Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union Space Programme, managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the EU Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), Frontex, SatCen and Mercator Océan.

The programme aims at achieving a global, continuous, autonomous, high quality, wide range Earth observation capacity. Providing accurate, timely and easily accessible information to, among other things, improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change, and ensure civil security.

Since 2021, Copernicus is a component of the EU Space Programme, which aims to bolster the EU Space policy in the fields of Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation, Connectivity, Space Research and Innovation and supports investments in critical infrastructure and disruptive technologies.

Program definition
The objective for Copernicus is to use vast amount of global data from satellites and from ground-based, airborne and seaborne measurement systems to produce timely and quality information, services and knowledge, and to provide autonomous and independent access to information in the domains of environment and security on a global level in order to help service providers, public authorities and other international organizations improve the quality of life for the citizens of Europe. In other words, it pulls together all the information obtained by the Copernicus environmental satellites, air and ground stations and sensors to provide a comprehensive picture of the "health" of Earth.

One of the benefits of the Copernicus programme is that the data and information produced in the framework of Copernicus are made available free-of-charge  to all its users and the public, thus allowing downstream services to be developed.

The services offered by Copernicus cover six main interacting themes: atmosphere, marine, land, climate, emergency and security.

Copernicus builds upon three components:
 The space component (observation satellites and associated ground segment with missions observing land, atmospheric and oceanographic parameters). This comprises two types of satellite missions, ESA's five families of dedicated Sentinel (space missions) and missions from other space agencies, called Contributing Missions;
 In-situ measurements (ground-based and airborne data-gathering networks providing information on oceans, continental surface and atmosphere);
 Services developed and managed by Copernicus and offered to its users and public in general.
It was named after the scientist and observer Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus' theory of the heliocentric universe made a pioneering contribution to modern science.

Its costs during 1998 to 2020 are estimated at €6.7 billion with around €4.3 billion spent in the period 2014 to 2020 and shared between the EU (67%) and ESA (33%) with benefits of the data to the EU economy estimated at €30 billion through 2030. ESA as a main partner has performed much of the design and oversees and co-funds the development of Sentinel missions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 with each Sentinel mission consisting of at least 2 satellites and some, such as Sentinel 1, consisting of 4 satellites. They will also provide the instruments for Meteosat Third Generation and MetOp-SG weather satellites of EUMETSAT where ESA and EUMETSAT will also coordinate the delivery of data from upwards of 30 satellites that form the contributing satellite missions to Copernicus.

History
The Copernicus programme was established by the Regulation (EU) No 377/2014  in 2014, building on the previous EU's Earth monitoring initiative GMES (established by Regulation (EU) No 911/2010 ).

Over a few decades, European and national institutions have made substantial R&D efforts in the field of Earth observation. These efforts have resulted in tremendous achievements but the services and products developed during this period had limitations that were inherent to R&D activities (e.g. lack of service continuity on the long-term). The idea for a global and continuous European Earth observation system was developed under the name of Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) which was later re-branded into Copernicus after the EU became directly involved in financing and development. It follows and greatly expands on the work of the previous €2.3 billion European Envisat programme which operated from 2002 to 2012.

Copernicus moved from R&D to operational services following a phased approach. Pre-operational services (Fast Track Services and Pilot Services) were phased in between 2008 and 2010. Copernicus initial operations began in 2011. Copernicus became fully operational in 2014.

Chronology
 19 May 1998: institutions involved in the development of space activities in Europe give birth to GMES through a declaration known as "The Baveno Manifesto". At that time, GMES stands for "Global Monitoring for Environmental Security".
 Year 1999: the name is changed to "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security" (GMES), thus illustrating that the management of the environment also has security implications.
 2001: at the occasion of the Gothenburg Summit, the Heads of State and Government request that "the Community contribute to establishing by 2008 a European capacity for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security".
 October 2002: the nature and scope of the "Security" component of GMES are defined as addressing prevention of and response to crises related to natural and technological risk, humanitarian aid and international cooperation, monitoring of compliance with international treaties for conflict prevention, humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and surveillance of EU borders.
 February 2004: the Commission Communication "GMES: Establishing a GMES capacity by 2008" introduces an Action Plan aimed at establishing a working GMES capacity by 2008. In 2004, a Framework Agreement is also signed between EC and ESA, thus providing the basis for a space component of GMES.
 May 2005: the Commission Communication "GMES: From Concept to Reality" establishes priorities for the roll-out of GMES services in 2008, the initial focus being on land monitoring, marine monitoring and emergency response services, also known as Fast Track Services (FTS). Later services, also known as Pilot Services, are expected to address atmosphere monitoring, security and climate change.
 June 2006: the EC establishes the GMES Bureau, with the primary objective of ensuring the delivery of the priority services by 2008. Other objectives of the GMES Bureau are to address the issues of the GMES governance structure and the long-term financial sustainability of the system.
 May 2007: adoption of the European Space Policy Communication, recognising GMES as a major flagship of the Space Policy.
 September 2008: official launch of the three FTS services and two Pilot services in their pre-operational version at the occasion of the GMES Forum held in Lille, France.
 November 2008: the Commission Communication "GMES: We care for a Safer Planet" establishes a basis for further discussions on the financing, operational infrastructure and effective management of GMES.
 May 2009: the Commission Proposal for a Regulation on "the European Earth Observation Programme (GMES) and its initial operations (2011-2013)" proposes a legal basis for the GMES programme and EC funding of its initial operations.
 November 2010: the regulation on "the European Earth Observation Programme (GMES) and its initial operations (2011-2013)" entered into force.
 June 2011: the Commission presents its proposal for the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) corresponding to the period 2014-2020 (Communication "A Budget for Europe 2020"). In this document, the Commission proposes to foresee the funding of the GMES programme outside the multiannual financial framework after 2014.
 November 2011: The Commission Communication on the "European Earth monitoring programme (GMES) and its operations (from 2014 onwards)" presents the commission's proposals for the future funding, governance and operations of the GMES programme for the period 2014–2020. In particular, the Commission proposes to opt for the creation of a specific GMES fund, similar to the model chosen for the European Development Fund, with financial contributions from all Member States, based on their gross national income (GNI).
 April 2012: The Emergency Management Service – Mapping ("EMS-Mapping") is declared the first fully operational service within the GMES Initial Operations.
December 2012: the Commission announces the name change to Copernicus.
October 2014: ESA and European Commission have established a budget for Copernicus Programme covering years 2014-2020 within Multiannual Financial Framework. Budget provided a total of €4.3 billion, including €3.15 billion for ESA to cover operations of the satellite network and construction of the remaining satellites.
November 2020: launch of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich to enable the provision of high-precision and timely observations of the topography of the global ocean
January 2021: the regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme entered into force establishing a budget of €5,421 billion under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) corresponding to the period 2021-2027.

Earth Observation missions

Sentinel missions
ESA is currently developing seven missions under the Sentinel programme (Sentinel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5P, 5, 6). The Sentinel missions include radar and super-spectral imaging for land, ocean and atmospheric monitoring. Each Sentinel mission is based on a constellation of two satellites to fulfill and revisit the coverage requirements for each mission, providing robust datasets for all Copernicus services.

The Sentinel missions will have the following objectives:
 Sentinel-1 provides all-weather, day and night radar imaging for land and ocean services.
 Sentinel-1A satellite was successfully launched on 3 April 2014, by a Soyuz, from the Centre Spatial Guyanais.
 Sentinel-1B satellite was launched on 25 April 2016. Mission declared as ended 3 August 2022.
 Sentinel-2 provides high-resolution optical imaging for land services (e.g. imagery of vegetation, soil and water cover, inland waterways and coastal areas). Sentinel-2 will also provide information for emergency services. Both satellites launched aboard Vega rockets from Centre Spatial Guyanais.
 Sentinel-2A, successfully launched on 23 June 2015.
 Sentinel-2B, followed 7 March 2017.
 Sentinel-3 provides ocean and global land monitoring services. Both satellites were launched by a Eurockot Rokot vehicle from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.
 Sentinel-3A satellite was launched on 16 February 2016.
 Sentinel-3B satellite followed on 25 April 2018.
 Sentinel-4 will provide data for atmospheric composition monitoring as a payload upon a Meteosat Third Generation satellite. It will be launched in 2024.
 Sentinel-5 Precursor, launched 13 October 2017. The primary purpose of this mission is to reduce the data gap (especially SCIAMACHY atmospheric observations) between the loss of Envisat in 2012, and the launch of Sentinel-5 in 2021.
 Sentinel-5 will also provide data for atmospheric composition monitoring. It will be embarked on a EUMETSAT Polar System Second Generation (EPS-SG) spacecraft and launched in 2021.
 Sentinel-6 is intended to provide continuity in high precision altimetry sea level measurements following the Jason-3 satellite.
 Sentinel-6A, was launched in November 2020 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle from Vandenberg SLC-4E.
 Sentinel-6B, is scheduled for launch in November 2025 by a SpaceX Falcon 9.

