life in the following years, however, he once explained his situation in 1994, in an interview to Cees van Hoore, journalist of newspaper 'Nieuwsblad van het Noorden'. He was quoted as saying; "I don't choke myself. I'm my own best company. Whenever I lived together with someone, I felt like being underwater for days on end. To be together is to be twice alone and I don't need that. I'm more than happily married to my career."

By the end of the 1970s, he had written very little. He explained to journalist Jan Brokken of the Dutch newspaper Haagse Post: "I couldn't write for years on end. I didn't feel like it. I felt a physical repulsion towards it. I thought about it, but I was paralysed by doubts."

He resumed writing in 1979. He wrote Somberman's actie in 1985. From 1989 until 1995, Campert starred in theatres throughout the nation and beyond in a play he had created together with Jan Mulder (author and ex-football player). Their shows were based on both their literary works. 1995 was also the year he read his bestseller novel 'Het leven is vurrukkulluk' on the radio.

Dutch people of older generations will most likely associate his name with CaMu, the partnership between Remco Campert and Jan Mulder that wrote daily front-page columns for national newspaper 'de Volkskrant' from 1995 until 2006. These columns traditionally have been bundled into books titled CaMu ....: Het jaaroverzicht van Remco Campert en Jan Mulder at the end of each year.

Bibliography

 1950 'Ten lessons with Timothy' (poems).
 1951 'Vogels vliegen toch' (poems).
 1952 'Een standbeeld opwinden' (poems).
 1953 'Berchtesgaden' (poems).
 1953 'Eendjes voeren' (short stories).
 1955 'Alle dagen feest' (short stories).
 1955 'Het huis waarin ik woonde' (poems).
 1955 'Met man en muis' (poems).
 1956 'Lodewijk Sebastiaan' (short stories).
 1956 'Van de wijs' (short stories).
 1958 'De jongen met het mes en andere verhalen' (short stories).
 1959 'Bij hoog en bij laag' (poems).
 1960 'Een ellendige nietsnut en andere verhalen' (short stories).
 1961 'Het leven is vurrukkulluk' (novel).
 1962 'Dit gebeurde overal' (poems, also appeared in English under the title 'This happened everywhere').
 1962 'Het paard van Ome Loeks' (short stories).
 1963 'Liefdes schijnbewegingen : een leesboek' (novel, also appeared in English under the title 'No holds barred')
 1964 'Nacht op de kale dwerg' (short stories).
 1965 'Het gangstermeisje' (novel, also appeared in English under the title 'The gangster girl').
 1965 'Hoera, hoera' (poems).
 1968 'Fabeltjes vertellen' (short stories).
 1968 'Mijn leven's liederen' (poems).
 1968 'Tjeempie! of Liesje in Luiletterland' (novel).
 1969 'Hoe ik mijn verjaardag vierde' (short stories).
 1970 'Betere tijden' (poems).
 1971 'Campert Compleet' (short stories).
 1972 'James Dean en het verdriet' (short stories).
 1974 'Basta het toverkonijn' (short stories).
 1974 'Op reis' (novel, written together with Willem Malsen).
 1976 'Alle bundels gedichten' (poems).
 1976 'Luister goed naar wat ik verzwijg' (thoughts and philosophies).
 1978 'Waar is Remco Campert?' (short stories).
 1979 'Theater' (poems).
 1980 'Na de troonrede' (short stories).
 1980 'De tijden' (novel).
 1982 'Een beetje natuur' (short stories).
 1983 'De Harm & Miepje Kurk Story' (novel).
 1983 'Scènes in Hotel Morandi' (poems).
 1984 'Amsterdamse dagen' (poems).
 1984 'Drie vergeten gedichten' (poems).
 1984 'Kinderverhalen van Remco Campert' (short children's stories).
 1984 'Wie doet de koningin?' (short stories).
 1984 'Zeven vrijheden' (poems).
 1985 'Somberman's actie' (novel, "Boekenweekgeschenk").
 1985 'Somberman's maandag' (novel).
 1985 'Zijn hoofd verliezen' (novel).
 1986 'Collega's (poems).
 1986 'Rustig' (novel).
 1986 'Tot zoens' (short stories).
 1987 'Eetlezen' (columns).
 1988 'Een neger uit Mozambique : een keuze uit de gedichten' (poems).
 1988 'Toen ik je zag' (Poems accompanying photographs of Peter Dejong).
 1989 'Zachtjes neerkomen' (novel).
 1990 'Gouden dagen' (novel).
 1990 'Graag gedaan' (columns and short stories).
 1991 'Campert compleet vervolg : verhalen 1971–1991' (short stories).
 1991 'Dansschoenen' (novel).
 1992 'Rechterschoenen' (poems).
 1993 'Het bijzettafeltje' (columns).
  1994 'Fiebelekwinten' (short stories, written together with Jan Mulder).
  1994 'Restbeelden : notities van Izegrim' (poems).
  1994 'Straatfotografie' (poems).
  1994 'Vele kleintjes' (columns).
  1995 'Dichter' (poems).
 1995 'Ohi, hoho, bang, bang, of Het lied van de vrijheid' (novel).
 1996 'De zomer van de zwarte jurkjes' (columns).
 1998 'Een mooie jonge vriendin en andere belevenissen (short stories)
 2004 'Een liefde in Parijs' (novel).
 2006 'Het satijnen hart' (novel).
 2007 'I Dreamed in the Cities at Night' (selected poems translated to English by Donald Gardner)
 2007 'Dagboek van een poes' (short story)
 2010 'Om vijf uur in de middag' (short stories).
 2013 'Hôtel du Nord' (novel)

