Quetzalcóatlus, or simply Quetzalcóatl (pronounced: ketsalˈkoːaːtɬ in Nahuatl), is an Aztec sky and creator god. The name is a combination of quetzalli, a brightly colored Mesoamerican bird, and coatl, which means serpent; it is therefore usually translated as "feathered serpent" or "plumed serpent". Quetzalcoatl was often pictured as a snake with feathers, although he was sometimes shown in the form of a human. Quetzalcoatl was associated with the planet Venus, as well as being the patron god of the Aztec priesthood, of learning and of knowledge.

The name Quetzalcoatl was also taken on by several ancient Aztec leaders. Many events and characteristics attributed to Quetzalcoatl are therefore exceedingly difficult to separate from the political leaders who took his name. To name one leader Herman Cortes who sailed to the Aztecs to conquer and to steal their gold. Today Quetzalcoatl is arguably the best known Aztec deity but there were several other important Aztec gods too: Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli.

Other Mesoamerican cultures have worshipped a feathered serpent god as well: At Teotihuacan the several monumental structures have images of a feathered serpent (See the so-called "Citadel and Temple of Quetzalcoatl" ). One can see similar images at Chichén Itza and Tula. This has led scholars to conclude that the deity called Quetzalcoatl in the Nahuatl language was among the most important deities of Mesoamerica.

Legends
There are many legends associated with Quetzalcoatl. One legend said that the world had been created four times before, but each time it was destroyed again. Then Quetzalcoatl collected human bones from the underworld and added his own blood to bring them to life. He was therefore considered the creator of the humans living at the time of the Aztec Empire.

Another legend said that Quetzalcoatl had been banished, but that he would return from the east just before the end of the world. This legend has been used to support the idea that the Aztec leader Moctezuma thought that the Spanish conquistador Cortés was Quetzalcoatl returning from exile. This would also explain why Moctezuma treated the Spanish so well. However, most historians now think that this idea was invented by the Spanish, and that Moctezuma didn't really think that Cortés was a god.

Notes

References

Relevant pages
Quetzalcoatlus, a huge pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous was named after Quetzalcoatl

Aztec gods and goddesses

tr:Tüylü yılan

Quetzalcoatl


The lynching of Marie Thompson of Shepherdsville took place in the early morning on June 15, 1904, in Lebanon Junction, Bullitt County, Kentucky, for her killing of John Irvin, a white landowner. The day before Thompson had attempted to defend her son from being beaten by Irvin in a dispute; he ordered her off the land. As she was walking away from him, he attacked her with a knife and she killed him in self-defense with a razor. She was arrested and put in the county jail.

About a dozen white men went to the jail at midnight the day of the killing to lynch Thompson. They were surprised by a group of black people and fled the scene. Assured by the sheriff that he would protect Thompson, the African Americans left. Two hours later, a larger lynch mob of about 50 took Thompson from the jail and prepared to hang her from a nearby tree. She grabbed a knife and freed herself, but did not run far before the group brought her down with a fusillade of mortal shots. She died the following day in jail of her injuries.

The killing of John Irvin

Marie Thompson was a black sharecropper who worked on land owned by John Irvin, a white man. While she and her son were working in her vegetable garden, Irvin approached them, and demanded the return of a pair of pliers. Thompson's son said that he had already returned the tool. Irvin began to accuse the boy of stealing the pliers, verbally berating him, and kicked him several times in the back.

Thompson confronted the landowner over her son, and they argued. Shocked that Thompson challenged him, Irvin demanded that she "get off his place." By evicting Thompson, Irvin took her home, income, and dignity. "Angry and desperate, Thompson... struck back."

According to Thompson, she complied with Irvin's demand, but "intentionally walked slowly". Irvin became enraged and tried to attack Marie from behind with a knife. Thompson, a woman weighing , got the better of Irvin and cut his throat with a razor, killing him. Thompson sold her horse and furniture to her neighbors, and was preparing to flee when she was arrested.

Attempted lynching

Thompson was arrested, jailed, and charged with murder. That same day, the Courier-Journal published an article about Irvin's death. That night an armed band of about a dozen white men formed a lynch mob and surrounded the jail in Lebanon Junction at midnight on June 14, 1904, intending to lynch Thompson. One man used a sledgehammer to beat at the large padlock keeping a heavy iron bar in place across the door of the jail. While the mob was trying to break in, a group of armed African-American men came behind them. The black men opened fire on the whites. The white men fled, firing off only a few wild shots in their escape from the scene. The gunfire brought most of the people of the village to the jail.

After the white County Sheriff and his deputies promised to protect Thompson if the mob returned, the group of black people dispersed.

The lynching

Two hours later at 2am, a mob of 50 men appeared at the jail. Meeting no response from law enforcement, they took Marie Thompson from her cell, dragging her by a rope tied around her neck, and tried to hang her from a tree in the jail yard. When Thompson saw that begging for mercy wasn't going to work, she began fighting the mob "like a tiger". One account described her as an "Amazon tiger". Eventually, the 50 white men got the noose around Thompson's neck, threw it over the branch, and pulled Thompson off the ground.  Thompson quickly twisted her body around, grabbed hold of one of the lynchers by the collar, snagged his knife, and cut the hemp rope. When she dropped to the ground, she started swinging at the drunken men. Thompson broke away from the crowd and started to run away. She was hit by a hail of gunfire, more than 100 shots. When she finally fell, the mob cheered.

Thompson died the next evening in the Shepherdsville county jail. On her deathbed, she told her doctor: "I didn't want to kill him. I only wanted to pay him back for what he had done to me and my boy." Thompson's defense showed that black families at the turn of the century South were still prepared to protect their own from offenses by whites.

Aftermath

Having betrayed the promise to protect Marie Thompson, the Sheriff and his deputies, and the whites in Lebanon Junction feared that local black people would seek revenge. Whites in Lebanon Junction armed themselves and waited several nights for an attack that never took place.

See also
 Lynching of the Walker family
 Lynching of Benjamin and Mollie French

References

Bullitt County, Kentucky
Deaths by person in Kentucky
Lynching deaths in Kentucky
Racially motivated violence against African Americans
1904 in Kentucky
1904 murders in the United States
June 1904 events
Women lynching victims in the United States

Lynching of Marie Thompson


Hachi: A Dog's Tale is a 2009 American drama film and a remake of Kaneto Shindo's 1987 Japanese film Hachikō Monogatari. The original film told the true story of the Akita dog named Hachikō who lived in Japan 1923-1935. This film is an American adaptation of true story set in 1985 Japan about a professor and his devoted dog. This version, which places it in a modern American context, was directed by Lasse Hallström, written by Stephen P. Lindsey and Kaneto Shindo, and produced by Richard Gere, Bill Johnson and Vicki Shigekuni Wong. The film stars Gere, Joan Allen, Sarah Roemer, Jason Alexander and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 13, 2009, and its first theatrical release was in Japan on August 8, 2009. The film was given a UK theatrical release on March 12, 2010, courtesy of Entertainment Film Distributors, and opened in more than 60 countries throughout 2009 and 2010. By the end of September 2010, the film's foreign box office returns had totalled more than $45 million. Sony Pictures Entertainment decided to forgo a U.S. theatrical release, bringing the film out on DVD on March 9, 2010  and eventually selling it to the Hallmark Channel, where it debuted on September 26, 2010.

Plot
Ronnie says to his class that his personal hero is his grandfather Parker Wilson's dog Hachi, whose story he starts narrating.

Parker Wilson, a professor who commutes to Providence, Rhode Island, finds a dog lost on the railway station in Bedridge and temporarily takes it home. The dog remains unclaimed but grows close to Parker, who takes it everywhere with him. Parker's Japanese friend Ken says the dog is a breed called Akita and the character on its collar tag is "Hachi" ("Eight" in Japanese). Parker thus names the dog "Hachi" as it is a lucky number. Parker's wife Cate Wilson eventually warms to Hachi but he sleeps outside in his own shed. Parker tries in vain to train Hachi in normal dog things like fetching a ball. However, Ken explains that Akita dogs cannot be trained; if Hachi fetches the ball, it will be for a special reason. Later, Parker's daughter Andy gets married to Michael, and Hachi is in the family marriage photograph. Soon after the marriage, Andy announces that she is pregnant. Years later, a grown-up Hachi digs under the fence and follows Parker to the station. He refuses to go home, and Parker misses the train. He hands him over to Cate and catches the next train. At 5:00 pm, he returns from the train and is surprised to find Hachi waiting for him at the station. He is even more surprised to learn that he came to the station all by himself. A daily routine begins: the two walk to the station, Parker leaves from the train, Hachi goes home, and returns at 5:00pm to receive Parker.

However, one morning, Hachi behaves strangely at home and then follows Parker to the railway station with the ball. Parker throws the ball towards him, and much to his delight, Hachi fetches it for the first time. They play for a while, and Parker eventually puts the ball in his pocket and begins to leave. Hachi barks and watches Parker's train leaving. Hours later, while still holding the ball, Parker suffers a fatal stroke in his classroom and collapses; Hachi waits for him at the railway station. At 9:30pm, Michael comes to the railway station and takes Hachi home. From his shed, Hachi watches the family mourning Parker. The next morning, Parker's family members and friends gather for his funeral while Hachi goes to the station to wait. Soon, Cate sells the house and moves away, and Hachi goes to live with Andy and Michael and their infant son Ronnie. However, Hachi follows the train tracks to Bedridge. Andy and Michael find him and take him back to their house. Realizing that Hachi is pining for Parker, Andy opens the gate for him. Hachi licks her hand and runs back to the Bedridge station. Hachi waits at the station every day, while hot-dog seller Jasjeet and the other passers-by feed him. Soon, a reporter writes a story about Hachi, and people start sending him money and cards. Ken reads Hachi's news, travels to Bedridge and speaks to Hachi in Japanese: He too misses his best friend. On Parker's tenth death anniversary, Cate arrives in town to visit his grave, where Ken is present, too. She is moved to see an elderly Hachi still waiting at the station for his master. Later, Cate tells 10-year-old Ronnie the story of Hachi, who slowly settles in place. Hachi later passes away at his place in the station, while still waiting for Parker.