In preparation for the second-generation of Copernicus (Copernicus 2.0), six High Priority Candidate "expansion" missions are currently being studied by ESA to address EU Policy and gaps in Copernicus user needs, and to increase the current capabilities of the Copernicus Space Component:
 Sentinel-7: Anthropogenic CO2 emissions monitoring (CO2M)
 Sentinel-8: High Spatio-temporal resolution Land Surface Temperature (LSTM)
 Sentinel-9: Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL)
 Sentinel-10: Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment (CHIME)
 Sentinel-11: Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR)
 Sentinel-12: Radar Observing System for Europe - L-band SAR (ROSE-L), scheduled for launch no earlier than 2028

Contributing missions
Before the Sentinel missions provide data to Copernicus, numerous existing or planned space missions provide or will provide data useful to the provision of Copernicus services. These missions are often referred to as "GMES Contributing Missions (GCMs)":
 ERS: the European Remote Sensing Satellite ERS-1 (1991–2000) was ESA's first Earth observation satellite. ERS-2 (1995–2011) provided data related to ocean surface temperature, winds at sea and atmospheric ozone.
 Envisat (2002-2012): launched in 2002, ESA's Envisat was the largest civilian Earth Observation spacecraft ever built. It carried sophisticated optical and radar instruments among which the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) and the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS). Envisat provided continuous observation and monitoring of the Earth's land, atmosphere, oceans and ice caps. After losing contact with the satellite on 8 April 2012, ESA formally announced the end of Envisat's mission on 9 May 2012.
 Earth Explorers: ESA's Earth Explorers are smaller research missions dedicated to specific aspects of our Earth environment. Earth Explorer missions focus on research of the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and the Earth's interior with the overall emphasis on learning more about the interactions between these components and the impact that human activity is having on natural Earth processes. The following two of the nine missions selected for implementation currently (as of 2020) contribute to Copernicus:
 SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity), launched on 2 November 2009.
 CryoSat-2 (the measurement of the thickness of floating ice), launched on 8 April 2010.
 MSG: the Meteosat Second Generation is a joint project between ESA and EUMETSAT.
 MetOp: MetOp is Europe's first polar-orbiting satellite dedicated to operational meteorology. MetOp is a series of three satellites launched sequentially over 12 years from October 2006 to November 2018. The series provides data for both operational meteorology and climate studies.
 French SPOT: SPOT (Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre) consists of a series of earth observation satellites providing high-resolution images of the Earth. SPOT-4 and SPOT-5 include sensors called VEGETATION able to monitor continental ecosystems.
 German TerraSAR-X: TerraSAR-X is an Earth observation satellite providing high quality topographic information. TerraSAR-X data has a wide range of applications (e.g. land use / land cover mapping, topographic mapping, forest monitoring, emergency response monitoring, and environmental monitoring).
 Italian COSMO-SkyMed: the COnstellation of small Satellites for the Mediterranean basin Observation is an Earth observation satellite system that consists of (in the 1st generation) four satellites equipped with Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) sensors. Applications include seismic hazard analysis, environmental disaster monitoring and agricultural mapping. As of 2020, a second-generation of COSMO-SkyMed satellites (called Cosmo-Skymed 2nd generation) is under development.
 UK and international DMC: the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) is a constellation of remote-sensing satellites. There have been eight satellites in the DMC-program; 3 are currently (as of 2020) active. The constellation provides emergency Earth imaging for disaster relief under the International Charter for Space and Major Disasters.
 French-American OSTM/Jason-2 (2008-2019): the OSTM/JASON-2 satellite provided precise measurements of ocean surface topography, surface wind speed, and wave height; as this type of measurement is a crucial requirement for the Copernicus Marine Services, the European Commission has included this type of mission in its latest communication on the future Copernicus Space Component as Sentinel-6.
 French Pléiades: the Pléiades constellation consists of two satellites providing very high-resolution images of the Earth.
 Planet Labs, a commercial satellite imagery provider whose goal is to image the entirety of the planet daily to monitor changes and pinpoint trends.
 OroraTech, a Germany-based commercial earth observation provider focussed on wildfire situational awareness, is delivering its FOREST-2 thermal-infrared data (MWIR, 2x LWIR).

Data provided by non-European satellite missions (e.g. Landsat, GOSAT, Radarsat-2) can also be used by Copernicus.

 DigitalGlobe, an American commercial vendor of space imagery and geospatial content, provides imagery from satellites with a true maximum resolution of up to 25 cm. The DigitalGlobe tasking constellation currently includes GeoEye-1, WorldView-1, WorldView-2 and WorldView-3. Archive data is also available from Ikonos and QuickBird.
 LANDSAT program (8 satellites, 3 active).
 GOSAT program (2 satellites, 2 active).
 Radarsat-2 satellite.

In-Situ Coordination
GMES In-Situ Coordination (GISC) was a FP7 funded initiative, lasted for three years (January 2010 – December 2012) and was coordinated by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

In situ data are all data from sources other than Earth observation satellites. Consequently, all ground-based, air-borne, and ship/buoy-based observations and measurements that are needed to implement and operate the Copernicus services are part of the in-situ component. In-situ data are indispensable; they are assimilated into forecasting models, provide calibration and validation of space-based information, and contribute to analysis or filling gaps not available from space sources.

GISC was undertaken with reference to other initiatives, such as INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) and SEIS (Shared Environmental Information System) as well as existing coordination and data exchange networks. The coordinated access to data retains the capacity to link directly data providers and the service providers because it is based on the principles of SEIS and INSPIRE. The implementation of INSPIRE is embedded in the synergies and meta-data standards that were used in GISC. Data and information aims to be managed as close as possible to its source in order to achieve a distributed system, by involving countries and existing capacities that maintain and operate the required observation infrastructure.

Services component
Copernicus services are dedicated to the monitoring and forecasting of the Earth's subsystems. They contribute directly to the monitoring of climate change. Copernicus services also address emergency management (e.g. in case of natural disaster, technological accidents or humanitarian crises) and security-related issues (e.g. maritime surveillance, border control).

Copernicus services address six main thematic areas:
 Emergency Management Service (see video available on the Copernicus.eu website: Copernicus Emergency Management Service). The service was declared operational on 1 April 2012.
 Land Monitoring (see video available on the Copernicus.eu website: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service). The service was declared operational on 1 April 2012.
 Marine Environment Monitoring (see video available on the Copernicus.eu website: Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service). The service was declared operational on 1 May 2015.
 Atmosphere Monitoring (see video available on the Copernicus.eu website: Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service). The service was declared operational in July 2015.
 Security (See Copernicus Service for Security Applications)
 Climate Change (see video available on the Copernicus.eu website: Copernicus Climate Change Monitoring Service)

The development of the pre-operational version of the services has been realised by a series of projects launched by the European Commission and partly funded through the EU's 7th Framework Programme (FP7). These projects were geoland2 (land), MyOcean (marine), SAFER (emergency response), MACC and its successor MACC II (atmosphere) and G-MOSAIC (security). Most of these projects also contributed to the monitoring of Climate Change.
 geoland2 started on 1 September 2008. The project covered a wide range of domains such as land use, land cover change, soil sealing, water quality and availability, spatial planning, forest management, carbon storage and global food security.
 MyOcean started on 1 January 2009. It covered themes such as maritime security, oil spill prevention, marine resource management, climate change, seasonal forecast, coastal activities, ice survey and water pollution.
 SAFER started on 1 January 2009. The project addressed three main domains: civil protection, humanitarian aid and Security crises management.
 MACC started on 1 June 2009. The project continued and refined the products developed in the projects GEMS and PROMOTE. A second phase (MACC II) lasted until July 2014 allowing the now operational Copernicus atmospheric monitoring service (CAMS, see above).
 GMOSAIC started on 1 January 2009. Together with the LIMES project Wayback Machine (co-funded by the European Commission under FP6), GMOSAIC specifically dealt with the Security domain of Copernicus addressing topics such as Support to Intelligence and Early Warning and Support to Crisis Management Operations.

Copernicus Service Limitations
The severe flooding in Emilia-Romagna, Italy in May 2023 posed significant challenges for the use of the European Union's Copernicus program in providing timely and effective disaster relief. While Copernicus aims to provide geospatial data to support disaster management, several factors limited its effectiveness during this flooding event:

 The Copernicus Sentinel-1B satellite, which can provide synthetic aperture radar imagery for flood mapping, suffered an onboard instrument fault just days before the flooding began, leaving only Sentinel-1A operational. This reduced revisit frequency over the affected area to every 3-4 days, meaning significant flood movement could occur before new imagery was acquired.
 Other optical and radar satellites in the Copernicus constellation have longer revisit intervals of up to 5 days, not providing imagery quickly enough for an evolving flood situation. With only 1-2 satellites per family, constellation coverage and responsiveness was limited.
 While the 10 meter resolution imagery from Sentinel-2 was useful for broader flood mapping, higher resolution commercial satellite data had to be purchased for more detailed damage assessment. Copernicus did not have adequate high-resolution optical assets.
 Data processing and analysis was still a bottleneck, as the Italian authorities struggled to rapidly translate raw satellite data into usable flood maps, at times relying on non-governmental initiatives like the International Charter Space and Major Disasters to provide map products.

With damage in the billions of euros, the failures and gaps highlighted in Copernicus during this major flood event raise concerns about its capacity to cost-effectively support disaster response across Europe. While satellite technology has progressed enormously, challenges around operating limited satellite constellations, data timeliness, and translating data into usable information remain. Ultimately, lives and property were lost that may have been spared with a more responsive emergency observation system.

Interaction
"The information provided by the Copernicus services can be used by end-users for a wide range of applications in a variety of areas. These include urban area management, sustainable development and nature protection, regional and local planning, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, health, civil protection, infrastructure, transport and mobility, as well as tourism".

Copernicus is the European Union's contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) thus delivering geospatial information globally.

Some Copernicus services make use of OpenStreetMap data in their maps production.

Other relevant initiatives
Other initiatives will also facilitate the development and functioning of Copernicus services:
 INSPIRE: this initiative aims at building a European spatial data infrastructure beyond national boundaries.
 Urban Atlas: Compiled from thousands of satellite photographs, the Urban Atlas provides detailed and cost-effective digital mapping, ensuring that city planners have the most up-to-date and accurate data available on land use and land cover. The Urban Atlas will enable urban planners to better assess risks and opportunities, ranging from the threat of flooding and the impact of climate change, to identifying new infrastructure and public transport needs. All cities in the EU will be covered by the Urban Atlas by 2011.
 SEIS: The Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) is a collaborative initiative of the European Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA) to establish together with the Member States an integrated and shared EU-wide environmental information system.
 Heterogeneous Missions Accessibility, the European Space Agency initiative for interoperability of Earth observation satellite payload data ground segments.
Copernicus is one of three related initiatives that are the subject of the GIGAS (GEOSS, INSPIRE and GMES an Action in Support) harmonization and analysis project  under the auspices of the EU 7th Framework Programme.

Third country participation
In addition to the 27 Member States of the European Union, the Copernicus programme allows for the participation at various scope for third country participation. This participation is conducted through agreements with the European Union. One has to distinguish those countries that contribute to the budget and those that agree on exchanging data with the program. Many international partner countries get special access to Sentinel data in exchange for sharing in-situ data from their country. These states are:

2014–2020 budget contributing countries

Data exchange
  (from 2015)

  (from 2018)
  (from 2018)
  (from 2018)
  (from 2018)
   (from 2022)
   (from 2022)
   (from 2023)
Discussions ongoing with:
Argentina, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, China (part of Space Dialogue)

2021–2027 budget contributing countries

Enlargement
 : Britain will rejoin the programme in 2024.