Literary awards
 1953 – Reina Prinsen Geerligs Award for 'Berchtesgaden'
 1955 – Poetry award of the city of Amsterdam for 'Gedicht met een moraal'
 1956 – Jan Campert award for 'Met man en muis en Het huis waarin ik woonde'
 1958 – Anne Frank award for 'Vogels vliegen toch'
 1959 – Proza award of the city of Amsterdam for 'De jongen met het mes'
 1960 – Award of the Amsterdamse Art-council for 'De jongen met het mes'
 1976 – P.C. Hooft-award for his poetic works
 1987 – Cestoda-award
 2011 – Gouden Ganzenveer
 2015 – Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren

References

External links

 Lambiek Comiclopedia article about his life and career.
 Remco Campert at World Cat Identities

1929 births
2022 deaths
20th-century Dutch novelists
20th-century Dutch male writers
21st-century Dutch novelists
Dutch humorists
Dutch satirists
Dutch male poets
Dutch cartoonists
Dutch comics artists
Writers from Amsterdam
Writers from The Hague
P. C. Hooft Award winners
Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren winners
Dutch male novelists
21st-century Dutch male writers

Remco Campert


Kudzinda (reluctance, unwillingness) - rinoreva kusada kuita chinhu chiri kutaurwa.

Dzindi (Working against; or opposing) - Akamuti dzindi achimurevera nhema. Apa kureva He worked against him by telling lies about him.
Dzinduka (Be resistant) - Injini yeBhazi yaidzinduka kumuka mangwanani nokuti kwakanga kuri kutonhora.

Kurerutsa Mutauro

Mwana kana achidzinda-dzinda ndiko kuzivisa vabereki kuti haasakabudirira muchikoro. Apa kureva When a child shows unwillingness to do anything at home that is a sign to his parents that he has failed at school.

Mitauro yeBantu

AmaZulu vanoti zinda (remain behind, hold back, be reluctant) vachireva kudzinda.
MaZulu vanoti zinda (2. be firmly based; stand firm upon something) vachireva kudzika midzi panzvimbo.
MaZulu vanoti Lendlu izinde emadwaleni (This house is built on rock) vachireva imba iyi yakadzikwa padombo.

dzidzo

Kudzinda


Fargo is a 1996 American black comedy-drama crime thriller movie. The Coen brothers made this movie, which is set in 1987. Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi and William H. Macy star in the movie as a detective, a criminal, and a car salesman, respectively. It is a dark comedy about the police investigation of some murders and bad business activities.

