Samuel Washington Wise (August 18, 1857 – January 22, 1910) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of twelve seasons in Major League Baseball from 1881 to 1893, most often as either a shortstop or second baseman. He played for the Detroit Wolverines, Boston Red Caps (and later Beaneaters), and Washington Senators in the National League, the Baltimore Orioles in the American Association, and the Players' League Buffalo Bisons.

Early life
Wise was born in Akron, Ohio, to two Pennsylvania natives, Samuel Wise and the former Sarah Weary.

Career
Wise played semi-pro baseball in 1880 and 1881 for an Akron team organized by Charlie Morton, where his teammates included future major-league stars such as Bid McPhee and Tony Mullane. He played in a single NL game for the 1881 Detroit Wolverines. In 1882, Wise ended up signing with both the NL's Boston Red Caps and the American Association's Cincinnati Red Stockings. When the Red Stockings unsuccessfully sued the Red Caps, it marked the first American court case involving professional baseball.

Playing for Boston through 1888, Wise was mostly a left-handed hitter, but he sometimes batted right-handed on a whim. He became the first 100-strikeout hitter in the major leagues in 1884, and he was often erratic on defense, especially when throwing to first base. He sustained an injury in 1886, requiring a move to first base, and he had off-and-on arm difficulties for the rest of his career. Still, he had a stellar offensive season in 1887, hitting .334.

Wise spent 1889 with the Washington Nationals, but that team left the NL after the season, and most of its players went to the Buffalo Bisons of the Players' League (PL) in 1890. The PL lasted only one year and Wise was only in the major leagues until 1893.

Wise concluded his playing career by spending six seasons in the minor leagues, mostly with the Eastern League's team in Buffalo; the squad was managed by Morton. After retiring as a player, Wise worked for the Diamond Tire and Rubber Company and was a businessman in Buffalo for a short time before coming home to Akron. He umpired in the Ohio–Pennsylvania League, a minor league run by Morton.

Personal life
In 1885 Samuel W. Wise fathered a son in Boston, MA with Irish-born Ellen McKenna.  The child was named Samuel Henry Wise, but his name was revised on the birth record to John Francis Wise.  John F. Wise became a Boston policeman in 1913 and participated in the 1919 Boston Police Strike. In 1887, Wise married the former Lizzie O'Neill of Utica, New York. He was known as a womanizer even after his marriage. Wise and Lizzie O'Neill had one child.

Death
Wise was said to have sought medical treatments for appendicitis "for a long time". In January 1910, he became so ill that physicians recommended that he come to the hospital for surgery. The procedure was described as successful, but the Akron Beacon Journal said that "the after effects were worse than expected." Wise died at home on January 22 shortly after telling his wife that he had tried to be brave in fighting the illness.

See also
 List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders

References

External links

Major League Baseball shortstops
Major League Baseball second basemen
Detroit Wolverines players
Boston Red Caps players
Boston Beaneaters players
Buffalo Bisons (PL) players
Baltimore Orioles (AA) players
Washington Senators (1891–1899) players
Rochester Flour Cities players
Binghamton Bingoes players
Allentown Buffaloes players
Allentown Kelly's Killers players
Easton (minor league baseball) players
Ashland (minor league baseball) players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Newark Colts players
Baseball players from Akron, Ohio
19th-century baseball players
1857 births
1910 deaths

Sam Wise


The many-body problem is a general name for a vast category of physical problems pertaining to the properties of microscopic systems made of many interacting particles. Microscopic here implies that quantum mechanics has to be used to provide an accurate description of the system. Many can be anywhere from three to infinity (in the case of a practically infinite, homogeneous or periodic system, such as a crystal), although three- and four-body systems can be treated by specific means (respectively the Faddeev and Faddeev–Yakubovsky equations) and are thus sometimes separately classified as few-body systems.

In general terms, while the underlying physical laws that govern the motion of each individual particle may (or may not) be simple, the study of the collection of particles can be extremely complex. In such a quantum system, the repeated interactions between particles create quantum correlations, or entanglement. As a consequence, the wave function of the system is a complicated object holding a large amount of information, which usually makes exact or analytical calculations impractical or even impossible.

This becomes especially clear by a comparison to classical mechanics. Imagine a single particle that can be described with  numbers (take for example a free particle described by its position and velocity vector, resulting in ). In classical mechanics,  such particles can simply be described by  numbers. The dimension of the classical many-body system scales linearly with the number of particles .
In quantum mechanics, however, the many-body-system is in general in a superposition of combinations of single particle states - all the  different combinations have to be accounted for. The dimension of the quantum many body system therefore scales exponentially with , much faster than in classical mechanics.

Because the required numerical expense grows so quickly, simulating the dynamics of more than three quantum-mechanical particles is already infeasible for many physical systems. Thus, many-body theoretical physics most often relies on a set of approximations specific to the problem at hand, and ranks among the most computationally intensive fields of science.

In many cases, emergent phenomena may arise which bear little resemblance to the underlying elementary laws.

Many-body problems play a central role in condensed matter physics.

Examples

 Condensed matter physics (solid-state physics, nanoscience, superconductivity)
 Bose–Einstein condensation and Superfluids
 Quantum chemistry (computational chemistry, molecular physics)
 Atomic physics
 Molecular physics
 Nuclear physics (Nuclear structure, nuclear reactions, nuclear matter)
 Quantum chromodynamics (Lattice QCD, hadron spectroscopy, QCD matter, quark–gluon plasma)

Approaches

 Mean-field theory and extensions (e.g. Hartree–Fock, Random phase approximation)
 Dynamical mean field theory
 Many-body perturbation theory and Green's function-based methods
 Configuration interaction
 Coupled cluster
 Various Monte-Carlo approaches
 Density functional theory
 Lattice gauge theory
 Matrix product state
 Neural network quantum states
 Numerical renormalization group

Further reading

References

Quantum mechanics
Computational physics

Many-body problem


A diocesan bishop, within various Christian traditions, is a bishop or archbishop in pastoral charge of a diocese or archdiocese. In relation to other bishops, a diocesan bishop may be a suffragan, a metropolitan (if an archbishop) or a primate. They may also hold various other positions such as being a cardinal or patriarch.

Titular bishops in the Roman Catholic Church may be assistant bishops with special faculties, coadjutor bishops (these bishops are now named as coadjutors of the dioceses they will lead, and not as titular bishops), auxiliary bishops, nuncios or similar papal diplomats (usually archbishops), officials of the Roman Curia (usually for bishops as heads or deputies of departments who are not previous ordinaries), etc. They may also hold other positions such as cardinal. The see of titular bishop is only nominal, not pastoral- meaning he does not exercise final authority as the head bishop (the ordinary), or have the right to automatically succeed the aforementioned individual (the coadjutor), over an existing diocese or archdiocese or their Eastern rite equivalents, (arch-)eparchies. Titular bishops may be active or retired. Occasionally, as a priest, they may have been given a titular bishopric or archbishopric as an honor by the Pope, similar to when he names some cardinals.

Roman Catholic Church

A diocesan bishop — in the Catholic Church — is entrusted with the pastoral care of a local Church (diocese), over which he holds ordinary jurisdiction.  He is responsible for teaching, governing, and sanctifying the faithful of his diocese, sharing these duties with the priests and deacons who serve under him.

Coadjutor bishop
The Holy See can appoint a coadjutor bishop for a diocese. He has special faculties and the right of succession.

Auxiliary bishop
The diocesan bishop may request that the Holy See appoint one or more auxiliary bishops to assist him in his duties.

Bishop emeritus
When a diocesan bishop or auxiliary bishop retires, the word "emeritus" is added to his former title, i.e., "Archbishop Emeritus of ...", "Bishop Emeritus of ...", or "Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of ...".  Examples of usage are: "The Most Reverend (or Right Reverend) John Jones, Bishop Emeritus of Anytown"; and "His Eminence Cardinal James Smith, Archbishop Emeritus of Anycity". The term "Bishop Emeritus" of a particular see can apply to several people, if the first lives long enough. The sees listed in the 2007 Annuario Pontificio as having more than one bishop emeritus included Zárate-Campana, Villavicencio, Versailles, and Uruguaiana. There were even three Archbishops Emeriti of Taipei. The same suffix was applied to the Bishop of Rome, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, on his retirement.

Eastern orthodox
Archiereus (, Russian, arkhierei) is a Greek term for diocesan bishop, when considered as the culmination of the priesthood. It is used in the liturgical books of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church, for those services which correspond to the pontifical services of the Roman Rite. The term is distinct from protoiereus (archpriest), the highest ecclesiastical rank which a married priest may attain in the Greek Church.

The word is used in the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews to mean "high priest" (Heb 2:17; 3:1; 4:14,15; 5:1,5,10; 6:20; 7:26,27,28; 8:1,3; 9:7,11,25; 19:11; 13:11).

See also
 Ordinary (church officer)

Footnotes

Bishops by type

Episcopacy in the Catholic Church

Diocesan bishop


Saturnino Calderón de la Barca y Collantes (1799–1864) was a Spanish noble and politician who served as Minister of State from 1858 to 1863, during the reign of Queen Isabella II of Spain and in a cabinet headed by Leopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Duke of Tetuan.