In the present, Ronnie says that his grandfather and Hachi taught him the meaning of "loyalty", which means "you should never forget anyone you have loved". He concludes that Hachi will forever be his personal hero and the class applauds. From the school bus, Ronnie is met by Michael and a tiny new puppy who is also named Hachi. Ronnie and the puppy travel through the same tracks Hachi traveled years ago.

Cast

Main
 Layla / Chico / Forrest – Hachi Wilson
 Richard Gere – Professor Parker Wilson
 Joan Allen – Cate Wilson
 Sarah Roemer - Andy Wilson
 Robbie Collier Sublett - Michael

Supporting
 Kevin DeCoste - Ronnie whose parents are Michael and Andy
 Erick Avari – Jasjeet, the Indian hot-dog cart vendor
 Jason Alexander – Carl Boilins, the train station master
 Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa – Ken Fujiyoshi, the Japanese professor who is Parker's friend
 Davenia McFadden – Mary-Ann, the bookstore owner
 Tora Hallström – Heather, one of Ronnie's classmates

Production
The end credits include a disclaimer warning that "Although beloved by many as a family pet, Akitas are recommended only for dedicated and experienced dog owners," referring viewers to the American Humane Society and the American Kennel Club for more information.

When David Itzkoff wrote about the film in a September 24, 2010, article headlined "Film has Two Big Names and a Dog but No Big Screens", he reported that Sony refused to comment on its decision not to release the picture to theaters in the United States.

The color in scenes filmed from the dog's point of view is desaturated almost to black-and-white. Although there are several scenes from Hachi's POV, the film never puts human dialogue in Hachi's mind/mouth.

Animal trainer Mark Harden and his team trained the three Akitas—Layla, Chico and Forrest—who played the role of Hachi in the movie. Harden adopted Chico after the movie was completed. Trainer David Allsberry adopted Layla after the shoot.  New York Times reporter David Itzkoff repeated Richard Gere's description of the challenging process of getting to know his canine co-stars: There was, Mr. Gere said, "a certain amount of anxiety, of would we get along? They cannot be bought." But after about three days, he said, "One of the dogs came over and put her head right on my lap. And that was a big moment - I was accepted in the pack."The movie was based on the real Japanese Akita dog Hachikō, who was born in Ōdate, Japan, in 1923. After the death of his owner, Ueno Hidesaburō in 1925, Hachikō returned to the Shibuya train station the next day and every day after that for the next nine years until he died in March 1935. A bronze statue of Hachikō is in front of the Shibuya train station in his honor, in the spot where he waited. Hachikō is known in Japanese as chūken Hachikō (忠犬ハチ公) "faithful dog Hachikō", hachi meaning "eight" and kō meaning "affection." The film ends with a text panel summarizing the story of the real Hachikō, a photo of the dog and a shot of the bronze statue. According to the movie's closing cards, the real Hachikō died in March 1934, while the earlier movie, Hachikō Monogatari, and other sources state that his actual death was on March 1935 (9 years and 9 months after Professor Ueno's death).

The majority of filming took place in Bristol, Rhode Island, and Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The only spoken reference to the actual location where filming took place is when the newspaper reporter Teddy states he works for the Woonsocket Call (Woonsocket's daily newspaper).

Additional locations included the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, Rhode Island, along the Providence and Worcester Railroad Mechanical, and the Columbus Theater located in Providence, Rhode Island. A second production unit filmed scenes on-location in Japan. Footage was shot at the (now closed) Reynolds Elementary School in Bristol.

Reception
In October 2009, Christopher Lloyd of the Sarasota Herald Tribune gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, noting:  "Hachi: A Dog's Tale is unapologetically a tear-jerker. You might resent being emotionally manipulated by this film, but I challenge even the most hard-hearted moviegoer not to spill some saltwater while watching it."

In June 2009, Varietys Alissa Simon described the film as a "Sentimental, repetitive tale... [harking] back to the values, production and otherwise, of an earlier era. [...] It's family-friendly rather than family fare; kids are likely to be bored stiff. [...] Even so, the dog's silent distress and dignity will move all but the hardest hearts. [The] pic's main problem is that its human story lacks drama; Hachi's the central attraction."

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 64% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10.

Commemoration

On May 19, 2012, a bronze replica of the original Hachiko statue was placed at the train depot at Woonsocket Depot Square, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where the movie was filmed. The train depot at One Depot Square was renamed Hachiko Place. The Rhode Island statue's dedication ceremony was part of the Cherry Blossom Festival held in three Rhode Island towns: Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket. Dignitaries including the Mayor of Woonsocket and the Consul General of Japan attended the ceremony. Two cherry blossom trees were planted by the statue. A visitor from New Jersey's Akita-mix (also named Hachi) was invited to participate at the ribbon-cutting ceremony as a "real-life stand-in for Hachiko".

The Blackstone Valley Heritage Corridor and the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council have created a handout with useful info for people who want to take a tour of the movie locations for "Hachi".

In commemoration of the daily vigil, a lone statue of Hachiko was erected in front of Shibuya Station in 1934, even while the canine was still alive.

Remake
The story of film was used for remake in Indian Language Telugu film as Tommy in 2015 where a Beagle dog was represented

Score
The film score of Hachi was composed by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek.

Track list
 "Japan" (03:26)
 "New Home" (01:47)
 "The Foot" (02:40)
 "Dance Rehearsal" (02:15)
 "Storm and the Rescue" (01:36)
 "The Second Dance" (00:51)
 "Under the Fence" (01:51)
 "Treats from Cate" (01:52)
 "Parker's Dance Played on Piano" (03:42)
 "Parker and Hachi Walk to the Station" (02:04)
 "Baby" (01:23)
 "Marriage Bath" (03:27)
 "Fetch" (02:12)
 "To Train Together" (03:25)
 "Packing Boxes" (02:15)
 "Parker and Hachi" (03:28)
 "Hachiko Runs Away" (04:27)
 "Memory of the Storm" (01:36)
 "Hachi Waiting for Parker Again" (02:51)
 "Hachi's Last Trip to the Station" (02:06)
 "Goodbye" (02:10)
 "Hachi, Parker, Cate and Memories" (03:58)
 "Hachi's Voice (Version 1)" (Bonus track) (00:14)
 "Hachi's Voice (Version 2)" (Bonus track) (00:10)
 "Hachi's Voice (Version 3)" (Bonus track) (00:11)
 "Hachi's Voice (Version 4)" (Bonus track) (00:09)

References

External links

Hachi: A Dog's Tale on TCM

2009 films
2009 drama films
2000s children's drama films
American drama films
American children's drama films
Films directed by Lasse Hallström
Films scored by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
American remakes of Japanese films
Films about dogs
Drama films based on actual events
Films about pets
Films set in 1998
Films set in 2008
Films set in Rhode Island
Films set in Japan
Films shot in Rhode Island
Films shot in Japan
Stage 6 Films films
Japan in non-Japanese culture
2000s English-language films
2000s American films

Hachi: A Dog's Tale


Battle Arena Toshinden 3 for PlayStation is a 3D weapons-based fighting game and sequel of Battle Arena Toshinden 2. Toshinden 3 is the first of the main series not to be ported to other platforms. It is also the only game in the series that has game play differences between the Japanese version and subsequent U.S. and European releases.

Gameplay
Whereas Toshinden 2 was largely built upon the first game, Toshinden 3 radically changes the series' gameplay. The arenas are now enclosed, allowing players to launch opponents into the walls and ceilings in order to juggle them with further attacks. The combo system has also been reworked, with every character possessing a preset list of combos. As well as the 14 starting fighters, the game also adds 18 unlockable fighters bringing the total to 32, though most of them are largely mirror images of the original 14's fighting styles.

Toshinden 3'''s Arcade Mode is much different from the previous two. The opponents that the player faces depend on their selected character. If the player chooses one of the 14 starting fighters or "Heroes", then the computer-controlled opponents will eventually be Organization members while choosing an Organization member will have the player facing off against the "Heroes" themselves. Nagisa and Vermilion serve as the first bosses to their opponents' sides while the specific playing character's sub-boss soon appears next. After that, Sho arrives as the third boss (doubling as the final boss for any Organization member) and once he's defeated, the player will then face off against the Organization leader Abel, who serves as the normal final boss of the game. The former leader of the Organization whom Abel imprisoned, Veil, then later Kayin Amoh's adoptive daughter, Naru can be fought after defeating Abel within the hardest difficulty levels of the game.

The U.S. and European releases of Toshinden 3 feature several game play differences from the original Japanese release including:
 Blocking high or low is automatic; pressing back blocks both block high and low attacks. In the Japanese version one had to press back and down to block low attacks.
 When hit by a reversal attack, all characters fly the full length of the arena. In the Japanese version, A.I. opponents fly the full length of the arena, but how far the player character flies is determined by his or her weight.
 Practice and Survival modes were added.
 A bug regarding the direction a character flies when hit by attacks that send them flying across the arena, when they were facing away from their attacker, was fixed.
 The forward distance a character moves while being hurt from Vermillion's over drive was decreased to match the backward distance, to prevent them from slowly moving toward Vermillion during the move.

Plot
With the Secret Society, the sponsors of the two previous Battle Arena Toshinden tournaments, finally defeated, it would soon transpire and be known that the Secret Society's long-time rival criminal group, the Organization, who have been observing both tournaments from the shadows, are now ready and prepared to make their own move in having to bring forth the destructive fighting god, Agon Teos, into the world.

The Organization's leader, Abel, requires the sacrificial blood of the world's strongest warriors and through the knowledge of his loyal agent, Vermilion, Abel organizes and sponsors a third Battle Arena Toshinden tournament in order to lure Eiji Shinjo and his fellow Toshinden fighters out in the open while pitting them against his own chosen warriors, who have copied and learned their specific targets' respective fighting styles. Furthermore, Abel targets a young English boy named David as he seeks to use him as a potential human vessel for Agon Teos. Managing to escape from the relentless pursuit of the Organization, David is soon saved and rescued by a young Japanese female gambler named Shizuku Fuji and in due time, both David and Shizuku enter the tournament in order to help aid Eiji and the rest of the Toshinden fighters against the Organization.

