Amadeus IV (119711 June 1253) was Count of Savoy from 1233 to 1253.

Amadeus was born in Montmélian, Savoy.  The legitimate heir of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva, he had however to fight with his brothers for the inheritance of Savoy's lands after their father's death. His brothers Pietro and Aimone spurred a revolt in Aosta Valley against Amadeus, but he was able to crush it with the help of Manfred III of Saluzzo and Boniface II of Montferrat, who were his sons-in-law. Together with his brother, Thomas, he fought against the communes of Turin and Pinerolo, but with uncertain results.

He was succeeded by his young son Boniface.

Career

Head of the family
As the eldest son of Thomas I of Savoy, Amadeus inherited the county and associated lands on his father's death in 1233.  However, his brothers Peter and Aymon demanded that he divide the territories and give them their share.  In July 1234, he and his brother William convened a family meeting at Château de Chillon.  While both sides arrived with armed troops, William was able to negotiate a treaty between the brothers.  This treaty kept the lands intact, but recognized the authority of the younger brothers within certain regions under Amadeus.  These territories were on the frontiers of Savoy lands, designed to encourage the brothers to expand the county rather than diminish it.  When his brother Thomas left his career in the church in 1235, Amadeus granted him similar territories.

Before he had a son, Amadeus changed his mind many times regarding his will.  Initially, he had made his sons-in-law his heirs, but in 1235, he rewrote his will in favour of his brother Thomas.  In December of that year, it went back to having his sons-in-law as heirs, until Amadeus was preparing for the siege.  Then he rewrote the will in favour of Thomas.  In March 1239, his daughters convinced him to return it to their favour.  On 4 November 1240, Thomas returned and persuaded him to rewrite the will in his brother's favour again.  When Thomas left, once again the will was reversed.  His final will was written in 1252, leaving the title and nearly everything to his son, Boniface, and naming his brother Thomas as regent and second in line for the title.

Among European powers
Amadeus faced many challenges in balancing the demands of the greater powers in Europe at that time.  Henry III of England wrote to Amadeus in 1235 to seek his consent and blessing to marry the Count's niece, Eleanor of Provence  In 1238, Amadeus went to the court of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, in Turin, where he was knighted by the Emperor.  Then with his brothers, he led troops as part of the siege of Brescia.  In July 1243, Amadeus and his brother Thomas were ordered by Enzo of Sardinia to join him in a siege of Vercelli, which had recently switched allegiances from the Empire to the Pope.  Not only was the attack on the city unsuccessful, but Amadeus and his brother were excommunicated for it.  When the brothers wrote to the new Pope Innocent IV to appeal the excommunication, he granted their request.

In late 1244, when Pope Innocent IV fled from Rome, Amadeus met him in Susa and escorted him through the passes to Chambéry, and then provided his brother Philip as escort for the Pope downriver to Lyon.  However, Amadeus was then willing to open the same passes to the imperial army.  He also signed a treaty with Henry III on 16 January 1246 which gave rights of passage through the passes to the English in exchange for an annual payment of 200 marks.  That same month, Amadeus joined a force which went to Provence to rescue his niece, Beatrice of Provence from the forces of Frederick and escort her to her marriage to Charles of Anjou  By May 1247, Frederick was ready to move against the Pope.  He had gathered his army in Turin, and ordered those still loyal to him in the kingdoms of Arles and France to meet at Chambéry (the capital of Savoy).  However, the revolt of Parma pulled Frederick back from this plan.  That same summer, Amadeus blocked an attempt by the Pope to send 1500 soldiers to the Lombard League.  On 8 November 1248, Frederick asked Amadeus and his brother Thomas to go to Lyon and start negotiations for peace. However, their efforts were unsuccessful and war continued until the death of Frederick.

Family and children
He married twice, and each marriage produced children

c. 1217, he married Marguerite of Burgundy, daughter of Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy.
 Beatrice of Savoy (d. 1258), married firstly in 1233 Manfred III of Saluzzo (d. 1244), married secondly on 21 April 1247 Manfred of Sicily
 Margaret of Savoy (d. 1254), married firstly on 9 December 1235 Boniface II of Montferrat, married secondly Aymar III, Count of Valentinois
on 18 December 1244, he married Cecilia of Baux, "Passerose", daughter of Barral of Baux
 Boniface, Count of Savoy
 Beatrice of Savoy (1250 – 23 February 1292) married Peter of Chalon and Infante Manuel of Castile.
 Eleonor of Savoy, married in 1269 Guichard de Beaujeu
 Constance of Savoy, died after 1263

References

Sources

1197 births
1253 deaths
13th-century Counts of Savoy
People from Savoie
Dukes of Chablais
Burials at Hautecombe Abbey

Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy


In electricity, the power factor (PF or cosφ) is the ratio between the power that can be used in electric circuit (real power, P) and the power from the result of multiplication between the current and voltage circuit (apparent power, S). The power factor is defined as:

PF ranges from zero to one. The higher the PF, the more efficient the circuit is because more power can be used, and vice versa. Factors that can cause PF to be less than one is non-linear load, which are capacitive load and inductive load.

Electricity

Power factor


Sikhism is a very small minority religion in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan but has many cultural, historical and political ties to the country, and to the historical region of the Punjab.

Today, Pakistan, a nation of over 170 million, is 97% Muslim, with Christians and Hindus making up the largest minority faiths, each absorbing about 1.5% of the population. Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, members of heterodox (according to Pakistani law) Islamic faiths and some adherents to animist religions make up the remainder. Information is scarce on minority adherents. According to the CIA Fact File, there are no more than 20,000 Sikhs in Pakistan now. To put this in perspective had there not been a partition in 1947 then the region that is called Pakistan to day would have had around 13 million Sikhs.

References

religion in Pakistan
Sikhism

Sikhism in Pakistan


Brake is an unincorporated community on the South Fork South Branch Potomac River in Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. The community is named for the family of early landowner Johann Jacob Brake ("Brechtel" in German), who emigrated from southern Germany in the early 18th century.  The town once included a sawmill, gristmill, distillery, blacksmith shop, and post office.  The original log house used as a post office in the early- to mid-19th century still stands.  The Brake Cemetery harbors the remains of Brakes, Simons, Sees, and probably others whose stones have been lost.  Brake Falls on Dumpling Run once provided power for the sawmill and gristmill. The Brake family currently resides in Ohio.

References

Unincorporated communities in Hardy County, West Virginia
Unincorporated communities in West Virginia

Brake, West Virginia


A mutual fund is a kind of investment that uses money from investors to invest in stocks, bonds or other types of investment. A fund manager (or "portfolio manager") decides how to invest the money, and for this he is paid a fee, which comes from the money in the fund.

Mutual funds are usually "open ended", meaning that new investors can join into the fund at any time. When this happens, new units, which are like shares, are given to the new investors.

There are thousands of different kinds of mutual funds, specializing in investing in different countries, different types of businesses, and different investment styles. There are even some funds that only invest in other funds.

Related pages
Stock
Bond (finance)

Related pages
 Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI)

References

US SEC answers about mutual funds

Finance

Mutual fund


Sharpe's Peril is a 2008 British TV film, usually shown in two parts, which is part of an ITV series based on Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction novels about the English soldier Richard Sharpe during the Napoleonic Wars. Unlike most parts of the TV series, Sharpe's Peril and the preceding Sharpe's Challenge are not based on Cornwell's novels. Both are set in 1817, two years after Sharpe has retired as a farmer in Normandy, so chronologically they come after Sharpe's Assassin (1815) and before Sharpe's Devil (1820–1821). In Sharpe's Challenge and Sharpe's Peril, Sharpe and his comrade-in-arms, Patrick Harper, are called out of retirement and asked to go to India.

Plot
The story continues from where Sharpe's Challenge left off. On their way home to England, Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) and Patrick Harper (Daragh O'Malley) reluctantly agree to escort Marie-Angelique Bonnet (Beatrice Rosen) to the hill fort of Kalimgong, where her fiancé, Major Joubert (Pascal Langdale), is stationed. They encounter a baggage train heading to Madras, made up of soldiers from the King's and the East India Company's armies, commanded by the young Ensign Beauclere (Luke Ward-Wilkinson), engineer Major Tredinnick (David Robb), and Subedar Pillai (Rajesh Khattar). Included in the train is a redcoat prisoner named Barabbas (Amit Behl), an Indian princess (Nandana Sen) and her retinue, and Tredinnick's pregnant wife (Caroline Carver).  When the train is attacked by forces of the bandit Chitu, the Subedar is wounded. They are saved by the timely arrival of Colonel Dragomirov (Velibor Topic) and his cavalry squadron. With no one more qualified, Sharpe is forced to take command.

Trouble comes from within the train as well. Sharpe discovers that Barabbas is in fact the son of Obadiah Hakeswill, the man who murdered Sharpe's first wife. Flying into a rage, Sharpe almost kills Barabbas on the spot, stopped only by Harper's intervention. They also face opposition from Colour-Sergeant Wormwood (Steve Speirs), a British soldier who dislikes Sharpe's methods and fosters feelings of resentment among his men, which grows when Sharpe punishes two of Wormwood's men for drunkenness and attempted rape.

Arriving at Kalimgong, Sharpe and Harper find the entire garrison killed, with the exception of the fort's commander, General Sir Henry Simmerson (Michael Cochrane), Sharpe's old enemy. Strung up naked in the courtyard, Simmerson's mind is addled with the heat and he seems to only speak nonsense, such as "save the harvest." Major Joubert is not among the dead, to Marie-Angelique's relief, but neither are the Company ledgers that reveal what has been stolen from the fort. The Subedar dies.

Continuing on, the train finds a farming village destroyed by bandits, the entire harvest stolen, and everyone dead but a young girl who witnessed the attack. Between what the girl saw and Simmerson's addled ramblings, Sharpe realises that not only were these people growing opium for the company, but Colonel Count Dragomirov and Major Joubert were responsible for the slaughter in the village and at Kalimgong, using bandits as scapegoats.

The train is forced to leave mounts and wagons behind when the bridge over a river is found to be destroyed. While crossing, they are attacked by Dragomirov and his men. Joubert grabs Marie-Angelique and rides off with her. Sharpe tries to pursue, but Wormwood uses the chaos to try to kill Sharpe, managing only to wound him in the shoulder. Harper drags Sharpe to safety.

