Queens Gardens, Perth, is a  park on a former brickworks and clay pit site in the eastern end of the Perth central business district. The park is bounded by Hay Street to the south, Plain Street to the west, Nelson Crescent to the north, and Hale Street to the east, which separates it from the WACA Ground.

History
The site of Queen's Gardens was initially part of the commonage that was used for recreation purposes including horse racing and later as a clay pit and brickworks. Bricks were produced from the site between 1860 and 1890 and featured in many of Perth's prominent buildings constructed at that time, including the Town Hall, The Cloisters and The Barracks. At this time the place was known as the East Perth Clayfields Reserve. Between 1880 and 1890 there were a number of public protests against the use of the site for clay pits, which resulted in the City of Perth partially filling the clay pits to form ponds and the site being transferred to the city for the purpose of establishing a botanic garden.

The park was opened to the public on 9 October 1898; however, it was officially opened and formally named the Queens Gardens by Mayor of Perth Alexander Forrest in October 1899.

In the years before the first world war, it was used as a garden party location by the mayor of Perth; more recently it has been popular for open-air weddings and wedding portraiture.

The park was officially transferred to the Perth City Council on 21 January 1902. In 1906, the city erected a caretaker's cottage in the north-east corner of the garden. New entrance gates were erected in 1914 and eight new bridges constructed in place of previous ones. Following the installation of electric lighting in 1924, use of the gardens extended into the evenings. In 1927 new entrance gates were installed at the corner of Hay and Plain streets, replacing the original entrance towards the eastern end of Hay Street.

Peter Pan statue

In June 1929 the Rotary Club of Perth presented the Perth City Council with a replica of the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens in London as a gift to the children of Western Australia to mark the state's centenary. The reproduction was produced by the sculptor of the original statue, Sir George Frampton, and autographed by the creator of Peter Pan, Sir J. M. Barrie.

Notting Hill bench
The park includes a bench that is a replica of the seat in the 1999 film Notting Hill, donated to the City of Perth by a resident known only as Rodd. It has the inscription:

Until 2019, it was believed to be the original bench from the film, and included a plaque to that effect. The plaque has since been removed.

References

Parks in Perth, Western Australia
East Perth, Western Australia
Hay Street, Perth

Queens Gardens, Perth


Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 American romance film directed by Forest Whitaker (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMillan. Lela Rochon, Loretta Devine, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Beach, Gregory Hines, Donald Faison, and Mykelti Williamson rounded out the rest of the cast. The original music score was composed by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. The story centers on four women living in the Phoenix metropolitan area and their relationships with men and one another. All of them are "holding their breath" until the day they can feel comfortable in a committed relationship with themselves.

Plot
Four friends (Savannah, Robin, Bernadine, and Gloria) get together frequently to support one another and listen to each other vent about life and love. They each want to be in a romantic relationship, but they each have difficulties finding a good man.

Successful television producer Savannah "Vannah" Jackson believes that one day her married lover will leave his wife for her. She later realizes that he won't, and that she must find her own man who will love her for who she really is.

Bernadine "Bernie" Harris, who abandoned her career and dreams of having a catering business, instead raised a family and supported her husband John in building his business. He announces he is leaving her for a white woman with whom he works, sending her into an emotional tailspin that culminates in the two fighting over their assets after she burns his car, clothes and some of his other belongings, and then sells the rest of his things for a dollar each, and he retaliates by draining their bank accounts.

Robin Stokes is a high-powered executive and the long-time mistress of married Russell. After dumping him, she has problems finding someone suitable.

Beauty salon owner Gloria "Glo" Matthews is a single mother. Her ex-husband and the father of her son tells her that he was always bisexual and now realizes he is gay. Gloria eventually falls in love with a new neighbor, Marvin King.

The situations all resolve themselves for the better. Savannah ends up permanently dumping her married lover. Bernadine gets a large divorce settlement from her ex-husband and finds love with a widowed civil rights attorney who encourages her to pursue her catering dream. Robin ends up pregnant by her married lover, but dumps him, and chooses to raise the baby on her own.
Gloria apologizes to her neighbor for snapping at him when he suggested that she should let her son grow up and experience the world. She learns not to be so protective of her son and lets him go on an "Up with People" trip to Spain. She finds love while learning to take care of herself rather than being self-sacrificing in her devotion to her son and her business.

Cast
 Whitney Houston as Savannah Jackson, a successful television producer who, after a few failed relationships, decides to move from Denver, Colorado to Phoenix, Arizona
 Angela Bassett as Bernadine Harris, a mother of two children with dreams of starting a catering business shelved by her 11-year marriage to her husband, only for him to drop a bomb: he's divorcing her for his white bookkeeper.
 Loretta Devine as Gloria Matthews, a beauty salon owner & single mother of Tarik
 Lela Rochon as Robin Stokes, an executive and the long-time mistress of Russell
 Gregory Hines as Marvin King, Gloria's neighbor with whom she falls in love, decides to move from Nevada to Phoenix, Arizona
 Dennis Haysbert as Kenneth Dawkins, Savannah's married lover
 Mykelti Williamson as Troy, Robin's one-time lover
 Michael Beach as John Harris Sr., Bernie's husband who leaves her for a white woman
 Donald Adeosun Faison as Tarik Matthews, Gloria's teenage son
 Leon Robinson as Russell, Robin's long-time married lover
 Wendell Pierce as Michael Davenport, Robin's co-worker and one-night stand
 Jeffrey D. Sams as Lionel, Savannah's New Year's Eve date
 Jazz Raycole as Onika Harris, Bernadine & John Sr.'s daughter
 Brandon Hammond as John Harris Jr., Bernadine & John Sr.'s son
 Kenya Moore as Denise, Lionel's "friend" who sees Savannah as a rival
 Lamont Johnson as Joseph, Lionel's "friend"
 Starletta DuPois as "Ma", Savannah's mother who wants her daughter with a man, preferably Kenneth
 Kelly Preston as Kathleen, John Sr.'s bookkeeper for whom he's leaving his wife Bernadine (uncredited)
 Wesley Snipes as James Wheeler, a civil rights attorney Bernadine shares an intimate moment with (uncredited)
 Giancarlo Esposito as David Matthews, Gloria's ex-husband and father of Tarik (uncredited)

Production

Filming
Parts of the film were shot at Monument Valley in Utah as well as Chandler, Fountain Hills, Phoenix and Paradise Valley in Arizona. Filming was temporarily halted for seven days after Houston suffered a drug overdose.

Music

The soundtrack album to the film features exclusively female African-American artists. The soundtrack includes the number-one hit songs "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", sung by the film's star, Whitney Houston, and "Let It Flow" by Toni Braxton as well as "Not Gon' Cry" by Mary J. Blige, "Sittin' Up in My Room" by Brandy, and "Count on Me" by Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans, all of which reached the top ten of Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

Reception

Box office
Waiting to Exhale was a financial success, opening at number one at the North American box office and grossing $14.1 million its first weekend of release. In total, the film grossed $67.05 million in North America, and $14.4 million internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $81.45 million. Its widest release was just over 1,400 theatres, and it was the 26th highest-grossing film of 1995.

Critical response
Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics. Film critic Susan Stark from The Detroit News stated, "For all the pleasure there is in seeing effective, great-looking black women grappling with major life issues on screen, Waiting to Exhale is an uneven piece." Reviewer Liam Lacey from The Daily Globe and Mail wrote of the film, "[It] never escapes the queasy aura of Melrose Place: just another story about naive people with small problems." However, film critic Roger Ebert positively reviewed the film, stating that it is "an escapist fantasy that women in the audience can enjoy by musing, 'I wish I had her problems'—and her car, house, wardrobe, figure and men, even wrong men." The film is notable for having an all-African-American cast. The Los Angeles Times called it a "social phenomenon". The film received a 61% approval rating at review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's consensus states: "Waiting to Exhale looks at life's ups and downs from an underseen perspective -- albeit one that's poorly served by uneven acting and a sporadically interesting story."

In the book Is Marriage for White People? writer and Stanford Law School professor Ralph Richard Banks states that the film is a perfect example of the problems African-American women have in finding serious relationships.

Accolades
 Image Awards
 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture:
 (Angela Bassett) Winner
 (Whitney Houston) Nominated
 Outstanding Soundtrack: Winner
 Outstanding Motion Picture: Winner
 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture: (Gregory Hines) Nominated
 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture:
 (Loretta Devine) Winner
 (Lela Rochon) Nominated
 MTV Movie Awards
 Best Female Breakthrough Performance: (Lela Rochon) Nominated
 Best Song from a Movie:
 Whitney Houston - "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"
 Brandy - "Sittin' Up in My Room"

Proposed sequel
Interviewed in the spring of 2011 on an episode of The Talk, Angela Bassett confirmed that a sequel was in the planning stages, with all the female principals signed on to star, and Whitaker returning to direct. The film would supposedly be based on McMillan's 2010 follow-up novel, Getting to Happy; McMillan was adapting the book to screenplay. However, the 2012 death of Whitney Houston halted plans for a sequel starring all four of the original leads.

Television adaptation
In November 2020, it was reported that ABC was developing a television series adaptation of film. The series will be produced by 20th Television with Lee Daniels as executive producer, under a deal of Daniels at 20th Television.

References

External links

1995 films
1995 romantic comedy-drama films
1990s female buddy films
American romantic comedy-drama films
1990s English-language films
Films directed by Forest Whitaker
African-American films
Novels by Terry McMillan
Films based on American novels
Films based on romance novels
Films set in Phoenix, Arizona
20th Century Fox films
Films with screenplays by Ronald Bass
Films shot in Utah
Films shot in Arizona
1995 directorial debut films
American female buddy films
1990s American films
Films shot in Monument Valley

Waiting to Exhale


Allan "Rocky" Lane (born Harry Leonard Albershardt; September 22, 1909 – October 27, 1973) was an American studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966. He is best known for his portrayal of Red Ryder and for being the voice of the talking horse on the television series Mister Ed, beginning in 1961.

Biography
Lane was born Harry Leonard Albershardt or Albershart (sources differ) in Mishawaka, Indiana to Linnie Anne and William H. Albershardt. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lane had been a photographer, model and stage actor by age 20.

Lane played varsity sports (baseball, football, and basketball) at the University of Notre Dame but dropped out in order to pursue his interests in acting.

Film career
Lane's first film role for Fox was as a romantic lead opposite June Collyer in the 1929 release, Not Quite Decent (now a lost film). He made several other films at Fox but jumped ship to Warner Bros.