See also

 CNES
 Copernicus Sentinel Satellite Imagery
 European Space Technology Platform
 French space program
 Mission Science Division

References

External links

 Copernicus Programme website
 European Commission's Copernicus web site
 ESA Copernicus web site
 Copernicus reference documents
 GNU (GMES Network of Users)
 GEO (Group on Earth Observation)
 SEIS (Shared Environmental Information System)
 Article upon the 1st GMES Masters
 GISC Website
 A video presenting the Copernicus programme is available on the Copernicus.eu website (Video presenting the Copernicus Programme)

European Space Agency programmes
Space policy of the European Union
Remote sensing programs

Copernicus Programme


The second USS Buffalo (later AD-8) was an auxiliary cruiser of the United States Navy, and later a destroyer tender.

Buffalo was launched on 31 May 1893 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, in Newport News, Virginia, as El Cid  for the Southern Pacific Railroad's Morgan Line. She was completed in August 1893 and sold to Brazil and renamed Nictheroy. Purchased by the Navy from the Brazilian Government on 11 July 1898, she was renamed Buffalo, commissioned in ordinary a week later, fitted out as an auxiliary cruiser at New York Navy Yard; and placed in full commission on 22 September 1898, with Lieutenant Commander Joseph Newton Hemphill in command.

Service history

1898–1915
Her first cruise, from 7 December 1898 to 7 May 1899, was from New York City to Manila and return, sailing east.  Upon her return she was placed out of commission on 3 July 1899.  On 2 April 1900, she was recommissioned and served as a training vessel.  As a training vessel, Buffalo traveled widely.  She made four voyages to the Philippines with replacement crews for the Asiatic Fleet (24 April – 20 October 1900, 24 December 1900 – 13 May 1901, 5 June – 13 October 1902, and 17 December 1903 – 14 July 1904).  All except the last, which terminated at Mare Island, began and ended at east coast ports.  On her last voyage, Buffalo conveyed the 1st Torpedo Flotilla to Manila.  Between 12 September and 23 November 1904 she cruised in the Pacific, returning to Mare Island.

Out of commission at Mare Island from April 1905 to 17 November 1906, she then served as a transport until 1915 in the Pacific. During 17–20 December 1909, she carried Marines to Nicaragua and remained there in support until 16 March 1910. In 1911–12, she served briefly with the Asiatic Fleet in Chinese waters; and then from 14 November through 4 December 1914 operated off Mexico.  She spent 27 January through 29 November 1915 out of commission at Mare Island, and then rejoined the Pacific Fleet.

1916–1927
In 1916, she again served in Mexican waters, and between May and August 1917, Buffalo transported the Special Diplomatic Mission of the United States to Russia. Upon her return she was ordered into Philadelphia Navy Yard for conversion to a destroyer tender and reclassified AD-8. Conversion was completed in June 1918, and after loading torpedo equipment at Newport, Rhode Island, she departed for Brest, France, via Bermuda. She then proceeded to Gibraltar, where she operated as station and repair ship to destroyers and subchasers. From February until September 1919 she had similar duty with the Azores Detachment at Ponta Delgada and then returned to New York.

On 31 December 1919, Buffalo arrived at San Diego, California to commence her duties as repair ship and tender to Destroyer Squadrons 5 and 11, Pacific Fleet. In November 1921, she was ordered to the Asiatic Station as tender to Destroyer Squadron, Asiatic Fleet, and arrived at Manila in December.  During the summer of 1922 she cruised with the fleet in Chinese waters and in September arrived at Yokohama, Japan. She returned to the west coast on 8 October and was decommissioned on 15 November 1922 at San Diego. She was used as a barracks ship until stricken from the Navy List on 27 May 1927. She was sold four months later.

References

External links

Spanish–American War auxiliary ships of the United States
World War I auxiliary ships of the United States
1893 ships
Ships built in Newport News, Virginia
Tenders of the United States Navy
Destroyer tenders of the United States

USS Buffalo (1893)


Grass jelly, also known as leaf jelly or herb jelly, is a jelly-like dessert originating from China. It is commonly consumed in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is created by using Chinese mesona (a member of the mint family) and has a mild, slightly bitter taste. Grass jelly was invented by the Hakka people who historically used the food to alleviate heat stroke after long days working in the field. The dish was introduced to Southeast Asia by the Chinese diaspora. It is served chilled, with other toppings such as fruit, or in bubble tea or other drinks. Outside Asia, it is sold in Asian supermarkets.

Nutritional value
Unsweetened grass jelly contains, per 500 grams, 2.5 grams of protein and about 15 grams of carbohydrates, of which 0.5 grams are from dietary fiber. Grass jelly has no fat, vitamins, or minerals.

Preparation
Grass jelly is made by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Platostoma palustre (Mesona chinensis) with potassium carbonate and a little starch for several hours. The liquid cools to a jelly-like consistency, and this jelly can be cut into cubes or other shapes. The jelly is then mixed with syrup to produce a drink or dessert thought to have cooling (yin) properties, suitable for hot weather. The jelly itself is fragrant with a smoky undertone and is a translucent dark brown or black. Food coloring may sometimes be added to make it darker.

Preparation of other variants, known as green grass jelly, requires no cooking or heating process and is made from only a mixture of leaf extracts and water. Jelly produced in this way has been described as having a leafy, neutral flavor.

Regional

Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau
In China, grass jelly is considered a signature dish of the Hakka people.

In Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, grass jelly was traditionally served with sugar syrup. Now it is often served mixed with other ingredients, such as mango, sago, watermelon, cantaloupe, and other fresh or canned fruit, and condensed or evaporated milk.

Although this dish is sometimes called liangfen (leung fan) in Chinese, it should not be confused with the Chinese starch jelly liangfen, which is an entirely different dish.

Taiwan
In Taiwan, grass jelly is known as 仙草 (xian cao), and is used in various desserts and drinks. It can sometimes be added to boba drinks and shaved ice (刨冰). It is also commonly used in a traditional Taiwanese dessert where the jelly is melted to be consumed as a thick pudding-like dessert (燒仙草), with numerous toppings like tangyuan, taro balls, azuki beans, and tapioca. The plant is also made into mesona tea (仙草茶).

Indonesia

Grass jelly is known as cincau in Indonesian, which is derived from the Amoy Hokkien word 清草 (chhin chháu). It is also known as camcao, juju, janggelan or kepleng in Javanese, camcauh in Sundanese, and daluman in Bali. Black jelly (cincau hitam) is manufactured as an instant powder, like other instant jellies or agar. This form is easier to use. It is made from the leaves of Platostoma palustre (Mesona palustris).

There are other plants that were used in Indonesia to make grass jelly. They are Melastoma polyanthum, known as cincau perdu, and Cyclea barbata, known as cincau hijau or green grass jelly, and Cocculus orbiculatus or known as cincau Cina or Chinese green grass jelly.  Some plants from genus Stephania such as Stephania hernandifolia (also known as Stephania japonica) and Stephania capitata are also being used as a substitute to create green grass jelly called cincau minyak or oily grass jelly.

Usually, the process of making Indonesian green grass jelly doesn't require a cooking or heating process. Mixing leaf extract and water with the addition of a period of waiting time for coagulation at mild room temperature is enough.

Indonesian green grass jelly has a distinct flavor compared to black grass jelly. It is absent of smoky flavor, almost no bitter taste, and has a mild leafy flavor. Due to its plain neutral flavor, it is usually consumed with sugar water, syrup, coconut milk, and ice.

Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei
Plain grass jelly is mixed in various kinds of desserts, such as ais kacang and cendol. It is also mixed with cold soy milk and served as a refreshing drink/dessert, a drink known as Michael Jackson in South-East Asia (a reference to Michael Jackson's changing skin color and/or the song "Black or White").
Various combinations of grass jelly with rose flavoured syrup added to milk (bandung) are called "bandung cincau" or "bancau" for short. There is also shaved ice with grass jelly toppings. It can be green or brown.

Philippines

Grass jelly (Philippine: gulaman) bricks are used in the various Philippine refreshments or desserts such as sago't gulaman, buko-pandan, agar flan or halo-halo. It may be used in fruit salads or eaten with milk or tea.

Thailand
In Thailand, grass jelly is known as chaokuai (, ) derived from Teochew (, Pe̍h-ūe-jī: tsháu-kué). It is commonly served relatively plain together with ice and natural brown sugar. Additionally, it can also be served with fruits such as jackfruit, the fruit of the toddy palm or mixed with other Thai desserts.

Vietnam
In Vietnamese, grass jelly is sương sáo or thạch sương sáo. Grass jelly is chopped in small cubes and served as an additional ingredient in sweet desserts made from various kinds of beans  (chè). There are two common kinds of grass jelly in Vietnam which are Platostoma palustre (Mesona chinensis, called sương sáo in Vietnamese) and Tiliacora triandra (called sương sâm; sương sa or rau câu is the name for jelly made from various kinds of algae). It is common now to eat green grass jelly (thạch lá găng) with douhua (tào phớ) and grass jelly (sương sáo or thạch đen) in the summer.

Mauritius
In Mauritius, the grass jelly is cut into cubes and is added into water and sugar or in syrup water to make a cold drink called "Mousse Noir" which is literally translated as "black jelly" in English. The Mousse noir is of Chinese origins and is a reflection of the Sino-Mauritians influence on the Mauritian cuisine. The mousse noir is well-known and well-appreciated by Mauritians. It can be made at home, or it can be purchased in local supermarkets where it is widely accessible. The mousse noir is also manufactured by local Mauritian companies, such as Sunny Food Canners, and can be found in the original flavour or can come in different flavours; such as coffee, aloe vera, and melon.

See also

Aiyu jelly
Mesona
Guilinggao
Liangfen
Jidou liangfen
List of Chinese desserts
List of desserts

References

Jams and jellies
Bruneian cuisine
Cambodian desserts
Chinese desserts
Indonesian desserts
Indonesian drinks
Malaysian cuisine
Philippine desserts
Singaporean cuisine
Taiwanese cuisine
Thai desserts and snacks
Vietnamese cuisine
Mauritian cuisine
Non-alcoholic drinks
Snack foods

Grass jelly


The Log Revolution ( / ) was an insurrection which started on August 17, 1990, in areas of the Republic of Croatia which were populated significantly by ethnic Serbs.
A full year of tension, including minor skirmishes and sabotage, passed before these events would escalate into the Croatian War of Independence.