Dragomirov's troops retreat. Once his wound is treated, Sharpe takes a horse and leaves to rescue Marie-Angelique, putting Harper in command of the train. When Sharpe finds Joubert, they fight. The weakened Sharpe is disarmed, but Marie-Angelique shoots and kills Joubert with his own pistol. However, Dragomirov's cavalry find them and take them to their field headquarters on the Indian plains. Meanwhile, during the night, the seriously wounded Tredinnick sneaks away, as he is slowing down the train. He tries to ambush Dragomirov, but his shot misses, and Dragomirov stabs him and leaves him for dead. Lance Naik Singh (Raza Jaffrey) finds Tredinnick and hears his dying words: Dragomirov's lie that Sharpe is dead.

Dragomirov shows Sharpe around his field headquarters, where Indian slaves produce opium. He offers Sharpe Joubert's position and promises to keep Sharpe's people prisoner rather than kill them, but Sharpe turns him down. Later, Dragomirov threatens to give Marie-Angelique, who has been dosed with opium, to his men, so Sharpe agrees to lead Dragomirov to the train and convince Harper to surrender. During the night, Dragomirov has Sharpe chained in a pit with cobras, but he gets free, rescues Marie-Angelique, and catches up with the train. Dragomirov follows, but Sharpe uses gunpowder to create a roadblock.

When the train comes to a village, Mrs. Tredinnick goes into labour. Sharpe has no choice but to stop and defend the place. He gets the village's leader, the real Chitu (Ulhas Tayade) and the rest of the residents on-side for the upcoming battle. Singh repairs a very old cannon. Wormwood wants to desert, but his two cronies decide to fight alongside Sharpe. That night, Sharpe apologises to Barabbas for his earlier treatment and agrees to let him fight, but later, Wormwood frees Barabbas and tells him that Sharpe plans to execute him in the morning. Both Barabbas and Wormwood ride away separately. Wormwood joins Dragomirov and tells him all about Sharpe's defences.

When Dragomirov attacks the next day, Sharpe's men resist strongly. Beauclere is fatally wounded while defending the women. Wormwood kills one of his former comrades (with the other also perishing in the battle), but Harper kills him in a hand-to-hand fight. At the last moment, British cavalry soldiers arrive, led by Barabbas, who had ridden the entire night to bring  reinforcements. Sharpe duels Dragomirov and kills him.

After the battle, Sharpe says his goodbyes to Marie-Angelique, who talks of visiting Sharpe's farm in Normandy, and to Simmerson, with whom he has an almost-friendly conversation, before he and Harper ride off for home.

Cast
 Sean Bean - Colonel Richard Sharpe
 Velibor Topic - Col. Count Vladimir Dragomirov
 Daragh O'Malley - Sergeant Major Patrick Harper
 Beatrice Rosen - Marie-Angelique Bonnet
 Raza Jaffrey - Lance Naik Singh
 Steve Speirs - Colour Sergeant Silas Wormwood
 Nandana Sen - Maharani Padmini
 Chucky Venice - Private Daniel Deever
 Michael Cochrane - Sir Henry Simmerson
 Caroline Carver - Mrs Tredinnick
 Pascal Langdale - Major Philippe Joubert
 Rajesh Khatar - Subedar Pillai
 Jonathan Moore - Reverend Watkin
 David Robb - Major Tredinnick
 Luke Ward-Wilkinson - Ensign the Hon. Percival Beauclere
 Amit Behl - Corporal Barabbas Hakeswill
 Ryan Pope - Private Joshua Quilter
 Jonny Coyne - Private Croop
 David Henry - Viscount Sedgefield

Production history
At a book signing in Bath on 11 October 2006, Bernard Cornwell revealed that there were plans by ITV to film two more episodes. When asked about the stories, Cornwell said that he believed that they were producing two new stories specially for television.  Filming of Sharpe's Peril, produced by Celtic Film/Picture Palace/Duke Street Films, began on 3 March 2008 in India (in Orchha and Khajuraho), and finished in late April.
The film was created both as a 2 x 90 minute version (circa 2 x 69 minutes without adverts, i.e. 138 minutes in total) and a single 100 minute version.

UK broadcast history
Part one was first aired on ITV (ITV1 and UTV) on 2 November 2008 and part two on 9 November 2008, although STV, the holders of the Northern and Central Scottish licensees of ITV, decided not to screen Sharpe's Peril, but instead use the time slots for its own drama Missing from 2006.

Sharpe's Peril was released on DVD on 10 November 2008 in the UK. This 2 disc set comes with both versions of Sharpe's Peril. There has also been a making-of documentary produced for Sharpe's Peril, which is included on the DVD, and was shown on ITV3 after the main show had finished on 9 November.

Reception
DVDTalk.com gave it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a dramatic improvement over its predecessor, Sharpe's Challenge (2006)."

References

External links

 Sharpe's Peril at Sharpe Film official website
 Sharpe's Peril at South Essex.co.uk
 Celtic Films
 Picture Palace website about Sharpe's Peril

2008 British television episodes
2000s historical films
2000s war films
English-language television shows
Fiction set in 1818
Films directed by Tom Clegg (director)
ITV television dramas
Napoleonic Wars naval films
Peril
War television films

Sharpe's Peril


Gennady Rozhdestvensky (4 May 1931, Moscow – 16 June 2018) was a Russian conductor. Rozhdestvensky was born into a musical family.  His name at first was Gennady Nikolayevich Anosov. When he started his musical career, he took his mother's maiden name.

Rozhdestvensky studied conducting with his father Nikolai Anosov at the Moscow Conservatory. He studied piano with the great pianist Lev Oborin. When he was 20 years old, he conducted Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre.  He soon became famous.  He gave the first performances of many works of Soviet composers, as well as the first Russian performance of Benjamin Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.

Rozhdestvensky has conducted many orchestras and made many recordings.

In 1969, he married the pianist Viktoria Postnikova.

Rozhdestvensky is known for keeping his rehearsals short. He does this so that the orchestra do not get tired and are fresh for the performance.  Sometimes he walks about the stage while he conducts.  He does not stand on a podium (a raised platform).

Orchestras he has conducted

1951-61 Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre (conductor)
1961-74 Symphony Orchestra of All-Union Radio and Television (Moscow)
1964-70 Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre (principal conductor)
1974-85 Chamber Theatre Orchestra
1974-77 Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (artistic director)
1978-81 BBC Symphony Orchestra (chief conductor)
1980-82 Vienna Symphony Orchestra
1983-91 USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra
1992-95 Royal Stockholm Philharmonic

He has also conducted many of the world's greatest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Trivia

His name "Rozhdestvensky" means "Christmas".
Sometimes, when he feels the orchestra are well prepared for a concert, he cancels a rehearsal so that the orchestra have some free time.  In Russia, the players in the orchestra sometimes call this "Rozhdestvensky kanikuli" ("Christmas holidays").

Notes

Rozhdestvensky, Gennady
1931 births
2018 deaths

Gennady Rozhdestvensky


John Francis McCormack, KSG, KSS, KHS (14 June 1884 – 16 September 1945), was an Irish lyric tenor celebrated for his performances of the operatic and popular song repertoires, and renowned for his diction and breath control. He was also a Papal Count. McCormack became a naturalised American citizen before returning to live in Ireland.

Early life

John Francis McCormack was born on 14 June 1884 in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, the second son and fifth of the 11 children (five of whom died in infancy or childhood) of Andrew McCormack and his wife Hannah Watson. His parents were both from Galashiels, Scotland and worked at the Athlone Woollen Mills, where his father was a foreman. He was baptised in St Mary's Church, Athlone, on 23 June 1884.

McCormack received his early education from the Marist Brothers in Athlone and later attended Summerhill College, Sligo. He sang in the choir of the old St Peters church in Athlone under his choirmaster Michael Kilkelly. When the family moved to Dublin, he sang in the choir of St Mary's Pro-Cathedral where he was discovered by Vincent O'Brien. In 1903, he won the coveted gold medal of the Dublin Feis Ceoil.

In March 1904, McCormack became associated with James Joyce, who at the time had singing ambitions himself. Richard Ellmann, in his biography of Joyce, states that "Joyce spent several evenings with him" (i.e. McCormack), practising; along with Joyce's acquaintance Richard Best; McCormack persuaded Joyce to enter the Feis Ceoil that year, where the not yet famous writer was awarded the Bronze Medal (3rd prize).

Career

Fundraising activities on his behalf enabled McCormack to travel to Italy in 1905 to receive voice training by Vincenzo Sabatini (father of the novelist Rafael Sabatini) in Milan. Sabatini found McCormack's voice naturally tuned and concentrated on perfecting his breath control, an element that would become part of the basis of his renown as a vocalist.

In 1906, he made his operatic début at the Teatro Chiabrera, Savona. The next year, he began his first important operatic performance at Covent Garden in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, becoming the theatre's youngest principal tenor. In 1909, he began his career in America. Michael Scott ("The Record of Singing" 1978) writes that at this stage of his career, he should be considered a tenor of the Italian style—and he sang (and recorded) French operatic arias in the Italian language. Steane ("The Grand Tradition" 1971) stresses that, for all his later devotion to the concert platform (and his Irish identity), he was (for albeit a relatively brief period) in essence an Italian operatic tenor.

In February 1911, McCormack played Lieutenant Paul Merrill in the world premiere of Victor Herbert's opera Natoma with Mary Garden in the title role. Later that year, he toured Australia after Dame Nellie Melba engaged him, then at the height of his operatic career, aged 27, as a star tenor for the Melba Grand Opera Season. He returned for concert tours in subsequent years.

By 1912, he was beginning to become involved increasingly with concert performances, where his voice quality and charisma ensured that he became the most celebrated lyric tenor of his time. He did not, however, retire from the operatic stage until after his performance of 1923 in Monte Carlo (see biography below), although by then the top notes of his voice had contracted. Famous for his extraordinary breath control, he could sing 64 notes on one breath in Mozart's "Il mio tesoro" from Don Giovanni, and his Handelian singing was just as impressive in this regard.

McCormack made hundreds of recordings, his best-known and most commercially successful series of records being those for the Victor Talking Machine Company during the 1910s and 1920s. He was Victor's most popular Red Seal recording artist after tenor Enrico Caruso. In the 1920s, he sang regularly on radio and later appeared in two sound films, Song o' My Heart, released in 1930, playing an Irish tenor, and as himself appearing in a party scene in Wings of the Morning (1937), the first British three-strip Technicolor feature.

