Fallen Angels (1991) is a science fiction novel by 3 American science fiction authors Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn published by Jim Baen. The winner of 1992 Prometheus Award, the novel was written as a tribute to science fiction fandom, and includes many of its well-known figures, legends, and practices.  It also champions modern technology and heaps scorn upon its critics - budget cutting politicians, fringe environmentalists and the forces of ignorance.

The novel takes aim at several targets of ridicule: Senator William Proxmire, radical environmentalists and mystics, such as one character who believes that one cannot freeze to death in the snow because ice is a crystal and "crystals are healing."  It also mocks ignorance in journalism, which greatly helps the main characters (for example, one "expert" cited in a news article believes that the astronauts must have superhuman strength, based on a photograph of a weightless astronaut easily handling heavy construction equipment) and the non-scientific world in general. Several real people are tuckerized into the book in a more positive light, including many fans who made donations to charity for that express purpose and a character called "RMS" (presumably Richard M. Stallman) who leads a network of hackers called the Legion of Doom, connected by a series of BBS systems.

Setting
The novel is set in an unspecified "near-future" (one of the main characters has childhood memories of the Exxon Valdez disaster) in which a radical left-wing environmentalist movement has joined forces with the religious right through a shared distaste for modern technology. The resulting bipartisan conspiracy has gained control of the US government and imposed draconian luddite laws which, in attempts to curb global warming, have ironically brought about the greatest environmental catastrophe in recorded history: an ice age which may eventually escalate into a Snowball Earth.

The exact process is described: clouds are water condensation, and so cannot form without cloud condensation nuclei in the atmosphere. The emission laws have removed most of this, reducing cloud cover, meaning the ground loses heat faster. This in combination with the drop in greenhouse gases has resulted in the return and exacerbation of the Little Ice Age, which has become self-perpetuating as glaciers have a much higher albedo than other surfaces.

As a radical totalitarian environmentalist party now controls the US government, the scientific explanation is denounced as "propaganda from life-hating technophiles", and blame for the ice age is instead solely placed on the society surviving in orbit. Science fiction fandom forms the core of a pro-technology underground in the United States, working in tandem with hacker movements.  Other technologists – accused by the government of pursuing "materialist science" – were removed from their jobs and forced underground, where they were generally unable to continue their work. This rabid distaste for technology has resulted in the collapse of the economy, and lack of education and a complicit media has left the majority of the population credulous and easily manipulated. The Greens have been in power for most of the lives of the characters.

As glaciers rapidly advance south, Canada and the northern United States are all but destroyed. Near the edge of the glaciers, in  Milwaukee, barbaric feudal systems arise as the federal government and markets collapse, leaving violence and disease in their wake. In orbit, Mir and Space Station Freedom survive in tandem with a Lunar colony, but with no support from Earth. The city of Winnipeg is the last major outpost of Canadian civilization, warmed and inhabitable due to immense amounts of solar power beamed from the space stations.

Plot summary

Astronauts from the orbital society fly a modified scramjet, redesigned to harvest nitrogen from the Earth's atmosphere. Government policy declares that these ships are responsible for the ice age, so the scramjet is shot down with a surface-to-air missile. The pilot and copilot, an Earth-born American named Alex MacLeod and a space-born Russo-American named Gordon Tanner, are forced to crash land in Canada atop the glaciers.

Upon hearing of this, the fan underground embarks on a rescue mission – a group of fans rides north through the Dakotas to rescue the astronauts before they can be apprehended by the Government. Upon reaching the Dakotas, the fans must travel largely on foot, as their van is unable to traverse the glaciers. However, they have a major advantage over their foes in the government – their relationship with the space station provides them with superior navigational abilities; following the fall of scientific society, the United States Air Force (USAF) no longer enjoys access to satellite reconnaissance. The fans are able to reach the downed spacecraft well in advance of the USAF.

Their escape is aided in a similar manner. Though the Angels are unable to walk due to their overexposure to weightlessness and must be dragged along on sleds, the microwave power transmission beam reserved for Winnipeg is diverted to warm the travellers as they return south to their van. In addition, a tribe of nomadic Inuit peoples shares supplies with them in thanks for the warmth provided by the microwave beam.

Upon finally reaching their van, the rescuers flee to a small science fiction convention of some 50 fans at a mansion owned by one of their own. Once there, one of the fans takes on the role of personal trainer to help the Angels adjust to Earth's gravity including various asanas from yoga.  At the con, the fans brainstorm a daring plan - before the Greens had come to power, one of the Board of Trustees for the Metropolitan Museum of Boston by the name of Ron Cole supposedly refurbished a Titan II rocket. This rocket still exists at the Museum of Science and Industry at Chicago. The fans and the Angels leave for Chicago just moments before the mansion is raided by the Green police.

The trip to Chicago gives the reader a brutal depiction of American life without basic technology. A blizzard forces the fans to take shelter in a farm town - where at least one towns-person dies in each blizzard for lack of heating oil. After hitching a ride in a consignment of cheese, the fans are captured by the feudal inhabitants of Milwaukee who are burning the excess houses in the city for heat. One of their captors has the food swapped with moonshine liquor and forces the group into slavery to pay off a series of trumped-up "fines". They are assisted by a fellow fan amongst their captors, and are able to continue on to Chicago.

When the fans finally meet Ron Cole, their hopes are crushed. The rocket is a decaying wreck, and Cole is a shadow of his former self due to invasive "reeducation" treatments. However, Cole is able to put them on another path – a privately constructed single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft at Edwards Air Force Base, disguised by the simple and effective method of its designer, Gary Hudson, declaring it non-functional.

See also

 Climate change in popular culture

External links

 Fallen Angels at the Baen website
 List of the real-life people corresponding to characters in the book

1991 science fiction novels
1991 British novels
Environmental fiction books
Collaborative novels
Novels by Jerry Pournelle
Novels by Larry Niven
Novels by Michael Flynn
Dystopian novels
Climate change novels
Baen Books books

Fallen Angels (Niven, Pournelle, and Flynn novel)


Brutus Junius Clay (July 1, 1808 – October 11, 1878) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, and a son of Green Clay. His brother Cassius Marcellus Clay also was a politician in the state, and they both joined the Unionist Party at the time of the American Civil War.

Early life and education
Born in Richmond, Kentucky to Green Clay and his wife Sally Lewis (died 1867), Clay attended the common schools. One of six children who survived to adulthood out of seven born, Brutus had sisters Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798–1887), Pauline, Rodes and Sallie, an older brother Sidney, and younger brother Cassius Marcellus Clay (b.1810).

In 1815 Elizabeth married John Speed Smith, who also became a politician in Kentucky, as did their son Green Clay Smith.

Brutus Clay graduated from Centre College, Danville, Kentucky. He entered into agricultural pursuits and stock raising. His father, who had interests in tens of thousands of acres of land, distilleries and ferries, was considered one of the wealthiest men in Kentucky and had become an influential politician.

In 1827 Brutus Clay settled in Bourbon County, where he became deeply involved in agriculture and breeding livestock. He became recognized in central Kentucky as one of its "most successful stock raisers." It as a key part of the Inner Bluegrass region economy.

Marriage and family
Having gotten established, on February 10, 1831, Clay married Amelia Field (1812–1843) of Madison County, daughter of Ezekiel H. and Patsy (Irvine) Field. They had four children: Martha, Christopher Field, Green, and Ezekiel Field Clay. The latter served as a colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Afterward he went into stock raising, particularly of Thoroughbreds.

The widower Clay married again on November 8, 1844, to Ann Field (1822–1881), a sister of his first wife Amelia. They had one son, Cassius M. Clay, who lived at the Clay homestead in Bourbon County after his parents' deaths.

Political career
Clay was elected in 1840 as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. His younger brother Cassius also became a politician in the state.

That year, Clay was also elected president of Bourbon County Agricultural Association, which he served for thirty years.  He served as president of the Kentucky Agricultural Association 1853–1861.

In 1860 Clay was elected again as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. During the American Civil War, Clay and his brother were Unionists. He was elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-eighth Congress, serving March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865.  He served as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture (Thirty-eighth Congress).

He was not a candidate for reelection and returned to Kentucky to resume his former pursuits. He died near Paris, Kentucky on October 11, 1878. He was interred in his family burial ground at "Auvergne," near Paris.

References

1808 births
1878 deaths
Members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky
Centre College alumni
Farmers from Kentucky
Green Clay family
People from Bourbon County, Kentucky
Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives
People from Richmond, Kentucky
Kentucky Unionists
Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives
19th-century American politicians

Brutus J. Clay


Louis de Lorraine (27 April 1500 – 23 August 1528) was a nobleman of Lorraine who attempted to claim the Kingdom of Naples. He was styled as the Count of Vaudémont.

A younger son of René II, Duke of Lorraine, he was born in Bar-le-Duc in 1500. His family possessed a hereditary claim to the throne of Naples, and his father had accepted the throne of Naples in 1493. However, the ambitions of Charles VIII towards the same object prevented René from taking up rule in Italy. Upon his death in 1508, Louis' older brother Antoine reverted to the style of Duke of Calabria to indicate his family's claims on Naples.

Originally destined for the Church and styled Prince de l'Eglise, he became Bishop of Verdun in 1508 and Abbot of Saint-Mihiel in 1512. He was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. He abandoned his ecclesiastical career in 1522, taking the title of Count of Vaudémont.

Louis was present with the army led by Francis I into Italy in 1524, and fought at the Battle of Pavia. With the outbreak of the War of the League of Cognac, Louis was sent into Italy with an army under the command of Lautrec, and was invested by Pope Clement VII as King of Naples and Sicily. Salerno fell to the invaders on 17 March 1527, but the siege of Naples by the French army was prolonged and unsuccessful. When plague broke out in the encampment, both Lautrec and Vaudémont succumbed.