While at Warner his career foundered, and after a number of bit parts he left films in the early 1930s. By 1936, Lane returned to films and to 20th Century Fox, taking supporting roles in the drama Laughing at Trouble and the Shirley Temple film Stowaway. After several more supporting roles at Fox, Lane longed for a starring role; therefore, he took the lead in a Republic Pictures' short feature, The Duke Comes Back (1937).

From 1929 through 1936, he appeared in twenty-four films. He was in 1938's The Law West of Tombstone. In 1940, he portrayed "RCMP Sergeant Dave King", the role becoming one of his most notable successes. The first was King of the Royal Mounted, a 12-part 1940 serial adaptation of Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted. He starred in several Royal Canadian Mounted Police films, including the serials The Yukon Patrol and King of the Mounties. He is best remembered for these today.

In 1946 and 1947, he portrayed Red Ryder in seven films, replacing Wild Bill Elliott in that role. The following year, he became "Rocky Lane" in Western films.

Between 1940 and 1966, Lane made eighty-two film and television series appearances, mostly in westerns. Between 1947 and 1953, he made over 30 B-movie westerns (as "Rocky" Lane) with his faithful horse 'Black Jack'.

His last roles were in voice-over acting, including providing the speech for Mister Ed (1961–1966). He was never credited on-screen for providing the voice for Mister Ed.

Death
Lane died in California of cancer in 1973, at age 64. His interment is located at Inglewood Park Cemetery.

In popular culture

Between 1965 and 1968 a celebrity comic was created around Rocky Lane's cowboy persona, written and drawn by Brazilian comics artist Primaggio Mantovi.

Lane was one of the movie cowboys named in the lyrics of the song "Whatever Happened To Randolph Scott" by The Statler Brothers, which became a hit single in 1974.

Selected filmography

 Not Quite Decent (1929) as Jerry Connor
 The Forward Pass (1929) as Ed Kirby
 Love in the Rough (1930) as Johnson
 Madame Satan (1930) as Zeppelin Majordomo (uncredited)
 Night Nurse (1931) as Intern (uncredited)
 The Star Witness (1931) as Young Deputy at the Leeds Home (uncredited)
 Honor of the Family (1931) as Joseph
 Expensive Women (1931) as Party Boy with Bobby (uncredited)
 Local Boy Makes Good (1931) as Runner with a Bad Knee (uncredited)
 The Famous Ferguson Case (1932) as Reporter (uncredited)
 The Tenderfoot (1932) as Actor (uncredited)
 Week-End Marriage (1932) as Office Clerk (uncredited)
 Winner Take All (1932) as Monty - Joan's Friend (uncredited)
 Miss Pinkerton (1932) as Herbert Wynn (scenes deleted)
 Crooner (1932) as Heckler on Dance Floor (uncredited)
 A Successful Calamity (1932) as Polo Player (uncredited)
 The Crash (1932) as Geoffrey's Associate (uncredited)
 One Way Passage (1932) as Friend of Joan's (uncredited)
 Laughing at Trouble (1936) as John Campbell
 Stowaway (1936) as Richard Hope
 Step Lively, Jeeves! (1937) as Party Guest (uncredited)
 Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) as Richard Masters
 The Jones Family in Big Business (1937) as Ted Hewett
 Fifty Roads to Town (1937) as Leroy Smedley
 Sing and Be Happy (1937) as Hamilton Howe
 The Duke Comes Back (1937) as Duke Foster
 Night Spot (1938) as Pete Cooper
 Maid's Night Out (1938) as Bill Norman
 This Marriage Business (1938) as Bill Bennett
 Having Wonderful Time (1938) as Maxwell Pingwell aka Mac
 Crime Ring (1938) as Joe Ryan
 Fugitives for a Night (1938) as John Nelson
 The Law West of Tombstone (1938) as Danny Sanders
 Pacific Liner (1939) as Bilson
 Twelve Crowded Hours (1939) as Dave Sanders
 They Made Her a Spy (1939) as James Huntley
 Panama Lady (1939) as Dennis McTeague
 The Spellbinder (1939) as Steve Kindal
 Conspiracy (1939) as Steve Kendall
 Grand Ole Opry (1940) as Fred Barnes
 King of the Royal Mounted (1940, Serial) as Dave King
 All-American Co-Ed (1941) as Second Senior
 King of the Mounties (1942) as Sergeant Dave King
 Air Force (1943) as Marine (uncredited)
 Daredevils of the West (1943) as Duke Cameron
 The Dancing Masters (1943) as George Worthing
 Call of the South Seas (1944) as Kendall Gaige
 The Tiger Woman (1944) as Allen Saunders
 Silver City Kid (1944) as Jack Adams
 Stagecoach to Monterey (1944) as Bruce Redmond - Posing as Chick Weaver
 Sheriff of Sundown (1944) as Tex Jordan
 The Topeka Terror (1945) as Chad Stevens
 Corpus Christi Bandits (1945) as Capt. James Christie / Corpus Christi Jim
 Bells of Rosarita (1945) as Himself
 Trail of Kit Carson (1945) as Bill Harmon
 Gay Blades (1946) as Andy Buell
 A Guy Could Change (1946) as Michael 'Mike' Hogan
 Night Train to Memphis (1946) as Dan Acuff
 Santa Fe Uprising (1946) as Red Ryder
 Out California Way (1946) as Himself
 Stagecoach to Denver (1946) as Red Ryder
 Vigilantes of Boomtown (1947) as Red Ryder
 Homesteaders of Paradise Valley (1947) as Red Ryder
 Oregon Trail Scouts (1947) as Red Ryder
 Rustlers of Devil's Canyon (1947) as Red Ryder
 Marshal of Cripple Creek (1947) as Red Ryder
 The Wild Frontier (1947) as Rocky Lane
 Bandits of Dark Canyon (1947) as Rocky Lane
 Oklahoma Badlands (1948) as Allan Rocky Lane
 The Bold Frontiersman (1948) as Rocky Lane
 Carson City Raiders (1948) as Rocky Lane
 Marshal of Amarillo (1948) as Marshal Rocky Lane
 Desperadoes of Dodge City (1948) as Rocky Lane
 The Denver Kid (1948) as Rocky Lane Posing as the Denver Kid
 Sundown in Santa Fe (1948) as Rocky Lane
 Renegades of Sonora (1948) as Rocky Lane
 Sheriff of Wichita (1949) as Sheriff Rocky Lane
 Death Valley Gunfighter (1949) as Rocky Lane
 Frontier Investigator (1949) as Rocky Lane
 The Wyoming Bandit (1949) as Marshal Rocky Lane
 Bandit King of Texas (1949) as Rocky Lane
 Navajo Trail Raiders (1949) as Rocky Lane
 Powder River Rustlers (1949) as Rocky Lane
 Gunmen of Abilene (1950) as Rocky Lane
 Code of the Silver Sage (1950) as Lt. Rocky Lane
 Salt Lake Raiders (1950) as Deputy Marshal Rocky Lane
 Covered Wagon Raid (1950) as Rocky Lane
 Vigilante Hideout (1950) as Rocky Lane
 Frisco Tornado (1950) as Marshal Rocky Lane
 Rustlers on Horseback (1950) as Marshal Rocky Lane
 Trail of Robin Hood (1950) as Rocky Lane
 Rough Riders of Durango (1951) as Rocky Lane
 Night Riders of Montana (1951) as Rocky Lane
 Wells Fargo Gunmaster (1951) as Rocky Lane
 Fort Dodge Stampede (1951) as Deputy Sheriff Rocky Lane
 Desert of Lost Men (1951) as Rocky Lane
 Captive of Billy the Kid (1952) as Marshal 'Rocky' Lane
 Leadville Gunslinger (1952) as U. S. Marshal Rocky Lane
 Black Hills Ambush (1952) as Rocky Lane
 Thundering Caravans (1952) as Marshal Rocky Lane
 Desperadoes' Outpost (1952) as Rocky Lane
 Marshal of Cedar Rock (1953) as Marshal Rocky Lane
 Savage Frontier (1953) as U.S. Marshal Rocky Lane
 Bandits of the West (1953) as Marshal Rocky Lane
 El Paso Stampede (1953) as Rocky Lane
 The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958) as Sheriff
 Hell Bent for Leather (1960) as Kelsey
 Posse from Hell (1961) as Burl Hogan

Television
Series
 Mister Ed, 1961–1966 syndicated and later CBS TV series. Lane provided the voice for Mister Ed. This was an uncredited role.
 Red Ryder, 1956–1957 TV series. Lane portrayed Red Ryder

Guest appearances
 Cheyenne, episode "Massacre at Gunsight Pass", originally aired May 1, 1961
 Gunsmoke, episode "Long Hours, Short Pay", originally aired April 29, 1961
 Bonanza, episode "The Blood Line", originally aired December 31, 1960
 Gunsmoke, episode "The Badge", originally aired November 12, 1960
 Lawman, episode "The Payment", originally aired May 8, 1960
 Bronco, episode "Death of an Outlaw", originally aired March 8, 1960
 Colt .45, episode "Arizona Anderson", originally aired February 14, 1960
 Tales of Wells Fargo, episode "The Reward", originally aired April 21, 1958
 Wagon Train, episode "The Daniel Barrister Story", originally aired April 16, 1958
 Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season 3 Episode 28: "Lamb to the Slaughter") (originally aired April 13, 1958) as Patrick Maloney
 Gunsmoke, episode "Texas Cowboys", originally aired April 5, 1958
 Mike Hammer, episode "Husbands Are Bad Luck", originally aired 1957

References

External links

Rocky Lane westerns
Recollections of Allan Lane
FanBase page - Notre Dame Football

1909 births
1973 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery
Deaths from cancer in California
Male actors from Indiana
People from Mishawaka, Indiana
University of Notre Dame alumni

Allan Lane


The 44th FIE Fencing World Cup began in October 2014 and concluded in July 2015 at the 2015 World Fencing Championships held in Moscow.

