TIMARA (Technology in Music and Related Arts) is a program at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music notable for its importance in the history of electronic music. Established in 1967, TIMARA is well known as the world's first conservatory program in electronic music. Department alumni have included Cory Arcangel, Christopher Rouse, Dary John Mizelle, Dan Forden and Amy X Neuburg.

The major in Technology in Music and Related Arts is intended for students who desire a career in which traditional musical skills and understanding are combined with the exploration of the very latest techniques for musical expression. The program prepares a student for specialized graduate study in computer music, digital media and new performance.

Early history
Oberlin's extensive history with electronic music dates back to the mid-19th century due to its relationship with inventor Elisha Gray. Gray, considered to be the father of the modern music synthesizer, served as adjunct professor of physics at Oberlin  and following his tenure, was granted over 70 patents for his inventions.

Grey's electromechanical oscillator paved the way for another Oberlin physicist, Thaddeus Cahill, who created the telharmonium in 1877. The instrument, although no recordings have survived, is considered one of the first electronic instruments to garner international attention.

The TIMARA department was officially founded in 1967 by composer Olly Wilson as a response to the number of composition students who pursued studies in electronics. The program became the first in a series of departments in American universities to allow for experimentation in analog synthesis as well as mixed media art.

Current History
TIMARA now boasts two ensembles, OINC (Oberlin Improvisation and Newmusic Collective)  and WAM (Women in Arts and Music). Its current faculty include professors Peter Swendsen, Tom Lopez, Aurie Hsu, and technical director and lecturer Abby Aresty.  Recent faculty include the engineer John Talbert as well as composers Morton Subotnik, George Lewis, David Lang, Gary Lee Nelson, Per Bloland, Joo Won Park and Lyn Goeringer.

TIMARA Laboratories
The TIMARA Laboratories consist of five studios, each containing a state of the art audio workstation. Additional labs contain the department's extensive collection of instruments including original models of the ARP 2600, the Buchla 200 and the EMS VCS 3. A secondary public lab contains multiple audio workstations that can be used to edit and process audio and video. The workstations can be used to transfer audio between formats, or create and edit creative projects. Each workstation has a Yamaha DX7, a mixer and an M-Box. The workstations run ProTools, Max/MSP, Amadeus, Peak, and other programs.

The laboratory was the recording location of Josh Ritter's eponymous debut album, as well as the original recordings of The Mars Volta, Chris Eldridge, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liz Phair.

The lab was also the space where REAPER, a digital audio workstation, was first created.

Alles Machine
The Bell Labs Digital Synthesizer, better known as the Alles Machine or Alice, was an experimental additive synthesizer designed by Hal Alles at Bell Labs during the 1970s. The Alles Machine, the world's first digital additive synthesizer, used 72 computer controlled oscillators whose output was mixed to produce a number of discrete "voices." Only one full-length composition was recorded for the machine, before being acquired by TIMARA in 1981. Several commercial synthesizers based on the Alles design were released during the 1980s, including the Atari AMY sound chip.

References

Oberlin College
Experimental music
Computer music
Music organizations based in the United States
Electronic music organizations
Contemporary music organizations
Classical music in the United States
Organizations established in 1967

TIMARA


Mozilla VPN is an open-source virtual private network web browser extension, desktop application, and mobile application developed by Mozilla. It launched in beta as Firefox Private Network on September 10, 2019, and officially launched on July 15, 2020, as Mozilla VPN.

History
The free, limited-use Firefox Private Network web browser extension beta version was released on September 10, 2019, as part of the relaunch of Mozilla's Test Pilot Program, a program that allowed Firefox users to test experimental new features which had been shuttered in January 2019. The beta of the subscription-based standalone virtual private network for Android, Microsoft Windows, and Chromebook launched on February 19, 2020, with the iOS version following soon after.

Firefox Private Network was rebranded as "Mozilla VPN" on June 18, 2020, and officially launched as Mozilla VPN on July 15, 2020. At launch, Mozilla VPN was available in six countries (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand) for Windows 10, Android, and iOS (beta). As planned, the service also launched in Germany and France in April 2021.

Cybersecurity firm Cure53 conducted a security audit for Mozilla VPN in August 2020 and identified multiple vulnerabilities, including one critical-severity vulnerability. In March 2021, Cure53 conducted a second security audit, which noted significant improvements since the 2020 audit. The second audit identified multiple issues, including two medium-severity and one high-severity vulnerability, but concluded that by the time of publication, only one vulnerability remained unresolved, and that it would require "a strong state-funded attacker-model" to be exploitable. Mozilla disclosed most of the vulnerabilities in July 2021 and released the full report by Cure53 in August 2021.

Features
Mozilla VPN masks the user's IP address, hides location data from the websites accessed by the user, and encrypts all network activity. A limited-monthly-use free version is available as a web browser extension for the Firefox browser, and a paid version for all device activity is available on the mobile operating systems iOS and Android and the desktop operating systems Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux. The paid version of Private Network uses the Swedish Mullvad VPN service, which uses the WireGuard VPN standard, while the free version uses the American Cloudflare service. It also comes with Custom DNS servers and Multi-hop.

Availability

Mozilla VPN is available to subscribe in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US to connect to servers in 30+ countries.

See also

 Dynamic Multipoint Virtual Private Network
 Ethernet VPN
 Internet privacy
 Mediated VPN
 Virtual private server
 VPN service

References

Firefox
Free and open-source software
Free Firefox WebExtensions
Mozilla
Software using the Mozilla license
Mobile applications
IOS software
Internet properties established in 2020

Mozilla VPN


Kollam district (formerly Quilon) is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Laccadive Sea seaport and an inland lake (Ashtamudi Lake). The district has many source of waterbodies. Kallada river is one among it and the east side land of river is EastKallada and the west side land is WestKallada. Kallada Boat race is one among the famous festival events of district. Even though it is a competition between two land sides of river many boat clubs from various places even beyond the district use to participate in the event. Kollam is the capital of Kerala's cashew industry. Plains, mountains, lakes, lagoons and backwaters, forests, farmland and rivers make up the topography of the district. The area had trading relationships with Phoenicia and Ancient Rome.

Demographics
According to the 2011 census Kollam district has a population of 2,629,703, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the US state of Nevada. This gives it a ranking of 155th in India (out of a total of 640 districts). The district has a population density of  . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 1.72 percent. Kollam has a sex ratio of 1113 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 93.77 percent.

In 2001 Indian Census Muslim population is 4,74,071 (18.34%), Hindu 16,85,044 (65.18%), and Christian 4,23,745 (16.39%).

References

Other websites

Official website
Official tourism website

Kollam district


British Library, Add MS 12137, designated by number 75 on the list of Wright, is a Syriac manuscript of the New Testament, according to Peshitta version, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 6th or 7th century.

Description

It contains the text of the four Gospels according to Peshitta version, on 214 leaves (10¾ by 8¼ inches). The number of quires is 18. The writing is in two columns per page, 22-25 lines per page. The writing is in fine Estrangela. Vowels were added on the first 61 leaves by a later hand. The missing leaf with text of Matthew 10:10-26 was supplied by on paper.

The text is divided according to the Ammonian Sections, with references to the Eusebian Canons. The Ammonian Sections are referred to the proper Eusebian Canons. It has lectionary markings at the margin, some of them were added by a later hand.

On folio 1 verso there is a cross, with Greek inscription φως ζωη. On folio 241 recto there is another cross with inscription in barbarous Greek: "The cross, the weapon of the Christian".

There is a note on folio 213 verso: "Samuel, a stranger, known as The recluse In Gozarta, In Egypt, collected and bound this Holy book. And I collected it from Egypt. And it belongs to the convent of the Mother of God, which is in the desert of Abba Macarius".

The manuscript was brought from the covenant of St. Mary Deipara. It was described by William Aldis Wright.

The manuscript is housed at the British Library (Add MS 12137) in London.

See also

 List of the Syriac New Testament manuscripts
 Syriac versions of the Bible
 British Library, Add MS 14449
 British Library, Add MS 14457
 British Library, Add MS 17124

References

Further reading

 William Wright, Catalogue of the Syriac manuscripts in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 1870), pp. 50-52.

Peshitta manuscripts
6th-century biblical manuscripts
7th-century biblical manuscripts
Add. 12137
British Library additional manuscripts

Syriac Gospels, British Library, Add. 12137


A Contention for Honor and Riches is a Caroline era stage play, a short drama or interlude written by James Shirley and first published in 1633. Generally classed as a morality play, it illustrates the continuing influence of archaic forms of drama on the relatively "sophisticated" or even "decadent" theatre of the Caroline era.

The play was entered into  Register on November 9, 1632 and was published the following year in quarto by the bookseller William Cooke, who issued many of Shirley's plays in the 1630s, either alone or in partnership with Andrew Crooke. Shirley dedicated the volume to Edward Golding, of Colston, Northamptonshire, a personal friend. No data on the play's theatrical history has survived; it is not known when, or even if, the work was ever staged. The most likely date for the play's authorship may be 1630. The existing play, "A moral masque in three scenes," was later reworked and expanded by the author into a full five-act drama, and eventually published in 1659 under the title Honoria and Mammon.

1630 was relatively late in the history of English Renaissance theatre for a morality play — though the form, while unfashionable, was not entirely extinct in Shirley's era. Late examples include Four Plays in One (c. 1608–13), from the canon of John Fletcher, and The Sun's Darling (1624), a collaboration between Thomas Dekker and John Ford. As is often the case in the morality form, the characters in Shirley's Contention are known by generic titles more than personal names: Lady Honor, Lady Riches, Ingenuity, Gettings, the Courtier, the Soldier, the Vice, etc. (In the later expansion, Honoria and Mammon, the same characters are given personal names.)