Biography
He was born at Reinosa, the  eldest son of Manuel Santiago Calderón de la Barca y Rodríguez-Fontecha, Senator for Cantabria, and his wife Saturnina Collantes y Fonegra. His younger brother Fernando Calderón de la Barca, 1st Marquis of Reinosa was also a prominent politician who held important offices.

Among other honours, Calderón was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Orders of Charles III, Isabella the Catholic, Pius IX, the Légion d'honneur, the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa, the Ludwigsorden, the Dannebrog, the Polar Star, the Royal Guelphic Order and Saint Januarius, and Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold of Belgium.

He died at Madrid in 1864.

Sources
Ruiz Gómez, Fernando, The Collantes Family.
The Calderones in Spain.
Personal dossier of D. Saturnino Calderón de la Barca. Spanish Senate

|-

1799 births
1864 deaths
People from Reinosa
Liberal Union (Spain) politicians
Foreign ministers of Spain
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
Knights of the Order of Pope Pius IX
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog
Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic

Saturnino Calderón Collantes


Bainbridge's (company name Bainbridge & Co) was a major department store in Eldon Square in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The store, which is now branded as John Lewis Newcastle, moved to its current site in 1974, but the company dates back to 1838. It claimed to be the first true department store in the world, having begun recording weekly turnover separately by department in 1849. In 2002, after a vote by store employees, the owner John Lewis changed the official name to John Lewis Newcastle.

History

The store dates back to 1838, when Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge went into partnership with William Alder Dunn and opened a drapers and fashion shop in Newcastle's Market Street. Despite success the two partners fell out and went their separate ways. Their partnership was dissolved in 1841.

In 1849 there were 23 separate departments, with weekly takings recorded by department, the basis for its claim to be the world's first true department store. This ledger survives and is now kept in the archives of the John Lewis Partnership.  Emerson became the sole proprietor in 1855. By the 1870s there were more than forty retail departments.

Emerson Bainbridge died in 1892 and his sons took over the business. In that same year, Bainbridge's employed a staff of 600 in Newcastle, and the store had 11,705 square yards of floor space. In 1897 the business became a private limited company. During the Depression, which hit the Newcastle area badly, the store introduced agents who operated in less prosperous areas, collecting payments in weekly instalments. This meant that people on low incomes could continue to buy from the shop and it kept the Bainbridge name and reputation known in areas where otherwise it might have faded away.

In 1952 an offer from the John Lewis Partnership was accepted and ownership transferred to John Lewis in the following year, although the store continued to operate under the Bainbridge brand alongside the words "A branch of the John Lewis Partnership". The John Lewis takeover allowed much needed capital investment into the store, making it into one of the leading department stores in the UK by 1974. In 1976 the store was relocated to the Eldon Square shopping centre in the city, and was at the time the largest John Lewis store outside London.

In 2002 further refurbishment took place, and in the same year (following a suggestion from the store partners) the store was re-branded as John Lewis.

At the time of its demise, the Bainbridge name was one of the longest continuously traded department store brands in the world.

In 2008, a Waitrose supermarket, also owned by the John Lewis Partnership, opened in an extension to Eldon Square, constructed in the undercroft area that was formerly occupied by Eldon Square bus station. The Waitrose was across the mall from the basement entrance of John Lewis, but is not linked to it directly. The Waitrose closed in November 2022.

References

Further reading

Retail companies established in 1838
John Lewis Partnership
Department stores of the United Kingdom
Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne
1838 establishments in England
Newcastle upon Tyne

Bainbridge's


Irving Raskin Levine (August 26, 1922 – March 27, 2009) was an American journalist and longtime correspondent for NBC News. During his 45-year career, Levine reported from more than two dozen countries. He was the first American television correspondent to be accredited in the Soviet Union. He wrote three non-fiction books on life in the USSR, each of which became a bestseller.

Early life and education
Born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Levine graduated from Brown University.

Career
In 1940 Levine went into journalism, starting at the Providence Journal as an obituary writer. During World War II, he served with the Army Signal Corps.

After completing graduate school at the Columbia University School of Journalism, Levine started working for the International News Service. He covered the outbreak of war in Korea in 1950 and began freelancing for NBC News. He joined them in 1950 as a correspondent. During his career, he reported from more than two dozen countries. These included the USSR, where in 1955, he became the first American television correspondent to receive accreditation. He had accompanied some American farming experts there, and stayed for four years to report on the country. He later recounted that during 1955, he was approached to be a Soviet spy but he refused and, despite threats and being followed, managed to continue reporting.

He was named bureau chief of Rome, where he served for nearly 12 years, also being stationed in Vienna and Tokyo. His reporting on Europe included accounts of the 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall by East Germany; the Vatican II Ecumenical Council, which opened in 1962; and the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the USSR. While Rome correspondent, he also reported on the reaction in Italy to the assassination of John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963.

Upon returning to the U.S. in 1981, Levine became the chief economics correspondent for NBC and reported from Washington, DC. He was the first full-time economics reporter for the network. TIME magazine described him as a "pioneer" in economics reporting on television.

As a national correspondent, Levine became known for his distinctive sign-off, slightly stressing his middle initial. He wore bow ties when reporting on screen.  Famed for his impeccable grammar and diction, Levine made a crossover to entertainment, with a self-mocking appearance on Saturday Night Live. He also played on his national reputation by appearing on the series Murphy Brown.  Levine was interviewed by David Letterman and Jay Leno on their respective shows. When asked what he would miss most moving from NBC to CBS late night, Letterman answered, "backrubs from Irving R. Levine." His final interview prior to retirement was with Tom Brokaw.

After retiring in 1995 from NBC, Levine became dean of Lynn University's School of International Communication in Boca Raton, Florida. He retired from there in 2004.

Marriage, family and death
In 1957 Levine married Nancy Cartmell Jones, who had been working on the Dave Garroway Show. They had three children: Daniel, Jeffrey C. B. and Jennifer J. Levine.

Levine died in Washington, DC on March 27, 2009. He was 86. The cause was complications of prostate cancer, said his son Daniel Rome Levine.

Works
Main Street, U.S.S.R. (1959), named one of the New York Times "Top 100 Books of the Year"

References

External links
"Irving R. Levine", American Entertainment International Speakers (AEIS) Bureau

1922 births
2009 deaths
Jewish American journalists
American male journalists
American broadcast news analysts
American television journalists
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
NBC News people
People from Pawtucket, Rhode Island
United States Army personnel of World War II
American expatriates in Italy
American expatriates in Korea
American expatriates in Japan
American expatriates in Austria
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews

Irving R. Levine


The Third Mind is a book by Beat Generation novelist William S. Burroughs and artist/poet/novelist Brion Gysin. First published in a French-language edition in 1977, it was published in English in 1978. It contains numerous short fiction pieces as well as poetry by Gysin, and an interview with Burroughs. Some chapters had previously been published, in slightly different form, in various literary journals between 1960 and 1973.

The book is a combination of literary essays and writing showcasing the cut-up technique popularized by Burroughs and Gysin in the 1960s. Cut-ups involves taking texts, cutting the pages, and then rearranging and combining the pieces to form new narratives. The technique was adapted for filmmaking, as demonstrated by Burroughs and director Antony Balch in their early 1960s short film, The Cut-Ups.

Contents

 "Proclaim  Present Time  Over" (in: The Award Avant-Garde  Reader)
 "Let  the  Mice  In" (in: Brion  Gysin Let  the  Mice  In (1973))
 "The  Cut-up Method  of  Brion  Gysin" (in: A  Casebook  on  the  Beat)
 "Cut-ups Self-Explained,"  "Cut-ups:  A  Project  for  Disastrous  Success," and "Fold-ins" (in: Evergreen  Review)
 "The Exterminator" (in: The  Exterminator (1960))
 "Formats:  The Grid" (in: Insect Trust Gazette)
 "Films" (in: May fair)
 "First  Cut-ups" and  "Intersection   Readings" (in: Minutes  to  Go (1960))
 "Technical  Deposition  of  the  Virus  Power" (in: Nova  Express)
 "Interview  with William S. Burroughs." (in: The Paris  Review)

1977 short story collections
Essay collections by William S. Burroughs
Short story collections by William S. Burroughs
Viking Press books

The Third Mind


Aubrey Osborn Gwynn (17 February 1892 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish Jesuit historian.

Life
Aubrey Gwynn was born in Dublin on 17 February 1892. His father was the author and sometime Member of Parliament Stephen Gwynn; his paternal grandfather was John Gwynn, Regius Professor of Divinity at Trinity College Dublin. His mother Mary Gwynn (generally known as May Gwynn) was a first cousin of his father's, her own father being the Reverend James Gwynn, sometime chaplain of the Octagon Chapel, Bath. The Gwynn family at that time adhered to the Protestant tradition.

Aubrey Gwynn converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of ten, at the same time as his mother May Gwynn was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He attended Clongowes Wood College, a Jesuit secondary school in Kildare, near Dublin, from 1903 to 1908, then studied at University College, Dublin (where he received his BA degree in 1914 and his MA in 1915) and Campion Hall, Oxford (where he obtained the degree of B Litt in 1919). In 1912, while still a student at University College, he became a member of the Society of Jesus.

After graduating Aubrey Gwynn worked as a teacher at Clongowes College (1917–1919), Louvain (1919–1921) and Milltown Park (1921–1925).