Background

In 1988-89, a series of street protests in Yugoslavia by supporters of Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević succeeded in overthrowing the government of the Socialist Republic of Montenegro as well as the governments of the Serbian provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo, replacing their leaders with allies of Milošević. The western Yugoslav republics of Slovenia and Croatia successfully resisted the attempts to expand the revolt onto their territories, and turned against Milošević. On 8 July 1989, a large Serb nationalist rally was held in Knin, during which banners threatening a Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) intervention in Croatia, as well as Chetnik iconography, was displayed. In the lead up to the first free elections in April and May 1990, the ethnic relations between the Croats and the Serbs in SR Croatia became a subject of political debate.

The local Serbs in the village of Berak put up barricades in order to disrupt the elections.
During the act of government transition from the former to the new authorities in Croatia, the JNA organized a "regular military maneuvre" in which a regiment of paratroopers was deployed to the Pleso Airport, which was taken as an implicit threat.
On May 14, 1990, the weapons of the Territorial Defense (TO) of Croatia were taken away by the Yugoslav People's Army, preventing the possibility of Croatia having its own weapons like it was done in Slovenia. According to Borisav Jović, then president of Yugoslavia, this action was done at the behest of the Republic of Serbia. This action left Croatia extremely vulnerable to pressure from Belgrade, whose leadership began to intensify their public challenges to Croatia's borders.

In an act of protest, the militant part of Croatian Serbs in some areas where they formed a majority started to refuse authority to the new Croatian government and beginning in early 1990 held several meetings and public rallies in support of their cause and in protest against the new government.  These protests were in support of Serbian nationalism, a centralized Yugoslavia and Milošević (see Anti-bureaucratic revolution).

In June and July 1990, Serb representatives in Croatia openly rejected the new government's proposed amendments to the Constitution of SR Croatia which changed the name of the republic and entered new state symbols. The Serb population associated these with the symbols of the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia during World War II, although the Croatian checkerboard is a historical symbol that had already officially been contained in the emblem of the SR Croatia within Yugoslavia.

In the summer of 1990 the process of dissolution was ongoing, with the Croatian government implementing policies that were seen as openly nationalistic and anti-Serbian in nature, such as the removal of the Serbian Cyrillic script from correspondence in public offices. In late 1980s, a number of articles had been published in Serbia about a danger of Cyrillic being fully replaced by Latin, thereby endangering what was deemed a Serbian national symbol.

As tensions rose and war was becoming more imminent, Serbs in public institutions were forced to sign "loyalty sheets" to the new Croatian government, with refusal to do so resulting in immediate dismissal. The policy was especially noticeable in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as some of the Serbs serving there were arrested for supporting Krajina Militia also known as Martić's Police. Pressure was also placed on Serb intellectuals like Jovan Rašković that promoted ideas of Greater Serbia.

Blockades
Led by Milan Babić and Milan Martić, the local Serbs proclaimed SAO Kninska Krajina in August 1990 and began blockading roads connecting Dalmatia to the rest of Croatia. The blockade was mostly made from logs cut down from nearby woods, which is why the event was dubbed the "Log Revolution". The organizers were armed with illegal weapons supplied by Martić. Since it was a planned action, timed during the summer holiday season and severing land ties to the popular tourist region of Dalmatia, high economic damage was done to Croatian tourism.

The revolt was explained by the Serbs with words that they are "terrorized [by Croatian government]" and that they "[fight for] more cultural, language and education rights". Serbian newspaper "Večernje Novosti" wrote that "2.000.000 Serbs [are] ready to go to Croatia to fight". The Western diplomats commented that the Serbian media is inflaming passions and Croatian government said "We knew about the scenario to create confusion in Croatia...".

The minor skirmishes of the Log Revolution had apparently caused a police casualty - in the night of November 22/23, 1990, a Croatian police car was fired upon on a hill near Obrovac and one of the policemen, 27-year-old Goran Alavanja, died of seven gunshot wounds. The incident involved three policemen of Serb ethnicity who were reportedly shot by a sole rebel Serb gunman, but the murder was never actually officially resolved. Circumstantial evidence points to a group led by Simo Dubajić having perpetrated the murder.

In another earlier incident near Petrinja, another Croatian policeman, Josip Božićević, was shot by a firearm in the night of September 28, 1990, and a leaked Ministry of Internal Affairs memo classified this as a fatality.

On December 21, 1990, the municipalities of Knin, Benkovac, Vojnić, Obrovac, Gračac, Dvor and Kostajnica adopted the "Statute of the Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina".

Over two hundred armed incidents involving the rebel Serbs and Croatian police were reported between August 1990 and April 1991.

Aftermath
The Serb National Council on March 16, 1991 declared Krajina to be independent of Croatia. On May 12, 1991 a referendum was held with over 99 percent of the vote supporting unification with Serbia. On 1 April 1991, it declared that it would secede from Croatia.

Afterwards the Krajina assembly declared that "the territory of the SAO Krajina is a constitutive part of the unified territory of the Republic of Serbia". The open hostilities of the Croatian War of Independence began in April 1991.

As a part of his plea bargain with the prosecution, in 2006 Milan Babić testified against Martić during his ICTY trial, saying Martić "tricked him into agreeing to the Log Revolution". He also testified that the entire war in Croatia was "Martić's responsibility, orchestrated by Belgrade". They were both convicted for ethnic cleansing of Croats and other non-Serbs from Krajina.

See also
 Breakup of Yugoslavia
 Špegelj Tapes

References

Sources

Conflicts in 1990
Croatian War of Independence
20th-century revolutions
1990 in Croatia
1990 in Yugoslavia
History of the Serbs of Croatia
Protests in Croatia
Serb rebellions
Acts of sabotage
August 1990 events in Europe

Log Revolution


A Service Award Cross (Dienstauszeichnungskreuz) was an award for long-time service as a civil servant or member of the military.  Prussia had a service cross for 25-years service for officers as well as service awards in the form of buckles for nine-, 15 - and 25-years' service in the active Army.

In addition, there was a Landwehr Service Award in two categories: a cross for 20-years service by officers and a buckle for 12-years' service by officers and men of the Landwehr if they took part in a campaign or had served at least three months on active service convened for an extraordinary initiative.

Similar rules and orders - mostly in Prussian-like orders - were produced in the kingdoms of Bavaria and Saxony.  Even in the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and other states there were distinctions for long periods of service.  The German Federal Republic had service awards, not restored on German unification.

See also
Service award

Military history of Germany
Orders, decorations, and medals of Prussia
Long service medals

Service Award Cross


The Clinton African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is a historic church at 9 Elm Court in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  It was the first African American church in Berkshire County, and it was a place where noted Great Barrington native W.E.B. Du Bois is known to have attended services.  The Shingle style church was completed in 1887, and continues to  serve as a center of African American worship in southern Berkshire County.

History
African Americans have been resident in Berkshire County, Massachusetts since colonial days.  Some were slaves, while others were either freemen or escaped slaves.  Prior to the establishment of the Clinton AME church, these people attended church services with the county's white population.  After the American Civil War there was an influx of southern African Americans into the area, and an informal AME congregation began to take shape as early as the 1860s.  In 1881 this congregation, a mixture of newer southern and older northern African American families, purchased the land on Elm Court on which their church was built in 1887.  Difficulties in fundraising delayed the start of construction until 1886, and the church was formally dedicated the following year.  The Shingle style structure cost $4,275.  Attendees of the church are known to include the future civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, whose uncle was active in the congregation.  Its membership is responsible for the establishment of other African American church congregations elsewhere in the county.

In 1938, after a successful fundraising campaign, the congregation added a parsonage to the property.  The church basement was finished in the 1940s and 1950s to provide a location for social functions, and the church has since then had its original doors and windows replaced, albeit in a historically sensitive way.  The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Description
The basic structure of the church as built in the 1880s was a rectangular block measuring 55' by 24', with a truss roof.  The gable ends of the building were shingled with decorative shingles.  A  tower is attached at the northeast corner of the building, which also provides a vestibule space separating the main entrance from the sanctuary.  The sanctuary measures 39' by 24', lined with twenty pews; there are four windows on each side, containing some stained glass decoration.  The pulpit, made of ash, stands to the right, while a platform for the choir and organ stands to the left at the front of the sanctuary.  The sanctuary walls were originally wainscoted; this work has been covered by paneling.  Behind the sanctuary is a vestry room, somewhat altered from the original by the addition of the parsonage in the 1930s.

When originally built, the church had a trap door in the southeast corner to gain access to the basement.  In 1951 this was replaced by stairs to provide access to the finished basement space.  The basement space has a low ceiling, and roughly matches the dimensions of the sanctuary above.  A space on the west side of the basement houses kitchen facilities and the church's heating system, which extend to some extent under the parsonage.

The parsonage has a basic center hall floor plan, with the living room occupying part of the original church vestry.  The second floor contains three bedrooms and a bathroom.  The parsonage space is little altered since its construction in the 1930s.

See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County, Massachusetts

References

Churches in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Churches completed in 1887
Shingle Style architecture in Massachusetts


John Fitchett  (c.1879 – 1942) was an English footballer who played at full-back or half-back for Bolton Wanderers, Southampton, Manchester United, Plymouth Argyle, Manchester City, Fulham and Exeter City.

Football career
Fitchett was born in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester and represented Manchester Schoolboys while playing his youth football with Talbot FC. In May 1897, he joined Bolton Wanderers where he remained for five years, making 76 appearances in The Football League. During his time with Bolton Wanderers he made three appearances for the Football League in representative matches against the Irish League in November 1899, November 1900 and November 1901, and also played in an unofficial international against Germany in 1901.

In the spring of 1902 he joined Manchester United for the first time but, before he could make a first-team appearance, he moved to the south coast to join Southampton of the Southern League in May 1902. At Southampton, he was used as cover for Samuel Meston at left-half and, although he played in five of the first six matches, he lost his place to Meston at the start of November and only made four further appearances, including one in the FA Cup defeat to Notts County. In his time at The Dell, Fitchett was known for his "energetic tackling and neat passing" as well as for his "over-elaboration".