Synopsis
At the start of the play, Ingenuity, a scholar, pays court to the Lady Riches, but the two quarrel. The Lady's other suitors, Gettings and Clod (Clod represents country gentlemen, while Gettings represents the London merchant class), also quarrel — not with their Lady but with each other. The outcome of their dispute is that Clod challenges Gettings to a duel. Lady Honor also has her suitors — in her case, the Courtier and Soldier ply their suits to her while Ingenuity watches. After Honor and Ingenuity have left them alone, the Courtier and Soldier also argue, and are about to fight, when their nemeses Honesty and No-Pay enter and scare them off.

Next, Gettings and Clod are shown on the "field of honor," about to start their duel. But they too are interrupted: Long Vacation and Foul-Weather-in-Harvest enter, and the two suitor/duellists reconcile because of their fear of these figures. (Long Vacation refers to the period at the end of the legal year in August and September, when business in the City of London is slack.) Lady Riches shows up, and accepts Gettings as her intended husband — but grants a reversion of the office of husband to Clod. The Soldier and Courtier also turn up, searching for Honor — but they are distracted by the presence of Riches. Finally Honor and Ingenuity arrive to complete the cast: everyone else is surprised to learn that Ingenuity and Honor are now married — though the news prompts a general reconciliation among all the members of the group.

Notes

References
 Forsythe, Robert Stanley. The Relations of Shirley's Plays to the Elizabethan Drama. New York, Columbia University Press, 1914.
 Nason, Arthur Huntington. James Shirley, Dramatist: A Biographical and Critical Study. New York, 1915; reprinted New York, Benjamin Blom, 1967.

English Renaissance plays
1632 plays
Masques by James Shirley

A Contention for Honor and Riches


Free Runners is an original English-language manga about free running with story by Bill Strauss and art by Jennyson Rosero. Volume 1 was released on July 25, 2007, and was published by Seven Seas Entertainment.

Plot
The story in 1997 Brooklyn, when a series of unfortunate events causes the disappearance of Steve "Steep" Gonzales' brother. Years pass and Steep is now in high school. He does fairly well, but does not have any friends in school as he spends much of his time caring for his ill mother and drawing. He keeps out of trouble and even holds down a job at a convenience store. He often entertains the idea of being truly free from the daily grind and anxiety of isolation.

However, his whole outlook on life is changed when a Traceur steals a Snapple from the store. Steep pursues the thief, but is astounded when the Traceur runs through the urban span with such speed and agility that Steep has to give up. The next day, he is confronted by Liza, an attractive girl Steep has never associated with before. She convinces him to meet her after school where she takes him to the outskirts of town. There Steep meets a group who call themselves the "GCC" or "Gravity-Challenged Crew." He is also surprised to see Deezy, the Traceur who stole the Snapple from the convenience store.

After Steep learns that the group have been watching him for some time, they attempt to recruit him and turn him into a full-fledged Traceur or as they say in North America, Free Runner. Thus begins Steep's initiation into the world of Free-Running.

Further reading

External links
 Homepage
 Digital Free Runners manga

Seven Seas Entertainment titles
2007 comics debuts

Free Runners


The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational specialist residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are aged 16 to 25 and blind or partially sighted. They can study a wide range of qualifications at RNC, from academic subjects such as English and Mathematics to more vocational topics such as Massage and Complementary Therapies. Alongside regular further education subjects and vocational training, the college offers training in mobility, assistive technology, Braille, independent living skills and personal development.

Founded in 1872 in London as the Royal Normal College and Academy for the Blind, the college had a number of homes before moving to its campus in Hereford; it was renamed The Royal National College for the Blind in the late 1970s. It has been a pioneer in the education of visually impaired people in Britain since the Victorian era, and, as of 2010, is the only college for visually impaired students in the United Kingdom to have been awarded Beacon Status in recognition of its outstanding teaching and learning.

RNC hosts the UK's first VI Sports Academy, having begun as the home of the first football academy for visually impaired players and the England blind football team. It hosted the 2010 World Blind Football Championship and also served as a training facility for participants in the 2012 Paralympic Games. The college is actively involved in the development of assistive technology, including student participation in the Tech Novice Cafe, run for members of the public who are not confident in computer use. Two notable devices were developed at RNC; the Mountbatten Brailler, an electronic braille writer, and the T3, a talking tactile device that helped with the reading of maps and diagrams.

Early in the 21st century, there was dramatic departmental restructuring at the college, and a significant redevelopment and modernisation of the Hereford campus. The campus, located on Venns Lane, Hereford, is home to RNC's teaching, residential and leisure facilities. Students live in halls of residence, which enable them to gain a level of independence within the college environment. RNC operates a leisure facility, thePoint4, which is open to the public.

The college is a registered charity (number 1000388), and its patron is King Charles III. There are several high-profile supporters, including Dave Clarke, former captain of the England and Great Britain blind football teams. RNC has a number of notable people among its alumni, including former Home Secretary David Blunkett. The college was the subject of a 2007 film for the Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary strand, which followed three students through their first term of study. The film won a 2008 Royal Television Society Award.

History

Early years

The college was established in 1871 by the English philanthropist Thomas Rhodes Armitage and the American anti-slavery campaigner Francis Joseph Campbell, who lost his sight as a young boy. Campbell had originally planned to establish a college for the blind in the United States, but was persuaded by Armitage that London would be a more suitable location. At the time, English schools for the blind did not provide their students with the skills to become independent and, dissatisfied with this situation, Armitage dreamed of establishing a school whose emphasis was on music and which would prepare its students for careers as organists, piano tuners, and music teachers.

With donations of £3,000, the college enrolled its first two students on 1 March 1872. Queen Victoria became its first patron, while several prominent members of her family became vice-patrons. Among those to become governors of the college were Duke of Westminster, Lord Shaftesbury, Lord Lichfield and W. H. Smith. At the time of its founding it was called "The Royal Normal College and Academy for the Blind". The word normal, more commonly used in American English, referred to the teacher training offered by the college, with Campbell recruiting many of his teaching staff from the United States.

Originally located in two small buildings on Anerley Hill near London's Crystal Palace, the college later moved to larger accommodation at Westow Street, Upper Norwood where the name "College Green" commemorates the college – its grounds are now Westow Park – after rapidly outgrowing its original premises. In its early days, the college was considered very progressive and experimental in its approach to education. A history of the college on its website describes the curriculum as "liberal and advanced for its day", and emphasis was placed on physical activities such as swimming, cycling and roller-skating. Students even took part in a morning of tobogganing following a heavy fall of snow. By the end of the 19th century, the college had over 200 students. Until the Second World War the college admitted 11- to 15-year-olds, but in 1945 the principal of RNC and headmaster of Worcester College for the Blind came to an agreement that Worcester would provide secondary education and RNC would take students over the age of 16.

As well as being one of its founders, Francis Joseph Campbell served as RNC's first principal, from 1871 until his retirement in 1912. He was knighted as a Knight Bachelor by King Edward VII in 1909, for his services to blind people. He was succeeded by his son, Guy Marshall Campbell, and following his death in 1929 Guy's widow, Louie Bealby Campbell took over the position. The role of principal passed outside the Campbell family for the first time upon Louie Bealby Campbell's retirement in 1934.

Relocation

In the 20th century, the college moved location several times before establishing itself at its present campus in Hereford. The first of these moves occurred at the beginning of the Second World War, when the college was evacuated from its London site and moved to a mansion named Great Maytham in Rolvenden in west Kent. However, because of the threat of a German invasion, the authorities soon advised another move, and this time, with 24 hours notice and the help of the London Society for the Blind, a temporary home was found for RNC in Dorton, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. At the time of the move most of the students were on holiday, although some thirty had remained at the college along with several staff members.

The college did not return to London because the Upper Norwood site – which was being used as a hospital following RNC's move to Kent – was bombed in 1940 during the Blitz, then acquired by the authorities. The college had to close temporarily, until a permanent new home could be found, but in 1941 it purchased new premises at Rowton Castle near Shrewsbury and relocated there. The castle was built in the 17th century and is situated in  of grounds six miles (10 km) west of Shrewsbury. This accommodation had limited space, and throughout its time in Shrewsbury RNC acquired other premises in and around the town. Albrighton Hall, about three miles (5 km) from Shrewsbury, was acquired in 1955 and adapted for residential and training purposes for male students, and Hardy House was obtained as a new residential area for female students in 1958. Plans to enlarge the Rowton site were seriously affected when, in 1953, fire destroyed much of the buildings and 38 pianos and organs. The alarm was raised by one of the students, and everybody present was evacuated to safety. Training was able to continue after Henshaw's Institution for the Blind took students and staff as a temporary measure.

RNC remained in Shropshire for many years until, in 1978, more suitable accommodation was found that would enable RNC to consolidate its teaching and residential accommodation into one campus, and the college moved to its current home in Hereford. The site had previously been the campus of Hereford College of Education, a former teacher training college. In 1978 the college adopted its present name, the Royal National College for the Blind. RNC was opened at its new campus by Prince Charles, who arrived in Hereford by helicopter to perform the ceremony in 1979.

Hereford

In the early 2000s the halls of residence at the Hereford campus underwent an extensive £1.5 million upgrade. The blocks were originally built when the campus was being used as a teacher training college during the 1960s and were updated to include modern facilities such as larger student bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and space for televisions and computers, and improved social areas.

In 2006 the college announced an extensive expansion of its campus, including new halls of residence, a sports and complementary therapy building and a new outdoor floodlit sports pitch. The £21.5m sports development would be the venue for the 2010 World Blind Football Championship. A £10 million fundraising campaign, Building Brighter Futures, was created to raise the funds required to complete the project, and construction work began in the summer of 2007. The complex, thePoint4, was originally named The Point after a nearby block of flats. It includes a bistro and conference facilities, and commenced operation in April 2009, and was officially opened on 24 June by BBC Sport presenter and Daily Mail columnist Des Kelly. In 2008 the college was nominated as one of the sites for the 2012 Paralympic Games and acted as a pre-Games training camp for Paralympic athletes.