References

1500 births
1528 deaths
People from Bar-le-Duc
Bishops of Verdun
Louis
People of the Italian Wars
16th-century deaths from plague (disease)

Louis, Count of Vaudémont


John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction.

Biography
Berendt grew up in Syracuse, New York, where both of his parents were writers. As an English major at Harvard University, he worked on the staff of the Harvard Lampoon. He graduated in 1961 and moved to New York City to pursue a journalism career. He was an associate editor of Esquire from 1961 to 1969, editor of New York magazine from 1977 to 1979 and a columnist for Esquire from 1982 to 1994.

Berendt published Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in 1994 and became an overnight success; the book spent a record-breaking 216 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list — still, to this day, the longest standing best seller of the Times.

The story, unsettling and real, broke down the idea of the quintessential phenomenon of a true American city—only to reveal its quirks: its man walking an invisible dog; its voice of the drag queen; a high-society man in its elite community—all that somehow, unravels a murder mystery. Virtually seeming like a novel and reading like a tale, the non-fictional story is about the real-life events surrounding the murder trial of Jim Williams in Savannah, Georgia. Berendt acknowledged that he fabricated some scenes and changed the sequence of some events. The book was adapted into a 1997 film directed by Clint Eastwood. John Cusack plays John Kelso, a character loosely based on Berendt.

Berendt's second book, The City of Falling Angels, was published in September 2005. It chronicles interwoven lives in Venice in the aftermath of the fire that destroyed the La Fenice opera house. According to Kirkus Reviews, "Berendt does great justice to an exalted city that has rightly fascinated the likes of Henry James, Robert Browning, and many filmmakers throughout the world."

References

Further reading

Archival resources
 Esquire, Inc. Records 1933–1977 (26 linear feet) are housed at the Bentley Library at the University of Michigan. Contains correspondence with John Berendt.
 Larry McMurtry Collection, 1960–1976 (2.52 linear feet) is housed at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center of the University of Texas at Austin. Contains correspondence with John Berendt.

External links

1939 births
Living people
American columnists
American non-fiction crime writers
American magazine editors
Nottingham High School (New York) alumni
Harvard College alumni
Writers from Syracuse, New York
The Harvard Lampoon alumni
American gay writers
Lambda Literary Award winners
Journalists from New York (state)

John Berendt


Thai New Year or Songkran (, ) is the Thai New Year's national holiday. Songkran is on 13 April every year, but the holiday period extends from 14 to 15 April. In 2018 the Thai cabinet extended the festival nationwide to seven days, 9–16 April, to enable citizens to travel home for the holiday. In 2019, the holiday was observed 9–16 April as 13 April fell on a Saturday. The word "Songkran" comes from the Sanskrit word , literally "astrological passage", meaning transformation or change. It coincides with the rising of Aries on the astrological chart and with the New Year of many calendars of Southeast and South Asia, in keeping with the Buddhist and Hindu Calendar. The New Year takes place at around the same time as the new year celebrations of many countries in South Asia like Bangladesh, China (Dai people of Yunnan Province), India (Baisakhi in Punjab, Bengal Gajan Utsav, Bengal Charak Utsav, Bengali New Year (Poyla Baisakh/Nababarsha) in West Bengal and Tripura (Also Buisu/Bishu in Tripura), Bihu in Assam,Gudipadva in Maharashtra, Pana or Mahabisuba Sankranti in Odisha, Tamil Puthaandu (Tamil New Year) in Tamil Naadu, Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Vishu in Kerala etc.), Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

In Thailand, New Year is now officially celebrated 1 January. Songkran was the official New Year until 1888, when it was switched to a fixed date of 1 April. Then in 1940, this date was shifted to 1 January. The traditional Thai New Year Songkran was transformed into a national holiday. Celebrations are famous for the public water fights framed as ritual cleansing.

Meaning
Songkran is a term derived from Sanskrit संक्रान्ति saṅkrānti meaning 'to move' or 'movement'. It derives from the movement of the sun from one position to another in the zodiac. According to its literal meaning in Sanskrit, a Songkran occurs every month. However, the period that Thai people refer to as Songkran happens when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries in the zodiac. The correct name for this period should actually be Maha Songkran ('great Songkran) because it coincides with the arrival of a New Year. The Songkran festival is, therefore, a celebration of the New Year in accordance with the solar calendar. The celebration covers a period of three days: 13 April is regarded as Maha Songkran, the day that the sun moves into Aries on the zodiac or the last day of the old year. The next day, 14 April is called Wan Nao, the transitional day between the old and the new years, and 15 April is called Wan Thaloeng Sok ( 'to begin a new era or year'), New Year's day itself.

Computation
In 1989, the Thai cabinet fixed Songkran at 12–14 April, despite the correct starting date (13 April at 20:57). Songkran, however, was traditionally computed according to the method described in Suriyayart (), the Thai version of Surya Siddhanta. The celebration starts when the sun enters Aries according to the sidereal zodiac system. This is called Maha Songkran day (). The final day marks the new solar year and is called Wan Thaloengsok (). The astrologers, local or royal, then make predictions about the economy, agriculture, rainfall, and political affairs according to observations between both days. The king, or Chief Royal Astrologer on the monarch's behalf, issued an official notification on the new year to the public. The announcement, called Prakat Songkran (, Songkran notification), contained the information on Maha Songkran, Thaloengsok, the lunisolar calendar, and religious and royal ceremonies. The government strictly adhered to the announcement and arranged some ceremonies according to the computation made by the royal astrologer.

According to the scripture, 800 years equal 292,207 days. In other words, each solar year lasts 292,207 kammaja (, lit. one produced by karma), where 1 kammaja equals 108 seconds and 800 kammaja corresponds to 1 solar day. Timekeeping began as Kali Yuga started in 3102 BCE (−3101 CE). At the start of each year, it is possible to compute the number of days since Kali Yuga commenced using the following formula:

where , ,  denote Kali Era, Common Era, and Buddhist Era respectively.  is the Suriyayart day number, which can vary according to the calendar era being used. The integer result is the count of days at New Year's Day, while the remainder indicates the time at which the new year begins (in kammaja), measured from the previous midnight.

Owing to a huge day number in the calculation, new calendar eras were devised to solve this problem, including the Minor Era (ME). 0 ME corresponds to 1181 BE, 638 CE or 3739 KE. Following the above equation, it follows that there were 1,365,702 days since the start of Kali Yuga. The remainder of the division suggests that the new year started at 373 kammaja after the previous midnight. This corresponds to 373/800 of a day or 11 hours, 11 minutes, and 24 seconds. In other words, 0 ME started at 11:11:24 on Sunday, 25 March 638 CE in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The Julian day at the new year is computed according to the following formula:

The number can then be converted back into a date using an algorithm (see Julian day). Maha Songkran day is computed either by a lengthy process or by subtracting  by 2.165 days (2 days 3 hours 57 minutes 36 seconds). This can be rewritten as

A solar year lasts 292,207 kammaja or 365.25875 days every year. However, a Gregorian year lasts, on average, 292194 kammaja. The difference of 13 kammaja (23 minutes, 24 seconds) accumulates every year, causing the shift of Songkran towards the end of the calendar year. In 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2000, Maha Songkran was on 7 April 9 April, 10 April 12 and 13 April respectively.

Nowadays the royal palace has ceased to issue the Prakat Songkran, replacing it with a small calendar booklet given to the public on New Year's Day. Government Savings Bank still prints a one-page lunisolar calendar, which is different from the multiple-page solar calendar commonly seen. The calendar features the image of Nang Songkran with her vehicle and subordinates, led by a Chinese zodiac animal holding a flag with Thai script for that zodiac. It also contains a piece of comprehensive information on the correct Songkran day and religious days. Some astrologers, especially in northern Thailand, still issue their own Songkran notification containing predictions and other information. In 2013, the Chiang Mai Provincial Council decided to defy the government-set holiday by rescheduling the ceremony according to the correct calculation.

The following table lists the start and end dates of Songkran festival obtained from the formulae discussed above. The Chinese zodiac for each year is also given since it is also used in Thai astrology. However, the Chinese zodiac in Chinese astrology changes on Lichun, just before the Chinese New Year, in February, while Thai astrology uses the first day of fifth lunar month (roughly the new moon in late–March to early–April). Before the cut off date, astrologer uses the zodiac of the last year.

Origin and myths
The origin of songkran festival lies in a Buddhist folk myth or non canonical jataka related to harvest and spring. In prosperous city of sukhavati in suvvannabhumi, bodistva born in household of poor farmer. Once upon times, Indra the king of devas, looked at the city from heaven, felt sad seeing high level of corruption. He found people do not respect their elders, behave rudely, don't serve them proper food and medicines. They have no compassion to needy and helpless. No faith in Sila and Uposath but fun in sins, no faith in donation but greedy for wealth, no faith in Dhamma but made business of Dhamma. By seeing decline of Dhamma, he said,"Glory/Siri of humans lies in their faith in Dhamma. There is no Glory without Dhamma". With affirmation of this truth, people in the city immediately loss their glory, no proper rains, water and food scarcity prevailed, extreme drought with skin burning hot sun waves and dirtly bad smelled garbages were filled their homes.

To get saved from this suffering, In leadership of bodistva, people prayed to mother earth or Siri. They asked Siri the causes and solutions of their misfortune. Out of compassion and sympathy to her children, she told them the causes and solutions to their sufferings. She told them restoration of their faith in Dhamma will end their suffering. She gave them a divine piece of fertile land, divine seeds, mysterious song for rain and pots divine thanaka powder of several colours to apply on their skin to cool body from hot sun waves. Now, people pleaged to observe sila and upasotha under guidance of bodistva.

Bodistva and his companions started cultivating the divine land, sowing divine seeds. They used to apply several colours of thanaka powder and water is poured to cool their body from heavy sun waves. In few days their crops were grown that was the day when the sun entered aries constellation. They produced adequate grains. At the day of harvest, they washed feets of their elders, saluted them and served delicious food and proper cloths. Donations were made to needy and helpless. Hence, Dhamma was restored by the people.