McCormack was one of the first artists to record the popular ballad "I Hear You Calling Me" written in 1908 by Harold Harford and Charles Marshall; he recorded it twice for Odeon starting in 1908 and a further four times for Victor between 1910 and 1927 – it became his best seller. He was the first artist to record the famous World War I song "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" in 1914; He also recorded a best-selling version of another popular World War I tune "Keep The Home Fires Burning" in 1917. He also sang songs expressive of Irish nationalism — his recording of "The Wearing of the Green", a song about the Irish rebellion of 1798, encouraged 20th-century efforts for Irish Home Rule — and endorsed the Irish Nationalist estrangement from the United Kingdom. McCormack was associated particularly with the songs of Thomas Moore, notably "The Harp That Once Through Tara's Halls", "The Minstrel Boy", "Believe Me If All (Those Endearing Young Charms)", and "The Last Rose of Summer". Between 1914 and 1922, he recorded almost two dozen songs with violin accompaniment provided by Fritz Kreisler, with whom he also toured. He recorded songs of Hugo Wolf for the Hugo Wolf Society in German. In 1918, he recorded the song "Calling Me Home to You".

In 1917, McCormack became a naturalised citizen of the United States. In June 1918, he donated $11,458 ($215,296 in 2022) towards the USA's World War I effort. By then, his career was a huge financial success, earning millions in his lifetime from record sales and appearances.

By 1920, Edwin Schneider had become McCormack's accompanist and the two were "inseparable". When Schneider retired, Gerald Moore took over as accompanist from 1939 to 1943.

In 1927, McCormack moved into Moore Abbey, Monasterevin, County Kildare, and adopted a very opulent lifestyle by Irish standards. He also owned apartments in London and New York. He hoped that one of his racehorses, such as Golden Lullaby, would win The Derby, but they never did.

McCormack also bought Runyon Canyon in Hollywood in 1930 from Carman Runyon. McCormack saw and liked the estate while there filming Song o' My Heart (1930), an early all-talking, all-singing picture. McCormack used his salary for this movie to purchase the estate and built a mansion he called 'San Patrizio', after Saint Patrick. McCormack and his wife lived in the mansion until they returned to England in 1938.

McCormack toured often, and in his absence, the mansion was often let to celebrities such as Janet Gaynor and Charles Boyer. The McCormacks made many friends in Hollywood, among them Errol Flynn, Will Rogers, John Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman, Charles E. Toberman and the Dohenys. After his farewell tour of America in 1937, the McCormacks deeded the estate back to Carman Runyon expecting to return to the estate at a later date. World War II intervened and McCormack did not return.

McCormack originally ended his career at the Royal Albert Hall in London, during 1938. However, a year after that farewell concert, he was back singing for the Red Cross and in support of the war effort. He gave concerts, toured, broadcast and recorded in this capacity until 1943 when poor health finally forced him to retire permanently.

Personal life and death
McCormack married Lily Foley in 1906; they had two children, Cyril and Gwen.

Ill with emphysema, he bought a house near the sea, "Glena", Booterstown, Dublin. After years of increasingly poor health, and a series of infectious illnesses, including influenza and pneumonia, McCormack died at his home in Booterstown on 16 September 1945. He is buried in Deansgrange Cemetery, St. Patrick's section, plot reference E/120.

Honours

McCormack was much honoured and decorated for his musical career. In 1928, he received the title of Papal Count from Pope Pius XI in recognition of his work for Catholic charities. He had earlier received three papal knighthoods, Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (KHS), Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KSG) and Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester (KSS). He was also a Knight of Malta and a Privy Chamberlain of the Sword and Cape, an honour which is known now as a Gentlemen of His Holiness.

One of the most famous performances of McCormack's Irish career was his singing of César Franck's Panis angelicus to the hundreds of thousands who thronged Dublin's Phoenix Park for the 1932 Eucharistic Congress.

A life-sized bronze statue of McCormack by sculptor Elizabeth O'Kane was established in Dublin on 19 June 2008. The statue stands in the Iveagh Gardens, close to the National Concert Hall.

In his hometown of Athlone, he is commemorated by the Athlone Institute of Technology who named their performance hall after him, the John McCormack Hall.

He is also commemorated by an English Heritage blue plaque on the house near Hampstead in London, 24 Ferncroft Avenue, where he lived from 1908 until 1913.

A silver €10 collectors coin with a mintage of 8,000 pieces was issued by the Central Bank of Ireland in January 2014 featuring a portrait of McCormack; the coin was issued as part of the EUROPA star series in keeping with the 2014 theme of European musicians.

A statue of the tenor was unveiled in a square newly named in his honour outside the Civic Centre in Athlone on 24 October 2014. The sculpture, created by the Irish artist Rory Beslin, was celebrated by free admission to an exhibition of the celebrated singer's memorabilia.

In 1984, a street in Washington, D.C., was named in his honour. The street is near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and commemorates McCormack's role in supporting its construction by signing a benefit recital in 1928.

See also

 List of people on stamps of Ireland

Notes

References

Bibliography
John McCormack: His Own Life Story (Boston: Small, Maynard & Co., 1918; reprint New York: Vienna House, 1973; )
L.A.G. Strong: John McCormack: The Story of a Singer (London: Methuen & Co., 1941; 2nd ed. London: P. Nevill, 1949)
Lily McCormack: I Hear You Calling Me (London: W.H. Allen, undated [1949] & Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1949; reprint Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1975)
Raymond Foxall: John McCormack (London: Robert Hale, 1963)
Leonard F. MacDermott Roe: The John McCormack Discography (Lingfield, Surrey: Oakwood Press, 1972)
Gordon T. Ledbetter: The Great Irish Tenor (London: Duckworth, 1977, ; reprint Dublin: Town House, 2003; )
Paul Worth & Jim Cartwright: John McCormack: A Comprehensive Discography (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1986)
Gus Smith: John McCormack: A Voice to Remember (Dublin: Madison Publishers, 1995)
John McCormack, Icon Of An Age (includes DVD, 4 CDs, and the book The Letters of John McCormack to J.C. Doyle by G.T. Ledbetter) (Dublin: Zampano Productions, 2006)

External links

 The John McCormack Society
 History of the Tenor / John McCormack / Sound Clips and Narration

John McCormack essay at London Poetry Review
Discography of John McCormack on Victor Records
John McCormack recordings at the Library of Congress
Public domain recordings of John McCormack at the Internet Archive.

 John McCormack recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.

1884 births
1945 deaths
Irish people of Scottish descent
Burials at Deans Grange Cemetery
Irish emigrants to the United States
Irish operatic tenors
Knights of Malta
Knights of the Holy Sepulchre
Musicians from County Westmeath
Papal counts
People educated at Marist College, Athlone
People educated at Summerhill College
People from Athlone
20th-century Irish  male singers
Papal chamberlains
Knights of St. Gregory the Great
Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester
American Roman Catholics
Irish Roman Catholics

John McCormack (tenor)


Uses of bond, bonds, bonded, and bonding:

Financial bonds
 Bond (finance), in finance, a debt security, issued by Issuer
 Government bond, a bond issued by a national government
 Bond market, a financial market for bonds
 Investment bond, a life assurance based single premium investment
 A surety bond is a three party contract, where the surety promises to pay the obligee for non-performance or dishonesty by the principal.  Workers in many jobs must be bonded.
 A performance bond is a surety bond for completion of work under a contract
 A bail bond is a surety bond for return of a person to a court
 Tenancy bond (or damage deposit), a deposit taken by a landlord in relation to rental of a property
 Catastrophe bond (or cat bond), a form of reinsurance
 Bonded labor (or debt bondage) is a system of servitude where someone must work to pay off a debt

Physical sciences
 Bond number, in fluid mechanics, a dimensionless number expressing the ratio of gravitational forces to surface tension forces
 Chemical bond, the physical phenomenon of chemical substances being held together by attraction of atoms
 Covalent bond, a chemical bond between two non-metals
 Ionic bond, bonding of a non-metal and a metal
 Metallic bond, bonding between atoms and metals
 Bond albedo is a measure of electromagnetic radiation of an astronomical body
 A bond graph is a graphical description of a physical dynamic system

Social sciences

 In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between the male and female in a breeding pair.
 Psychological bond, a form of relationship
 Human bonding
 Maternal bond
 Paternal bond
 Male bonding
 Female bonding
 Affectional bond
 Capture-bonding, the psychological mechanism behind Stockholm syndrome.
 In anthropology, acephalous societies are categorized as village-bonded, land-bonded, and lineage-bonded

Manufacturing, construction and electronics
 In manufacturing, bonding may be done via adhesives, welding, or fasteners (such as screws, bolts, nails, rivets)
 Bond is the manner in which the bricks overlap as they are laid in brickwork
 Bond paper, a high quality durable writing paper
 Bonded Leather (or reconstituted leather)
 Bottled in bond refers to a type American whiskey
 Wire bonding, a method of making interconnections between a microchip and the outside world as part of semiconductor device fabrication
 Channel bonding (or modem bonding), an arrangement in which two or more network interfaces on a host computer are combined
 Electrical bonding, concept in electricity distribution

Company and product names
 Bonds (company) an Australian clothing company
 Bonds was formerly the name of a department store in Norwich, England, now called John Lewis Norwich
 Bonds was formerly the name of a department store in Chelmsford, Essex, now called Debenhams Chelmsford
 Bond Cars Ltd a small scale car manufacturer between 1949 and 1971 manufacturer of the Bond bug and Bond 875 three-wheeled motor cars
 BOND, RAD Software tool
 Gold Bond medicated powder
 Bond Street brand of cigarette
 Eaton's Corrasable Bond was a brand of erasable typing paper
 Bond Guitars manufactured the Bond Electraglide electric guitar

Organizations
 Afrikaner Bond, a political party in the Cape Colony in the 19th century
 bonding-studenteninitiative e.V., a German student organisation
 Church of the Universal Bond, a British religious group

Entertainment
 James Bond, a fictional secret agent created by Ian Fleming
 Bond 22 is the working title of a future James Bond film
 bond is an Australian/British string quartet
 The Bond a film by Charlie Chaplin supporting Liberty Bonds
 "The Bonding", a third-season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
 Any Bonds Today?, a propaganda film for War Bonds during World War II

Other uses
 Peace-bonding is something which makes a weapon unusable as a weapon
 A peace bond is a protection order from a Canadian court

Places
 Bond Street, a major shopping street in the West End of London
 Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia
 Bond South Africa, South African campus of Bond University
 Bonds in New York City
 Bond, Colorado
 Bond Hill, Ohio
 Bond Falls, a waterfall in the Ontonagon River
 Mount Bond, a mountain in Grafton County, New Hampshire
 Bond Head, Ontario
 Bond County, Illinois

Related pages
 Barry Bonds
 Bondage
 Bonde

Bond


In computer science, an alphabet is a finite non-empty set. The elements of an alphabet are called the letters or symbols of the alphabet.