In 1927 Father Aubrey was appointed Lecturer in Ancient History at University College, Dublin. He went on to lecture in Medieval History (1930–1947), then in 1948 he became the college's Professor of Medieval History, a post he retained until 1962. He was President of the Royal Irish Academy from 1958 to 1961.

Aubrey Gwynn wrote extensively on Irish and church history as well as on other topics. His brother Denis Rolleston Gwynn (1893–1971) was also an historian, being for much of his life Professor of Modern Irish History at University College, Cork.

A watercolour portrait of Aubrey Gwynn as a child by his godfather Walter Osborne is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Works
Roman Education from Cicero to Quintilian (1926)
The English Austin Friars in the Time of Wyclif (1940)
The Medieval Province of Armagh, 1470–1545 (1946)
The Writings of Bishop Patrick 1074–1084 (1955)
Medieval Religious Houses: Ireland (1970) with R. N. Hadcock
The Irish Church in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, edited by Gerard O'Brien
Twelfth Century Reform (A History of Irish Catholicism II) (1968)
Anglo-Irish Church Life: Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries (A History of Irish Catholicism) 1968
Aubrey Gwynn, Cathal Óg mac Maghnusa and the Annals of Ulster (1998 reprint), edited by Nollaig Ó Muraíle

Notes

References
J. A. Watt, J. B. Morrall, F. X. Martin (1961), Medieval Studies Presented to Aubrey Gwynn S. J.

External links
At ricorso.net

1892 births
1983 deaths
20th-century Irish historians
20th-century Irish Jesuits
People educated at Clongowes Wood College
Academics of University College Dublin
Presidents of the Royal Irish Academy
Alumni of Campion Hall, Oxford
Christian clergy from County Dublin
Scholars and academics from County Dublin

Aubrey Gwynn


Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is an oil painting of the mid-15th century that is considered one of the outstanding works of art of the late Middle Ages. Following its appearance at an exhibition in 1904 its authorship was disputed, though it has since been accepted as the work of Enguerrand Quarton. It is now in the Musée du Louvre.

The Pietà, where the dead Christ is supported by his grieving mother, is a common theme of late-medieval religious art, but this is one of the most striking depictions, "perhaps the greatest masterpiece produced in France in the 15th century" (Edward Lucie-Smith). It is distinctive from previous depictions of the subject—which were often characterized by overt displays of grief and trauma—by virtue of its restraint. The composition is stable, with the Virgin's hands together in prayer, rather than clutching the body of Christ. The curved back form of Christ's body is highly original, and the stark, motionless dignity of the other figures is very different from Italian or Netherlandish depictions. The style of the painting is unique for its time: the grouping of the figures appears somewhat primitive, yet the conception evidences both great breadth and delicacy, the latter quality especially evident in the specificity of the portraits and the elegant gesture of St. John's hands at Christ's head.

The bare background landscape falls away to a horizon broken by the buildings of Jerusalem, but instead of a sky there is plain gold leaf with stamped and incised haloes, borders and inscriptions. The clerical donor, portrayed with Netherlandish realism, kneels to the left.  The painting came from Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, just across the Rhône from Avignon, and is sometimes known as the "Villeneuve Pietà".
It can also be suggested that the buildings depicted on the left background are an imaginary representation of Istanbul and the church of Hagia Sophia. The city had fallen to the Ottomans in 1453, a few years before the estimated creation of the painting and the main subject (Pieta) can be considered as a lament to the fall of the eastern part of Christendom.

Before its widely accepted attribution to Quarton, some art historians thought the painting might be by a Catalan or Portuguese master; it was, according to art historian Lawrence Gowing, "the subject of dispute among protagonists of every school along the seaboard between Lisbon and Messina." Quarton, known to be working in Avignon by 1447, painted two pictures there in the early 1450s which bear comparison to this painting.

For Gowing,

The agony of the picture is suffered with a rare restraint. No demonstrative expression could match the tragedy of this body, distended as if dreaming. We are in the presence of the simplicity of sorrow. Against the bare skyline, in the gray-gold of the medieval twilight, the scene seems inexpressibly grand.

Notes

References

External links

Paintings in the Louvre by French artists
Villeneuve
15th-century paintings

Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon


Compsognathus was a small carnivorous theropod dinosaur, from the end of the Jurassic period, around 144 million years ago. It was about a metre long, and ran on two legs, using its long tail to keep its balance.

Compsognathus is known from two nearly complete specimens, one from Germany (89 cm 35 in long), and another from France (125 cm 49 in long). The German specimen was found in the Solnhofen limestone in Bavaria, over 150 years ago.

The larger French specimen (MNHN CNJ 79) was discovered in 1972 in the Portland limestone, near Nice in southeastern France. Although originally described as a separate species called Compsognathus corallestris, others have since renamed it as another example of Compsognathus longipes.

It is one of the few dinosaurs whose diet is known with certainty: the remains of small, agile lizards are preserved in the bellies of both specimens. Also it was once the smallest dino on earth but now that belongs to the Micropachycephalosaurus

Historical importance
Thomas Henry Huxley ("Darwin's bulldog"), who was a comparative anatomist, made a study of it nearly 150 years ago. He compared the first fossil bird, Archaeopteryx, with Compsognathus. These two fossils were found in the same rocks: Solnhofen limestone in Bavaria, Germany. The strata come from the end of the Jurassic, about 144 million years ago. Huxley showed that the two were almost identical, except for the front limbs and feathers of Archaeopteryx. He showed the basic affinity of birds and reptiles, which he united them under the title of Sauropsida. Huxley concluded that birds evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs.

Diet
The remains of a lizard in the German specimen's thoracic cavity show that Compsognathus preyed on small vertebrates. Marsh, who examined the specimen in 1881, thought that this small skeleton inside Compsognathus belly was an embryo, but in 1903, Franz Nopcsa concluded that it was a lizard. Ostrom identified the remains as belonging to a lizard of the genus Bavarisaurus, which he concluded was a fast and agile runner owing to its long tail and limb proportions. This in turn led to the conclusion that its predators, Compsognathus, must have had sharp vision and the ability to rapidly accelerate and outrun the lizard. The Bavarisaurus is in a single piece, indicating that the Compsognathus must have swallowed its prey whole. The French specimen's gastric contents consist of unidentified lizards or sphenodontids.

Size
Compsognathus was once thought to be the smallest dinosaur. However, if we assume the smaller specimen was a juvenile, then there are other slightly smaller species. The smallest dinosaur is probably Anchiornis; other candidates are: Micropachycephalosaurus; Caenagnathasia; Microraptor; and Parvicursor.

References

Coelurosaurs

Compsognathus


Annette LaPorte Nazareth (born January 27, 1956) is an American attorney who served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from August 4, 2005 to January 31, 2008. She is currently a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where she works on regulatory matters and transactions in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. In 2021, she was appointed as Co-Chair of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market.

Education and personal life
Born on January 27, 1956, in Providence, Rhode Island. She grew up near Providence. In 1978, Nazareth graduated from Brown University with an A.B., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She went on to receive a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

She is married to Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., former vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and current President and CEO of TIAA-CREF. They have two children. They lead a private life with their family.

Early career
Following law school, Nazareth was an associate with the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell in 1981. From 1986 to 1994, she served as managing director and general counsel of Mabon Securities Corp. and its predecessor business, Mabon, Nugent & Co. From 1994 to 1997, Nazareth was a senior vice president and senior counsel of the fixed income division of Lehman Brothers. From 1997 to 1998, she was a managing director of Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney unit as deputy head of the capital markets legal group.

Securities and Exchange Commission
In 1998, Nazareth joined the Securities and Exchange Commission as senior counsel to former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt and served briefly as the interim director of the Division of Investment Management. She then served as SEC director of the Division of Market Regulation from March 1999 to August 2005. As director, she had primary responsibility for the supervision and regulation of the U.S. securities markets.

SEC Commissioner
Nazareth, a Democrat, was a political appointee as an SEC commissioner on August 4, 2005, by Republican President George W. Bush. (By statute, no more than three SEC commissioners may belong to the same political party.) As a commissioner, she worked on numerous initiatives, including execution quality disclosure rules, implementation of equities decimal pricing, short sale reforms, implementation of a voluntary regime for consolidated supervision of broker-dealer holding companies and modernization of the national market system rules. Nazareth also served as the commission's representative on the Financial Stability Forum from 1999 to 2008.

Consolidated Supervised Entity
According to the SEC, "Ms. Nazareth also championed the introduction of prudential regulatory principles to the Commission's work under the Consolidated Supervised Entity program, a voluntary supervisory regime for the nation's largest investment bank holding companies."

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the sale of Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch to bank holding companies, and the conversion of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs into bank holding companies, the CSE program was left without participating investment bank holding companies. As a result, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox in September 2008 announced a decision by the Commission to end the CSE program. The Commission's official press release stated:

"The last six months have made it abundantly clear that voluntary regulation does not work. When Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, it created a significant regulatory gap by failing to give to the SEC or any agency the authority to regulate large investment bank holding companies, like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and Bear Stearns."

Cox took care not to attribute the demise of Bear Stearns to the CSE program, however. In a March 20, 2008, letter to the Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Cox stated, "As you will see, the conclusion to which these data point is that the fate of Bear Stearns was the result of a lack of confidence, not a lack of capital. When the tumult began last week, and at all times until its agreement to be acquired by JP Morgan Chase during the weekend, the firm had a capital cushion well above what is required to meet supervisory standards calculated using the Basel II standard."