Same day when Indra the king of devas again looked at the city of SuvannaBhumi. He praised them and said, "Glory of humans lies in their faith in Dhamma, There is no Glory without Dhamma". By affirmation of this truth immediately their lost glory was restored back and the people elected bodistva as their leader and celebrated the harvest day with throwing water on each other and started playing with several colours of thanaka powder by applying it on each other's body.

Thus, in Buddhist community in South East Asia, to remember and celebrate this day, people clean their houses, salute and show respect to their elders by washing their feets, serving delicious food and proper clothing to them. Donations are made to monastery and needy. People play with water and different colours of thanaka powder is applied to each other's body.

According to the Buddhist scripture of Wat Pho, Songkran originated from the death of Kapila Brahma (). In the olden days, there was a wealthy man and his neighbor, a drunkard. The drunkard, who had two sons, belittled the rich man for being childless. The rich man was humiliated and beseeched the Sun and the Moon gods to grant him a son. His attempts failed until he offered cooked rice to the tree god living in a banyan tree, who asked Indra to grant the man's wish. The child, named Thammabal (, also Dhammapala, ), was born.

Thammabal was a clever child who learned three vedas, bird language and also taught people to avoid sin. Kapila Brahma learned of the child and wanted to test the child's cleverness. The god asked, "Where is the glory of men (sri) located in the morning, during the day, and in the evening?" The loser would have his head chopped off. The boy thought in vain for six days, but could not find a solution to the riddles. He lay beneath a sugar palm tree and overheard a conversation between a pair of eagles who planned to eat his corpse when he lost the bet. The female eagle asked her mate whether he knew the answer. He answered, "In the morning, the sri appears on the face, so people wash their faces every morning. At noon, the sri is at the chest where people spray perfume every noon. In the evening, the sri goes to the feet, so people wash their feet every evening." Thmmabal memorized the answer and gave it to Kapila Brahma the next day. Having lost, Kapila Brahma summoned his seven daughters and told them that he must cut his head off. However, if his head fell to earth, it would create an inferno that would engulf the world. If his head was thrown into the air, the rains would stop. And if his head was dropped into the ocean, all seawater would dry up. To prevent these calamities, he told his daughters to place his head on an elevated phan. Thungsa, his eldest child, stored her father's head in the cave in Mount Kailash.

Every year when the Sun enters Aries, one of Kapila Brahma's children, called the Nang Songkran () for that year, and other angels form a procession. One of them takes the phan with Kapila Brahma's head. The lady stands, sits, reclines or sleeps on the back of the animal depending on the time. From the dawn to midday, the lady will stand on the back of her conveyance. After midday until the sunset, she will sit down. Between the sunset and midnight, the lady lies down on her vehicle but leaves her eyes open. After midnight, she sleeps. These postures and other details were previously drawn as part of the Prakat Songkran and now as part of the lunisolar calendar. The procession lasts for 60 minutes around Mount Meru. This is subsequently called Maha Songkran to distinguish from other Songkran that occur when the Sun moves from one to another zodiac. For simplicity, the name was later shortened as Songkran.

The following table lists the names and characteristics of Nang Songkran, which vary according to which day of the week Maha Songkran falls on in each year.

New year traditions
The Songkran celebration is rich with symbolic traditions. Mornings begin with merit-making. Visiting local temples and offering food to the Buddhist monks is commonly practiced. On this specific occasion, performing water pouring on Buddha statues and the young and elderly is a traditional ritual, representing purification and the washing away of one's sins and bad luck. As a festival of unity, people who have moved away usually return home to their loved ones and elders. Paying reverence to ancestors is an important part of Songkran tradition.

The holiday is known for its water festival. Major streets are closed to traffic, and are used as arenas for water fights. Celebrants, young and old, participate in this tradition by splashing water on each other. Traditional parades are held and in some venues "Lady Songkran" or "Miss Songkran" is crowned. where contestants are clothed in traditional Thai dress.

In Thailand

Central Region People in this region clean their houses when Songkran approaches. All dress up in colorful clothing or Thai dress. After offering food to the monks, people will offer a requiem to their ancestors. People make merit offerings such as giving sand to the temple for construction or repair. Other forms of merit include releasing birds and fish. Nowadays, people also release other kinds of animals such as buffaloes and cows. Phra Pradaeng hosts traditional ceremonies of Mon people such as parades in the colourful traditional outfits and folklore performances.

South Southerners have three Songkran rules: Work as little as possible and avoid spending money; do not hurt other persons or animals; do not tell lies.

North On 7 April, Baan Had Siew in Si Satchanalai District hosts the'Elephant Procession Ordination' event with a colourful parade where men dressed in the traditional clothes are taken to the temples on elephants. In northern Thailand 13 April is celebrated with gunfire or firecrackers to repel bad luck. On the next day, people prepare food and useful things to offer to the monks at the temple. People have to go to temple to make merit and bathe Buddha's statue and after that they pour water on the hands of elders and ask for their blessings.

East The eastern region has activities similar to the other part of Thailand, but people in the east always make merit at the temple throughout all the days of the Songkran Festival and create sand pagodas. Some people, after making merit at the temple, prepare food to be given to the elderly members of their family.

The Capital (Bangkok) The Khao San Road and Silom Road are the hubs for modern celebration of Songkran. The roads are closed for traffic, and posts equipped with water guns and buckets full of water. The party runs day and night.

Elsewhere

Songkran is celebrated by the Malaysian Siamese community, particularly in the states of Kedah, Kelantan, Penang, Perak, Perlis and Terengganu where most Siamese are located.

Pana Sankranti, (Odia: ପଣା ସଂକ୍ରାନ୍ତି) also known as Maha bisuba Sankranti, is the traditional new year day festival of Buddhists and Hindus in Odisha, India.

The festival is celebrated as Sangken in northeastern areas of India and as Bizu, Boisuk, Shangrai, and Boisabi in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, which is the traditional New Year's Day by the indigenous Hindu people and Buddhist community. The Sangken festival is celebrated by the Tai people — Khamti people Khamyang, Phake and Turung people.  The festival is also celebrated by Singpho, Tikhak (Tangsa) and Duoniya people. Sangken generally falls in the month of 'Naun Ha', the fifth month of the year of the Tai Lunar calendar coinciding with the month of April. It is celebrated in the last days of the old year and the lunar new year begins on the day just after the end of the festival.

Vishu, a Hindu religious festival, celebrated mainly in the South Indian State of Kerala (and some parts of Tamil Nadu), also falls during the same timeframe. It is predominantly a harvest festival.

In some villages in south India, especially Karnataka, a festival called "Okhali" or "Okhli" is celebrated in which every household keeps a barrel of water mixed with chalk and turmeric to throw on passers-by. The date of Okhali coincides with that of Songkran in Thailand and Thingyan in Myanmar, not with the dates of Holi, which is a north Indian festival.

Songkran is celebrated annually on the U.S. territory of Wake Island by Air Force members and American and Thai contractors.

In other calendars
Songkran occurs at the same time as that given by Bede for festivals of Eostre—and Easter weekend occasionally coincides with Songkran (most recently 1979, 1990, and 2001, but not again until 2063.)

Controversies

Roadway fatalities

Police statistics show that the death toll from road accidents doubles during the annual Songkran holiday. Between 2009 and 2013 there were about 27 road deaths per day during non-holiday periods and an average of 52 road deaths per day during Songkran. Thailand has among the highest traffic fatality rates in the world, along with Liberia, Congo, and Tanzania. Approximately 70–80 percent of the accidents that occur during the long holiday period are motorcycle accidents. About 10,000 people per year die in motorcycle accidents.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) says a total of 110,909 people were arrested and 5,772 vehicles impounded at road safety checkpoints across the country between 9–16 April 2016. In 2018 the number of offenders arrested at 2,029 checkpoints had risen to 146,589. Of these, 39,572 had failed to wear crash helmets and 37,779 carried no driving licence. Reacting to the numbers, the prime minister "ordered stricter enforcement of the law"; the interior minister said he would "propose greater efforts in raising awareness as an additional measure, insisting that traffic laws were [already] strictly enforced"; and deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan said he would "work harder to ensure motorcyclists wore helmets."

Arrests
 Police arrested a British tourist in Chiang Mai on the first day of the 2016 Songkran holiday, 13 April, for violating the junta's ban on indecent dress. In a water fight the culprit was topless, wearing only short pants, but no shirt. He was taken into custody, fined 100 baht, then released. Temperatures in Chiang Mai reached 41 °C that day.
 A man was arrested during Songkran 2016 for posting a video of a topless woman dancing during the 2015 Songkran festival. Police said Jakkrapatsorn Akkarapokanan, 29, was charged under the Computer Crime Act for posting the year-old video of a woman rolling up her wet shirt to let revelers touch her breasts. Jakkrapatsorn was released on a 100,000 baht bond. Police said they attempted to find the topless woman in the video to fine her 500 baht for indecency, but the one year statute of limitations had expired.

Intellectual property

Celebrate Singapore
In 2014 "Celebrate Singapore," a large two-day Songkran-style water festival, was planned for Singapore and the event was promoted as the "largest water festival party in Singapore". However, controversy emerged when the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Deputy Governor for Tourism Products, Vilaiwan Twichasri, claimed that Thailand holds exclusive rights to celebrate Songkran and planned to consult with officials at the Department of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Culture to discuss a potential lawsuit. The Deputy Governor's view was supported by numerous Thai citizens on social media websites. Chai Nakhonchai, Cultural Promotion Department chief, pointed out that Songkran is a traditional festival shared by many countries throughout Southeast Asia, while historian Charnvit Kasetsiri stated that no single nation can claim ownership of a tradition. On 25 March 2014, the Bangkok Post reported that the Singaporean government had intervened in the festival's content and there would be no water-throwing, no water pistols and no public drinking. The festival was also reduced to a one-day event.