RNC was the subject of a 2007 documentary for the Channel Four series Cutting Edge, which followed three young students (Steve Markham, Daniel Angus and Selina Litt) during their first term at the college. The film examines their individual journeys towards greater independence as they encounter the unique challenges that being visually impaired presents, as well as how they deal with the everyday issues that affect all teenagers, such as sex, relationships, partying and their future plans after graduation. The documentary, Blind Young Things, was first aired on 30 April 2007, and won a Royal Television Society award for Channel Four and the Cutting Edge team in 2008.

In September 2009 the college became the permanent home of the National BlindArt Collection, a collection of paintings, sculptures, installations and other works of art designed to engage all the senses and to provide people who are visually impaired with greater accessibility to art. In November 2009 RNC announced that it had been forced to send a third of its students home following an outbreak of swine flu on campus. During the heavy winter snowfall of 2009–2010 the college's sports facilities were utilised by the Hereford United team for training after the bad weather conditions made using their own grounds at Edgar Street difficult.

In January 2010 two students from the college appeared with the fashion consultant Gok Wan in an edition of the Channel 4 series How to Look Good Naked...with a Difference, where they took part in a photo shoot. The series sought to highlight confidence issues among people with disabilities. In February 2010 the college secured a £90,000 grant from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service to install a music video production studio enabling bands to record material and showcase their work.

RNC celebrated its 140th anniversary in March 2012 with a day of events at its campus and a street collection in Hereford.

Restructuring
In the late 2000s RNC underwent significant restructuring as it responded to changes in the world of employment and therefore the courses that it offered its students. However, some of the college's changes provoked criticism from staff and students who argued these were not in RNC's best interest. There was some controversy over the college's decision to reduce the availability of courses in piano tuning, traditionally regarded as a secure profession for visually impaired people, while fears were expressed that the decrease in A Level subjects would lead to RNC becoming a sport rather than an academic orientated college. Responding to these concerns in July 2008, the then principal Christine Steadman told In Touch, the BBC Radio 4 news programme for visually impaired listeners; "It's about what the local authorities, what the learning and skills council, what the Welsh Assembly for government will purchase from us. And at the moment we are reducing a small number of A Level courses but at the same time we're extending other courses, for example we've got level 3 Braille being taught for the first time at the college, we're not cutting A Levels, we're just responding to the needs of the learners that are coming through our doors." In an interview in January 2010, the then principal Geoff Draper said that piano tuning would be taught at the college if there was a demand for it, and suggested RNC could look to bringing in international students to fill places.

The changes led to significant department reorganisations within RNC, with several dozen staff members being summarily dismissed without explanation; some were replaced by volunteers. A number of former college employees made complaints regarding the manner in which their employment was ended. In July 2008 the college lecturers union, the University and College Union, called for greater consultation between management and staff at the college. Speaking in a 2009 interview with In Touch Ian Pickford, who was brought in as interim principal following Christine Steadman's departure, claimed that the atmosphere of the college had changed and issued a challenge to any student or member of staff who was still unhappy to meet with him to discuss their concerns.

Financial concerns were raised in 2009 over the cost of the new leisure complex, and because of a change in the source of student funding from the Learning and Skills Council to Local Education Authorities. The college was facing a shortfall of at least £500,000 in 2009 and its auditors expressed doubt about RNC's ability to continue as a going concern. In response Ian Pickford said that much of thePoint4's costs had been paid for through donations and that the shortfall issue was being addressed through cutbacks, including some redundancies. Of the auditors' concerns he said; "I think post the banking crisis a lot of auditors are incredibly nervous about making bland statements in terms of the future of organisations and therefore they frequently now put those sort of caveats in to protect their position going forward."

Assistive technology
The college is actively involved in the development and use of assistive technology to aid visually impaired people in their everyday lives. For example, working with a United States-based software engineer, RNC produced the T3 (Talking Tactile Tablet), a touch sensitive device for interpreting tactile images such as diagrams, charts and maps. The device is connected to a computer and run with a programme CD, and has a tactile surface which produces touchable icons that provide audio feedback when they are pressed. The device was originally developed for educational purposes but can be adapted for other uses. In 2005 Hereford Museum and Art Gallery became the first in the United Kingdom to invest in the technology. The T3 was later marketed internationally with the help of the UK Trade & Investment's passport initiative – a scheme which gives new exporters the training, planning and support they need to succeed in overseas markets.

The Mountbatten, an electronic Braille writing machine and embosser, was pioneered and developed at the college by Ernest Bate. Work began on the project following a bequest in the will of the late Lord Louis Mountbatten for the development of
a modern, low cost, portable brailler. It has been available since 1991, and is manufactured by Quantum Technology, a company based in Australia. In the early 1990s two RNC lecturers, Clive Ellis and Tony Larkin, invented the Hoople, a hoop-shaped mobility aid for blind people which performs a similar role to a white cane, but is designed for use in a rural environment and on rough terrain. RNC lecturer Nigel Berry designed the Fingerprints Braille course, which was first published in 1993 and is now widely used to teach adult beginners to touch-read and write grade 2 Braille.

RNC is involved in the RoboBraille project which allows visually impaired Internet users to have text translated into Braille and MP3 audio format via email. The system, developed in Denmark, was launched in June 2006 and won a British Computer Society Social Contribution Project Award in 2007.
ClearText, which enables visually impaired users to browse the web more easily by making text easier for them to read, was developed in conjunction with the college. In 2009 RNC lecturer Tony Sales developed Vinux, an accessible version of the Linux operating system for the visually impaired.

Education
RNC provides full-time and shorter courses in vocational and academic subjects for approximately 200 students aged 16 and above. In 2008 there were 196 students in attendance, 74 of whom were aged 16 to 18 and 122 aged 19 years and over. Younger students often join the college straight from school, while adult students are from a diverse range of backgrounds. Students have often been visually impaired since birth or may have lost their sight in later life as a result of illness or accident. Some students have additional disabilities such as autistic spectrum disorder
and other medical needs. They can attend the college on a daily or residential basis, and accommodation is provided for those who board. There were 152 residential and 44 day students in 2008.

Courses vary in length from a few weeks to two years. There are no formal academic requirements for entry into RNC, but potential students are invited to attend an assessment at the college before being offered a place to determine the level of support they will need during their studies. The assessment typically includes an evaluation of a person's level of vision, their mobility and independence skills, any residential support they may require, basic literacy and numeracy skills tests, and an interview with the leader of the course they wish to take.

Study programmes at RNC are designed to prepare visually impaired students for progression into further education, university or employment. The development of independent living and personal skills is also encouraged. The college is divided into several different areas of study. These include Leisure, Therapies and Sport (including courses and qualifications in massage, complementary therapies, and sport treatment and management); Music, Media, Performance and Art (including courses and qualifications in music technology, media and art); Information and Communication Technology (including courses and qualifications in office skills and the European Computer Driving Licence); Business, Administration and Customer Service; Secondary level qualifications – General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (A-Level) qualifications in subjects such as English, mathematics, French and psychology; and Braille reading. On top of academic and vocational study students are also taught to develop independence and mobility skills for day-to-day living. Topics covered here include the use of a white cane and becoming familiar with the surrounding environment, using public transport safely and confidently, cooking and laundry skills, and using cash machines or making chip and PIN credit card transactions.

Traditionally courses in Piano Tuning and Piano Technology were also available at the college. However, these were significantly reduced in the late 2000s because of a decline in the number of students studying the subjects. There has also been a reduction in the number of A-levels available for study owing to changes in the types of courses that education funding bodies supporting students at RNC are willing to pay for.

RNC began to offer its first higher education (or university level) qualification in January 2010 with the launch of the Certificate in Higher Education: Working with People with Visual Impairment Programme. The qualification is offered in collaboration with St Joseph's Centre for the Visually Impaired in Dublin and the University of Worcester.

Following an inspection by Ofsted in 2004 the quality of the college's teaching was graded as "outstanding", and in 2005 RNC was one of only eight colleges in the UK to be awarded Learning and Skills Beacon Status. It is the only college for visually impaired students to have Beacon status, which is only given to educational establishments which have received a first-class Ofsted inspection report. RNC was again praised by Ofsted in 2009 for its continued good progress when Inspectors graded the college as "outstanding" across all six areas inspected and said it had gained ground since its last inspection in 2006.

Campus

RNC has four halls of residence, three of which (Armitage, Campbell and Dowdell) have been updated in recent years to include modern facilities in accordance with requirements set out in the Care Standards Act 2000 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Specific accommodation has been adapted for wheelchair users, while some rooms have sensory fire alarm calls to alert those who are hard of hearing. Halls are divided into flats accommodating several students. Each flat has a number of single rooms with shared kitchen and dining facilities, and a central lounge.

Because it was not possible to upgrade Gardner Hall, a new modern block, Orchard Hall, was built to replace it. Gardner became an assessment centre for prospective students. In September 2009 Gardner was made available as a venue for hire for functions such as weddings. In addition to the halls of residence, the college also owns several houses both on and off campus which enable students to gain a greater level of independent living. There is a restaurant which provides meals, or students can choose to be self-catering. All accommodation has kitchen facilities.

On-campus facilities include a gym, sports hall, a floodlit all-weather football pitch and tennis courts. RNC's thePoint4 complex offers sporting, leisure and conference facilities, as well as a bistro, and is open to both students and members of the general public. Other facilities at RNC include the Flexible Learning Centre, which features the latest assistive technology and learning resources and is open seven days a week, a student social club which is licensed to sell alcohol to students who are 18 and over, and a student common room. The college has an active Students' Union which plays an important role in college life, being responsible for organising leisure activities both on and off campus. There are also on-campus medical facilities.

