Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor made by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a ph vocoder to fix pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to hide out of tune singing and mistakes. It lets singers perform perfectly tuned vocal tracks without needing to sing in tune. Its main purpose is to slightly bend sung pitches to the nearest true semitone. Auto-Tune can also be used as an effect to distort the human voice when pitch is raised/lowered a lot.

Auto-Tune can be used as a plug-in for professional audio multi-tracking suites used in a studio setting, and as a stand-alone, rack-mounted unit for live performance processing. Auto-Tune has become standard equipment in professional recording studios.

Auto-Tune was first created by Andy Hildebrand, an engineer working for Exxon. Hildebrand developed methods for interpreting seismic data, and then realized that the technology could be used to detect, analyze, and modify pitch.

In popular music

Auto-Tune was used for vocal effects on Cher's "Believe", recorded in 1998. This was the first major hit song to use the software for this purpose. At first the sound engineers claimed that they had used a vocoder, in what Sound on Sound said was an attempt to keep a trade secret. After the massive success of "Believe", many artists copied the technique, which became known as the "Cher Effect". It can be heard in songs of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Some notable examples are Gigi D'Agostino's "La Passion" and Janet Jackson's US Number 1 hit "All For You". Auto-Tune became famous again in the mid-2000s when R&B singer T-Pain made active use of it in his songs. This technique has been copied by many other modern R&B and pop artists, including Usher, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Justin Bieber. T-Pain has even had an iPhone App named after him that copies the effect called "I Am T-Pain".

The Boston Herald revealed that country music stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have both said they are using Auto-Tune in performance. They said it is a safety net that guarantees a good performance. Sara Evans, John Michael Montgomery and Gary LeVox of the group Rascal Flatts also use Auto-Tune to fix pitch problems. However, other country music singers, such as Loretta Lynn, Allison Moorer, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, and Patty Loveless, have refused to use Auto-Tune.

YouTube musical group The Gregory Brothers have joined their original music tracks with Auto-Tuned versions of mundane evening news video clips, making fun of everyone from President Barack Obama to Antoine Dodson. The popularity of their YouTube channel led the Gregory Brothers to release many of their songs on iTunes.

Artist backlash
In 2002, the CD Miss Fortune by singer-songwriter Allison Moorer was released with a sticker stating that "Absolutely no vocal tuning or pitch correction was used in the making of this record". At the 51st Grammy Awards in early 2009, the band Death Cab for Cutie wore blue ribbons to protest the use of Auto-Tune in the music industry. Later that spring, Jay-Z named the lead single of his album The Blueprint 3 as "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)". Jay-Z said that far too many people had jumped on the Auto-Tune bandwagon and that the trend had become a gimmick. Christina Aguilera appeared in public in Los Angeles on August 10, 2009 wearing a T-shirt that read, "Auto Tune is for Pussies". However, when interviewed by Sirius/XM, she said that Auto-Tune wasn't bad if used "..in a creative way". She said her album Bionic uses the technology and highlighted "Elastic Love" being a product of it.

Criticism
Opponents of the plug-in argue Auto-Tune people will not treat musicians with respect in they need help to stay in tune. A Chicago Tribune report from 2003 states that "many successful mainstream artists in most genres of music—perhaps a majority of artists—are using pitch correction".

In 2004, The Daily Telegraph music critic Neil McCormick called Auto-Tune a "particularly sinister invention that has been putting extra shine on pop vocals since the 1990s" by taking "a poorly sung note and transpos[ing] it, placing it dead center of where it was meant to be".

In 2009, Time magazine quoted an unnamed Grammy-winning recording engineer as saying, "Let's just say I've had Auto-Tune save vocals on everything from Britney Spears to Bollywood cast albums. And every singer now presumes that you'll just run their voice through the box." The same article hoped "that pop's fetish for uniform perfect pitch will fade", commenting that pop-music songs are sounding the same, as "track after track has perfect pitch."  Timothy Powell, a  producer/engineer stated in 2003 that he is "even starting to see vocal tuning devices show up in concert settings"; he states that "That's more of an ethical dilemma—people pay a premium dollar to see artists and artists want people to see them at their best."

The American television series Glee uses Auto-Tune in its songs. E! Online's Joal Ryan criticized the show for its "overproduced soundtrack", in particular, complaining that many songs rely too heavily on the software.

In 2010, there was controversy when British television reality TV show, The X Factor had been accused of using Auto-Tune to improve the voices of contestants, especially Gamu Nhengu. Simon Cowell ordered a ban on Auto-Tune for future episodes.

References

Other websites
 TuneWorx   - a pitch correcting module from SpectrumWorx
 Antares Auto-Tune EVO Pitch Correcting Plug-In  – product home page
 Pitchfork: Neko Case Interview – artistic integrity and Auto-Tune
 CBC Radio One Q: The Podcast for Thursday June 25, 2009 MP3  – NPR's Tom Moon on the takeover of the Autotune.
 "Auto-Tune", NOVA scienceNOW, PBS TV, June 30, 2009
 KnowYourMeme: Auto-Tune, the history of Auto-Tune and current use in popular media

Music software
Music technology
1997 in music

Auto-Tune


Polygonum erectum, commonly called erect knotweed, is a North American species of herbaceous plant in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). It is found primarily in the northeastern and north-central parts of the United States, but with scattered populations in other parts of the US and also in Canada.

Its natural habitat is in bottomland forests and riparian areas. It is tolerant of ecological degradation, and can also be found in disturbed open areas such as pastures and lawns.

It was once cultivated for food by Native Americans as part of the group of crops known as the Eastern Agricultural Complex.

Description
Polygonum erectum is an erect annual growing  tall with many to few, non-wiry branches. The leaves have distinct veins and entire edges or have jagged cut edges. The pedicels are shorter or equal the length of the calyx and typically longer than the ocreae. The closed flowers have a calyx that is typically  long, green in color and 5-lobed. Flowers in clusters of 1 to 5 in cymes that are produced in the axils of most leaves. The calyx segments are unequal with the outer lobes longer and not keeled and the inner ones narrowly keeled. The tepals are greenish, with yellowish tinting or sometimes with whitish tints. The seeds are produced in fruits called achenes that can be of two different types; one type is dark brown with a shiny surface and is broadly egg-shaped, typically about  long. The other achene type is dull brown, exsert and egg-shaped, and  long. Late season fruiting is uncommon and if produced the achenes are  long.

Conservation
Polygonum erectum is considered to be globally secure. However, it is uncommon throughout much of its range, and population have declined dramatically in some regions. It is listed as endangered in New Hampshire and New York.

References

erectum
Flora of Canada
Flora of the United States
Crops originating from Pre-Columbian North America
Plants used in Native American cuisine
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Pseudocereals

Polygonum erectum


The Michigan was a brass era automobile built in Kalamazoo, Michigan by the Michigan Automobile Company, Ltd from 1903 to 1907.

History
The Fuller brothers, Charles D. and Frank D. owned the Fuller Brothers Manufacturing Company that made washboards and other wood products. Negotiating with the Blood brothers, owners of the Kalamazoo Cycle Company and builders of a prototype car,they decided to go into automobile manufacturing.  On December, 30th, 1902, they established the Michigan Automobile Company, LTD, Charles Fuller as chairman, Frank Fuller as secretary and general manager, Maurice E. Blood as treasurer, and Charles C. Blood as superintendent.

A business dispute resulted in the Blood brothers leaving the company at the end of 1904. The Bloods set up production of their own car and the Blood automobile was identical with the last car they developed for Michigan.

The Bloods quit building automobiles (for a decade) in 1905 and built automobile parts instead. The Michigan was continued into 1907 when the Fuller brothers followed the Bloods into automobile parts. As Fuller and Sons Manufacturing Company, they made transmissions and clutches.

Models
The Bloods small prototype car, was a two-passenger runabout with a wheelbase of just 48 in., a steering lever and an air-cooled, single-cylinder engine that delivered 3.5 horsepower. For production, a longer frame with a wheelbase of 54 in. was used.  It was marketed as the Model A runabout, priced at $450 () and weighing only 360 pounds.  About 100 cars were built by 1904.

A larger car, Model C, was added in 1904. It had a 2-cylinder engine that developed 12 hp, a wheelbase of 78 in., a  steering wheel but the engine still placed under the seat. Available as a Light Touring, similar to a detachable Tonneau, the price was $900.

The Bloods designed two more 2-cylinder cars that were introduced in 1905.  Model D with the 12 hp engine, wheelbase of 80 in. and Demi Tonneau body was priced at $1,100.  For $150 more, a larger Model E was offered with 16 hp engine, and a 90 in.wheelbase.  From 1906, Model E remained available priced at $1,500 () until end of production in 1907.