References

 Commissioner Nazareth Announces Intention to Leave SEC (press release) https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2007/2007-210.htm
 SEC press release, Chairman Cox Announces End of Consolidated Supervised Entities Program https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-230.htm
 SEC press release, Chairman Cox Letter to Basel Committee in Support of New Guidance on Liquidity Management https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-48.htm
 Official biography on website of Davis Polk & Wardwell (http://www.davispolk.com/lawyers/annette-nazareth/)

1956 births
Brown University alumni
Columbia Law School alumni
Davis Polk & Wardwell lawyers
Lawyers from Providence, Rhode Island
Living people
Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Urban Institute people
George W. Bush administration personnel

Annette Nazareth


Alone in Berlin is a 2016 war drama film which was directed by Vincent Pérez and written by Pérez and Achim von Borries. It is based on the 1947 fictionalised true story Every Man Dies Alone, by Hans Fallada. The novel's characters Otto and Anna Quangel are based on Otto and Elise Hampel. When their son dies in France, the couple start writing postcards to urge people to protest against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. The film stars Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl, and Mikael Persbrandt. Principal photography began on 27 March 2015 in Berlin. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.

Plot
In 1940, a working-class couple in World War II-era Berlin, Otto and Anna Quangel, decide to resist Adolf Hitler and the Nazis after receiving news of the death of their only son. Their growing resistance to the regime is also strengthened by the fate of an old Jewish woman living in their building. Although the official deportation of Jews to death camps had not yet started, Jews have no recourse to any legal protection. Ruthless Nazis — and "non-ideological" common criminals — use the opportunity to loot the old woman's apartment with impunity. Despite the efforts of the Quangels and other kind neighbors to help her, the persecution ends with the old woman jumping to her death from a high window.

The couple starts writing postcards to urge people to stand against Hitler and the Nazis and protest against them by furtively placing the cards in public places - a capital crime. Their first card reads: "Mother, Hitler Killed My Son. He Will Kill Your Son Too". At first, Otto wants to do it all by himself, warning Anna, "They hang women, too!" Other cards read "Stop the War machine; Hitler's shadow falls over Europe like the devil's shadow; Pass this card on -- Down with the Hitler Regime" (Minute ~40:00 of the movie). She, however, insists on taking part in this dangerous activity. While in the beginning of the film the couple's marriage seems to have dried up and they are unable to console each other for the loss of their son, their shared risk and commitment brings them closer. In effect, they fall in love with each other again.

Gestapo inspector Escherich is charged with finding the source of the postcards. He is a professional police detective acting out of career pride rather than Nazi ideology. During three years of painstakingly gathering clues about the "Hobgoblin" (as he calls the mysterious writer of the postcards), Escherich develops an increasing respect for this elusive unknown opponent.  Because of his lack of progress, Escherich is beaten up by the obviously impatient SS senior officer and forced to summarily execute a man whom he is certain has no connection with these subversive postcards.

After some postcards accidentally fall from Otto's pocket at work, he is exposed and arrested. He remains stoic about the certain death sentence awaiting him and tries in vain to take all the blame on himself and save Anna.  After the couple have been executed, Escherich is alone in his office. He gathers up the couple's hundreds of postcards, scatters them from the open window of the police headquarters, and then shoots himself. The film ends with the image of the postcards swirling in the wind, falling down on the Berlin streets and being picked up by passersby.

Cast
 Emma Thompson as Anna Quangel
 Brendan Gleeson as Otto Quangel
 Daniel Brühl as Inspector Escherich
 Mikael Persbrandt as Standartenführer Prall
 Monique Chaumette as Frau Rosenthal
 Joachim Bissmeier as Herr Fromm
 Lars Rudolph as Enno Kluge
 Louis Hofmann as Hans Quangel
 Godehard Giese as Colonel Krüger
 Jacob Matschenz as Dietrich Necker
 Katharina Schüttler as Claire Gehrich

Production
Hans Fallada's Every Man Dies Alone was published posthumously in German in 1947 and was praised by Primo Levi, writer and survivor of Auschwitz, as "the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis". It was previously adapted as Alfred Vohrer's Everyone Dies Alone in 1975, along with
West and East German made-for-television dramas in 1962 and 1970.

Marco Pacchioni and Vincent Pérez bought the rights to the novel in 2007. Upon publication of its English translation in 2009, it became a "surprise bestseller" in both the United States and United Kingdom.

On 14 May 2014, it was announced that Pérez would direct the film based on an adaptation he cowrote with Achim von Borries. Emma Thompson, Mark Rylance, and Daniel Brühl were named for the principal roles. It was produced by X-Filme's Stefan Arndt and Uwe Schott (German rights), Master Movies' Marco Pacchioni (French rights) and Filmwave's Christian Grass and Paul Trijbits, and James Schamus. On 26 March 2015, Rylance was replaced by Brendan Gleeson.

Other crew members included cinematographer Christophe Beaucarne, production designer Jean-Vincent Puzos, and editor François Gédigier. Alison Thompson handled most foreign sales for the film through her Sunray Films, although Pathé released it in French-speaking areas.

The director dedicated the film "in memory of Otto and Elise Hampel guillotined for having written and circulated cards against the Nazi regime between 1940 and 1943."

Filming
Principal photography on the film began on 27 March 2015 in Berlin. It was also shot in Cologne and Görlitz.

Reception
Alone in Berlin was first screened at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2016. Tara Brady of The Irish Times wrote:
"Despite a terrific triumvirate of performances from Gleeson, Thompson, and Brühl, and soft lensing from cinematographer Christophe Beaucarne, Alone in Berlin is hampered by stodgy pacing, budgetary constraints, and drab interiors. Against this, the film offers a fascinating and timely blueprint for political dissent, a methodology that connects with pamphleteering, graffiti, and memes."In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote, "More than once, 'Alone in Berlin' reminded me of Fritz Lang's M." Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of  based on reviews from  critics, with an average rating of . The film received a score of 52 on the critical aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

See also
 Everyone Dies Alone (1962 West German film; )
  (1970 East German miniseries)

References

External links

2016 films
Films based on German novels
Films based on non-fiction books
German war drama films
World War II films based on actual events
Films about Nazi Germany
Drama films based on actual events
Films set in 1940
British remakes of German films
French war drama films
British war drama films
Films directed by Vincent Pérez
Films produced by James Schamus
Films scored by Alexandre Desplat
Pathé films
Films about the German Resistance
English-language French films
English-language German films
British World War II films
German World War II films
French World War II films
2010s English-language films
2010s British films
2010s French films
2010s German films
Adaptations of works by Hans Fallada

Alone in Berlin (film)


Kamarina or Camarina () was an ancient city on the southern coast of Sicily in Magna Graecia. The ruins of the site and an archaeological museum are located south of the modern town of Scoglitti, a  (borough) of the  (municipality) of Vittoria in the province of Ragusa.

Geography

The city of Camarina was located 112 km west of Syracuse, between the rivers Hipparis and Oanis and on the south bank of Hipparis which also acted as a moat for the city. It had two harbours at the river mouths but not big enough to accommodate a large fleet and ships had to be beached on the shore. The land north of the river originally contained marshes, which would have caused difficulty for invaders.

History

It was founded in Magna Graecia by Syracuse in 599 BC, but after it rebelled against its mother city with the aid of the Sicels, it was sacked in 552 BC, rejoining the Syracuse domain. Camarina rebelled again in 492 BC and Hippocrates of Gela (498-491 BC) intervened to wage war against Syracuse. After defeating the Syracusan army at the Heloros river, he besieged the city but was persuaded to retreat in exchange for possession of Camarina.

It was destroyed by Gela in 484 BC but the Geloans founded it anew in 461 BC, under the Olympic charioteer Psaumis of Camarina. They appear to have done so with a democratic constitution (alongside a more general institution of democracies in the wake of the Common Resolution). In 415 Thucydides describes a public meeting (syllogos) at which the city decided for neutrality (though it later voted to reverse this decision). A series of more than 140 lead plates, discovered around the Temple of Athena, and with information about citizens written on them, has suggested to some that Kamarina used allotment to select jurors and city officials (as Athens and other democratic city-states did). These may, however, have had some other use, for example, as a register of citizens for military purposes.

It had allied with Leontini and Athens in 427 BC against Syracuse, while Gela was an ally of Syracuse. In the Sicilian wars that followed, Camarina and Gela concluded an armistice in 425 BC. To settle peace in the rest of the island, the two cities not only sent ambassadors but also granted them unusually broad power to conduct diplomacy and invited all the belligerents to convene and discuss peace terms which were agreed at the Congress of Gela, and Syracuse ceded Morgantina to Camarina in exchange for money.

Then it aided Syracuse during the Athenian Expedition in 415–413 BC.