See also
 Holi, an Indian holiday famous for its ritualized street celebrations with colored powder.

Notes

References

Further reading
 E-books
 Phraya Anuman Ratchathon (Yong Sathiankoset). (1954). "Amusements During Songkran Festival".  Journal of the Siam Society (volume 42, part 1). pp. 39–43.

External links

April observances
Public holidays in Thailand
Festivals in Thailand
New Year celebrations
Observances on non-Gregorian calendars
Buddhist festivals in Thailand
Observances held on the new moon

Songkran (Thailand)


West Bridgford Methodist Church, formerly Musters Road Methodist Church, is in West Bridgford. Nottingham. It is a Grade II listed building. It is part of the Nottingham South circuit of the Methodist Church of Great Britain.

History
The congregation formed from was formed from Arkwright Street chapel. The site was purchased in 1887-8, and the school was built first.

The building of the church followed in 1899, to designs by local architect Richard Charles Sutton.  The tower clock, bells, and organ were given by Mr. Henry Clarke. The eastern stained-glass window was contributed by Mr. and Mrs. W. Maggs.

References

Churches in Nottingham
Churches completed in 1899
Gothic Revival church buildings in England
Gothic Revival architecture in Nottinghamshire
Methodist churches in Nottinghamshire
Grade II listed churches in Nottinghamshire
West Bridgford

West Bridgford Methodist Church


(1913 – 24 November 1944) was an officer and ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific theater of World War II. In aerial combat over China, the Pacific, and Japan, he was officially credited with destroying 13 enemy aircraft.

Flying an A6M2 Zero fighter from the aircraft carrier Kaga during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Yamamoto claimed to have destroyed a civilian sight-seeing aircraft over Oahu which had happened into the path of the Japanese first strike wave. In June 1942, during the Battle of Midway, Kaga was fatally damaged by enemy action while Yamamoto was participating in the fleet's combat air patrol. Yamamoto landed his fighter on Hiryū and subsequently joined that carrier's successful retaliatory strike on the United States Navy carrier . Yamamoto claimed to have destroyed four of Yorktown's fighter aircraft in the attack.

In October 1942, Yamamoto participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands as a member of Zuihō's fighter group. He was subsequently transferred to the home islands and participated in aerial battles over Iwo Jima, during which he was wounded in June 1944. After recovering from his injuries, Yamamoto took part in the interception of a B-29 bombing mission over Japan on 24 November 1944. Defensive fire from the B-29s crippled Yamamoto's aircraft and he bailed out over Yachimata, Chiba. His parachute failed to open and Yamamoto plunged to his death.

References

1913 births
1944 deaths
Japanese naval aviators
Japanese World War II flying aces
Military personnel from Shizuoka Prefecture
Parachuting deaths
Japanese military personnel killed in World War II
Imperial Japanese Navy officers

Akira Yamamoto


"Hold Me Tight" is a song by the English rock  band the Beatles from their 1963 album With the Beatles. It was first recorded during the Please Please Me album session, but not selected for inclusion and re-recorded for their second album.

History
"Hold Me Tight" was composed principally by Paul McCartney in 1961, and was part of the Beatles' stage act until 1963. They attempted to record it for their debut Please Please Me but the 13 takes recorded were deemed unsatisfactory, and the tape was destroyed. Seven months later, they recorded a further nine takes, and the final version is an edit of the sixth and ninth takes from the second attempt, varispeeded up a semitone to F major.

Both McCartney and John Lennon, at one time or another, shared their low opinion of the song. In a 1980s interview with Mark Lewisohn, McCartney says, "I can't remember much about that one. Certain songs were just 'work' songs, you haven't got much memory of them. That's one of them." In Barry Miles' Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, the songwriter calls it "a failed attempt at a single which then became an acceptable album filler". Lennon in 1980 said "That was Paul's ... It was a pretty poor song and I was never really interested in it."

"Hold Me Tight" has similarly been held in low regard by music critics. In their book The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler call it the album's poorest track, saying it "fails because McCartney's vision of the complete tune obviously sagged somewhat". They also claim that McCartney's singing was "out of tune". Ian MacDonald, in his book Revolution in the Head, says that the song's bad reputation is partly undeserved, adding: "Play it loud with the bass boosted, and you have an overwhelming motoric rocker strongly redolent of the band's live sound." Writing for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield describes "Hold Me Tight" as "horrifying" and says that it saves the band's cover of "Till There Was You", also released on With the Beatles, from being their "all-time ghastliest moment".

McCartney wrote a different song called "Hold Me Tight" for a medley included on the 1973 Wings album Red Rose Speedway.

Personnel
Paul McCartney – vocal, bass, handclaps
John Lennon – harmony vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps
George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar, handclaps
Ringo Starr – drums, handclaps
George Martin – producer
Norman Smith – engineer
Personnel per MacDonald

Cover versions
At least four cover versions of this song have been recorded. The Treasures, a Phil Spector-produced vocal group, recorded the song in 1963, as a single (Shirley 500) released on Spector's Philles Records. British band Stackridge included a cover version on their 1976 album, Mr. Mick. Another cover version was featured near the beginning of the 2007 Beatles-themed film, Across the Universe with vocals by Evan Rachel Wood; an American independent band, The Northern Crowns, recorded a version on their EP. Les Baronets, a Yé-yé band who was known for performing French versions of songs from the band, scored their biggest hit with a French version of this song called C'est fou mais c'est tout. The band featured René Angélil, who later became Celine Dion's manager and husband. Furthermore, Al Stewart mentions the song in the title song of his album Modern Times.

Notes

References

External links

 Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Hold Me Tight"

The Beatles songs
Song recordings produced by George Martin
Songs written by Lennon–McCartney
Songs published by Northern Songs
1963 songs

Hold Me Tight


Robert Allen Stein is a former American football linebacker. He played collegiately for the University of Minnesota as a defensive end and place kicker.  He was a two-time All-American, Academic All-American, and 3-time Academic All-Big Ten player.

He began his professional career in 1969 with the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he won the fourth and final AFL-NFL World Championship Game after the 1969 pro football season. Speaking of that game, he said: "I will always remember guys like Jerry Mays, Johnny Robinson, Budde, Tyrer, Arbanas, Buck, Bobby Bell, etc. nearly crying in our locker room before Super Bowl IV when Hank Stram surprised us with the AFL patch on our jerseys.  After 10 years of the AFL being called an inferior league, winning that Super Bowl was particularly meaningful."

Stein, at 21, was the youngest player to play in the Super Bowl for a decade.  He graduated in the top 10% of the University of Missouri – Kansas City Law School, attending full-time while playing for the Chiefs. He was offered scholarships to Harvard, Michigan, and Stanford law schools after college.  He was the University of Minnesota Rhodes Scholarship nominee, and later co-founded the Gopher football booster group, the Goal Line Club, in 1980.

Stein was the first president and CEO of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, a position he held until 1995.  As Senior Executive for the expansion franchise and new Target Center Arena, Stein helped create over 850 new jobs.  The Wolves established and still hold the all-time NBA attendance record and sold out all suites during his tenure.  Stein directed planning, design, public approvals, and financing for the 900,000 sq ft Target Center and managed the $240 million+ refinance of Target Center Arena, the Timberwolves and the owners' health clubs.  Before leading the Timberwolves organization, he had been a 10-year sports attorney-agent in football, basketball, and hockey.

Stein was President of the Timberwolves Foundation, which contributed over 100,000 event tickets for schools/non-profits and $1.5 million+ for at-risk youth in 6 NBA seasons. He was appointed to the Minnesota Boxing Commission in December 2007 by Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Stein has been inducted into the University of Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame, The Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the St. Louis Park (MN) Athletic Hall of Fame, and the University of Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame.  He is also in the HOF of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Honor Roll of World Champions for the 1969 Chiefs team.

Stein has volunteered on community boards, including Bank of America MN Advisory, Children's Cancer Research Fund, Taste of NFL/Hunger Related Events, Jacob Wetterling Foundation, Minnesota Zoo, Minneapolis Downtown Council, Hennepin County Sheriff's Advisory Board and FBI Citizen's Academy.

In 2009, Stein conceived and began the first class action lawsuit on behalf of retired NFL players against the NFL.  His case, Dryer v. NFL, fought for fair payment for the NFL's use of player identities, including in NFL Films.  He represents many past NFL players in concussion-related cases.

Stein also dabbled in commercial acting in 2009, portraying Johnson in a 30-second television spot for the national printing company DocuCopies. Stein appeared alongside former NBA player John Thomas, who portrayed The Boss.

He was selected by Sports Business Journal in 2019 as one of the 100 Most Accomplished Former NFL Players in the 100 Years of NFL edition.

In 2020, Bob was selected to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.

See also
 Other American Football League players

Notes and references

1948 births
Living people
American football linebackers
Minnesota Golden Gophers football players
Kansas City Chiefs players
Los Angeles Rams players
Minnesota Vikings players
San Diego Chargers players
Minnesota Timberwolves executives
National Basketball Association team presidents
Jewish American sportspeople
Players of American football from Minneapolis
American Football League players
21st-century American Jews

Bob Stein (American football)


The IBM 4764 Cryptographic Coprocessor is a secure cryptoprocessor that performs cryptographic operations used by application programs and by communications such as SSL private key transactions associated with SSL digital certificates.

Details
Each coprocessor includes a tamper-responding hardware security module (HSM) that provides secure storage for storing master keys and other sensitive data. The HSM has been certified to meet FIPS 140-2 Level 4 security requirements. The coprocessor is supported on all IBM server platforms including System z (mainframe), System i, System p, and System x (Linux or Microsoft Windows). On System z, it is called the "Crypto Express2".