See also
 Brass Era car
 List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
 Michigan Model A at Conceptcarz.com

References

Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
American companies established in 1903
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1903
1903 establishments in Michigan
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1908
1908 disestablishments in Michigan
Companies based in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan
Brass Era vehicles
1900s cars
Cars introduced in 1903

Michigan (1903 automobile)


Dharmapuri district is one of the 38 district in Tamil Nadu state in India. The district came into existence from October 10, 1965. It is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after independence. Dharmapuri is the district headquarters. Dharmapuri town is historically called "Thakadoor". As of 2011 census, the district had a population of 1,506,843 with a sex-ratio of 946 females for every 1,000 males. The current average literacy of the district was 91.2% compared to the national average of 72.99%.

Tourism
The Kaveri river flows into the state through the district, and Hogenakkal, a town situated 46 km from Dharmapuri is the site where the river drops into as a scenic waterfall known as Hogenakkal Falls.Another important tourist destination in the state is the hill-temple at Theerthamalai in Harur taluk which is a sacred religious place for the Hindus, and which is existing from the times of the Chola and the Vijayanagara empires.

References

Dharmapuri district


Under the United States Bank Holding Company Act, financial and bank holding companies are regulated by the US Federal Reserve. Companies whose elections to be treated as financial holding companies are effective include:

0 - 9
1ST UNITED BANCORP, INC., Boca Raton, Florida

A
Ackermans & van Haaren, Antwerp, Belgium
Ally Financial, Detroit, Michigan
Alerus Financial, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Alphabet, Mountain View, California
American Express, New York, New York
Apple Bank for Savings, New York, New York
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Melbourne, Australia

B
BancFirst Corporation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Banco Bradesco, Osasco, Brazil
Banco do Brasil, Brasilia, Brazil
BancorpSouth, Tupelo, Mississippi
Bank Hapoalim, Tel Aviv, Israel
Bank of America Corporation, Charlotte, North Carolina
Bank of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, New York, New York
Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto, Canada
Barclays, London, England
Berkshire Hathaway, America
BNP Paribas, Paris, France
BOK Financial Corporation, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Busey Bank, Urbana, Illinois
Booking Holdings, Norwalk, Connecticut

C
CAJA DE AHORROS Y MONTE DE PIEDAD DE MADRID, Madrid, Spain
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto, Canada
Capital One Financial Corporation, McLean, Virginia
Cardinal Financial Corporation, McLean, Virginia
Citigroup Inc., New York, New York
Citizens Bancorp, Corvallis, Oregon
City National Corporation, Beverly Hills, California
Comerica Incorporated, Dallas, Texas
Commerzbank AG, Frankfurt, Germany
Crédit Agricole S.A., Paris, France
Credit Suisse Group, Zurich, Switzerland
CULLEN/FROST BANKERS, INC., San Antonio, Texas

D
Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt, Germany
Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, Illinois
DNB NOR ASA, Oslo, Norway
Doral Financial Corporation, San Juan, Puerto Rico
DREXEL MORGAN & CO., Radnor, Pennsylvania
DZ Bank AG, Frankfurt, Germany

E
EAST WEST BANCORP, INC., Pasadena, California
Exor, Turin, Italy

F
FIFTH THIRD BANCORP, Cincinnati, Ohio
FIRST BANCORP, San Juan, Puerto Rico
FIRST CITIZENS BANCORPORATION, INC., Columbia, South Carolina
First Citizens BancShares, Inc., Dyersburg, Tennessee
First Citizens BancShares, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina
First City Monument Bank Ltd, Lagos, Nigeria
First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, Indiana, Pennsylvania
FIRST HORIZON NATIONAL CORPORATION, Memphis, Tennessee
FIRST INTERSTATE BANCSYSTEM, INC., Billings, Montana
First Merchants Corporation, Muncie, Indiana
FMDQ Holdings PLC, Lagos, Nigeria
FNB Corporation, Hermitage, Pennsylvania

FMDQ Holdings PLC, Lagos, Nigeria
FNB Corporation, Hermitage, Pennsylvania

G
Goldman Sachs, New York, New York
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
Green Dot Corporation, Monrovia, California

H
Heirs Holdings,  Lagos, Nigeria
HORIZON BANCORP, Michigan City, Indiana
HSBC Holdings PLC, London, United Kingdom
HSH NORDBANK AG, Hamburg, Germany
Huntington Bancshares, Columbus, Ohio

I
IBERIABANK CORPORATION, Lafayette, Louisiana
International Bancshares Corporation, Laredo, Texas

J
JPMorgan Chase, New York, New York

K
KBC BANK NV, Brussels, Belgium
KEYCORP, Cleveland, Ohio
KLEIN FINANCIAL, INC., Chaska, Minnesota
Kowsar Saba Holding Company, Tehran, Iran

L
LANDESBANK BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG, Stuttgart, Germany
Lauritzen Corporation, Omaha, Nebraska
Lloyds Banking Group, London, England

M
M&T BANK CORPORATION, Buffalo, New York
MAINSOURCE FINANCIAL GROUP, Greensburg, Indiana
MIDWESTONE FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., Iowa City, Iowa
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., Tokyo, Japan
MIZUHO FINANCIAL GROUP INC., Tokyo, Japan
MORGAN STANLEY, New York, New York

N
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED, Melbourne, Australia
National Bank of Canada, Montreal, Canada
NATIXIS, Paris, France
NatWest Group, Edinburgh, Scotland
NBT BANCORP INC., Norwich, New York
NEW YORK PRIVATE BANK & TRUST CORPORATION, New York, New York
Norinchukin Bank, Tokyo, Japan.
Northern Trust Corporation, Chicago, Illinois

O
OLD NATIONAL BANCORP, Evansville, Indiana
ORIENTAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC., San Juan, Puerto Rico

P
PARK NATIONAL CORPORATION, Newark, Ohio
Patriot National Bancorp, Stamford, Connecticut
PEOPLES BANCORP, Rock Valley, Iowa
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

R
Rabobank, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Regions Financial Corporation, Birmingham, Alabama
Royal Bank of Canada, Montreal, Canada

S
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Stockholm, Sweden
Société Générale, Paris, France
SoftBank Group, Tokyo, Japan
State Street Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts
STERLING BANCORP, New York, New York

T
TCF Financial Corporation, Detroit, Michigan
Truist Financial, Charlotte, North Carolina

U
U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, Minnesota
UBS, Zurich, Switzerland
UMB Financial Corporation, Kansas City, Missouri
United Airlines Holdings, Chicago, Illinois,

W
Webster Financial Corporation, Waterbury, Connecticut
Wells Fargo, San Francisco, California
WesBanco, Wheeling, West Virginia
Wintrust Financial Corporation, Lake Forest, Illinois

Z
Zions Bancorporation, Salt Lake City, Utah

References

Lists of companies
Holding companies

List of holding companies


A puteal is an old-fashioned structure built around the hole of a well. It is made to stop people from easily falling in. Some puteals have bas relief. Some have a step that leads to the water well itself.

Puteals were decoration or part of an architectural design.

In the big places where a lot of people walked in Venice, puteals had cast-iron lids. That protected people even more and stopped the water supply from becoming dirty.

Classically, puteals were made of carved stone, or marble in Europe. They were in big private courtyards and town/city squares.

Architectural elements

Puteal


The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) is a fictional character and superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, appearing as one of the main characters of the Avengers comics. Created by the late Stan Lee, the late Jack Kirby and the late Ernie Hart, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #44 (June 1963).

The Wasp is the partner of Hank Pym (also known as Ant-Man), and later became his wife. She is usually depicted as having the ability to shrink to a height of several centimeters, fly by means of insectoid wings, and fire bioelectric energy blasts. She is a founding member of the Avengers as well as a longtime leader of the team, and was a member of the Defenders and the Lady Liberators.

The character has appeared in numerous media since her debut, such as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making a cameo appearance in the 2015 movie Ant-Man, and a full appearance in the 2018 movie Ant-Man and the Wasp, the 2019 movie Avengers: Endgame, and the 2023 movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Hayley Lovitt (younger). An original MCU Wasp, Janet's daughter Hope van Dyne (named after Hope Pym), is played in each movie by Evangeline Lilly.

Source
  Some text was copied from Wasp (Marvel) at Heroes Wiki, which is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.

Marvel Comics superheroes

Wasp (Marvel Comics)


Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell,  (24 July 1813 – 15 February 1886) was a prominent British politician in the Peelite and Liberal parties during the middle of the 19th century. He is best remembered for his tenure as Secretary of State for War between 1868 and 1874 and, with William Ewart Gladstone's support, the introduction of the Cardwell Reforms.   The goal was to centralise the power of the War Office, abolish purchase of officers' commissions, and to create reserve forces stationed in Britain by establishing short terms of service for enlisted men.