Eiji and the Toshinden fighters progress through the tournament and defeat their chosen rivals, during which a few storyline developments occur and happen from within the competition, such as Organization members Atahua and Tau forfeiting their matches to both Ellis and Gaia (with Atahua learning and understanding from Tau that the murder of a fighter couldn't justify the means of restoring an ancient empire), Tracy sparing the life of her vengeful older twin sister Rachael, who had refused Tracy's offer of starting over with her and walking away from her to never be seen again, and Organization member Cuiling switching sides in order to help Eiji and the rest of the Toshinden fighters out after killing Bayhou and avenging Fo Fai's past death while also realizing that Abel had to be stopped before he could succeed in bringing Agon Teos to the world. Eiji comes face-to-face once again with Vermilion and overcomes the assassin before finally encountering his long-lost older brother, Sho. The two battle and Eiji wins, with Sho complimenting his brother's skills before leaving. Eiji soon faces and slays Abel in single combat, but at the same time, accidentally frees the Organization's previous leader, Veil, who was betrayed and usurped by Abel long ago. Robbed of his revenge, Veil battles Eiji but is also killed as well.

With the deaths of both Veil and Abel, the Organization is completely destroyed and the world is miraculously saved from the malevolent wrath of Agon Teos. However, Eiji soon discovers that Vermilion had somehow survived and escaped the Organization's destruction while completely disappearing without a trace. Faced with an enticing offer, Eiji starts his own plan in order to lure Vermilion out for a final battle.

Reception

Jeff Gerstmann, reviewing the game for GameSpot, commented that whereas Toshinden 2 was a simple graphical upgrade which retained the flaws of the original game, Toshinden 3 genuinely advanced the series. He cited the single-round combat, super moves, enclosed arenas, and character unlocking, and concluded, "If you were one of the many who thought Toshinden was neat, but far too dull, this game may have what it takes to turn your viewpoint around." In contrast, Sushi-X of Electronic Gaming Monthly saw Battle Arena Toshinden 3 as a rush-job, noting how quickly it had come out after Toshinden 2. While he agreed that the character unlocking is a good feature, he argued that the enclosed arenas in effect sacrificed the strategic element of ring-outs for the lesser trade-off of improved frame rate. He and his three co-reviewers all commented that the game is flashy but shallow, with unbalanced characters and overly easy-to-execute super moves. Scary Larry of GamePro gave Battle Arena Toshinden 3 a score of 3.5 out of 5 within all four categories (control, sound, graphics, and fun factor), stating that while the game was better than Toshinden 2, "it's still not good enough to be classed with Tekken, Virtua Fighter 2, or even Tobal No. 1." His critiques included the game's simple gameplay, one-button special moves, slowdown which affected the game's continuity, and that "the fighters, although unique in appearance, are too similar in their fighting styles." He concluded that Toshinden 3'' wasn't a bad game, but couldn't compete with the other fighting games available for the PlayStation.

References

External links
Tamsoft page: BAT3

1996 video games
3D fighting games
Battle Arena Toshinden
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Playmates Interactive games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation 3 games
PlayStation Portable games
PlayStation Vita games
Takara video games
Video game sequels
Video games developed in Japan

Battle Arena Toshinden 3


Andrew Wilson is a British landscape architect garden designer, lecturer and writer. He is a partner in Wilson McWilliam Studio and founded The London College of Garden Design. He has judged for the Royal Horticultural Society at the Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton court and Tatton Park and has also judged the Bloom Festival in Ireland.  He wrote a regular column for Gardens Illustrated and contributes to the Royal Horticultural Society's journal The Garden alongside the production of a series of books, the most recent of which are Influential Gardeners, The Book of Garden Plans  and the Book of Plans for Small Gardens, The Gardens of Luciano Guibbilei  and Contemporary Colour in the Garden. He is also the founding editor of The Garden Design Journal  and is a former Chairman and currently a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers, the UK's professional body for garden design.

References

Selected projects

Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park 2008 New Rose Garden with Gavin McWilliam for Wilson McWilliam Studio

British garden writers
British landscape architects
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)

Andrew Wilson (garden designer)


Paw Paws (also known as Paw Paw Bears) is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that first aired in 1985 and 1986. It debuted as part of the weekday/weekend morning programming block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.

The series name is a play on the paw paw, a fruit cultivated by Native Americans and indigenous to North America, and a play on words with a bear's paw. Reruns of the show formerly aired on Cartoon Network and later Boomerang.

Plot
Deep in a forest somewhere, a group of Native American bear cubs defending themselves from their enemies The Meanos led by the evil sorcerer Dark Paw. Dark Paw and his henchmen were after the Paw Paws' three large wooden totems, Totem Bear, Totem Tortoise, and Totem Eagle. The totems also served as the tribe's protectors, coming to life when needed through means of Princess Paw Paw's Mystic Moonstone, which she wore around her neck, to defend the village.

Much like other Hanna-Barbera programs, such as The Smurfs, The Biskitts, Shirt Tales, Snorks and the Pound Puppies, the bears had names that denoted their personalities—Laughing Paw, Medicine Paw, Bumble Paw, etc. Brave Paw and Princess Paw Paw tended to be the leads, riding into adventures on their magical flying ponies, while aging Wise Paw served as tribal advisor. The mascot of the group was a tiny dog by the name of PaPooch.

Characters

Paw Paws
 Wise Paw (voiced by John Ingle) – He is the chief leader of the Paw Paws. He is the oldest and wisest of the tribe.
 Princess Paw Paw (voiced by Susan Blu) – She is Wise Paw's daughter. Princess Paw Paw is beautiful and cares for everyone and the village. She carries around the Mystic Moonstone which has the power to bring Totem Bear, Tortoise and Eagle to life. When she blows on her whistle, she can summon her flying horse Flying Cloud. Paw Paws introduced the cartoon world to Susan Blu, who went to do the original voice of Arcee in Hasbro's cartoon series The Transformers as well as many other animated characters.
 Flying Cloud - Princess Paw Paw's flying horse. She is beautiful just like the Princess Paw. Later on the series, she fell in love with the Black Stallion and they started a family have two baby flying horses.
 Brave Paw (voiced by Thom Pinto) – Brave Paw is the Princess's closest friend and presumably her boyfriend. He is courageous and willing to rescue his fellow Paw Paws from danger and fight the forces of evil. Aside from the Princess, he is the only other Paw Paw who rides a flying horse.
 Golden Thunder - Golden Thunder is Brave Paw's flying horse. He can summon Golden Thunder from Thunder Mountain simply by calling his name.
 Mighty Paw (voiced by Robert Ridgely) – He is the biggest and strongest of the Paw Paws, although a bit slow.
 Laughing Paw (voiced by Alexandra Stoddart) – She is younger than the Princess and is known for her sense of humor.
 PaPooch (vocal effects provided by Don Messick) – Laughing Paw's pet puppy. He is loyal and brave, but always gets into trouble. A play on the Narragansett term papoose.
 Trembly Paw (voiced by Howard Morris) – He is the coward of the tribe and would rather run from danger, although occasionally he would do heroic deeds.
 Medicine Paw (voiced by Jerry Dexter impersonating W.C. Fields) – He is the shaman of the tribe, but he is a bit of a quack. He appeared in only a few episodes.
 Totem Animals – They are the main protectors of the village. The Totem Animals can be awakened by the Mystic Moonstone wielded by Princess Paw Paw to fight off the Meanos.
 Totem Eagle - The top Totem Animal. He serves as the air transportation.
 Totem Bear (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) - The middle Totem Animals. He is usually the one who attacks first after Totem Eagle flies off his head and would often send the Meanos flying.
 Totem Tortoise - The bottom Totem Animal. Totem Tortoise's main function is water transportation.

Villains
 Meanos - The Meanos are the main antagonists of the series. They often attack the Paw Paws until they are defeated by them and the Totem Animals.
 Dark Paw (voiced by Stanley Ralph Ross) – Chief of the Meanos. He carries around a magic staff which he typically uses to zap his enemies...and, when they get on Dark Paw's bad side, his own cohorts. Dark Paw is not as bright as he thinks he is. His personality echoes that of Moe Howard from The Three Stooges.
 Slippery Paw – He is better known for his greasy long hair than for his intelligence, but he's still smarter than Bumble Paw.
 Bumble Paw (voiced by Frank Welker) – He is the shortest and dumbest of the group.
 Aunt Pruney (voiced by Ruth Buzzi) – Aunt Pruney is Dark Paw's aunt, but she is also a witch who rides a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom. She complains to her nephew that he never calls or writes. Aunt Pruney is often disappointed at his constant failures and even helps him out. Aunt Pruney and Wise Paw knew each other personally.
 The Greedy Greenies – They are green slimy monsters seen in a few episodes. They are mostly featureless, except for a pair of eyes, and have voracious appetites. They ate most of the PawPaw village including houses, poles, laundry, and food, with a mixture of sucking and enveloping (similar to phagocytosis, but on a much larger scale) They prefer to come at night, and only make gurgling noises. They can burrow through the ground at will, and sometimes leave behind "puddles" that are actually tunnels, that others (such as Dark Paw and PaPooch) have fallen into, but these can be closed at will. They live in a hidden underground complex near the Paw Paw village. Intruders are lowered into a pool of goo that will cover the victim and eventually assimilate it, turning him or her into another Greenie. Even Dark Paw is afraid of them.
 Great Greenie - The leader of the Greedy Greenies.

Other characters
 Eugene the Genie (voiced by Scatman Crothers) – Eugene is a cat-like genie who is a friend of the Paw Paws. He has magic powers and a sassy attitude, especially towards Dark Paw. Eugene appeared in a few episodes.
 Nice Paw – Nice Paw is a former Meano who used to be called Nasty Paw. He was abducted by aliens and was reprogrammed into a good guy. Nice Paw has since traveled with the aliens and often returns to Earth.