Camarina had contributed 500 hoplites, 600 light troops and 20 horse to defend Akragas against the Carthaginians in 406 BC. After its fall, Gela was attacked by the Carthaginians in 405 BC and the allied Greek army cammanded by Dionysius I was defeated and led to the Sack of Camarina. Dionysius evacuated Gela and the Greek army had fallen back to Camarina after a forced march along with Gelan refugees. Dionysius ordered the citizens of Camarina to leave their city instead of organizing a defence. The Carthaginians sacked Camarina and encamped before Syracuse during the summer, and after a while a peace treaty was signed which confirmed Carthaginian control over Selinus, Akragas, Gela, and Camarina, but Greeks were allowed to return to these cities, and Camarina was forbidden to repair their walls.

Before this event the Kamarinians were plagued with a mysterious disease. The marsh of Kamarina had protected the city from its hostile neighbours to the north. It was suspected that the marsh was the source of the strange illness and the idea of draining the marsh to end the epidemic became popular (the germ theory of disease was millennia in the future, but some people associated swamps with disease). The town oracle was consulted. The oracle advised the leaders not to drain the marsh, suggesting the plague would pass with time. But the discontent was widespread and the leaders opted to drain the marsh against the oracle's advice. Once it was dry, there was nothing stopping the Carthaginian army from advancing. They marched across the newly drained marsh and razed the city, killing every last inhabitant.

Kamarina was restored by the Corinthian Timoleon to Syracusan control in 339 BC. A new period of prosperity followed, after the reconstruction of the city by Timoleon.

Having sided with the Carthaginians during a conflict with Syracuse in 311 BC, it was razed in 309 BC by Syracusan troops.

Roman era

In 259 BC in the First Punic War, the Carthaginians under Hamilcar seized Kamarina. In 258 BC it fell into the hands of the Romans after a lengthy siege at the Battle of Kamarina.

The battle is notable for two events: first, the consul Aulus Atilius Calatinus's foolish decision to march his troops into a ravine where they were ambushed and almost massacred; secondly, the wisdom and bravery of the military tribune Marcus Calpurnius Flamma who identified the strategic advantage of a nearby hilltop and led 300 men to the top, diverting the Carthaginians from Atilius and allowing the main force to escape from the ravine. All 300 of Calpurnius' men died on the hill; he himself was left for dead but survived and was taken prisoner.

The city never fully recovered. It was mostly depopulated at the time of Strabo, (1st c. BC) and was later only partially reoccupied.

Kamarina's complete destruction dates from the Arab conquest in AD 827.

The Site

The remains are of great archaeological interest, and testify to the vastness of the ancient site. The Kamarina Regional Archaeological Museum is in the archaeological park which includes many excavated remains:

 Agora
 temple of Athena
 the city wall
 the necropolis from 7th and 5th-4th centuries BC has been carefully explored. Some of the contents are now in the archaeological museum of Syracuse.
 the port-channel along the Ippari river is recognisable, made in the Greek age with adaptation of the mouth of the river, and lasted for a long time as the hub of important commercial traffic up to the Roman age.
 the house of the altar.

The remains of  a "Hamman qbel Jamaa", public baths used before entering the mosque, are one of only two known on the island.

Gallery

See also

 List of ancient Greek cities

References

External links

Official website

Archaeological sites in Sicily
Former populated places in Italy
Province of Ragusa
Syracusian colonies
Greek city-states
Ancient cities in Sicily

Kamarina, Sicily


Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran  (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), also popularly known by his acronym M.G.R., was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987. He was the founder and first general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. On 19 March 1988, M.G.R. was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

In his youth, M.G.R. and his elder brother M. G. Chakrapani became members of a drama troupe to support their family. Influenced by Gandhian ideals, M.G.R. joined the Indian National Congress. After a few years of acting in plays, he made his film debut in the 1936 film Sathi Leelavathi in a supporting role. By the late 1940s, he had graduated to lead roles.

M.G.R. became a member of the C. N. Annadurai-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK party) and rose through its ranks, using his popularity as a film star to build a political base. In 1972, three years after Annadurai's death, he left the DMK, then led by M. Karunanidhi to form his own party—the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Five years later, M.G.R. steered an AIADMK-led alliance to victory in the 1977 election, routing the DMK in the process. He became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the first film actor to become a chief minister in India. Except for a four-month interregnum in 1980, when his government was overthrown by the Union government, he remained as chief minister till his death in 1987, leading the AIADMK to two more electoral wins in 1980 and 1984.

In October 1984, M.G.R. was diagnosed with kidney failure as a result of diabetes. He died on 24 December 1987 in his Ramavaram Gardens residence in Manapakkam after a prolonged illness. M.G.R. is regarded as a cultural icon in Tamil Nadu and is regarded as one of the most influential actors of Tamil cinema. His autobiography Naan Yaen Piranthaen (Why I was Born) was published in 2003.

Early life and background
Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran was born in Kandy, British Ceylon, in the Malayali family of Melakkath Gopalan Menon, a Palakkad Mannadiyar Nair and Maruthur Satyabhama, a Vadavannur Vellalar from Palakkad, in the modern-day state of Kerala. Gopalan Menon died when M.G.R. was just two and a half years old. Just after the death of his father, his sister too died due to ill health. His mother had to struggle alone to bring up M.G.R. and his brother. She took the decision to return to India and went back to Kerala where she failed to get the support of her relatives. With the support of Velu Nair of Kumbakonam, Satyabhama put both her sons in school.

It was in school that M.G.R. started his acting career and joined the Boys Company drama troupe taking part in the rigorous training programmes conducted by the troupe in the areas of singing, dancing, sword fighting, diction and memory with active interest and involvement.

The challenges faced by him during his early life and childhood played an important role in shaping his character and political career. After a brief acting stint overseas with the help of Madras Kandasamy Mudaliar, during which he had played female roles, he returned to India and rejoined the Boys Company and started playing lead roles for the first time.

In his early days, M.G.R. was a devout Hindu and a devotee of Lord Sri Murugan, and his mother's favourite god Lord Sri Guruvayurappan. After joining the DMK, he turned a rationalist.

M.G.R.'s first marriage was to Chitarikulam Bargavi, also known as Thangamani, who died early due to an illness. He later married for the second time, to Satyanandavati, who also died soon after marriage due to tuberculosis. Later M.G.R. married for the third time, this time to V. N. Janaki a former Tamil film actress who was once his leading lady and a future chief minister of Tamil Nadu. M.G.R. had no children from any of his marriages.

Acting career

M.G.R. made his film debut in 1936, in the film Sathi Leelavathi, directed by Ellis R. Dungan, an American-born film director. Generally starring in romance or action films, M.G.R. got his breakthrough in the 1950 film written by M. Karunanidhi. Soon he rose to popularity with the 1954 film Malaikkallan. He acted as hero in the Tamil film industry's first ever full length Gevacolor film, the 1955  Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum.  He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the film Rickshawkaran in 1972.

His 1973 blockbuster Ulagam Sutrum Valiban broke the previous box office records of his films. It was one of the few films filmed abroad in those days. It was shot in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan. His acting career ended in 1987 with his last film Ullagam Suthi Paru, in which he acted even though he had been diagnosed with kidney failure. M.G.R. said there was no question of 'retirement' for anyone associated in whichever capacity with the cine field.

Mentor
 Kali N. Rathnam, a pioneer of Tamil stage drama, and K.P. Kesavan were mentors of M.G.R. in his acting career.

Political career
M.G.R. was a member of the Congress Party till 1953, and he used to wear khādī. In 1953  M.G.R. joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), or Dravidian Progressive Federation, attracted by founder C. N. Annadurai. He became a vocal Tamil and Dravidian nationalist and prominent member of DMK. He added glamour to the Dravidian movement which was sweeping Tamil Nadu. M.G.R. became a member of the state Legislative Council in 1962. At the age of 50, he was first elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1967. After the death of his mentor, Annadurai, M.G.R. became the treasurer of DMK in 1969 after Muthuvel Karunanidhi became the Chief Minister.

1967 assassination attempt
The actor and politician M. R. Radha and M.G.R. had worked in 25 films together. On 12 January 1967, Radha and a producer visited M.G.R. to talk about a future film project. During the conversation, M. R. Radha stood up and shot M.G.R. in his left ear twice and then tried to shoot himself.

After the operation, M.G.R.'s voice changed. Since he had been shot in his ear, M.G.R. lost hearing in his left ear and had ringing problems in the ear. These further surfaced in 1983 when he had kidney problems. When Sinnappa Devar paid his first visit to see M.G.R. at the hospital after the shooting incident he paid M.G.R. an advance for M.G.R.'s next film. After getting released from the hospital and finishing Arasakattalai, M.G.R. acted in Devar's film Vivasaayee against doctors' advice. Due to the operation, M.G.R.'s speaking parts in the film Kaavalkaaran were reduced. This was the only film in which M.G.R. spoke with old and new voices between scenes: M.G.R. was acting in the film Kaavalkaran in 1967 opposite J. Jayalalithaa when the shooting occurred.

Petralthaan Pillaya was the last film of M.G.R.-M. R. Radha together. Shooting ended just few days before M.G.R. was shot. The bullet was permanently lodged in his neck and his voice damaged. Within hours of the shooting, some 50,000 fans had gathered at the hospital where M.G.R. had been taken. People cried in the streets. For six weeks, he lay in the hospital as fans awaited each report of his health. He was visited by a steady stream of commoners and luminaries of film industry, polity and bureaucracy. From his hospital bed, he conducted his campaign for the Madras Legislative Assembly. He won twice the number of votes polled by his Congress rival and the largest vote polled by any candidate for the Assembly.