Background and education
Cardwell was the son of John Henry Cardwell, of Liverpool, a merchant, and Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Birley. He was educated at Winchester and Balliol College, Oxford, from where he took a degree in 1835. He was called to the bar, Inner Temple, in 1838.

Political career
Cardwell was employed in the Colonial Office in the late 1830s, and directly involved in drafting written instructions (sent to Sydney) to Captain William Hobson RN, as to how to 'treat with the natives' (Maori) of New Zealand;

 He became a follower and confidant of Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister, and held his first office under him as Financial Secretary to the Treasury between 1845 and 1846.

When Peel split the Conservative Party in 1846 over the issue of repealing the Corn Laws, Cardwell followed Peel, and became a member of the Peelite faction. When the Peelites came to power in 1852, Cardwell was sworn of the Privy Council and made President of the Board of Trade by Lord Aberdeen, a position he held until 1855.

In 1854 he passed the Railway and Canal Traffic Act 1854 which stopped the cut-throat competition between Railway Companies which was acting to their and the railusers' disadvantage.

During these years, Cardwell moved from seat to seat in Parliament. In 1847, he was elected as MP for Liverpool.

In 1852, he lost elections for Liverpool and for Ayrshire, but won a seat at Oxford. In 1857, he was defeated for the Oxford seat, but a second election for the seat was held shortly after, which he won (beating William Makepeace Thackeray). The Peelite faction disintegrated in the late 1850s, and Cardwell officially became a Liberal in 1859, joining Lord Palmerston's cabinet as Chief Secretary for Ireland.

Unhappy in that position, he moved two years later to another cabinet post, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. A second move within the cabinet came in 1864, when Cardwell became the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a position he kept until the Liberals were turned out of office in 1866.

When the Liberals returned to power under William Ewart Gladstone in the 1868 election, Cardwell reached the peak of his career, as Gladstone's Secretary of State for War.
During his six years in the post, in what became known as "Cardwell reforms", Cardwell reorganised the British army, introduced professional standards for officers (including advancement by merit rather than purchase), and formed a home reserve force.
After Gladstone's defeat in the 1874 election, Cardwell was raised to the peerage as Viscount Cardwell, of Ellerbeck in the County Palatine of Lancaster. His ennoblement ended his active political career.

Army reform

Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone paid little attention to military affairs but he was keen on efficiency.  In 1870 he pushed through Parliament major changes in Army organisation.  Germany's stunning triumph over France proved that the Prussian system of professional soldiers with up-to-date weapons was far superior to the traditional system of gentlemen-soldiers that Britain used.
The reforms were not radical—they had been brewing for years and Gladstone seized the moment to enact them. The goal was to centralise the power of the War Office, abolish purchase of officers' commissions, and to create reserve forces stationed in Britain by establishing short terms of service for enlisted men.

Cardwell as Secretary of State for War (1868–1874) designed the reforms that Gladstone supported in the name of efficiency and democracy. In 1868 he abolished flogging, raising the private soldier status to more like an honourable career. In 1870 Cardwell abolished "bounty money" for recruits, discharged known bad characters from the ranks. He pulled 20,000 soldiers out of self-governing colonies like Canada, which learned they had to help defend themselves.

The most radical change, and one that required Gladstone's political muscle, was to abolish the system of officers obtaining commissions and promotions by purchase, rather than by merit. The system meant that the rich landholding families controlled all the middle and senior ranks in the army. Promotion depended on the family's wealth, not the officer's talents, and the middle class was shut out almost completely.
British officers were expected to be gentlemen and sportsmen; there was no problem if they were entirely wanting in military knowledge or leadership skills.  From the Tory perspective it was essential to keep the officer corps the domain of gentlemen, and not a trade for professional experts. They warned the latter might menace the oligarchy and threaten a military coup; they preferred an inefficient army to an authoritarian state. The rise of Bismarck's new Germany made this anti authoritarian policy too dangerous for a great empire to risk.

The bill, which would have compensated current owners for their cash investments, passed Commons in 1871 but was blocked by the House of Lords. Gladstone then moved to drop the system without any reimbursements, forcing the Lords to backtrack and approve the original bill.  Liberals rallied to Gladstone's anti-elitism, pointing to the case of Lord Cardigan (1797–1868), who spent £40,000 for his commission and proved utterly incompetent in the Crimean war, where he led the disastrous "Charge of the Light Brigade" at the Battle of Balaklava in 1854.

Cardwell was not powerful enough to install a general staff system; that had to await the 20th century. He did rearrange the war department. He made the office of Secretary of State for War superior to the Army's commander in Chief; the commander was His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge, the Queen's first cousin, and an opponent of the reforms. The surveyor-general of the ordnance, and the financial secretary became key department heads reporting to the Secretary. The militia was reformed as well and integrated into the Army. The term of enlistment was reduced to 6 years, so there was more turnover and a larger pool of trained reservists. The territorial system of recruiting for regiments was standardised and adjusted to the current population. Cardwell reduced the Army budget yet increased the strength of the army by 25 battalions, 156 field guns, and abundant stores, while the reserves available for foreign service had been raised tenfold from 3,500 to 36,000 men.

Personal life

Lord Cardwell married Annie, daughter of Charles Stuart Parker, in 1838. They had no children.

He died in Torquay, Devon, in February 1886, aged 72, and was buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery (plot no.14065) in a large vault which now has no headstone and is largely covered by earth. Lady Cardwell died the following year, in February 1887.

The town of Cardwell in Queensland, Australia, was named after Lord Cardwell.

Arms

Notes

Further reading
 Biddulph, Robert. Lord Cardwell  at the War Office: A History of his Administration 1868-1874 (1904) online

 Ensor R. C. K.  England 1870-1914 (1936) pp 8–16.
  Erickson,  Arvel B. "Edward T. Cardwell: Peelite" Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (1959) 49#2 pp. 1-107 online
 Gallagher, Thomas F. "'Cardwellian Mysteries': The Fate of the British Army Regulation Bill, 1871." Historical Journal 18#2 (1975): 327-348. online

 Tucker, Albert V. "Army and Society in England 1870-1900: A Reassessment of the Cardwell Reforms." Journal of British Studies 2#2 (1963): 110–141.

External links

1813 births
1886 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
British Secretaries of State
Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster
Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1841–1847
UK MPs 1847–1852
UK MPs 1852–1857
UK MPs 1857–1859
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1865–1868
UK MPs 1868–1874
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool
Fellows of the Royal Society
Chief Secretaries for Ireland
Secretaries of State for the Colonies
Presidents of the Board of Trade
Presidents of the Oxford Union
Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford

Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell


Richard Bolitho, Midshipman is a novel in the Bolitho series of nautical fiction set in the late-18th-century Royal Navy, written by Douglas Reeman under the pseudonym Alexander Kent. The book was published in 1975. It was the eighth novel in the series, though it is set earlier than the others, at the start of the career of Richard Bolitho.

Plot
The book opens with Richard Bolitho arriving at a Portsmouth inn frequented by midshipmen. There he meets another midshipman, Martyn Dancer. A lieutenant recalls them to their ship, HMS Gorgon, a 74-gun ship of the line. Sailing towards West Africa, they encounter an empty merchantman, City of Athens. Dancer and Bolitho are sent aboard the ship and discover that it has been pillaged and the crew killed. The officers soon deduce that the ship was raided by pirates and Captain Conway announces that the Admiralty had dispatched them to investigate the disappearance of ships in the region. In company with the captured City of Athens, Gorgon approaches a coastal fort surrounded by treacherous reefs and shoals. They sight two ships in the nearby harbour. The fort then opens fire and disables City of Athens. Gorgon withdraws and returns after dark to salvage the ship. Dancer and Bolitho are sent on the mission, commanded by the 4th lieutenant, Mr. Tregorren, who holds a grudge against Bolitho's prestigious heritage. They succeed at taking the ship, and also capture a slave dhow in the escape, with the help of Gorgon. The ships, under the guise of being members of the pirate fleet, raid the castle which the pirates had been using as a base.

Characters
Richard Bolitho – 16-year-old midshipman and a son and grandson of Royal Navy admirals
Martyn Dancer – 16-year-old midshipman with only three-months experience in the navy
Captain Conway – Captain of HMS Gorgon

Publication history
Richard Bolitho, Midshipman was first published in 1975 as an independent novel. Later it was included in the anthology Midshipman Bolitho, which also contained the novel Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger. A collection, The Complete Midshipman Bolitho included both Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger and Band of Brothers.

1975 British novels
Historical novels
The Bolitho novels
Novels set in the 18th century
Novels set on ships
Hutchinson (publisher) books

Richard Bolitho, Midshipman


Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfast cereals, snack foods, bagels, teas, hot chocolate and traditional foods. The aroma and flavour of cinnamon derive from its essential oil and principal component, cinnamaldehyde, as well as numerous other constituents including eugenol.