Season overview
This edition was the first to feature the new Grand Prix format, consisting in nine events, three in each weapon, men and women fencing together. World Cup and Grand Prix competitions were spread over ten months instead of six. The calendar overhaul was designed to allow more time for the athletes to train and rest as well as to increase media visibility.
The season saw the opening of the qualifying path for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.  The first competition counting for Olympic qualification was held on the 2 and 3 May for all three weapons, an event dubbed as the "super weekend" in Italy. The season was also marked by the FIE's cancellation of the men's sabre Dakar World Cup, due to take place on the 1 and 2 November 2014, as a preventive measure because of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. In February 2015, the French delegation withdrew at the last minute from the women's foil World Cup in Algiers because of protests over the depiction of Muhammad after the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

In men's épée, France's Gauthier Grumier won his third World Cup series with a lead of 59 points over Switzerland's Max Heinzer. After a disappointing season, Italy's Rossella Fiamingo earned a European silver medal, then a consecutive second world title. She became the first Italian female epeeist to finish world no.1 since Elisa Uga in 1990, with a 2-point-lead over China's Xu Anqi and a 4-point-lead over Hungary's Emese Szász. France led the rankings in men's team épée with two gold medals and a continental title, followed by South Korea. In the women's, China finished no.1 thanks to two gold medals and a world title, ahead of Romania with four podium placings and a continental gold medal.

In women's foil, Elisa Di Francisca interrupted fellow Italian Arianna Errigo's streak of three series victories by finishing world no.1 for the second time in her career, with three gold medals in a row in Havana, Tauberbischofsheim and Shanghai, and a second consecutive European title in Montreux. She was closely followed by Errigo, who led the rankings for most of the season with three gold medals too, and by Russia's Inna Deriglazova, who claimed five medals and the World title. American Lee Kiefer was the only non-European to win a World Cup event and finished no.4. In men's foil, Race Imboden became the first American male fencer to win the overall World Cup. As in the previous season, three Americans featured in the Top 10. In women's team foil, Italy lost their crown to Russia, who won four gold medals out of five World Cup events. In the men's, Russia also finished first in the rankings, ahead of Italy, with five podiums (including) two gold medals in five competitions.

In men's sabre, Gu Bon-gil won the World Cup series for the second time in a row, followed by fellow South Korean Kim Jung-hwan and Hungary's Áron Szilágyi. In the women's, Russia's Sofiya Velikaya claimed her first end-of-the-season no.1 ranking after winning four World Cup gold medals and the European and World titles. Previous incumbent, Ukraine's Olha Kharlan, took gold medals in all three Grand Prix of the season and finished no.2 with a substantial lead over no.3 Mariel Zagunis of the United States. In men's team sabre, Italy placed first with three podiums, a continental medal and a world title. Russia and Germany finished respectively no.2 and no.3, separated by 2 points from each other. In the women's, Russia took the lead with three podiums and the continental and world titles, ahead of the United States and of Ukraine.

Individual épée

Top 10

Men's épée

Women's épée

Individual foil

Top 10

Men's foil

Women's foil

Individual sabre

Top 10

Men's sabre

Women's sabre

Team épée

Top 10

Men's team épée

Women's team épée

Team foil

Top 10

Men's team foil

Women's team foil

Team sabre

Top 10

Men's team sabre

Women's team sabre

References

Fencing World Cup
2014 in fencing
2015 in fencing
International fencing competitions hosted by Russia
2015 in Russian sport

2014–15 Fencing World Cup


Emma Martina Luigia Morano  (29 November 1899 – 15 April 2017) was an Italian supercentenarian. She was the world's oldest living person from 13 May 2016 until her death on 15 April 2017, aged 117 years and 137 days. At the time of her death, she was also the last living person verified to have been born in the 1800s. She is the oldest Italian person ever and the third-oldest European person ever behind Jeanne Calment (1875–1997) and Lucile Randon (1904–2023).

Early life

Emma Martina Luigia Morano was born on 29 November 1899 in Civiasco, Vercelli, Piedmont, to Giovanni Morano and Matilde Bresciani, the eldest of eight children (five daughters and three sons). She had a long-lived family: her mother, an aunt and some of her siblings turned 90, and one of her sisters, Angela Morano (1908–2011), died at age 102.

When she was a child she moved from the Sesia Valley to Ossola for her father's job, but the climate was so unhealthy there that a physician advised her family to live somewhere with more moderate weather, so she moved to Verbania, on Lake Maggiore, where she lived the rest of her life. In October 1926, she married Giovanni Martinuzzi (1901–1978), and her only child was born in 1937 but died when he was only six months old. The marriage was not a happy one, so in 1938, Morano separated from her husband, driving him out of the house.

Later life

Until 1954 Morano worked at Maioni Industry, a jute factory in her town. She subsequently worked in the kitchen of Collegio Santa Maria, a Marianist boarding school in Verbania, until her retirement at the age of 75.

In December 2011 she was awarded the honour of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by President Giorgio Napolitano.

In 2013, when asked about the secret of her longevity, she said that she ate three eggs a day, occasionally drank a glass of homemade grappa, and enjoyed a chocolate sometimes, but, above all, she thought positively about the future. She was still living alone in her home on her 115th birthday. In 2016 she credited her long life to her diet of raw eggs and cookies, and to staying single.

Morano became the oldest living person in Italy and Europe after the death of Maria Redaelli on 2 April 2013. On her 114th birthday, she gave a short live TV interview to a RAI show. On her 116th birthday, Morano received congratulations from Pope Francis.

She surpassed the age of Venere Pizzinato in August 2014 and Dina Manfredini (who died in the United States) in August 2015, to become the oldest Italian person ever. On 13 May 2016, upon the death of American woman Susannah Mushatt Jones, Morano became the world's oldest living person and also the last living person verified to have been born before 1900.  On 29 July 2016, she was presented with a certificate from Guinness World Records recognizing her as the oldest person alive.  Festivities celebrating her 117th birthday on 29 November 2016 were broadcast live in Italy.

Death
Morano died at her home in Verbania, Italy, on 15 April 2017 at the age of 117.  At the time of her death, she was the fourth-oldest person in recorded history. Upon Morano's death, Violet Brown became the world's oldest living person.

See also
List of Italian supercentenarians
List of European supercentenarians
List of the verified oldest people
List of the oldest people by country
Longevity
Oldest people

Notes

References

External links

1899 births
2017 deaths
Women supercentenarians
Italian supercentenarians
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
People from Civiasco
People from Verbania

Emma Morano


Baldwin VI of Flanders (–1070), called Baldwin de Mons was a Frankish nobleman.  He was the ruling Count of Hainaut (jure uxoris) from 1051 to 1070 (as Baldwin I) and succeeded his father as Count of Flanders from 1067 to 1070.

Career

Baldwin was the oldest son of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and Adela of France. Adela was a daughter of king Robert II of France. and Constance of Arles. He was also the brother of Matilda of Flanders, Queen consort of England and wife of William the Conqueror, King of England.

His father arranged his marriage, under threat of arms, to Richilde, Countess of Hainaut. She was the widow of Herman of Mons and heiress of Hainaut. Because Hainaut was a part of the Holy Roman Empire this enraged Emperor Henry III who had not been consulted. He went to war against the two Baldwins but was not successful. Between 1050 and 1054 Lambert II, Count of Lens fought alongside the Baldwins against Henry III. He was one of Baldwin V's leading vassals. Lambert was killed at the battle of Lille in 1054. Others fighting for the Counts of Flanders against Henry III included the lords of Alost.

Richilde son Roger, from her first marriage, was thought by her not fit to be the next count of Hainaut. Baldwin and Richilde arranged for him to be the Bishop of Chalons. This allowed her son by her second marriage, Baldwin (II) to become the count of Hainaut. Her daughter by her first husband became a nun. Baldwin acquired the remainder of the county of Hainaut by fiefs and by purchasing allods. Baldwin died 17 Jul 1070. His early death left Flanders and Hainaut in the hands of his young son Arnulf III, with Richilde as regent.

Baldwin rebuilt the monastery of Hasnon and gave gifts of his own properties to support it. He placed monks there and made it his burial place.

Family

Baldwin and Richilde were the parents of:

Arnulf III, Count of Flanders (–1071).
Baldwin II, Count of Hainaut (–1098).

Notes

References

1030s births
1070 deaths
Counts and countesses of Flanders

Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders


An Lemmens (born 8 September 1980) is a television and radio presenter at VTM/2BE/Studio Brussel and a former VJ on TMF Belgium.

Career
Lemmens, while studying to be a veterinary assistant, was discovered by television broadcast network TMF in 2003. She presented several programs and award shows and became the broadcaster's leading host from 2003 until 2007.

Shows she hosted on TMF include Zoom!, Double Trouble, Oh My God, Dump Your Boyfriend, TMF Café, Dance 'n' Hold, Splash and Al Frisko. She also had her own signature shows L.A. Baby and An Tour where she would meet up with and interview several known bands. Lemmens also became the fixed VJ for De Afrekening, in which she announced a list of the best Alternative songs of the moment. She said TMF farewell during the 2007 TMF Awards.

During the 2007 TMF Awards, Lemmens left TMF to go and work for VTM. Until now she's been host to popular shows as De Grote Volksquiz, Topmodel, Lost in Tokyo and So you think you can dance, a joint production between Belgium and The Netherlands. She combines her work on the commercial television network with presenting on Studio Brussel, one of the public Belgian radio stations.

Personal life
On 24 May 2008, she married former TMF-VJ and the current singer of Nailpin, Sean d'Hondt. In early October 2009, the couple ended their marriage on friendly terms.
She married conceptual artist Arne Quinze (ex-husband of Barbara Feltus (Becker) on 6 October 2012. In September 2015, Lemmens and Quinze divorced.

References

External links
 An Lemmens at starnews.be
 An Lemmens at 2BE

1980 births
Living people
Belgian television presenters
Belgian radio presenters
Belgian women radio presenters
Belgian women television presenters
People from East Flanders
Lemmens

An Lemmens


Liu Jishu (劉季述) (died January 24, 901) was a eunuch late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who, as a powerful commander of the Shence Armies, briefly deposed Emperor Zhaozong in 900 and replaced Emperor Zhaozong with Emperor Zhaozong's son Li Yu, Prince of De, but was soon killed in a countercoup, allowing Emperor Zhaozong to return to the throne.