Applications may include financial PIN transactions, bank-to-clearing-house transactions, EMV transactions for integrated circuit (chip) based credit cards, and general-purpose cryptographic applications using symmetric key algorithms, hashing algorithms, and public key algorithms.

The operational keys (symmetric or RSA private) are generated in the coprocessor and are then saved either in a keystore file or in application memory, encrypted under the master key of that coprocessor. Any coprocessor with an identical master key can use those keys.

As of June 2005, the IBM 4764 superseded the IBM 4758 that was discontinued.

At the end of December 2011, the IBM 4764 was discontinued. The successor to the 4764 was introduced on each of the IBM server platforms between 2009 and 2011:
November 2009 for the System z (mainframe), where it is called the Crypto Express3
April 2010 for Power Systems, where it is available as feature codes 4807, 4808, and 4809
May 2011 for System x (PC) servers, where it is called the 4765

References

External links
 IBM 4764 description
 IBM 4764 PCI-X Cryptographic Coprocessor
 IBM 4765 PCI-e Cryptographic Coprocessor
 IBM 4764 FIPS 140 Level 4 certificate

Cryptographic hardware
4764

IBM 4764


William Maxwell "Bill" Gaines (; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992) was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically important line of mature-audience comics. He published the satirical magazine Mad for over 40 years.

He was posthumously inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame (1993) and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame (1997). In 2012, he was inducted into the Ghastly Awards' Hall of Fame.

Early life
Gaines was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish household. His father was Max Gaines, who as publisher of the All-American Comics division of DC Comics was also an influential figure in the history of comics. The elder Gaines tested the idea of packaging and selling comics on newsstands in 1933, and Gaines accepted William Moulton Marston's proposal in 1941 for the first successful female superhero, Wonder Woman.

As World War II began, Gaines was rejected by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy, so he went to his local draft board and requested to be drafted. He trained as an U.S. Army Air Corps photographer at Lowry Field in Denver. However, when he was assigned to an Oklahoma City field without a photographic facility, he wound up on permanent KP duty. As he explained in 1976 to Bill Craig of Stars and Stripes, "Being an eater, this assignment was a real pleasure for me. There were four of us, and we always found all the choice bits the cooks had hidden away. We'd be frying up filet mignon and ham steaks every night. The hours were great, too. I think it was eight hours on and 40 off." Stationed at DeRidder Army Airfield in Louisiana, he was reassigned to Marshall Airfield in Kansas and then to Governors Island, New York. Leaving the service in 1946, he returned home to complete his chemistry studies at Brooklyn Polytechnic, but soon transferred to New York University, intent on obtaining a teaching certificate. In 1947, he was in his senior year at NYU when his father was killed in a motorboat accident on Lake Placid. Instead of becoming a chemistry teacher, he took over the family business, EC Comics.

Career

Senate Subcommittee investigation
With the publication of Dr. Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, comic books like those that Gaines published attracted the attention of the U.S. Congress. In 1954, Gaines testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. In the following exchanges, he is addressed first by Chief Counsel Herbert Beaser, and then by Senator Estes Kefauver:

End of EC Comics and conversion of Mad format
Gaines converted Mad to a magazine in 1955, partly to retain the services of its talented editor Harvey Kurtzman, who had received offers from elsewhere. The change enabled Mad to escape the strictures of the Comics Code Authority. Kurtzman left Gaines's employ a year later anyway and was replaced by Al Feldstein, who had been Gaines's most prolific editor during the EC Comics run. (For details of this event and the subsequent debates about it, see Harvey Kurtzman's editorship of Mad.) Feldstein oversaw Mad from 1955 through 1986, as Gaines went on to a long and profitable career as a publisher of satire and enemy of bombast.

To celebrate a circulation milestone of 1 million magazines, Gaines took his staff to Haiti. In Haiti the magazine had a single subscriber. Gaines personally delivered his subscription renewal card.

Despite his largesse, Gaines had a penny-pinching side. He would frequently stop meetings to find out who had called a particular long-distance phone number. Longtime Mad editor Nick Meglin called Gaines a "living contradiction" in 2011, saying, "He was singularly the cheapest man in the world, and the most generous." Meglin described his experience of asking Gaines for a raise of $3 a week; after rejecting the request, the publisher then treated Meglin to an expensive dinner at one of New York's best restaurants. Recalled Meglin: "The check came, and I said, 'That's the whole raise!' "And Bill said, 'I like good conversation and good food. I don't enjoy giving raises.'"

(According to veteran Golden Age comics artist Sheldon Moldoff, Gaines was not too fond of paying percentages, either.)
In his memoir Good Days and Mad (1994), Mad writer Dick DeBartolo recalls several anecdotes that characterize Gaines as a generous gourmand who liked practical jokes, and who enjoyed good-natured verbal abuse from his staffers.

1960–1992

In 1961, Gaines sold Mad to Premier Industries, a maker of venetian blinds, but remained publisher until the day he died, and served as a buffer between the magazine and its corporate interests. He largely stayed out of the magazine's production, often viewing content just before the issue was shipped to the printer. "My staff and contributors create the magazine," declared Gaines. "What I create is the atmosphere." Around 1964, Premier sold Mad to Independent News, a division of National Periodical Publications, the publisher of DC Comics. In 1967, Kinney National Company purchased National Periodical, and then in 1969, they bought Warner Brothers. In 1972, Kinney became Warner Communications.

One of Gaines' last televised interviews was as a guest on the December 7, 1991, episode of Beyond Vaudeville.

Circa 2008, director John Landis and screenwriter Joel Eisenberg planned a biopic called Ghoulishly Yours, William M. Gaines, with Al Feldstein serving as a creative consultant. The film, however, did not get past pre-production.

Death
On June 3, 1992, Gaines died in his sleep at his home in New York at the age of 70. He had been in ill health in recent years and used a pacemaker.

Personal life
Gaines's first marriage was arranged by his mother. He was married to his second cousin Hazel Grieb. They announced their plans to divorce in August 1947. According to Completely Mad: A History of the Comic Book and Magazine by Maria Reidelbach, Gaines married Nancy Siegel in 1955. They had three children, Cathy (1958), Wendy (1959), and Christopher (1961). They divorced in 1971. In 1987 he married Anne Griffiths. They remained married until his death in 1992.

Gaines was an atheist since the age of 12; he once told a reporter that his was probably the only home in America in which the children were brought up to believe in Santa Claus, but not in God.

Notes

References

External links

 Annotated transcript of the William M. Gaines memorial service
 Transcript of Gaines's 1954 testimony to Congress
 Gaines interviewed by Steve Ringgenberg
 Reason. "The Long, Gory Life of EC Comics"
 Dick DeBartolo's William M. Gaines Memorial Page
 Dick DeBartolo's Daily Giz Wiz podcast

1922 births
1992 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century atheists
American atheists
American magazine publishers (people)
Artists from Brooklyn
Comic book company founders
Comic book publishers (people)
EC Comics
Inkpot Award winners
Jewish American artists
Jewish American atheists
Jewish American military personnel
Mad (magazine) people
Military personnel from New York City
Military personnel from New York (state)
People from Brooklyn
Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees

William Gaines


A first-surface mirror or front-surface mirror (also commonly abbreviated FS mirror or FSM) is a mirror with the reflective surface being above a backing, as opposed to the conventional, second-surface mirror with the reflective surface behind a transparent substrate such as glass or acrylic.

Historically, the bronze mirror, an FSM type, was standard from ancient times until relatively recent centuries.  These were simply highly polished pieces of bronze or other metals, usually small and round, and designed for a person to see their face.

First-surface mirrors are now made for applications requiring a strict reflection without a ghosting effect as seen with a second-surface mirror, where a faint secondary reflection could be observed, coming from the front surface of the glass. This includes most optics applications where light is being manipulated in a specific manner. Reflecting telescopes, rear-projection televisions, periscopes, non-reversing mirrors, high-quality kaleidoscopes, and the animation process.

In cases where the mirror is subjected to extreme cold (as low as 33 K as in the James Webb Space Telescope), a polished pure beryllium mirror is used without a first-surface coating in order to eliminate deformations caused by differing coefficients of thermal expansion.

First-surface mirrors are more sensitive than back-surface mirrors and may be damaged by cleaning as the reflective surface is not protected by glass.

Silvering

The "silvering" on a front-surface mirror is usually aluminium for visible light and gold for infrared radiation.

References

Mirrors

First-surface mirror


The Bardstown Historic District, comprising the center of Bardstown, Kentucky, is a registered historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.  Prominent architecture located within the district include the Cobblestone Path, Nelson County Jail, Old L & N Station, Old Talbott Tavern, and Spalding Hall, all individually on the National Register, and the historic old Nelson County Courthouse.

The district consists of twenty-six blocks with a total of 279 properties.  Over one third of the buildings in the district are Federal or Georgian architecture dating from the 1780s to 1850, reflecting Bardstown's status as one of the first towns in Kentucky, first settled in 1780 and formally established in 1788.  Twenty-four of the blocks are in the initial grid pattern used to lay out the town's lots in 1797.

The town was originally to be called Salem when it was first settled in 1780 by 33 people, on land given as  grant to John Owings and David Bard by Virginia governor Patrick Henry.  Bard sent his brother William Bard to manage the holdings, and with William donating  for a courthouse, the town was renamed Bardstown.  In 1789 alone 150 log houses were built in the district.  In the antebellum area the district became a cultural center for nearby localities, especially for Catholics; Bardstown had the largest concentration of Catholics of any town in Kentucky for a time.  Its decline began when the Louisville and Nashville Railroad decided to initially bypass Bardstown, not building a railroad for the town until 1860, and not extending the line from Bardstown until 1887, after which Bardstown's population remained steady until it became the center of bourbon production.

At different times during the Civil War, commanders from both armies held their headquarters within the district.