Cinnamon is the name for several species of trees and the commercial spice products that some of them produce. All are members of the genus Cinnamomum in the family Lauraceae. Only a few Cinnamomum species are grown commercially for spice. Cinnamomum verum (alternatively C. zeylanicum), known as "Ceylon cinnamon" after its origins in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), is considered to be "true cinnamon", but most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from four other species, usually and more correctly referred to as "cassia": C. burmanni (Indonesian cinnamon or Padang cassia), C. cassia (Chinese cinnamon or Chinese cassia), C. loureiroi (Saigon cinnamon or Vietnamese cassia), and the less common C. citriodorum (Malabar cinnamon).

In 2021, world production of cinnamon was 226,753 tonnes, led by China with 43% of the total.

Etymology
The English word "cinnamon", attested in English since the 15th century, deriving from the Ancient Greek  (, later κίνναμον : ), via Latin and medieval French intermediate forms. The Greek was borrowed from a Phoenician word, which was similar to the related Hebrew word  ().

The name "cassia", first recorded in late Old English from Latin, ultimately derives from the Hebrew word  , a form of the verb  , "to strip off bark".

Early Modern English also used the names canel and canella, similar to the current names of cinnamon in several other European languages, which are derived from the Latin word , a diminutive of , "tube", from the way the bark curls up as it dries.

History

Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BC, but those who reported that it had come from China had confused it with Cinnamomum cassia, a related species. Cinnamon was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a deity; an inscription records the gift of cinnamon and cassia to the temple of Apollo at Miletus. Its source was kept a trade secret in the Mediterranean world for centuries by those in the spice trade, in order to protect their monopoly as suppliers.

Cinnamomum verum, which translates from Latin as "true cinnamon", is native to India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Cinnamomum cassia (cassia) is native to China. Related species, all harvested and sold in the modern era as cinnamon, are native to Vietnam ("Saigon cinnamon"), Indonesia and other southeast Asian countries with warm climates.

In Ancient Egypt, cinnamon was used to embalm mummies. From the Ptolemaic Kingdom onward, Ancient Egyptian recipes for kyphi, an aromatic used for burning, included cinnamon and cassia. The gifts of Hellenistic rulers to temples sometimes included cassia and cinnamon.

The first Greek reference to   is found in a poem by Sappho in the 7th century BC. According to Herodotus, both cinnamon and cassia grew in Arabia, together with incense, myrrh and , and were guarded by winged serpents. Herodotus, Aristotle and other authors named Arabia as the source of cinnamon; they recounted that giant "cinnamon birds" collected the cinnamon sticks from an unknown land where the cinnamon trees grew and used them to construct their nests.

Pliny the Elder wrote that cinnamon was brought around the Arabian peninsula on "rafts without rudders or sails or oars", taking advantage of the winter trade winds. He also mentioned cassia as a flavouring agent for wine, and that the tales of cinnamon being collected from the nests of cinnamon birds was a traders' fiction made up to charge more. However, the story remained current in Byzantium as late as 1310.

According to Pliny the Elder, a Roman pound () of cassia, cinnamon (), cost up to 1,500 , the wage of fifty months' labour. Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices from 301 AD gives a price of 125  for a pound of cassia, while an agricultural labourer earned 25  per day. Cinnamon was too expensive to be commonly used on funeral pyres in Rome, but the Emperor Nero is said to have burned a year's worth of the city's supply at the funeral for his wife Poppaea Sabina in AD 65.

Middle Ages
Through the Middle Ages, the source of cinnamon remained a mystery to the Western world. From reading Latin writers who quoted Herodotus, Europeans had learned that cinnamon came up the Red Sea to the trading ports of Egypt, but where it came from was less than clear. When the Sieur de Joinville accompanied his king, Louis IX of France to Egypt on the Seventh Crusade in 1248, he reported—and believed—what he had been told: that cinnamon was fished up in nets at the source of the Nile out at the edge of the world (i.e., Ethiopia). Marco Polo avoided precision on the topic.

The first mention that the spice grew in Sri Lanka was in Zakariya al-Qazwini's  ("Monument of Places and History of God's Bondsmen") about 1270. This was followed shortly thereafter by John of Montecorvino in a letter of about 1292.

Indonesian rafts transported cinnamon directly from the Moluccas to East Africa (see also Rhapta), where local traders then carried it north to Alexandria in Egypt. Venetian traders from Italy held a monopoly on the spice trade in Europe, distributing cinnamon from Alexandria. The disruption of this trade by the rise of other Mediterranean powers, such as the Mamluk sultans and the Ottoman Empire, was one of many factors that led Europeans to search more widely for other routes to Asia.

Early modern period
During the 1500s, Ferdinand Magellan was searching for spices on behalf of Spain; in the Philippines, he found , which was closely related to C. zeylanicum, the cinnamon found in Sri Lanka. This cinnamon eventually competed with Sri Lankan cinnamon, which was controlled by the Portuguese.

In 1638, Dutch traders established a trading post in Sri Lanka, took control of the manufactories by 1640, and expelled the remaining Portuguese by 1658. "The shores of the island are full of it," a Dutch captain reported, "and it is the best in all the Orient. When one is downwind of the island, one can still smell cinnamon eight leagues out to sea." The Dutch East India Company continued to overhaul the methods of harvesting in the wild and eventually began to cultivate its own trees.

In 1767, Lord Brown of the British East India Company established the Anjarakkandy Cinnamon Estate near Anjarakkandy in the Kannur district of Kerala, India. It later became Asia's largest cinnamon estate. The British took control of Ceylon from the Dutch in 1796.

Cultivation

Cinnamon is an evergreen tree characterized by oval-shaped leaves, thick bark and a berry fruit. When harvesting the spice, the bark and leaves are the primary parts of the plant used. However, in Japan, the more pungent roots are harvested in order to produce nikki (ニッキ) which is a product distinct from cinammon (シナモン shinamon). Cinnamon is cultivated by growing the tree for two years, then coppicing it, i.e., cutting the stems at ground level. The following year, about a dozen new shoots form from the roots, replacing those that were cut. A number of pests such as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Diplodia species and Phytophthora cinnamomi (stripe canker) can affect the growing plants.

The stems must be processed immediately after harvesting while the inner bark is still wet. The cut stems are processed by scraping off the outer bark, then beating the branch evenly with a hammer to loosen the inner bark, which is then pried off in long rolls. Only  of the inner bark is used; the outer, woody portion is discarded, leaving metre-long cinnamon strips that curl into rolls ("quills") on drying. The processed bark dries completely in four to six hours, provided it is in a well-ventilated and relatively warm environment. Once dry, the bark is cut into  lengths for sale.

A less than ideal drying environment encourages the proliferation of pests in the bark, which may then require treatment by fumigation with sulphur dioxide. In 2011, the European Union approved the use of sulphur dioxide at a concentration of up to  for the treatment of C. verum bark harvested in Sri Lanka.

Species
A number of species are often sold as cinnamon:
 Cinnamomum cassia (cassia or Chinese cinnamon, the most common commercial type in the USA)
 C. burmanni (Korintje, Padang cassia, or Indonesian cinnamon)
 C. loureiroi (Saigon cinnamon, Vietnamese cassia, or Vietnamese cinnamon)
 C. verum (Sri Lanka cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon or Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
 C. citriodorum (Malabar cinnamon)

Cassia induces a strong, spicy flavour and is often used in baking, especially associated with cinnamon rolls, as it handles baking conditions well. Among cassia, Chinese cinnamon is generally medium to light reddish-brown in colour, hard and woody in texture, and thicker ( thick), as all of the layers of bark are used. Ceylon cinnamon, using only the thin inner bark, has a lighter brown colour and a finer, less dense, and more crumbly texture. It is subtle and more aromatic in flavour than cassia and it loses much of its flavour during cooking.

The barks of the species are easily distinguished when whole, both in macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. Ceylon cinnamon sticks (quills) have many thin layers and can easily be made into powder using a coffee or spice grinder, whereas cassia sticks are much harder. Indonesian cinnamon is often sold in neat quills made up of one thick layer, capable of damaging a spice or coffee grinder. Saigon cinnamon (C. loureiroi) and Chinese cinnamon (C. cassia) are always sold as broken pieces of thick bark, as the bark is not supple enough to be rolled into quills.

The powdered bark is harder to distinguish, but if it is treated with tincture of iodine (a test for starch), little effect is visible with pure Ceylon cinnamon; however, when Chinese cinnamon is present, a deep-blue tint is produced.