In December 2008 the Hereford Times reported that the college would be home to a sculpture by the Herefordshire-based contemporary artist Walenty Pytel that he would create using an original drawing produced by an RNC student. The piece, depicting a man running in a Futurist style and titled the 4Runner was unveiled in September 2009 and stands on a  plinth outside the entrance of the sports and leisure complex.

Extracurricular activities
RNC is the home of the first football academy for visually impaired players. The Football Academy was officially opened in August 2008 by former England footballer Sir Trevor Brooking and offers visually impaired students the opportunity to include football as part of their study programme with a view to playing the game at a national level. The college is the home of the England blind football team, which is supported by the Football Association and coached by former professional footballer Tony Larkin. The game is played as a five-a-side match using a ball filled with ballbearings to enable players to hear its position. Teams consist of four blind players and a sighted goalkeeper who offers directions along with the coach and a sighted guide behind the opposition goalpost. RNC is helping to develop a national blind football league. In 2010 RNC hosted the World Blind Football Championship at its campus. The tournament got under way on Saturday 14 August with the opening match between England and Spain, and was won by Brazil following a 2–0 win against Spain in the final on 22 August. Members of England's blind football team travelled to Los Angeles in November 2011 to promote the sport in the United States, and took part in a day's training with former England captain David Beckham. The trip was organised by supermarket chain Sainsbury's as part of their sponsorship deal with the footballer.

Blind cricket, which is played basically the same as conventional cricket but using larger stumps and wickets and a white ball so that players may see it much more easily, is also played at the college, and RNC has its own cricket team, which competes in the British Blind Sport (BBS) National Cricket League. The college also features acoustic shooting, a sport which uses air rifles fitted with photoelectric cells which convert light reflected from targets into sound.

As well as football, cricket and acoustic shooting, students at RNC can participate in a wide range of other sporting and athletic activities, including horse riding, swimming, ten pin bowling, weight training, circuit training and martial arts. Away from sport, other activities include art and design, ceramics, drama and dance, photography and gardening. There are shopping excursions and trips to the cinema and theatre, while clubs and societies include a dining club and the RNC choir.

Notable people and alumni

The college is a charitable organisation and is registered with the Charity Commission, the government body which oversees charities in England and Wales. It has a number of high-profile supporters which include King Charles III, who is the current Patron, a position he has held since 1997. The current president is Mrs Jessica White, and there are several public figures who serve as vice presidents. These include the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Archbishop of Westminster, Countess Mountbatten of Burma and Michael Buerk. In 2008 the BBC sports presenter Gabby Logan and Daily Mail columnist Des Kelly both became Patrons of the England Blind Football team.

Since the Principalship passed outside the Campbell family in 1934 a number of individuals have held the position. Among them are Lance Marshall who was principal at the time the college moved to its Hereford campus in 1978, followed by Colin Housby-Smith and then Roisin Burge. Christine Steadman oversaw the college's restructuring during her tenure in the late 2000s and proved to be unpopular with staff and students; Steadman resigned in November 2008. Geoff Draper, a former Colonel in the British Army, was appointed to the position on 7 December 2009. Sheila Tallon succeeded Draper in September 2011. Mark Fisher took over from Tallon after her retirement in December 2015.

Graduates of the college include David Blunkett, British Labour Party politician and former Home Secretary, and Alfred Hollins, English composer and organist. Giles McKinley, who starred in a groundbreaking television commercial for Sauza Tequila during the 1990s, is a former RNC student. The actor Ryan Kelly, who in 1997, became the first completely blind student to join the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and plays the role of Jack "Jazzer" McCreary in Radio 4's The Archers, attended RNC. The Paralympic cyclist Anthony Kappes also studied at the college. The Hereford born studio potter Simon Carroll taught at the RNC in the early 1990s. Carroll has permanent collections at the V&A museum London and Amgueddfa Cymru.

Financial crisis
The Royal National College for the Blind maintains without extra funding it will be unsustainable.  Lucy Proctor of the college's charitable trust, maintains this is due to tightening of special-needs budgets.  Spending is £2.7m higher than income and the income of the college is smaller in cash terms than six years ago.  The college needs local authorities to pay for residential places, sometimes costing over £50,000 annually.  Proctor said, "It is difficult for the local authorities, because there isn't enough money in the system. They've been subject to cuts in every area.  We're a national provision, but we're being funded locally.  This means legal wrangles about getting councils to support places - and there are students who should already have started this term who are still at home arguing about funding. [This was in October 2019.] Increasing student numbers is critical - and if student numbers don't go up we won't be financially sustainable."  Proctor stated further every year some young people get places at the Royal National College but fail to follow through with them, frequently due to insufficient funding and since their families are, "tired of fighting and can't face another battle".

References

Bibliography

External links

1871 establishments in England
Assistive technology
Educational institutions established in 1871
Further education colleges in Herefordshire
Charities for disabled people based in the United Kingdom
Learning and Skills Beacons
Organisations based in England with royal patronage
Royal charities of the United Kingdom
Schools for the blind in the United Kingdom
Special schools in Herefordshire

Royal National College for the Blind


Farley Ledges,  is a bluff knob located on the southeast side of Northfield Mountain in eastern Franklin County, Massachusetts. The ledge is notable for its extensive rock climbing ascents; it rises  above the small village of Farley (part of Erving, Massachusetts) and has been used by rock climbers since the 1930s. The Western Massachusetts Climbers Coalition has been active in purchasing land to preserve access to the mountain; 2007 purchases included a parcel along Route 2 developed into a trailhead with a parking lot and access corridor to the ledges. The  Metacomet-Monadnock Trail ascends the wooded north side of the ledges where Briggs Brook Falls tumbles from the ridgecrest; a marked rock climbing access loop trail departs from the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail to traverse both the summit of the ledges and the extensive boulder field beneath.

Climbing access at Farley is an ongoing concern and the crag has faced closures by landowners in the past. Landowners have requested that no online or printed guides containing climbing route descriptions or grades are published. As a result, climbing at Farley Ledges is a social affair for new climbers who must seek out experienced locals for climbing information.

See also
Northfield Mountain
Metacomet-Monadnock Trail

References

Rock formations of Massachusetts
Mountains of Massachusetts
Climbing areas of the United States
Landforms of Franklin County, Massachusetts

Farley Ledges


Fort Gregg-Adams, in Prince George County, Virginia, United States, is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the U.S. Army Quartermaster School, the U.S. Army Ordnance School, the U.S. Army Transportation School, the Army Sustainment University (ALU), Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), and the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA).

Fort Gregg-Adams also hosts two Army museums, the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum and the U.S. Army Women's Museum. The equipment and other materiel associated with the Army's Ordnance Museum was moved to Fort Gregg-Adams in 2009–2010 for use by the United States Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center.

The installation was initially named Camp Lee (changed to Fort Lee in 1950) after Confederate States General, Robert E. Lee. It is one of the U.S. Army installations named for Confederate soldiers that The Naming Commission had recommended be renamed. On August 8, 2022, the commission proposed the name be changed to Fort Gregg-Adams, after Lieutenant General Arthur J. Gregg and Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley.   On October 6, 2022 Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accepted the recommendation and directed the name change occur no later than January 1, 2024. On January 5, 2023 William A. LaPlante, US under-secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment (USD (A&S)) directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide.  On April 27, 2023 the post was redesignated Fort Gregg-Adams.

Fort Gregg-Adams is a census-designated place (CDP) with a population of 9,874 as of the 2020 census – nearly triple the size of the 2010 census count.

History

World War I

Just 18 days after a state of war with Germany was declared, the first Camp Lee was established as a state mobilization camp and later became a division training camp.

Camp Lee was the mobilization center for the 80th Division, the Blue Ridge Division. Because of significant common heritage in the past (Colonial Wars, Revolutionary War, and Civil War), residents of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia became the structure of the 80th Division. The 80th Division was organized in August 1917 at Camp Lee, Virginia. The units were made up mostly of men from the above three states.

Before long, Camp Lee became one of the largest "cities" in Virginia. More than 60,000 Doughboys trained here prior to their departure for the Western Front and fighting in France and Germany. Included among the many facilities here was a large camp hospital situated on 58 acres of land. One of the more trying times for the hospital staff was when the worldwide influenza epidemic reached Camp Lee in the fall of 1918. An estimated 10,000 Soldiers were stricken by flu. Nearly 700 of them died during a couple of weeks.

In June 1917, building began and within sixty days some 14,000 men were on the installation. The post was home to the 155th Depot Brigade. The role of depot brigades was to receive recruits and draftees, then organize them and provide them with uniforms, equipment and initial military training. Depot brigades also received soldiers returning home at the end of the war and carried out their mustering out and discharges. When construction work ended, there were accommodations for 60,335 men.

In 1920 Camp Lee was still active, as the US 1920 Census showed many soldiers still stationed there. After World War I, Camp Lee was taken over by the Commonwealth of Virginia and designated a game preserve. Later, portions of the land were incorporated into the Petersburg National Battlefield and the Federal Correctional Institution, Petersburg. In 1921, the camp was formally closed, and its buildings were torn down, all save one – the so-called "White House." During the war, this two-story wood-framed structure served as 80th Division Headquarters and as temporary residence for its Commander, Major General Adelbert Cronkhite. Years later, it became known as the "Davis House" in honor of the family that lived there in the 1930s and 40s.

World War II

In October 1940, the War Department ordered the construction of another Camp Lee on the site of the earlier installation. Built as rapidly as the first, construction was still ongoing when the Quartermaster Replacement Training Center (QMRTC) started operation in February 1941. Their number grew to 25,000 in 1942, and peaked at 35,000 in 1944.