Fitchett returned to Manchester United in March 1903 and made five appearances before the end of the 1902–03 season. His debut for United came on 21 March when he scored in a 5–1 defeat of Leicester City.

Fitchett's stay at Bank Street was short-lived and in May 1903 he returned to the Southern League to join Plymouth Argyle, who were making their debut in the league. Fitchett was known to Argyle's manager Frank Brettell under whom he had played at Bolton Wanderers. At Bolton he had played alongside Bob Jack, who he persuaded to join Argyle for their debut league season. Jack was to go on to make over 100 appearances for Argyle as well as replacing Brettell as manager, a post he held until 1938. Primarily used as a left-back, Pritchett was a regular member of Argyle's first professional side, making 46 appearances in all competitions.

In June 1904, he once again returned to Manchester United although his second "debut" was not until January 1905. By the end of the season, he was a regular at left-back, but in the summer of 1905 he moved across the city to join Manchester City. His stay was very brief and in June 1905, he again returned to the Southern League to join Fulham. At Fulham, he was little used, making only three appearances before bringing his professional career to a close at the end of the 1905–06 season.

Theatre management
During his youth, Fitchett was an actor and was a member of Fred Karno's Theatrical Company. He had appeared with Charlie Chaplin in The Mumming Birds.

Following his retirement from professional football, Fitchett settled in Devon, becoming manager of the Vaudeville Theatre in Exeter. In February 1910, he briefly resumed his football career to assist Exeter City.

After World War I, Fitchett became manager of the New Palace Theatre in Union Street, Plymouth. After he retired as the theatre manager, he became the licensee of the Royal Sovereign public house in Union Street.

Fitchett died at the Royal Sovereign on 1 November 1942, at the age of 62.

Notes
 In total, Fitchett made 40 league appearances for Plymouth Argyle, of which 27 were in the Southern Football League and 13 in the Western League. As the Southampton club historians only include the Southern League appearances in their statistics, the same is done here for consistency.

References

Bibliography

External links
Career details
Bolton Wanderers profile

1870s births
Category;1942 deaths
Men's association football defenders
Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
English men's footballers
English male musical theatre actors
English theatre managers and producers
Exeter City F.C. players
Fulham F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Manchester United F.C. players
People from Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Plymouth Argyle F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Southern Football League players
English Football League players
Western Football League players
Footballers from Manchester
English Football League representative players

Jack Fitchett


Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was an Russian-American anarchist and labor organizer. She was an anarcho-communist who was an early supporter of atheism, gay rights and feminism.

Life
Goldman fought for women's rights and equality, workers' rights, queer rights, and anarchism (anarchism is the belief that society should be run without authorities or a government). She was also known for being one of the first women's reproductive rights activists. In addition, Goldman wrote many books. Her most famous book, "Living My Life," is an autobiography.

Activism
Goldman was born in a part of the Russian Empire, which is now known as Lithuania. She moved to the United States with her family when she was 17. She was upset by the way workers and labor activists were treated in the US. In 1889 she moved to New York. In New York, she joined an anarchist group. In the anarchist group, she met a new friend and someone she would work with for a long time, Alexander Berkman. In 1892, they attempted to assassinate (kill) Henry Clay Frick, for the way he treated workers. Berkman was unsuccessful and spent fourteen years in prison, but Goldman was not punished.

Later, in 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist who said he was inspired by Goldman. Goldman defended the murderer by saying "if the people want to do away with assassins, they must do away with the conditions which produce murderers."

Besides being a defiant radical, Emma was very well known for being incredibly influential in women's reproductive rights activism. She fought for women's sexual and economic freedom. Goldman was a nurse and midwife and taught other women about birth control. She was imprisoned in 1916 for this because at the time spreading information about birth control was illegal.

Troubles
Goldman faced many legal troubles. In 1893 she was convicted of starting a riot and spent a year in prison. She was arrested in 1901 for allegedly conspiring in the assassination of President McKinley, but was never found guilty.
In 1917 she was arrested and spent two years in prison for not supporting World War I.

Back to Russia
In 1919, Goldman and Berkman were sent back to Russia because the American government thought they were too dangerous. The Russian Revolution had just happened and Goldman was hopeful that Russia might end up being a good place. She ended up deciding that the revolution in Russia was not as good as she thought and that the Bolsheviks tricked many of the people in Russia. She thought the Bolsheviks were too controlling and were too powerful. She also did not like that the Soviet Union put lots of anarchists in jail for not agreeing with them.

Moving to Europe
She and Berkman left after two years and Goldman lived in many places in Europe, including England and France. In 1936 she moved to Spain to help the anarchists fight the fascists during the Spanish Civil War.

Death
She died in Toronto of a stroke. She is buried near Chicago.

References

1869 births
1940 deaths
American anarchists
American atheists
American autobiographers
American communists
American essayists
American feminists
American philosophers
American political activists
American prisoners
Deaths from stroke
Jewish American scientists
Jewish American writers
Jewish activists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish philosophers
American LGBT rights activists
Lithuanian Jews
Naturalized citizens of the United States
People from Kaunas
Russian Jews
Soviet Jews
Writers from New York City

Emma Goldman


The Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival () is an annual festival held in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, and organized by a not-for-profit organization, during which hot air balloons of every shape and colour are flown and where 300 shows and performances adding up to over 60 hours' worth of programming are taking place. More than 200,000 visitors and 1,000 RVs usually participate.
It is held over four days in late-August and early September during the Labor Day Weekend.

History

Jean Boileau era and the festival's beginning (1988-2001)
The festival started in 1988 by Jean Boileau and attracted about 50 000 visitors and about 50 balloons. Through the following years the festival became much larger and was one of the biggest festivals in Canada. Attendance at one point reached over 225,000 people and had over 150 balloons. In 1998, the festival was also hosting the World Hot Air Airship Championship, which was disputed by 16 teams from Europe, China and the United States. Shibas.

Fatal accident and festival departure (2001-2002)

On July 14, 2001, Boileau who was the general manager since its beginning was involved in a horrific hot-air balloon accident just east of the Ottawa International Airport on Leitrim Road. The balloon, while trying to land in an open field, struck some hydro wires after a sudden wind gust. It suddenly engulfed in flames. Boileau sustained multiple burns while trying to rescue his 15-year-old daughter, Julie, who was trapped inside the balloon's basket. Unfortunately, the rescue effort failed as the girl died instantly while two other people also sustained burns. Boileau, despite the fact that a subsequent Transport Canada report which mention that the accident was caused by a pilot error and bad weather conditions, was later honored by then-governor general Adrienne Clarkson for bravery. In 2007 a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the La Baie Park for Boileau's daughter known as the festival's first volunteer and a tree was also planted on site in her honor in conjunction of the festival's 20th Anniversary which also honored the founder of the festival.

After that event, he never piloted a hot-air balloon and left his general manager spot of the Festival afterwards - some speculations were that the new city of Gatineau administration of Yves Ducharme tried to force him out of the job by offering a spot for the new city as chief of communications. He was handled that position for a few months during rehabilitation, but the position was later removed and changed as the position of director of communications and the City did not appointed him due to health reasons caused by his accident. Some speculated that the Ducharme administration wanted to remove people who were associated with the former city of Gatineau's last mayor, Robert Labine and Ducharme's mayoral rival in the 2001 elections for the new city of Gatineau. However, a settlement between the city and Boileau was made in 2003. The departure of Boileau had also put the Festival's future in doubt as several of his associates also left the Festival's organization.

Boileau is currently the communication director of the City of Gatineau since October 2013

Notable singing performers and attendance during the history of the festival

Several well-known artists performed during the Festival over the course of its history since 1988. Among those included:
 1988 : 34 000 festival-goers - Show by Nuance
 1989 : 90 000 festival-goers. Show by Céline Dion and Pierre Flynn.
 1990 : 110 000 festival-goers. Show by Mitsou and Paul Piché.
 1991 : 150 000 festival-goers. Show by Daniel Lavoie, André-Philippe Gagnon, Marjo and Vilain Pingouin.
 1992 : 170 000 festival-goers. Show by Richard Séguin, Luc De Larochellière, Céline Dion and Les B.B.
 1993 : 185 000 festival-goers. Show by Robert Charlebois, Ginette Reno, Alannah Myles and Julie Masse.
 1994 : 200 000 festival-goers. Show by France D'Amour, Claude Dubois, Édith Butler, Gilles Vigneault and Roch Voisine.
 1995 : 200 000 festival-goers. Show by Marjo, Sonia Benezra, Mitsou, Mario Pelchat, Jim Corcoran, Sylvain Cossette, Michaël Rancourt, Éric Lapointe and Gildor Roy.
 1996 : 225 000 festival-goers. Show by Robert Charlebois, André-Philippe Gagnon, Marie Carmen and Kevin Parent.
 1997 : 225 000 festival-goers. Show by Richard Séguin, Dan Bigras, Anthony Kavanagh, Gipsy Kings and Soul Attorneys.
 1998 : 200 000 festival-goers. Show by Claude Dubois, Dubmatique, Luce Dufault, Jonny Lang, Kevin Parent and Sylvain Cossette.
 1999 : 200 000 festival-goers. Show by Dubmatique, Bruno Pelletier, Corey Hart and Jean Leloup.
 2000 : 200 000 festival-goers. Show by Zachary Richard, Marjo, Éric Lapointe, La Chicane, Pierre Lalonde and Richard Abel.
 2001 : 200 000 festival-goers. Show by Luck Mervil, Sylvain Cossette, Bruno Pelletier, Okoumé, Fernand Gignac and Annie Brocoli.
 2002 : festival-goers. Show by Alain Choquette, Gabrielle Destroismaisons, Mario Pelchat, Boom Desjardins, Richard Séguin and Stéphane Rousseau.
 2003 : Show by Roch Voisine, Daniel Bélanger, Bob Walsh, Lulu Hugues, Yelo Molo and les Respectables.
 2004 : 200 000 festival-goers. Show by Daniel Boucher, Nanette Workman, Marie-Chantal Toupin, Laurence Jalbert, Mélanie Renaud, Andrée Watters, Bruno Pelletier, Gino Vannelli, La Bottine Souriante and Martin Giroux.
 2005 : Show by Boom Desjardins, Éric Lapointe, Hugo Lapointe, Martin Deschamps, Florent Vollant, Michel Pagliaro, Marie-Chantal Toupin, Luck Mervil, Vincent Vallières, Émily Bégin, Marie-Mai, Nicola Ciccone and the Boogie Wonder Band.
 2006 : 170 000 festival-goers. Show by Simple Plan, Stéphanie Lapointe, Annie Villeneuve, Véronic DiCaire, Marjo, Garou and les Cowboys Fringants.
 2007 : 230 000 festival-goers. Show by Dan Bigras, Bruno Pelletier, Compagnie Créole, Alfa Rococo, Eva Avila, Kaïn, Champion et ses G-Strings, Lulu Hugues, Andrée Watters, Marie-Chantal Toupin, Elizabeth Blouin-Brathwaite and Kim Richardson.
 2008 : 190 000 festival-goers. Show by Finger Eleven, Marie-Élaine Thibert, Boom Desjardins, Jamil, France Maisonneuve, Xavier Caféïne, Dennis DeYoung, Pascale Picard and Gregory Charles.
 2009 : 255 000 festival-goers. Show by Mes Aïeux, Kenny Rogers, Ariane Moffatt, Marie-Mai and Éric Lapointe. Spokesperson: Patrice Bélanger
 2010 : 175 000 festival-goers – Show by Bobby Bazini, Our Lady Peace, Hedley, Laurence Jalbert, Johanne Blouin, France D'Amour, Luce Dufault, Jesse Cook, Sylvain Cossette, Bruno Pelletier, Dan Bigras and Les Cowboys Fringants.
 2011 : Show by David Usher, Roger Hodgson, Marc Dupré, Véronic DiCaire, Annie Villeneuve, Roch Voisine, Les Trois Accords, Les Respectables.
 2012 : 25th birthday. Show by Simple Plan, KC and the Sunshine Band, Isabelle Boulay, Éric Lapointe. Reconstruction of the first flight of hot-air balloon.
 2013 : Show by Sean Paul, Mia Martina, Pirate Delsol, Garou, Daniel Lavoie, Valérie Carpentier, Mes Aïeux, Bernard Adamus, Loco Locass, Damien Robitaille