In 2006 it was put into the United States National Film Registry because the group thought it was culturally, historically, or aesthetically important enough to be recognized in their collection. It inspired a TV series of the same name

Part of the movie is set in Fargo, North Dakota. The majority is set in Minneapolis and Brainerd, Minnesota. It shows the culture and accent of many of the people who live there.

References

Other websites

1990s black comedy movies
1996 comedy-drama movies
1996 crime drama movies
1996 crime thriller movies
1990s criminal comedy movies
1996 drama thriller movies
Academy Award winning movies
American criminal comedy movies
American crime drama movies
American crime thriller movies
American drama thriller movies
1990s English-language movies
Fargo, North Dakota
Film noir
Movies set in Minnesota
Movies set in 1987
Movies directed by the Coen brothers
Movies set in North Dakota

Fargo (movie)


A spectrophotometer measures either the amount of light reflected from a sample object or the amount of light that is absorbed by the sample object. Spectrophotometry is the quantity based study of electromagnetic spectra.

Design

In short, the sequence of events in a modern spectrophotometer is as follows:
 The light source shines on the sample.
 A fraction of the light is transmitted or reflected from the sample
 The light from the sample is directed to the entrance slit of the monochromator
 The monochromator separates the wavelengths of light and focuses each of them onto the photodetector sequentially.

There are two kinds of spectrophotometers: single beam and double beam. A double beam spectrophotometer compares the light intensity between two light paths. One path containing a reference sample, the other holding the test sample. A single beam spectrophotometer measures the relative light intensity of the beam before and after a test sample is inserted. A double beam machine makes comparison readings easier and more stable. But a single beam machine can have measure a wider range of light frequencies. Single beam machines have simple optical systems and are more compact. When the spectrophotometer is built into another device (like microscopes or telescopes) only single beam machines will work.

Many older spectrophotometers must be calibrated by a procedure known as "zeroing." The absorbancy of a reference substance is set as a baseline value, so the absorbancies of all other substances are recorded relative to the initial "zeroed" substance. The spectrophotometer then displays % absorbancy (the amount of light absorbed relative to the initial substance).

Spectrophotometers can also measure luminescence.  For example, the machine can shine ultraviolet light of one frequency on the sample. This will excite the sample and make it glow. The detectors can then measure the light glowing from the sample at a different frequency.

References

Spectroscopy

Spectrophotometer


Gubbio () is an Italian town and comune in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines.

History
The city's origins are very ancient. The hills above the town were already occupied in the Bronze Age. As Ikuvium, it was an important town of the Umbri in pre-Roman times, made famous for the discovery there in 1444 of the Iguvine Tablets, a set of bronze tablets that together constitute the largest surviving text in the Umbrian language. After the Roman conquest in the 2nd century BC – it kept its name as Iguvium – the city remained important, as attested by its Roman theatre, the second-largest surviving in the world.

Gubbio became very powerful in the beginning of the Middle Ages. The town sent 1000 knights to fight in the First Crusade under the lead of Girolamo of the prominent Gabrielli family, who according to an undocumented local tradition, they were the first to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre when Jerusalem was seized (1099).

The following centuries in Gubbio were turbulent, featuring wars against the neighboring towns of Umbria. One of these wars saw the miraculous intervention of its bishop, Ubald, who secured Gubbio an overwhelming victory (1151) and a period of prosperity. In the struggles of Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Gabrielli, such as the  Cante dei Gabrielli (c. 1260–1335), fought for the Guelph faction, supporting the papacy. As Podestà of Florence, Cante exiled Dante Alighieri, ensuring his own lasting notoriety.

In 1350 Giovanni Gabrielli, count of Borgovalle seized power as the lord of Gubbio. His rule was short, and he was forced to hand over the town to Cardinal Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz, representing the Papal states (1354).