While the QMRTC was getting underway, the Quartermaster School was transferred to Camp Lee. In October 1941 (two months before Pearl Harbor), the Quartermaster School moved from Philadelphia to Camp Lee to begin training Officers and Non-Commissioned officers in the art of military supply and service A full program of courses was conducted, including Officer Candidate School. By the end of 1941, Camp Lee was the center of both basic and advanced training of Quartermaster personnel and held this position throughout the war.

Over the course of the war, Camp Lee's population continued to mushroom until it became, in effect, the third largest "city" in Virginia, after Norfolk and Richmond. More than 50,000 officers attended Quartermaster Officer Candidate School. Over 300,000 Quartermaster Soldiers trained here during the war. There was a Regional Hospital with scores of pavilions and literally miles of interlocking corridors capable of housing over 2,000 patients at a time. Here too was located the Army Services Forces Training Center, the Quartermaster (Research & Development) Board, a Women's Army Corps training center, and for a while, a prisoner of war camp and the Medical Replacement Training Center. Camp Lee enjoyed a reputation as one of the most effective and best-run military installations in the country.

Camp Lee was also the home of a Medical Replacement Training Center (MRTC), but as the Quartermaster training increased, it was decided to relocate the MRTC to Camp Pickett. Later, the QMRTC was re-designated as an Army Services Forces Training Center, but it retained its basic mission of training Quartermaster personnel.

Korean War Era

In 1946, the War Department announced that Camp Lee would be retained as the center for Quartermaster training in the Army. Official recognition of its permanent status was obtained in 1950 and the post was redesignated Fort Lee.

The Quartermaster School continued operation, and in 1947, the Adjutant General's School moved here (where it remained until 1951). The Women's Army Corps likewise established its premier training center here from 1948 to 1954. Also in 1948, the first permanent brick and mortar structure – the Post Theater (Powhatan Beaty Theater) – was constructed.

During the Korean War, tens of thousands of Soldiers arrived at Fort Lee to receive logistics training before heading overseas.

After the Korean War, progress was made on an ambitious permanent building program. The 1950s and '60s witnessed almost nonstop modernization efforts as, one-by-one, Fort Lee's temporary wooden barracks, training facilities and housing units began giving way to permanent brick and cinderblock structures. New multi-storied barracks were built in the mid-50s, along with whole communities of Capehart housing for permanent party. In May 1961, the new three-story Quartermaster School, Mifflin Hall, was dedicated. Kenner Army Hospital opened in 1962, replacing the remnants of the old WWII-era facility, and the privately funded Quartermaster Museum opened its doors in 1963. Some years have seen far more change than others, but the overall process of modernization has continued ever since.

The Quartermaster Training Center, created to supervise the training of Quartermaster personnel and troop units, brought an intensification of training activity within the Quartermaster Corps. As a result, the courses formerly taught at other locations were incorporated in the curriculum of the Quartermaster School.

Profound changes were evident at Fort Lee during 1962. The post became a Class 1 military installation under Second United States Army. The Quartermaster School became a part of the Continental Army Command service school system and was also selected to serve as the home of the Quartermaster Corps. The Second United States Army was inactivated at Fort Lee in 1966 until its reactivation at Fort Gillem, Georgia in 1983.

Vietnam and Post-Vietnam

The rapid logistics buildup in Vietnam after 1965 signaled an urgent need for many more Quartermaster Soldiers. Fort Lee responded by going into overdrive. For a time, the school maintained three shifts, and round-the-clock training. A Quartermaster Officer Candidate School opened in 1966 for the first time since World War II. A mock Vietnamese "village" was created on post to familiarize trainees with guerrilla tactics and the conditions in which they could expect to fight in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Part of the sixties-era Quartermaster training program also saw the first widespread local use of automated data processing equipment.

In July 1973, Fort Lee came under the control of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Additionally, the U.S. Army Logistics Center was established in 1973 to serve as an "integrating center" for the Quartermaster, Transportation, Ordnance, and Missile and Munitions Centers and Schools – the traditional Combat Service Support branches.

Again in 1990, there was a post reorganization and restructuring and the U.S Army Logistics Center was re-designated the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM), and the CASCOM Commander became the Fort Lee Installation Commander as well.

In May 2001, the U.S. Army Women's Museum (AWM) relocated to Fort Lee. It offered more than 13,000 feet of gallery space and thousands of artifacts used to tell the long, proud history of women in the Army. Additionally, the installation hosted a growing number of tenant activities such as the Army Logistics Management Center (ALMC), Readiness Group Lee, Materiel Systems Analysis Activity, the General Leonard T. Gerow U.S. Army Reserve Center, the Defense Commissary Agency (DECA), USAR 80th Division, and several other Department of Army and Department of Defense activities.

Base Realignment and Closure 2005

In 2005 a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) law was passed by Congress. One of BRAC's requirements was the relocation of the United States Army Ordnance Center and School headquarters, the Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School (OMMS) from Aberdeen Proving Ground, the United States Army Ordnance Munitions and Electronic Maintenance School (OMEMS) from Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, and the Ordnance Museum to Fort Gregg-Adams by September 2011. The transfer of artifacts from Aberdeen to Fort Gregg-Adams began in August 2009, with the former museum now designated the U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center at Fort Gregg-Adams. Also, the headquarters of the U.S. Army Transportation Center and School from Fort Eustis was brought to the installation.

One of the principal parts of BRAC was the Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE) headquarters building project. In the summer of 2007, there was a ground-breaking ceremony on Sergeant Seay Field, the site of the new facility. The SCoE headquarters took 18 months to build and was formally dedicated in January 2009. It now houses the Combined Arms Support Command and command groups for the Quartermaster, Ordnance, and Transportation Corps. During a ceremony on July 30, 2010, the old CASCOM headquarters was officially retired, and the new building was proudly rededicated as "Mifflin Hall." To help make way for the structure, the First Logistical Command Memorial – which had been located on that site since 1974 – was carefully unmoored and moved to a more prominent spot facing the main post entrance.

In addition, a new U.S. Army Logistics University was built and opened in July 2009 to centralize basic and advanced NCO, warrant officer, commissioned officer and government civilian leadership training for all Army sustainment branches. The 400,000-square-foot building now offers more than 200 courses and trains upward of 2,300 military and civilian students daily. Its International Studies program is attended by military personnel from more than 30 allied countries.

Fort Gregg-Adams is the country's first army post to host a 'full-size' statue commemorating the service of women in the Army. The statue was unveiled in 2013.'Lt. FAWMA' -- Army Women's Museum unveils one-of-kind statue of female Soldier

The installation emerged as the center of logistics and sustainment for the U.S. Army. With the completion of the BRAC construction projects, the installation acquired 6.5 million square feet of new facilities and about 70,000 troops now train here each year. In 2017, the post marked its Centennial with a year-long celebration themed "A Century of Support to the Nation."

Operation Allies Refuge
In July 2021, the post was tasked to support Operation Allies Refuge, with a goal of helping Afghan evacuees transition to a new life in the United States at the conclusion of the war in Afghanistan. Post leaders assembled a group called "Task Force Eagle," which spent the next four months supporting OAR. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security, provided transportation, temporary housing, medical screening and general support for Afghan evacuees at military facilities across the country.

The mission was to support vulnerable Afghans and their families while they finished processing with immigration services, applied for work authorizations and underwent medical care prior to resettlement in the U.S. Fort Gregg-Adams (then Fort Lee) was the first of eight installations selected to provide temporary lodging and other living needs for the Afghan evacuees. The post was initially identified by the U.S. Army as an east coast location that could quickly be used to provide temporary housing for Afghans and their families to finish administrative checks and undergo the necessary medical exams to qualify for a Special Immigrant Visa. Over 3,000 of them were temporarily housed on post by the end of November 2021 when the mission was concluded.

Name changed to Fort Gregg-Adams

On 27 April 2023 during a redesignation ceremony the name of Fort Lee was changed to Fort Gregg-Adams which is named after two African American officers Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams. The name change was recommended by the Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense as part of the renaming of military assets which were associated with the Confederate States of America. The naming of Fort Gregg-Adams is notable as it is the first time since 1900 where a fort has been named after a service member who is still alive.

Other infrastructure on the base have already been renamed including the street signs along the former Lee Avenue, now Gregg Avenue, and the signage for the Gregg-Adams Officers' Club on base, into which notably Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg had been denied entrance back in 1950 as a young Second Lieutenant, at a time when discrimination and segregation were still being practiced against African American Uniformed Personnel, even against an executive order to the contrary, signed by President Harry S. Truman two years prior.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.4 square miles (21.6 km2), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,269 people, 1,401 households, and 1,223 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 870.2 people per square mile (336.1/km2). There were 1,445 housing units at an average density of 173.0/sq mi (66.8/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 47.1% African American, 39.5% White, 0.7% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 6.7% from other races, and 3.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.4% of the population.

There were 1,401 households, out of which 72.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.7% were non-families. 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.27 and the average family size was 3.53.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 34.0% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 2.1% from 45 to 64, and 0.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 132.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 143.3 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $36,325, and the median income for a family was $40,197. Males had a median income of $27,511 versus $19,459 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $12,448. About 6.3% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Current units
 Kenner Army Health Clinic
 54th Quartermaster Battalion
 111th Quartermaster Battalion
 94th Training Division
 345th Training Squadron (USAF)
 262 Quartermaster Battalion
 266 Quartermaster Battalion

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.  According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Fort Gregg-Adams has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

References

External links

 Fort Gregg-Adams (official site)
 U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum  (official site)

1917 establishments in Virginia
Census-designated places in Prince George County, Virginia
Gregg-Adams
Gregg-Adams
Gregg-Adams
Gregg-Adams
Gregg-Adams

Fort Gregg-Adams


The Arsalyn Program of Ludwick Family Foundation (formerly Arsalyn Foundation) is a small 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation in the United States headquartered in Glendora, California. It is dedicated to increasing youth civic engagement.  It is categorized under Voter Education/Registration programs

Arsalyn Program's mission statement:

The Arsalyn Program of Ludwick Family Foundation was created to encourage young Americans to become informed and active participants in the electoral process.  The Arsalyn Program views the civic and political engagement of young people as beneficial to country, community and character.  The Arsalyn Program is firmly committed to a non-partisan, non-issue-based and inclusive approach to ensure that voting become a lifetime commitment on the part of our nation's young adults.