Background
It is not known when or where Liu Jishu was born.  It was said that he was not a prominent eunuch early in his career, but was gradually promoted during the reigns of Emperor Xizong and Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong, eventually becoming one of the directors of palace communications (Shumishi) and then one of the commanders (中尉) of the Shence Armies.  However, the main sources on his rise — the New Book of Tang and the Zizhi Tongjian — disagree with each other (and somewhat internally) as to his career progression and actions.  The Zizhi Tongjian referred to Liu Jishu as the commander of the Right Shence Army in 888, at the time of Emperor Xizong's death and Emperor Zhaozong's ascension to the throne (which was supported by Yang Fuguang), but then referred to him as acting director of palace communications in 897, further stating that he cooperated with the warlord Han Jian the military governor of Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi) when Emperor Zhaozong was at Zhenguo's capital Hua Prefecture (華州) when Han, over Emperor Zhaozong's protest, killed 11 imperial princes whom Emperor Zhaozong had put in command of some of the imperial forces.  Emperor Zhaozong was then at Hua Prefecture after fleeing the imperial capital Chang'an with his court after coming under attack by the warlord Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi).  According to the New Book of Tang, however, it appeared that Liu was director of palace communications when Emperor Zhaozong, at the instigation of the chancellor Cui Yin, killed the commanders of the Shence Armies Zhu Daobi (朱道弼) and Jing Wuxiu (景務脩) in 900 and replaced them with Liu and Wang Zhongxian (王仲先) — whereas the Zizhi Tongjian referred to Zhu and Jing, at their deaths, as directors of palace communications.  Regardless, it appeared that by late 900, when Emperor Zhaozong had returned to Chang'an after making peace with Li Maozhen, Liu and Wang were the commanders of the Shence Armies and in enmity with Cui over Cui's role in instigating Zhu's and Jing's deaths.

Removal of Emperor Zhaozong
It was said that Emperor Zhaozong's mood became unpredictable and depressed after his return from Hua Prefecture, and he was often drunk.  His attendants became fearful of him.  Liu Jishu, in response, began plotting with Wang Zhongxian, as well as the directors of palace communications Wang Yanfan (王彥範) and Xue Qiwo (薛齊偓), to overthrow him and replace him with his son, the Crown Prince Li Yu, Prince of De.

The eunuchs' plot was put into action after, one night late in 900, Emperor Zhaozong, in a drunken rage, killed several eunuch attendants and ladies in waiting.  Liu, hearing of the incident, went to confront Cui Yin the next morning, arguing that Emperor Zhaozong was no longer fit to be emperor.  Cui, fearing that Liu would kill him, did not dare to openly oppose Liu.  Liu drafted a petition that he then forced Cui and other imperial officials to sign, asking Emperor Zhaozong briefly transfer imperial authorities to the Crown Prince; he and Wang Zhongxian then took Shence Army soldiers to enter the palace to confront Emperor Zhaozong.  Emperor Zhaozong initially resisted the eunuchs' attempt to remove him, but his wife Empress He, fearful that the eunuchs would kill him, persuaded him to yield to the eunuchs and turn the imperial seals over to them.  Liu and Wang escorted Emperor Zhaozong to Shaoyang Pavilion (少陽院) and put him under house arrest here; Liu went as far as rebuking the emperor for not following his advice on many prior occasions, using a silver cane to draw lines on the ground to count off the times.  He then had Li Yu escorted to the palace, had his name changed to Li Zhen, and declared him emperor.  Emperor Zhaozong was declared Retired Emperor and Empress He Retired Empress.

With Liu in power, he executed Emperor Zhaozong's younger brother Li Yi (李倚) the Prince of Mu, as well as the attendants and Buddhist and Taoist monks that Emperor Zhaozong favored.  He also considered killing Cui, but was fearful of a violent reaction by Cui's ally Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), only removing Cui from his secondary post as director of the salt and iron monopolies.

Cui, meanwhile, was in secret communications with Zhu, thinking of ways to restore Emperor Zhaozong.  Liu also tried to communicate with Zhu, sending his adoptive son Liu Xidu (劉希度) and another eunuch, Li Fengben (李奉本), to Xuanwu's capital Daliang, offering to let him take over the Tang throne.  Zhu was initially unsure of what to do, but the advice of his staff member Li Zhen (not to be confused with the prince-emperor), Zhu put Liu Xidu and Li Fengben under arrest and sent his staff member Jiang Xuanhui (蔣玄暉) to Chang'an to confer with Cui.

Cui was, at the same time, trying to undermine the eunuchs by persuading Shence Army officers to turn against the eunuchs.  He persuaded Sun Dezhao (孫德昭) to work with him to restore the emperor.  Sun then persuaded fellow officers Dong Yanbi (董彥弼) and Zhou Chenghui (周承誨) to join the plot as well.  On lunar new year's day in 901, Sun assassinated Wang Zhongxian and went to Shaoyang Pavilion to free Emperor Zhaozong and Empress He.  Meanwhile, Zhou captured Liu and Wang Yanfan and took them to the emperor's presence.  Before Emperor Zhaozong could interrogate them, however, Liu and Wang Yanfan were battered to death by the soldiers.  Xue committed suicide by jumping into a well.  The four eunuchs' family members were slaughtered.

Notes and references

 Old Book of Tang, vol. 184.
 New Book of Tang, vol. 208.
 Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 257, 261, 262.

9th-century births
901 deaths
Tang dynasty eunuchs
People executed by the Tang dynasty
Executed Tang dynasty people
10th-century executions
People executed by blunt trauma

Liu Jishu


Pompoir is a sexual technique in which the woman uses her vaginal muscles to stimulate the man's penis. Both partners remain still, while the woman strokes the man's erection using rhythmic, rippling pulses of the pubococcygeus muscles, so this practice is best performed in a woman on top position.

Performing Kegel or pelvic floor exercises can increase a woman's skill in pompoir by strengthening the relevant muscles, and allows her to identify, and isolate, individual muscles, to contract them in turn to provide the rippling sensation.

The technique is also called the Singapore grip. The title of The Singapore Grip, a novel by J. G. Farrell, as well as its 2020 television adaptation, refers to this phrase.

Kabzah
"Kabzah" or "Kabza" (, ) is a variant technique that originates from South Asia, where the female additionally uses her abdominal muscle contractions to stimulate the penis of the male partner, who must remain totally passive. The word translates as "holder", and the sensation can be likened to that of "milking". Women are reported to have spent many years in training before becoming proficient in this technique, and as such this technique is considered highly difficult to perform. The act itself is a variety of tantra, its purpose being to enhance and increase the duration and intensity of intercourse.

History

It is a millenary technique of the East. It originated in India and was perfected in Thailand. The first exercises came with a transformation of the extensive preparatory tantric exercises for the Maithuna. This transformation was initially developed by the priestesses of the Great Mother temples to be used in fertility rituals. With time the technique expanded and became increasingly popular.

A similar exercise was developed in the 1950s by gynecologist Arnold Kegel, who in 1952 developed some exercises for women who had a problem with urinary incontinence. With the research he discovered that the pubococcygeus muscle was out of shape and not working properly. By exercising these muscles, the medical problem was solved and the potential for genital sensations and orgasm increased.
In part this was due to blood flow increasing in exercised muscles, and the increase in blood flow is related to the ease of arousal and orgasm. When the strength of a muscle increases, the blood supply increases, with the side effect being an increase of blood flow to the pelvis resulting in higher levels of arousal and more intense orgasms.

References

Further reading
 Kadosh, Carlos, Celine Kirei (2015) Pompoir - The Path of Pleasure - Health, Sexuality and Quality of Life. Eden Publishing
 Kadosh, Carlos, (2015) Male Sexual Potency - Pompoir - The Kama Sutra`s Gymnastic. Eden Publishing

Sexual acts

Pompoir


The 23rd Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army.

Formed in May 1941 in Karelia, it fought in the Continuation War against Finland in the Karelian Isthmus and defended the northwestern approaches to Leningrad during World War II. After Finland withdrew from World War II in September 1944, the Army remained on the Finnish border and continued to garrison the Karelian Isthmus after the war until it was disbanded in 1948.

World War II
The Army was formed in May 1941 in the Leningrad Military District for the defence of the southernmost part of the Soviet Union's border with Finland, north and northeast of Vyborg. The 7th Army was located on its right flank.

The Army initially included the 19th and 50th Rifle Corps, the 10th Mechanized Corps (which included the 21st Tank Division, the 24th Tank Division and the 198th Mechanised Division), the 27th Vyborg Fortified Region, the 28th Keksgolm Fortified Region, plus artillery and other units.

On 24 June, the Army was included in the Northern Front. At the beginning of 10 July the Mechanised Corps was removed from the Army. From 31 July to the end of August in facing the Finnish offensive, it was unable to stop the Finns reconquering the Karelian Isthmus and thus the Army fell back to the old border line and occupied positions in the 22nd Karelian Fortified Region. During the campaign, the army (more specifically the 43rd Rifle Division) was decisively defeated at the Battle of Porlampi.

Due to a reorganization, the army was transferred to the Leningrad Front on 24 August. The 23rd Army had suffered enormous losses in battles against Finns in July to August 1941. When the Finnish Army halted the offensive on the command of Field Marshal Mannerheim on 1 September, the army consisted of only 80,000–90,000 men and had lost huge amounts of heavy weapons and material to the Finns. If Finland had not halted its attack and continued moving towards Leningrad, the 23rd Army probably would have had to withdraw to the city of Leningrad.

From 1942 to June 1944 the Army defended North Western approaches to Leningrad. In June 1944, the Army, including the 97th, 98th and 115th Rifle Corps, and the 17th Izyaslavsky Fortified Region and other units, participated in the Vyborg offensive operation (10 June – 15 July 1944). In this operation, the 23rd Army followed the breakthrough of the 21st Army in this operation, cleared the southern bank of the Vuoksi river and crossed the river in the Battle of Vuosalmi. After the termination of combat with Finland the Army formations were brought out to the state border against Finland, where they were located to the end of the war.

On 1 May 1945, operating under the Leningrad Front, the Army consisted of the 97th Rifle Corps (177th, 178th, 224th Rifle Divisions), the 9th, 16th, 17th Fortified Regions, the 47th Guards Gun Artillery Brigade, the 8th Guards and 21st Gun Artillery Regiments, the 94th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, the 174th Mortar Regiment, the 24th Guards Rocket Artillery Regiment, the 1469th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, the 71st, 168th, 177th, and 618th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalions, the 14th Separate Armored Train Battalion, the 172nd Separate Engineer Battalion, and the 67th Separate Minesweeper Engineer Battalion.