Grading

The Sri Lankan grading system divides the cinnamon quills into four groups:
 Alba, less than  in diameter
 Continental, less than  in diameter
 Mexican, less than  in diameter
 Hamburg, less than  in diameter

These groups are further divided into specific grades. For example, Mexican is divided into M00000 special, M000000 and M0000, depending on quill diameter and number of quills per kilogram. Any pieces of bark less than  long are categorized as quillings. Featherings are the inner bark of twigs and twisted shoots. Chips are trimmings of quills, outer and inner bark that cannot be separated, or the bark of small twigs.

Production

In 2021, four countries accounted for 98% of the world's cinnamon production, a total of 226,753 tonnes: China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.

Counterfeit
True cinnamon from C. verum bark can be mixed with cassia (C. cassia) as counterfeit and falsely marketed as authentic cinnamon. In one analysis, authentic Ceylon cinnamon bark contained 12-143 mg/kg of coumarin  a phenolic typically low in content in true cinnamon  but market samples contained coumarin with levels as high as 3462 mg/kg, indicating probable contamination with cassia in the counterfeit cinnamon. ConsumerLab.com found the same problem in a 2020 analysis; "a supplement that contained the highest amount of coumarin was labeled as Ceylon cinnamon".

Food uses

Cinnamon bark is used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material. It is used in the preparation of chocolate, especially in Mexico. Cinnamon is often used in savoury dishes of chicken and lamb. In the United States and Europe, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavour cereals, bread-based dishes such as toast, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon and sugar mixture (cinnamon sugar) is sold separately for such purposes. It is also used in Portuguese and Turkish cuisine for both sweet and savoury dishes. Cinnamon can also be used in pickling, and in Christmas drinks such as eggnog. Cinnamon powder has long been an important spice in enhancing the flavour of Persian cuisine, used in a variety of thick soups, drinks and sweets. It is also one of "four sibling spices" (rempah empat beradik) essential in Malay cuisine aside from clove, star anise and cardamom.

Nutrient composition

Ground cinnamon is 11% water, 81% carbohydrates (including 53% dietary fiber), 4% protein and 1% fat.

Characteristics

Texture

Ceylon cinnamon may be crushed into small pieces by hand while Indonesian cinnamon requires a powerful blender.

Flavour, aroma and taste
The flavour of cinnamon is due to the aromatic essential oils that makes up 0.5 to 1% of its composition.

Cinnamon bark can be macerated, then extracted in 80% ethanol, to a tincture.

Cinnamon essential oil can be prepared by roughly pounding the bark, macerating it in sea water, and then quickly distilling the whole. It is of a golden-yellow colour, with the characteristic odour of cinnamon and a very hot aromatic taste.

Cinnamon oil nanoemulsion can be made with Polysorbate 80, cinnamon essential oil, and water, by ultrasonic emulsification.

Cinnamon oil macroemulsion can be made with a dispersing emulsifying homogenizer.

The pungent taste and scent come from cinnamaldehyde, about 90% of the essential oil from cinnamon bark. Cinnamaldehyde decomposes, in high humidity and high temperatures, to styrene, and, by reaction with oxygen as it ages, it darkens in colour and forms resinous compounds.

Cinnamon constituents include some 80 aromatic compounds, including eugenol, found in the oil from leaves or bark of cinnamon trees.

Alcohol flavorant
Cinnamon is used as a flavoring in cinnamon liqueur, such as cinnamon-flavored whiskey in the United States, and , a cinnamon brandy in Greece.

Health-related research
Cinnamon has a long history of use in traditional medicine as a digestive aid. However, contemporary studies are unable to find evidence of any significant medicinal or therapeutic effect.

Reviews of clinical trials reported lowering of fasting plasma glucose and inconsistent effects on hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c, an indicator of chronically elevated plasma glucose). Four of the reviews reported a decrease in fasting plasma glucose, only two reported lower HbA1c, and one reported no change to either measure. The Cochrane review noted that trial durations were limited to 4 to 16 weeks, and that no trials reported on changes to quality of life, morbidity or mortality rate. The Cochrane authors' conclusion was: "There is insufficient evidence to support the use of cinnamon for type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus." Citing the Cochrane review, the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health stated: "Studies done in people don't support using cinnamon for any health condition." However, the results of the studies are difficult to interpret because it is often unclear what type of cinnamon and what part of the plant were used.

A meta-analysis of cinnamon supplementation trials with lipid measurements reported lower total cholesterol and triglycerides, but no significant changes in LDL-cholesterol or HDL-cholesterol. Another reported no change to body weight or insulin resistance.

Toxicity

A systematic review of adverse events as a result of cinnamon use reported gastrointestinal disorders and allergic reactions as the most frequently reported side effects.

In 2008, the European Food Safety Authority considered the toxicity of coumarin, a component of cinnamon, and confirmed a maximum recommended tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.1 mg of coumarin per kg of body weight. Coumarin is known to cause liver and kidney damage in high concentrations and metabolic effect in humans with CYP2A6 polymorphism. Based on this assessment, the European Union set a guideline for maximum coumarin content in foodstuffs of 50 mg per kg of dough in seasonal foods, and 15 mg per kg in everyday baked foods. The maximum recommended TDI of 0.1 mg of coumarin per kg of body weight equates to 5 mg of coumarin (or 5.6 g C. verum with 0.9 mg coumarin per gram) for a body weight of 50 kg. C as shown in the table below:

Due to the variable amount of coumarin in C. cassia, usually well over 1.0 mg of coumarin per g of cinnamon and sometimes up to 12 times that, C. cassia has a low safe-intake-level upper limit to adhere to the above TDI. In contrast, C. verum has only trace amounts of coumarin.

Gallery

See also

 Canella, a plant known as "wild cinnamon" or "white cinnamon"
 Cinnamomea, a Neo-Latin adjective meaning 'cinnamon-coloured'
 Cinnamon challenge
 List of culinary herbs and spices

Notes

References

Further reading
 Wijesekera R. O. B., Ponnuchamy S., Jayewardene A. L., "Cinnamon" (1975) monograph published by CISIR, Colombo, Sri Lanka

External links

 "In pictures: Sri Lanka's spice of life". BBC News.

Antifungals
Cinnamomum
Incense material
Medicinal plants
Non-timber forest products
Spices
Indian spices
Sri Lankan spices

Cinnamon


The Old Dominion University Monarch Marching Band (MMB) is the Marching Band put in place in response to the formation of the Old Dominion Monarchs football program. It was founded in the summer of 2008 and is currently active. It is currently being headed by Dr. Alexander R. Treviño The Monarch Marching Band goes to all of the home football games and plays in the pre-game, stands, and halftime. The band prides itself on the fact that it does not do the same show for every football game, and it is fairly rare for the band to play the same song more than once for halftime.

Sections

The MMB has a standard line up of sections for a college band. All of the wind instruments are silver and can be provided by the university.

Instruments are:
Piccolos,
Clarinets,
Saxophones,
Mellophones,
Trumpets,
Trombones,
Baritones,
Sousaphones,
Snares,
Tenors,
Bass drums,
Cymbals, and
Color guard.

Traditions
Even as a young Marching Band, The MMB has many traditions starting already. One such tradition is yelling "Pride" after the conclusion of each practice and game. This has a double meaning as it means both pride in the sense of being proud to be a Monarch, and also pride being what a grouping of lions is called.
Another tradition of the MMB is to pet the lion bust's muzzle at the entrance of the Foreman Field.

Uniforms
The uniforms for the MMB are quite representative of the city they reside in. Norfolk, Virginia houses a huge Naval station (Naval Station Norfolk) and almost in respect of that, their uniforms look very Navy-like. The pants come up in an overall fashion and the coat is a high cut, button-from- the-shoulder type of style. The Shako looks almost identical to a Naval Peaked cap. The color scheme of the uniform is the schools colors, Royal Blue and white. Coincidentally this is also the colors of the Navy. The uniform is adorned with multiple university logos. 'Old Dominion University' on the right shoulder, and the diagonal ODU with crown logo on the left shoulder. The lion shield logo is on the front of the jacket, with M-O-N-A-R-C-H-S spelled vertically down the back. On the front of the Shako, the horizontal ODU with crown logo is present.

Pep Band
Members of the Marching Band make up the University's Basketball Band, which goes to all the Men's and Women's Basketball home-games. If one wants to be a member of the Basketball Band then they have to have been part of the marching band. Each of the 60 members of the band get a $500 stipend. Anybody out of that 60 are also allowed to participate, but they go stipend-less.

Other Pep Bands are formed for specific Field Hockey and Soccer games, these are also formed from the marching band and they are strictly voluntary.

References

External links
 Official Monarch Marching Band Webpage
 Official Facebook Page
 Official Twitter
 Official Youtube

Sun Belt Conference marching bands
Musical groups established in 2008
Old Dominion University
2008 establishments in Virginia

Monarch Marching Band


Martha Cheavens (1899–1975) was an American novelist, short-story writer and poet, several of whose works were adapted for the screen.