Episodes list
 "The Big Spill" – While the Paw Paw bears take care of an injured duckling, the wicked Dark Paw and his Meanos cause a flood to steal the Princess's mystic moonstone.
 "The Wishing Star Crystal" – When Princess Paw Paw is put into an eternal sleep by a magic flower, courtesy of Dark Paw, her friends must take a perilous journey to find a magic crystal to awaken her.
 "The Flying Horse Napper" – Dark Paw steals the Princess's magic whistle that allows her to summon Flying Cloud and plans to use the flying horse to get a potion from his Aunt Pruney on Shriek Peak.
 "The Creepy Cave Creature" – After preventing the Paw Paws from calling Totem Bear, Dark Paw puts a large creature under his control to attack their village.
 "The Greedie Greenies" – When green blobs descend on the village and eat everything in sight, the Paw Paws must come to the rescue of their worst enemy, Dark Paw.
 "The Rise of the Evil Spirits" – When ancient spirits of evil awaken after 200 years to cause trouble for the Paw Paws, Dark Paw tries to gain control of them and finally take over the village.
 "The Genie-athalon" – When Eugene the Genie's lamp is uncovered and everyone tries to claim it, the Paw Paws compete against the cheating Dark Paw to win his three wishes.
 "The Golden Falcon" – When the Great Totem disappears and a mysterious golden falcon statue appears, Dark Paw takes the opportunity to challenge Brave Paw to a fight.
 "Honey of a Robbery" – It's Wise Paw's 100th birthday, and Dark Paw plans on ruining the celebration by stealing the village's entire honey supply.
 "Tot 'em Termi' Nation" – Dark Paw brings the Black Stallion to lure away Flying Cloud and keep the Princess busy, so an army of termites can reduce the Great Totem to sawdust.
 "Waif Goodbye to the Paw Paws" – Dark Paw's Aunt Pruney helps him to take over the Paw Paw's village by disguising herself as a young and pretty Paw Paw.
 "The Dark Totem Pole Monster" – Dark Paw sets his sights on the moonstone around the neck of Totem Bear by building a giant mechanical version of himself, while Trembly Paw tries to help a young flying horse with a fear of flying.
 "Dark Paw Under Wraps" – When a flood uncovers the casket of a Paw Paw mummy, Dark Paw takes advantage of an ancient curse to take over as leader.
 "Genie Without a Lamp"
 "Egging Dark Paw On"
 "Two Heads Are Better than One"
 "The Great Paw Paw Turnaround"
 "The Lost Lake Monster"
 "Totem Time Trip"
 "S'no Business"
 "The Zip Zap 4-D Trap"

Merchandising
A line of Paw Paws toys were produced by Applause in 1985. Princess Paw Paw, Brave Paw, Mighty Paw, Pupooch, Medicine Paw, the Meanos and other characters were produced as PVC figurines ranging from 2" to 3" tall. The figurines had accessories, like a canoe or a cart. Pupooch was also produced as a plush toy. These were only produced for a short time and are rare today.

Cast
 Susan Blu – Princess Paw Paw
 Ruth Buzzi – Aunt Pruney
 Scatman Crothers – Eugene the Genie
 Leo De Lyon –
 Jerry Dexter - Medicine Paw
 Laurie Faso -
 Pat Fraley -
 Billie Hayes -
 John Ingle – Wise Paw
 Tom Kratochvil -
 Mitzi McCall -
 Don Messick – PaPooch, additional voices
 Howard Morris – Trembly Paw
 Rob Paulsen -
 Thom Pinto – Brave Paw
 Robert Ridgely – Mighty Paw
 Nielson Ross -
 Stanley Ralph Ross – Dark Paw
 Marilyn Schreffler -
 Alexandra Stoddart - Laughing Paw
 Frank Welker – Bumble Paw, Totem Bear, additional voices

Reception
One of many children's animated series of the 1980s, Paw Paws didn't leave a lasting impression on many viewers. In 2014, listing it among twelve 1980s cartoons that did not deserve remembrance, io9 characterized it as "Obviously, Hanna-Barbera was wrong. And kind of racist."

Home media
On April 9, 2019, Warner Archive released Paw Paws: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection.

References

External links

1985 American television series debuts
1986 American television series endings
1980s American animated television series
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated fantasy television series
Television shows about Native Americans
Animated television series about bears
English-language television shows
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera
Television series by Hanna-Barbera

Paw Paws


Lungitz is a village in the community of Katsdorf, Perg district of Upper Austria, Austria.

During World War II it was the site of slave labour and the "Gusen III" sub-camp of the Gusen concentration camp later on. Although camp Gusen III was not opened earlier than December 1944, inmates of camp Gusen worked in a brick production plant at Lungitz already in 1940. In this early period, these inmates drove by truck every day from Gusen via St. Georgen to Lunigtz. With 1943 inmates of camp Gusen started the construction of a bakery for the Mauthausen-Gusen complex that only became operational in February 1945. In 1943 inmates of Gusen started also a warehouse for aircraft components in free halls of the brick production plant which were needed in the DEST joint-venture aircraft plants at St. Georgen and Gusen. Bakery and warehouse had full railway connection to the industrial park at St. Georgen and Gusen. Camp Gusen III was the first in a row of concentration camps that was liberated by Al Kosiek and his 23 men on May 5, 1945].

External links
 http://www.gusen.org/gu30101x.htm
  Lungitz fire fighter unit

Cities and towns in Perg District
Mauthausen concentration camp

Lungitz


Manufacturing in Vietnam after reunification followed a pattern that was initially the reverse of the record in agriculture; it showed recovery from a depressed base in the early postwar years. However, this recovery stopped in the late 1970s as the war in Cambodia and the threat from China caused the government to redirect food, finance, and other resources to the military. This move worsened shortages and intensified old bottlenecks. At the same time, the invasion of Cambodia cost Vietnam urgent foreign economic support. China's attack on Vietnam in 1979 compounded industrial problems by damaging important industrial facilities in the North, particularly a major steel plant and an apatite mine.

National objectives
National leadership objectives during the immediate postwar period included consolidating the Northern factories and workshops that had been scattered and hidden during the war to improve their chances of survival and nationalizing banks and significant factories in the South to bring the financial and industrial sectors under state control. The government's continued use of wartime planning mechanisms that prioritized output targets over production or long-term costs caused profits to erode and increased the government's financial burdens.

Economic reforms

The economic reforms undertaken in 1977 gave factory management some independence in formulating production plans, arranging production resources, and containing production expenses. Additional pragmatic steps were also considered, such as adopting incentive-structured wages and realigning prices to reflect production costs better.

This first experiment with reform was relatively short-lived. This was partly because it ran counter to the overriding policy of socializing the South and integrating it with the North by reducing the centralized administrative control needed to do the job. However, some reform measures stayed on the books and were revived in the 1980s.

Statistics
Vietnamese statistics indicate that the gross value of industrial output in 1980 was not much higher than in 1976 and that output per capita declined more than 8 percent. For example, cement production was relatively stagnant; it averaged 1.7 million tons annually during the Second Five-Year Plan, but only 1.4 million tons in 1985.

Industrial production

Some light industry and handicrafts sectors mirrored the difficulties experienced in agriculture because they used agricultural raw materials. By 1980 the Vietnamese press reported that many grain, food-product, and consumer-goods processing enterprises had reduced production or ceased operations entirely. Although detailed statistics on sector performance were insufficient to show annual results, the total value of light industry output peaked in 1978; by 1980, it was nearly 3 percent lower than in 1976. Increasingly severe shortages of food (particularly grain and fish) and industrial consumer goods lessened workers' incentives.

Total industrial production during the Third Five-Year Plan reflected high levels of investment, averaging some 40 percent of total annual investment during the plan period. In 1985 the industrial sector accounted for some 32 percent of national income, up from approximately 20 percent in 1980.

From 1981 through 1985, industrial growth was unevenly distributed and, in many instances, restored production levels to their 1976 levels. The highest production growth rates were recorded in producing paper products (32 percent per year) and food processing (42 percent per year). Both sectors had declined in production during the Second Five-Year Plan. Production of processed sugar increased from 271,000 tons in 1981 to 434,000 tons in 1985, almost ten times the 1975 production level. The processing of ocean fish increased from 385,000 tons in 1980 to 550,000 tons in 1985, not quite reaching 1976 and 1977 levels but reversing the steady decline this sector had experienced in the late 1970s. (The decline had been partly generated by using fishing boats in the South as escape craft to flee the communist regime.) Other light industries grew at 10 percent or more annual rates during the early 1980s, restoring production to 1975 or 1976 levels. Brick production increased steadily to 3.7 billion bricks in 1985, after regular declines during the previous plan. Production of glass reached 41,000 tons in 1985, exceeding 1975 levels for the first time. Paper production in 1985 again reached the 1976 level of 75,000 tons, up from 42,000 tons at the beginning of the plan in 1981, and the textile subsector exhibited an 8-percent average annual growth rate during the plan period as cloth production more than doubled to 380 million square meters in 1985.

Among heavy industries, machine-building and chemical industries (including rubber) registered annual average production gains of approximately 25 percent. Chemical fertilizer production continued to exceed the 1975 level and, in 1985, reached 516,000 tons despite relatively underdeveloped mining and enrichment processes for apatite and pyrite ore and underutilization of the Lam Thao Superphosphate of Lime plant (Vinh Phu Province). Pesticide production maintained a decade-long growth trend of 11.74 billion tons in 1985.

Current status

Although the industry contributed 40.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2004, it employed only 12.9 percent of the workforce. In 2000, 22.4 percent of industrial production was attributable to non-state activities. During 1994–2004, the industrial GDP grew at an average annual rate of 10.3 percent. Manufacturing contributed 20.3 percent of GDP in 2004 while employing 10.2 percent of the workforce. During 1994–2004, the manufacturing GDP grew at an average annual rate of 11.2 percent. The manufacturing sectors—food processing, cigarettes and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, and electrical goods—proliferated. Almost a third of manufacturing and retail activity is concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City.