A few years later, Gabriello Gabrielli, the bishop of Gubbio, also proclaimed himself lord of Gubbio (). Betrayed by a group of noblemen which included many of his relatives, the bishop was forced to leave the town and seek refuge at his home castle at Cantiano.

With the decline of the political prestige of the Gabrielli, Gubbio was thereafter incorporated into the territories of the House of Montefeltro. The lord of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro rebuilt the ancient Palazzo Ducale in Gubbio, incorporating in it a studiolo veneered with intarsia like his studiolo at Urbino. The maiolica industry at Gubbio reached its apogee in the first half of the 16th century, with metallic lustre glazes imitating gold and copper.

Gubbio became part of the Papal States in 1631, when the della Rovere family, to whom the Duchy of Urbino had been granted, was extinguished. In 1860 Gubbio was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy along with the rest of the Papal States.

The name of the Pamphili family, a great papal family, originated in Gubbio then went to Rome under the pontificate of Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492), and is immortalized by Diego Velázquez and his portrait of Pope Innocent X.

Geography

Overview
The town is located in northern Umbria, near the border with Marche. The municipality borders Cagli (PU), Cantiano (PU), Costacciaro, Fossato di Vico, Gualdo Tadino, Perugia, Pietralunga, Scheggia e Pascelupo, Sigillo, Umbertide and Valfabbrica.

Frazioni
The frazioni (territorial subdivisions) of the comune of Gubbio are the villages of: Belvedere, Bevelle, Biscina, Branca, Burano, Camporeggiano, Carbonesca, Casamorcia-Raggio, Cipolleto, Colonnata, Colpalombo, Ferratelle, Loreto, Magrano, Mocaiana, Monteleto, Monteluiano, Nogna, Padule, Petroia, Ponte d'Assi, Raggio, San Benedetto Vecchio, San Marco, San Martino in Colle, Santa Cristina, Scritto, Semonte, Spada, Torre Calzolari and Villa Magna.

Monuments and sites of interest

The historical centre of Gubbio has a decidedly medieval aspect: the town is austere in appearance because of the dark grey stone, narrow streets, and Gothic architecture. Many houses in central Gubbio date to the 14th and 15th centuries, and were originally the dwellings of wealthy merchants. They often have a second door fronting on the street, usually just a few inches from the main entrance. This secondary entrance is narrower, and a foot or so above the actual street level. This type of door is called a porta dei morti (door of the dead) because it was proposed that they were used to remove the bodies of any who might have died inside the house. This is almost certainly false, but there is no agreement as to the purpose of the secondary doors. A more likely theory is that the door was used by the owners to protect themselves when opening to unknown persons, leaving them in a dominating position.

Religious architecture or sites
Duomo: This Cathedral was built in the late 12th century. The most striking feature is the rose-window in the façade with, at its sides, the symbols of the Evangelists: the eagle for John the Evangelist, the lion for Mark the Evangelist, the angel for Matthew the Apostle and the ox for Luke the Evangelist. The interior has latine cross plan with a single nave. The most precious art piece is the wooden Christ over the altar, of Umbrian school.
San Francesco: This church from the second half of the 13th century is the sole religious edifice in the city having a nave with two aisles. The vaults are supported by octagonal pilasters. The frescoes in the left side date from the 15th century.
Santa Maria Nuova: This is a typical Cistercian church of the 13th century. In the interior is a 14th-century fresco portraying the so-called Madonna del Belvedere (1413), by Ottaviano Nelli. It also has a work by Guido Palmeruccio. Also from the Cistercians is the Convent of St. Augustine, with some frescoes by Nelli.
Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo, with a nave and four aisles is a sanctuary outside the city. Noteworthy are the marble altar and the great windows with episodes of the life of Ubald, patron of Gubbio. The finely sculpted portals and the fragmentary frescoes give a hint of the magnificent 15th-century decoration once boasted by the basilica.
San Giovanni Battista, Gubbio: 13th-century church withone nave only with four transversal arches supporting the pitched roof,a model for later Gubbio churches.
San Domenico, once known as San Martino
Sant'Agostino
Santa Croce della Foce