Life

The oldest child of John Self Cheavens, a Baptist missionary and founder of the National Baptist Convention of Mexico, Martha Louise Cheavens was raised in Mexico and Texas.  She graduated in 1922 from the Missouri School of Journalism.  She was married to Hugh J. Schuck, a foreign editor for the New York Daily News.  They raised a son, Hugh Schuck Junior, and an adopted daughter, Nancy Proudman. The couple lived in Great Neck, New York and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.  (New York Times obituary, 28 March 1975)

Work

Martha Cheavens published widely in magazines intended for a female readership, including:
"Dream Market," in Women's Home Companion, December, 1936;
"A Japanese Carol," The American Magazine, January 1937;
"Missouri Rose," Good Housekeeping, July 1939;
"Sleep Not My Country," Good Housekeeping, June 1942;
"Eighteen to Twenty," McCall's, May, 1943;
"For All the Time There Is," McCall's,  June, 1945;
"The Ringing Stars," Ladies Home Journal, December, 1946.

Her first novel, Spun By an Angel, is a young-adult story set in the Sierra Madre mountains, and based upon the author's own experience.

Works adapted for the screen

Cheavens' best-known works are those made into motion pictures.  The first, and most enduringly popular, is Penny Serenade, a 1941 movie starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.  Loosely adapted from an incident in Cheavens' own life, it tells the story of a newspaperman and his wife whose marriage suffers when their adopted daughter dies.

The less well-known Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944) is "a warm, sentimental little tale about an impoverished, parentless brood who have their hearts set on entertaining a service man." (New York Times review, 25 January 1945)

A third story, "The Ringing Stars," was optioned by Hollywood, but apparently never produced.  It concerns a Navy chaplain who loses his faith during the war, but rediscovers it while serving his flock at home in Texas.  (Although not necessarily the inspiration for this story, Cheavens' brother Frank Cheavens served briefly as a Baptist minister in Texas before becoming a psychologist).  The script was retitled twice, as Fall on Your Knees and Crosswinds.  (New York Times article, 26 January 1947).  It was published in hardcover under the latter title in 1948.  A reviewer considered it overly sentimental, saying that "Miss Cheavens poses a stark enough dilemma for her hero, but takes care to avoid coming to grips with reality from that point on."  (Andrea Parke, New York Times review, 17 October 1948).

Further research

As of February 2007, no works by Martha Cheavens were in print.  Used copies of her books are readily available, and magazines containing her work can occasionally be found as well.

Some of Cheavens' personal papers, including a script for Penny Serenade (1941), are preserved in the archives of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri (link below).

External links
 University of Missouri Archives

1899 births
1975 deaths
20th-century American novelists
Missouri School of Journalism alumni
Novelists from Texas
American expatriates in Mexico
American women novelists
20th-century American women writers
American women short story writers
20th-century American short story writers

Martha Cheavens


The Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (commonly referred to as NATFIZ) is a performing, cinematic and media arts institution of higher education based in Sofia. It is the first Bulgarian university in the field of theatre and film arts. It was founded in 1948, being the only public and state-run institution of its kind in the country.

The Academy enrolls about 120 new students every year, including 20 international students. It is located in three adjacent buildings in downtown Sofia: a Training Drama Theatre (est. 1957), a Training Puppet Theatre (est. 1966), a cinema and video hall and an educational audiovisual centre, as well as an academic information centre that stores 60,000 volumes of Bulgarian and international literature. NATFA has a student dormitory in Studentski grad.

History
After the Second World War, there were changes in the political, economic and social life in Bulgaria. Higher education became free of charge which allowed more young people to pursue a career in theatre. The number of theatres also increased, which led to the need for more actors and directors. The Academy started off as a temporary, two-year theatre course at the Ivan Vazov National Theater. Subsequently, as Bulgarian press raised the idea of creating a higher theatre school, it turned into the first Bulgarian State Higher Theater School in 1948.

In its first class, 22 students were admitted in acting and 9 were admitted in directing, and two years later there were 16 new students in theater studies. Initially, the duration of all courses was four years, but it was later extended to five for directors and theater critics. The school's first seventeen teachers were prominent experts in theater art and theater critics. Over the years, the number of teachers increased and the curriculum improved.

Dimitar Mitov, a prominent author, publicist and literary and theater critic, was appointed as the first rector. The School was initially housed at 43 Vasil Levski Boulevard, but the building turned out to be too small to accommodate all of its students. In 1951, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Krastyo Sarafov's birth, the school was named after him, and in 1954 it was renamed to Krastyo Sarafov Higher Institute of Theater Arts.

In 1955, the Institute received a new building with three stages and a larger audience capacity, located at 108A Rakovski Street. The Training Drama Theater, one of the Institute's main units, was inaugurated in 1957. The amphitheater hall has 430 seats. In 1962, the Institute introduced a puppetry acting course. A decade later, directing for puppet theater was also added. In 1966, the Training Puppet Theater was inaugurated with a performance of The Carnival of the Animals to the music of Camille Saint-Saëns, directed and written by Nikolina Georgieva. It is located at 20 Stefan Karadja Street and has a hall with 100 seats. In 1973, new courses such as filmmaking and cinematography were added to the Institute's curriculum.

On 1 August 1995, the university received its current name: Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theater and Film Arts.

Notable alumni

Notes

References

External links

 Official website of Stefan Danailov's actors' class

National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts
Universities and colleges established in 1948
1948 establishments in Bulgaria
Film schools in Bulgaria


Sergeant William Cole AM (c. 1840 – 21 November 1900) was a London police officer who was awarded the Albert Medal for helping to contain a bomb attack on 24 January 1885.

In Westminster Hall at the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft (the Crypt Chapel), Cole was notified by a visitor about a smoking black bag on the lower steps leading up from the Chapel into Westminster Hall. Upon examination, he realized it contained dynamite and a lighted fuse. He rushed up the steps with it into Westminster Hall, intending to deposit the device in New Palace Yard. But before he could reach the door, a hot substance from the bag scalded his hand, causing him to drop it, and as he did so it exploded. He and a colleague, P.C. Cox, were thrown into the large crater torn into the floor of the Hall. Seconds later, another device exploded in the empty chamber of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, causing extensive damage, and a third at the Tower of London. All the bombings were committed by the terrorist group known as the Fenians, the precursors to the Irish Republican Army, nationalists battling British rule in Ireland.

Unconscious and badly injured, Cole and his colleague were taken to hospital, where they were visited by the Home Secretary, Sir William Harcourt. Cole's actions had saved the lives of bystanders. Harcourt recognised Cole's gallantry in "knowing full well the terrible risk he incurred", and sought the Queen's approval for him to receive the Albert Medal. The award was approved a week later. Cole, who had been promoted to sergeant on 2 February 1885, very soon after the incident, was presented with the medal on 26 March by Harcourt at an impressive gathering in Westminster Hall attended by the Prime Minister, W.E. Gladstone, the Speaker (Arthur Wellesley Peel), and many members of the Lords and Commons.

Last years
Cole's injuries would force him to live most of his remaining years as an invalid, nursed devotedly by his wife. He retired on pension a year later, on 21 April 1886. He died, aged 60, on 21 November 1900 after undergoing further surgery at Westminster Hospital. His widow was granted a Civil List pension of £30 p.a. by King Edward VII.

External links
 Story about Cole's bravery

References

Year of birth uncertain
1900 deaths
Metropolitan Police officers
Recipients of the Albert Medal (lifesaving)

William Cole (police officer)


A fine on alienation (see Alienation (property law)), in feudal law, was a sum of money paid to the lord by a tenant when he had occasion to make over his land to another.  It is similar in nature to a relief, a payment made by an heir to the lord to receive his inheritance.

Property law
Medieval law

Fine on alienation


was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period. Prominent as Navy Minister of the Republic of Ezo, he later became famous as the first head of the Japan Meteorological Agency. Also known as  or .

Early life
Arai Ikunosuke was born in the Tedai-cho district of Edo, near the Yushima Seidō shrine as the son of the Tokugawa gokenin Arai Kiyobei. His father donated his money to aid villagers from the flood of Fujigawa, which in turn angered the Tokugawa Shōgun.  He began learning the Chinese classics at age 7, and on the recommendation of his uncle, starting at age 12 he studied swordsmanship (Jikishinkage ryū and Shingyōtō-ryū), archery, and horse riding. At age 14, he entered the Shogunate's academy at Shoheizaka, and at age 18, he began to study Western-style gunnery. He began his career in the Shogunate at age 20, entering into Dutch studies (rangaku), and was posted as an instructor at the Nagasaki Naval Training Center.