Total industry output from 2007 was 574,047 billion VND (+17.1 % year on year), in which: SOEs + 10.3% year on year and accounted for 24% of total country industry output, Non-SOEs +20.9%yoy acc. 36.9%, FIEs +21.3%yoy acc. 39.1%. The industries that have achieved the highest growth rates (over targets) were: car manufacturing +52.2%, motorbike manufacturing + 19.2%, machine tools +69.8%, transformer + 17%, air-conditioner + 51.9%, washing machine manufacturing +21.3%, electricity fan + 18.6%, electricity +13.2%, steel +10.8%, clean coal +11.5%, cement +11.8%, seafood processing +12.6%, kraft paper +15.3%

In 2017, Vingroup started VINFAST Automobile Production Complex project in Dinh Vu - Cat Hai Economic Zone.

See also
Agriculture in Vietnam
Economy of Vietnam

References

Vietnam
Industry in Vietnam

Manufacturing in Vietnam


María del Pilar Nores Bodereau de García (born 11 March 1949) is an Argentine-born Peruvian economist and the widow of former President of Peru Alan García, she was that nation's First Lady on two occasions.

Biography

Born in Córdoba, Argentina, Pilar Nores was the thirteenth of fourteen children of a traditional family; her father, Rogelio Nores Martínez, served as interim Governor of Córdoba from 1962 to 1963, and was Director of the National University of Córdoba from 1967 to 1970. She completed her primary and secondary education at the Alejandro Carbó School, obtaining her high school diploma at the Manuel Belgrano High School. She enrolled at the National University of Córdoba, and earned a degree in Economics in 1969. She traveled in 1976 to Madrid, where she attended a seminar and met Alan García, a Peruvian lawyer and APRA activist. They were married in 1978, and returned to Peru, where Alan García was elected to Congress in 1980, and as President of Peru in 1985. The couple had four children: three daughters, Josefina, Gabriela del Pilar and Luciana Victoria; and a son, Alan Raúl Simón. A first cousin of her father, Víctor Hipólito Martínez, served as Vice President of Argentina from 1983 to 1989.

During her husband's first presidential period (1985–1990) she created and directed the non-profit Fundación por los Niños del Perú (Foundation for the Children of Peru), a non-governmental organization working with abandoned children. She also initiated and directed the Programa de Asistencia Directa (Direct Assistance Program), a government program promoting the economic and social development of women and infants in Peru.

She created the Instituto Trabajo y Familia (Institute for Labor and Family - ITYF) in 2001, a non-profit NGO that promotes social and productive development. She started the Juvenile Violence Program to develop and implement prevention plans against juvenile delinquency in the most difficult districts of Lima.  Returning as First Lady upon her husband's election in 2006, Mrs. Nores de García had the First Lady's Office terminated. She instead inaugurated the Sembrando Program, a plan that works with the families of Andean communities in Peru, many of whom live in extreme poverty. Installing over 92,000 kitchen and sanitation fixtures in impoverished homes, Sembrando (Sowing) promotes job training and technological innovation to enhance productivity and social development in these communities.

She and Alan García were separated in 2010, and upon the end of his tenure in 2011, she retired as First Lady with high approval ratings among the Peruvian public.

References

1949 births
Living people
People from Córdoba, Argentina
First ladies of Peru
Peruvian philanthropists
Argentine philanthropists
Argentine emigrants to Peru
National University of Córdoba alumni
Argentine people of Spanish descent
Peruvian people of Spanish descent

Pilar Nores


John Frink (born May 5, 1959) is an American television writer and producer. He has written several episodes of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, many of which he co-wrote with his former writing partner Don Payne. Frink and Payne started their career in television writing for the short-lived sitcom Hope and Gloria. They wrote their first episode of The Simpsons in 2000, and Frink still works on the show as a writer and executive producer.

The Simpsons episodes
Frink wrote the following episodes:

"Mobile Homer" (2005)
"The Girl Who Slept Too Little" (with "Matt Warburton") (2005)
"Stop! Or My Dog Will Shoot" (with "Kevin Curran") (2007)
"All About Lisa" (with "Deb Lacusta" and "Dan Castellaneta") (2008)
"Lost Verizon" (Johnny Frinklin") (2008)
"Eeny Teeny Maya Moe" (2009)
"Stealing First Base" (with "J. Stewart Burns") (2010)
"The Bob Next Door" (2010)
"Angry Dad: The Movie" (2011)
"500 Keys" (with "Matt Warburton" and "Jeff Westbrook") (2011)
"Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson" (with "Dan Castellaneta") (2012)
"Black Eyed, Please" (with "Ian Maxtone-Graham") (2013)
"What to Expect When Bart's Expecting" (with "Nancy Cartwright" and "Nancy Kruse") (2014)
"Waiting for Duffman" (with "Dan Castellaneta") (2015)
"Peeping Mom" (2015)
"Love Is in the N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4" (with "Greg Daniels" and "Jeff Westbrook" and "Ian Maxtone-Graham" and "Sam Simon" & "Matt Groening") (2016)
"Simprovised" (with "Homer Live East Coast" part 2) (2016)
"Treehouse of Horror XXVIII (with "Coralisa" capther two "Dead Nobody Bring Back John Frink") (2017)
"Gone Boy (with "Nancy Cartwright") (2017)
"Left Behind" (with "Bring Back John Frink") (2018)
"Tis the 30th Season" (with "Joel H. Cohen" & "Jeff Westbrook") (2018)
"Go Big or Go Homer" (2019)
"Bobby, It's Cold Outside (with "Deb Lacusta" & "Dan Castellaneta") (2019)
"The 7 Beer Itch" ("Joel H. Cohen" & "Al Jean") (2020)
"Treehouse of Horror XXXII (with "John Friiiiimnnnnnnkk") (2021)

Futurama episodes
Frink wrote the following episodes:

"Attack of the Killer App" (2010)
"The Silence of the Clamps" (2011)
"Near-Death Wish" (2012)
"Meanwhile" (2013)

1959 births
Living people
American television producers
American television writers
Screenwriters from New York (state)

John Frink


Kevin Rashard Garrett (born July 29, 1980) is a former American football player. Garrett attended Southern Methodist University and was drafted in the 2003 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He has previously played football with the St. Louis Rams, Houston Texans and the Carolina Panthers.

College career
He started 42 games at Southern Methodist and totaled 265 tackles, seven interceptions, 36 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in addition to blocking six kicks. In 2002 as a senior he made nine starts and registered 48 tackles, two interceptions, six passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick. The year before, in 2001,
he started all 11 games and was an honorable mention All-Western Athletic Conference selection. He Collected 62 tackles, three interceptions with one return for a touchdown, 14 passes defensed and one blocked kick. In 2000, he started all 12 game and ranked second on the Mustangs with 74 tackles, one interception, 12 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two
blocked kicks. In 1999, he was named Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year by the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He made 10 starts and had a career-high 81 tackles, one interception, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and two blocked kicks. In 1998 Garrett redshirted as a true freshman.

Track and field
Garrett was also a track star at the Southern Methodist University, where he specialized in the 60 meters, 100 meters and 200 meters, but also participated in the 55 metres, posting a personal best of 6.41 seconds.

Garrett ran a 10.29 wind-aided in the 100 meters at Fresno, California.

Personal bests

Professional career

Pre-draft

St. Louis Rams
Garrett was selected in the fifth round (172nd overall) of the NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He played in nine games, primarily on special teams, and was inactive for seven contests due to an injury suffered during the preseason. He posted eight special teams tackles. In 2004, he played in 14 games with one start, making 10 tackles, four passes defensed and 12 special teams stops. The next season, he went to training camp with St. Louis but was waived by the Rams in the final roster cutdown on September 3, 2005.

Houston Texans
Signed as a free agent by Kansas City (1/10/06) then waived by Kansas City (7/25/06) after which he was signed as a free agent by Houston (8/1/06) and then waived by Houston (9/3/06). Re-signed as a free agent by Houston (9/12/06) but waived by Houston eight days later after suffering a hamstring injury versus the Indianapolis Colts (9/20/06). He was signed as a free agent by Carolina (1/2/07).

Carolina Panthers
Garrett played the 2007 season with the Panthers.

References

External links
Just Sports Stats

Living people
1980 births
People from San Benito, Texas
Sportspeople from Cameron County, Texas
American football cornerbacks
SMU Mustangs football players
Houston Texans players
Amsterdam Admirals players
St. Louis Rams players
Carolina Panthers players
Saskatchewan Roughriders players
American players of Canadian football

Kevin Garrett


George David "Zambo" Zamka (born 1962) is a former NASA astronaut and United States Marine Corps pilot with over 3500 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Zamka piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery in its October 2007 mission to the International Space Station and served as the commander of mission STS-130 in February 2010.

Personal
George David Zamka was born in 1962 at Margaret Hague Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was raised in New York City; Irvington, New York; Medellin, Colombia,; and Rochester Hills, Michigan. He graduated from Rochester Adams High School in Michigan in 1980.

Zamka is married and has two children. His extended family resides in Colorado, Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana, Florida and Tennessee. Zamka is of Colombian and Polish ancestry.

Military career
Zamka graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1984. He was then commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.  He received A-6E Intruder training at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington in 1985–1987. He was assigned to VMA(AW)-242 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California.  In addition to flight safety and administration, he was a squadron weapons and tactics instructor. In 1990, he trained as an F/A-18D Hornet pilot and was then assigned to VMFA(AW)-121.  Zamka flew 66 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm. In 1993, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California as a forward air controller. In December 1994, he graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, following which, he served as an F/A-18 Hornet test pilot and operations officer.

In 1997, he earned a Masters of Science degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology. In 1998, he returned to VMFA(AW)-121 and deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.

In August 2010, Zamka retired from the Marine Corps after almost 30 years of distinguished service.  he is chairman of the board of the National Association of Spaceports.

NASA career
In June 1998, Zamka was selected for the NASA astronaut program, and reported for training in August. He served as lead for the Shuttle training and procedures division and as supervisor for the astronaut candidate class of 2004. Zamka made his first spaceflight as the pilot of mission STS-120, and second as the commander for STS-130.