The Old Courthouse, which lies in the center of the district surrounded by US 31E and US 150, was constructed in 1892 at the cost of $30,000.  It now serves as the Visitor Center for Bardstown, with the new courthouse being built where the original Wal-Mart in Bardstown was located.

Thanks to the Nelson County Historical Society and the 1965 Historical District Zoning laws, much of the district retains its historical nature, save for a few commercial buildings along Third Street, also known locally as Louisville Road (which eventually reaches Louisville, where it is called Bardstown Road).  By the 1980s over 200,000 tourists visited the town, which has steadily increased due to the continuing attractions of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and My Old Kentucky Home State Park, located on the next hill to the east of the historic district.

United States President Jimmy Carter held a town hall meeting in the district in 1979.

Gallery

See also

References

Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky
National Register of Historic Places in Bardstown, Kentucky
Geography of Nelson County, Kentucky

Bardstown Historic District


Semenkare Nebnuni (also Nebnun and Nebnennu) is a poorly attested pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. He is mainly known for his position in the Turin King List.

Attestation
Nebnuni's name is given in the Turin canon on column 7, line 11 (Gardiner col. 6, line 11). The length of Nebnuni's reign is mostly lost in a lacuna of the papyrus, except for the end "[...] and 22 days".

The only contemporary attestation of Nebnuni is a faience stele showing the king before Ptah "South of his wall", a memphite epithet of the god, and on the other before Horus, "Lord of the foreign countries".
The stele is also inscribed with Nebnuni's nomen and prenomen. The stele was discovered at Gebel el-Zeit on the Red Sea coast in the Sinai, where mines of galena were located.

Reign
The Egyptologist Kim Ryholt credits Nebnuni with a reign of two years, from 1785 BC until 1783 BC. Alternatively, Egyptologists Rolf Krauss, Detlef Franke and Thomas Schneider give Nebuni only one year of reign in 1739 BC.
Although little is known of Nebnuni's reign,  the existence of his stele shows that during this period, rulers of the 13th Dynasty still wielded sufficient power to organize mining expeditions in the Sinai for the supply of construction materials and the production of luxury items. Finally, Ryholt points to the lack of royal connections between Nebnuni and his predecessor. He thus concludes that Nebnuni may have usurped the throne.

Theories
According to Egyptologists Darrell Baker and Kim Ryholt, Nebnuni was the ninth ruler of the 13th Dynasty. Alternatively, Jürgen von Beckerath and Detlef Franke see him as the eighth king of the dynasty.

See also
List of pharaohs

References

18th-century BC Pharaohs
Pharaohs of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt

Semenkare Nebnuni


KITS (105.3 FM, "Live 105") is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California.  Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock radio format known as "Live 105". The studios and offices are co-located with formerly co-owned KPIX-TV on Battery Street in the North Beach district of San Francisco.

KITS's transmitter is located on Radio Road, at San Bruno Mountain in Daly City.  It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 15,000 watts, from a tower at 366 meters (1,201 feet) in height above average terrain.  KITS broadcasts in the HD Radio format; its HD2 subchannel formerly aired a gold-based modern rock format as Classic Live 105, inspired by its previous long-time tenure in the format as Live 105, while their HD3 subchannel formerly carried "Radio Zindagi", a South Asian radio service. These subchannels have since been turned off.

History

Early years
The station's original call sign was KBCO, beginning on December 28, 1959, when it signed on the air. It was owned by Bay Area Broadcasters, with Saul R. Levine as president.

In January 1964, Apollo Broadcasting acquired the station.  On June 1, 1964 the call letters were changed to KBRG and became K-Bridge. KBRG carried a stereo classics format, Apollo operated a similar format on KLEF in Houston. In 1969, the station changed hands again, this time acquired by Entertainment Communications, Inc. KBRG carried a multi-ethnic programming format, with music and talk shows in German, Chinese, Italian, Filipino, Arabic, Armenian and Spanish. KBRG was later converted into a fulltime Spanish-language station. At the time, the Spanish-speaking community in San Francisco was growing, but only several AM stations were broadcasting in Spanish. KBRG would switch to Regional Mexican music (as "Caballero Spanish Radio"), the market's only full-power Spanish-language FM station at that time.

Hot hits
In February 1983, Entertainment Communications (later renamed Entercom, and the forerunner to Audacy) decided to go in a more mass-appeal direction.   The station adopted radio consultant Mike Joseph's Hot Hits Top 40 music format, with the call letters switching to KITS.  Seven air personalities were recruited during a nationwide search, coming from stations such as XETRA in San Diego-Tijuana, KBEQ-FM in Kansas City, WXGT in Columbus, Ohio, and WCAU-FM in Philadelphia. The transplanted disc jockeys underwent a "broadcasting bootcamp" for two weeks prior to launching the new Hot Hits format. Radio personality Doug Ritter (Doug Ritterling) was the first DJ on the air when the new format premiered at 9 a.m. on February 27, 1983.

The station was referred to as "Hot Hits KITS".  The format featured a short playlist of only current hit songs, with heavy repetition, frequent jingles and fast-talking air personalities. The original weekday DJ lineup on "Hot Hits KITS" consisted of program director Jeff Hunter 6–9a.m., followed by Doug Ritter 9a.m.–Noon, Gary Robbins Noon–3p.m., Todd Parker 3–7p.m., Richard Sands 7–midnight, and Rick Neal (George Fryer) midnight–6am. Mark Van Gelder was the first Production Director under the "Hot Hits" format, Annette Parks (daughter of pioneer broadcaster and Miss America Pageant Host Bert Parks) was the station's news director, and Michele Meisner (formerly of San Francisco's Fantasy Studios) was music director.

When Hot Hits debuted, it was a ratings success. In 1983, San Francisco only had one Top 40 station, the legendary KFRC. The following year, KMEL flipped from album-oriented rock to CHR, giving KITS new FM competition. Due to losing their core listening audience to KITS and KMEL, KFRC would switch to adult standards in 1986.  The KITS studios were a popular place with celebrities; visits were common from movie and TV stars such as Bette Midler, Tom Cruise, Pat Morita, George Takei, Anthony Perkins and others. The celebs didn't usually make it on the air, but they toured the studios in San Francisco's Merchandise Mart just to see what the industry buzz was all about.

Modern rock

1985–1997

Modern rock station KQAK "The Quake" changed formats in 1985, leaving San Francisco without a station specializing in the genre.  Fans were eager for another station to pick up the format.  During this time, KITS personality Steve Masters began experimenting with modern rock on his evening show and the reaction was quite positive.

Over time, KITS dropped the "Hot Hits" approach.  It remained a mainstream CHR station but began a gradual musical shift, incorporating more modern rock songs into the Top 40 playlist.  By October 1986, KITS had completely dropped the pop and rhythmic artists from the playlist and became a pure modern rock station. The station's new moniker became "Live 105" under program director Richard Sands and music director Steve Masters.

The music ranged from mainstream alternative rock, imports, dance music, and even classic songs from pioneering artists such as Lou Reed, David Bowie and T-Rex. "Live 105" became a national influence on the format and the sole source of radio exposure for such artists in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The DJ lineup remained relatively stable from 1986 through 1997, and included Masters, Big Rick Stuart, Mark Hamilton, Roland West, with Alex Bennett and Lori Thompson doing a comedy/talk show in the morning. Bennett was let go from the station in 1989 and replaced by Perry Stone, as Live 105 attempted a "more music" approach in the morning. However, the morning ratings dropped, and Bennett, who briefly went to WIOD in Miami, was brought back.

Hamilton left in 1994 to accept the program director job at modern rock station KNRK in Portland, Oregon, and Steve Masters departed soon after to take a promotion job at MCA's new alternative label, WAY COOL.  Roland West then moved from night to middays and took over the music director position, eventually becoming the Assistant Program director.  Aaron Axelsen, then assistant music director, become the music director and host of specialty programs Soundcheck (which highlighted songs from new acts) and Subsonic (which highlighted electronic music). The station also ran Hibernia Beach LIVE, a gay-themed radio call-in show, from 1989 to 1999.

The modern rock format changed nationwide by the 1990s, moving away from the dance-leaning, synthesizer-based European sound to a harder, guitar-driven direction with artists such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.  After numerous years of success, ratings for KITS began to dip during the late 1990s, as Infinity Broadcasting's KOME in nearby San Jose switched to a harder modern rock format, coupled with carrying the syndicated Howard Stern Show in the mornings.  KOME had great success in the ratings and managed to even beat KITS, which was still playing some euro-based music.

1997–2005
On March 11, 1997, owner Entercom sold the station to Infinity Broadcasting (later CBS Radio).  This meant that KITS and KOME were now both co-owned.  After KITS came under Infinity ownership, a big shakeup occurred on June 1, 1998.

Stern's morning show, KOME's management and programming staff, and a few on-air personalities were brought up from KOME to take over "Live 105". KOME was eventually sold to Jacor, which moved Classic rock-formatted KUFX to the 98.5 FM frequency and the KOME call letters were "parked" on an AM station in Fort Worth, Texas.  Program director Richard Sands, assistant program director/midday host Roland West, and the relatively new morning team of Johnny Steele and Lori Thompson were all dismissed. KOME's program director, Jay Taylor, assumed programming duties at the new "Live 105", and Ally Storm and No-Name moved into middays and nights, respectively. The syndicated call-in advice show "Loveline" was also brought to the station as its late-night program. Big Rick Stuart continued in afternoons until being let go in 2000, severing the last remaining thread to the original incarnation of "Live 105", though Steve Masters returned briefly to host a midday specialty show.

By the end of 2001, KITS saw a drastic reduction in listeners due to an unpopular music assortment that was being played, which included some hip hop and heavy metal titles. Toward the middle of 2002, the station hired Sean Demery (formerly of 99X in Atlanta) as Program Director in hopes of bringing back listeners.  Demery was charged with refocusing on core alternative rock artists, adding more popular hits, and establishing new artists, while playing a mix of critically acclaimed music from The Cure, The Pixies, Depeche Mode and The Clash, and current artists such as Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and The Killers.