An example of an alphabet is  which may be used for Morse code or {begin, if, else, for, while} which may be the keywords of a Programming language.

The set of natural numbers is not an alphabet because as it is not finite.

The alphabet which is used the most in computer science is {0,1}. It is called the binary alphabet because it contains two symbols. An alphabet can be used to make a string (or word). This is a finite Sequence of letters from the alphabet. For example, a string of length 5 over {0,1} is 01101.

The empty string is the string containing no letters (it is often written as ). The empty string is a string over any alphabet.

If we have an alphabet called , then we write the set of all strings that can be made from  as . This is called the Kleene star (or Kleene closure) of . It is named after the mathematician Stephen Cole Kleene.

The Kleene star of the binary alphabet is . The three dots after 001, show that we cannot write the Kleene star of an alphabet in full because it is an infinite set.

Alphabets are important because they are used in studying formal languages, finite automata and very difficult questions in computer science about what can be computed and what can not.

Related pages
Formal language
Syntax
Semantics

References

 Arto Salomaa, Formal Languages, (1973): Chapter 1
 Michael A. Harrison, Introduction to Formal Language Theory, (1978): Chapter 1.2
 John E. Hopcroft and Jeffrey D. Ullman, Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation, Addison-Wesley Publishing, Reading Massachusetts, (1979). .
 György E. Révész, Introduction to Formal Languages, (1991): Chapter 1.1
 Grzegorz Rozenberg and Arto Salomaa, Handbook of Formal Languages: Volume 1. Word, Language, Grammar, (1997): Chapter 2.1
 Dan A. Simovici and Richard L. Tenney, Theory of Formal Languages with Applications, (1999): Chapter 2.1
 Keijo Ruohonen, Formal Languages, (2009): Chapter 1.1
 John Martin: Introduction to Languages and the Theory of Computation (2010): Chapter 1.5

Computer science

Alphabet (computer science)


Petri Pykälä (born 13 December 1962), commonly known by his pseudonym Ilkka Remes, is a Finnish author of thrillers for adults and for young adults. Remes was born in Luumäki. He has stated he uses a pseudonym because he does not want to be considered only a thriller writer, and wants to be able to write other genres of books in the future.

Remes lives in Belgium with his wife and two children. He received the Kalevi Jäntti Literature Award in 1997, the Clue of the Year Award from the Finnish Detective Novel Society in 1999 and the Olvi Foundation Literature Award in 1999.

The Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja commented on Remes' book Ruttokellot on his homepage in January 2001. His review on the book was rather negative and he found it troubling that so many of the antagonists in Remes' books were of Russian origin. (see Russophobia).

Adult literature
Remes has written 25 thrillers which have enjoyed significant domestic popularity. The names in parentheses are direct translations.

 Pääkallokehrääjä (1997) ("Death's-head Moth")
 Karjalan lunnaat (1998) ("Ransom of Karelia")
 Pedon syleily (1999) ("The Beast's Embrace")
 Ruttokellot (2000) ("The Plague Bells")
 Uhrilento (2001) ("The Sacrificial Flight")
 Itäveri (2002) ("Eastern Blood")
 Ikiyö (2003) ("The Perpetual Night")
 Hiroshiman portti (2004) ("The Gate of Hiroshima")
 Nimessä ja veressä (2005) ("In the Name and Blood")
 6/12 (2006) (referring to 6th of December, the Independence Day of Finland)
 Pahan perimä ("The Genes of Evil") (2007)
 Pyörre ("Vortex") (2008)
 Isku Ytimeen ("A Strike to the Core") (2009)
 Shokkiaalto ("Shockwave") (2010)
 Teräsleijona ("Steel Lion") (2011)
 Ylösnousemus ("Resurrection") (2012)
 Omertan liitto ("The Omerta Union") (2013)
 Horna ("Inferno") (2014)
 Jäätyvä Helvetti ("Freezing Hell")(2015)
 Kiirastuli ("Purgatory")(2016)
 Vapauden risti ("The Cross of Freedom")(2017)
 Perikato ("Destruction")(2018)
 Kremlin Nyrkki ("The Fist of Kremlin")(2019)
 Kotkanpesä ("The Eagle's Nest")(2020)
 Lohikäärmeen isku ("The Strike of a Dragon")(2021)

Of the above, Ruttokellot ("Blutglocke"), Ikiyö ("Ewige Nacht"), Hiroshiman portti ("Das Hiroshima-Tor"), Nimessä ja veressä ("Höllensturz"), 6/12 ("Die Geiseln") and Pahan perimä, ("Das Erbe des Bösen") have been translated into German.

Young adult literature
Remes has written eight thrillers for young adults, some of which has been translated to English.
 Piraatit (2003) ("Pirates", released as "Operation Ocean Emerald")
 Musta Kobra (2004) ("Black Cobra", released as "Operation Black Cobra")
 Pimeän pyöveli (2005) ("Executioner of Darkness")
 Kirottu koodi (2006) ("Cursed Code", released as "Operation Code Breaker")
 Hermes (2007)
 Draculan Ratsu (2008) ("Dracula's Steed")
 Operaatio Solaris (2009) ("Operation Solaris")
 Riskiraja (2010) ("Risk Limit")

See also
 Omerta 6/12

References

External links
 Ilkka Remes' homepage

1962 births
Living people
People from Luumäki
Finnish crime writers
Finnish male novelists
Finnish expatriates in Belgium
20th-century Finnish novelists
21st-century Finnish novelists
20th-century male writers
21st-century male writers
20th-century pseudonymous writers
21st-century pseudonymous writers

Ilkka Remes


Pressurized water reactors (PWRs) form the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants. In a PWR, the coolant (water) is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core where it is heated by the energy released by the fission of atoms. Pressure in the primary coolant loop prevents the water from boiling within the reactor. The heated water then flows to a steam generator where it transfers heat to a secondary system where steam is generated. The steam flows to a steam turbine which spins an electric generator. The used steam is condensed and returned to the steam generator for re-use. PWRs use ordinary water as both coolant and neutron moderator.

Related pages
 Pressurized heavy-water reactor

Nuclear energy

Pressurized water reactor


Chinatown (, , ) is a subzone and ethnic enclave located within the Outram district in the Central Area of Singapore. Featuring distinctly Chinese cultural elements, Chinatown has had a historically concentrated ethnic Chinese population.

Chinatown is considerably less of an enclave than it once was. However, the precinct does retain significant historical and cultural significance. Large sections of it have been declared national heritage sites officially designated for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Places in Singapore

Chinatown, Singapore


Samson and Delilah (Fr: Samson et Dalila) is a three-act French opera. It is based on the story of Samson and Delilah in the Old Testament of the Bible.  The words and story of the opera (the libretto) were written by Ferdinand Lemaire. The music was written by Camille Saint-Saëns. The opera was first performed in Weimar, Germany on 2 December 1877. It was sung in German instead of French.

Saint-Saëns thought the Samson story would make a good oratorio. He was persuaded by Lemaire to write an opera on the subject instead. When the opera was completed, Saint-Saëns met some stiff opposition about staging it in France. It was considered sacrilegious to stage a work based on a Bible story. Additionally, Saint-Saëns was considered a "symphonist" rather than an opera composer. People were not interested in Samson. Liszt staged the work in Germany. It was a hit. It was soon staged in America and in England.

Roles in the opera include Samson (tenor), Delilah (mezzo-soprano), and the High Priest of Dagon (baritone). The story tells of the enslavement of the Hebrews by the Philistines. Samson urges them to resist their masters. The High Priest of Dagon uses Delilah to destroy Samson. Musical highlights include "" and "" The opera finally played the Paris Opéra. It ranked second in popularity to Charles Gounod's Faust.

Composition of the opera

Saint-Saëns thought the Samson and Delilah story would make a good oratorio. Oratorios were popular in the late 1860s. The city of Paris was offering a prize for a new one. Saint-Saëns asked a relative, Ferdinand Lemaire, to write the libretto. Lemaire thought the story of Samson and Delilah was better suited to an opera. He persuaded Saint-Saëns to write an opera instead of an oratorio.

Saint-Saëns was drawn to the story because it gave him the opportunity to compose a grand duet against a rising storm. He knew Rameau's take on the story from Voltaire's libretto for an opera on the subject (now lost), but Rameau's storm was a metaphor for the wrath of God. Rossini's Otello was nearer to what Saint-Saëns had in mind. He wrote, "I imagined a storm that would no longer be an hors-d'œuvre (a tidbit eaten before a meal) but adhere to the action and become one with it."

Saint-Saëns set to work in 1868. He wrote an aria for Delilah, a duet for Samson and Delilah, and the Prelude. He tried them out at home. Friends were not very interested. The composer put the work aside for a time. He met Liszt in Weimar, Germany about 1870. Liszt encouraged him to take up the project again. He promised Saint-Saëns he would stage the opera.

Early performances

In 1873 Saint-Saëns finished the score. Pauline Viardot staged Act 2 in a garden at Croissy. The director of the Paris Opera was present. He found the opera too Wagnerian. He also thought it neglected French opera tradition. Biblical stories were not staged in France. It was considered sacrilegious. Act 1 was performed "concert style" in 1875. This means it was performed without costumes, scenery, or "acting". It was a failure.

Saint-Saëns kept working. He published the score. He wrote a dedication to Viardot. In 1877 Liszt staged the work at the Weimar Court Theatre in Germany. It was sung in German instead of French. The opera was well received. People liked it. Paris wasn't very interested, though. In 1890 the opera was staged in Rouen at composer Gabriel Faure's urging. It was staged the same year in Paris. Two years later it was finally staged at the Paris Opéra. The opera ranked second in popularity to Gounod's Faust.

Other early performances
Once the opera gained favor with audiences it quickly spread outside France. The first production in America was at New Orleans in 1893. In 1894 it was staged at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. In these early days, productions were mounted in Milan, St Petersburg, and Moscow. French singers walked out on a concert performance in London in 1893. They were expected to sing in English instead of French. Biblical stories were banned from the stage in Britain. The first full production of Samson took place in 1909. King Edward VII of England was said to have helped get the opera staged.

Assessment

Goodwin writes that Saint-Saëns's pupil and friend Gabriel Faure always said that the reason Samson and Delilah met with disinterest in France was the fact that the composer was viewed as a symphonistnot because the opera was based on a Biblical text. "Symphonist" was a pejorative term at the time. It was tossed about by opera and ballet fans. Samson and Delilah was also a departure from 19th century opera traditions. This was another reason for some to ignore it. It was a three-act opera rather than a standard five-act opera as laid down by Meyerbeer. The opera featured only three principal charactersSamson, Delilah, and the High Priestthus creating another departure from the norm.