Postwar
On 9 July 1945, the Leningrad Front became the Leningrad Military District. In the postwar period, the Army initially included the 14th and 30th Guards Rifle Corps. The latter had relocated to Vyborg on 10 June after it was transferred from the 10th Guards Army, and it included the 45th, 63rd, and 64th Guards Rifle Divisions. In August, the 14th Guards Rifle Corps was transferred to the Kharkov Military District. By 1 October, along with the 30th Guards Rifle Corps, the army included the 9th, 16th, 17th, and 22nd Fortified Regions. The fortified regions had become the 1st and 22nd Machine Gun Artillery Brigades by 1 August 1946. In April 1948, the Army's headquarters was disbanded, and its units became directly subordinate to the district headquarters.

Commanding officers
The following officers commanded the 23rd Army:
 Lieutenant-General Pyotr Pshennikov (25 May – 6 August 1941)
 Lieutenant-General M.N. Gerasimov (6 August – 8 September 1941)
 Major-General A. I. Cherepanov (9 September 1941 – 3 July 1944; promoted Lieutenant General in September 1943)
 Lieutenant-General Vasily Shvetsov (3 July 1944 – April 1948)

Notes

References

Lenskii, Ground forces of RKKA in the pre-war years: a reference (Сухопутные силы РККА в предвоенные годы. Справочник.) – St Petersburg, B & K, 2000

External links
http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/a23/arm.html

023
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1957
Continuation War

23rd Army (Soviet Union)


Hesham Mohamed Qandil (also spelled: Hisham Kandil;   ; born 17 September 1962) is an Egyptian engineer and civil servant who was Prime Minister of Egypt from 2012 to 2013. Qandil was appointed as Prime Minister by President Mohamed Morsi on 24 July 2012 and sworn in on 2 August 2012. Qandil previously served as Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation from 2011 to 2012.

Reuters reported that Qandil was a politically independent senior public servant in the Morsi administration, but was not popularly considered to be a likely candidate for the position of prime minister. Qandil was Egypt's youngest prime minister since Gamal Abdel Nasser's appointment in 1954. When Morsi was overthrown in a coup d'état by the military, Qandil after initially continuing in his role as prime minister until the formation of a new government, resigned from office on 8 July 2013 in protest over the killing of 61 protestors by the military at the Republican Guard headquarters. He was arrested on 24 December 2013 and released seven months later on 15 July 2014 after he was acquitted by the Court of Cassation, which accepted his appeal and annulled the one-year sentence against him.

Early life and education
Qandil was born in 1962. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering, which he obtained from Cairo University in 1984. Then he received a master's degree in irrigation and drainage engineering from Utah State University in 1988 and a PhD in biological and agricultural engineering with a minor in water resources from North Carolina State University in 1993.

Career
After graduation, Qandil joined the Egyptian civil service in the water resources department in 1985. He was granted a presidential award in 1995 for services to irrigation, and was promoted to office director for the minister of water resources from 1999 to 2005. He participated in the work of the Nile Basin Initiative, was an observer member of the Joint Egyptian-Sudanese Water Authority, and helped launch the African Water Council. He was also Chief of Water Resources at the African Development Bank, a position he held for approximately six years, from 2004 to early 2011. He returned to Egypt following the revolution to help rebuild the country. In 2011, he was appointed Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation as part of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's second cabinet.

Prime Minister of Egypt
On 24 July 2012, Qandil was appointed as Prime Minister by President Mohamed Morsi. His appointment was seen as unexpected by the Arab media, including The Majalla. On 2 August 2012, the newly formed Egyptian cabinet was sworn in consisting of a technocrat-dominated government, with a few political parties (the Freedom and Justice Party, the Al-Wasat Party, and the Renaissance Party).

First Qandil Cabinet
Qandil's first cabinet consisted of 35 ministers, including technocrats, the Freedom and Justice Party members, the Al-Wasat Party members, and the Renaissance Party members.

Second Qandil Cabinet
On 6 January 2013, ten ministers in the first cabinet of Qandil were changed. The reshuffle included ministry of finance, ministry of local development, ministry of transportation, ministry of legal affairs and parliamentary councils, ministry of electricity, ministry of interior, ministry of supply and social affairs, ministry of environment, ministry of communications and ministry of civil aviation. Following the reshuffle, the number of the ministers who were the members of the Freedom and Justice Party increased to eight in the cabinet.

Cabinet Resignations
On 1 July 2013, five cabinet members resigned together; they were Hisham Zazou, the tourism minister, Atef Helmi, the communications and IT minister, Hatem Bagato, the state minister for legal and parliamentary affairs, Abdel Qawi Khalifa, the irrigation minister, and Khaled Abdel Aal, the environment minister. Mohamed Kamel Amr, the foreign minister, resigned as well. The sports minister, El Amry Farouk, resigned on 2 July 2013.

Resignation

On 3 July 2013, an Egyptian appeals court upheld a verdict dismissing Qandil of his duties and sentenced him to one year in prison for not executing a court ruling to re-nationalize the Tanta Flax and Oil Company. Subsequently, on the same day, Morsi was removed from office in a coup d'état by the military. On 8 July 2013, Prime Minister Qandil resigned over the killing of 61 protestors by the military at the Republican Guard headquarters. He had initially decided to remain in his position as a caretaker PM until the formation of a new government. In late September 2013, the Cairo Misdemeanor Court upheld the sentence against Qandil and he was arrested on 24 December 2013. On 13 July 2014, the Court of Cassation accepted Qandil's appeal and abolished the verdict to imprison him for a year, to remove him from his job and to fine him 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($285). He was subsequently released on 15 July 2014.

Personal life
Qandil is married and has five daughters.

References

External links

|-

1962 births
21st-century prime ministers of Egypt
Cairo University alumni
North Carolina State University alumni
University of Utah alumni
People from Beni Suef Governorate
20th-century Egyptian engineers
Living people
Prime Ministers of Egypt
Qandil Cabinet
Leaders ousted by a coup
Heads of government who were later imprisoned
21st-century Egyptian engineers
Irrigation Ministers of Egypt

Hesham Qandil


Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon,(Thai: พระมหาธาตุแก่นนคร) Kaen Nakhon, 'The Great Buddha's Relics' or 'The Nine Story Stupa Located in Wat Nong Waeng,' is a Thai royal temple of the old town. Wat Nong Waeng is located close to Kaen Nakhon marsh on Klangmuang Road, Muang District. Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon was established to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej's accession to the throne and to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Khon Kaen province's establishment. Its thorough spire, Isaan fishnet shape, Indochina-Dvaravati Era Style, imitated Phra That Kham Kaen. Its base is a square shape of 50 meters on each side and 80 meters in height,  where are situated the four-mini-Buddha's relics in each corner sheltered by a seven-head-nāga crystal wall.

The History of Wat Nong Waeng, the Royal temple
 In 1811, the latter Thao Jammutra moved city to Ban Don Pan Chat, Muang Maha Sarakham (Ban Nonmuang, Paeng Subdistrict, Kosum Pisai District, Maha Sarakham in present), and Ban Bueng Bon has been an old town since then.
Its present address is 593 Klangmueng Road, Naimueng Subdistrict, Mueng Khon Kaen District, Khon Kaen Province. His majesty the king granted its first consecrated boundaries to Phraya Nakhon Sri Borirak (Au) in 1899, and eventually on August, 24th 1984.
Its boundary separated from secular area is 40x80 sq. m. Overall temple area is 41.266 km2. which titled by the land certificate 713, no.28, survey page 794, book no.8, page 13.
Its temple area is surrounded with communities. Kaen Nakhon Marsh is located at its east.
In 1981, this temple was awarded the role-model of a well-developed temple, and in 1983 for the best developed temple. Furthermore, in 1984, it was officially approved as a royal temple.

Inside
Inside the Great Buddha's Relics Temple there are nine stories which are;

On the 1st story, crystal houses for relics of the Buddha  are stationed on a movable throne with 3 Buddha images in the middle. On the left are a lot of Buddha's chest bone relics and a lot of disciples' relics contained in the glass jars.
Besides there are 108 monk's alms-bowl tables, which each bowl represents one of Buddha's disciples; moreover, people offer coins to get good luck in their life and their family.
Go straight to pay respect for the Buddha's image on each birthday to bring good luck. You can also check out your life and cast lots with a Chinese fortuneteller and a brass elephant helping you making all decisions.

On the 2nd story, the Isaan Museum collected the ancient appliances which rarely seen in nowadays. The murals within feature the 35 prohibited rules of Isaan people daily life.

On the 3rd story, the monk-learning hall with its beautifully carved door and windows, featuring Nang Phom Hom, the lasting Isaan tales. This story includes talipot fans, fan of ranks, and eight necessities of famous Khon Kaen monks.

On the 4th story, the monk-learning hall with a museum which is composed of ancient objects: doors and windows, Buddha's picture in each birthday and compass angle.

On the 5th story, a museum hall comprising utensils of Phrakhrupalad Bussaba Sumano, a former abbacy. Doors and windows featured the story of life and former reincarnations of the Buddha.

On the 6th story, a preceptor hall, its doors and windows are carved and featured the Vejsandhorn Jataka tales

On the 7th story, an enlightened Buddha's disciples' hall, its doors and windows are carved and feature the tale of Prince Temi the Dumb.

On the 8th story, a Buddha's teaching hall assembled Tripitaka, the Buddhist Scriptures. Doors and windows are carved and feature the 16 classes of visible deities in the Brahma's world, and Buddhist rites.

The top floor, on the 9th story, a Buddha hall and a movable throne placed in the middle houses relics of the Buddha. Doors are carved the featured 3D of the 16 classes of visible deities in the Brahmas world, and Buddhist rites. From there, visitor can enjoy panoramic view of the town especially Kaen Nakhon marsh scene at the east

The temple provides a young guide who can give understandable explanations about the story of paintings, and exhibitions.

References

Buddhist temples in Khon Kaen province

Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon


The East Cornwall Mineral Railway was a  gauge railway line, opened in 1872 to connect mines and quarries in the Callington and Gunnislake areas in east Cornwall with shipping at Calstock on the River Tamar. The line included a rope-worked incline to descend to the quay at Calstock.

Following the opening of a main line railway at nearby Bere Alston, a connecting line from there to Calstock was opened, and the existing line converted to standard gauge, opening throughout as a passenger line in 1908. When rural lines in the area were closed in the 1960s, a short section of the original ECMR line was retained to keep open a connection from Plymouth to Gunnislake, and that section remains open at the present day.

Origins
In the middle decades of the 19th century, mineral extraction in the Callington and Gunnislake area of East Cornwall reached a peak. The trade was limited by the difficulty of conveying the products to market: pack horses were used as far as Calstock, where there was a quay on the tidal River Tamar for onward coast-wise shipping transport. The chief mineral was copper ore, with some tin and arsenic also; timber and coal was brought in to serve the mines. Although the Tamar was tidal at Calstock, the passage to the sea was difficult, involving poling the ship past shoal stretches.