See also
 Hot air balloon festivals

References

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-droit/actualites/ville-de-gatineau/201308/27/01-4683692-jean-boileau-a-la-tete-des-communications-de-gatineau.php

External links

 Official home site

Hot air balloon festivals
Festivals in Gatineau
Sports festivals in Canada
Recurring events established in 1988
1988 establishments in Quebec

Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival


The (Hari) Vāyu Stuti is one of the most famous Stutis (poems) composed by Śri Trivikrama Panḍitācharya honoring Śri Madhvācārya, the founder of the Dvaita school of philosophy. Madhvas, or the followers of Sri Madhvacharya, know that Madhvacharya is the third incarnation of Lord Mukhyaprana, being the first incarnation or Vayu who is the main deity and the Vayu Stuti has been written recognizing this order of incarnation.

Legend has it that during daily pūja done by Śri Madhvācārya in the sanctum sanctorum of Udupi Sri Krishna temple behind closed doors, Trivikrama Panditacharya used to recite the Dvādaśa Stotra outside. The end of naivedya or ceremonial offering of food to the Lord was indicated by the sounding of bells. However one day, Trivikrama Panditacharya got increasingly curious as the sound of bells was not heard even after a long time. He peeked through the door and to his utter amazement found Sri Madhva performing puja to Lord Shri Rama as Hanuman, to Lord Krishna as Bhimasena and to Lord Veda Vyasa as Madhvacharya. Overcome by Bhakti, he composed the Vayu Stuti and dedicated it to Madhvacharya.

The Vayu Stuti is composed of 41 shlokas. It is common to recite the Vayu Stuti by beginning and ending it with the Narasimha Nakha Stuti, a short two-paragraph composition by Śri Madhvācārya praising Lord Narasimha. It is said that when Trivikrama Panḍitācārya presented his work, Śri Madhvācārya insisted that the work should not be dedicated to him alone and instructed that Nakha Stuti must be chanted before and after the Vāyu Stuti.

See also
 Works of Madhvacharya
 Narayana Panditacharya

References
 Mukhya Prana
 Sanskrit Text of Vayu Stuti
 Mukhya Prana - The Avatar of Vayu
 Detailed explanation of each Shloka
 Learn Vayu Stuthi

Dvaita Vedanta
Hindu texts
Sanskrit texts

Vayu Stuti


The Gunslinger is a fantasy novella by American writer Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October 1978.  In 1982, "The Gunslinger" was collected with four other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger. "The Gunslinger" formed the first chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion.

Plot summary

The story begins with the sentence, "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." The gunslinger comes across a hut in the desert owned by a farmer named Brown, who has a pet raven named Zoltan. The gunslinger stays the night and, at Brown's urging, tells him the story of what happened to him the last time he came across people.

He had been traveling through Tull, the last town before the desert began. He made his way to the local saloon and learned from Allie, its bartender, that the town drunk Nort had died from eating narcotic devil-grass. The man in black (calling himself "Walter O'Dim") brought Nort back to life and told Allie that if she said a particular word to Nort, he would tell her everything he saw and heard during his time in the afterlife. Sensing that Walter had laid a trap for both him and Allie, the gunslinger warned her never to say the trigger word in Nort's hearing.

He next met and interrogated Sylvia Pittston, a fanatical preacher who believed that the man in black had impregnated her with the offspring of the Crimson King. She warned her congregation to beware of the gunslinger, referring to him as a malicious "Interloper," and eventually stirred the entire town to attack him. Even Allie joined the mob, having fallen into Walter's trap and gone insane from Nort's revelations. The gunslinger killed all 58 residents of Tull, then headed out into the desert.

After telling Brown his story, the gunslinger fills his water skins and continues across the desert, in pursuit of his quarry.

Among other minor additions and deletions made by King for the 2003 revised version of the novella, the word "parsecs" in the opening paragraph was changed to "eternity," and the story of Tull is expanded by King to include an additional exchange between Allie and Walter.

See also
Short fiction by Stephen King

References

1970s novellas
Fantasy short stories
Novellas by Stephen King
Novels set in deserts
The Dark Tower (series) short stories
Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

The Gunslinger (novella)


Justice League: The New Frontier is a 2008 American animated superhero film adapted from the DC Comics limited series DC: The New Frontier. The film was written by Stan Berkowitz, with Darwyn Cooke providing additional material.

The film received a rating of PG-13 for violent content and images, and was released on February 26, 2008. It is the second film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies by Warner Bros. Animation.

The film had its broadcast premiere on October 18, 2008 on Cartoon Network. It was broadcast again on December 20, 2020 on Cartoon Network's nighttime Adult Swim programming block through Toonami, as a celebration for the then-upcoming release of Wonder Woman 1984.

Plot
An unknown entity, named "The Centre," tells its story about how it was born from the Earth itself and has witnessed the evolution and extinction of the dinosaurs, and mankind's evolution. Due to man's capacity for war and violence, the Centre has concluded that they must be eradicated.

At the end of the Korean War, United States Air Force pilot Hal Jordan and his wingman, Kyle "Ace" Morgan, are attacked by enemy pilots but survive. In Gotham, J'onn J'onzz – the last survivor of the Green Martian race – is teleported to Earth; unable to return, J'onn disguises himself. In Las Vegas, Iris West is on the telephone with her fiancé Barry Allen – also known as the Flash – at a casino when Captain Cold arrives to commit robbery; he races from Central City to confront Cold. Flash finds the five bombs hidden by Cold and captures him, before Cold is possessed by an entity.

Two years later J'onn (as John Jones) is a detective with the Gotham City Police Department, investigating a doomsday cult that worships the "Centre" and has kidnapped a child for a sacrificial ritual. J'onn and his partner Slam Bradley join Batman in battling the cult, but is incapacitated by a fire. The cult leader is possessed by the entity, and warns of impending judgement. Hal is training under Col. Rick Flag at Ferris Aircraft for a U.S. government project to build a spacecraft for travel to Mars. Special agent King Faraday oversees the project.

Batman suggests to J'onn that they work together in investigating the cult. After being attacked and nearly subdued by the US government, a disillusioned Flash announces his retirement. J'onn interrogates former Ferris employee Harry Leiter, apprehended for murder while under The Centre's influence, who tells them about the launch to Mars.  When Faraday arrives, J'onn briefly reads his mind and learns Leiter is telling the truth. Seeing the jubilant albeit contemptuous response to the Flash's retirement, J'onn gives his research to Batman and plans to return to Mars on the rocket. J'onn and Faraday fight on the launchpad; the rocket is damaged and malfunctions after leaving Earth's atmosphere. Hal wants to attempt a landing but Flag reveals weapons of mass destruction are on board, intended to destroy all life on Mars. Hal is ejected from the cockpit and saved by Superman; Flag detonates the rocket as J'onn is held prisoner.

On Paradise Island, Wonder Woman is training with Mala when the Amazons are attacked by The Centre. As a result of Flag's rocket explosion, a fatally wounded Abin Sur crash-lands on Earth, gives his ring to Hal and tells him about the Centre. Meanwhile, Superman and Batman review J'onn's research. Wonder Woman's invisible jet crashes at Cape Canaveral and she warns Superman that The Centre is coming. J'onn decides to help save Earth after his hope for humanity is renewed. The Centre, a massive flying island guarded by an army of mutant dinosaurs, begins its attack on America.  The Flash, Green Arrow, Adam Strange, the Challengers of the Unknown, and the Blackhawks join forces with the US forces to defend the Cape. Superman reconnoiters the Centre but is seemingly killed. Moved by his efforts, the heroes plan a frontal assault to provide cover for Hal and Ace while they fly a bombing mission into the creature.  At the same time the Flash, equipped with Ray Palmer's reduction ray, will crisscross the island, hoping to destabilize the island's atomic structure.

The aerial assault is nearly outmatched, and as dinosaurs ambush Faraday's ground forces, the Centre's psychic force briefly overwhelms J'onn. Faraday is captured by a dinosaur and both perish after Faraday sets off hand grenades. Hal and Ace shoot their way into The Centre's core but a hallucinogenic attack disorients them. Hal's ring relays instructions from the Guardians of the Universe on its use. Ace detonates his payload as Hal rescues him. The Flash races across the ocean, leaps onto The Centre's surface and covers it on foot, shrinking the island. Hal envelops the island in energy, towing it into space where it explodes. As the team celebrates their victory a glowing light emerges from the water and Aquaman emerges from a submarine carrying Superman.