Saint-Saëns was almost an atheist. He did not point out a moral in this opera but let the work speak for itself. He admired the operas of Verdi. He liked the oratorios of Handel and Mendelssohntwo composers whose influence is felt in the choruses of Samson. He framed the central seduction scene with the two outer acts. In contrast with Samson (strength) and the High Priest (power), Delilah is a character of seductive strength and power. She wants Samson on her sidenot for lovebut for her own vanity and sexual gratification. She puts everything she has into successfully seducing him because, if she fails, her head will be on the chopping  block.

Roles in the opera

 Samson (tenor) is a Hebrew hero and leader who urges the Hebrews to turn against their Philistine enemies and slave masters.
 Delilah (mezzo-soprano) is a beautiful woman. She is friendly with the Philistines, the enemies of the Hebrews.
 High Priest of Dagon (baritone) is a Philistine who plots with Delilah the overthrow of Samson.
 Abimelech, Governor of Gaza (bass) is a Philistine whom Samson kills in Act 1. He is a character invented by Lemaire and does not appear in the Bible story.
 First Philistine (tenor) reports Samson's deeds to Dagon.
 Second Philistine (bass) reports Samson's deeds to Dagon.
 Philistine Messenger (tenor)
 Old Hebrew (bass) advises Samson to be wary of Delilah's attractiveness.

Story of the opera

Act 1

In a square in Gaza, the Hebrews pray for release from slavery to the Philistines. Samson tries to lift their spirits. Abimelech taunts the Hebrews. He says his god Dagon is greater than the Hebrew god. Samson defies him. Abimelech attacks Samson with a sword. Samson disarms and kills him. The Hebrews flee. The High Priest of Dagon makes plans to use Delilah to trap Samson.

Delilah enters with the priestesses of Dagon. She flirts with Samson. She invites him to her home in Sorek. An old Hebrew warns Samson about loving Delilah. Samson prays for God's protection. Delilah and the priestesses begin to dance. Samson fights his desire for Delilah. The old Hebrew repeats his warning. As the curtain closes, Samson meets Delilah's gaze. It is clear he will join her in Sorek.

Act 2
In Sorek Delilah sings about her power over Samson. The High Priest arrives. He reports that Samson and the Hebrews have destroyed the harvest. He offers gold to Delilah to trap Samson. She refuses to take the money. She wants only revenge. Delilah vows to find the secret of Samson's strength. The High Priest leaves.

Delilah considers her chances of success. Samson arrives to say farewell. He plans to lead the Hebrew revolt.  Delilah tells Samson that she loves him. He admits that he loves her. They sing rapturously. Delilah wants to know the secret of his strength. Samson will not tell her. She weeps and runs into her house. Samson follows. She learns the secret of his strength. She calls to Philistine soldiers hiding nearby. They capture Samson and blind him.

Act 3

Samson is chained to a mill-wheel in a dungeon. He prays for his people. They will suffer for his sin. Samson offers his life as a sacrifice. The Hebrews are heard in the distance singing sorrowfully.

The Philistines are preparing a victory celebration in the temple of Dagon. The priests and priestesses sing softly. The priests dance a wild Bacchanale. Samson enters led by a boy. He is mocked by the High Priest. Delilah taunts him. The priests try to force him to kneel before a statue of Dagon. The boy leads him to the two main pillars in the temple. Samson prays for strength. He pulls down the pillars. The temple collapses. Samson is crushed with his enemies beneath the stones.

Musical highlights
 Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse
 Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix
 Vois ma misère, hélas!
 Bacchanale
from Encyclopedia Americana, 2002; volume 24, pages 185-86

Notes

References

Further reading

1870s operas
Compositions by Camille Saint-Saëns

Samson and Delilah (opera)


Paro Taktsang (, also known as the Taktsang Palphug Monastery and the Tiger's Nest), is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site located in the cliffside of the upper Paro valley in Bhutan. It is one of thirteen Tiger's Nest caves in historical Tibet in which Padmasambhava practiced and taught Vajrayana.

A later monastery complex was built in 1692, around the Taktsang Senge Samdup cave, where Guru Padmasambhava meditated and practiced with students including Yeshe Tsogyal before departing the kingdom of Tibet in the early 9th century. Padmasambhava is credited with introducing Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan, which was then part of Tibet, and is the tutelary deity of the country. Today, Paro Taktsang is the best known of the thirteen taktsang or "tiger lair" caves in which he and his students meditated.

The shrine dedicated to Padmasambhava, also known as Gu-ru mTshan-brgyad Lhakhang or "the Shrine of the Guru with Eight Names", refers to Padmasambhava's Eight Manifestations and is an elegant structure built around the cave in 1692 by Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye. It has become the cultural icon of Bhutan. A popular festival, known as the Tsechu, held in honor of Padmasambhava, is celebrated in the Paro valley sometime during March or April.

History

Background and legends

According to the Namthar of the Lhakhang, it is believed that Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) flew to this location from Singye Dzong on the back of a tigress. This place was consecrated to tame the Tiger demon.

An alternative legend holds that a former wife of an emperor willingly became a disciple of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambahva) in Tibet. She transformed herself into a tigress and carried the Guru on her back from Tibet to the present location of the Taktsang in Bhutan. In one of the caves here, the Guru then performed meditation and emerged in eight incarnated forms (manifestations) and the place became holy. Subsequently, the place came to be known as the "Tiger's Nest".

The popular legend of the Taktsang monastery is further embellished with the story of Tenzin Rabgye, who built the temple here in 1692. It has been mentioned by authors that the 8th century guru Padmasmabhava had reincarnated again in the form of Tenzin Rabgye. The corroborative proofs mooted are: that Tenzin Rabgye was seen (by his friends) concurrently inside and outside his cave; even a small quantity of food was adequate to feed all visitors; no one was injured during worship (in spite of the approach track to the monastery being dangerous and slippery); and the people of the Paro valley saw in the sky various animal forms and religious symbols including a shower of flowers that appeared and also vanished in the air without touching the earth.

Establishment as a meditation site

As noted before, the monastery was built around the Taktsang Senge Samdup (stag tshang seng ge bsam grub) cave, where custom holds that the Indian Guru Padmasambhava meditated in the 8th century. He flew to this place from Tibet on the back of Yeshe Tsogyal, whom he transformed into a flying tigress for the purpose and landed at the cliff, which he "anointed" as the place for building a monastery. He established Buddhism and the Nyingmapa school of Mahayana Buddhism in Bhutan, and has been considered the "protector saint of Bhutan". Later, Padmasambhava visited Bumthang district to subdue a powerful deity offended by a local king. Padmasambhava's body imprint is stated to be imprinted on the wall of a cave near Kurje Lhakhang temple. In 853, Langchen Pelkyi Singye came to the cave to meditate and gave his name of Pelphug to the cave, "Pelkyi's cave". After he died later in Nepal, his body was said to have been miraculously returned to the monastery by the grace of the deity Dorje Legpa; it is now said to be sealed in a chorten in a room to the left at the top of the entrance stairway. The chorten was restored in 1982-83 and again in 2004.

From the 11th century, many Tibetan saints and eminent figures came to Taktsang to meditate, including Milarepa (1040–1123), Pha Dampa Sangye (died 1117), the Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön (1055–1145) and Thangton Gyelpo (1385–1464). In the latter part of the 12th century, the Lapa School was established in Paro. Between 12th and 17th centuries, many Lamas who came from Tibet established their monasteries in Bhutan.
The first sanctuary to be built in the area dates to the 14th century when Sonam Gyeltshen, a Nyingmapa lama of the Kathogpa branch came from Tibet. The paintings he brought can still be faintly discerned on a rock above the principal building although there is no trace of the original one. The Taktsang Ugyen Tsemo complex, which was rebuilt after a fire in 1958 is said to date back to 1408. Taktsang remained under the authority of the Kathogpa lamas for centuries until the mid 17th century.

17th century to present: The modern monastery

In the 17th century the well-known Tertön Pema Lingpa of Bumthang, who founded many monasteries in various parts of Bhutan, was also instrumental in creating religious and secular dance forms from his conception of the 'Zandog Pelri' (the Copper Colored mountain), which was the abode of the Guru Padmasambahva (which is the same place as the Paro Taktsang or Tiger's nest). This dance is performed in Paro as the Tsche festival. But it was during the time of Ngawang Namgyal of the Drukpa subsect, who fled Tibet to escape persecution by the opposing sect of the Gelugpa order (which dominated Tibet under the Dalai Lamas), that an administrative mechanism was established in Bhutan.

In due time, he established himself in Bhutan as a 'model of rulership' and was known as the "Shabdrung" with full authority. He wanted to establish an edifice at the Taktsang Pel Phuk site. It was during a Tibetan invasion of Bhutan in 1644-46 that Shabdrung and his Tibetan Nyingmapa teacher gTer-ston Rig-'dzin sNying-po had invoked Padmasambhava and the protective deities at Taktsang to give them success over the invaders. He performed the bka' brgyad dgongs 'dus rituals associated with the celebrations of Tshechu. Bhutan won the war against Tibet However, Shabdrung was not able to build a temple at Takstsang to celebrate the event, even though he very much wanted to do so.

The wish of Shabdrung to build a temple here, however, was fulfilled during the 4th Druk Desi Tenzin Rabgye (1638–96), the first, and only successor of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (Zhabs-drung Ngag-dbang rNam-rgyal), "a distant cousin from a collateral line descending from the 15th century 'crazy saint' Drukpa Kunley". During his visit to the sacred cave of Taktsang Pel Phuk during the Tshechu season of 1692 he laid the foundation for building the temple dedicated to Guru Rinpoche called the 'Temple of the Guru with Eight Names' ('gu ru mtshan brgyad lha-khang). It was a decision taken by Tenzin Rabgye while standing at the cave overlooking the Paro valley. At this time, he was leading the Tshechu festival of religious dances. At that time the only temples reported to be in existence, at higher elevations, were the Zangdo Pelri (Zongs mdog dPalri) and Ugyen Tsemo (Urgyan rTse-mo).

Fire destruction
On April 19, 1998, a fire broke out in the main building of the monastery complex, which contained valuable paintings, artifacts and statues. The fire is believed to have been caused by electrical short-circuiting or flickering butter lamps lighting the hanging tapestries. A monk also died during the fire. The restoration works were undertaken at an estimated cost of 135 million ngultrum. The Government of Bhutan and the then King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, oversaw the restoration of the damaged monastery and its contents in 2005.