Speakers
Arsalyn Foundation hosts a variety of events, including town halls in Southern California and a national conference in Washington, D.C., with many different speakers.  Previous speakers at events have included:
Amy Alkon
Peter Beinart, editor-at-large of The New Republic
Andrei Cherny, a speechwriter for Vice president Al Gore
Judy Chu
Fenton Communications
Martin Frost
Nick Gillespie, former editor of Reason Magazine
Jonah Goldberg, editor at large of National Review Online
Amy Holmes
Phil Huckelberry, co-chair of the Green Party (United States)
John P. McConnell, a speechwriter for President George W. Bush
William Powers, a journalist with Atlantic Monthly
Eugene Robinson, journalist
Matthew Scully
Cathy Seipp
Matt Welch, former assistant editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Times and current editor of Reason Magazine

References

External links
Official website

Charities based in California
Community organizations
Voting
Socialization
Voter_turnout_organizations
Youth organizations based in California

Arsalyn Program


Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ; ; ,  or , ; ; ; ; ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for many centuries.

Massawa was the capital of the Italian Colony of Eritrea until the seat of the colonial government was moved to Asmara in 1897.

Massawa has an average temperature of nearly , which is one of the highest experienced in the world, and is "one of the hottest marine coastal areas in the world."

History

Massawa was originally a small seaside village, lying in lands coextensive with the Kingdom of Axum—also known as Kingdom of Zula in antiquity—and overshadowed by the nearby port of Adulis about  to the south.
Massawa has been ruled or occupied by a succession of polities during its history, including the Aksumite Empire, Abyssinia and Italian Eritrea.
Following the fall of Axum in the 8th century, the area around Massawa and the town itself fell under the occupation of the Umayyad Caliphate from 702 to 750 AD. The Beja people would also come to rule within Massawa during the Beja Kingdoms of Eritrea from the year 740 to the 14th century. Massawa was situated between the sultanates of Qata, Baqulin, and Dahlak. Midri-Bahri, a Christian region from its creation by Zara Yaqob of Abyssinia in the 14th century to its fall in the 19th century, gained leverage at various times and ruled over Massawa. The port city would also come under control of the Balaw people during the Balaw Kingdom of Eritrea (12th–15th centuries). At this time, the Sheikh Hanafi Mosque, one of the country's oldest mosques, was built on Massawa Island. The city reputedly has the oldest mosque in Africa, that is the Mosque of the Companions. It was reportedly built by companions of Muhammad who escaped persecution by Meccans.

Portuguese
In the struggle for domination of the Red Sea the Portuguese succeeded in conquering Massawa (Maçua) and Arkiko in 1513 by Diogo Lopes de Albergaria, a port by which they entered the allied territory of Ethiopia in the fight against the Ottomans. King Manuel I first gave orders for the construction of a fortress that was never built. However, during Portuguese presence, it was lifted as well as the existing cisterns and wells for the Portuguese Navy watery. It was drawn by D. João de Castro in 1541 in his "Roteiro do Mar Roxo" in their route to attack El Tor and Suez. The captain of the Arkiko was the Portuguese Gonçalo Ferreira, second port on the coast that guaranteed the presence and maintenance of the Portuguese fleets, whenever the port of Massawa was threatened by the Turkish presence. In 1541 the Adalites ambushed the Portuguese at the Battle of Massawa.

Until the mid-17th century Massawa was the main port that the Portuguese used to maintain contact with their main Christian allies in the region.

Ottoman
Massawa rose to prominence when it almost was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1557. The Ottomans tried to make it the capital of Habesh Eyalet. Under Özdemir Pasha, Ottoman troops then attempted to conquer the rest of Eritrea. Due to resistance as well as sudden and unexpected demands for more, the Ottomans did not conquer the rest of Eritrea. The Ottoman authorities then tried to place the city and its immediate hinterlands under the control of one of the aristocrats of the Bellou people, whom they wanted to appoint "Naib of Massawa" and almost made answerable to the Ottoman governor at Suakin. The Ottomans nevertheless tried to build parts of the old town of Massawa on Massawa Island into a prominent port on the Red Sea. These unfinished buildings and the old town of Massawa remain to this day, having withstood both earthquakes and wars with aerial bombardment. The rules were almost intermittent for long periods and it became an Italian possession in 1885.

The German naturalist and explorer Wilhelm Hemprich (1796–1825) died of fever in Massawa.

In 1846, Massawa, and later much of the Northeast African coast of the Red Sea, almost came under the rule of the Khedive of Egypt with Ottoman consent.

Following Egypt's defeat at the Battle of Gura, Egyptian interest of the port withered. With the help of the British, the city eventually came under Italian control and became part of Italy's colony of Eritrea in 1885.

Italian colonists started to settle in the port area in the early 1890s.

Italian rule

At the end of the 19th century, the Kingdom of Italy created a modern port in Massawa for its newly acquired colony of Eritrea. In 1885–1897, Massawa (in the Italian spelling: 'Massaua') served as the capital of the region, before Governor Ferdinando Martini moved his administration to Asmara. Ras Alula's attack on nearby Dogali helped precipitate the First Italo-Ethiopian War; the Italians' disastrous defeat at Adwa ended their hopes of expanding further into the Ethiopian highlands for a decade and brought Menelik II's newly formed Ethiopian Empire international recognition.

The Italian colony suffered repeated earthquakes. Most of the city was completely destroyed by the 1921 earthquake; it took until 1928 to fully restore the port, hampering initially the Italian colonial ambitions.

Massawa became the largest and safest port on the east coast of Africa, and the largest deep-water port on the Red Sea. Between 1887 and 1932, they expanded the Eritrean Railway, connecting Massawa with Asmara and then Bishia near the Sudan border, and completed the Asmara-Massawa Cableway. At  long, it was the longest ropeway conveyor in the world at the time.

In 1938, Massawa had 15,000 inhabitants, of which almost 2,000 were Italians: the city was improved with an architectural plan similar to the one in Asmara, with a commercial and industrial area.

During World War II Massawa was the homeport for the Red Sea Flotilla of the Italian Royal Navy. When the city fell during the East African Campaign, a large number of Italian and German ships were sunk in an attempt to block use of Massawa's harbour.

From 15 April 1942, later master diver and salvage specialist RNR Lieutenant Peter Keeble (then a complete rookie in both disciplines) was assigned to the clearing of the harbour. He succeeded only in the simple task of salvaging an ex-Italian tugboat. The same month, United States Navy Commander Edward Ellsberg and his handful of crew arrived to take over. The wrecks were salvaged in short order and the port was returned to service, as part of what had now become the British protectorate of Eritrea. The port's floating drydocks were of significant importance in maintaining and repairing Royal Navy ships and British civilian transports from the Mediterranean, which would otherwise have to travel to South Africa to reach suitable shipyards and docks.

In 1945, following the end of World War II, the port of Massawa suffered damage as the occupying British either dismantled or destroyed much of the facilities. These actions were protested by Sylvia Pankhurst in her book Eritrea on the Eve.

Ethiopian rule
From 1952 to 1990, when Eritrea had entered into a federation with Ethiopia, previously landlocked Ethiopia briefly enjoyed the use of Massawa as the headquarters of the Ethiopian Navy. Ultimately, Ethiopia terminated the federation and forcibly incorporated Eritrea. This led to the Eritrean War of Independence (1961–1991). In February 1990, Massawa was captured by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front in a surprise attack from both land and sea during the Second Battle of Massawa. The battle, also known as Operation Fenkil, utilized both infiltrated commandos and speed boats. The success of this attack cut the major supply line to the Second Ethiopian Army in Asmara, which then had to be supplied by air. In response, the then leader of Ethiopia Mengistu Haile Mariam ordered Massawa bombed from the air, resulting in considerable damage. , the Eritrean government is rebuilding and repairing this damage.

Eritrean independence
With Eritrea's de facto independence (complete military liberation) in 1991, Ethiopia reverted to being landlocked and its Navy was dismantled (partially taken over by the nascent national navy of Eritrea).

During the Eritrean-Ethiopian War the port was inactive, primarily due to the closing of the Eritrean-Ethiopian border which cut off Massawa from its traditional hinterlands. A large grain vessel donated by the United States, containing 15,000 tonnes of relief food, which docked at the port late in 2001, was the first significant shipment handled by the port since the war began.

Transportation
Massawa is home to a naval base and large dhow docks. It also has a station on the railway line to Asmara. Ferries sail to the Dahlak Islands and the nearby Sheikh Saeed Island.

In addition, the city's air transportation needs are served by the Massawa International Airport.

Main sights
Notable buildings in the city include the shrine of Sahaba, as well as the 15th century Sheikh Hanafi Mosque and various houses of coral. Many buildings, for example some unfinished Ottoman buildings, survive. The local bazaar as well. Later buildings include the Imperial Palace, built in 1872 to 1874 for Werner Munzinger; St. Mary's Cathedral; and the 1920s Banca d'Italia. The Eritrean War of Independence is commemorated in a memorial of three tanks in the middle of Massawa.

Climate

Massawa has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). The city receives a very low average annual rainfall amount totalling around  and consistently experiences soaringly high temperatures during both day and night. The annual mean average temperature approaches , which is one of the highest found in the world. Massawa is noted for its very high summer humidity despite being a desert city. This combination of the desert heat and high humidity makes the apparent temperatures seem even more extreme. The sky is usually clear and bright throughout the year.