Differences with Karunanidhi and birth of AIADMK
In 1972, DMK leader Karunanidhi started to project his first son M. K. Muthu in a big way in film and politics, around the same time M.G.R. was accusing that corruption had grown in the party after the demise of C. N. Annadurai. Consequently, M.G.R. was expelled from the party.

Upon his ouster from DMK,his volunteer Anakaputhur Ramalingam started a new party called the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.  Joined as a member of that party and became its leader and generel secretary. later renamed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the only powerful opponent of the DMK. He mobilised between 1972 and 1977 to spread and preach his party ambition with films like Netru Indru Naalai (1974), Idhayakani (1975), Indru Pol Endrum Vazhga (1977), etc.

Continued success in TN Assembly elections

1977 Assembly elections

The AIADMK contested the 1977 Tamil Nadu Legislative. The election was a four cornered contest between the AIADMK, DMK, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Janata Party. The AIADMK allied itself with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM), while INC(I) and Communist Party  (CPI) contested as allies. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)and Janata Party (JNP) contested the elections alone. The AIADMK did not field any candidate in the Usilampatti Constituency in support of the All India Forward Bloc leader P.K. Mookiah Thevar. Similarly, the AIADMK also supported the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate M. Abdul Latheef in the Vaniyambadi Constituency. In the parliamentary elections that occurred just three months prior to these elections, there had been two major alliances – the AIADMK led AIADMK-INC-CPI coalition and the DMK led DMK-NCO-JNP-CPM coalition. But in the months that followed the parliamentary election, these coalitions fell apart. The AIADMK alliance won the elections by winning 144 seats out of 234 and M.G.R. became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Upon winning the 1977 state elections, M.G.R. became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 30 June 1977, remaining in office till his death in 1987. In 1979, members of his party Satyavani Muthu and Aravinda Bala Pajanor became the first non-Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu to be ministers in the Union Cabinet. The AIADMK won every state assembly election as long as M.G.R. was alive. Although Annadurai and Karunanidhi had acted in stage plays in trivial roles, in their younger days, before becoming chief minister, M.G.R. was the first popular film actor to be a Chief Minister in India.

1980 Parliament and assembly elections

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam allied with Indian National Congress (Indira) in the 1977 parliamentary election. However, when Janata Party won the election and Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister, M.G.R. extended unconditional support to the Janata party Government. He continued his support to the Charan Singh Government in 1979. After the fall of the Charan Singh government, fresh parliamentary elections were conducted in 1980. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam struck alliance with INC(I). AIADMK and Janata Party alliance won only 2 seats in Tamil Nadu in that parliamentary election. INC(I) won the election and Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister.
Congress-DMK victory in the 1980 parliamentary election emboldened their alliance and made them think that people lost their faith in M.G.R. government. DMK pressed the central government to dismiss the Tamil Nadu government using similar allegations used by M.G.R. to dismiss DMK government in 1976. The AIADMK ministry and the assembly were dismissed by the central government and fresh elections conducted in 1980.
Despite their victory at the 1980 Lok Sabha polls, DMK and Indira Congress failed to win the legislative assembly election. AIADMK won the election and its leader and incumbent Chief Minister, M. G. Ramachandran was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second time.

1984 assembly elections

Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October 1984. During the same time, M. G. Ramachandran was diagnosed with kidney failure and admitted into a hospital in New York City. Rajiv Gandhi assumed office immediately and this required a fresh mandate from the people. Indian National Congress (Indira) and Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam formed an alliance and contested the election. M. G. Ramachandran was confined to the hospital. Video coverage of M.G.R. recuperating in hospital along with Indira Gandhi's assassination were stitched together by the AIADMK man in charge of campaigning, R. M. Veerappan. The video was distributed and played across all over Tamil Nadu. Rajiv Gandhi visited cyclone-hit areas in Tamil Nadu, which also boosted the alliance. The sympathy wave created by Indira's assassination, M.G.R.'s illness and Rajiv Gandhi's charisma helped the alliance sweep the election.DMK leader M. Karunanidhi did not contest this election, due to the fact that the AIADMK leader M.G.R. was admitted to a hospital in the U.S. and Indira Gandhi being assassinated. It was a landslide victory for AIADMK-Congress combine which won 195 seats in assembly polls. The electoral victory proved the undying charisma of M.G.R. upon the masses.

Failed Merger Talks with DMK

Karunanidhi claimed on 1 April 2009 and again on 13 May 2012 that M.G.R. was ready for the merger of his party with the DMK in September 1979, with former chief minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik acting as the mediator. The plan failed, because Panruti Ramachandran, who was close to M.G.R. acted as a spoiler and M.G.R. changed his mind.

Criticism and controversies

Even after his death, M.G.R. proved to be very popular in the state and his rule has been cited by many of his contemporaries as best in the country. However, his rule is not without criticism. Economic data under his rule showed that annual growth and per capita income was lower than the national average and the state went from being second among 25 industrialised states in development after Kamaraj's rule to tenth. This decline, according to critics has been due to shift of government resources from power and irrigation to social and agriculture sector according to Madras Institute of Development Studies reported in 1988. In addition, the emphasis on "welfare schemes" such as free electricity to farmers, mid-day meal schemes, etc. has been seen by many as taking money away from infrastructure development that could have benefited the poor. In addition, the liquor tax imposed during his rule was considered to contribute to a regressive tax mostly affecting the poor.

Other criticisms have been on M.G.R.'s centralised decision-making, which many blame for inefficiency and corruption taking hold of his administration. Some examples stated by the critics include Goondas act in 1982 and other acts that limited political criticism in the media, which led to a "police state" during his administration. While these criticisms have been in the minority, supporters of M.G.R. counter that most of these problems were a result of the party members serving M.G.R. rather than the leader himself. While he is not considered a divisive figure in the state, critics and supporters alike agree that his charisma and popularity trumped policy decisions that led to his eventual success during his tenure as chief minister.

Natwar Singh in his autobiography One Life is Not Enough alleges that M.G.R. covertly supported the cause of independent Tamil Eelam and financed the LTTE and their cadres were being given military training in Tamil Nadu. He also alleges that M.G.R. considered Jaffna an extension of Tamil Nadu and without informing the Indian Government at the time, had gifted 4 crore rupees to the LTTE.

M.G.R. has been accused of being intolerant towards the media. In April 1987, the Editor of Ananda Vikatan S. Balasubramanian was sentenced to 3 months in jail by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for publishing a cartoon, depicting government ministers as bandits and lawmakers as pickpockets, though specific legislature was not specified. But due to media outcry, he was released and S. Balasubramanian later won a case against his arrest. Earlier, Vaniga Otrumai editor A.M. Paulraj was sentenced to 2 weeks imprisonment by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for his writing.

Bharat Ratna

After his death in 1987, he became the third Chief Minister from the state of Tamil Nadu to receive the Bharat Ratna after C. Rajagopalachari and K. Kamaraj. The timing of the award was controversial, due to the fact that it was given so quickly after his death and he was elected as Chief Minister only 11 years before the award. Many opponents, mostly outside Tamil Nadu, criticised then ruling party INC, under Rajiv Gandhi to have influenced the selection committee to give the award to help win the upcoming 1989 Lok Sabha election. The ruling party forming a coalition with J. Jayalalithaa, the successor to M.G.R. at that time, were able to sweep Tamil Nadu, winning 38 out of 39 seats, INC were however unable to win nationally.

Commemorative coins
To commemorate M.G.R.'s Birth centenary in 2017, the Ministry of Finance, Government of India decided to issue ₹100 and ₹5 coins that would bear his image as a portrait along with an inscription of "Dr. M. G. Ramachandran Birth Centenary".

Philanthropy
He personally offered relief in disasters and calamities like fire, flood, drought, and cyclones. He was the first donor during the war with China in 1962 (Sino-Indian War), donating Rs. 75,000 to the war fund. He was the founder and editor of Thai weekly magazine and Anna daily newspaper in Tamil. He was the owner of Sathya Studios and Emgeeyar Pictures (willed to charity) which produced many of the films he acted in. He had gifted a golden sword weighing half a Kilogram to Mookambika temple in Kollur, Udupi district.

Illness and death

In October 1984, M.G.R. was diagnosed with kidney failure as a result of uncontrolled diabetes, which was soon followed by a mild heart attack and a massive stroke. He was rushed to the Downstate Medical Center in New York City, United States for treatment, undergoing a kidney transplant. Despite his poor health, he did contest the assembly election held later that year while still confined to the hospital, winning from Andipatti. During the election, photos of M.G.R. recuperating in hospital were published, creating a sympathy wave among the people. M.G.R. returned to Madras on 4 February 1985 following his recovery. He was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the third consecutive term on 10 February 1985. The next two years and 10 months were spent in frequent trips to the United States for treatment.

M.G.R. never fully recovered from his multiple health problems and died on 24 December 1987 at 3:30 am in his Ramavaram Gardens residence in Manapakkam after his prolonged illness. He was 70 years old, just a month away before his 71st birthday on 17 January 1988. His death sparked off a frenzy of looting and rioting all over the state. Shops, cinemas, buses and other public and private property became the target of violence let loose. The police had to resort issuing shoot-at-sight orders. Schools and colleges immediately announced holidays till the situation came under control. Violence during the funeral alone left 129 people dead and 47 police personnel badly wounded. Young and married women allegedly shaved their heads bald and dressed like widows. Men whipped themselves till they bled to death. There were some extreme instances where people burned themselves to death and burned villages down.