Geography

The monastery is located  to the north of Paro and hangs on a precarious cliff at , about  above the Paro valley, on the right side of the Paro Chu ('chu' Bhutanese means "river or water"). The rock slopes are very steep (almost vertical) and the monastery buildings are built into the rock face. Though it looks formidable, the monastery complex has access from several directions, such as the northwest path through the forest, from the south along the path used by devotees, and from the north (access over the rocky plateau, which is called the "Hundred Thousand Fairies" known as Bumda (hBum-brag). A mule track leading to it passes through pine forest that is colorfully festooned with moss and prayer flags. On many days, clouds shroud the monastery and give an eerie feeling of remoteness.

Near the beginning of the trail is a water-powered prayer wheel, set in motion by a flowing stream. The water that is touched by the wheel is said to become blessed and carries its purifying power into all life forms in the oceans and lakes that it feeds into. On the approach path to the monastery, there is a Lakhang (village level monastery) and a temple of Urgyan Tsemo ("U-rgyan rTse-mo") which, like the main monastery, is located on a rocky plateau with a precipitous projection of several hundred feet over the valley. From this location, the monastery's buildings are on the opposite ravine, which is known by the name "Copper-Colored Mountain Paradise of Padmasambhava". This is the view point for visitors and there is a cafeteria to provide refreshments. The trek beyond this point is very scenic with the sound of the water fall breaking the silence. Along the trek route blue pine trees, prayer flags and kiosks selling paraphernalia for worship (such as prayer wheels, temple bells and skulls) are seen. The route is scattered with number of temples. On this path, a large water fall, which drops by  into a sacred pool, is forded over by a bridge. The track terminates at the main monastery where colorful paintings are displayed. Guru Rinpoche's cave where he meditated is also seen. This cave is opened for public viewing only once a year.

Structure

Exterior

The monastery buildings consist of four main temples and residential shelters ideally designed by adapting to the rock (granite) ledges, the caves and the rocky terrain. Out of the eight caves, four are comparatively easy to access. The cave where Padmasmabhava first entered, riding the Tiger, is known as 'Tholu Phuk' and the original cave where he resided and did meditation is known as the 'Pel Phuk'. He directed the spiritually enlightened monks to build the monastery here. The monastery is so precariously perched that it is said: "it clings to the side of the mountain like a gecko". The main cave is entered through a narrow passage. The dark cave houses a dozen images of Bodhisattvas and butter lamps flicker in front of these idols. An elegant image of Chenrezig (Avalokitesvara) is also deified here. In an adjoining small cell, the sacred scripture is placed; the importance of this scripture is that it has been scripted with gold dust and the crushed bone powder of a divine Lama. It is also said that the monks who practice Vajrayana Buddhism (the formal State Religion of Bhutan) at this cave monastery live here for three years and seldom go down to the Paro valley.

All the buildings are interconnected through steps and stairways made in rocks. There are a few rickety wooden bridges along the paths and stairways also to cross over. The temple at the highest level has a frieze of Buddha. Each building has a balcony, which provides lovely views of the scenic Paro valley down below. The Monasteries have ancient history of occupation by monks, as hermitages.

Other structures within the precincts

Taktshang Zangdo Pari is the place where Padmasmbahava's wife, known as the "Fairy of Wisdom", Yeshe Tshogyal (Ye-shes mtsho-rgyal), the founder of the Mon, a convent, by the same name as Taktshang and also two other convents. The present caretaker of the place is said to be an old nun supported by a young trainee.

Another important place near the shrine is the Urgyan Tsemo, the "Peak of Urgyan" which has a small Mani Lakhang. The prayer wheel, turned by an old monk, resounds with chimes that are heard every day at 4 am. Above the Urgyan is the holy cave temple known as 'Phaphug Lakhang' (dPal-phug IHa-khang), which is the main shrine of the Taktshang. It is also the residence of the Head Lama, Karma Thupden Chokyi Nyenci.

Paintings

The "Copper-Coloured Mountain Paradise of Padmasambahva" (Zangdopari) is vividly displayed in a heart shape on every thangkha and also painted on the walls of the monastery as a constant reminder of the legend. The paintings are set on a pedestal that represents the realm of the King of Nagas amidst Dakinis (mKha-hgro-ma), and the pinnacle in the painting denotes the domain of Brahma. The paintings also depict Klu (Naga) demigods with a human head and the body of a serpent, which are said to reside in lakes (said to denote that they are guarding the hidden treasures). Allegorically, they mean to represent the spiritual holy writings. The paintings also show what is termed as "Walkers in the Sky" (mKha-hgro-ma).

The holy hill is drawn in the backdrop with four faces painted with different colors – the east face is in crystal white color, the south face is yellow, the west is in red color and the north has green color. The palace has four sides and eight corners with its lower and upper tiers adorned with jewels. The courtyard with four enclosures is said to represent four kinds of conduct. The walls are built with bricks, balconies have been bejewelled with religious symbols. The ambience is shown in the form of wishing trees, fountains of the water of life, rain bows in five colors with cloud formations and light emanating from lotus flowers. The palace is also shown with a throne with eight corners fully and curiously bejewelled. Padmasmbahva is shown sitting on a pure stalk of lotus emitting divine energy appearing "divine, charitable, powerful, or fierce".

Further detailing depicted on the four faces and eight corners, are five kinds of Buddhas suppressing the vicious demons (performing four pious deeds) and placed on thrones that are mounted over the stooping demons. The demons and Khadoms are depicted adorned and seated on four petalled and four faced thrones "adorned with necromantic attributes" enjoying a good time; the Khadoms are seen on the four-sided courtyard of the palace and also on all side walls.

The scene is further embellished around the Guru Rinpoche (Padmashambahava) image and also in the palace, with gods and goddesses in the heavens, with gate keepers at the four gates with an army of messengers and servants; all trying to crush the demons to dust. The supporting staff shown are said to represent the Himalayan tribes of pre-Buddhist periods.

Visiting

Entrance Fee
After the revision of visa policy of Bhutan in 2023, it was decided that an entrance fee of 1,000 Nu will be levied for all adult visitors to Taktshang from March, 2023. Under the same revision, there will be special dates on the Bhutanese lunar calendar whereby only Bhutanese will be allowed to visit Taktshang.

References

Further reading
 Guide to Taktshang: Restored Taktshang, Department of Culture, Thimphu, Bhutan 2005.
 Seeds of Faith: A Comprehensive Guide to the Sacred Places of Bhutan vol. 1, pp. 121–125, KMT Publishers, Thimphu, Bhutan 2008.

External links

 A leading tour guide for Paro Taktsang
 Guide tour by Bhutan Himalayan Holidays [https://www.https://bhutanculturaltravel.com/paro-in-bhutan
Complete information about Paro taktsang Monastery

Drukpa Kagyu monasteries and temples in Bhutan
Nyingma monasteries and temples
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1692
Tibetan Buddhism in Bhutan
1692 establishments in Asia

Paro Taktsang


South Creek Township is a township in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,128 at the 2010 census. Children residing in the township are assigned to attend the Troy Area School District.

Geography
South Creek Township is located in northwestern Bradford County, along the New York state line. It is bordered by Ridgebury Township to the east, Springfield and Columbia townships to the south, and Wells Township to the west. To the north, in Chemung County, New York, are the towns of Southport (northwest) and Ashland (northeast).

Pennsylvania Route 14 runs north–south the length of the township, following the valley of South Creek, a tributary (via Seeley Creek) of the Chemung River in New York, and thence to the Susquehanna River. Route 14 passes through the unincorporated communities of Dunning, Gillett, and Fassett within the township.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which  is land and , or 0.12%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,261 people, 484 households, and 363 families residing in the township.  The population density was .  There were 559 housing units at an average density of 19.9/sq mi (7.7/km).  The racial makeup of the township was 98.89% White, 0.56% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.08% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.43% of the population.

There were 484 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the township the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $31,793, and the median income for a family was $36,071. Males had a median income of $30,952 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the township was $15,015.  About 10.0% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

Populated places established in 1804
Townships in Bradford County, Pennsylvania
Townships in Pennsylvania

South Creek Township, Pennsylvania


The Paschal cycle, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is the cycle of the moveable feasts built around Pascha (Easter). The cycle consists of approximately ten weeks before and seven weeks after Pascha. The ten weeks before Pascha are known as the period of the , referring to the liturgical book that contains the services for this liturgical season. This period includes the three weeks preceding Great Lent, the "pre-Lenten period", the forty days of Lent, and Holy Week. The 50 days following Pascha are called the , also named after the liturgical book.

The Sunday of each week has a special commemoration, named for the Gospel reading assigned to that day. Certain other weekdays have special commemorations of their own. The entire cycle revolves around Pascha. The weeks before Pascha end on Sunday, i.e., the Week of the Prodigal Son begins on the Monday that follows the Publican and the Pharisee. This is because everything in the Lenten period is anticipatory of Pascha. Starting on Pascha, the weeks again begin on Sunday, i.e., Thomas Week begins on the Sunday of St. Thomas.

While the Pentecostarion closes after All Saints Sunday, the Paschal cycle continues throughout the entire year, until the beginning of the next Pre-Lenten period. The Tone of the Week, the Epistle and Gospel readings at the Divine Liturgy, and the 11 Matins Gospels with their accompanying hymns are dependent on it.