The world celebrates the Centre's defeat with a ceremony. The film ends with a montage of various heroes and villains, including the birth of the Justice League set to the titular John F. Kennedy speech.

Cast

 Jeremy Sisto as Bruce Wayne / Batman
 David Boreanaz as Hal Jordan / Green Lantern
 Miguel Ferrer as J'onn J'onzz / John Jones / Martian Manhunter
 Neil Patrick Harris as Barry Allen / The Flash
 John Heard as Ace Morgan
 Lucy Lawless as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman
 Kyle MacLachlan as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
 Lex Lang as Rick Flag, Arthur Curry / Aquaman (uncredited)
 Phil Morris as King Faraday
 Kyra Sedgwick as Lois Lane
 Brooke Shields as Carol Ferris
 Joe Alaskey as Bugs Bunny (cameo)
 Jeff Bennett as Sportscaster
 Corey Burton as Abin Sur, Ray Palmer (uncredited)
 Townsend Coleman as Dr. Magnus
 Keith David as The Centre
 Sean Donnellan as Haley
 Robin Atkin Downes as The Guardian
 Shane Haboucha as Dick Grayson / Robin
 David Hunt as Harry
 Vicki Lewis as Iris West
 Joe Mantegna as Crooner
 Vanessa Marshall as Amazon Woman
 Jim Meskimen as Slam Bradley
 James Arnold Taylor as Captain Cold
 John F. Kennedy as himself (archive sound)

Production

Music

Like Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier had a soundtrack released by La-La Land Records on March 18, 2008. The music was composed by Kevin Manthei, the track listing is as follows.

Home media
Justice League: The New Frontier is available from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Digital and in single and two-disc editions. The DVD cover of the single disc includes the panoramic image from the film, while the two-disc, DVD Special Edition, HD DVD and Blu-ray commemorative editions have an image of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman above the title logo with other characters below it. Best Buy had an exclusive deal which included a Green Lantern action figure from DC Direct with the DVD package. Wal-Mart had an exclusive single DVD package with "The New Frontier Green Lantern" CD-ROM Comic Book inside. The single, two-disc and Blu-ray editions were released on February 26, 2008, with the HD DVD edition released on March 18, 2008. In October 2017 WBHE released the Commemorative Edition of the film on Blu-ray combo pack, Blu-ray steelbook and DVD.

The special features include a documentary on the 47-year history of the Justice League, commentaries, a documentary on the early mythological villain archetypes in the Justice League stories, a featurette on the themes, elements from the comic to film versions of New Frontier, three episodes of Justice League Unlimited and a 10-minute preview of the animated film; Batman: Gotham Knight. Variety said that pre-orders for The New Frontier were greater than expected at that time.

Tie-in Media
On March 5, 2008, a one-shot called "Justice League: The New Frontier Special" was published.  Written by Darwyn Cooke & penciled by Cooke, Dave Bullock and J. Bone, this serves as an anthology consisting of various tales set within the events of the film.  In the comic, Batman goes to war with Superman after the latter is ordered by King Faraday and Pres. Eisenhower to arrest him for his vigilante activities, Robin & Kid Flash team up to prevent Soviet saboteurs from harming the President, while Wonder Woman and Black Canary look to calm the sexist natures of various male patrons within a new Gotham club.

Reception
Justice League: The New Frontier received mostly positive reviews. Screener copies were sent to website reviewers a month before the DVD's official release. Most of the reviews were positive. Newsarama reviewed the film, saying that it was "one of the best things to ever come out of [Bruce] Timm's stable", and said that the acting was exceptional. The World's Finest, a fansite dealing with DC Animations, said that it was "the first animated feature in a long time that I've felt completely satisfied while walking away from." A reviewer from Ain't It Cool News said that it was "my favorite film of 2008", and that it was "everything I had hoped for." Mainstream websites made similar comments; IGN gave the film and DVD a total score of 7.0, ENI said it was enjoyable, and DVDTalk.com said it was "recommended".

The film earned $5,737,302 from domestic DVD sales.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

 Justice League: The New Frontier @ The World's Finest
 Justice League: The New Frontier Trailer Trailer (Windows Media)
 Justice League: The New Frontier Trailer Trailer (QuickTime)

2008 films
2008 animated films
2008 science fiction films
2008 direct-to-video films
2000s American animated films
2000s animated superhero films
2000s English-language films
American animated science fiction films
Animated crime films
Animated superhero crossover films
Animated war films
Cold War films
Animated Justice League films
Looney Tunes films
Bugs Bunny films
Animated films about dinosaurs
Animated films about extraterrestrial life
Films set in the 1950s
Films set in 1953
Films set in 1954
Films set in 1955
Films set in 1957
Films set in 1958
Films set in 1959
Films set in 1960
Films directed by Dave Bullock
Films scored by Kevin Manthei
DC Universe Animated Original Movies
Toonami

Justice League: The New Frontier


Mario Mieli (21 May 1952, Milan – 12 March 1983) was an Italian activist, writer, playwright, and gender studies theorist. He is considered one of the founders of the Italian homosexual movement, and one of the leading theoreticians in Italian homosexual activism. He is best known for his essay Elementi di critica omosessuale (Homosexuality and liberation: elements of a gay critique) published in its first edition in 1977, and was one of the founders of FUORI! (Fronte Unitario Omosessuale Rivoluzionario Italiano, United Italian Homosexual Revolutionary Front).  He died by suicide at the age of 30.

Works

Books

Plays

 Ciò detto, passo oltre
 Krakatoa

Pamphlets
Towards a Gay Communism [London: pirate productions, 1980]

References

1952 births
1983 deaths
1983 suicides
20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights
Italian male dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Italian Jews
Italian Marxists
Jewish dramatists and playwrights
Jewish socialists
Italian LGBT dramatists and playwrights
Gay dramatists and playwrights
Gay Jews
LGBT-related suicides
Suicides by gas
Italian gay writers

Mario Mieli


William Charles Franklyn Plomer  (10 December 1903 – 20 September 1973) was a South African and British novelist, poet and literary editor. He also wrote a series of librettos for Benjamin Britten. He wrote some of his poetry under the pseudonym Robert Pagan.

Born of British parents in Transvaal Colony, he moved to England in 1929 after spending a few years in Japan. Although not as well known as many of his peers, he is recognised as a modernist and his work was highly esteemed by other writers, including Virginia Woolf and Nadine Gordimer. He was homosexual, and at least one of his novels portrays a gay relationship, but whether he lived as openly gay himself is unclear.

Early life: South Africa
Plomer was born in Pietersburg, in the Transvaal Colony (now Polokwane in the Limpopo Province of South Africa) on 10 December 1903, to Charles Campbell Plomer (d. 1955) and Edythe, daughter of farmer Edward Waite-Browne. His parents were English; his father was a colonial civil servant, formerly apprenticed in the wool trade, and the family moved between England and South Africa several times during Plomer's youth, with Plomer educated mostly in the UK, until his father left the civil service and took over a trading station in the Zululand region, later a recruiting agent for mine workers at Natal, which his son considered a descent in status.
Plomer's great-great-grandfather, Sir William Plomer (1760-1812), was Lord Mayor of London in 1781. Plomer observed in his autobiography of his family: "it is not in the least illustrious, but a bourgeois line of which the fortunes have gone up and down and which has seldom stayed long in one place." The father of his great-uncle by marriage, both men being named William Downing Bruce, published a Plomer genealogy in 1847, claiming "traditionally they derive from a noble Saxon knight, who lived in the time of King Alfred"; Plomer looked disdainfully on this claim, calling it "fiddlesticks", based on nothing more than the fact that "Bruce's son... had married my great-aunt Louisa, and he probably wished to make out that this alliance was as distinguished as it was lucrative- for Louisa was something of an heiress". Lacking interest in "mere names and dates", he much preferred characters like "Christopher Plomer, a canon of Windsor... unfrocked and clapped into the Tower in 1535 for criticizing, as well he might, the behaviour of his royal master, Henry VIII".

Plomer insisted on the pronunciation of his name as "" (to rhyme with "rumour"), although his family pronounced it in the usual way, rhyming with "Homer"; in his autobiography, Plomer addressed his rejection of the usual pronunciation, according to Christopher Heywood's A History of South African Literature (2004), this stemming from embarrassment at his father's occupation, and "hinting an ancestor's improbable job as plumier rather than plumber".

He started writing his first novel, Turbott Wolfe, when he was just 21, which brought him fame (or notoriety) in the Union of South Africa upon publication in 1925, which had inter-racial love and marriage as a theme. He was co-founder, editor and major contributor of the short-lived literary magazine Voorslag ("Whiplash") with two other South African rebels, Roy Campbell and Laurens van der Post in 1926. It included material in both English and Afrikaans, and intended to publish in the Zulu language, and also attempted to portray the more superior standards of European culture, while promoting a racially equal South Africa. Campbell resigned in protest against the editorial control exerted by the financial backer of the magazine. It never gained a wide readership.

1926: Japan
Plomer became a special correspondent for the Natal Witness, but after Van der Post had met and befriended two Japanese men, one being the Japanese captain of a [yacht] cargo ship (Canada Maru), Katsue Mori, he and Plomer sailed for Japan in September 1926, Plomer leaving South Africa for the last time. Plomer stayed in Japan until March 1929, completing two volumes of short stories (I speak of Africa and Paper Houses) as well as a collection of poetry. He became friends with academic, poet and author Sherard Vines. There he fell in love with a Japanese man, Morito Fukuzawa, who became the model for the title character of Sado.

1929: England

He then travelled through Korea, China, the Soviet Union, Poland, Germany, and Belgium to England and, through his friendship with his publisher Virginia Woolf and husband Leonard Woolf, entered the London literary circles. Among his friends there were Christopher Isherwood, W.H. Auden, Forster, J.R. Ackerley and Stephen Spender. The Woolfs, under their imprint the Hogarth Press, published Sado in 1931 and The Case is Altered in 1932, the latter becoming his most commercially successful novel.

In 1933 Plomer left Hogarth amicably (Selected Poems was published by Hogarth in 1940) and published The Child of Queen Victoria and Other Stories with Jonathan Cape.