Honors and awards
Zamka has received the following honors and awards: the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Strike Air Medal (6), Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V", and various other military service and campaign awards. Distinguished Graduate, U.S. Naval Academy. Commodore's list and Academic Achievement Award, Training Air Wing Five. Recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, two NASA Space Flight Medals, four NASA Superior Accomplishment Awards and the GEM Award. He received also Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2010).

Promotional activities
In March 2008, Zamka visited Colombia's Planetarium of Bogotá with the crew of mission STS-120 to share their experience as NASA astronauts with 200 students, 50 teachers, and 20 science major experts.

See also

Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps
Hispanics in the United States Naval Academy
List of Hispanic astronauts

References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a United States government agency.

NASA Appoints Crew for Space Station Mission, UPI, 2006-06-20. Retrieved on 2006-06-25.
Spacefacts biography of George D. Zamka

External links

Living people
United States Marine Corps astronauts
American people of Polish descent
American people of Colombian descent
People from Jersey City, New Jersey
People from Rochester Hills, Michigan
United States Naval Academy alumni
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni
Florida Institute of Technology alumni
United States Marine Corps colonels
United States Naval Aviators
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Gulf War
American test pilots
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
People from Irvington, New York
1962 births
Space Shuttle program astronauts
People with multiple nationality
Hispanic and Latino American scientists
Military personnel from New Jersey
Military personnel from Michigan
Hispanic and Latino American aviators

George D. Zamka


Simon-Jérôme Bourlet, abbé de Vauxcelles (11 August 1733, Versailles – 18 March 1802, Paris) was an 18th-century French priest and journalist during the French Revolution.

Biography
Born in Versailles, he was a preacher of the king, canon of Noyon, reader for the Comte d'Artois, curator of the bibliothèque de l'Arsenal (1787), abbot of Massay.

He preached successfully and worked, among others, at the Mercure de France, and the Journal de Paris. Like others, he was a victim of the repressive policies of the French Directory against journalists, and a decree dated 17 January (28 Nivose)  ordered his deportation to Oléron.

We have some eulogies and some funeral orations by him, but he is best known for his edition of the Lettres de Mme de Sévigné, Paris, 1801, 10 volumes in-12°.

He participated in the proofreading relatively to the grammar and typography of the fifth edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française (1798).

A resident member of the Société des observateurs de l'homme, de Vauxelles also translated Dialogues on Medals (De l'allégorie, ou Traités sur cette matière) by Joseph Addison.

Works
 Oraison funèbre de Louis XV [...] - A Paris : chez Saugrain, 1774 [Bibliothèque de la SHAS, Senlis]

External links
 Simon-Jérôme Bourlet de Vauxcelles on data.bnf.fr
 Simon BOURLET DE VAUXCELLES (1733-1802) on Dictionnaire des journalistes
 Bust portrait of Bourlet de Vauxcelles on Artnet.com

1733 births
People from Versailles
1802 deaths
18th-century French journalists
French librarians

Simon-Jérôme Bourlet de Vauxcelles


Dalton James Patrick McGuinty (August 13, 1926 – March 16, 1990) was a Canadian politician from Ontario. A member of the Ontario Liberal Party, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990. He represented the riding of Ottawa South. He had 10 children,  including Dalton McGuinty who was Premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013, and David McGuinty who has been a member of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada since 2004.

Background
McGuinty was born in Osceola, Ontario, to Charles McGuinty and Dora (Foley). The family later moved to Ottawa, Ontario. He was educated at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, the University of Ottawa and Harvard Business School. He worked as professor of English at the University of Ottawa and served as a separate school trustee on the Ottawa Board of Education from 1972 to the end of 1986. His position as a separate school trustee ended in December 1986 when full funding for separate schools was implemented.

He was married to a nurse, Elizabeth Pexton, with whom he had six sons and four daughters. Two of his sons were notable politicians in their own right – former Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, and David McGuinty, a member of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada.

Politics
He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, easily defeating his Progressive Conservative opponent in the constituency of Ottawa South.  He served as a backbench supporter of David Peterson's government. From 1988 to 1989 he served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Skills Development.

He died on March 16, 1990, after suffering a heart attack while shoveling snow in his driveway. He was 63 years old.

His son, Dalton Jr., said his father entered politics because be believed he could do something for the average person. He said his father was interested in environmental and educational issues and taking care of seniors.

References

External links

1926 births
1990 deaths
Canadian business theorists
Canadian people of Irish descent
Colgate University alumni
Harvard Business School alumni
Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
People from Renfrew County
Politicians from Ottawa
University of Ottawa alumni
Academic staff of the University of Ottawa
20th-century Canadian economists
Ontario school board trustees

Dalton McGuinty Sr.


Tanxu (; July 3, 1875 – August 11, 1963) was a Chinese Buddhist monk and a 44th generation lineage holder of the Tiantai school, taught by Master Dixian. Tanxu is known as one of the most influential monks to have had lived during the late Qing and Republican periods of Chinese history, spreading and invigorating the practice of Buddhism throughout the region. He was also famous for constructing several Buddhist temples and institutes in Northern China in the early 20th century. He also achieved renown through his buildings, due to his integration of European industrial construction techniques and traditional Chinese methods.

Early life and career
Tanxu was born as Wang Futing on July 3, 1875, in Ninghe County, Hebei province, approximately thirty miles north of Tianjin. Out of his eight siblings, Wang was the only child to live to adulthood, and as his father was often away on business, his mother, Née Zhang, took care of the four generations of family members that lived in Wang's home during his childhood.

In 1885, at the age of 10, Wang began attending school. He wished to receive a Confucian education; however, after four years, he decided to drop out of his schooling. Wang began to apprentice in a local store owned by his paternal uncle, where he learned basic accounting skills. He left the apprenticeship after a duration of six months.

In the summer of 1891, when he was seventeen, Wang's mother arranged a marriage for him. Several days after the wedding ceremony, Wang became extremely sick, took to his bed and became unconscious for several days. It was during this state of unconsciousness that Wang had visions of visiting the netherworld.

In 1893, Wang was unhappy living in Beitang with his new wife, and so, leaving his spouse behind, moved to Fengtian to join his cousins' business of transporting tobacco. However, as Wang remained in Beitang through the fall of 1894, he witnessed the beginning of the First Sino-Japanese War. When Japan crossed the Yalu River in China, on October 25, 1894, part of the invading army marched in the direction of Fengtian. Though the troops did not reach the city, the news caused panic in the city, and Wang fled the region. After walking with a group of refugees to Shanhaiguan, he took a train back to Beitang.

Wang returned to Beitang, a few weeks before the Chinese New Year in 1894, to the news that his father had died. After the passing of his mother in 1898, Wang, leading a few fellow villagers, headed to Dalian to earn a living. His pharmacy flourished there, so much so that he could afford to return home to visit his wife and children. By 1908, he had moved his family to Yingkou, and it was during this period that Wang began to investigate Buddhist scriptures, especially the Śūraṅgama Sūtra.

Monastic life
By the summer of 1914, Wang Futing had studied the Śūraṅgama Sūtra intensely for eight years, and he felt that there was little more he could learn without leading a monastic life. He left home and visited a temple in Beijing, where he spent a week attending lectures by Master Baoyi. During this time, he was befriended by Master Qingchi. In 1917, at the age of 43, Wang was introduced by Master Qingchi to Master Yinchun. That year he was tonsured nominally in the Gaoming temple, under late Master Yinku, and he was also ordained as a monk under Master Dixian in the Guanzong Temple in Ningbo. From then on, Wang Futing was known as Master Tanxu. He enrolled at the Guanzong Temple seminary, which had been founded to train a new generation of monks.

Buddhism propagation in the North
In 1920, Tanxu left Guangzong Temple to travel northward, and his career founding temples and schools, as well as lecturing, began. By 1948, he had constructed and restored more than ten Buddhist temples using trenchers to rapidly dig the foundation. Among these newly built temples were Surangama Temple () in Yingkou; Ultimate Bliss Temple in Harbin; Prajna Temple () in Changchun; Tranquil Mountain Temple in Qingdao; Amitabha Temple () in Jiling; Great Compassion Temple in Tianjin; and Prajna Temple () and Eternal Peace Temple () in Shenyang.

Tanxu had a particular important role in spreading Buddhism to Harbin. The city, which is currently part of China, was a place of contention throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, being under Russian, Japanese, and Chinese control for periods during that time. However, as Chinese control of the city grew in the 1920s, Tanxu visited the region. Upon learning that there were Christian churches in the city, but no Buddhist temple at all, he remarked, "there was absolutely no Chinese Buddhism... For Harbin, as a Chinese place, not to have a single proper Chinese temple... it was simply too depressing to bear!"

Life in Hong Kong and death
In 1949, with assistance from Ye Gongchuo, Tanxu moved to Hong Kong. During his time there, he first presided over the South China Buddhist Institute (), and then, in 1958, initiated the building of a Buddhist library in the city. James Carter, Professor of History at St. Joseph's University, writes the following about Tanxu's lectures in Hong Kong:

In the spring of 1963, Tanxu finished lecturing on the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and began the Diamond Sūtra. In the fifth lunar month of that year, he began to feel fatigued and was unable to continue lecturing or directing any further temple construction. On the 22nd day of the sixth lunar month, on August 11, 1963, three weeks after his 88th birthday, Tanxu passed away in the full lotus posture surrounded by his disciples reciting Amitabha's name.

Recollections of Shadows and Dust
In May 1948, in response to the earnest request of his disciples, Tanxu started to lecture on his autobiography. These lectures lasted for over one month and were recorded by his disciple, Master Daguang, in shorthand scripts. That writing was ultimately compiled in the book, Yingchen Huiyilu (), literally meaning "Recollections of Shadows and Dust".

The book's title was taken from the Śūraṅgama Sūtra: "Even if you extinguish all perception and discernment, this is still a reflection of discrimination of conceptual objects." ()

References

External links
Tanxu from Database of Modern Chinese Buddhism

1875 births
1963 deaths
Writers from Tianjin
Tiantai Buddhists
Republic of China Buddhist monks
Qing dynasty Buddhists
Chinese spiritual writers
Hong Kong Buddhist monks

Tanxu


ROYGBIV is an acronym for the sequence of hues commonly described as making up a rainbow. This acronym means red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

History
In the Renaissance, several artists tried to establish a sequence of up to seven primary colors from which all other colors could be mixed. In line with this artistic tradition, Isaac Newton divided his color circle, which he constructed to explain additive color mixing, into seven colors. Originally he used only five colors, but later he added orange and indigo to match the number of musical notes in the major scale. This color sequence in reverse is called the mnemonic vibgyor.