Pre-Lent

Zacchaeus Sunday (Slavic tradition) or Sunday of the Canaanite (Greek tradition): 11th Sunday before Pascha
The Publican and the Pharisee: 10th Sunday before Pascha (70 days)
The Prodigal Son: 9th Sunday before Pascha (63 days)
The Last Judgment; also, Meat-Fare Sunday (the last day meat may be eaten): 8th Sunday before Pascha (56 days)
Sunday of Forgiveness; also, Cheese-Fare Sunday (the last day dairy products may be consumed — during Great Lent fish, wine, and olive oil will be allowed only on certain days): 7th Sunday before Pascha (49 days)

Great Lent

Clean Monday, the actual beginning of Great Lent: 48 days before Pascha
Theodore Saturday—1st Saturday in Great Lent—commemorating of the "miracle of the kolyva" (boiled wheat) by Theodore of Tyro during the reign of Julian the Apostate
Triumph of Orthodoxy—1st Sunday of Lent—commemoration of the restoration of icons after the defeat of the iconoclast heresy in 843: 6th Sunday before Pascha (42 days)
Memorial Saturdays—2nd, 3rd, and 4th Saturdays of Great Lent—commemorative Divine Liturgies and memorial services for the dead are celebrated on the
Saint Gregory Palamas—2nd Sunday of Lent—5th Sunday before Pascha (35 days)
Adoration of the Cross 4th Sunday before Pascha and 3rd Sunday of Lent (28 days)
Saint John of the Ladder—3rd Sunday before Pascha and 4th Sunday of Lent—(21 days)
Saturday of the Akathist—5th Saturday of Great Lent
Saint Mary of Egypt—5th Sunday of Lent—2nd Sunday before Pascha (14 days)

Great and Holy Week

Lazarus Saturday, the beginning of Holy Week (8 days before Pascha)
Palm Sunday, or the Triumphant Entry of Christ into Jerusalem: last Sunday before Pascha (7 days)
Great and Holy Monday: Joseph the All-Comely (from the Old Testament), who was sold into slavery by his brethren, and the withering of the fig tree (Matthew 21:18-22) (6 days)
Great and Holy Tuesday: Parable of the Ten Virgins (5 days)
Great and Holy Wednesday: Anointing of Jesus with myrrh by Mary of Bethany (Sister of Lazarus and Martha) in the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany; also, the Holy Unction (4 days)
Great and Holy Thursday: The washing of the disciples' feet, the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the "Marvelous Prayer", and the betrayal by Judas Iscariot (3 days)
Great and Holy Friday: The holy, saving and lifegiving Passion of Christ; Joseph of Arimathea (2 days)
Great and Holy Saturday: The Sepulchre of Christ, his descent into Hades to raise up mankind and defeat the powers of death (last day before Pascha)

Great and Holy Pascha

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: very late Saturday night (with the procession starting at midnight)
Agape Vespers: Proclamation of the Gospel to all the ends of the Earth, symbolized by the reading of the Gospel in various languages from the four corners of the Church building (Sunday afternoon)

Pentecostarion (Paschaltide)

Bright Week: Week commencing on Pascha
Thomas Sunday (Sunday of Saint Thomas): 1st Sunday after Pascha (8 days; counting Pascha as day 1)
The Holy Myrrhbearers: 2nd Sunday after Pascha (15 days)
The Paralytic: 3rd Sunday after Pascha (22 days)
Mid-Pentecost: 4th Wednesday after Pascha (25 days)
The Samaritan Woman (Photini): 4th Sunday after Pascha (29 days)
The Blind Man: 5th Sunday after Pascha (36 days)
The Leave-Taking (Apodosis) of Pascha (39 Days)The Ascension of Jesus Christ (40 days)The Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council: 6th Sunday after Pascha (43 days)Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles: 7th Sunday after Pascha (50 days)All Saints''': 8th Sunday after Pascha (57 days)

Gallery of icons of the Paschal cycle

See also
List of movable Eastern Christian observances

Notes

References

Eastertide
Eastern Orthodox liturgical days
Christian terminology
Lent
Holidays based on the date of Easter
April observances

Paschal cycle


Zolochiv Castle was a residence of the Sobieski noble family on a hill at the confluence of two small rivers in the south-eastern part of Zolochiv (), Galicia (now part of Ukraine's Lviv Oblast).

The rectangular fort was built in 1634–36 by Jakub Sobieski using the labor of enslaved Crimean Tatars. The Sobieski castle comprised solid walls in a then-current Dutch style, with four pentagonal towers at each corner, and the so-called "grand palace". The Chinese Palace, a diminutive mauve-colored rotunda flanked by one-storey wings, was added later in the century as John III's gift to his French-born wife, Queen Marie.

In 1672, the castle was taken after a 6-days siege by the Turks under Kapudan Pasa. Three years later, it survived a new siege by the Ottoman army. After Jakub Ludwik Sobieski's death in 1737, the castle passed to the Radziwiłł princely family and then (in 1801) to Count Łukasz Komarnicki-Pawlikowicz (of the House of Sas), whose heirs sold it to the Austrian crown in 1834.

In the 19th century, the castle was adapted for use as a hospital and barracks. It was turned into a prison in 1872 and continued in use after the September Campaign. There's a chapel commemorating the victims of the NKVD on the grounds of the castle.

Thousands of people belonging to the Jewish faith were taken from Zolochiv and were killed by the Germans at the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa.

Since 1985, the complex has been supervised by the Lviv Art Gallery and under restoration. Recently it began to open its grounds for visitors. Exhibits include more than 25 European coats of arms, dinosaur bone chandeliers, and a replica of a typical royal crown from the 13th century, that could be similar to that of Daniel of Galicia.

See also
 List of Baroque residences

References
 Памятники градостроительства и архитектуры Украинской ССР. Киев: Будивельник, 1983—1986. Том 3, с. 132.

Castles in Ukraine
Palaces in Ukraine
Buildings and structures in Lviv Oblast
Museums in Lviv Oblast

Zolochiv Castle


Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was born in London, and died there. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the modern evolutionary synthesis.

He was Secretary of the Zoological Society of London (1935–1942), the first Director of UNESCO, and a founding member of the World Wildlife Fund.

Huxley came from the distinguished Huxley family. His brother was the writer Aldous Huxley, and his half-brother, a fellow biologist and Nobel laureate, Andrew Huxley; and his paternal grandfather was Thomas Henry Huxley, a friend and supporter of Charles Darwin and proponent of evolution.

Huxley was well known for his presentation of science in books and articles, and on radio and television. He was awarded UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for the popularisation of science in 1953, the Darwin Medal of the Royal Society in 1956, and the Darwin-Wallace medal of the Linnean Society in 1958. He was also knighted in that same year, 1958, a hundred years after Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace announced the theory of evolution by natural selection. In 1959 he received a Special Award of the Lasker Foundation in the category Planned Parenthood – World Population. Huxley was a prominent member of the British Eugenics Society.

Early work

His particular interest was bird behaviour, especially the courtship of water birds. His observations on the ethology of the Great Crested Grebe, published in 1914, was a landmark in avian field research. His invention of vivid labels for the rituals (such as 'penguin dance', 'plesiosaurus race' etc.) made the ideas memorable and interesting to the general reader.

Evolution
Huxley was the most important biologist after August Weismann to insist on natural selection as the primary agent in evolution. A fine communicator, he was a prominent populariser of biological science to the public. In the early 20th century he was one of the minority of biologists who believed that natural selection was the main driving force of evolution, and that evolution occurred by small steps and not by jumps. These opinions are now standard. Though his time as an academic was quite brief, he taught and encouraged a number of evolutionary biologists at the University of Oxford in the 1920s.

Modern evolutionary synthesis
Huxley was a key figure in the modern evolutionary synthesis. This explained how the discoveries of Gregor Mendel on genetics fitted with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection. Huxley's

Huxley's first 'trial run' was the treatment of evolution in the Science of Life (1929–30), and in 1936 he published a long and significant paper for the British Association. In 1938 came three lengthy reviews on major evolutionary topics.

Now it was time for Huxley to tackle the subject of evolution at full length, in what became the defining work of his life. His book Evolution: the modern synthesis was written whilst he was Secretary to the Zoological Society, and made use of his remarkable collection of reprints covering the first part of the century. It was published in 1942. Reviews of the book in learned journals were little short of ecstatic; the American Naturalist called it "The outstanding evolutionary treatise of the decade, perhaps of the century. The approach is thoroughly scientific; the command of basic information amazing".

Huxley's main co-respondents in the modern evolutionary synthesis are usually listed as Ernst Mayr, Theodosius Dobzhansky, George Gaylord Simpson, Bernhard Rensch, Ledyard Stebbins and the population geneticists J.B.S. Haldane, Ronald Fisher and Sewall Wright. However, at the time of Huxley's book, several of these had yet to make their distinctive contribution. E.B. Ford and his co-workers in ecological genetics were at least as important.

Evolutionary progress
He always believed that on a broad view evolution led to advances in organisation. "Progress without a goal" was one of his favourite phrases.

In the final chapter of his Evolution the modern synthesis he defines evolutionary progress as "a raising of the upper level of biological efficiency, this being defined as increased control over and independence of the environment. "Natural selection plus time produces biological improvement... Improvements in biological machinery... the limbs and teeth of grazing horses... the increase in brain-power... The eyes of a dragon-fly, which can see all round [it] in every direction, are an improvement over the mere microscopic eye-spots of early forms of life". "[Over] the whole range of evolutionary time we see general advance — improvement in all the main properties of life, including its general organization. [But] improvement is not universal. Lower forms manage to survive alongside higher".

Eugenics
Huxley was a prominent member of the British Eugenics Society, and was vice-president (1937–1944) and President (1959–1962). Huxley was one of many intellectuals at the time who believed that the lowest class in society was genetically inferior. He advocated "the virtual elimination of the few lowest and most degenerate types". In his writing he used this argument several times: no-one doubts the wisdom of managing the germ-plasm of agricultural stocks, so why not apply the same concept to human stocks?.

In the post-war years, after the realisation that eugenic ideas had become tainted by the Nazis, Huxley (1957) coined the term "transhumanism" to describe the view that man should better himself through science and technology, possibly including eugenics, but also, importantly, the improvement of the social environment.

UNESCO and race
In response to the rise of European fascism in the 1930s Huxley was asked to write We Europeans with three other scientists. Huxley suggested the word 'race' be replaced with ethnic group. After the Second World War he was instrumental in producing the UNESCO statement The Race Question, which asserted that:
"A race, from the biological standpoint, may therefore be defined as one of the group of populations constituting the species Homo sapiens"... "Now what has the scientist to say about the groups of mankind which may be recognized at the present time? Human races can be and have been differently classified by different anthropologists, but at the present time most anthropologists agree on classifying the greater part of present-day mankind into three major divisions, as follows: The Mongoloid Division; The Negroid Division; The Caucasoid Division."... "Catholics, Protestants, Moslems and Jews are not races..."

Books
This is a selection of Huxley's most influential books:
 The courtship habits of the Great Crested Grebe (1914) Huxley, Julian 1914. Reprinted by Jonathan Cape, London 1968.
 Essays of a Biologist (1923)
 Religion without revelation (1927, revised edition 1957)
 The science of life: a summary of contemporary knowledge about life and its possibilities (with H.G. & G.P. Wells, 1929–30).
 Bird-watching and bird behaviour (1930)
 Problems of relative growth (1932)
 A scientist among the Soviets (1932)
 Elements of experimental embryology (with Gavin de Beer, 1934)
 Evolution: the modern synthesis. Allen & Unwin, London. (1942, reprinted 1943, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1955; 2nd ed, with new introduction and bibliography by the author, 1963; 3rd ed, with new introduction and bibliography by nine contributors, 1974). U.S. first edition by Harper, 1943.
 Evolution and ethics 1893–1943. Pilot, London. In USA as Touchstone for ethics Harper, N.Y. (1947)
 Soviet genetics and World science: Lysenko and the meaning of heredity. Chatto & Windus, London. In USA as Heredity, East and West. Schuman, N.Y. (1949).
 Evolution in action (1953)
 Evolution as a process (with Hardy A.C. and Ford E.B. eds) Allen & Unwin, London. (1954)
 The coming new religion of humanism (1962)
 Essays of a humanist (1964) reprinted 1966, 1969, 1992:

References

1887 births
1975 deaths
British zoologists
English evolutionary biologists
English science writers
Fellows of the Royal Society
Huxley family
Knights Bachelor
Scientists from London

Julian Huxley


A foundation is the lowest part of a building. A building needs a strong foundation if it is to stand for a long time. A heavier building or softer soil needs a deeper foundation.