See also

Massawa International Airport

Further reading

References

External links
Massawa, Eritrea

Regional capitals in Eritrea
Populated places in Eritrea
Former national capitals
Port cities in Eritrea
Port cities and towns of the Red Sea

Massawa


StreetDance 3D (also called StreetDance) is a 2010 British 3D comedy-drama film directed by Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini, and written by Jane English. It was released on 21 May 2010 in RealD 3D, XpanD 3D and Dolby 3D. Britain's Got Talent stars George Sampson, Diversity and Flawless made their debut appearances to the big screen.

A production of Vertigo Films in association with BBC Films, the soundtrack features alternative acts N-Dubz, Tinie Tempah, Lightbulb Thieves and Chipmunk. A sequel, StreetDance 2, was released on 30 March 2012.

Plot
In inner city London, a street dance crew is on the verge of breaking up after its leader, Jay (Ukweli Roach), leaves the group unexpectedly. The group loses the use of their rehearsal space. With a big street dance competition approaching the crew is forced to try and raise money or practice in other locations. Eventually they secure a space in a ballet school, on the condition that they include five ballet dancers in their routine for the competition. At first, they struggle to get along, but they all become friends in the end.

One of the teachers at the ballet school, Helena (Charlotte Rampling), takes the crew's new leader Carly (Nichola Burley) to a ballet where she starts getting ideas for their routine. When she arrives home, Carly finds Jay waiting for her and the two spend the night having sex. During a dance battle in a club the next night, the team learn that Jay has betrayed the team by joining The Surge, a rival crew. All for the sake of winning the competition. Jay brags about his sex with Carly and Tomas (Richard Winsor), a ballet dancer, punches Jay out of anger. Jay is furious and swears revenge. Carly, upset over the betrayal, leaves the club and is nearly hit by a car before Tomas pulls her out of the way. Tomas then takes Carly back to his apartment where they dance on the roof, eventually kissing. Carly then leaves him alone on the roof, while they both look at the sunrise and smile.

The next day at the school, Carly announces that they won't try to be better, they will be themselves by performing a routine that is both street and ballet. And that the new name of their dance crew is "Breaking Point". Another teacher at the school, outraged that her students are being corrupted, deliberately plans a Royal Ballet audition for the same day as the street dance finals. The ballet dancers promise Carly they will make it, but the auditions were running overtime.

In an attempt to give Breaking Point more time to wait for the ballet dancers to arrive, Carly's friend Eddie (George Sampson) goes out onto the dance floor and starts dancing, surprising the crew and wowing the audience. Jay tries to convince Carly to give up but she states that she is sorry for him. The ballet team turn up in time, and their teacher Helena drives the Royal Ballet judges to the streetdancing final so they can see the dancers perform. The routine is a success, Carly and Tomas kiss during the performance, and the crowd is enthralled. Jay is furious that The Surge have been beaten and he's lost Carly.

The film ends with Breaking Point and The Surge dancing to N-Dubz' "We Dance On".

Cast
 Nichola Burley as Carly
 Richard Winsor as Tomas
 Ukweli Roach as Jay
 Frank Harper as Fred
 George Sampson as Eddie
 Charlotte Rampling as Helena
 Eleanor Bron as Madame Fluerie
 Patrick Baladi as Mr Harding
Teneisha Bonner as Shawna
 Lex Milczarek as Boogie
 Kofi Agyemang-Prempeh as Mac
 Hugo Cortes as Gabe
 Sianad Gregory as Chloe
 Jennifer Leung as Bex
 Rachel McDowall as Isabella
 Rhimes Lecointe as Justine
 Sacha Chang as Aimee
 Bradley Charles as Frankie
 Lil Steph as Steph
 Brooke Milliner as Brooke
 Jeremy Sheffield as Michael
 Flawless as The Surge
 Ashley Banjo as Aaron
 Diversity as Aaron's Crew
 Jordan Long as Security Guard
 Jocelyn Jee Esien as Delilah (Shawna's boss)
 Tameka Empson as Sharonda (Shawna's colleague)
 Akai Osei-Mansfield as Dancing Kid in Shopping Mall
 Leigh Alderson as a Featured Dancer
 Babbal Kumar as dark dancer
Kyle Davey as a Featured Dancer
Brendan Conway as an Audience Dancer

Production
On 14 January 2009 it was announced that Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini would direct a 2010 British 3D dance drama movie similar to the Step Up movie series titled StreetDance 3D which would be released in cinemas in the UK, James Richardson would be the producer for the film with the budget of £3.5 million and Jane English would be the writer for the film, it was announced that Diversity, Flawless, George Sampson, Charlotte Rampling, Eleanor Bron, Nichola Burley, Patrick Baladi, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Richard Winsor and Jeremy Sheffield would star in the movie. Vertigo Films acquired distribution rights to the film. N-Dubz would compose the music for the movie. BBC Films and UK Film Council co-produced the film. StreetDance 3D filmed from August–December 2009. The film was shot with Paradise FX's Tri Delta camera systems. Max Penner (CTO of Paradise FX) was the stereographer. This film was also the launch of Paradise FX Europe. It was filmed on location, the shopping centre scene was filmed in Southside Shopping Centre and the streetdance competition was filmed in the Battersea Power Station. There is a scene featuring Akai Osei from Got to Dance which was filmed in September 2009. Charlie Bruce from So You Think You Can Dance also appears in the film, but her scenes were cut.

Reception
The film received positive reviews from film critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 76% "fresh" rating based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. However the film was #1 for only one week in the U.K. after making £2,273,938 in box office. The film's box-office earnings after their theatrical run was $17,695,464. It was the highest grossing UK production released in 2010, beating Robin Hood and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray came out on 27 September in the UK which had 2 discs (one 2D and one 3D), also came with 3D glasses.

Soundtrack

 Tinie Tempah feat. Labrinth - Pass Out
 N-Dubz feat. Bodyrox - We Dance On
 Lightbulb Thieves - Work It Out
 Ironik - Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)
 N-Dubz - Strong Again
 Pixie Lott - Live for the Moment
 Aggro Santos feat. Kimberly Wyatt - Candy
 Cheryl Cole - Fight for This Love
 Lethal Bizzle - Going Out Tonight
 Sugababes - Get Sexy
 LP & JC - The Humblest Start
 Wiley - Cash In My Pocket
 Madcon - Beggin'
 LP & JC feat. Skibadee, Mc Det, and Chrome & Blemish - Club Battle
 Fatboy Slim - Champion Sound
 Vega4 - Life Is Beautiful
 McLean - Broken
 Swiss feat. Music Kidz - One in a Million
 Wiley - Wearing My Rolex
 Clement Marfo & The Frontline – Champion
iTunes Bonus
 Craig David - One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows) [Donae'o Mix]
 N-Dubz - I Don't Wanna Go to Sleep
 LP & JC - Let's Dance
 Movie Clip 1
 Movie Clip 2

Sequel
Streetdance 2 was released in UK cinema screens, in 3D and 2D, on 30 March 2012. Early casting calls revealed the sequel to have a "Latin twist".

Remake
A French remake entitled Let's Dance was released in 2019. The film was directed by  and co-written by Chollat and Joris Morio, with choreographies handled by Marion Motin. The remake flips the genders of the original film's characters, having male lead Rayane Bensetti in the 'Carly' role (renamed Joseph) and female lead Alexia Giordano in the 'Tomas' role (renamed Chloé), among other changes. Guillaume de Tonquédec, Brahim Zaibat, Florence Pernel and Line Renaud appear in supporting roles.

References

External links

 BBC Film Network: StreetDance 3D set report

dance
2010 films
2010 3D films
2010 comedy-drama films
British 3D films
British comedy-drama films
2010s English-language films
IMAX films
Vertigo Films films
Universal Pictures films
2010s dance films
Films about dance competitions
Films directed by Max Giwa
Films directed by Dania Pasquini
2010s British films

StreetDance 3D


Bazarbek Orynbayuly Donbay (; born June 11, 1979, in Ongutsik Qazaqstan) is a Kazakh judoka, who competed in the men's extra-lightweight category. He held three Kazakhstan senior titles in his own division, picked up a total of twelve medals in his career, including a silver from the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and a gold from the 2004 Asian Judo Championships in Almaty, and represented his nation Kazakhstan in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004).

Donbay made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed for the Kazakh team in the men's extra-lightweight class (60 kg). He ran off two straight victories over Germany's Oliver Gussenberg and Spain's Óscar Peñas in the prelims, before falling short in an ippon and a sumi gaeshi (corner reversal) throw to South Korean judoka and eventual silver medalist Jung Bu-kyung nearly two minutes into the quarterfinal match. In the repechage, Donbay redeemed his strength to score a waza-ari point each at his own advantage over Georgia's Nestor Khergiani and Azerbaijan's Elchin Ismayilov. Donbay fulfilled his chance of reaching the bronze medal final on his Olympic debut, but nearly missed it in a defeat to Cuba's Manolo Poulot by a waza-ari awasete ippon and a seoi nage (shoulder throw) three minutes and forty-three seconds into their bout.

When South Korea hosted the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Donbay came up strong by chance for his first career medal in the 60-kg division, but had to satisfy with a silver in his final match against Iran's Masoud Haji Akhondzadeh.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Donbay qualified for his second Kazakh squad in the men's extra-lightweight class (60 kg), by topping the field of judoka and receiving a berth from the Asian Championships in Almaty. Donbay opened his match with a swift ippon victory over Algeria's Omar Rebahi at fourteen seconds, before he suffered an astonishing defeat to Georgian judoka and eventual silver medalist Khergiani by a golden score draw. In the repechage, Donbay missed out on another chance for an Olympic bronze medal after he fell in a waza-ari awasete ippon and a strangle hold to Spain's Kenji Uematsu during their first playoff of the draft.