The station regained its reputation as a leader in new music and respect in the industry, winning numerous awards for creativity and playing new bands before they caught on nationally. Muse, The Bravery, Silversun Pickups, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs were among the popular bands that enjoyed huge success after early support from "Live 105".

2005–2010

Howard Stern ended his syndicated morning show in December 2005, and departed for Sirius Satellite Radio.  In response, CBS Radio flipped nearly all its alternative-formatted radio stations to an all-talk format known as "Free FM". KITS was allowed to keep its music format and thus decided to go in a music-oriented direction for its subsequent morning show, The Woody Show (originally The Morning Music Co-op, then The Woody, Tony and Ravey Show). It was hosted by Jeff "Woody" Fife, Tony Mott, and Renee Ravey, with producer Greg Gory and assistant producer Jason "White Menace" McMurry. Woody, Tony, and Ravey had previously worked afternoons on Chicago alternative rock station WKQX.

The show made its debut on January 3, 2006.  The show started gaining popularity, retaining many of the original listeners from Howard Stern.  In November 2006, the station hired a new Program Director, Dave Numme, who was already programming KUFO in Portland (now KXL-FM), another station owned by the CBS Radio. In 2008, Black Planet, the station's underground goth show, returned for a two hour Halloween special.

Originally thought to be an April Fools' Day joke, The Woody Show was taken off the air on April 1, 2009.  It was later confirmed that several members of the program were fired by CBS Radio management. (The Woody Show is now based at alternative rock station KYSR Los Angeles and syndicated nationally by iHeartMedia.) On April 20, 2009, KITS announced that No Name would lead the station's new morning show, to be known as The No Name Show, originally with Greg Gory and Katie as side kicks. The DJ known as No Name had formerly been the morning show co-host on KLLC and a former night jock on KITS in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Greg Gory was fired from KITS on July 16, 2009, with Matty Staudt taking over producer duties. Staudt and No Name had worked together at KLLC for numerous years. However, the morning show was unable to gain traction in the ratings, and Staudt was let go after one year. In October 2009, Dave Numme was released from his position as program director and the programming reins given to CBS Radio San Francisco's Vice President of Programming Michael Martin.

2010-2015
On March 30, 2010, the Oakland Raiders football team announced a multi-year agreement for KITS and its sister station, KFRC (now KZDG), to broadcast play-by-play coverage of the team's pre-season, regular season, and post-season games.  KITS and KFRC would serve as the team's flagship stations.

In December 2010, the DJ line-up was overhauled by management.  The most notable of the changes was airing the syndicated Kevin and Bean show, originating from co-owned Alternative station KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, as the new morning drive time program (5:30–10 a.m.) beginning January 3, 2011.  As a result, the No Name Show was broken up as sidekick/traffic reporter Katie was released from the station and No Name was moved from mornings to afternoons, displacing long-time afternoon host Jared Aman.  Midday host Kat was also released from the station as part of the changes.

Kevin and Bean lasted nine months.  On September 3, 2011, the Kevin and Bean Show was dropped in favor of a music-intensive morning show.  The duo was subsequently dropped  from its syndicator, Westwood One, due to the loss of outlets carrying the show. The show continued on KROQ-FM for Los Angeles listeners until 2018.

Shortly after the dropping of Kevin and Bean in 2011, "Menace", formerly of The Woody Show, took over morning show hosting duties.  In August 2012, the show was renamed "Megan and Menace in the Morning".  By December, Megan moved back to her previous midday shift, and in April 2013, Steve Masters returned to the station to host the morning show.  In December 2013, Masters left the station for a third time.

A new morning show, "Kevin Klein Live", debuted on September 2, 2014. Host Kevin Klein previously worked at Playboy Radio.  He is not related to the actor or the hockey player.  Klein is also a frequent gambler, which has resulted in many bets made live on the show.  One loss resulted in Klein having to pose for an erotic photo-shoot with cats and kale, two things he hates.  Co-host Ally Johnson is a Bay Area native with a background in comedy.  The show has received press coverage for some of its stunts, including a flash mob parade for competitive eating champion Matt Stonie.  Klein also led a campaign to rid San Francisco of selfie sticks.

Some of Klein's most notable interviews include Drew Barrymore, Dave Grohl, Ronda Rousey, and Lisa Johnson, an African-American woman who made headlines after getting kicked off the Napa Valley Wine Train.

2015-2019

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom. The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17. The merger returned KITS to its former owners for the first time in 20 years. On December 22, 2017, KITS re-branded as "Alt 105.3", with no change in format. The re-brand was part of the national strategy to use the same moniker for its alternative music formatted stations that included sister stations WBMP (now WINS-FM) in New York City, KVIL in Dallas, and WQMP in Orlando, which also flipped to alternative rock following the Entercom acquisition.

On January 3, 2018, the "Kevin Klein Live" morning show was dropped from KITS, with Entercom later announcing that he would move to its recently-launched San Diego hot talk station KEGY as its morning show, beginning March 29. However, Klein's show (and later, the hot talk format as a whole) would be dropped before its premiere after attracting controversy for an advertisement that made light of suicide by bridge jumping.

After running without a morning show after the "Alt" rebranding, KITS added Elvis Medina in mornings on May 30, 2018.  Medina had co-hosted mornings on KYLD as part of the long-running The Dog House. In October 2018, Medina was teamed up with co-host Daena 'DK' Kramer, who spent many years at Las Vegas sister station KXTE-FM, but the pairing lasted for only five months as Medina was let go. 'DK' remained to host the show solo until February 2020.

2020-present
On April 2, 2020, Aaron Axelsen was released from the station after 23 years due to budget cuts. On September 14, 2020, Entercom implemented the roll-out of their nationwide network programming across all their alternative music formatted stations, which originates from central hubs in New York City and Los Angeles. By the end of the alternative format's run, the majority of on-air personalities and specialty shows originated from outside the San Francisco Bay Area region.

On October 15, 2021, at 1 p.m., KITS ended its alternative rock format after 35 years, and flipped to adult hits as 105.3 Dave FM. The last song on "Alt" was "Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam, while the first song on "Dave FM" was "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns N' Roses. One day after the format change, the station inadvertently played four hours of commercials due to a "corrupted music database". After the error was caught, the station played archived "Alt 105.3" programming from the spring of 2020, until it returned to "Dave FM" programming the following morning.

In February 2022, the station relaunched its Classic Live 105 HD Radio subchannel (reviving a previous format of the HD2 subchannel, which had later switched to an indie rock-focused Indie 105, and Audacy's "New Arrivals" format), with a focus on classic alternative rock from the 1980's through the 2000's.

On June 2, 2023, the station began stunting, dropping all references to the Dave FM branding and imaging, with mostly cold segues between songs and commercial breaks, punctuated by promos and sweepers highlighting the history and significance of the Live 105 format (and by the 5th, including montages of music related to the Bay Area in some fashion), teasing an event to occur the following Monday, June 5. On the 3rd, Audacy officially announced that KITS would revive the Live 105 branding at 10:53 a.m. on June 5, with a gold-leaning modern rock format featuring "music from every era of [KITS's] history as the Bay Area's Alternative" mirroring similar moves done with heritage alternative stations in major markets, such as WKQX in Chicago or WNNX in Atlanta, in the previous year. The final song under the adult hits format was "Any Way You Want It" by Journey; the first on the revived "Live 105" was "Welcome To Paradise" by Green Day (by coincidence, both bands were founded in the Bay Area). Axelsen would return to KITS to oversee the relaunch, and revived Soundcheck in July 2023.

Concerts
KITS had hosted two major concerts every year from 1994 to 2018.  "BFD" was held every June at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California that would run all day with up-and-coming bands performing on the festival stage during the day, and more established bands on the main stage at night.  The first BFD concert took place in June 1994 with artists such as Beck, Green Day, and The Pretenders and continue to showcase a wide range of artists including Red Hot Chili Peppers, The White Stripes, Blink 182, Hole, The Killers, The Strokes, 311, Third Eye Blind, Foo Fighters, Panic! at the Disco, The Offspring, Stone Temple Pilots, and the Beastie Boys as well as older bands such as Duran Duran, Social Distortion, and The Cure.

The station's winter concert, "Not So Silent Night", formerly known as the "Green Christmas Ball" and "Electronica Hanukkah", occurred in early December and has featured such bands as Linkin Park, Muse, Green Day, Kasabian, The Killers, My Chemical Romance, Smashing Pumpkins, System of a Down, Blink-182, David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, The White Stripes, Silversun Pickups, Modest Mouse, Cake, Paramore, Angels & Airwaves, Spoon, Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab for Cutie, and Everclear.

From 2009 to 2014, KITS hosted the "Subsonic Halloween Spookfest", which debuted on October 30, 2009 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.  The Halloween-themed concert featured three stages of entertainment, having included performances over the years by The Faint, Basement Jaxx, Crystal Method, DJ Steve Aoki, Crystal Castles, MSTRKRFT, Underworld, DJ Shadow, and many other electronic and rock artists that were regularly featured on the station's Saturday night show, Subsonic.

Boosters
KITS is rebroadcast on the following FM boosters:

Awards
In 1989, Live 105 won Billboard magazine's award for Radio Station of the Year – Rock.

In 2007, the station was nominated for the top 25 markets Alternative Station of the Year award by Radio & Records magazine.
Other nominees included WBCN in Boston, KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, KTBZ-FM in Houston, KNDD in Seattle, and WWDC in Washington, D.C.

Members of the Live 105 programming and air staff have also received awards.  Program Directors Richard Sands and Sean Demery were awarded Program Director of the Year by various trade magazines, as well as Music Director and DJ Aaron Axelsen, who received the Best Terrestrial Radio DJ in San Francisco award from the weekly newspaper San Francisco Bay Guardian in 2009.