To make a foundation, engineers dig a trench in the ground. They dig until they reach solid ground. When the trench is deep enough, it is filled it with strong, hard material. Sometimes concrete is used. Concrete can be made stronger by putting long thin round pieces of steel into the trench. When the concrete dries, the steel ties the foundation together. We call this reinforced concrete. Once the foundation has been packed down tightly, or dried hard, construction can start.

Other websites

construction

Foundation (engineering)


The Berlin Blockade was from 24 June 1948 to 11 May 1949. It began when the Soviet Union blocked railway and road access by the three Western powers (the Americans, British, and French) to the Western-occupied sectors of Berlin. The blockade stopped after the Western powers used airplanes to airlift food and other things that people needed.

The Soviet Union began the blockade because they thought that monetary reform in the three German Occupation zones controlled by the Western powers which started on 21 June 1948 made the western parts of Germany too strong and wanted to force the west out of their occupation zone.

Postwar division of Germany
When the Allied Powers met at Potsdam they agreed to divide Germany into four occupation zones, American, British, Soviet, and French. They divided Berlin into four zones as well. Berlin was surrounded by the Soviet occupation zone, so the only way to get to the three western controlled sectors was driving through Soviet-controlled territory.

Causes

The Soviet Union began the blockade because they thought the western half of Germany (controlled by the UK, USA and France) was becoming too strong, because one currency had recently been introduced throughout the entire western half - the Deutsche Mark. The Soviets were worried that a single currency would help the economy of the western half recovered quickly from the damage caused by the Second World War, and that this stronger western half would eventually develop into a country (it eventually did, called West Germany). The Russians wanted one Germany, without an army, that they could easily control. The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union had killed one in seven Soviet people, and the Soviets feared that Britain, France and America might try to launch their own invasion at some point in the future. They therefore wanted as much land between them and France as possible, so that any major war would be fought in central Europe, and not in the Soviet Union where Soviet civilians might be killed (which is what had happened during WWII).

Germany also has lots of coal and iron near its border with France. The Soviets wanted to use the coal and steel to help rebuild their own country, but these resources would be difficult to access if the western half of Germany turned into a capitalist country that was allied to Britain, France, and the USA. If Germany was a single neutral country, gaining access to these resources would be easier because Germany could be bullied by the Soviet Union.

Berlin airlift

On 24 June 1948, the Soviet Union blocked access to the three Western-held sectors of Berlin. They cut off all rail and road routes going through Soviet-controlled territory in the United States. They also blocked routes by river and canal to the Baltic Sea. The Western powers had arranged a treaty with the Soviets guaranteeing the right to use the roads, railways and waterways.

The commander of the U.S. occupation zone in Germany, General Lucius D. Clay, wanted to send some tanks along the Autobahn from West Germany to West Berlin, with instructions to fire if they were stopped or attacked. President Truman said no, because that may start a war. Clay was told to ask General Curtis LeMay, commander of United States Air Forces in Europe, to see if an airlift was possible. General Albert Wedemeyer, the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, was in Europe when the blockade began. He had been commander of the American forces in India and China in 1944–45. He knew about the Allied airlift from India over "The Hump" of the Himalayas to China. He was in favour of starting an airlift.

The first flight of the airlift was thirty-two C-47 cargo planes on 26 June 1948. They carried 80 tons of cargo including milk, flour, and medicine.

So many things had to be flown into Berlin that aircraft took off every three minutes. If an aircraft missed its landing place it could not fly around the airfield and try again, it had to return to its base. This was easier and safer than holding up the aircraft following behind.

The Americans also recruited ex-Luftwaffe aircraft mechanics to help with maintenance, when the Allies realised that the blockade was going to last longer than the expected three weeks.

British, U.S., Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and South African pilots flew in the airlift. The French were fighting in their colonies in South-East Asia and could not spare many aeroplanes for the airlift. Instead they built a new and larger airport in its sector, on the shores of Lake Tegel. They completed the building in less than 90 days. Today it is the Berlin-Tegel International Airport.

Hundreds of aircraft, nicknamed Rosinenbomber ("raisin bombers") by Berliners, were used to fly in a wide variety of cargo, ranging from large containers to small packets of candy with tiny individual parachutes intended for the children of Berlin, were flown out of Berlin on return flights.

278,228 flights were made, and 2,326,406 tons of food and supplies, including more than 1.5 million tons of coal, were delivered to Berlin.

The USSR lifted its blockade at midnight, on 11 May 1949. But, the airlift did not end until 30 September 1949, because the Western states wanted to build up enough supplies in West Berlin in case the Soviets blockaded it again.

The three major Berlin airfields involved were Tempelhof, in the American Sector, RAF Gatow in the British and Tegel in the French. To keep everything safe, air traffic control was located at Tempelhof. A new four-power organization also started, Berlin Air Safety Center (BASC). BASC only closed down in 1990, when Germany was reunited and the ordinary German civilian air traffic control took over.

British operation
The British had about 150 C-47 Dakotas and 40 Avro Yorks. The RAF was also using 10 Short Sunderlands and later by Short Hythe flying boats. These flew Finkenwerder on the Elbe near Hamburg to the Havel river. The flying boats were designed to resist rust and water damage so were very useful for transporting bulk salt, which would have rusted the other planes. Many other aircraft were later used, and the British had flown in about 100,000 tons of cargo by the end of the blockade.

Monument
39 British and 31 U.S. pilots died during the blockade. There is a monument with their names in front of Tempelhof airport. Similar monuments can be found at the military airfield Wietzenbruch near Celle and at Rhein-Main Air Base

Afterward
Tegel was developed into west Berlin's principal airport, and by 2007 had been joined by a redeveloped Berlin-Schoenefeld in Brandenburg. As a result of these two airports Tempelhof  1980s Schoenefeld had had its own crossing points through the Berlin Wall for western citizens.

Related pages
 Berlin
 RAF Gatow
 East Berlin
 Gail Halvorsen (also known as "Uncle Wiggle Wings the Candy Bomber")
 The Big Lift, a 1950 movie about the airlift from an American point of view.
 Bob Clarke (Historian)

Notes

References
 Robert E. Griffin and D. M. Giangreco, Airbridge to Berlin : The Berlin Crisis of 1948, Its Origins and Aftermath, Presidio Press, 1988.
 Launius, Roger D. and Coy F. Cross II MAC and the Legacy of the Berlin Airlift. Scott Air Force Base IL: Office of History, Military Airlift Command, 1989.

Other websites
  - A PBS site on the context and history of the Berlin Airlift.
 Operation Plainfare
 Luftbruecke: Allied Culture in the Heart of Berlin
 Agreement to divide Berlin
 Memorandum for the President: The Situation in Germany, July 23, 1948
 Berlin Airlift: Logistics, Humanitarian Aid, and Strategic Success
 Royal Engineers Museum  Royal Engineers and the Cold War (Berlin Airlift)

1948
1949 in Europe
1940s in Berlin
Cold War

Berlin Blockade


Honeydew is a liquid sugar that aphids and some scale insects make when they eat plant sap. Honeydew is very sticky.

To eat plant sap, the aphid or scale insect pushes its mouth parts into the plant. Plant sap is under pressure inside the plant. The pressure inside the plant pushes the sap into the insect. Sometimes the pressure is so great that the sap is forced out of the rear of the insect. This is how honeydew is made. The honeydew then drops from the insect and makes a sticky layer on the plant.

Honeydew on plants can cause sooty mould, which is white and appears as powder on the plant.

Honeydew is collected by some insects, such as some wasps and bees. Some honey bees make honeydew into a dark, strong honey, called honeydew honey. Honeydew honey is valuable in parts of Europe and Asia because people think it can be used as a medicine.

Ants collect honeydew from aphids. Many ants even harvest the honeydew directly from the aphids. This helps the aphids, because the ants chase predators, such as lady beetles, away from the aphids.

Botany
Insects

Honeydew


Warwick Castle (pronounced 'Worrick') is a large castle in Warwickshire, England. It is near the town of Warwick. The castle was once the family home of the Earls of Warwick.

There are many rooms in the castle. Some of the rooms have mannequins in them that look like real people. These are dressed in costume. They are used to show how people might have lived in the castle hundreds of years ago. Warwick Castle has a dungeon. One part of the castle is said to be haunted. Actors play the part of the ghost and the servant who killed him in a dramatic "Spook Experience". Lights and sounds are used to add to the effect.

The castle has a very high wall walk. It can be explored, so that visitors can see from where the guards looked for enemies. A long, steep flight of steps leads up to the highest part of the castle where the flagpole is.

There are many paintings in the castle. There are portraits of English Kings and Queens as well as of members of the family who owned the castle. It is possible to see the private chambers, or bedrooms, where the family and their most important guests slept.

Other websites
 Warwick Castle
 Warwick Castle in photos

Castles in England

Buildings and structures in Warwickshire
11th-century buildings and structures

Warwick Castle


The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR), was a working union of two neighbouring railways, the South Eastern Railway (SER) and London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), which operated between London and south east England. Between 1899 and 1923, the SECR had a monopoly of railway services in Kent and to the main Channel ports for ferries to France and Belgium. In 1923, the SECR became a part of the Southern Railway under the Railways Act 1921.

Pre-grouping British railway companies

South Eastern and Chatham Railway


Crawford Logan is a British actor best known for his work in radio. In 2006 he became the latest actor to play the eponymous hero Paul Temple in a revival of the long-running mystery series on BBC radio. In 2009 he narrated the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson.

On television, he has appeared in Doctor Who as Deedrix in the Tom Baker story Meglos and Secret Army. He is also a member of the band The Martians.  Logan played D.I. Donaghue in the crime drama "P Division: Code Four One" on BBC Radio 4 in the 1994 and 1995 series.

Radio

References

External links

Crawford Logan radio appearances

British male radio actors
British male television actors
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)

Crawford Logan