Life in the 1860s
After studying mathematics, sailing, and navigation, Arai was appointed a director of the Naval Training Center in 1862. However, he was reassigned to the Shogunate's Kōbusho military academy in 1864, and it was there that he worked with Ōtori Keisuke, learning French-style infantry tactics in Yokohama in 1865.

Boshin War
In 1868 during the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, Arai was assigned as a captain to the Shogunal Navy, and together with Enomoto Takeaki departed Shinagawa Harbor when Edo was surrendered to the Imperial Army. Traveling to Hokkaidō, he became Navy Minister of the new Republic of Ezo, and while he took part in the Naval Battle of Miyako Bay and the Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay, the Ezo forces were defeated, and Arai was placed in prison, where he remained pending a sentence of death. During this time, he wrote the first English-Japanese dictionary.

Meiji Era
With his sentence of death commuted, Arai worked with Enomoto in land reclamation for a time, before working in the Agricultural School, as well as becoming head of a women's school.  He was later put in charge of the Central Meteorological Agency during the Meiji period, became the first person to photograph the corona of the sun in Japan, during a solar eclipse in 1887, introduced the meter system, founded Hokkaido University, and established standard time.

Later in life, together with his old colleague Ōtori Keisuke, he contributed to the magazine Kyū Bakufu, writing articles about his experiences in the 1860s, as well as about the navy of the former Shogunate.

Arai died of diabetes in 1909, at the age of 74.

References and further reading
Fukunaga Kyōsuke. Kaishō Arai Ikunosuke. Tokyo: Morikita Shoten, 1943.
Harada Akira. Arai Ikunosuke. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1994.
Hillsborough, Romulus. Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps. Tuttle Publishing (2005).

External links
Information on the Shogunate navy, including Arai's command
More information on Arai

1836 births
1909 deaths
Samurai
Nobility from Tokyo
People of the Boshin War
People of Meiji-period Japan
Deaths from diabetes
Government ministers of Japan
Japan Meteorological Agency

Arai Ikunosuke


The Concord Center is an 11-story, 145 foot-tall (44m), Class-A office building located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The building is located on the site of the former Jefferson County Courthouse, which was Birmingham's first skyscraper. The two 30-foot illuminated pyramids atop the building are meant to reflect the two pyramids that were atop the former Jefferson County Courthouse.

History
The site of the Concord Center is located on what was once the site of Birmingham's first skyscraper, the former Jefferson County Courthouse. The former Jefferson County Courthouse building was built in 1889 and occupied the site until it was torn down in 1937, having been replaced in 1929 by the new Jefferson County Courthouse building.

The site remained vacant for over 60 years, serving only as a parking lot for the adjacent YMCA of Birmingham. Brookmont Realty Group purchased the site in 1999. Soon after purchasing the site, Brookmont Realty announced that it was planning to build an 11-story, 152,000 square foot office building on the property. The law firm of Lange, Simpson, Robinson & Somerville LLC, which became Adams and Reese, leased the top three floors of the building making it the anchor tenant.

Construction of the Concord Center began in May 2000 after removing what was left of the foundation of the former courthouse building. Williams Blackstock Architects was chosen as the architectural firm to design the building, with B.L. Harbert International serving as the general contractor for the project. The architects designed the top of the building to include two 30-foot tall illuminated pyramids to reflect two pyramids that were part of the design of the old courthouse. Construction was completed in early 2002 and officially opened on March 1.

In 2007, Harbert Management Corporation announced that it would relocate its corporate headquarters, along with 120 employees, from its Riverchase headquarters campus in Hoover to the building.

In August 2012, Cadence Bank announced that it planned to move its corporate headquarters to the Concord Center from the nearby John Hand Building. Cadence planned to take space occupied by the law firm of Adams and Reese, which was planning to relocate to the nearby Regions-Harbert Plaza. It was also announced that Cadence would open a bank branch in the lobby of the building as well as add an ATM. The move was completed by early 2013.

Artwork
When the building was being designed, the developer, the Birmingham Museum of Art, and the architects worked together to create space in the building's two-story lobby to display artwork. The Birmingham Museum of Art loaned some of the artwork that is currently placed in the lobby. The centerpiece of the lobby is a large globe of the world that is hand-carved out of wood . The globe was originally located in the lobby of Harbert Management Corporation's headquarters in Riverchase. It was commissioned by Harbert Corporation, the predecessor to Harbert Management Corporation, when the company was still in the construction business. The globe was meant to reflect Harbert's international construction presence and its many projects going on all over the world.

Tenants
 Harbert Management Corporation
 Cadence Bank
 JPMorgan Chase & Co
 Adams and Reese (former)

References

External links
Emporis Concord Center

Skyscraper office buildings in Birmingham, Alabama
Office buildings completed in 2002
Financial services company headquarters in the United States
Bank buildings in Alabama
2002 establishments in Alabama

Concord Center


Captain Barbell is a Philippine television drama action fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is based on a Philippine fictional character of the same name created by Mars Ravelo. Directed by Don Michael Perez, it stars Richard Gutierrez in the title role. It premiered on May 29, 2006 on the network's Telebabad line-up. The series concluded on January 12, 2007 with a total of 165 episodes. It was replaced by Asian Treasures in its timeslot.

A sequel to the series Captain Barbell aired in 2011.

Cast and characters

Lead cast
 Richard Gutierrez as Captain Barbell / Arell / Potenciano "Teng" Magtanggol

Supporting cast
 Richard Gomez as Viel Villan / General V
 Patrick Garcia as Levi Villan / Super Levi
 Camille Prats as Marikit "Kit" Salvacion
 Rhian Ramos as Leah Lazaro
 JC de Vera as Boris / Little B
 Ryan Yllana as Bobby Santos
 Ricky Davao as Cesar Magtanggol
 Jackie Lou Blanco as Sandra Magtanggol
 Paolo Bediones as Captain B / Brando Laddran
 Angel Aquino as Barbara
 Snooky Serna as Mrs. B
 Gloria Sevilla as Carmela "Melay" Magtanggol
 Dino Guevarra as Narciso / Bubog
 Jeremy Marquez as Jared / Putakti / Cyborg 5564
 Mike Gayoso as Dexter
 Gary Estrada as Tenorio / Tetano
 Carlos Morales as Ador / Adobe
 Rufa Mae Quinto and Marissa Sanchez as Patti / Aero / Aerobika
 Jay Aquitania as Marvin / Vaporo
 Jason Hsu as Xu / Cyborg 5566
 Pinky Amador as Myra Lazaro
 Wendell Ramos as Ruben / Black Out
 Elizabeth Oropesa as Aurora Salvacion / Lady Amorseko
 Bong Alvarez as Dribol / Askoboy Coach
 Antonio Aquitania as Askoboy Captain
 Dion Ignacio as Askoboy Vice Captain
 Mylene Dizon as Magna / Magnetica
 John Lapus as Marlon "Mercy" / Mercurio
 January Isaac as Kristiana / Admiral K
 Ian Veneracion as Commander X
 Sunshine Dizon as Clarisse Magtanggol / Blanca / Ex-O

Guest cast
 Ryan Eigenmann as Abel
 Melissa Avelino as Chari
 Dante Rivero as Carlos "Aloy" Magtanggol
 John Regala as Lorenzo Lazaro
 Rez Cortez as Joe Salvacion
 Tricia Roman as a television news reporter
 Ces Quesada as Agnes
 Pinky de Leon as Victoria
 Tin Arnaldo as Tracy

Ratings
According to AGB Nielsen Philippines' Mega Manila household television ratings, the pilot episode of Captain Barbell earned a 37.5% rating. While the final episode scored a 35.4% rating. The series had an average rating of 30.4%, while 43.7% was the highest rating it earned.

Accolades

References

External links

Captain Barbell
2006 Philippine television series debuts
2007 Philippine television series endings
Filipino-language television shows
GMA Network drama series
Philippine action television series
Philippine fantasy television series
Superhero television series
Television shows based on comics
Television shows set in the Philippines

tl:Captain Barbell

Captain Barbell (2006 TV series)


Jesse Saunders (born March 10, 1962) is an American house music artist, DJ, record producer, film producer, and entrepreneur. His 1984 single, "On & On", co-written with Vince Lawrence, was the first house record to be pressed and sold to the public. Since his emergence as a DJ, Saunders has run several independent labels and worked extensively in music and film production, as well as artist promotion and management. He is also a long-time member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Early years
Saunders was born and grew up on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, in the 1960s and '70s. He attended St. Columbanus for kindergarten and until fifth grade attended Reavis Elementary School, where his mother, Lois M. Saunders, was a teacher. A Roosevelt University graduate in Early Childhood Education, she was her son's primary caregiver and supported his pursuits in sports and music.