Secular architecture or sites
Roman Theater: This ancient open air theater built in the 1st century BC using square blocks of local limestone. Traces of mosaic decoration have been found. Originally, the diameter of the cavea was 70 metres, and could house up to 6,000 spectators.
Roman Mausoleum: This Mausoleum is sometimes said to be of Gaius Pomponius Graecinus, but on no satisfactory grounds.
Palazzo dei Consoli: Dating to the first half of the 14th century, this massive palace, is now a museum housing the Iguvine Tablets.
Palazzo and Torre Gabrielli
Palazzo Ducale: The Palace built from 1470 by Luciano Laurana or Francesco di Giorgio Martini for Federico da Montefeltro. Famous is the inner court, reminiscent of the Palazzo Ducale, Urbino.
Museo Cante Gabrielli: This museum is housed in the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, which once belonged to the Gabrielli family.
Vivian Gabriel Oriental Collection: This is a museum of Tibetan, Nepalese, Chinese and Indian art. The collection was donated to the municipality by Edmund Vivian Gabriel (1875–1950), British colonial officer and adventurer, collateral descendant of the Gabrielli who were lords of Gubbio in the Middle Ages.

Culture

Gubbio is home to the Corsa dei Ceri, a run held every year always on Saint Ubaldo Day, the 15th day of May, in which three teams, devoted to Ubald, Saint George and Saint Anthony the Great run through throngs of cheering supporters clad in the distinctive colours of yellow, blue and black, with white trousers and red belts and neckbands, up much of the mountain from the main square in front of the Palazzo dei Consoli to the basilica of St. Ubaldo, each team carrying a statue of their saint mounted on a wooden octagonal prism, similar to an hour-glass shape  tall and weighing about .

The race has strong devotional, civic, and historical overtones and is one of the best-known folklore manifestations in Italy; the Ceri were chosen as the heraldic emblem on the coat of arms of Umbria as a modern administrative region.

A celebration like the Corsa dei Ceri is held also in Jessup, Pennsylvania.  In this small town the people carry out the same festivities as the residents of Gubbio do by "racing" the three statues through the streets during the Memorial Day weekend.  This remains an important and sacred event in both towns.

Gubbio was also one of the centres of production of the Italian pottery (maiolica), during the Renaissance. The most important Italian potter of that period, Giorgio Andreoli, was active in Gubbio during the early 16th century.

The town's most famous story is that of "The Wolf of Gubbio"; a man eating wolf that was tamed by St. Francis of Assisi and who then became a docile resident of the city. The legend is related in the 14th-century Little Flowers of St. Francis.

The Gubbio Layer

Gubbio is also known among geologists and palaeontologists as the discovery place of what was at first called the "Gubbio layer", a sedimentary layer enriched in iridium that was exposed by a roadcut outside of town.  This thin, dark band of sediment marks the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, also known as the K–T boundary or K–Pg boundary, between the Cretaceous and Paleogene geological periods about  million years ago, and was formed by infalling debris from the gigantic meteor impact probably responsible for the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.  Its iridium, a heavy metal rare on Earth's surface, is plentiful in extraterrestrial material such as comets and asteroids.  It also contains small globules of glassy material called tektites, formed in the initial impact.  Discovered at Gubbio, the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary is also visible at many places all over the world.  The characteristics of this boundary layer support the theory that a devastating meteorite impact, with accompanying ecological and climatic disturbance, was directly responsible for the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

Gubbio in fiction

In Hermann Hesse's novel Steppenwolf (1927) the isolated and tormented protagonist – a namesake of the wolf – consoles himself at one point by recalling a scene that the author might have beheld during his travels: "(...) that slender cypress on the hill over Gubbio that, though split and riven by a fall of stone, yet held fast to life and put forth with its last resources a new sparse tuft at the top".

The town is a backdrop in Antal Szerb's novel Journey by Moonlight (1937) as well as Danièle Sallenave's Les Portes de Gubbio (1980).

The TV series Don Matteo, where the title character ministers to his parish while solving crimes, was shot on location in Gubbio between 2000 and 2011.