He became a literary editor for Faber and Faber, and became chief reader and literary adviser to Jonathan Cape from 1937 to 1940, where he recognised the saleability of, and edited the first and many more of Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Fleming dedicated Goldfinger to Plomer.

From 1937, Plomer took part in BBC radio broadcasts, and contributed to the Aldeburgh Festival from its start in 1948. From the late 1950s, he contributed to frequent poetry readings and events, served on the Arts Council and the board of the Society of Authors.

He is known to have used the pseudonym "Robert Pagan", notably for some of his poetry.

He was also active as a librettist, with Gloriana, Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace and The Prodigal Son for Benjamin Britten.

At least one source (Alexander) says that Plomer was never openly gay during his lifetime; at most he alluded to the subject. However Southworth says that he lived relatively openly as a homosexual in Japan, and portrayed gay relationships in a number of his novels, including Sado, The Case is Altered, and The Invaders.

Later life, death
In later life he collaborated with artist Alan Aldridge on a book of children's verse, The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast.

Plomer described himself as "Anglo-African-Asian" in a 1967 article of that name, nearly 40 years after his return to England.

The England and Wales National Probate Calendar records that at the time of his death, his address was 43, Adastra Avenue in Hassocks, West Sussex (Cuckfield Vol 5H, Page 547, 3rd Quarter of 1973); another source gives Lewes, the location of a nearby hospital, as place of death. He died on 20 September 1973 aged 69 in the arms of his partner of almost thirty years, Charles Erdmann. The date given by Encyclopaedia Britannica and in the London Gazette is incorrect.

Recognition, legacy
In 1951 Plomer was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

He was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the University of Durham in 1959.

In 1966 he chaired the panel of judges for the Cholmondeley Award.

He won the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1963.

He was publicly tipped for the Poet Laureateship in 1967 and 1972.

He was awarded a CBE in 1968.

In 1958 he was elected president of the Poetry Society.

In 1976, the inaugural Mofolo-Plomer Prize, created by Nadine Gordimer and so named in honour of Basotho writer Thomas Mofolo and Plomer, was awarded to Mbulelo Mzamane. The judges for that year were Chinua Achebe, Alan Paton and Adam Small. Since then, Achmat Dangor, J. M. Coetzee, Njabulo Simakahle Ndebele, Rose Zwi and Peter Wilhelm have been other recipients of the prize.

Nadine Gordimer, in her introduction to a new edition of Turbott Wolfe in 2003, said that the novel deserved recognition as being in the "canon of renegade colonialist literature along with Conrad", and others have noted its experimental narrative structure, which puts it (along with some of his other work) in the category of a modernist novel.

His last work, the collection of children's poems entitled The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast, won the 1973 Whitbread Award.

Durham University has an extensive collection of Plomer's literary papers and correspondence, as well as his library of printed books, and lists a full bibliography on its website.

A portrait of Plomer seated on a chair, in oils, dated 1929, by Edward Wolfe, and several photographs of Plomer, by Howard Coster and others are held by the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Works

 1925. Turbott Wolfe (novel)
 1927. Notes for Poems. Hogarth Press, London (poetry)
 1927. I Speak of Africa (short stories)
 1929. The Family Tree. Hogarth, London (poetry)
 1929. Paper Houses. Hogarth, London (short stories)
 1931. Sado. Hogarth, London (novel)
 1932. The Case is Altered (novel)
 1932. The Fivefold Screen (poetry)
 1933. The Child of Queen Victoria (short stories)
 1933. Cecil Rhodes (biography)
 1934. The Invaders (novel)
 1936. Visiting the Caves. Cape, London (poetry)
 1936. Ali the Lion (biography, reissued in 1970 as The Diamond of Janina)
 1937. William Plomer (editor): Haruko Ichikawa: A Japanese Lady in Europe. Cape, London
 1938. Selections from the Diary of the Rev. Francis Kilvert (1870–1879)
 1940. Selected Poems. Hogarth, London
 1942. In a Bombed House, 1941: Elegy in Memory of Anthony Butts (poetry)
 1943. Double Lives: An Autobiography. Cape, London.
 1945. Curious Relations. Cape, London.  under pseudonym William D'Arfey. Collaboration with Anthony Butts (memoirs of Butts's family)
 1945. The Dorking Thigh and Other Satires (poetry)
 1949. Four Countries. Cape, London (short stories)
 1952. Museum Pieces (novel)
 1955. A Shot in the Park (poetry, published in U.S. as Borderline Ballads)
 1958. At Home: Memoirs. Cape, London.
 1960. Collected Poems. Cape, London.
 1960. A Choice of Ballads (poetry)
 1966. Taste and Remember (poetry)
 1970. Celebrations (poetry)
 1973. Collected Poems. Cape, London (expanded edition)
1973. "Butterfly Ball" Cape, London (Co author with Alan Aldridge)
 1975. The Autobiography of William Plomer. Cape, London (revision of Double Lives, he died before he could rework At Home)
 1978. Electric Delights. Selected and introduced by Rupert Hart-Davis. Cape, London (previously uncollected pieces, including the essay "On Not Answering the Telephone")

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links

 Plomer Collection at Durham University
 "William Plomer and Japan" in Japonisme, Orientalism, Modernism: A Critical Bibliography of Japan in English-Language Verse (themargins.net)

1903 births
1973 deaths
20th-century British poets
20th-century British dramatists and playwrights
20th-century South African novelists
Benjamin Britten
British literary editors
British male poets
British opera librettists
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
British gay writers
British LGBT novelists
South African LGBT novelists
Place of birth missing
Place of death missing
South African male novelists
South African poets
People from Hassocks
People from Polokwane
South African emigrants to the United Kingdom
Presidents of the Poetry Society
British LGBT dramatists and playwrights
British LGBT poets
South African LGBT dramatists and playwrights
South African LGBT poets

William Plomer


"New Perspective" is a song by American rock band Panic! at the Disco, released on July 28, 2009, as a single promoting the film Jennifer's Body. Vocalist Brendon Urie began writing the song two years prior to its recording regarding a lucid dream he had. The song was completed in the summer of 2009, and was co-written by producer John Feldmann. "New Perspective" was Panic! at the Disco's first single in aftermath of the departure of guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker, both of whom had no involvement in the track. It also saw the return of the exclamation point in their name, after it was retired during the Pretty. Odd. era.

The song made its radio debut in August 2009, but charted poorly in North America. It was a better success in Australia, where it peaked at number 69.

Background
On July 6, 2009, Ryan Ross and Jon Walker announced via the band's official website that the two were leaving the band. In an interview following the split, Ross explained that he first brought the idea to Smith in late June 2009 over lunch: "Spencer and I had lunch and caught up for a while, and then the big question came up, like, 'Well, what do you want to do?' and I said, 'Well, I think it might be best if we kind of do our own thing for a while,' and he said, 'I'm glad you said that, because I was going to say the same thing,' " Ross recalled. "And there was really no argument, which is really the best way that could've worked out." Ross said the split was largely due to creative differences between him and Urie. Urie wanted the band to explore a more polished pop sound, while Ross — and, by extension, Walker — was interested in making retro-inspired rock. The departures came at an odd time for the band, reportedly in the final stages of completing the writing process of their third album. The news asserted that both tour plans with Blink-182 in August 2009 and new album production "will continue as previously announced."

"New Perspective" was recorded in the spring of 2009 with producer John Feldmann. Brendon Urie wrote the song two years prior after waking up from a dream. "I had this really lucid dream—it was so vivid I wanted to write it down before I forgot about it. I was never the best at explaining anything, so it wound up being random [lines] that ended up as the first verse," he said at the time. Urie wrote the first verse of the song and worked on the rest with Feldmann. Ross and Walker had no involvement in the track. The songs were described by drummer Spencer Smith as "Brendon and I having fun, because that's what we want to do." "New Perspective" was mentioned by Smith as a "side" of the new songs, 10 that were demoed in the summer of 2009. Smith described the styles as similar to that of both Frank Sinatra and Queen, with the electronic presence first found on the band's debut record, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Eventually, the producers of the film Jennifer's Body asked the band for a song. Urie and Smith did not get to see a screening of the film beforehand at all, which left them wondering if the song would fit the film. Eventually, the two saw an early screening of it and found the song in a scene when the characters are getting ready for prom, in the background of a montage.

Release
The song was first announced by Alternative Press on July 7, 2009. The song was debuted in a solo acoustic performance of San Diego Comic-Con International. "New Perspective" officially premiered on the band's MySpace page on July 28, 2009. Meanwhile, Ross and Walker debuted music from their new band, The Young Veins, at the same time, releasing their first track, "Change", through their MySpace as well. While Panic! announced the date in advance, the Veins did not. MTV credited The Young Veins with "attempting to steal [Panic!'s] thunder," to which Smith responded with "No, I wasn't shocked or mad at all. We had about three weeks of people not knowing what was going on with the bands, and it's kind of nice that the music was released at the same time."

"New Perspective" was shipped to radio August 18. The line "Can we fast-forward till you go down on me?" was edited out of the song's radio version and accompanying music video.

Music video
The music video was filmed on July 22, 2009, with director Kai Regan. The video was released on iTunes on August 24, 2009.

The video was filmed at Alexander Hamilton High School, with students in different cliques such as cheerleaders, goths, etc. The video starts with Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith walking into the school in plain black suits and black sunglasses. They walk past the students, not paying attention even when fighting breaks out around them. The pair continues walking as the fire alarm sounds and the sprinklers activate. They take off their sunglasses and a few seconds later the scene rewinds, returning to the start off the video, and again showing Urie and Smith as they enter the school. The next part of the music video is shown in photographs rather than film. The pictures depict the pair getting shouted at by teachers, and being taken towards the front doors only to be attacked by the same students involved in the fight earlier. Urie and Smith get pushed and beaten through the hallways and down a staircase to where they are finally shown alone and in film again, limping away from the school, with bruises and damaged clothing. Throughout the music video are Jennifer's Body references, such as shirts that read, "I eat boys" and "Jennifer's Body", as well as clips from the film.

Charts

Release history

References

Panic! at the Disco songs
2009 singles
2009 songs
Fueled by Ramen singles
Songs written by Brendon Urie
Song recordings produced by John Feldmann
Songs written by John Feldmann
Songs written for films

New Perspective (song)