His body was kept in state at Rajaji Hall for public to pay their tribute for two days. On 25 December 1987, His remains were buried in the northern end of Marina Beach is now called MGR Memorial which is adjacent to the Anna Memorial.

This state of affairs continued for almost a month across Tamil Nadu. Around one million people followed his remains, around 30 followers committed suicide and people had their heads tonsured. After his death, his political party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, split between his wife V. N. Janaki Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa; they merged in 1989.

In 1989 Dr. M. G. R. Home and Higher Secondary School for the Speech and Hearing Impaired was established at the erstwhile residence M.G.R. Thottam, Ramapuram, in accordance with his last will & testament written in January 1987. His official residence at 27, Arcot Street, T. Nagar is now M.G.R. Memorial House and is open for public viewing. His film studio, Sathya Studios, has been converted into a women's college in the name of Dr. MGR-Janaki College of Arts and Science for Women.

Legacy

After his electoral success with in 1977, the DMK has not yet returned to power in Tamil Nadu until his death. On 19 March 1988, M.G.R. was posthumously honoured with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. He is widely acknowledged as "Puratchi Thalaivar" (Revolutionary Leader) in Tamil Nadu. One of the major roads in Chennai was named in his honour, Dr. M.G.R. Salai—it was previously called Gokula Kannan Road, and a statue of M. G. Ramachandran now stands there and M.G.R. Nagar, a residential neighbourhood was named after him in Chennai, Salem Central Bus Stand was renamed Bharat Ratna Dr. M.G.R. Central Bus Stand and Omalur Main Road was renamed M.G.R. Salai in Salem, Tirunelveli New Bus Stand was renamed Bharat Ratna Dr. M.G.R. Bus Stand in Tirunelveli and two parks were named Bharat Ratna Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Park and M.G.R. Park in Thoothukudi.

A life-size statue of M. G. Ramachandran was unveiled on 7 December 2006 in the Parliament House by then Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee in his honour and the function was attended by the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa and notable politicians.

The central government issued a commemorative coin of ₹ 100 and ₹ 5 denomination to mark the centenary celebrations of him on 17 January 2017 in Chennai.

On 31 October 2017, Government of Tamil Nadu renamed the Mattuthavani Bus Stand in Madurai as M.G.R. Bus Stand to honour him.

On 9 October 2018, Government of Tamil Nadu renamed the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus in Chennai as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G.R. Bus Terminus to honour him.

On 5 April 2019, Government of India renamed the Chennai Central in Chennai as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station to honour him.

On 31 July 2020, Central Metro in Chennai has been renamed as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Metro by Government of Tamil Nadu to honour him.

On 17 October 2021, the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai has been renamed as Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. Maaligai by party leaders in memory of the party's founder.

In popular culture
Iruvar (1997) by Mani Ratnam is based on the rivalry between M.G.R. and M. Karunanidhi. Malayalam actor Mohanlal played Anandan (M.G.R.).
In the 2019 web series Queen, Indrajith Sukumaran portrayed G. M. Ravichandran (fictional adaptation of M.G.R.).
In the film Thalaivii (2021), M.G.R. was portrayed by Arvind Swami.

Filmography

Awards and honours

Honours

Other cinema awards

See also
 M. G. Ramachandran's unrealized projects
First Ramachandran ministry
Second Ramachandran ministry
Third Ramachandran ministry

Notes

References

External links

 M.G. Ramchandran: Jewel of the Masses

  All about Dr MGR
  MGR Memorial Charitable Trust
 MGR monthly magazine+News portal
 Kandy-born Actor-Politico "MGR" Reigned Supreme in Tamil Nadu Cinema and Politics-by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

M. G. Ramachandran
1917 births
1987 deaths
20th-century Indian film directors
20th-century Indian male actors
Actors from Kandy
Actors in Hindi cinema
Actors in Tamil cinema
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
Best Actor National Film Award winners
Chief ministers from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu
Film directors from Chennai
Film producers from Chennai
Filmfare Awards South winners
Indian actor-politicians
Indian Hindus
Indian male film actors
Indian political party founders
Indian Tamil politicians
Kidney transplant recipients
Malayali people
Male actors from Chennai
Tamil Nadu MLAs 1967–1972
Tamil Nadu MLAs 1971–1976
Tamil Nadu MLAs 1977–1980
Tamil Nadu MLAs 1980–1984
Tamil Nadu MLAs 1985–1989
Politicians from Chennai
Recipients of the Bharat Ratna
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Sri Lankan emigrants to India
Tamil film directors
Tamil film producers
Tamil-language film directors
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners

M. G. Ramachandran


Wang Xiaoshuai (; born May 22, 1966) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He is commonly grouped under the loose association of filmmakers known as the "Sixth Generation" of the Cinema of China. Like others in this generation, and in contrast with earlier Chinese filmmakers who produced mostly historical drama, Wang proposed a "new urban Chinese cinema [that] has been mainly concerned with bearing witness of a fast- paced transforming China and producing a localized critique of globalization."

Many of Wang's works are known for their sensitive portrayal of teens and youths, most notable in films such as Beijing Bicycle,  So Close to Paradise, Drifters, and Shanghai Dreams.  His 2008 film In Love We Trust was an exception as it portrays marital strains.

In 2010 Wang was appointed a chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He also served as a member of the jury of the BigScreen Italia Film Festival 2006, held in Kunming, Yunnan, China.

Early life
Wang Xiaoshuai was born in 1966 in Shanghai but spent the first thirteen years of his life in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou in southwestern China as a result of upheaval during the Cultural Revolution. While in Guiyang, Wang became interested in and began studying painting. By 1979, he and his family had moved to Wuhan. When he was 15, Wang moved to Beijing where he attended the Central Art Academy Middle School to study painting before eventually studying directing at the Beijing Film Academy.

Career

Early works
After his graduation from the Beijing Film Academy, Wang spent some time working under the PRC studio system before starting out on his own. His first film, The Days (1993), was an independent feature shot on the weekends in Beijing and starring Wang's friends as two artists. The film did well overseas, where it announced Wang as a major new voice, but it also caught the wrath of the Chinese authorities, who included Wang in its sweeping ban on six filmmakers (including Tian Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Yuan, and He Jianjun) in April 1994. As a result, Wang followed up The Days with another foray into the art world of Beijing using the moniker "Wu Ming" (literally, "no name" or "anonymous").  Entitled Frozen, the film was shot in 1994 but not released until 1997.

After a lengthy period of self-criticism, Wang was finally allowed to start making films again. In contrast to both Frozen and The Days, which both took place in Beijing, Wang's next film, So Close to Paradise (1998), saw him return to his childhood home of Wuhan to film a story of two migrant workers who become involved in a kidnapping. So Close to Paradise also marked the first time Wang operated under the Chinese movie-making authorities, but even then, the film was subject to multiple acts of censorship, and it ultimately received a very limited release in China only after many years had passed.

Wang followed up Paradise with the family comedy The House in 1999. Lost to obscurity, The House was essentially Wang's apology to the Beijing Film Studio for the bureaucratic morass that marked the release of So Close to Paradise. Wang decided to direct a simplistic comedy, one that would be sure to pass the censors with a minimum of fuss.

International success
Despite the numerous films to his credit at this point, it was not until Beijing Bicycle that Wang rose to truly international success. The winner of the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix at the Berlin Film Festival, Beijing Bicycle wowed critics with its story of a youth's search for his stolen bicycle, particularly with its shades of Vittorio De Sica's 1948 Bicycle Thieves.

After the success of Beijing Bicycle, Wang made Drifters (2003) which screened at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Prix Un Certain Regard, though it didn't win any prizes. Shanghai Dreams (2005), however, managed to win Cannes's Prix du Jury award.

2008 saw the premiere of Wang's film, In Love We Trust (also known as Left Right) in the Berlin Film Festival, a modern drama about a divorced couple, where it would win a Silver Bear for Best Screenplay.  Wang's next project, 11 Flowers recently won the Pusan Promotion Prize for $20,000.

In 2010 Wang was appointed a chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Filmography

As director

As actor

As producer

References

External links

 Wang Xiaoshuai at the Chinese Movie Database
 Wang Xiaoshuai at Senses of Cinema
 BigScreen Festival homepage

1966 births
Living people
Beijing Film Academy alumni
Film directors from Shanghai
Screenwriters from Shanghai
Chinese film producers
Male actors from Shanghai
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay winners

Wang Xiaoshuai


A Bob (contraction of Blitter object) is a graphical element (GEL) used by the Amiga computer. Bobs are hardware sprite-like objects, movable on the screen with the help of the blitter coprocessor.

The AmigaOS GEL system consists of VSprites, Bobs, AnimComps (animation components) and AnimObs (animation objects), each extending the preceding with additional functionality. While VSprites are a virtualization of hardware sprites Bobs are drawn into a playfield by the blitter, saving and restoring the background of the GEL as required. The Bob with the highest video priority is the last one to be drawn, which makes it appear to be in front of all other Bobs.