Mnemonics

 "Read Out Your Good Book In Verse"
 "Richard Of York Gained Battles In Vain"
 "Respect Others, You Grow By Including Variety"

Colors
Optics

ROYGBIV


Manente degli Uberti (1212 – 11 November 1264), known as Farinata degli Uberti, was an Italian aristocrat and military leader of the Ghibelline faction in Florence. He was considered to be a heretic by some of his contemporaries, including Dante Alighieri, who mentioned Farinata in his Inferno.

Life
Farinata belonged to one of the most ancient and prominent noble families of Florence, his native city. He was the leader of the Ghibelline faction in his city during the power struggles of the time. He led the Ghibellines from 1239, but after the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, in 1250, the Guelphs were able to reassert power in Florence, securing his exile from the city, along with his supporters. The exiles sought refuge in Siena, a Ghibelline stronghold. In response to the exile, Farinata allied himself with Frederick's illegitimate son, Manfred of Sicily, who was seeking to expand his alliances in order to secure himself on the throne of Sicily. In September 1260, Farinata led the Ghibelline forces to victory over the rival Guelphs at the Battle of Montaperti. As a result, he was able to capture Florence. The leading Guelph families were banished and the government of Florence was radically restructured to ensure Ghibelline dominance.

Farinata's allies wanted to ensure that Florence would never again rise to threaten them. Following the example of Roman ruthlessness towards its enemy Carthage, they voted to raze Florence utterly to the ground. Only Farinata stood out against them, declaring himself to be a Florentine first and a Ghibelline second, and vowing that he would defend his native city with his own sword. The Ghibellines thereupon took the lesser course of destroying the city's defences and the homes of the leading Guelphs, knocking down 103 palaces, 580 houses, and 85 towers.

When the Guelphs regained control of the city in 1266, they repeated in reverse the demolitions, by destroying every building belonging to the Uberti clan, which were in what is now Piazza della Signoria, decreeing as well that no building should ever be erected in that accursed space. This is why Palazzo Vecchio, begun in the 1290s, is not in the centre of the piazza, but squeezed over to one side.

Heresy

Farinata died in Florence in 1264. In 1283, his body and that of his wife, Adaleta, were exhumed from their resting place in Santa Reparata, and tried for heresy. They were found guilty by the Franciscan-led Inquisition, and their remains were subjected to a posthumous execution. According to Boccaccio, in his commentary on Dante, the Inquisition discovered, among other things, that Farinata denied life after death:

He was of the opinion of Epicurus, that the soul dies with the body, and maintained that human happiness consisted in temporal pleasures; but he did not follow these in the way that Epicurus did, that is by making long fasts to have afterwards pleasure in eating dry bread; but was fond of good and delicate viands, and ate them without waiting to be hungry; and for this sin he is damned as a Heretic in this place.

Therefore, Farinata appears with several other atheists and heretics in Canto X of Dante's Inferno. Since they denied the immortality of the soul, their eternal punishment is to be entombed in fiery coffins, the dead among the dead, within the city of Dis.

Farinata is also mentioned in C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Proposes a Toast.

Notes

References

1212 births
1264 deaths
Nobility from Florence
Military personnel from Florence
13th-century people from the Republic of Florence
Medieval Italian knights
13th-century condottieri
Characters in the Divine Comedy
Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines

Farinata degli Uberti


Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants. They are often purplish-red, which is where we get the colour  fuchsia.

Fuchsia belongs to the Onagraceae family of flowering plants. Fuchsia has 110 species. It consists mostly of shrubs or small trees.

The first, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) about 1696–1697. The discoverer was the French monk and botanist, Charles Plumier, during his third expedition to the Greater Antilles. He named the new genus after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566).

References

Myrtales

Fuchsia


John Willoughby Gray MBE (5 November 1916 – 13 February 1993) was an English actor of stage and screen.

Early life
Willoughby Gray was born in London, son of John Gray and Mary, née Henderson. His father was killed in action in Iraq soon after his birth; in 1918 Mary remarried and Willoughby became the stepson of Lieutenant General Henry Pownall.

Second World War
Gray served with distinction during the Second World War with GHQ Liaison Regiment (Phantom). For most of the campaign in Europe he commanded a reconnaissance unit with 11th Armoured Division. For his gallant and distinguished services in the North West Europe campaign, he was appointed MBE. His recommendation reads:
Captain Gray has commanded a divisional patrol with outstanding success throughout the campaign. The resource and initiative shown by him at all times has resulted in a great deal of vital information reaching Army and Corps HQ much more quickly than would otherwise have been the case, in addition, he has shown great enterprise and complete disregard for his own personal safety on many occasions, notably whilst carrying out reconnaissances in the Antwerp area during the advance through Belgium. The bearing of this officer under arduous conditions and his cheerfulness and willingness to do any work delegated to him unhesitatingly have been an example to those with whom he came in contact.

Acting career
He achieved popularity in the mid-1950s after making 38 appearances on the television series The Adventures of Robin Hood. He also appeared in similar television shows such as The Buccaneers and The Adventures of William Tell. He appeared as 'Pete' in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party on its very first run in 1958, this being just one of countless stage performances he made. Though over-shadowed by his stage career, Gray made a handful of popular films, notably as a priest in Laurence Olivier's film Richard III (1955), The Mummy (1959), Absolution (1978), The Hit (1984) and as the elderly and kind king in The Princess Bride (1987). He appeared in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985) as the retired Nazi doctor and Max Zorin's (Christopher Walken) head scientist Dr. Carl Mortner/Hans Glaub.

In the late 1980s, he appeared in the BBC drama Howards' Way as banker Sir John Stevens. In Sergei Bondarchuk's 1970 film Waterloo, he is credited as both an actor (playing Captain Ramsey) and a military consultant.

Death
Gray died aged 76 in February 1993. His wife, who wrote as Felicity Gray, (née Margaret Andraea) was a choreographer, speaker and writer on ballet, who notably taught Gene Tierney for her role in Never Let Me Go.

Selected filmography

The Mark of Cain (1947) – Photographer (uncredited)
Guilt Is My Shadow (1950) – Detective
Shadow of the Past (1950) – Chauffeur
Seven Days to Noon (1950) – Bit Part (uncredited)
The Woman with No Name (1950) – Group Captain
The Golden Year (1951) – Sir Norman Grenleigh
Top Secret (1952) – British Officer
Phantom Caravan (1954) – Major Thornhill
Stranger from Venus (1954) – Tom Harding
Richard III (1955) – 2nd Priest
The Mummy (1959) – Dr. Reilly
The Dirty Dozen (1967) – German Officer (uncredited)
The Man Outside (1967) – Detective Inspector
Waterloo (1970) – Ramsey
Young Winston (1972) – Gladstone (uncredited)
Dead Cert (1974) – Coroner
Absolution (1978) – Brigadier Walsh
The Gamekeeper (1980) – Duke
The Hit (1984) – Judge
A View to a Kill (1985) – Dr. Carl Mortner / Hans Glaub
Solarbabies (1986) – Canis
The Princess Bride (1987) – the King

References

External links

1916 births
1993 deaths
Male actors from London
English male stage actors
English male film actors
English male television actors
Deaths from cancer in England
20th-century English male actors
Royal Artillery officers
British Army personnel of World War II
Members of the Order of the British Empire

Willoughby Gray


Zulkifli Abdhir (5 October 1966 - 27 January 2015) was a Malaysian who was one of the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists. The Amercian FBI agency offered a USD 5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He was the maker of bombs delivered for usage to several terrorist groups.

He was often referred to by the nom de guerre Marwan. He was suspected of being a leader of the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, being part of the central command of the Jemaah Islamiyah, and was hiding in Mindanao under the protection of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Zulkifli Abdhir is thought to have possibly been killed in a recent PNP operation leading to militant clashes with the Philippine National Police.

References

1966 births
2015 deaths
Malaysian people
Muslim terrorists

Zulkifli Abdhir


Michael Megas Komnenos (Greek: Μιχαήλ Μέγας Κομνηνός, Mikhaēl Megas Komnēnos; c. 1288 – after 1355) was Emperor of Trebizond from 3 May 1344 to 13 December 1349. He was a younger son of Emperor John II of Trebizond and Eudokia Palaiologina.

Early life
Based on Nikephoros Gregoras' statement that Michael was 56 in 1344, one can deduce he was born around 1288. Michael was brought to Constantinople c. 1297 by his mother Eudokia, following the death of Emperor John II and his brother Alexios' ascension to the throne. A few years later Eudokia returned to Trebizond, presumably leaving Michael behind in Constantinople.

His life is a blank for the next decades. Michael was presumably left in the care of his uncle, the Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, whose attempts to dictate whom his brother and their mother would marry were thwarted; it is unclear what effect these failures had on Michael. It is certain that Michael was not confined to a monastery, for he married the daughter of the nobleman Constantine Acropolites, Acropolitissa, by whom he had a son, John III. Then followed a period of civil war between Andronikos II and his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos, by which time Michael was of middle age; which side in the war he supported, or if he even took a side in this conflict, is again unknown. Lastly, a number of his brother's family – first Alexios' son Basil, then Basil's two sons – came to Constantinople as refugees from the conflict in Trebizond. It is unknown what contact Michael had with them, if he provided them succor, or if he was even aware they were in the city.

It is in 1341 that Michael's history is once again known. In that year a group of representatives of the Scholarioi faction, led by Niketas Scholares and Gregory Meitzomates, arrived from Trebizond and convinced the regents of the young Emperor John V Palaiologos to allow Michael to return. Once there he would marry the deposed Empress Irene Palaiologina and assume the imperial throne.