References

External links

ITS
Radio stations established in 1959
1959 establishments in California
Audacy, Inc. radio stations
Alternative rock radio stations in the United States

KITS


The 2005 Nias Island Sea King crash was the crash of a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Westland WS-61 Sea King helicopter (tail number N16-100, call sign "Shark 02") of 817 Squadron RAN at approximately 4 pm (local time) on 2 April 2005 with 11 personnel on board. The accident occurred while "Shark 02" was making its approach to land on a sports field located near the village of Tuindrao in the region of Amandraya on the Indonesian island of Nias. "Shark 02" had been providing humanitarian support to the people of the earthquake-devastated region.

A Defence Board of Inquiry later found that the primary cause of the accident was a failure of the aircraft's flight control systems. This was as a result of a series of errors, and a general practice of poor maintenance on the aircraft.

Casualties
Nine personnel died in the accident, including six members of the RAN and three members of the Royal Australian Air Force.

Two personnel survived the crash: Navy Leading Seaman Shane Warburton, and Air Force Corporal Scott Nichols.

Ceremonies and National Service of Thanksgiving

The arrival of the bodies in Australia on 5 April 2005 was marked by a ceremony at Sydney Airport. Families of the deceased were joined by the Governor-General of Australia, Major General Michael Jeffery, the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, Chief of Defence Force, General Peter Cosgrove and the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

Each of the deceased was honoured with a Service funeral. A National Service of Thanksgiving for those killed in the crash of "Shark 02" was held on Friday, 15 April 2005 in the Great Hall of Australian Parliament House in Canberra. The service was attended by family members, friends and colleagues of all nine members killed, and by both survivors. The service was led by the Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, Tom Frame. Others who spoke at the service included: John Howard, Australian Prime Minister; Kim Beazley, Leader of the Opposition; and Imron Cotan, Indonesian Ambassador to Australia. Services were also held at the Australian Defence Force's headquarters in Canberra, and at other Service establishments across the country.

Awards
The state visit of President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, allowed him to present the Medal of Valour – his country's highest honour – to each of the deceased, placing a medal on each casket. The two survivors were awarded with the honour at a later time.

The Indonesian award highlighted a problem of awarding similar honours by the Australian Government, as the servicemen and women had been part of a humanitarian operation at the time of the incident, not a military one. This was overcome by changing the circumstances for the award of the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal, so that all who served in the Indonesian humanitarian mission would be eligible, including the nine deceased and two survivors.

On 17 March 2008, the actions of one of the survivors, former Leading Seaman Warburton, were recognised with Australia's second highest bravery award, the Star of Courage. The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, said that Shane Warburton's actions in saving a colleague while facing immense personal danger was a significant act of heroism worthy of such recognition. The Minister said his selfless act was particularly noteworthy given he himself was seriously injured in the accident.

On 26 May 2009, four Indonesian men – Benar Giawa, Adiziduhu Harefa, Motani Harefa and Seti Eli Ndruru –  were awarded the Bravery Medal at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, for their role in rescuing the survivors of "Shark 02". Together, they carried the men to safety away from the crash site, made the Australians comfortable and provided first aid.

Board of Inquiry
A Board of Inquiry was appointed by the Maritime Commander Australia on 28 April 2005 to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. An initial analysis of the accident was conducted by an Aircraft Accident Investigation Team. The board delivered its report with findings and recommendations to the appointing authority on 18 December 2006; this report was made public in June 2007.

An article in The Bulletin in April 2007 revealed allegations of substandard maintenance on Sea King helicopters before and after the accident.

In an interview with Ray Martin, the Maritime Commander Australia, Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas, said he understood the anger of grieving families.
RAY MARTIN: The Navy's integrity is on the line. Is your integrity on the line too?
REAR ADMIRAL DAVYD THOMAS: Absolutely, my integrity is on the line, I know that.

The board found that the crash was survivable and that deficiencies in the seating, restraint systems, and the cabin configuration contributed to the deaths of seven of the occupants who appeared to have survived the initial impact. The primary cause of the accident was found to be a failure in the flight control systems, specifically a separation of the fore/aft bellcrank from the pitch control linkages in the aircraft's mixing unit. The failure in the flight control systems was ultimately found to be caused by systematic errors and deficiencies in the maintenance program employed by 817 Squadron at the time of the accident. The maintenance activity which led to the accident occurred 57 days before the accident.

The board made 256 recommendations, all of which were accepted by the Department. These recommendations were fully implemented by October 2008.

Memorials
 In September 2005, the remains of the deceased ADF personnel were interred in a memorial at Russell Offices in Canberra.
 In June 2006, a plaque in the Lawrence Hargrave Reserve in Potts Point was dedicated to the ADF personnel killed in the crash.
 In December 2009, the City of Perth Surf Life Saving Club named a surf boat in memory of one of the Navy personnel killed in the crash.
 In April 2014, a memorial for the victims located at HMAS Albatross was renovated with the assistance of the families. A ceremony was held to mark the 9th anniversary of the crash.

References

External links

 Sea King Board of Inquiry
 Navy could have prevented Sea King crash – news article
 Transcript from 60 Minutes story

2005 disasters in Indonesia
Aviation accidents and incidents in Indonesia
Australian naval aviation
2005 in Indonesia
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2005
Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft
April 2005 events in Asia

2005 Nias Island Sea King crash


Sky Mix is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Sky UK. Despite being a brand new channel, this is the second time that the name "Sky Mix" has been used by Sky. Among multiple previous names, Sky Replay was previously known as 'Sky One Mix' and 'Sky Mix' from 2004 to 2005.

History
Sky Three launched on 31 October 2005. It was essentially a barker channel for Sky's main entertainment channel Sky One and its other subscription services, which served to "offer digital terrestrial viewers the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of popular programmes from Sky". From its launch on 31 October 2005 until 24 June 2010, the channel carried Sky Travel's commercial presentations selling holiday deals for a number of providers.

Early highlights from the channel's schedule included Futurama, Cold Case, Tru Calling, Relic Hunter, Road Wars, the Inside strand of documentaries, Brainiac: Science Abuse, Airline, and 35mm from Sky Movies (which looks at upcoming films in the cinema and on Sky's premium movies service Sky Movies) and Dream Team. The channel has also shown the free-to-air premieres of some of Sky One's more prestigious shows such as series 3 and 4 of 24, Rescue Me, The 10th Kingdom, Hex and the latest remake of Battlestar Galactica. The channel also showed series 3 and 4 of Prison Break in 2010. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation

Since its rebrand to Pick TV in February 2011, recent Sky One shows such as UK Border Force, Pineapple Dance Studios and documentary series hosted by Ross Kemp such as On Gangs and In Search of Pirates were shown. In recent years, Sky has spent more on the channel, with an increased focus on airing Sky Showcase and Sky Witness programmes 12–18 months after their original broadcasts, and content tailored towards Pick.

On 1 February 2011, Sky Atlantic launched on Sky channel 108, which had originally been occupied by Sky 3. Sky 3 was renamed Pick TV on 1 March 2011, to disassociate the channel with Sky as it began to air more programmes from the former Channel One and Bravo. On Monday 7 October 2013, Pick TV became Pick introducing a new look and logo for the channel. On 28 June 2016, another new logo was announced which also included a brand new look.

In May 2012, Pick TV started broadcasting some older Sky One and Sky Living shows, and the former Channel One and Bravo shows.

Between June and July 2020, when the Premier League resumed after lockdown, all of the remaining matches were televised due to fans not being allowed in the stadiums. 25 of these matches were televised on Pick.

On 3 October 2023, it was announced that Pick will rebrand on 18 October 2023 as Sky Mix. This relaunch will see the channel return to its original Freeview channel number on channel 11, and it will notably be airing the first series of the HBO drama True Detective.

Logos

Freeview and rebrands
Sky Three was the first free-to-air general entertainment channel from Sky since Sky One became a pay channel in 1993. It launched on 31 October 2005, replacing the Sky Travel's EPG slot on Freeview in a bid to attract more subscribers to Sky's satellite service. Due to its wider availability on Freeview channel 11, the channel constantly had higher ratings than Sky Two where Sky Three was achieving on average a 1% share compared to Sky Two's 0.1–3% share. Instead of Sky selling on the terrestrial free-to-air rights for their programmes to another broadcaster, these rights are usually retained to remain exclusive to Sky. In 2008, Sky's entertainment channels changed the wording in the logos to numbers, hence Sky Three became Sky 3.

On 23 August 2010, Sky Sports News became a pay-TV channel, which was replaced on Freeview by a one-hour timeshift version of Sky 3. Sky 3 +1 also launched on Sky channel 223 on the same day. A final rebrand took place in early 2011 and saw Sky 1, 2 and 3 gain similar rectangular logos to Sky News and Sky Sports.

The channel was rebranded as Pick TV (and Pick TV +1) on 28 February 2011. Only the name was changed, as the channel retained the look of the most recent rebrand which occurred a few weeks earlier. Sky's acquisition of Challenge saw quiz and gameshow type programming move off Pick TV. On 20 September 2011 at 14:00, Pick TV +1 was removed from Freeview. This was so that all of the channels owned by BSkyB could be on multiplex C and Challenge could broadcast for 24 hours a day in Wales on the platform, in-line with the rest of the UK. On 1 March 2018, Pick +1 was added back on Freeview as a FreeviewHD service. A while later the channel moved from channel 97 to 92 on Freeview.

Since its rebrand to Pick, it is fairly common for Pick and Challenge to cross-promote its programmes to viewers. These include regular trailers in between shows, and when a certain show finishes, the continuity announcer will usually tell viewers what is coming up next on both channels.

On 18 June 2020, Pick +1 was removed from Freeview channel 92.

References

2005 establishments in the United Kingdom
English-language television stations in the United Kingdom
Sky television channels
Television channels and stations established in 2005
Television channels in the United Kingdom

Sky Mix