A railway connection was considered to be the solution, and a Tamar, Kit Hill and Callington Railway Company Limited was formed in 1864. The company was to build a standard gauge line from Callington to Kelly Quay at Calstock, with an inclined plane to descend to the quayside there. The company obtained Parliamentary authority on 29 July 1864. Construction was soon under way, and the following year a broad gauge Saltash and Callington Railway, and in 1866 the Kit Hill company, obtained authority to build on the broad gauge instead, so as to connect with the Saltash company. But that year there was a financial crash, and although much work had been done on the Kit Hill line, nothing further was done on either route.

Foreign competition in mineral extraction worsened the position of the local mines, and a Callington & Calstock Railway was formed, obtaining Parliamentary authority on 9 August 1869. This was to have a capital of £60,000, with borrowing powers of £20,000, and adopt the abandoned works of the Kit Hill company. The line was to be nearly 8 miles (13 km) long, including short lengths on the quay at Calstock and the incline. Passenger traffic was not authorised. Purchase of the quay at Calstock, and improvements to it, were included in the authorised powers.

Construction work proceeded steadily, and an Act of 25 May 1871 authorised a change of name to the East Cornwall Mineral Railway. The line opened for traffic on 7 May 1872.

Route
The line was 7 miles 4 furlongs and 5 chains (12.17 km) long running from Kelly Bray to Calstock. Kelly Bray, about a mile (about 1.5 km) north of Callington, was at an altitude of 640 feet (195 m) above sea level and was the railhead for a considerable agricultural hinterland. The line fell all the way to Calstock except for a short sharp climb. There were public depots (i.e. goods stations) intermediately at Monks Corner (later the site of Luckett station), Cox's Park (later Latchley), and Drakewalls (later Gunnislake). There were numerous sidings connecting with mines and quarries, in particular Kit Hill, Hingston Down, Gunnislake Clitters Mine, Plymouth Depot, Pearson's Quarry (at West of England Siding). The locomotive-operated part of the line ended at Incline Station, where there were sidings for forming trains at the head of the incline.

Calstock incline and quay
The incline at Calstock had been built in 1859 by the Tamar Coal, Manure & General Merchandise Co to bring supplies to mines on the higher ground, and to bring their products down. It was 2,310 feet (704 m) long on a gradient of 1 in 6. It was self-acting, but a stationary steam engine was provided at the top. It was single track with a passing loop halfway, and a three-rail section above it. A two wagon lift was usual, each conveying 3 tons.

When the ECMR line was built, the incline was taken over by the railway company. There is evidence of realignment of the incline: the later route was higher up the hillside and reduced the sharp curve near the bottom. It is likely that this was done at the time of adoption of the incline as part of the ECMR. A 14 hp (9 kW) stationary steam engine was provided by the ECMR. An electric bell system was installed for the operation of the incline, later replaced by a telephone. Two loaded or three empty wagons were moved on the incline at a time.

The ECMR extended the quay at Calstock, and it was 1,359 feet (414 m) long. Horses performed wagon movement on the quay.

Connection to the main line
Navigation on the Tamar was difficult, but when the line opened, the nearest main line railways were the Cornwall Railway at Saltash, and the South Devon and Tavistock Railway, across the Tamar and Tavy rivers. Extension to connect to them was considered, but was impossibly expensive. However, on 25 August 1883 the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) obtained Parliamentary authority to build a line from Lydford to Devonport via Tavistock and Beer Alston. That line opened on 2 June 1890, and it was to be worked by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR).

The promoters of the PD&SWJR had included in its authorising Act the powers to acquire the East Cornwall Mineral Railway, and in its later Act of 7 August 1884 these powers were converted to an obligation. Accordingly, the ECMR was "taken over" as from 1 June 1891, although the formalities of the purchase were not completed until 4 January 1894. "Payment was made by the issue of £48,250 in ordinary shares, £12,500 in cash, and a rent charge of £250 per annum".

The Light Railways Act was passed in 1896, designed to facilitate the construction of new lines where there was no controversy over routing, and in 1898 the PD&SWJR investigated the possibility of connecting the ECMR line to its own line as a light railway. This proved feasible, and the Bere Alston and Calstock Light Railway Order was confirmed by the Board of Trade on 12 July 1900; as well as the new line, the Order authorised the acquisition of the ECMR line and its operation as a passenger light railway (excepting the incline). The gauge was to remain . In fact finance was impossible to obtain, and eventually the LSWR was persuaded to guarantee borrowings.

A new company, the Bere Alston and Calstock Railway (BA&CR) as a subsidiary of the PD&SWJR, was set up and a new Act of 23 June 1902 authorised it to build the connecting line and to acquire the East Cornwall line. A Light Railway Order was made on 12 October 1905 authorising a change of the track gauge to  standard gauge. The position now was to be that the Okehampton–Devonport line would be owned by the PD&SWJR and worked by the LSWR, and the Bere Alston to Callington line would be owned by the BA&CR, a subsidiary of the PD&WJR, and worked by the PD&SWJR.

Regauging and some realignment of the ECMR line was undertaken in 1907–1908 but ordinary traffic was only interrupted for two days during the conversion. The new line from Bere Alston to Callington opened to passengers and freight traffic on 2 March 1908. The Bere Alston to Plymouth section of the PD&SWJR was worked by the LSWR but the PD&SWJR worked the branch itself under the management of Colonel Stephens.

The former ECMR line was now operated as part of the branch, although the incline at Calstock was abandoned. The PD&SWJR branch crossed the Tamar on a high viaduct at Calstock where a wagon lift was provided to allow continued access to the quay.

The PD&SWJR remained independent until the 'Grouping' of railways in Great Britain under the Railways Act 1921 when, on 1 January 1923, it became part of the new Southern Railway, and later British Railways.

Closure
With the decline in usage of rural railways in the second half of the twentieth century, the viability of the line decreased and it was proposed for closure. However the poor road network around Calstock, and the topographical barrier of the Tamar, resulted in retention of the line from Plymouth to Gunnislake via Bere Alston and Calstock. The short section of original ECMR approaching Gunnislake is therefore still in regular passenger operation. The remainder closed on 5 November 1966.

Locomotives

Notes

References

External links

See also

 British industrial narrow gauge railways
 Tamar Valley Line

3 ft 6 in gauge railways in England
Rail transport in Cornwall
Railway lines opened in 1872
Railway companies disestablished in 1883
Standard gauge railways in England
British companies disestablished in 1883
British companies established in 1872

East Cornwall Mineral Railway


Maqsud Ali Tabrizi was a 17th-century Iranian physician  in Mughal India.

As indicated by his nisba, he was from Tabriz. He was a translator who worked at the request of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (who ruled 1605-1627 CE).

He translated Arabic treatises into Persian, including the Arabic treatise on the lives and sayings of 34 pre-Islamic and 77 post-Islamic scholars and physicians, that were composed by al-Shahrazuri in 1282 CE.

The National Library of Medicine has a copy of Maqsud Ali Tabrizi's Persian translation of this biographical dictionary which states that he began translating al-Shahrazuri's treatise in 1602CE, though other sources state that he undertook the translation in 1605CE at the request of Jahangir.

According to some biographical sources, Tabrizi was a Sufi scholar who nonetheless became an influential figure at the court of the governor of Gujarat, whom he served many years before enemies intrigued against him and he was imprisoned in the fortress of Gwalior.

See also
List of Iranian scientists

Sources
For his life and writings, see:
C.A. Storey, Persian Literature, a Bio-Bibliographical Survey. Volume I, Part 2: Biography, Additions and Corrections (London: Luzac, 1953), p. 1108
Fateme Keshavarz, A Descriptive and Analytical Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1986), pp 542–3 no 368

17th-century Iranian physicians
17th-century Persian-language writers
Iranian Sufis
Mughal Empire people
Iranian emigrants to India
Iranian emigrants to the Mughal Empire
Translators from Arabic
Translators to Persian
Physicians from Tabriz
People from Gwalior
People from Gujarat
Prisoners and detainees of India

Maqsud-Ali Tabrizi


is a Japanese actress and model, currently affiliated to Oscar Promotion.

Career
Takahashi rose to fame after participating in the 14th Japan Bishōjo Contest in 2014, in which she won the Grand Prix among 80,131 applicants, 1,428 who passed the primary document examination and 21 finalists. During the main competition held on August 5 at Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa, she sang Erika Sawajiri's "Taiyou no Uta". On December 17, she participated in Oscar Promotion's annual kimono photo session, held at the Meiji Memorial Hall.

In February 2015, Takahashi starred in a commercial by the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union and Yoyogi Seminar. At the same time, she starred in drama film Jinsei no Yakusoku. On September 13, she was appointed Public Relations Manager of Shiga Prefecture. On October 13, she was appointed the ambassador for Hie Shrine.

On January 23, 2016, Takahashi attended the Shiga-Lake Biwa Rainbow's Luck Festival as ambassador of Shiga. During the 41st Hochi Film Award, she was nominated Best New Artist for starring in Jinsei no Yakusoku. On December 8, she participated in Oscar Promotion's annual kimono photo session.

In February 2017, Takahashi moved to Tokyo with her mother. On March 4, she attended the "One Day EVENT Shiga Ward" at the AQUA CiTY ODAIBA. On April 19, she was chosen winner of the second Black Hair Beauty Award organized by Yanagiya Honten.

Filmography

Films

Television dramas

Advertisements

Music videos

Video games

References

External links
 Official website
 Official blog (beamie)
 HIkaru Takahashi on Ameba

Japanese female models
21st-century Japanese actresses
Actors from Shiga Prefecture
2001 births
Living people
Horikoshi High School alumni

Hikaru Takahashi


Gopiballavpur II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Jhargram subdivision of Jhargram district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

History

Naxalite movement in Debra-Gopiballavpur
In 1968 many revolutionary intellectuals, broadly termed as Naxalites, settled in Gopiballavpur. Amongst them was Santosh Rana, who was a local person. In September 1969 a guerrilla squad killed an oppressive landlord. The landlords fled to the towns and a big peasant movement began. Landlords' crops were forcibly harvested. Around 150 people were killed. Santosh Rana was the key figure in virtually "liberating" Debra, Gopiballavpur and neighbouring areas in West Bengal, as well as in Odisha and Jharkhand (then it was Bihar). The movement gradually split and collapsed in the early seventies.