In contrast to hardware sprites Bobs are not limited in size and number. Bobs require more processing power than sprites, because they require at least one DMA memory copy operation to draw them on the screen. Sometimes three distinct memory copy operations are needed: one to save the screen area where the Bob would be drawn, one to actually draw the Bob, and one later to restore the screen background when the Bob moves away.

An AnimComp adds animation to a Bob and an AnimOb groups AnimComps together and assigns them velocity and acceleration.

See also
 Original Amiga chipset

References

 Rob Peck (1986).  ROM Kernel Reference Manual: Libraries and Devices, Addison-Wesley,

Amiga
Amiga APIs
Computer graphics
Demo effects

Blitter object


A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out" from its competitors. Product gimmicks are sometimes considered mere novelties, and tangential to the product's functioning. Gimmicks are occasionally viewed negatively, but some seemingly trivial gimmicks of the past have evolved into useful, permanent features. In video games, the term is also sometimes used to describe unusual features or playstyles, especially if they are unnecessary or obnoxious.

Etymology

The origin of the term "gimmick" is uncertain. Etymologists suggest that the term emerged in the United States in the early 20th century. The Oxford Dictionary suggests that it may have originally been a slang term for something that a con artist or magician manipulated to make appearances different from reality, and which gradually changed its meaning to refer to any 'piece of magicians' apparatus'. The word itself may be an approximate anagram of the word magic.

The term gimmick may also have resulted from alteration to the word gimcrack, which refers to a showy object of little use or value. Another possible origin is that it may have come into use among gaming tables, where it came to refer to "a device used for making a fair game crooked". The term first appeared in American newspapers in the 1910s and 1920s.

Examples

In marketing, the use of gimmicks can be an important part of the sales promotions effort. However, finding a successful gimmick for an otherwise mundane product can be challenging, as it requires some effort to match the promotional objectives with the gimmick, and select items which will ideally contribute to enduring brand recall.

Many different types of gimmicks are used in sales promotion and product design. For example, toothbrushes are often given certain gimmicks, such as bright colors, easy-grip handles, or color-changing bristles, in order to appear more interesting to consumers. This is often done in an attempt to appeal to children, who are often more interested in the gimmick than the product.

Musicians often adopt visual gimmicks that do not affect their music. Slash's top hat, Angus Young's schoolboy uniform, makeup used by KISS, and deadmau5's mouse helmet are examples of such gimmicks. Gimmicks within a musical context are also a central characteristic of the novelty song.

 Special Design Features, e.g. toothbrushes that change color when they are about to wear out (signaling that the consumer needs to repurchase)
 Novel packaging, e.g. packaging that has residual value once the original contents have been consumed, such as a jam or coffee jar that can be reused as a drinking vessel or storage container
 Add-on gifts or giveaways, e.g. toys included in children's fast food meal packs, covermounts on magazines, toys in cereal boxes
 Any novel or unexpected sales promotion

Failed gimmicks

In 1992, the British division of The Hoover Company launched a disastrous promotional campaign which promised free airline tickets to purchasers of its appliances. The division lost £50 million as a result and was eventually sold.

In 1997, certain Polish tobacco companies were using young sales representatives, traveling around in flashy company branded vehicles, to work clubs and venues where they gave away free cigarettes to patrons as part of the promotional effort. The sales and marketing team at Phillip Morris decided to add another gimmick to the sampling by having the sales reps use trick matches which lit with a simple scratch on jeans. In one case, the stocks of matches carried in a vehicle caught fire killing two sales reps and seriously injuring another. The incident created public relations problems for the company.

See also

Marketing strategy
Publicity stunt

References

Product management
20th-century neologisms

ja:ギミック

Gimmick


The JSLEE (JAIN Service Logic Execution Environment) is a Java programming language API for developing and deploying network services. It was standardized in Java Specification Requests JSR 22 and JSR 240 by Sun Microsystems and OpenCloud (now Metaswitch) with the participation of more than 80 operators and software vendors.

The technical specification is designed so that implementations can meet the stringent requirements of communications applications, like high throughput, low latency, scalability, availability and software portability. Furthermore, it allows software developers to write robust components as it integrates the ACID properties of transactions into the programming model.

The JSLEE environment acts as an integration point for multiple network resources and communications protocols.

See also
 Mobicents - Open source JSLEE Project
 Parlay - Open API for the telephone network
 Parlay X - Open APIs defined as set of simple-to-use, high-level, telecom-related Web services

Java specification requests
Telephony
VoIP software

JSLEE


The Demigod Files is a collection of stories by Rick Riordan published on February 10, 2009. It is a companion book to the main series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It contains three short stories, titled Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot, Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon, and Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades. It also contains a preview of The Last Olympian. Additional contents include interviews with some of the campers, a picture of Annabeth's trunk, a map of Camp Half-Blood, and various crossword puzzles and other activities. It is set between the fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and the fifth book, The Last Olympian.

Stories

Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot
Clarisse La Rue is given the chore of taking care of Ares's war chariot. It is stolen by her immortal brothers as a prank, Deimos and Phobos (gods of terror and fear respectively). Percy and Clarisse find it at a zoo. They face the two gods, whom without their powers of fear and terror are extremely weak in battle, (unlike the nature of Ares), and are easily defeated. They bring the chariot to Ares' Temple on the Intrepid, a battle cruiser.

Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon
Percy Jackson and Charles Beckendorf are on the same team for capture the flag. Beckendorf, a son of Hephaestus, has a somewhat awkward conversation about girls, and thinks Percy should ask Annabeth to the Fourth of July fireworks, the biggest dating event of the summer at Camp Half-Blood, that night. They set off into the woods and stumble on a huge anthill. Silena Beauregard and Annabeth capture Percy. Meanwhile, Charles Beckendorf charges straight ahead into the ant swarm as he tries to take back a huge bronze dragon's head, but immediately is pinched in the leg and has acid spit on his face. Percy, Annabeth and Silena try to find the rest of the body of the bronze dragon which was once one of the camp's defenses against monsters before Thalia's Pine Tree took its place so it can rescue Beckendorf from the ants. They finally get the monster started (a bronze dragon with no wings) and get it to help Beckendorf. It blasts open the ants' nest and all the ants attack the dragon. Meanwhile, Percy, Annabeth and Silena dart into the ant hill and get Beckendorf back out. When they come out and flee, the dragon spots them and goes berserk. Percy distracts the dragon so Beckendorf can jump on the dragon's back and unplug him. Silena is so relieved that Beckendorf is alive that when he asks her to the fireworks, she gladly accepts the invitation. Once they get back to camp, it turns out the capture the flag game has not ended yet, and Annabeth puts them in jail. Percy and Charles protest to no avail. Before Annabeth leaves to go back to the front line to fight for her team, she asks Percy out to the Fourth of July Fireworks, but she quickly leaves before Percy can answer.

Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades
Rick Riordan wrote this short story for World Book Day 2009. It takes place between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian.

Persephone calls Percy, Thalia and Nico, all the children of the Big Three, into the Underworld to retrieve Hades's new sword from a demigod spy who stole it. The problem is that Hades' keys, which let anyone out of or into the Underworld, are in it. Persephone gives them a flower to track the half-blood. When all of the petals fall off, the sword thief has made it out of the Underworld. Percy, Nico and Thalia must retrieve the sword before time runs out. They catch the thief, Ethan Nakamura, but all the petals fall off because Ethan has raised the Titan Iapetus. Percy flings Iapetus into the river Lethe, a river that makes one forget their identity, during a fight. Although Percy also falls in, he stays dry because of his powers, being the son of Poseidon. Percy tells Iapetus that he is Bob and Iapetus believes him and is now harmless. When they return to Hades and Persephone with the sword, Hades is very unhappy about the sword and leaves in anger, threatening Persephone never to disobey him again. They later find out that Persephone requested the sword against Hades's orders.

Audiobook

An audiobook read by actor Jesse Bernstein was released the same day as the book.

Critical reception

The book received mixed reviews. Publishers Weekly criticized, "Bland illustrations depicting the contents of Annabeth's trunk, a map of Camp Half-Blood and a short "sneak peek" at The Last Olympian pad the contents (barely) to book length; the inclusion of a crossword puzzle and a word search makes the book difficult to share. Not a must-read-but try telling that to rabid fans." School Library Journal reviewer Tim Wadham commended the writing, saying, "Despite the fact that this is more of a marketing package than anything else, the quality of and interest in the three stories likely justifies its purchase."

Related pages
Mythology
Greek gods
Mount Olympus
Greek mythology
Fantasy

References

Other websites
Official UK site

2009 books
20th-century American short stories
Percy Jackson and the Olympians

The Demigod Files


Baron is a title of honour in many European peerage systems. It is often a hereditary title that ranks as the one of the lower titles in a peerage. In the UK peerage system, the five peerage titles from highest to lowest are duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron. Baronets and knights are not members of the peerage although a baron may also be a knight. In the feudalism of medieval England a baron was a tenant-in-chief who held his lands directly from the king. During the 13th century barons were summoned by royal writ to attend Parliament.

The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Frankish baro meaning "freeman, warrior". It later merged with Old English beorn meaning "nobleman." The lands of a baron are called a barony. The female title for a baron is baroness. The form of address for a baron is "Lord" and for a baroness "Lady".

List of English and Irish Barons

References

Nobility
Peerages

Baron