When Michael's three ships reached Trebizond on 30 July 1341, he found Irene had been deposed and his own niece, Anna Anachoutlou, ruling as empress. As the legitimate male descendant of the ruling family, Michael received the support of much of the populace and was acclaimed emperor. Some of the nobility, led by the Metropolitan Akakios, received him as their lord and escorted him into the palace. As soon as night fell, however, the nobles imprisoned Michael, not wishing to be ruled by a mature and forceful monarch. Anna's Lazic troops dispersed Michael's supporters and plundered his ships. The following day he was sent off to Oinaion and then Limnia, where he was held captive by the megas doux John the Eunuch.

When Michael's own son, John III, became emperor in September 1342, Michael remained in prison. John's incompetent rule alienated his chief supporters, chief of these was Niketas who marched with the army to Limnia (where John the Eunuch had recently been slain), freed Michael and returned with him to Trebizond. John III was deposed and sent to the monastery of St Sabas under a Byzantine guard, while the nobles supporting him were killed. Michael was crowned on 3 May 1344.

Reign
Michael granted Niketas the title of megas doux and was forced to sign the document which gave Niketas and his ministers almost all power in the Empire, promising to seek their counsel in all official actions. This constitutional experiment was short-lived, because the greatest opposition came from the people of Trebizond. They were infuriated to see the Emperor stripped of his effective authority and rose up in revolt against the oligarchy of the Scholarioi. Michael swiftly took advantage of the opportunity, and arrested and imprisoned Niketas in 1345. Also, he sent his son John off to Constantinople and then Adrianople where he was to be kept prisoner to prevent him from becoming a further focus for the discontented nobles of Trebizond.

Taking advantage of the instability in Trebizond, the Turkmen attacked the Empire in 1346, capturing the towns of Hagios Andreas and Oinaion. In September 1347, the Black Death struck Trebizond, raging for seven months. Its effects on the city is unclear: Andrew Libadenos, who was at Trebizond at the time, makes no mention of the epidemic, while Michael Panaretos describes how the Black Death carried off "many: children, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, and kinsmen." Another Turkmen invasion the following year led to a three-day battle. Despite the victory, Michael's reputation as ruler was not strengthened.

In 1348, the Genoese seized Kerasous, the second most important city of the Empire in revenge for a massacre of Genoese by the Trapezuntines some years earlier. In May 1349, a Genoese expedition from Caffa was launched against Trebizond. The small Trapezuntine fleet under Megas doux John Kabazites was destroyed and the people of Trebizond responded to this defeat by killing any Westerner they found in the capital. Eventually, peace was reached with the Genoese, but in exchange for Kerasous they were given the fortress of Leonkastron. From now on Trebizond's commercial capacity was lessened even further, as the Genoese came to increasingly command the lucrative Black Sea trade of the port.

At that time the ailing Michael was both discredited and completely unable to govern the crumbling Empire. He was deposed on 13 December 1349 by Megas doux Niketas, whom he had been forced to release from prison. Niketas and his supporters placed on the throne his nephew John, the son of Emperor Basil, who had been sent by the Byzantine Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos to Trebizond, and arrived on December 22. Upon assuming the crown, John took the name Alexios III.

The deposed Emperor Michael was forced to become a monk at the cave monastery of St Sabas. In 1351, he was sent to Constantinople. Michael was released by Emperor John V Palaiologos in 1355; despite being in his sixties, he set forth Trebizond, hoping to recover his throne. Michael advanced as far as Sumela Monastery, but was prevented from entering his former capital. He returned to Constantinople, where he died.

Acropolitissa
Michael is known to have married the daughter of the Byzantine megas logothetes Constantine Acropolites, and Maria Komnene Tornikina, but the name of their daughter has not been recovered. For convenience, scholars have given her the name Acropolitissa, the feminine form of "Acropolites". Little is known about her; Constantine Acropolites provides most of what we directly know about her. The Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos attempted to marry Michael Komnenos' older brother, Alexios to the daughter of one of his ministers, only to be foiled when Alexios married a princess of Georgia without telling his uncle. Nicol observes that "it would be quite in keeping with the elaborate dynastic and marital schemes of Andronikos II that, having failed to marry off the daughter of one of his ministers to the Emperor of Trebizond, he should encourage or arrange the marriage of the daughter of his Grand Logothete to that Emperor's brother." She was most likely dead by 1341, for that year Michael Megas Komnenos was invited to return to Trebizond and marry the reigning Empress, Irene Palaiologina, widow of his nephew Basil of Trebizond.

Other possible descendants
The "Georgian Chronicle" of the 18th century reports George V of Georgia marrying a daughter of "the Greek Emperor, Lord Michael Komnenos". However the reigning dynasty of the Byzantine Empire in the 14th century were the Palaiologoi, not the Komnenoi. The marriage of a daughter of Michael IX Palaiologos and his wife Rita of Armenia to a Georgian ruler is not recorded in Byzantine sources. Neither is the existence of any illegitimate daughters of Michael IX. Whether this was a daughter of Michael Komnenos of Trebizond and Acropolitissa is unknown.

References

External links
Vougiouklaki Penelope, "Michael Grand Komnenos", Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World: Asia Minor
Entry of her father in "Porphyrogenita"

1280s births
1350s deaths
14th-century emperors of Trebizond
Grand Komnenos dynasty
Year of death missing
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
Prisoners and detainees of the Byzantine Empire

Michael of Trebizond


BAE Systems Avionics was the avionics unit of BAE Systems until 2005, at which time it was transferred to SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems S.p.A. (initially 75% Finmeccanica and 25% BAE Systems, but since March 2007 fully owned by Finmeccanica). Selex S&AS became SELEX Galileo in 2008 and from January 2013 (following a merger with other Finmeccanica companies SELEX Sistemi Integrati and Selex Elsag) traded as Selex ES. It then merged into Leonardo S.p.A.'s land and naval defence electronics division on 1 January 2016.

The business had its UK headquarters in Basildon, Essex, England.

History
BAE Systems Avionics has a rich heritage which dates back to 1909 when the Elliott and Marconi companies began to fit aircraft with systems (beginning with embryonic air to ground communications). By 1913 Elliot's avionics product lines advanced to gyroscopes, weapon sights and altimeters.

Timeline
1804 - William Elliott establishes a company manufacturing scientific and surveying instruments.
1853 - Company renamed Elliott Brothers Ltd.
1897 - Guglielmo Marconi founds his company.
1909 - Elliott Brothers and Marconi companies both begin to fit avionics to early aircraft.
1946 - Marconi is acquired by English Electric.
1967 - English Electric and Elliott Automation merge.
1968 - The new English Electric group is acquired by GEC.
1969 - GEC renames avionics business Marconi-Elliott Avionics Systems Limited, part of the company's defence arm, GEC-Marconi.
1978 - Renamed Marconi Avionics Limited.
1984 - Renamed GEC Avionics Limited.
1990 - Take-over of Ferranti creating GEC Ferranti
1998 - Renamed Marconi Avionics, part of the renamed defence arm, Marconi Electronic Systems (MES).
1999 - MES merged with British Aerospace to form BAE Systems. Avionics business becomes BAE Systems Avionics.
2005 - BAE Systems Avionics merged with Galileo Avionica to form SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems.
2008 - SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems is re-branded SELEX Galileo.
2013 - SELEX Galileo merged with SELEX Sistemi Integrati and Selex Elsag to form Selex ES.
2016 - Selex ES activities became part of Leonardo's land and naval defence electronics division

References

Sources
The Changing World of Avionics, G.M. Barling. GEC Review, Vol. 6 1990
Elliott early history

Aircraft component manufacturers of the United Kingdom
British companies established in 1969
Avionics companies
BAE Systems subsidiaries and divisions
Borough of Basildon
Companies based in Essex
Defence companies of the United Kingdom
Defunct companies of the United Kingdom
Electronics companies of the United Kingdom
Manufacturing companies established in 1969
Science and technology in Essex
2005 mergers and acquisitions

BAE Systems Avionics


In the law, a minor is someone who has not yet reached the age of majority. In many countries, a person becomes an adult at age 18, therefore, a minor is a person who is 17 years old or younger.

"Minor" can also mean a person who is not old enough to do a particular activity, for example, while 18 is the age of majority in the United States, the minimum age to buy alcoholic beverages (such as beer, wine, and liquor) in the United States is 21 so in this context, a minor is a person who is 20 years old or younger.
Legal terms
Childhood

Minor (law)


Francisco Fajardo (Isla Margarita, Nueva Esparta, Colonial Venezuela c. 1524 - Cumaná, Sucre, Colonial Venezuela 1564) was a Spanish conquistador active in Venezuela. He was an example of a mestizo (mixed race) conquistador.

Fajardo was the son of a Spanish lieutenant of the same name and an indigenous Indian woman, Isabel of the Waikerí. In 1555 to 1557 he made several expeditions from Margarita to conquer the Caracas tribe around the valleys of present-day Caracas, even before the city was formally founded by conqueror Diego de Losada.  As a mestizo (person of mixed race) he was able to blend in with the indigenous tribes of the coast physically and culturally. After murdering a local cacique he had to flee back to Margarita in 1558.

He returned to the mainland in 1560, becoming lieutenant-general of Valencia, Venezuela, before going back to Margarita to defend it against Lope de Aguirre. On a new expedition to the mainland he discovered a gold mine in the territory of the Teques, in the Caracas region near present-day Los Teques. Early attempts at settlement had to be abandoned in 1562 when an uprising led by Guaicaipuro forced Fajardo to retreat again to Margarita, an expedition by Luis de Narváez to reinforce Fajardo having been destroyed.

After setting out on a new expedition from Margarita in 1564, he was arrested and executed in Cumaná by Alonso Cobos after a sham trial. Cobos was arrested in Cumana by outraged residents of Margarita, and after a trial in Margarita was executed for the murder of Fajardo.

The major highway of Caracas, the Francisco Fajardo Highway, is named after him.

Books
 Juan Ernesto Montenegro (1974), Francisco Fajardo: origen y perfil del primer fundador de Caracas, Caracas: Concejo Municipal del Distrito Federal

References

Spanish conquistadors
1564 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of birth uncertain

Francisco Fajardo