Red corridor
106 districts spanning 10 states across India, described as being a part of the Left Wing Extremism activities, constitutes the Red corridor. In West Bengal the districts of Pashim Medinipur, Bankura, Purulia and Birbhum are part of the Red corridor. However, as of July 2016, there has been no reported incidents of Maoist related activities from these districts for the previous 4 years. In the period 2009-2011 LWE violence resulted in more than 500 deaths and a similar number missing in Paschim Medinipur district.

The Lalgarh movement, which started attracting attention after the failed assassination attempt on Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, then chief minister of West Bengal, in the Salboni area of Paschim Medinipur district, on 2 November 2008 and the police action that followed, had also spread over to these areas. The movement was not just a political struggle but an armed struggle that concurrently took the look of a social struggle. A large number of CPI (M) activists, and others active in different political parties, were killed. Although the epi-centre of the movement was Lalgarh, it was spread across 19 police stations in three adjoining districts – Paschim Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia, all thickly forested and near the border with Jharkhand. The deployment of CRPF and other forces started on 11 June 2009. The movement came to an end after the 2011 state assembly elections and change of government in West Bengal. The death of Kishenji, the Maoist commander, on 24 November 2011 was the last major landmark.

From 2009 Maoist violence had rapidly spread across eleven western CD blocks of the district: Binpur I, Binpur II, Salboni, Grahbeta II, Jamboni, Jhargram, Midnapore Sadar, Gopiballavpur I, Gopiballavpur II, Sankrail and Nayagram.

Geography

In Gopiballavpur II CD block 55% of the cultivated area has infertile lateritic soil and 45% has alluvial soil. Gopiballavpur II CD Block is drought prone with a particularly severe drought situation.

Chorchita, a constituent gram panchayat of Gopiballavpur II block is located at .

Gopiballavpur II CD block is bounded by Jamboni and Jhargram CD blocks in the north, Sankrail CD block in the east, Gopiballavpur I CD block in the south and Chakulia and Baharagora CD blocks, in East Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, in the west.

It is located 51 km from Midnapore, the district headquarters.

Gopiballavpur II CD block has an area of 192.17 km2. It has 1 panchayat samity, 7 gram panchayats, 78 gram sansads (village councils), 192 mouzas and 175 inhabited villages. Beliaberah police station serves this block. Headquarters of this CD block is at Beliaberah (Belaberya).

Gopiballavpur II CD block had a forest cover of 1,110 hectares, against a total geographical area of 19,777 hectares in 2005-06.

Gram panchayats of Gopiballavpur II block/ panchayat samiti are: Beliaberah, Chorchita, Kharbandhi, Kuliana, Nota, Petnindhi and Tapsia.

Demographics

Population
According to the 2011 Census of India, Gopiballavpur II CD block had a total population of 104,996, all of which were rural. There were 53,459 (51%) males and 51,537 (49%) females. Population in the age range 0–6 years was 11,851. Scheduled Castes numbered 32,553 (31.00%) and Scheduled Tribes numbered 24,562 (23.39%).

According to the 2001 census, Gopiballavpur II block had a total population of 93,276, out of which 47,813 were males and 45,463 were females. Gopiballavpur II block registered a population growth of 13.64 per cent during the 1991-2001 decade. Decadal growth for the combined Midnapore district was 14.87 per cent. Decadal growth in West Bengal was 17.45 per cent.

Large villages (with 4,000+ population) in Gopiballavpur II CD block are (2011 census figures in brackets): Chorchita (4,383).

Other villages in Gopiballavpur II CD block include (2011 census figures in brackets): Petbindhi (3,847), Tapsia (1,779), Nota (974), Kuliana (1,777) and Belaberya (1,685).

Literacy
According to the 2011 census, the total number of literate persons in Gopiballavpur II CD block was 66,503 (71.40% of the population over 6 years) out of which males numbered 38,092 (80.45% of the male population over 6 years) and females numbered 28,411 (62.05% of the female population over 6 years). The gender gap in literacy rates was 18.41%.

See also – List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate

Language and religion

In the 2011 census Hindus numbered 102,125 and formed 97.26% of the population in Gopiballavpur II CD block. Muslims numbered 1,108 and formed 1.06% of the population. Others numbered 1,763 and formed 1.68% of the population. Others include Addi Bassi, Marang Boro, Santal, Saranath, Sari Dharma, Sarna, Alchchi, Bidin, Sant, Saevdharm, Seran, Saran, Sarin, Kheria, Christian and other religious communities. In 2001, Hindus were 98.07%, Muslims 0.63% and tribal religions 0.82% of the population respectively.

At the time of the 2011 census, 84.76% of the population spoke Bengali, 9.89% Santali and 3.31% Mundari as their first language. 1.21% of the population spoke 'Others' under Hindi.

BPL families
In Gopiballavpur II CD block 47.72% families were living below poverty line in 2007.

According to the District Human Development Report of Paschim Medinipur: The 29 CD blocks of the district were classified into four categories based on the poverty ratio. Nayagram, Binpur II and Jamboni CD blocks have very high poverty levels (above 60%). Kharagpur I, Kharagpur II, Sankrail, Garhbeta II, Pingla and Mohanpur CD blocks have high levels of poverty (50-60%), Jhargram, Midnapore Sadar, Dantan I, Gopiballavpur II, Binpur I, Dantan II, Keshiari, Chandrakona I, Gopiballavpur I, Chandrakona II, Narayangarh, Keshpur, Ghatal, Sabang, Garhbeta I, Salboni, Debra and Garhbeta III CD blocks have moderate levels of poverty (25-50%) and Daspur II and Daspur I CD blocks have low levels of poverty (below 25%).

Economy

Infrastructure
175 or 91% of mouzas in Gopiballavpur II CD block were electrified by 31 March 2014.

175 mouzas in Gopiballavpur II CD block had drinking water facilities in 2013-14. There were 52 fertiliser depots, 9 seed stores and 40 fair price shops in the CD block.

Agriculture

Although the Bargadari Act of 1950 recognised the rights of bargadars to a higher share of crops from the land that they tilled, it was not implemented fully. Large tracts, beyond the prescribed limit of land ceiling, remained with the rich landlords. From 1977 onwards major land reforms took place in West Bengal. Land in excess of land ceiling was acquired and distributed amongst the peasants. Following land reforms land ownership pattern has undergone transformation. In 2013-14, persons engaged in agriculture in Gopiballavpur II CD block could be classified as follows: bargadars 5.03%, patta (document) holders 33.27%, small farmers (possessing land between 1 and 2 hectares) 2.00%, marginal farmers (possessing land up to 1 hectare) 17.61% and agricultural labourers 42.09%.

In 2005-06 gross cropped area in Gopiballavpur II CD block was 29,020 hectares and the area in which more than one crop was grown was 13,455 hectares.

The extension of irrigation has played a role in growth of the predominantly agricultural economy. In 2013-14, the total area irrigated in Gopiballavpur II CD block was 4,500 hectares, out of which 200 hectares were irrigated by tank water, 125 hectares by deep tubewells, 4,000 hectares by shallow tube wells, 125 hectares by river lift irrigation and 55 hectares by open dug wells.

In 2013-14, Gopiballavpur II CD block produced 65,765 tonnes of Aman paddy, the main winter crop, from 30,753 hectares, 6,276 tonnes of Aus paddy (summer crop) from 2,773 hectares, 2,935 tonnes of Boro paddy (spring crop) from 951 hectares, 1,617 tonnes of wheat from 562 hectares and 191,902 tonnes of potatoes from 5,024 hectares.  It also produced pulses and oilseeds.

Banking
In 2013-14, Gopiballavpur II CD block had offices of 8 commercial banks.

Transport
Gaopiballavpur II CD block has 8 originating/ terminating bus routes. The nearest railway station is 42 km from the CD block headquarters.

State Highway 9 running from Durgapur (in Paschim Bardhaman district) to Nayagram (in Jhargram district) passes through this CD block.

Education
In 2013-14, Gopiballavpur II CD block had 135 primary schools with 7,237 students, 13 middle schools with 1,366 students, 3 high schools with 3,411 students and 14 higher secondary schools with 10,449 students. Gopiballavpur II CD block had 254 institutions for special and non-formal education with 7,703 students.

The United Nations Development Programme considers the combined primary and secondary enrolment ratio as the simple indicator of educational achievement of the children in the school going age. The infrastructure available is important. In Gopiballavpur II CD block out of the total 135 primary schools in 2008-2009, 114 had pucca buildings, 5 partially pucca, 2 kucha and 14 multiple type.

Government General Degree College, Gopiballavpur-II, established in 2015, is the only general degree college in this block.

Healthcare
In 2014, Gopiballavpur II CD block had 1 rural hospital and 3 primary health centres with total 52 beds and 5 doctors. It had 22 family welfare sub centres and 1 family welfare centre. 6,901 patients were treated indoor and 104,518 patients were treated outdoor in the hospitals, health centres and subcentres of the CD block.

Tapsia Rural Hospital, with 30 beds at Tapsia, is a major government medical facility in the Gopiballavpur II CD block. There are primary health centres at: Tentulia (PO Jahanpur) (with 10 beds), Ramchandrapur (PO Kharbandhi) (with 6 beds) and Nota (PO Dhandangri) (with 6 beds).

References

Community development blocks in Jhargram district

Gopiballavpur II


Marek Kotański, (March 11, 1942 – August 19, 2002) was a Polish charity worker and campaigner on behalf of disadvantaged people, including the homeless and those with HIV. He died in a car accident in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, near Warsaw.

Life
Kotański was a psychologist and a psychotherapist - he organized many projects to fight against social problems and helped alcoholics, drug addicts, people with HIV, ex-prisoners and homeless people. Among the organisations he created are Monar and Markot.

Born in Warsaw during the Second World War, Marek Kotański's mother, Ludwika, was a painter. His father, Wiesław, was a Japanese language professor at Warsaw University. His house was open for everyone who needed help.

Already in high school Kotański launched initiatives to help people in need. From 1960 he studied psychology at Warsaw University. During his studies, he was active in the Ruch Młodych Wychowawców (Movement of Young Educators) who looked after orphans and young people affected by social problems. After his studies, he worked as a therapist in the psychiatric hospital on  Dolna Street in Warsaw. He cooperated with the Społeczny Komitet Przeciwdziałania Alkoholizmowi (Social Anti-Alcoholism Committee), and also was active in the Ruch Trzeźwość (Abstinence Movement).