Other
Anna Moroni, a popular cook on the Italian daytime TV series "La Prova del Cuoco" discusses Gubbio in many of her TV segments. She often cooks dishes from the region on TV, and she featured Gubbio in her first book.

Sport
A.S. Gubbio 1910 football club play in Serie C at the Pietro Barbetti Stadium.

Transportation
The city is served by Fossato di Vico–Gubbio railway station located in Fossato di Vico; until 1945 was also operating the Central Apennine railway (Ferrovia Appenino Centrale abbreviation FAC) with a narrow gauge which departed from Arezzo and reached as far as Fossato di Vico and in Gubbio had his own railway station located in via Beniamino Ubaldi 2, now completely demolished.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities
Gubbio is twinned with:

Notable people

Giosuè Fioriti (born 1989), Italian footballer

See also
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gubbio
Mount Ingino Christmas Tree

References

External links

Official website
Official site of the Festa dei Ceri
Gubbio at Associazione Eugubini nel Mondo website
Thayer's Gazetteer
Rugby Gubbio - Official Web Site
Paradoxplace Gubbio Photo Pages
Sbandieratori di Gubbio (flag-wavers, flag-throwers)

The Gubbio Studiolo and its conservation, volumes 1 & 2, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Gubbio (see index)
Period Rooms in the Metropolitan Museum of Art , from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Gubbio (see index)

Hilltowns in Umbria
Roman sites of Umbria

Gubbio


The Laurier Avenue Bridge is a bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It carries Laurier Avenue over the Rideau Canal and also Colonel By Drive and Queen Elizabeth Driveway. The green steel arches makes the bridge one of the most recognizable in Ottawa. Many of the events of Winterlude are held around the bridge, and it is a common background to pictures of skaters on the canal. The southern entrance to the Department of National Defence Headquarters is located on the eastern portion of the bridge.

The first bridge in the location was constructed in 1872. The current four lane bridge was originally built in 1900 and it was extended to the west in 1945. It was originally operated by the National Capital Commission, but in 1996 it and the Mackenzie King Bridge were handed over to the city as the NCC did not have enough money for needed maintenance. In 2001, the bridge was expanded and repaired. The top surface was expanded by 50% allowing wider lanes, dedicated bike paths, and much wider sidewalks. The area around the bridge was also beautified with landscaping and new stairs connecting to the bridge.

See also

Plaza Bridge (Ottawa)

References

"Laurier Bridge's widening complete." Jennifer Campbell. The Ottawa Citizen. Nov 21, 2003. pg. F.1.Fro

Bridges in Ottawa
Bridges completed in 1900
Road bridges in Ontario
Bridges completed in 1872
1872 establishments in Ontario
1900 establishments in Ontario

Laurier Avenue Bridge


Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder (a disease a person is born with) where a person's body cannot break down an amino acid called phenylalanine. Amino acids are necessary to make proteins, an important part of the human body. Phenylalanine only comes from the food we eat; our bodies do not make any by themselves.

How it works

Average people produce an enzyme called phenylalanine hydroxylase in their bodies. When they ingest phenylalanine, the body cannot use it, so this enzyme changes phenylalanine into tyrosine, which the body can use. In people with PKU, very little or no enzyme is made. Since the phenylalanine they eat is not being changed into tyrosine, it builds up in their bodies. This can cause problems with the way their bodies work.

Symptoms
Symptoms vary from person to person. Because of the rarity of PKU, many symptoms go undiagnosed or unrecognized. In addition, there are variations in the categories of PKU individuals. There are untreated, early treated, late treated, those returning to diet, Hyperphe, Classical PKU, uncontrolled, and highly controlled. For your average infant a doctor will diagnose PKU with a quick blood test. Their symptom will be high PHE levels. If that infant goes undiagnosed for weeks or months, he/she may start to exhibit some or all of the following symptoms for uncontrolled PKU. The symptoms include:

 focus/concentration problems
 seizures
 lowered intelligence
 tremors
 problems with memory
 gait (walking) problems
 anxiety
 skin problems
 depression
 mousy odor
 aggression
 irritability
 phobias
 mental fog
 slower thinking and response
 hyperactivity
 lethargy
 social anxiety
 decreased motor function and hand/eye coordination
 fatigue
 psychotic symptoms
 mild paralysis
 autistic behaviors
 social withdrawals
 lack of autonomy
 social maturity deficits
 decreased positive emotions
 low self-esteem