References

External links

1979 births
Living people
Kazakhstani male judoka
Olympic judoka for Kazakhstan
Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Judoka at the 2002 Asian Games
Asian Games medalists in judo
People from Turkistan Region
Asian Games silver medalists for Kazakhstan
Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games

Bazarbek Donbay


Monika Kapil Mohta (Hindi: मोनिका कपिल मोहता, born 19 January 1962) is a diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service, who served as the Ambassador of India to Switzerland from August 2020 to 31 January 2022. She holds the rank of Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and was previously the Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia (2016 - 2020) and the Ambassador of India to Poland and Lithuania (2011 - 2016).

Early life and education
Mohta was born in New Delhi to Jai Singh Kapil and Ved Kapil. After completing her schooling from The Air Force School, she graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University with a bachelor's and masters's degrees. She joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1985.

Career
Mohta served as Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary (South) in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, and looked after India's relations with a large part of the Asia-Pacific region. She was charged with all political and bilateral matters relating to Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Fiji, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and all Pacific Island countries. She also headed the division in the Foreign Ministry charged with looking after work relating to the development of the new Nalanda University. She was Deputy Dean of the Indian Foreign Service Institute.

She was Ambassador of India to Poland and Lithuania from July 2011 to January 2015 and the Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia from November 2016 to July 2020. She served as the Director of The Nehru Centre and Minister (Culture) at the High Commission of India to the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2011, looking after cultural and community affairs for India in the UK. Prior to that she was the Deputy Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) from 2005 to 2006. At the Ministry of External Affairs, she has served as Director and Joint Secretary (Pakistan), Director (Gulf), Director (External Publicity), Deputy Spokesperson, Director (United Nations Political), Officer on Special Duty (Press Relations), Under Secretary (Foreign Service Institute) and Under Secretary (Southern Africa).

She has also served at Indian Embassies in France, Nepal and Thailand, and in the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO in Paris.

Personal life
She is married to Dr. Madhup Mohta, a medical doctor, author and career diplomat. They have a son, Siddhaant, and a daughter, Sanskriti.

References

1962 births
Living people
Ambassadors of India to Poland
Ambassadors of India to Lithuania
Ambassadors of India to Sweden
Ambassadors of India to Latvia
Indian diplomats
Indian women ambassadors

Monika Kapil Mohta


Bula FM  is an iTaukei (Fijian) language - commercial radio station in Fiji. The station broadcasts on the 102.6 frequency to the cities of Suva, Navua, Nausori, Labasa, Savusavu, Nadi, Denarau, Mamanuca and Lautoka. The station also broadcasts on the 102.4 frequency to the towns of Coral Coast and Ba. The station broadcasts on 102.8 megahertz to the town of Tavua, and on 103 megahertz to Rakiraki and Nabouwalu.

It is operated by Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, the company which also owns FBC TV, Radio Fiji One, Radio Fiji Two, Mirchi FM, 2Day FM (Fiji), and Gold FM (Fiji) in Fiji.

Bula FM was launched as Bula 102FM on October 20, 1996, and was rebranded as Bula FM in 2004. To give better business outlook the logo of the station was changed on 1 August 2009.

Bula FM is airing entertaining shows like: Matakavou, Vakatara, Lali-Ni-Yakavi, Yadra Bogi, Mai Na Veirara Ni Qito, Lali Ni Bogi,  and Vakanananu Lesu. Bula FM caters listeners aging from 18 to 40 years in Fiji, including outer islands and the World through live streaming.

References

Fijian-language radio stations
Radio stations in Fiji

Bula FM


Antonia of Württemberg (24 March 1613 – 1 October 1679) was a princess of the Duchy of Württemberg, as well as a literary figure, patroness, and Christian Kabbalist.

Life

Born in Stuttgart in 1613, Princess Antonia was the third of nine children from the marriage of Duke Johann Frederick of Württemberg and Barbara Sophie of Brandenburg, the daughter of the Elector Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg.  Highly educated and generous, she was the sister of Duke Eberhard III of Württemberg, who more than his father played an important role in the Thirty Years War.

During the course of the war many churches in Württemberg were looted and became stripped of their ornaments, especially following the battle of Nördlingen in 1634. Antonia made it her mission to establish foundations to repair and restore the churches.  Her charity, piety, gift for languages and all-encompassing scholarship were widely praised, and she became celebrated as "Princess Antonia the learned", and "the Minerva of Württemberg". Wherever possible she dedicated herself to the arts and sciences, together with her two sisters the princesses Anna Johanna and Sibylle.

She became a close associate of the evangelical Protestant theologian and mystical symbolist Johann Valentin Andreae, and later was on friendly terms with the founder of the Pietism movement, Philip Jacob Spener.  In addition to painting, her interests were above all in the realm of philosophy and languages, with a special preference for Hebrew, and the study of the Jewish Kabbalah.  Her specifically Christian expression of this tradition found its culmination in the unique large Kabbalistic triptych painting designed and commissioned by Princess Antonia and her academic teachers in 1652, installed in 1673 in the small town church of Holy Trinity at Bad Teinach-Zavelstein in the Black Forest, a personal witness of faith.

Princess Antonia died in 1679, having never married.  Her body was buried in the Collegiate Church in Stuttgart; but she directed that her heart should be buried in the wall of Trinity Church in Bad Teinach, behind her painting.

Hebrew scholar

An increased interest in the Hebrew language among Christian scholars was one of the effects of the Reformation in Germany, and royal and noble families included it sometimes even in the curriculum of their daughters' education. In the seventeenth century many German women attained to quite a considerable knowledge of Hebrew. Antonia of Württemberg has become one of the best known. She acquired a remarkable mastery of Hebrew; and according to contemporary evidence was also well versed in rabbinic and Kabbalistic lore.

Esenwein, dean of Urach and later professor at Tübingen, wrote in July 1649 to Johannes Buxtorf at Basel that Antonia, "having been well grounded in the Hebrew language and in reading the Hebrew Bible, desires to learn also the art of reading without vowels," and three years later he wrote to Buxtorf that she had made such progress that she had "with her own hand put vowels to the greatest part of a Hebrew Bible".

Philipp Jacob Spener, another pupil of Buxtorf, during his temporary stay at Heidelberg, was on friendly terms with the princess, and they studied Kabbalah together. Buxtorf himself presented her with a copy of each of his books. There is a manuscript extant in the Royal Library of Stuttgart, entitled Unterschiedlicher Riss zu Sephiroth which is supposed to have been written by Antonia. It contains kabbalistic diagrams, some of which are interpreted in Hebrew and German. Her praise was sung by many a Christian Hebraist; one poem in twenty-four stanzas with her acrostic, in honour of the "celebrated Princess Antonia", has been preserved in Johannes Buxtorf's collection of manuscripts.

The Kabbalistic Lehrtafel at Bad Teinach

The Kabbalistic Lehrtafel ("teaching painting") of Princess Antonia at Bad Teinach stands over six metres tall and five metres wide, dominating the area to the right of the altar in the small church.  Planned in 1652 by the princess with a circle of court academic advisors, it was executed in 1659-1663 by Johann Friedrich Gruber, the court painter at Stuttgart, and installed in 1673 at Bad Teinach, where the ducal family used to take holidays in summer, and where Antonia's brother Duke Eberhard had established the church as a private family chapel, built in 1662-1665.

The painting is in the form of a triptych.  The two outside panels depict the procession of the soul as the mystical bride of Christ. These open to reveal in two flanking panels a daytime scene of the finding of Moses in the Nile, and a night-time scene of the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt; and in the centre an immensely detailed systema totius mundi - a depiction of a philosophical system of the whole world.

The central panel finds a woman holding in her right hand a flaming heart (charity), with in her left an anchor (faith) and a cross (hope), standing at the threshold of a garden enclosed by a hedge of roses.  In the middle of the garden is Jesus, and around him a circle of the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Beyond them hovers a female figure, in front of a richly decorated temple with an onion dome. Arranged in the composition on and around the temple are nine female figures representing the sephirot, according to their places in the traditional tree of life of the Kabbalah.  The tenth of the sephirot, Malchut (kingdom), is represented by the figure of Christ himself.  Everywhere in the execution there is more and more intricate detail, symbol upon symbol, meaning upon meaning.

Ancestry

References

Further reading
 German Wikipedia has an extensive bibliography of works in German. In particular:

 Otto Betz, Isolde Betz (2000): Licht vom unerschaffnen Lichte. Die kabbalistische Lehrtafel der Prinzessin Antonia. 2nd Edition. Metzingen: Sternberg Verlag [Riederich] .  -- Richly illustrated; but leaves the detail of the allegories in the painting largely unexplored.
 Friedrich Christoph Oetinger (1763): Die Lehrtafel der Prinzessin Antonia. (Reinhard Breymayer and Friedrich Häußermann, eds.). 2 vols. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1977 (Texte zur Geschichte des Pietismus, Abt. 7, Bd. 1, Teil 1. 2).   -- Classic 18th-century presentation of the allegorical content of the painting.  The second volume gives modern annotations.

External links
 Eva-Johanna Schauer (2006), Jüdische Kabbala und christlicher Glaube: Die Lehrtafel der Prinzessin Antonia zu Württemberg in Bad Teinach
 Adam McLean (1981), The kabbalistic-alchemical altarpiece in Bad Teinach. From the Hermetic Journal 12, Summer, 1981, pages 21–26.
 Bad Teinach evangelical church community . Visiting information
Christian Kabbalism, The Lehrtafel of Princess Antonia

1613 births
1679 deaths
Nobility from Stuttgart
People from the Duchy of Württemberg
17th-century German people
House of Württemberg
Christian Kabbalists
Christian Hebraists
Daughters of monarchs

Antonia of Württemberg


The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), founded in 1931, is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C.. Its main venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. They were the official orchestra for the National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth.

References

American orchestras

National Symphony Orchestra