Jesse Saunders then enrolled in Shoesmith Elementary School, where he was a straight-A student. He was selected to participate in the gifted program at Ray Elementary School. There, at the age of 10, Saunders learned to program and operate computers. He was also selected to perform and tour in the Chicago Children's Choir.

Saunders eventually graduated from Charles S. Deneen Public School before going on to graduate from Hyde Park's Kenwood Academy. During his high school years as an honor student there, he played intramural tennis, leading his team to three City of Chicago Championships and once to second place, which earned him the three white letters on his lettermen's jacket. During this time, he was selected by the city of Chicago's "Youth Action" program, which trains exceptional student athletes with the goal of professional careers.

During this time, his older stepbrother, DJ Wayne Williams, mentored Saunders in the art of DJing. In 1977, Wiliams brought Saunders into the fold of his Chosen Few Disco Corp. Starting in 1991, the two went on to produce the Chosen Few House Music Reunion Picnic yearly in Chicago to a crowd of over 30,000.

Saunders went on to study communications and film at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Saunders's interest in music began with studying piano at age five, eventually making his way through every instrument available to him. Amongst his early musical influences were Aretha Franklin, Fleetwood Mac, Smokey Robinson, and Earth Wind & Fire.

Career

Chicago house
House takes its name from Chicago's Warehouse nightclub, where it began. As the music moved to a wider community, the sound changed significantly and became what is today known as house music.
One of Saunders' biggest influences, Frankie Knuckles, another instrumental figure in the development of the scene, confined himself to gay nightclubs (primarily the Warehouse). Meanwhile, Saunders took the unique sounds of the Windy City to the masses. Instead of relying solely on disco and R&B, as Knuckles did, Saunders expanded his musical repertoire and developed his signature style. As a DJ, he would use loops and repetition for accentuation, focusing on sections that were stripped down to just the drum or bass — a tradition he would carry on as a producer.

Touring
At the age of sixteen, Saunders was exposed to Chicago's night club scene through the music of Frankie Knuckles and others in the scene. In 1982, he opened up his own nightclub, the Playground. Attendance figures soon outnumbered the Warehouse's, and Saunders used the opportunity to incorporate his original material into his sets.

By 1983, he was producing his own music. In early 1984, he released the first official house music record along with Vince Lawrence, "On & On", on the label they made together, Jes Say Records. Saunders composed the track with Lawrence in order to replace a record which had been stolen from Saunders's collection, the "On & On" bootleg disco megamix by Mach (1980). That megamix, a pastiche of loops from several disco records, particularly the bassline from Player One's "Space Invaders" (1979) and Lipps Inc's "Funkytown" (1980), had been Saunders's "signature" tune as a DJ; it was one that other DJs in the city didn't have or didn't play. Saunders & Lawrence added hypnotic lyrics and electronic instruments, utilizing a Roland TR-808 drum machine as electronic percussion as well as a Korg Poly-61 synthesizer and Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer.

"Funk U Up" (the first house track to ever make it onto the Billboard charts), "Real Love", "Love Can't Turn Around", and "Dum Dum" soon followed. His group, Jesse's Gang was eventually signed to Geffen Records, releasing the album Center of Attraction shortly after, with the single off the album, "I'm Back Again" becoming a top ten club hit.

By the late 1980s, Saunders decided to focus all his efforts on writing, producing, and remixing instead of DJing. Throughout the 1990s, he made his way back to DJing, touring the world, as well as trying his hand at producing music for television. His independent label, Broken Records, embraced the digital revolution by distributing music solely via the Internet. Since 1991 he has been involved in House Music Reunion Picnic, celebrated every Fourth of July weekend. The event brings together over 100 DJs and attracts upwards of 30,000 people. In 1997 he reunited with the other forefathers of house music to release Chicago Reunion Album.

Saunders went on to be featured in a number of books including What Kind Of House Party Is This? by Jonathan Fleming (MixMag) and his own semi-autobiography House Music...The Real Story, co-written by James Cummins. He has co-starred in documentaries including the Sun Dance award-winning "Modulations", the Channel 4 (London) mini-series "Pump Up The Volume", the BBC audio documentary "The 2nd Summer of Love", the TV1 Unsung: "Frankie Knuckles and The Roots of House", the Channel 4 (London) "I Was There (When House Took Over The World)", the BBC "Can You Feel It", and the award-winning "Put The Needle on the Record". He has been featured in Rolling Stone, MixMag, Urb, and Keyboard. Saunders has lectured at The Red Bull Academy, Oxford University, Boston University, The Winter Music Conference (Miami), Popkom (Germany), The New Music Seminar (New York), and the Amsterdam Dance Event (Holland).

In 2004, after touring the world, Saunders revived his Broken Records label. The label releases digital content many major download sites and features artists such as Inaya Day, Scott Langley, Sound Syndicate, Igor Garnier, Didier Vanelli, Mia Calderon, Joe Smooth, Marshall Jefferson, and Jesse Saunders himself.

In 2009, Saunders released the album 25th Anniversary of House Music, which resulted in a worldwide tour featuring Art depicting the culture and pioneers of the genre.  The tour hit all over the US and as far as Johannesburg, South Africa.

After the 25th anniversary of House Music Tour, Saunders founded the Electronic Music Cafe in Vegas 2010 to display the Art from the Tour. It has turned into a major broadcast network featuring DJs and fine artists interpreting their music.  He also founded the Music & Arts Society, a non-profit entity for the advancement and preservation of the DJ culture, with the launch of the word's first DJ Culture exhibit entitled "SPIN – Evolution of the DJ", that same year. Mayor Goodman issued a proclamation during the red carpet ceremony for the highly publicized affair for his outstanding contributions to education and the culture of Las Vegas.

In that same year, Saunders produced and released the first installment of the Above The Sound Cloud compilation series. He also produced and released the first Chilled & UnBroken compilation series, as well the internationally acclaimed DJ Divas album.

Personal life
His maternal grandfather, Robert H. Miller, a funeral business owner and founder of the National Funeral Directors and Mortician's Association, was voted "Mayor" of Bronzeville from 1937 to 1939. He also became heavily involved in the American civil rights movement, walking with Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, later erecting a statue in honor of King in Selma, Alabama. Miller also promoted the career of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and owned and operated the Grand Ballroom, which showcased artists such as Cab Calloway and Count Basie.

Saunders married actress and musician Jazsmin Lewis in 1992. The couple divorced in 1998. He now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Selected discography

Releases

 On & On (1984)
 Funk U Up (1984)
 Undercover (1984)
 Fantasy (1984)
 Dum Dum (1984)
 Real Love (1985)
 I Am The DJ (1985)
 Dum Dum 2 (1985)
 Love Can't Turn Around (1986)
 Back Up (1987)
 I'm Back Again (1988) #2 Billboard Dance Charts
 Sing Sing in the 90's (1990)
 House Trax, Vol. 1 (1991)
 Light My Fire (1992)
 Got Me Runnin (1993)
 I Just Want To (1993)
 Take Me Higher (1996)
 Yeah/Let Me Hear U (1997)
 12 Inches of Love (1998)
 Body Music (1999)
 Excited (2002)
 On & On (20th Anniversary of House-2003)
 Everybody (2004)
 Feelin Me (2005)
 Luv 2 Luv U (2008)
 House Muzik Album (2008)
 On & On (25th Anniversary Remixes-2009)
 What's This FX (2010)
 I Hear House Music (2011)
 House Music Buffet (2011)
 MainLine (2012)
 Now That We Found Love (2013)
 Sunshine (2016)
 Shout (2017)
 Kaleidoscope (2018)
 On & On (35th Anniversary Remixes)
 Higher (2019) #28 Billboard Dance Charts

Remixes

 Showdown – No Sovereign (1987)
 It's A Cold, Cold World – lNouveau (1988)
 Come Fly With Me – DJ Pierre (1990)
 My Girl – Kool Skool (1990)
 Vibeology – Paula Abdul (1991)
 We Want The Funk – Gerardo (1991)
 Set Me Free – Jermaine Stewart (1992)
 Where Do We Go – Simple Pleasure (1992)
 Double Good Everything – Smokey Robinson (1992)
 Damn It Feels Good – Geto Boyz (1992)
 What's It Take – Mellow Man Ace (1993)
 Stranger – Buzz Session (1994)
 Loving Tonight – Honey Vox (1994)
 Slide – El Debarge (1995)
 Baby Wants To Ride – Frankie Knuckles (1997)
 Turn It Out – Rick James (1999)
 Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back) (2002)
 Step In The Name of Love – R. Kelly (2003)
 Love Dealer - Ryan Brahms (2017)
 Pounder - VMS (2018)

Notes

1962 births
Living people
African-American musicians
Musicians from Chicago
American house musicians
House musicians
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people
Kenwood Academy alumni

Jesse Saunders