In 1974 Kotański was employed in the Psychiatric Hospital in Garwolin, which had a section for drug addicts (even though during that period, for ideological reasons, drug addicts did not exist). Knowing that traditional methods were not effective, he started a therapy group. This sort of therapy group came to be known as "społeczność" (community). He also started the healing system for drug addicts known as "Monar".

The first Monar centre was opened on 15 October 1978 in Gloskow near Garwolin, starting in part of an abandoned house in ruins. Kotański started this program with a group or patients from the hospital in Garwolin. The results were better than expected. Now there are more than 157 Monar centres.

He also organised settlements for people with HIV or ill with AIDS, starting another association Solidarni Plus (Solidarity Plus).

From 1985 to 1994 Kotański organised the action "Łańcuch Czystych Serc" (Chain of Pure Hearts), where hundreds of thousands of young people joined hands in a chain stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Tatra mountains, symbolising unity for humanitarianism. He also organised many "Czystych Serc" concerts where thousands of people participated.

In 1993 Kotański created Markot - Ruch Wychodzenia z Bezdomności (Movement Out of Homelessness), which involves about one hundred centres for homeless people, lone mothers with children, handicapped people, and the terminally ill.

He also developed a help system for people coming out of prison, starting from 1994, without any financial help.

Kotański received many prizes, including:
the Victor prize (received twice)
the Brother Albert prize (nagroda imienia Brata Alberta)
Order Uśmiechu (Order of the Smile) in the year 2000

See also
Monar
Markot
List of Poles

1942 births
2002 deaths
Polish psychologists
University of Warsaw alumni
Road incident deaths in Poland
20th-century psychologists

Marek Kotański


Casa Serrallés (Spanish for Serrallés Residence) is a historic building in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was built in 1911 by Alfredo Wiechers Pieretti for Don Juan Eugenio Serrallés Pérez, son of businessman Juan Serrallés Colón, founder of Destilería Serrallés, and himself the CEO of the company that founded Ron Don Q. The building is currently home to the Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña.

History
The house was built in 1911 by Alfredo Weichers, for Juan Eugenio Serrallés Pérez and his wife Rosa María Sánchez.

Location
The house is located on the southeast corner of Calle Isabel and Calle Salud, in the Ponce Historic Zone. The location of the house, together with its historic significance, courtyard, and architectural details, make it unique among other Puerto Rico homes.

The structure is located less than one block from Casa Rosita Serrallés, another—though much smaller—Serrallés residence.

Significance
Casa Serrallés was built as the exclusive residence of Don Eugenio Serrallés, a leader in the sugar cane industry during the early part of the 20th century. The building is significant from the architectural, historical, and cultural perspectives.

Architecturally, the building represents an example of one major architectural design popular among the elite class of the early 20th century: Neoclassical style

Historically, the building is a reminder of the cultural and economic changes that southern Puerto Rico experienced in the 1920s. "Ponce's dependence on the sugar cane industry at the close of the 19th century, created an atmosphere of development from which evolved a series of intrinsic cultural characteristics and afforded great wealth to many families involved in the industry. The wealthy families generally chose Europe as the model for the direction that cultural endeavors would take."

Culturally, the building is important because it was the downtown residence of one of the wealthiest families in 19th-century Puerto Rico, and one that so much influenced its economy. The original hill-top residence of the family was Castillo Serralles, today a historic structure listed in the NRHP.

Physical characteristics
The house is a single floor building. Access to the main entrance of the house is from the Isabel street. As a corner structure, the building occupies a large property and its east-to-west axis is articulated as a very long structure. It was built in 1911 by local architect Alfredo Wiechers Pieretti, and completed in 1912. The house has stained-glass windows, hand-painted floor tiles, carved mahogany louvres, and 12-foot ceilings. The house was sold to the city in 1992, after a long period of abandonment.

The property includes a large courtyard.  The back of the property contains a spacious finished private yard, complete with a Don Q bar area, where—no doubt—guests were gracefully entertained in bygone years.

Today
In 1996, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture restored the building to much of its yesteryear splendor and converted it into a museum showcasing the music of Puerto Rico. Its various rooms display Puerto Rican musical instruments and various memorabilia, and its family room contains a huge mural by Miguel Pou called "Los Músicos de Ponce" and displaying the greatest musical talent from Ponce until that time.

See also

 Destilería Serrallés
 Don Q
 Ponce, Puerto Rico
 Juan Serrallés

References

Notes

External links
 Casa Serralles photo in Flickr
 Casa Serralles drawings at the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey collection

Historic house museums in Puerto Rico
Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in Puerto Rico
Houses completed in 1911
1911 establishments in Puerto Rico
Buildings and structures in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Neoclassical architecture in Puerto Rico

Casa Serrallés


Dale West (born 1941) is a former award winning and Grey Cup champion defensive back who played in the Canadian Football League for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1962 to 1968.

A graduate of the University of Regina (after attending the University of Arizona and the University of Saskatchewan on a football scholarship) West joined his hometown Roughriders for a 7-season career. Primarily a defensive back, he could punt, kick, return punts and kicks, rush and catch; 6 of his 18 pass receptions went for TDs. As a defender he won 3 all-star selections, intercepting 17 passes. 10 of those came in 1963, when he was selected as runner up for the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award. Finally, West was a member of the 'Riders famed 1966 squad, which won Saskatchewan's first Grey Cup championship. West made a key interception to set up their first TD.

After his playing days West became a Roughriders Plaza of Honor inductee (1997) and lives in Regina, where he was program co-coordinator with the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and then served three terms as a trustee for the Regina School Division #4.

References

1941 births
Living people
Canadian football people from Saskatoon
Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Huskies football players
Saskatchewan Roughriders players

Dale West


Bernard "Bernie" Marcus (born May 12, 1929) is an American billionaire businessman. He co-founded The Home Depot, was the company's first CEO, and its first chairman, until retiring in 2002.

Early life
Bernard Marcus was born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Newark, New Jersey. He was the youngest of four children and grew up in a tenement. He graduated from South Side High School in 1947. Marcus wanted to become a doctor, and was accepted to Harvard Medical School, but could not afford the tuition. He graduated from Rutgers University with a pharmacy degree. While there he joined the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.

Career
Marcus worked at a drugstore as a pharmacist but became more interested in the retailing side of the business. He worked at a cosmetics company and various other retail jobs, eventually reaching a position as CEO of Handy Dan Improvement Centers, a Los Angeles-based chain of home improvement stores. In 1978, both he and future  Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank were fired during a corporate power struggle at Handy Dan.

In 1978, they co-founded the home-improvement retailer The Home Depot, with the help of merchandising expert Pat Farrah and New York investment banker Ken Langone who assembled a group of investors. The first two stores opened on June 22, 1979 in Atlanta.

The store revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept. Blank, Marcus, and Langone became billionaires. Marcus served as the company's first CEO for 19 years and also served as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. Marcus was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2006.

Marcus is one of several business tycoons who opposed the Employee Free Choice Act, a controversial proposal they claim gives unfair advantage to labor unions. The EFCA would outlaw conducting employee union votes with secret ballots while allowing fines and injunctions when employees show they are being punished for union activity on the job.

In 2010, Marcus founded the Job Creators Network, a conservative advocacy group, with $500,000 in seed funding.

In 2015, Marcus donated $1.5 million to Super PACs supporting Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. On June 1, 2016, Marcus publicly announced his support for Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. He was one of Trump's largest donors, giving $7 million to his campaign. When Marcus announced in 2019 that he would financially support the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign, it triggered calls for a boycott of Home Depot even though Marcus was no longer with the company.

In a June 2019 interview, Marcus said most of his wealth is in Home Depot stock.

Philanthropy
Marcus is a longtime philanthropist who plans to give away 90% of his $5.9 billion fortune to charity. Bernie and Billi Marcus are signatories of The Giving Pledge, a commitment to give away the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. As of 2019, he has given away $2 billion to various philanthropic causes and has pledged to give away most of his $5.9 billion fortune.

Marcus was one of the first signees of the Jewish Future Pledge, a charitable campaign launched in 2020 modeled after The Giving Pledge to encourage American Jews to designate at least 50% of their charitable giving to Jewish- or Israel-related causes.

Marcus is chairman of the Marcus Foundation, whose focuses include children, medical research, free enterprise, military veterans, Jewish causes and the community. Marcus is on the Board of Directors and an active volunteer for the Shepherd Center. One of his main initiatives is providing care for war veterans with traumatic brain injuries.

In May 2005, Marcus was awarded the Others Award by the Salvation Army, its highest honor.

He was named a Georgia Trustee in 2009. The award is given by the Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of Trustees, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752. In 2012, Marcus was awarded the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.

Causes

Jewish and Israeli
Marcus co-founded the Israel Democracy Institute in 1991, contributing $5 million for the construction of the institute's building in Jerusalem's Talbiya neighborhood and investing hundreds of millions of shekels in its ongoing operation over the years. In 2016, Marcus and his wife Billi donated $25 million to the construction of the $133 million MDA Marcus National Blood Services Centre in Israel.

The Georgia Aquarium
Marcus heavily contributed to the launch of the Georgia Aquarium, which opened in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, in 2005. Based mostly on the $250 million donation for the Aquarium, Marcus and his wife, Billi, were listed among the top charitable donors in the country by The Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2005.

Medical research
Marcus funded and founded The Marcus Institute, a center for the provision of services for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. Marcus founded and donated $25 million to Autism Speaks to spearhead its efforts to raise money for research on the causes and cure for autism. He is an active member of the board of directors.

Books
In 1999, Marcus, along with Arthur Blank and Bob Andelman, wrote the book Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion.

Marcus, with Catherine Lewis, wrote a book titled Kick Up Some Dust: Lessons on Thinking, Giving Back and Doing It Yourself. The book debuted at The Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) on November 6, 2022.

Personal life
Marcus has been married twice. He has two children with his first wife, Ruth: Frederick Marcus and Susanne Marcus Collins. With his second wife, Billi, he has a stepson, Michael Morris.

References

Further reading

1929 births
American billionaires
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American retail chief executives
Businesspeople from Atlanta
Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans
21st-century American philanthropists
Aquaria founders
Living people
Malcolm X Shabazz High School alumni
Pharmacists from New Jersey
Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey
Rutgers University alumni
The Home Depot people
21st-century American Jews

Bernard Marcus