Treatment

Today, scientists know what foods have phenylalanine in them, and they have created a special diet for people with PKU. Since they cannot use it, people with PKU cannot eat foods that have a lot of phenylalanine, like eggs, meat and milk. An artificial sweetener called aspartame is also a source of phenylalanine. People with PKU take a lot of vitamins to make up for the foods they cannot eat, especially vitamins B6 and B12.

Babies with PKU are fed a special formula.  It has everything babies need to stay healthy, but with very little phenylalanine. There are also low protein foods like breads and flour (Made from corn and starch instead of regular wheat).

Women with PKU who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant have to be especially careful to follow this diet. If they do not follow the diet, their babies could be born with severe birth defects and mental retardation. Babies born to women with PKU who have followed the PKU diet throughout their pregnancy are usually healthy and do not necessarily but may develop PKU. Whether or not they have PKU themselves depends on the mother and father's genes. In fact there are people who are Carriers  (Dormant Genes) that can be passed on until they resurface in the future generations. These are so far undetectable, However, since PKU is genetically recessive it takes PKU genes from both parents to cause PKU.

PKU kids usually have light hair and eyes due to the effect of phenylalanine in the production of melanin.  They also tend to have very fair skin which can cause them to burn easily. Solar protection is a must for those who wish to work, play, or engage in activities outdoors.

Future

Most people with PKU can live as long and healthy as anyone else if the low-phenylalanine diet is started when they are babies and continued for the rest of their lives. The symptoms will usually disappear after the diet is started.

Other websites

Genetic disorders

Phenylketonuria


Castella (Kasutera in Japanese) is a sponge cake produced in Japan. It is made of sugar, flour, eggs, and starch syrup, very common at festivals and as a street food.
It was originally produced in Portugal during medieval times, and when the Portuguese reached Japan they gave some of it to the Japanese nobility. The name is derived from Portuguese Pão de Castela which means "bread of Spain".

Cakes

Castella


Lust is a term for a strong desire or wanting, or maybe even needing, often for sexual acts, although it is also commonly used to talk of a lust for life or a lust for power or for other goals.

As a sexual desire, it is considered a sin (a failing) by Christianity, which lists it as one of the seven deadly sins.

"Lust" was originally an Anglo-Saxon word which meant "desire" or "appetite".

Seven deadly sins
Emotions

Lust


Lady Frances Brandon (16 July 1517 – 20 November 1559) was the daughter of Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. She was married to Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk and had three daughters: Jane, Mary and Katherine. Her daughter Jane became the Queen of England for nine days.

Life
Frances Brandon was a cruel, abusive mother to her children and a bold wife to her husband, Henry Grey. She had spent her childhood with her mother and was very close to Catherine of Aragon, so she was against Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn. In 1533, she married Henry Grey and soon she had two children who died young before having Lady Jane Grey in 1537, Katherine in 1540, and Mary in 1545.
In 1554, just weeks after her daughter Lady Jane Grey's and her husband Henry Grey's execution, Frances married again. This time it was to Adrian Stokes. Many people were shocked about this marriage, because Adrian was far below Frances's status. Historians believe that Frances was pregnant at the time of their marriage because she gave birth to a child about six months later. This child did not survive and Frances had two others. None of these last three children lived past a year.

Death
Frances became increasingly large similar to her great-uncle Henry VIII. Because of this, she died in 1559 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

References
 Frances Brandon A detailed reference to Frances's relationship with her daughter

1517 births
1559 deaths
Dukes and duchesses
People buried in Westminster Abbey
English nobility
House of Tudor

Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk