Garret Hammond was the drummer of the Chicago-based alternative rock bands Kill Hannah and Prick.

Career
Hammond drummed for the band Prick, which was signed to Nothing Records owned by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor.

Hammond drummed on select tracks of Kill Hannah's album American Jet Set and eventually joined the band full-time. He remained in the band through the recording of their second major label album released on Atlantic Records, Until There's Nothing Left of Us. He left the band for personal reasons, but still performs periodically with the band, including full-time during their 2011 Euro Tour.

Hammond recorded/engineered and produced Chicago band Out For Hours first full-length album titled Save Today Tomorrow.

Hammond now is currently recording with Jonny Radtke (ex-Kill Hannah guitarist) in Radtke's new solo project, Polar Moon. He also records with David Martorana at FAT RECORDING STUDIO in Illinois and does some tours with Kill Hannah.

Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American rock drummers
Kill Hannah members
Prick (band) members

Garrett Hammond


Idka AB is a collaborative platform headquartered in Sweden. Idka allows you to connect, share, store and share documents and files, while keeping your data completely safe. Idka is advertising-free, and fully encrypted. The solution combines all of the functionality of social media in one place, and will never share or sell information. The user controls the sharing.

Idka, which is available as an HTML5 web service, requires no IT knowledge or support, and no installation of any kind except for apps on iOS and Android.

Idka announced on Twitter, on April 21, 2020, that they were shutting down.

Background
Idka was founded upon the belief that the advertising-driven model cannot be fixed, contrary to what Facebook and others have said. Idka is the antithesis to the 'Stalker Economy', the foundation of today's social networking, were the users themselves are the product. The built-in drivers of the advertising model will inevitably lead to serious privacy violations, but more than that, it creates a problem for a free democratic way of life. The problem of tailored news (echo chambers), dark posts, political 'nudging' and covert political campaigning, profiling and surveillance is real and has already had discernible impact.

Description
Idka has been created as a product in its own right, where users pay a small monthly subscription for a service with short, understandable, and fair user terms.

The service is free of advertising, news streams, and manipulation. Idka centers on privacy and security, so encryption and 2-factor authentication is central. All default actions are set up to protect the user's privacy. There is no pre-population or prompting to invite or collect friends and contacts. A post will not be shared when published without an intended and specific share action from the user. A private post cannot be changed and shared with new people. People who are added to a many-to-many chat will be able to see chat entries after they are added, etc. A picture in a post cannot be downloaded and it goes away if removed by the person who uploaded it. Delete is really delete, meaning that the information is removed from Idka servers.

The service covers a number of functions that are otherwise spread across several platforms, such as posting, chatting with end-to-end encryption (like Telegram and Signal), many-to-many chatting (like hang-out), integrated drag&drop cloud storage (like Box and DropBox) without file size limits, etc. When a group is created, it will immediately have its own cloud storage, its own chat and posting wall. Members can be read-only if necessary.

The service also caters to companies with 'organizational accounts' and provides more functionality than other web services (such as Slack).

References

External links

Companies based in Stockholm
Online companies of Sweden
Multilingual websites
Proprietary cross-platform software
Real-time web
Swedish social networking websites
Text messaging

Idka


The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is one of the longest-running and most prestigious film festivals in the United States. The non-competitive festival is centered on a "Main Slate" of typically 20–30 feature films, with additional sections for experimental cinema and new restorations.

Dennis Lim is the Artistic Director for NYFF. Kent Jones was the festival director from 2013 to 2019.

Sections
As of 2020, the festival program is divided into the following sections:

Main Slate
The Main Slate is the Festival's primary section, a program typically featuring 25-30 feature-length films, intending to reflect the current state of cinema. The program is a mix of major international art house films from the festival circuit, new discoveries, and studio releases targeting awards season. The studio films are often selected as Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night presentations.

Currents
Currents complements the Main Slate, tracing a more complete picture of contemporary cinema with an emphasis on new and innovative forms and voices.

Spotlight
Spotlight is showcase of the season's most anticipated and significant films.

Revivals
The Revivals section showcases important works from renowned filmmakers that have been digitally remastered, restored, and preserved with the assistance of generous partners.

Talks
Talks features in-depth conversations with filmmakers, critics, curators, and more.

History

Founding the Festival

The NYFF's first programmer, Richard Roud, was recruited by Lincoln Center President William Schuman in 1962. Boston-born Roud was 33 years old at the time and based in London where he worked as a film critic for The Guardian and programmed the London Film Festival. Though Roud maintained his home base in London, he recruited Amos Vogel of the legendary Cinema 16 film club as his New York–based co-programmer. The first edition of the festival opened on September 10, 1963, with Luis Buñuel's The Exterminating Angel. In 1966, Roud and Vogel formed the festival's first selection committee, consisting of Arthur Knight and Andrew Sarris; Susan Sontag was added the next year. Vogel resigned from his position as Festival Director in 1968. Though Roud was previously designated Program Director, he presided over the festival from 1969 to 1987.

Roud's 25 years at the festival were characterized by a focus on the European art cinema of the postwar years and the rise of auteurism.

The Richard Peña era

Richard Peña, then 34, took over as lead programmer in 1988. The Queens native was already an accomplished film historian, academic, and programmer. Prior to his work with NYFF, he worked at the Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Peña came to NYFF as a seasoned festival-goer who held Roud in high esteem. During his stint as programmer (which also listed 25 years), Peña honored the festival's traditions and unique character – retaining the selection committee process, the non-competitive format, the post-screening director Q&As, and the festival's strict selectivity – while also working to expand NYFF's somewhat Eurocentric focus. Filmmakers like Hou Hsiao-hsien, Manoel de Oliveira, Leos Carax, Raúl Ruiz, and Krzystof Kieslowski were introduced to NYFF audiences during the Roud era, and became regulars under Peña. After 25 years as Program Director and head of the NYFF selection committee, Peña led his final year at NYFF in 2012, during the festival's 50th presentation.

NYFF today

After Richard Peña's departure, Robert Koehler briefly took over year-round programming duties, while Kent Jones, who left The Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2009 to serve as Executive Director of the World Cinema Foundation, returned to lead NYFF. Jones began his programming career at Film Forum and the Rotterdam Film Festival, before joining The Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1998 as Associate Director of Programming and a member of the NYFF programming committee.

As of 2022, Dennis Lim is the Artistic Director of NYFF.

Opening Night films

See also
 New York International Children's Film Festival

References

External links
New York Film Festival Official website (2016)
Film Society of Lincoln Center Presenting organization website

1963 establishments in New York City
Experimental film festivals
Film festivals established in 1963
Film festivals in New York City
Lincoln Center

New York Film Festival


Bryology (from Greek , a moss, a liverwort) is the branch of botany concerned with the scientific study of bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts).  Bryologists are people who have an active interest in observing, recording, classifying or researching bryophytes. The field is often studied along with lichenology due to the similar appearance and ecological niche of the two organisms, even though bryophytes and lichens are not classified in the same kingdom.

History
Bryophytes were first studied in detail in the 18th century. The German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius (1687–1747) was a professor at Oxford and in 1717 produced the work "Reproduction of the ferns and mosses." The beginning of bryology really belongs to the work of Johannes Hedwig, who clarified the reproductive system of mosses (1792, Fundamentum historiae naturalist muscorum) and arranged a taxonomy.

Research
Areas of research include bryophyte taxonomy, bryophytes as bioindicators, DNA sequencing, and the interdependency of bryophytes and other plant, fungal and animal species. Among other things, scientists have discovered parasitic (mycoheterotrophic) bryophytes such as Aneura mirabilis (previously known as Cryptothallus mirabilis) and potentially carnivorous liverworts such as Colura zoophaga and Pleurozia.

Centers of research in bryology include the University of Bonn in Germany, the University of Helsinki in Finland and the New York Botanical Garden.

Journals
The Bryologist a scientific journal began publication in 1898, and includes articles on all aspects of the biology of mosses, hornworts, liverworts and lichens and also book reviews. It is published by The American Bryological and Lichenological Society.

The scientific Journal of Bryology, renamed in 1972 from its original name of Transactions of the British Bryological Society that commenced in 1947, is published by the British Bryological Society.

Notable bryologists
 Miles Joseph Berkeley (1803–1889)
 Elizabeth Gertrude Britton (1858–1934)
 Margaret Sibella Brown (1866–1961)
 Agnes Fry (1869–1957/8)
 Heinrich Christian Funck (1771–1839)
 Robert Kaye Greville (1794–1866)
 Wilhelm Theodor Gümbel (1812–1858)
 Inez M. Haring (1875–1968)
 Hiroshi Inoue (1932–1989)
 Kathleen King (1893–1978)
 Aaron John Sharp (1904–1997)
 Mary S. Taylor (1885-1976)
 Frances Elizabeth Tripp (1832-1890)
 Carl Friedrich Warnstorf (1837–1921)

References

Literature
 Meylania, Zeitschrift für Bryologie und Lichenologie
 Limprichtia, Zeitschrift der Bryologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutschlands

External links
  Bryologie at the University of Bonn
  A Short History of Bryology
International Association of Bryologists
American Bryological and Lichenological Society
British Bryological Society

Branches of botany

Bryology


Valery Chkalov (, UK title - The Red Flyer, United States title - Wings of Victory) is a Soviet biopic about the life of Valery Chkalov, directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. The screenplay was written by Georgy Baidukov, Boris Chirskov and Dmitri Tarasov. The film was produced by Lenfilm and distributed in the United States by Artkino Pictures (1941), and later by Top1Video (1999).

Cast
 Vladimir Belokurov as Valery Chkalov
 Mikheil Gelovani as Joseph Stalin
 Semyon Mezhinsky as Sergo Ordzhonikidze
 Kseniya Tarasova as Olga Chkalova
 Vasili Vanin as Pasha Palic
 Serafima Birman
 Pyotr Berezov as Georgiy Baidukov
 Boris Zhukovsky as Cmdr. Alyoshin
 Fyodor Bogdanov as Grandfather
 Irina Zarubina
 Sergei Yarov as Alexander Belyakov
 I. Smyslovsky
 Mikhail Kalatozov
 Boris Andreyev
 Arkady Raikin as American journalist

References

External links

1941 films
1940s biographical drama films
Soviet biographical drama films
Russian biographical drama films
Soviet black-and-white films
Lenfilm films
Films directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
Russian aviation films
1940s Russian-language films
1941 drama films
Russian black-and-white films
Biographical films about aviators

Valery Chkalov (film)


Chang Ch'ün (張群, pinyin: Zhāng Qún) (1889-1990) was Premier of the Republic of China in 1947-1948. A close associate of Chiang Kai-shek, he served previously as foreign minister and as governor of Sichuan.

In 1907 he was a classmate of Chiang Kai-shek as a military cadet in Japan. They both went on to serve in the Takata regiment of the Niigata army . This period was to form the basis of the lifelong friendship between the two men.

Following the establishment of the Republic of China, Chang was made Head of the Foreign Affairs division. In the aftermath of World War II he was briefly the head of the Executive Yuan, a position also known as Premier of the Republic of China.

His later career was chiefly concerned with foreign affairs, paticularly relations with Japan. In 1972, at the age of 83, he played a large role in the difficult negotiations regarding Japan's switch of diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China.

Other websites
Biography  (Chinese)

Chang Ch'ün
Chang Ch'ün
Chang Ch'ün
Chinese politicians
Taiwanese politicians

Zhang Qun


The Wye Marsh is a wetland area on the south shores of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. The Wye Marsh National Wildlife Area was established on the location in 1978. It is designated a Provincially Significant Wetland by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Settlement
The area was inhabited by Huron Indians when the Jesuit missionaries arrived in 1639. The Jesuit established a mission on the north-east corner of Wye Lake, the site is now known as Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. The largest Huron village of the time was situated between Wye Marsh and nearby Tiny Marsh.  By 1650 conflict with Iroquois had driven all of the surviving missionaries to Quebec, along with the surviving Huron. The area remained unpopulated for 150 years.

In the early 19th century, a naval base open in Penetanguishene, and settlement of the area by Europeans began in earnest.  Wyebridge became the major business centre of Simcoe County, and by the 1860s Midland was surpassed only by Ottawa as a logging town in Ontario.  Deforestation led to small streams which fed the marsh drying up, and serious soil erosion along the Wye River depositing into Wye Lake.  In the 20th century the site of Wye Marsh was a privately owned hunting preserve, until it was turned into a wildlife area by the federal and provincial governments.

Administration
The Canadian Wildlife Service established the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in 1969.  In 1985, the day-to-day administration of the centre was taken over by the Friends of the Wye Marsh through special agreement with Environment Canada.  Most of the land is owned by the Province of Ontario, and administered through the Wye Marsh Wildlife Management Area, and some land is owned by Environment Canada and administered through the Wye Marsh National Wildlife Area.

Description
The marsh covers an area of around 4.5 km by 1.5 km.  The area is primarily cattail marsh, although some areas are fen.  Inside the parklands there is also a small amount of dense coniferous swamp and upland forests. In the centre of the marsh is an area of open water known as Mud Lake or Wye Lake.  The lake covers 125 hectares and has a typical depth of 80 to 140 centimeters.

Ecology

The Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre runs a breeding programme for trumpeter swans.  The centre, and its volunteers, monitor approximately one-third of all trumpeter swans in Ontario.  The swans had been absent from the marsh until a reintroduction programme by Harry Lumsden in the 1980s, as an employee of the Ontario Department of Natural Resources.  Archeological evidence collected by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century suggests that the area previously had significant concentrations of trumpeter swans, and historical references indicate the same.  While hunters armed only with bows and arrows would have had a difficult time hunting the swan, the introduction of firearms by European explorers would have made the swan a tempting target for hunters.  By 1850, only small numbers of the swan remained in Eastern Canada, and the last sighting of a trumpeter swan in Ontario before reintroduction occurred in 1884.  Among Ontarians, the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre has is known as the Home of the Trumpeter Swan.

The marsh is also an important breeding site for black terns and least bitterns.  At least 1% of the breeding pairs of least bitterns in Canada nest in the Wye Marsh.

Other bird species known to inhabit the marsh include: red-winged blackbirds, common grackles, brown-headed cowbirds, sandhill cranes, common mergansers, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, marsh wrens, tree swallows, common yellowthroats, ring-billed gulls, common moorhens, mallard ducks, wood ducks, Canada geese, barn swallows and soras.

Historically, the marsh supported large amounts of wild rice, which served as an important food source for waterfowl.  The introduction of carp in the early 20th century significantly reduced the amount of wild rice, and consequently the number of waterfowl.

Public recreation
Hunting, fishing and trapping are all conducted in the Wye Marsh, although their popularity is decreasing.  By 2001, the annual number of hunting permits issued had dropped from the 1970s level of 250 - 300 per year to 60 - 90 per year.  Fishing dropped off after 1990 due to low water levels and increasing vegetation levels, and Muskrats, the most popular animal for trapping, experienced an unexplained population crash in 1994.

The Wildlife Center offers a number of services to tourists of the marsh.  Canoe rentals are available, including guided canoe tours of the marsh.  The wildlife areas have over 30 kilometers of hiking trails, and offer programmes for school groups and private groups.  Other available recreation activities include skiing and snowshoeing.

References

External links
 Wye Marsh - official site

Marshes of Ontario
Protected areas of Simcoe County
Important Bird Areas of Ontario
Nature centres in Ontario

Wye Marsh


In computability theory, a Friedberg numbering is a numbering (enumeration) of the set of all uniformly recursively enumerable sets that has no repetitions: each recursively enumerable set appears exactly once in the enumeration (Vereščagin and Shen 2003:30).

The existence of such numberings was established by Richard M. Friedberg in 1958 (Cutland 1980:78).

References
 Nigel Cutland (1980), Computability: An Introduction to Recursive Function Theory, Cambridge University Press. .
 Richard M. Friedberg (1958), Three Theorems on Recursive Enumeration. I. Decomposition. II. Maximal Set. III. Enumeration Without Duplication, Journal of Symbolic Logic 23:3, pp. 309–316.
 Nikolaj K. Vereščagin and A. Shen (2003), Computable Functions, American Mathematical Soc.

External links
Institute of Mathematics

Computability theory

Friedberg numbering


Johann Sebastiani (30 September 1622 – 1683) was a German baroque composer.

Sebastiani was born in Weimar.  He became Kantor at Königsberg cathedral in 1661, and court Kapellmeister from 1663 to 1679. He died in Königsberg.  His works include sacred and occasional pieces and songs; the most famous is his
St Matthew Passion (before 1663, performed again 1672). He is the first composer to introduce chorale into oratorio passion. Within the St Matthew Passion, Sebastiani includes eight different chorale melodies and introduces thirteen chorale verses. This work is a development from the style of Heinrich Schütz which includes recitatives and arias but avoids a dramatic operatic idiom, and marks an intermediate position between Schütz and Bach such as those of Johann Theile and Johann Valentin Meder. Two violins accompany Christ, who is a bass; three viols accompany Evangelist, who is a tenor, Judas, who is an alto, and the other characters.
In 1672 Sebastiani got married and from that point until the end of his life he was concerned primarily with the publication of his works. In 1672, he published a collection entitled Erster Theil Der Parnaß-Blumen, Oder Geist- und Weltliche Lieder.

Recordings
 Matthäus-Passion 1672. Soprano Greta De Reyghere, countertenor Vincent Grégoire, tenors Stephan Van Dyck, Hervé Lamy, bass Max van Egmond, Ricercar Consort, dir. Philippe Pierlot. Ricercar Deutsche Barock-Kantaten Vol. XI 1996

References

1622 births
1683 deaths
German Baroque composers
17th-century classical composers
German male classical composers
17th-century male musicians

Johann Sebastiani


Chess is one of the most popular sports in Azerbaijan, where it is organized by the Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF). On May 5, 2009 Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, who is also the chairman of the National Olympic Committee, signed an executive order starting a state-supported chess development program, covering the years 2009–2014.

History of chess in Azerbaijan
Chess may be found in the works of 12th century Persian poets such as Khaqani and Nizami, who lived in modern-day Azerbaijan, and also in the works of 16th century Azerbaijani writer and poet Fuzuli and others. Azerbaijani writer and philosopher Mirza Fatali Akhundov explained the rules of chess in his 1864 poem "The Game of Shatranj".

Azerbaijan as a member of the USSR
Organized chess began in Azerbaijan shortly after the creation of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1920, and the game soon became widespread. The first chess column appeared in the newspaper Bakinsky Rabochy in the early 1920s. In 1923 the first Baku championship took place.

On May 2–3, 1929, a match between teams from Baku and Tbilisi, the capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, was held on 8 boards in Baku.

In 1934 the first Azerbaijani Championship took place. This was won by Selimkhanov, who in 1935 became chairman of the Azerbaijan Chess Organization. In 1936 the first Women's Championship was held. In 1936, A. Polisskaya of Baku became women's champion of the South Caucasus. In 1938, a women's chess school was opened at the Baku Chess and Checkers Club.
However, these chess championships at the local and national level were not held every year and the World War II, disrupted the chess tournaments and activities. But since 1947 chess championships have been held every year.

Modern times
After Azerbaijan gained its independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijani chess players have achieved high results in various international competitions, World and European championships. In 1992, the national team of women for the first time at the World Chess Olympiad in Manila, Philippines represented independent Azerbaijan and ranked 7th among 67 teams. The women team won bronze medals at the European Championship held in Debrecen, Hungary in 1993. The national team of men won bronze medals in 2007 in European Championship held in Greece. Men's team won the title of "Europe's strongest team" in Serbia in 2009, then won silver medals in 2011 in Greece and in 2013 in Poland. In 2012 and 2014, the men's team "SOCAR-Azerbaijan" won the inter-club European Championships twice. Azerbaijani Grandmasters Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Radjabov and Vugar Hashimov managed to rise to the 4th and 6th places in the world rankings.

Grandmaster Teymur Radjabov became the first owner of the World Chess Cup in the history of Azerbaijan on October 4, 2019, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Literature
 Кулиев Ш., Страницы из нашей шахмат истории, Баку, 1966 (на азербайджанском языке);
 Султанов Ч. А., Гасанов Ф. 3., Шахматы в Азербайджане, Баку, 1980 (на азербайджанском языке);
 Сарычев А. В., Шахматная композиция в Азербайджане, Баку, 1985 (на азербайджанском языке).

References

Other websites
 Official web site of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation (ACF)
 Azerbaijan Chess Federation

Chess in Azerbaijan


Diary for My Father and Mother () is a 1990 Hungarian film directed by Márta Mészáros.

Synopsis

This story follows a young student, who is orphaned as she grows to adulthood in the shadow of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Coming from the Communist intelligentsia, she sees her friends and family react differently. Her lover, a married factory manager, supports the patriots and later assists fellow workers in staging a strike. Meanwhile her sister and others express anger at being forced from their homes during the revolution and continue to express a hatred for the rebels afterwards. But in the end they realize that for all people, real life is not possible after the revolt and its brutal suppression by the Soviets and their collaborators.

A particularly surreal scene involves a New Year's Eve party in which the participants wear costumes. An intoxicated woman yells anti-government curses out of the window. Within a very short time police arrive and look suspiciously at the guests, who are all wearing ridiculous costumes.

External links

Hungarian drama films
1990 films
1990s Hungarian-language films
Films about orphans
Films directed by Márta Mészáros

Diary for My Father and Mother


Annemarie Kremer (born 2 June 1974) is a Dutch operatic soprano, known for her performances in the title roles of Norma, Tosca, and Salome and as Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito. She has appeared at a variety of European opera houses including the Opernhaus Dortmund, the Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Opera North in England.

Education
From the age of ten, Kremer studied piano and dance. She joined the Maastricht Conservatory at 18, and studied with vocal professor Mya Besselink. At 19 Kremer was admitted to The Dutch Opera Studio. She later received vocal coaching from the tenor Carlo Bergonzi and from the Dutch opera singer Cristina Deutekom.

Critical assessment
In early 2012 George Hall of The Guardian said of her portrayal of Norma: "Her ample, wide-ranging voice keeps faith with Bellini's notes, maintaining dramatic intensity via seriousness of artistic purpose and commitment." Rupert Christiansen of The Daily Telegraph described Kremer's commitment as total, and said of the role: "Alden has drawn a strikingly vivid performance from the Dutch soprano Annemarie Kremer in the title-role" but added that "[her] voice isn't ideally beautiful or full-toned and her coloratura is imprecise." Robert Beal of Musical Opinion described her "not just a soprano of great technical resource, but one who can emote as well as sing and bring the two dimensions together to thrilling effect in this role" and "Her Casta diva, delivered in mesmerisingly beautiful mezza voce, seemed a genuine prayer: her voice dominated the great trio with soaring power."

Notable roles
Kremer has sung the title roles in two of Puccini's operas, including Madama Butterfly in 2007 at the Green Mountain Opera Festival in Vermont, which was her US debut. She also sang the role at Opernhaus Dortmund in 2008.  Tosca followed in 2008, also at the Opernhaus Dortmund.

In 2010 to 2011, her appearances in title roles have included Verdi's Luisa Miller at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, followed by Strauss' Salome the following year at the Vienna Volksoper

Opera North's production of Bellini's Norma in 2012 gave her an additional title role opportunity, while, in 2013, she was featured as Vitellia in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito, also with Opera North.

References

External links

 Review of Norma, Opera North, 28 January 2012 on Opera Britannia

Dutch operatic sopranos
Living people
1974 births
21st-century Dutch women opera singers

Annemarie Kremer


Associated Motion Picture Pilots (AMPP) was a union of aviators who worked as stunt pilots in the Hollywood film industry. The group, one of the first unions in film work, was organized by Pancho Barnes in 1931 and formally established on January 4, 1932. It established "a virtual monopoly on motion picture flying".

Union formation
During the silent film era, stunt pilots were self-employed. In 1924, three aviators formed "The Black Cats" union, later gaining ten more members to make "Thirteen Black Cats." The Black Cats were the first to set a standard for stunt flier wages. The Black Cats performed stunts live in front of crowds as well as for films. At the end of the 1920s, some of the fliers had died and others changed careers.

In September 1930, Pancho Barnes met with several aviators and began to organize more pilots so that they could take more control of filming conditions and increase the safety of stunts in what was an extremely dangerous line of work. They also sought insurance for medical emergencies caused by flying accidents, and they wished to set a standard for payment, using the fee scale first established by the Black Cats.

The AMPP pushed for a minimum standard of pay for pilots performing stunts in films. AMPP aviators were paid $350 per week of filming in addition to fees paid for more dangerous stunts. In 1938, the AMPP modified this to $50 per eight-hour day of straight flying and $100 per day of stunt flying.

Members
Some of the charter members were Frank Clarke, Al Wilson, and Dick Grace. Leo Nomis was chosen the first president, but was dead a month later in a plane crash while filming aerial scenes for Sky Bride. Nomis had been doubling for lead actor Jack Holt who was himself a stunt man but was not an aviator. Clarke picked up the presidency after the death of Nomis. By 1938, Grace was serving as president.

The stunt pilot Paul Mantz had been asking for less money than AMPP standards and had been taking work from union pilots. When Mantz decided to join AMPP so that he could get more money, AMPP required of him more than the usual challenges. Mantz performed 46 outside loops in a row, setting a world record, and was allowed to join.

Films
Many of the pilots hired by Howard Hughes to fly in his film Hell's Angels were later members of AAMP, and were well compensated.

Aerial scenes in The Eagle and the Hawk were filmed in 1933 under AMPP auspices. Parachute Jumper, also filmed in 1933, used AMPP fliers.

Men With Wings in 1938 employed several AMPP pilots led by Mantz who not only flew stunts but served as director of aerial photography.

References
Notes

Bibliography

Kelly, Shawna. (2008) Aviators in Early Hollywood. Arcadia Publishing.

Trade unions established in 1932
Entertainment industry unions
Labor relations in California
Aviation trade unions
Defunct trade unions in the United States
Stunts
1932 establishments in California

Associated Motion Picture Pilots


The Columbia Wetlands is a 15,070 hectare wetland in the Columbia Valley region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It was designated a wetland of international importance on World Environment Day, June 5, 2005, and is the thirty-seventh such site in Canada. The wetland satisfies all the inclusion criteria of the Ramsar Convention. It is maintained by the Columbia Wetlands Wildlife Management Area (CWWMA, designated in 1996) and administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service. It is also part of the Living Lakes Network.

It is "one of the longest intact wetlands in North America", is the headwaters for the Columbia River system, and "comprises a regionally unparalleled diversity".

Part of the wetlands is protected by the Columbia Lake Ecological Reserve at the southeast end of the lake.  Columbia Lake Provincial Park is on the northeast end of the lake.

Fauna and flora

The extensive wetland provides habitat for several endangered species, including the peregrine falcon and American badger.

References

External links

 Columbia Wetlands Project

Columbia Valley
Columbia River
Ramsar sites in British Columbia
Wetlands of British Columbia

Columbia Wetlands


The pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, New Zealand Christmas bush, and iron tree, is a tree native to New Zealand. It grows mainly on the coast of the North Island. It is evergreen and has bright red flowers. These flowers appear between November and January, during the Southern hemisphere summer. It is red and green during Christmas.

The Pōhutukawa is endangered, meaning that there are not many left. This is because possums eat the leaves of the trees, killing them. Project Crimson is a group trying to stop this happening.

Myrtaceae
Trees

Pōhutukawa


The Battle of the Plains of Abraham was a battle fought between French and British soldiers on September 13, 1759. It was part of the French and Indian War, which was part of the Seven Years' War.

The battle took place on a plateau near the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec City. The plateau was on land once owned by a farmer named Abraham Martin. For this reason, the land was called the "Plains of Abraham".

Each side had about 4500 troops in the battle. The French soldiers, led by Louis de Montcalm, wore blue uniforms. The British soldiers, led by James Wolfe, wore red uniforms. Both leaders were young men. Both died in the battle.

The French had a fort on the Plains of Abraham. Through rumors and spies, they knew the British were coming. But when the British arrived in June, the French were not prepared and did not have all their troops with them. Many of the French troops were not as well trained as the British troops.

The British began a siege that lasted three months. On September 13th, the French attacked. The British held off the attack. Eventually the British took control of the battle. The French withdrew and surrendered on September 18, 1759.

The war continued in 1760 and the British took Montreal. New France was defeated, taking Canada from France and making it part of the British Empire. In North America, however, France still controlled Louisiana, which was not conquered by the British and never became part of the British Empire.

Plains of Abraham
History of Quebec
1759
Seven Years' War
18th century in North America

Battle of the Plains of Abraham


The Battle of Keltis or Battle of Keltis barracks took place in Gustav III's Russian War between May 19–20, 1790 at Keltis in present-day Finland. It ended with a Swedish victory.

Battle
In the spring of 1790 King Gustav III of Sweden personally led a force of 4,000 men across the Kymi River in Finland at the then Swedish-Russian border. After defeating a Russian force at the Battle of Valkeala the Swedish and Russian forces became entangled in a series of manoeuvres and skirmishes in the area near Keltis and Valkeala.

A Swedish force of 800 men that had been left at the village of Nappa near Keltis came under attack by a 2,500 strong Russian force commanded by General Backman. The Swedes retreated in an orderly fashion and were soon reinforced when General Vilhelm Mauritz Pauli arrived with 1,200 men. Meanwhile, the Russian force halted and positioned itself at the Keltis barracks, originally built as a Swedish guardpost, where it also received some reinforcements.

With his 2,000-man force General Pauli felt confident enough to launch a counterattack against the Russians and marched in the evening of May 19 against Keltis barracks. During the night of May 19–20 the Swedes attacked and after a short but bloody battle the surprised and shaken Russians retreated.

Left behind on the battlefield were 200 dead Russians. The Swedes had suffered 40 dead soldiers, four officers and 60 wounded.

References

External links
Hem.bredband.net
Mankell, Julius (1865). Uppgifter rörande svenska krigsmagtens styrka, sammansättning och fördelning sedan slutet af femtonhundratalet: jemte öfversigt af svenska krigshistoriens vigtigaste händelser under samma tid. Stockholm: C. M. Thimgren
Books.google.com

Keltis barracks
Keltis barracks
18th century in Finland
Keltis barracks
Keltis barracks
1790 in Finland
History of Kymenlaakso

Battle of Keltis


is a railway station on the Tobu Tojo Line in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway.

Lines
Tokiwadai Station is served by the Tobu Tojo Line from  in Tokyo. Located between  and , it is 4.7 km from the Tokyo terminus at Ikebukuro Station. Only "Local" (all-stations) services stop at this station, with eight trains per hour in each direction during the daytime.

Station layout

The station consists of a single island platform serving two tracks. Entrances are located on the north and south sides of the station. The station has universal access toilet facilities.

Platforms

History
The station opened on 20 October 1935 as . It was renamed Tokiwadai on 1 October 1951.

From 17 March 2012, station numbering was introduced on the Tobu Tojo Line, with Tokiwadai Station becoming "TJ-06".

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2010, the station was used by an average of 46,297 passengers daily.

Accidents
Tokiwadai Station suffers from a high number of suicides, due to the relatively high speed and frequency of non-stop trains passing through the station. Between 2002 and 2009, three people were killed by passing trains after jumping onto the tracks.

On 6 February 2007 at around 19:30, a police officer from a nearby Kōban police box was hit by a non-stop express train near Tokiwadai Station while trying to restrain a 39-year-old woman who had rushed onto the tracks in an attempt to commit suicide. The woman survived with serious injuries, but the 53-year-old police officer, Sergeant Kunihiko Miyamoto, was left critically injured in a coma and died on 12 February.

Surrounding area
 Poppins Nursery School (within station building, from 1 April 2012)
 Shinmei Shrine
 Itabashi-ku Chuo Library
 Itabashi-ku Tokiwadai Elementary School
 Nippon Shodo Museum

See also
 List of railway stations in Japan

References

External links

Tobu station information

Tobu Tojo Main Line
Stations of Tobu Railway
Railway stations in Tokyo
Railway stations in Japan opened in 1935

Tokiwadai Station (Tokyo)


The 103rd Engineer Battalion is an engineer battalion of the United States Army, raised from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. It is one of several current units with extensive Colonial era roots and campaign credit for the War of 1812.

The 103rd Engineer Battalion traces its origins to the Associators, constituted on 21 November 1747, at Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin.  The original Associators included several companies of artillery, which were combined on 29 December 1747, to form the Train of Artillery of Philadelphia.  It is from these artillery companies that the 103rd Engineer Battalion is derived. During the French and Indian War, these companies served at Forts Pitt and Erie.

In 1775 when the Associated Regiment of Foot of Philadelphia was reorganized as the Associators of the City and Liberties of Philadelphia, it included one battalion of artillery.  On 1 May 1775, this artillery battalion underwent further reorganization to form the Philadelphia Artillery Battalion under the command of Colonel Samuel Mifflin.

Its Revolutionary War Campaigns include the Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, and New Jersey 1777.

The Philadelphia Artillery Battalion was ordered into Continental Service on 2 July 1776, at Philadelphia, and mustered out in January 1777 at Morristown, New Jersey.  During this period, the unit served in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and participated in the Trenton and Princeton campaigns.

While remaining in state service, the Philadelphia Artillery Battalion also formed Procter's 4th Company, organized in Philadelphia in October 1775, and was expanded to form the Pennsylvania State Artillery Battalion in August 1776, which was assigned to the Main Continental Army in September 1776. The Pennsylvania State Artillery Battalion was expanded again to form the Pennsylvania State Artillery Regiment in February 1777, and relieved from the Main Continental Army.  On 10 June 1777, the Pennsylvania State Artillery Regiment was adopted into the Continental Army as Procter's Continental Artillery Regiment, which became the 4th Continental Artillery Regiment in 1783.

At the Battle of Fort Washington, Margaret ("Captain Molly") Corbin, the wife on an enlisted man in one of the companies of the Philadelphia Artillery Battalion, became the first American woman to be wounded on the battlefield and later the first woman to be paid a pension by the U. S. government for her service.  When her husband, John Corbin, was killed during the assault on Fort Tryon, a small outer redoubt of Fort Washington, she took his place in the gun crew, cleaning and loading the cannon.  She was seriously wounded by grapeshot shortly before the Hessians overran the battery.  Margaret was put on the rolls of the Invalid Regiment at West Point.  She died in Highland Fall, New York, in 1800 at the age of 49.  She is buried in the post cemetery.

Another story about another "Molly" who distinguished herself on the battlefield has come down to us from the Battle of Monmouth, which was fought on a sweltering day in late June 1778.  According to the legend of Molly Pitcher, Mary Hays, the wife of William Hays, a soldier in Proctor's 4th Continental Artillery, was bringing pitchers of water from a nearby spring to the cannon crews when she saw her husband collapse.   Mary is then reported to have picked up the rammer, joined the gun crew, and continued to work the cannon for the rest of the battle.  It is further reported that for her heroism General Washington warranted her as a non-commissioned officer and awarded her a pension for life.  There are eyewitness accounts that verify that Mary was present at the battle, that there was a woman bringing water to the cannon crews, and that a woman was seen assisting her husband at a gun.  There is no record of any woman receiving a military title after the battle or any record of Mary receiving a federal pension (although she did receive a pension from the State of Pennsylvania for her war service, not her husband's).  Her contemporaries referred to Mary as "Captain Molly" or "Sergeant Molly," not as "Molly Pitcher."  The name "Molly Pitcher" appeared in print for the first time in 1837 and was greatly popularized by the painting "Molly Pitcher: Heroine of Monmouth," by Nathaniel Currier.  William Hays survived the war, after which he and Mary settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  William died in 1789, after which Mary married another Revolutionary War veteran, George McCauley.  She died in 1832, and is buried in Carlisle.

Beginning in 1784 and culminating in 1794, Proctor's Artillery Battalion and the Philadelphia Artillery Battalion were consolidated to form the Regiment of Artillery of the City of Philadelphia, which was mustered into federal service during the War of 1812 as the Regiment of Artillery. Thus the Battalion is among Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812.

The current 103rd Engineer Battalion's lineage is traced to the 1st Regiment, Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard. This regiment was in federal service on the Mexican Border (during the Pancho Villa Expedition) from June to October 1916. On 5 August 1917, it was drafted into federal service and became the 109th Infantry Regiment. However, it was redesignated to the 1st Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard in October 1919. The 1st Infantry was converted and redesignated as 103rd Engineer Regiment, an element of the 28th Infantry Division 1 April 1921. The 103rd Engineer Regiment was an element of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 28th Division. It was organized and federally recognized in Philadelphia, Pa. 18 July 1921. It was inducted into Federal service for World War II in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 17 February 1941.

On 17 February 1942, the regiment was broken up and its elements reorganized and redesignated as follows: Regiment (less the 2nd Battalion) as the 103rd Engineer Battalion, an element of the 28th Infantry Division.  The 2nd Battalion was redesignated as the 180th Engineer Battalion and relieved from assignment to the 28th Infantry Division.

On 1 August 1942, the 180th Engineer Battalion was redesignated as the 180th Engineer Heavy Pontoon Battalion.  On 27 November 1945, the 180th Engineer Heavy Pontoon Battalion was inactivated at Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts.  On 24 May 1946, the 103rd Combat Battalion (the 103rd Engineer Battalion was redesignated the 103rd Combat Battalion 9 March 1943) and the 180th Engineer Heavy Pontoon Battalion consolidated and were designated as the 103rd Engineer Combat Battalion.

Shield
The shield of the Distinctive Unit Insignia is white to indicate early service as Infantry, whereas service as Infantry during the Civil War and World War I is indicated by the blue chevronelles, blue being the more recent color for Infantry. The red border signifies that the organization is now an Engineer unit.  The ten stars represent ten battle honors in the Civil War, while the six fleur-de-lis represent World War I service.  The red lion signifies service against the British in the War of 1812.

References

Engineer battalions of the United States Army
Military units and formations in Pennsylvania
Military units and formations established in 1921

103rd Engineer Battalion (United States)


Giovanni Serodine (1600 – December 21, 1630) was a Swiss-Italian painter of the early Baroque period.

Born to a family of stuccoists in Ascona in Canton Ticino (in present-day Switzerland), he gravitated to Rome and there developed an idiosyncratic expression of Carravaggist style. His style has the loose brushstroke and luminosity of some of the northern Caravaggisti, such as Lys, Strozzi and Fetti, who were active in Venice. However, some of Serodine's canvases show a provincial eccentricity, for example Coronation of the Virgin in Ascona. Baglione found in his art a great vivacity, although he noted Serodine appears to have made few friends and patrons in Rome.

In his short mature career, he produced a handful of intensely emotional tenebrist canvases such as a Jesus among the Masters (Louvre), Jesus and the Tribute money (National Gallery of Scotland), Saint Lawrence distributing alms (painted for San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, now Convent of Valvisciolo in Sermoneta), Decapitation of Saint John the Baptist (San Lorenzo fuori le Mura), Saint Michael (originally San Pietro in Montorio) and Transfiguration of Christ (whereabouts unknown), Road to Emmaus and Sons of Zebedee (Ascona), Portrait of his father (Lugano) and Portrait of a Philosopher (Rancate).

References

External links

 Artcyclopedia entry

1600 births
1630 deaths
People from Ascona
17th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
Italian Baroque painters
Caravaggisti
17th-century Swiss painters
Swiss male painters

Giovanni Serodine


The Xia dynasty ()  is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In traditional historiography, the Xia was later succeeded by the Shang dynasty.

There are no contemporaneous records of the Xia, who are not mentioned in the oldest Chinese texts, since the earliest oracle bone inscriptions date from the late Shang period (13th century BC). The earliest mentions occur in the oldest chapters of the Book of Documents, which report speeches from the early Western Zhou period and are accepted by most scholars as dating from that time. The speeches justify the Zhou conquest of the Shang as the passing of the Mandate of Heaven and liken it to the succession of the Xia by the Shang. That political philosophy was promoted by the Confucian school in the Eastern Zhou period. The succession of dynasties was incorporated into the Bamboo Annals and the Records of the Grand Historian and became the official position of imperial historiography and ideology. Some scholars consider the Xia dynasty legendary or at least unsubstantiated, but others identify it with the archaeological Erlitou culture.

According to the traditional chronology, based upon calculations by Liu Xin, the Xia ruled between 2205 and 1766 BC. According to the chronology based on the "current text" Bamboo Annals, it ruled between 1989 and 1558 BC. Comparing the same text with dates of five-planet conjunctions, David Pankenier, supported by David Nivison, proposed dates of 1953 and 1555 BC. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project, commissioned by the Chinese government in 1996, concluded that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BC.

Traditional accounts
The Xia dynasty was described in classic texts such as the Classic of History (Shujing), the Bamboo Annals, and the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) by Sima Qian.  According to tradition, the resident Huaxia were the ancestral people of the Han Chinese.

Origins and early development
Traditional histories trace the development of the Xia to the mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. According to ancient Chinese texts, before the Xia dynasty was established, battles were frequent between Yellow Emperor's tribe and Chi You's tribe. The Records of the Grand Historian and the Classic of Rites say that Yu the Great, the founder of the Xia dynasty, was the grandson of Zhuanxu, who was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. But there are also other records, like Ban Gu's, that say Yu's father is a fifth generation descendant of Zhuanxu. Other sources such as Shan Hai Jing mention Yu's father Gun was the son of Luoming, who was the son of Huangdi. Sima Qian traced the origin of the dynastic Xia to the name of a fief granted to Yu, who would use it as his own surname and his state's name.

Gun's attempt to stop the flood

Gun, the father of Yu the Great, is the earliest recorded member of the Xia clan. When the Yellow River flooded, many tribes united together to control and stop the flooding. Gun was appointed by Emperor Yao to stop the flooding. He ordered the construction of large blockades (levees) to block the path of the water. The attempts of Gun to stop the flooding lasted for nine years, but ultimately failed because the floods strengthened. After nine years, Yao had already given his throne to Shun. Gun was ordered to be imprisoned for life by Shun at Yushan (, Feather Mountain), a mountain located between modern Donghai County in Jiangsu Province and Linshu County in Shandong Province.

Yu the Great's attempt to stop the floods

Yu was highly trusted by Shun, so Shun appointed him to finish his father's work, which was to stop the flooding.  Yu's method was different from his father's: he organized people from different tribes and ordered them to help him build canals in all the major rivers that were flooding and lead the water out to the sea. Yu was dedicated to his work. The populace praised his perseverance and were inspired, so much so that other tribes joined in the work. Legend says that in the 13 years it took him to successfully complete the work to stop the floods, he never went back to his home village to stop and rest, even though he passed by his house three times.

Establishment
Yu's success in stopping the flooding increased agricultural production (since the floods were destructive). The Xia tribe's power increased and Yu became the leader of the surrounding tribes. Soon afterwards Shun sent Yu to lead an army to suppress the Sanmiao tribe, which continuously abused the border tribes. After defeating them, he exiled them south to the Han River area. This victory strengthened the Xia tribe's power even more. As Shun aged, he thought of a successor and relinquished the throne to Yu, whom he deemed worthy. Yu's succession marks the start of the Xia dynasty. As Yu neared death he passed the throne to his son, Qi, instead of passing it to the most capable candidate, thus setting the precedent for dynastic rule or the Hereditary System. The Xia dynasty began a period of family or clan control. It is believed that Zhenxun (modern Gongyi) and Yangcheng (modern Gaocheng) were two of the capitals of the dynasty.

Overthrow
Jie, the last king, was said to be immoral, lascivious, and tyrannical. He was overthrown by Tang, the first king of the Shang dynasty.
Tang is said to have given the small state of Qi as a fief to the remnants of the Xia ruling family.
This practice was referred to as "the two crownings and the three respects".

Zengzi was a descendant of the Xia dynasty Kings through Shao Kang.

The Kings of the State of Yue claimed descent from the Xia dynasty Kings through Shao Kang.

Modern studies

The time gap between the supposed time of the Xia and the first written references to it have meant that the historicity of the Xia dynasty itself and the traditional narrative of its history are at best uncertain. The Skeptical School of early Chinese history, started by Gu Jiegang in the 1920s, was the first group of scholars within China to systematically question the traditional story of its early history. By critically examining the development of the narrative of early Chinese history throughout history, Gu concluded "the later the time, the longer the legendary period of earlier history... early Chinese history is a tale told and retold for generations, during which new elements were added to the front end".

Some historians have suggested that the Zhou rulers invented the Xia as a pretext, to justify their conquest of the Shang, by noting that just as the Shang had supplanted the Xia, they had supplanted the Shang. The existence of the Xia remains unproven, despite efforts by Chinese archaeologists to link them with the Bronze Age Erlitou culture.

Among other points, Gu and other historians note certain parallels between the traditional narrative of Xia history and Shang history that would suggest probable Zhou-era fabrication or at least embellishment of Xia history. Yun Kuen Lee's criticism of nationalist sentiment in developing an explanation of Three Dynasties chronology focuses on the dichotomy of evidence provided by archaeological versus historical research, in particular, the claim that the archaeological Erlitou culture is also the historical Xia dynasty. "How to fuse the archaeological dates with historical dates is a challenge to all chronological studies of early civilization."

In The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China, Sarah Allan noted that many aspects of the Xia are simply the opposite of traits held to be emblematic of the Shang.  The implied dualism of the Shang myth system, Allan argues, is that while the Shang represent the suns, sky, birds, east and life, the Xia represent the moons, watery underworld, dragons, west and death.  Allan argues that this mythical Xia was re-interpreted by the Zhou as a ruling dynasty replaced by the Shang, a parallel with their own replacement of the Shang.

Other scholars also argue that Shang political class's remnants still existed during the early Zhou dynasty, Zhou rulers could not simply justify their succession to pacify Shang remnants if it's entirely fabricated since the Shang remnants, who remembered prior histories, would not believe it in the first place. For example, the Classic of Poetry preserves the "Eulogies of Shang" (商頌 Shāng sòng) which represents the powerful State of Song, whose rulers were the direct descendants of Shang dynasty. Among those eulogies, the eulogy Chang Fa (長發) celebrated victories by the "Martial King" Tang of Shang against Wei (韋), Gu (顧), Kunwu (昆吾), and Jie of Xia. During the later Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), an ancient bronze artifact, "Shu Yi Zhong" (叔夷鐘), was unearthed with an inscription describing how the founder of the Shang dynasty, Tang, overthrew the Xia dynasty. The owner of this artifact, Shu Yi, a high officer of the Qi Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn period (c. 600 BC), was actually a direct descendant of the Song rulers, which means he himself was a descendant of Shang people. This bronze artifact was used to memorialize his Shang ancestors. The inscription contradicts the hypothesis that the Zhou dynasty manufactured the existence of the Xia dynasty.

Although the Shang oracle bone inscriptions contain no mention of the Xia, some scholars have suggested that polities they mention might be remnants of the Xia.
Guo Moruo suggested that an enemy state called Tufang state of the Fang states mentioned in many inscriptions might be identified with the Xia.
The historian Shen Changyun pointed to four inscriptions mentioning Qǐ (杞), the same name as the state of Qǐ, which according to traditional accounts was established by the defeated royal house of Xia.

Archaeological discoveries

Archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. There exists a debate as to whether or not the Erlitou culture was the site of the Xia dynasty, largely centering on whether archeological evidence of urban habitation across the region before the Shang dynasty should be taken as corroboration of the traditional account of a Xia, or expected regardless of the historicity of the Xia due to the trajectory of population growth and agricultural development in the fertile regions of eastern China from the neolithic through early history. Radiocarbon dating places the Erlitou sites at  to 1800 BC, providing physical evidence of the existence of a state contemporaneous with and possibly equivalent to the Xia dynasty as described in later classical Chinese historical works.  In 1959, a site located in the city of Yanshi was excavated containing large palaces that some archaeologists have claimed to be the capital of the Xia dynasty.  Through the 1960s and 1970s, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs in the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts regarding Xia; in 2011, Chinese archaeologists uncovered the remains of an imperial sized palace—dated to about 1700 BC—at Erlitou in Henan, further fueling the discussions about the existence of the dynasty. At a minimum, the era traditionally denoted as the Xia dynasty marked a period of urbanization and agricultural development bridging the late Neolithic cultures and the urban civilization of the Shang dynasty.

Archaeological evidence of a large outburst flood at Jishi Gorge that destroyed the Lajia site on the upper reaches of the Yellow River has been dated to about 1920 BC. This date is shortly before the rise of the Erlitou culture in the middle Yellow River valley and the Yueshi culture in Shandong, following the decline of the Longshan culture in the North China Plain. The authors suggest that this flood may have been the basis for the later myth of Yu the Great, and contributed to the cultural transition into the Erlitou period. They further argue that the timing is further evidence for the identification of the Xia with the Erlitou culture.
However, no evidence of contemporaneous widespread flooding in the North China Plain has yet been found.

The only musical instruments dated to the Xia dynasty are two qing, two small bells (one earthenware, one bronze) and a xun. Due to this extreme scarcity of surviving instruments and the general uncertainty surrounding most of the Xia, creating a musical narrative of the period is impractical.

Sovereigns of the Xia dynasty
The following table lists the rulers of Xia according to Sima Qian's Shiji.  Unlike Sima's list of Shang dynasty kings, which is closely matched by inscriptions on oracle bones from late in that period, records of Xia rulers have not yet been found in archaeological excavations of contemporary sites, or records on later Shang dynasty oracle bones.

Xia dynasty family tree

See also

Erlitou culture
List of Neolithic cultures of China
Longshan culture
Baodun culture
Shijiahe culture
Yueshi culture

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Dynasties of China
Former countries in Chinese history
States and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC
States and territories disestablished in the 16th century BC

Xia dynasty


The Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern, formed on 8 July 1925, was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the German state of Württemberg and the Prussian province of Hohenzollern. Before that, from 1925 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in that area.

History
The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was originally established in a party conference on 22 May 1926, in order to improve administration of the party structure. From 1933 onward, after the Nazi seizure of power, the Gaue increasingly replaced the German states as administrative subdivisions in Germany.

At the head of each Gau stood a Gauleiter, a position which became increasingly more powerful, especially after the outbreak of the Second World War, with little interference from above. Local Gauleiters often held government positions as well as party ones and were in charge of, among other things, propaganda and surveillance and, from September 1944 onward, the Volkssturm and the defense of the Gau.

The position of Gauleiter in Württemberg-Hohenzollern was held by Eugen Munder from its founding to January 1928 and then by Wilhelm Murr from February 1928 to May 1945. Murr and his wife committed suicide after having been captured by the French Army shortly after the end of the war.

See also
 Gauliga Württemberg, the highest association football league in the Gau from 1933 to 1945

References

External links
 Illustrated list of Gauleiter

Wurttemberg
1926 establishments in Germany
1945 disestablishments in Germany
History of Württemberg

Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern


The flag of Liberia or the Liberian flag, sometimes called the Lone Star (not to be confused with "The Lone Star State", a nickname for Texas), bears a close resemblance to the flag of the United States, representing Liberia's founding by former black slaves from the United States and the Caribbean. They are both part of the stars and stripes flag family.

The Liberian flag has similar red and white stripes, as well as a blue square with a white star in the canton. It was adopted on 24 August 1847.

History
On 9 April 1827, a resolution was made establishing the first flag of Liberia, during its time as a colony, which identified the flag the same as the United States except with a white cross in the place of the canton's stars. In preparation for independence, the flag of Liberia was redesigned and hand-stitched by a committee of seven women. Governor Joseph Jenkins Roberts, in a letter dated 10 July 1847, asked Susannah Elizabeth Lewis to head the committee. The other members of the committee were Matilda Newport, Rachel Johnson, Mary Hunter, Mrs. J. B. Russwurm, Colonette Teage Ellis, and Sara Draper. All of the women were born in the United States, and many of them were wives of prominent men in Liberia. Lewis was the daughter of former vice colonial agent Colston Waring, the sister of the first First Lady of the Republic, Jane Roberts, and wife of John N. Lewis, one of the signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence. The flag they designed was adopted on 24 August 1847, about a month after Liberia had declared independence on 26 July 1847. The day the flag was adopted, the nation held a celebration in Monrovia. There, the flag was unfurled to the public for the first time, and Susannah Lewis gave a patriotic speech. The ceremony also featured speeches by a number of notable Liberian politicians and religious leaders, as well as entertainment in the form of band music.

In the 1850s and 1860s, the Eusibia N. Roye became the first Liberian owned ship to display the flag in New York City and Liverpool ports. The vessel was owned by Edward James Roye. In 1860, the Liberian flag was featured on the first known stamp to be issued by the Liberian government. On 24 October 1915, President Daniel Edward Howard signed into law an act which proclaimed 24 August as Flag Day, a national holiday.

On 22 July 1974, the Legislature of Liberia passed an act giving authorization to the president to establish a commission to give consideration to possible changes to a number of national symbols, including the flag and national anthem. The commission was headed by McKinley Alfred Deshield Sr. The commission sought to reexamine the symbols, and remove divisive aspects of them. President William Tolbert appointed 51 members to the Commission on National Unity. The commission was also called the Deshield Commission, after the man who headed it. The commission submitted their report on 24 January 1978. The report ultimately recommended no changes to the flag.

In 2022, a new design for the five-hundred-dollar Liberian banknote featured an illustration the seven woman committee designing the Liberian flag.

The flag is seen on many ships around the world as Liberia offers registration under its flag. Shipping companies do this to avoid taxes and restrictions that other countries enforce. As the second most popular flag of convenience (after the flag of Panama), it is estimated that 1,700 foreign-owned ships fly the Liberian flag. This brings in much of the country's revenue.

Symbolism
The eleven stripes symbolize the signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence and the red and white symbolize courage and moral excellence. The white star represents the first independent republic in Africa, above the blue square representing the African continent. The Liberian flag is modeled after and resembles the United States flag because Liberia was founded, colonized, established, and controlled by free people of color and formerly enslaved black people from the United States and the Caribbean with the help and support of both the United States government and the American Colonization Society (ACS), a private organization dedicated to the removal of free people of color from across North America. Some time after the African Americans began arriving in Liberia in 1822, they came to be identified as "Americo-Liberians" in an effort to separate them from native groups and enslaved Africans rescued from illegal slaving ports and ships by the U.S. Navy.

Construction
Keep the length 110 units and width as 209 units. The canton's each side is 50 units, the circumscribed square of the 5-point star has all sides 30 units and its center is 25 units from the left and upper edge of the flag of the canton/flag.

Other flags

County flags
Liberia is subdivided into 15 counties, each of which is entitled to its own flag. Each county flag bears the national flag of Liberia in the canton. The county flags are flown at regional offices and together encircling the national flag of Liberia at the Executive Mansion.

The flags were introduced in 1965 by William Tubman for the purpose of promoting the counties as meaningful entities. Their design was inspired by Liberia's quilting tradition.

The flags have been the subject of widespread ridicule by members of online vexillology communities on social media platforms such as Reddit and Facebook. However, vexillologist Steven A. Knowlton argues that these discussions demonstrate a lack of understanding of the political and cultural context of the flags and of the material construction of flags from textiles as opposed to digital creation.

References

External links

Flags introduced in 1847
Flags of Africa
Flag
Liberia–United States relations
Liberia

Flag of Liberia


Xanthan gum () is a polysaccharide with many industrial uses, including as a common food additive. It is an effective thickening agent, emulsifier, and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. It can be produced from simple sugars by fermentation and derives its name from the species of bacteria used, Xanthomonas campestris.

History
Xanthan gum was discovered by Allene Rosalind Jeanes and her research team at the United States Department of Agriculture, and brought into commercial production by CP Kelco under the trade name Kelzan in the early 1960s. It was approved for use in foods in 1968 and is accepted as a safe food additive in the US, Canada, European countries, and many other countries, with E number E415, and CAS number 11138-66-2.

Xanthan gum derives its name from the species of bacteria used during the fermentation process, Xanthomonas campestris.

Uses
Xanthan gum, 1%, can produce a significant increase in the viscosity of a liquid.

In foods, xanthan gum is common in salad dressings and sauces.  It helps to prevent oil separation by stabilizing the emulsion, although it is not an emulsifier.  Xanthan gum also helps suspend solid particles, such as spices. Xanthan gum helps create the desired texture in many ice creams. Toothpaste often contains xanthan gum as a binder to keep the product uniform. Xanthan gum also helps thicken commercial egg substitutes made from egg whites, to replace the fat and emulsifiers found in yolks. It is also a preferred method of thickening liquids for those with swallowing disorders, since it does not change the color or flavor of foods or beverages at typical use levels. In gluten-free baking, xanthan gum is used to give the dough or batter the stickiness that would otherwise be achieved with gluten. In most foods, it is used at concentrations of 0.5% or less. Xanthan gum is used in a wide range of food products, such as sauces, dressings, meat and poultry products, bakery products, confectionery products, beverages, dairy products, and others.

In the oil industry, xanthan gum is used in large quantities to thicken drilling mud. These fluids carry the solids cut by the drilling bit to the surface. Xanthan gum provides great "low end" rheology.  When circulation stops, the solids remain suspended in the drilling fluid.  The widespread use of horizontal drilling and the demand for good control of drilled solids has led to its expanded use. It has been added to concrete poured underwater, to increase its viscosity and prevent washout.

In cosmetics, xanthan gum is used to prepare water gels. It is also used in oil-in-water emulsions to enhance droplet coalescence. Xanthan gum is under preliminary research for its potential uses in tissue engineering to construct hydrogels and scaffolds supporting three-dimensional tissue formation. Furthermore, thiolated xanthan gum (see thiomers) has shown potential for drug delivery, since by the covalent attachment of thiol groups to this polysaccharide high mucoadhesive and permeation enhancing properties can be introduced.

Shear thinning
The viscosity of xanthan gum solutions decreases with higher shear rates. This is called shear thinning or pseudoplasticity.  This means that a product subjected to shear, whether from mixing, shaking or chewing will thin. When the shear forces are removed, the food will thicken again. In salad dressing, the addition of xanthan gum makes it thick enough at rest in the bottle to keep the mixture fairly homogeneous, but the shear forces generated by shaking and pouring thins it, so it can be easily poured. When it exits the bottle, the shear forces are removed and it thickens again, so it clings to the salad.

Concentrations used
The greater the concentration of xanthan gum in a liquid, the thicker the liquid will become. An emulsion can be formed with as little as 0.1% (by weight). Increasing the concentration of gum gives a thicker, more stable emulsion up to 1% xanthan gum. A teaspoon of xanthan gum weighs about 2.5 grams and brings one cup (250ml) of water to a 1% concentration.

To make a foam, 0.2–0.8% xanthan gum is typically used. Larger amounts result in larger bubbles and denser foam. Egg white powder (0.2–2.0%) with 0.1–0.4% xanthan gum yields bubbles similar to soap bubbles.

Health

Xanthan gum may have some health benefits.  It has slowed tumor growth in mice with skin cancer, stabilized blood sugar, lowered cholesterol  and improved the symptoms of dysphagia.  Xanthan gum may also act as a laxative.

Safety
According to a 2017 safety review by a scientific panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), xanthan gum (European food additive number E 415) is extensively digested during intestinal fermentation, and causes no adverse effects, even at high intake amounts. The EFSA panel found no concern about genotoxicity from long-term consumption. The EFSA concluded that there is no safety concern for the general population when xanthan gum is consumed as a food additive.

Processing by microbiome
In 2022, scientists found that a microbe from the family Ruminococcaceae, present in human stool samples, was capable of degrading xanthan gum, and appeared to be from the microbiome of people in industrialized countries.

Preparation
Xanthan gum is produced by the fermentation of glucose and sucrose. The medium is well-aerated and stirred, and the xanthan polymer is produced extracellularly into the medium. After one to four days, the polymer is precipitated from the medium by the addition of isopropyl alcohol, and the precipitate is dried and milled to give a powder that is readily soluble in water or brine.

It is composed of pentasaccharide repeat units, comprising glucose, mannose, and glucuronic acid in the molar ratio 2:2:1.

A strain of X. campestris that will grow on lactose has been developed - which allows it to be used to process whey, a waste product of cheese production. This can produce 30 g/L of xanthan gum for every 40 g/L of whey powder. Whey-derived xanthan gum is commonly used in many commercial products, such as shampoos and salad dressings.

Detail of the biosynthesis
Synthesis originates from glucose as substrate for synthesis of the sugar nucleotides precursors UDP-glucose, UDP-glucuronate, and GDP-mannose that are required for building the pentasaccharide repeat unit. This links the synthesis of xanthan to carbohydrate metabolism. The repeat units are built up at undecaprenylphosphate lipid carriers that are anchored in the cytoplasmic membrane.

Specific glycosyltransferases sequentially transfer the sugar moieties of the nucleotide sugar xanthan precursors to the lipid carriers. Acetyl and pyruvyl residues are added as non-carbohydrate decorations. Mature repeat units are polymerized and exported in a way resembling the Wzy-dependent polysaccharide synthesis mechanism of Enterobacteriaceae. Products of the gum gene cluster drive synthesis, polymerization, and export of the repeat unit.

References

Edible thickening agents
Food additives
Natural gums
Polysaccharides
E-number additives

Xanthan gum


The 1913 Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football match that took place on 8 October 1913.

The championship was contested by the premiers of the VFL, Fitzroy and the premiers of the SAFL, Port Adelaide.

The match was played at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, South Australia.

The match, played in front of 6,000, was won by Port Adelaide by a margin of 63 points, giving Port Adelaide its 3rd Championship of Australia Title.

Match details

References

Championship of Australia
Championship of Australia
October 1913 sports events

1913 Championship of Australia


Bankstown Reservoir is a heritage-protected water tower and a local landmark situated in the suburb of Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located  west of Sydney CBD, the reservoir is elevated and was built on reinforced concrete piers, which is one of the oldest of this type that is still in use. The reservoir features various decorative attributes, plastered by hand, which lack in other functional reservoirs. Established in 1920, the reservoir serves a large area of South-Western Sydney.

History
In 1826, the reservoir was once a hanging site for bushrangers. Patrick Sullivan and James Moran, both members of Sullivan's gang, were hanged at the site on 18 October 1826 after creating a stir in the Bathurst district. The site on which the Reservoir sits may be connected with the earliest period of Bankstown's European settlement, transport routes, the bushrangers which traversed Liverpool Road and the appearance and carrying out of law and order in the district.

Construction
Construction of Bankstown Reservoir began in October 1918. The reservoir was built to meliorate the pressure on Ashfield Reservoir and obviate pumping from Ryde. In November 1918, the cornerstone for the piers were unveiled in stiff clay to an unfaltering shale foundation, to an average depth of . The concrete for the reservoir was made on site, with the sandstone acquired from a quarry at Potts Hill.

Power was administered by a portable steam engine. The rendering was made by ornamental exterior plastering and waterproofing of the interior of tank by cement gun. Hand rendering began in February 1920. Extra adjustments to the reservoir include the aluminium roof built in 1962 to preserve water quality. It is likely that the concrete walkway was removed or covered by the roof.

At the time of its construction, Bankstown reservoir was the largest elevated reinforced concrete reservoir in the country. After its completion, elevated reservoirs built in reinforced concrete became common until the 1950s, with one similar tower established in the 1930s in Padstow Heights.

Proposed developments
In 2015, it was proposed by Bankstown City Council and Sydney Water for the tower to be ornamented with decorative lights from sunset to sunrise, akin to those displayed in Vivid Sydney. Bankstown councillor Naji Najjar's vision was to turn the tower into a tourist attraction that could rival Coffs Harbour's Big Banana and Goulburn's Big Merino, stating "I believe it is important that Bankstown City Council, together with Sydney Water, take the opportunity to promote this icon of our city". As part of Cr Najjar's plan, the area would also be embellished with fencing, landscaping and Australian native gardens, with interpretative signage, including a stone monument revealing the site's history. He concludes, "The lighting could have themes for various charity and community events and awareness campaigns". The council would eventually write to the State Government and await approval.

Design

Bankstown reservoir is built of reinforced concrete and contains a circular water tank. Being akin to a rotunda, it is backed up by 36 strengthened concrete pillars and decorative arches which encircle the establishment. The inward columns are assembled of reinforced concrete while the outer ones consist of plain concrete. Construction aggregate was used for the concrete in the elevated tank and its columns and sandstone conglomeration for the bowed encirclement and ground foundations at the bottom. Instead of a handrail at the top, the reservoir has a concrete rectangular paneled parapet wall.

The tower's arches have a moulding and a circular pattern above each column, with the base of the tank having moulded apron with rectangular panels above. Furthermore, the structure was restrengthened to abide to the earthquake code in 2009. The design of Bankstown Reservoir exemplifies the Victorian and neoclassical architectural of the early 20th century. Its structure is mostly intact and has sustained minor alterations thus retaining its integrity. The reservoir has been roofed to safeguard water quality in the 1960s-1970s.

Features
Bankstown Reservoir supplies drinking water to households as far west as Villawood and Condell Park in the southwest, Croydon in the east, and Auburn and North Strathfield in the north. It has a capacity of  with its waters having a depth of . The reservoir has a foot bridge to a walkway on the top of the water tower, passing through the centre of the tank. The tower's rooftop, being  above sea level, provides panoramic views of the Sydney skyline and Greater Western Sydney area. The reservoir is surrounded by brush box, coral tree, poplar and fig trees.

The reservoir is renowned for being the first concrete reservoir to be elevated on concrete piers. Sydney Water Heritage Program leader Phil Bennett stated the Bankstown reservoir has "the highest level of heritage protection because it is the oldest of the class of elevated reinforced concrete reservoirs". Mr Bennett concluded, "It's quite decorative so it has aesthetic value and it sits very prominently on a hill top and it can be seen for miles, so it has landmark values". The reservoir supplies drinking water to households in areas such as Villawood, Condell Park, Croydon, Auburn and North Strathfield.

Access

The reservoir is situated on the corner of Hume Highway and Stacey Street in the northeastern periphery of Bankstown, bordering Greenacre. However though, the main entry to the water tower is from Beresford Avenue, which is a dead end street accessed from Hume Hwy.

Heritage register
The reservoir was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register as a site of State significance on 18 November 1999 with the following citation:

Bankstown Elevated Reservoir has a considerable level of state heritage significance as a representative example of a common reservoir design strongly favoured by Board engineers during the early period of the twentieth century. It is the oldest elevated reservoir constructed in reinforced concrete that is still in use. At the time of its construction it was the largest elevated reinforced concrete reservoir, and symbolised the technological advancements of the time. It displays decorative and formal architectural qualities and shows a high level of workmanship and technical accomplishment. It has several features which distinguish it from other elevated reservoirs of this type, including; the central concrete access tower; the concrete footbridge connecting the tower to the walkway and which encircles the perimeter of the top bank; and the mercury U-shaped tube depth gauge. It is currently still in active service and makes a positive contribution to the streetscape of Bankstown.

See also
Paddington Reservoir
Balmain Reservoir
Boothtown Aqueduct

References

Attribution
 This Wikipedia article was originally based on the Bankstown Reservoir (Elevated), listed on the "New South Wales State Heritage Register" published by the Government of New South Wales under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 27 March 2018).

External links

Reservoirs in Sydney
1920 establishments in Australia
Buildings and structures in Sydney
Water towers in Australia
Bankstown, New South Wales
New South Wales State Heritage Register
Arches and vaults
Round buildings in Australia
Sandstone buildings in Australia
Neoclassical architecture in Australia
Rotundas in Australia
Towers completed in 1920
Federation style architecture
Romanesque Revival architecture in Australia
Sydney Water

Bankstown Reservoir


Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery, and Korn is an autobiography by Korn bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu. It was released on March 10, 2009. The book details Arvizu's life; from his childhood, to his stardom in Korn, to the death of his father, to his conversion to Christianity and, ultimately, to becoming sober. Before his father's death, Arvizu was an alcoholic and a marijuana user.

See also

2009 non-fiction books
Music autobiographies

Got the Life (book)


The Black Brotherhood was an urban society (or militia) established in Toulouse in 1211 in response to the White Brotherhood led by the bishop Folquet de Marselha. The Blacks opposed the Albigensian Crusade and supported the Count of Toulouse, Raymond VII.

Unlike the Whites, who were predominantly from the city proper, many of the Blacks came from the suburbs. They were moderate in their political outlook and some may have been Cathars, the very heretics the Whites were set up to destroy. They defended Cathar and Jewish homes and shops from the violence of the Whites and, according to William of Puylaurens, "daily the two parties would clash, banners flying, bristling with weapons, even with cavalry in evidence."

Notes

Sources

Oldenbourg, Zoe. Massacre at Montsegur: A History of the Albigensian Crusade. Sterling Publishing Company, 2006. .

History of Toulouse
1211 establishments in Europe
1210s establishments in France
Albigensian Crusade

Black Brotherhood


Cow and Chicken is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the surreal adventures of two talking animal siblings, Cow and Chicken. They are often antagonized by the Red Guy, a cartoon version of the Devil who poses as various characters to scam them.

The original pilot appeared as an episode of the animation showcase series What a Cartoon!. The popularity of the original short allowed Hanna-Barbera to give it the green light for a full series, which premiered on July 15, 1997. Originally, Cow and Chicken was attached to another segment called I Am Weasel, which was later spun-off into its own half-hour series on June 10, 1999. The series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. In fact, along with I Am Weasel, it is the last original Cartoon Network show to be entirely produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. It was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

Premise

The series focuses on the misadventures of two unlikely yet somehow biological siblings: the sweet-natured, dim, ecstatic, anthropomorphic Cow and her cynical older brother Chicken (both voiced by Charlie Adler). The two are often caught in escapades with their flamboyant enemy, the Red Guy (Adler), a comical version of the Devil himself who disguises himself under various personas, usually to either scam everyone around or just for fun. However, he once tried to take Chicken to Hell.

Supporting characters include Chicken and Cow's delirious human parents Dad and Mom (Dee Bradley Baker and Candi Milo, respectively), only seen from the waist down and implied to have no torsos, heads, or arms; Chicken's best friends Flem (Howard Morris) and Earl (Dan Castellaneta); and their cousin, Boneless Chicken (Adler). Cow has her favorite dolls, Crabs the Warthog, Piles the Beaver, and Manure the Bear, who is a polar bear.

The series draws on eccentric, surreal, grotesque, and repulsive humor. For example, Cow and Chicken always order "pork butts and taters" in the cafeteria, the Red Guy always shows his butt, and characters often pepper their speech with malapropisms and sarcasm. The humor and storylines depicted are often based on traditional childhood worries, anxieties, or phobias such as cooties or venturing into the girls' restroom, but enhanced comically.

Many of the slapstick antics involve the main characters getting physically abused.

Production

Development
David Feiss first created Cow and Chicken as a story for his daughter. Feiss was an animator who had worked with Hanna-Barbera and related projects since 1978.

Years later, Feiss was called to submit ideas for What a Cartoon!, a series of various animated shorts from numerous creators and writers, created by Hanna-Barbera president Fred Seibert. Feiss submitted three ideas to executive producer Larry Huber, one of which was Cow and Chicken. Cow and Chicken premiered on What a Cartoon! in 1995. Later, Hanna-Barbera decided to turn Cow and Chicken into a full series, following many letters from fans asking for more.

Voice actors
A single actor, Charlie Adler, voiced the three leading roles of Cow, Chicken, and the Red Guy. Supporting voices included Candi Milo and Dee Bradley Baker as Mom and Dad, and Dan Castellaneta and Howard Morris as Earl and Flem.

Guest stars included Feiss, Will Ferrell, Carlos Alazraqui, Tom Kenny, Jill Talley, Dom DeLuise, Michael Gough, Mark Hamill, Jess Harnell, Jim Belushi, Pamela Adlon, and many others.

Episodes

Cow and Chicken has a total of 52 episodes in 4 seasons that were produced from July 1997 to July 1999. Each half-hour contains 2 Cow and Chicken and 1 I Am Weasel segment. Cow and Chicken premiered as a full half-hour on July 15, 1997. The series ran for 52 episodes through 1999. As a supporting segment, the show included a cartoon called I Am Weasel; this segment was spun off as an independent series that premiered on June 10, 1999. Typically, an episode would consist of two seven-minute Cow and Chicken shorts playing back-to-back, then followed by a seven-minute I Am Weasel short before the end credits. The exception to this structure was episode 105 ("The Ugliest Weenie"), which had the Weasel short ("I Are Big Star") play in-between the two Cow and Chicken shorts, possibly because said shorts were one storyline.

"Buffalo Gals" controversy
The second season segment "Buffalo Gals", first paired with "Cow and Chicken Reclining", was banned by Cartoon Network after receiving one letter of complaint from a parent about the episode's visual and verbal innuendo about the titular biker group being lesbians. In the segment, the Buffalo Gals break into people's homes to chew on the carpet, a biker named Munch Kelly has a carpet swatch for a calling card, and when Dad freaks out over the Buffalo Gals in the house, Mom says, "They're not after you." In addition, the Buffalo Gals play softball and talk about pitching and catching.

Although "Buffalo Gals" only aired once on June 27, 1998, "Buffalo Gals" has been replaced with "Orthodontic Police" in future airings, including on Netflix streaming and reruns on Boomerang. The episode was also discussed on an installment of Rob Paulsen's Talkin' Toons special featuring Cow and Chicken creator David Feiss and voice actor Charlie Adler when an audience member asked why "Buffalo Gals" only aired once.

Awards and nominations

Other media
Cow makes a cameo in the beginning of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode "Herbicidal Maniac" giving General Skarr fertilizer.

During the Mad episode "Once Upon a Toon", Cow and Chicken are among the classic cartoon characters reunited in a spoof of ABC's Once Upon a Time.

The two main characters, Cow and Chicken, made cameo appearances as aliens in Ben 10: Omniverse. They were the second Cartoon Network characters to make cameo appearances in the Ben 10 franchise, Billy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy being the first. Adler reprised his roles for the cameo.

In the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Crossover Nexus", Chicken and I.M. Weasel (with Michael Dorn reprising his role as Weasel for a speaking cameo) made  cameo appearances as two of the Cartoon Network heroes that were summoned by Strike, and also Cow (as SuperCow) appears as one of the Cartoon Network heroes that Ben Tennyson (Ben 10) shapeshifts into.

Home media
Cow and Chicken: Season 1, a two-disc set featuring the complete first season which contains 13 complete episodes, was released by Madman Entertainment in Australia (Region 4 PAL) on September 12, 2007. Season 2 came out on February 10, 2010, by the same company in Australia. The entire series got partially released on DVD in Thailand as 4 season sets, containing Thai and English audio, with the segment "Buffalo Gals" banned from these releases.

The video game Cartoon Network Racing contains the episodes "Black Sheep of the Family" and "Child Star" (PS2 version only) as unlockable extras.

All 4 seasons were released on iTunes and Amazon as of August 16, 2018.

American releases
 Cartoon Network Halloween - 9 Creepy Capers: "Cow with Four Eyes" (August 10, 2004)
 Cartoon Network Christmas - Yuletide Follies: "Me an' My Dog" (October 5, 2004)

Video games
Cow, Chicken, and the Red Guy are playable characters in the 2006 racing game Cartoon Network Racing, which released on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS. The PlayStation 2 version includes Flem and Earl as playable characters.

Cow/Supercow, Chicken, and the Red Guy are playable characters in the kart racing video game Cartoon Network Speedway, which released on the Game Boy Advance in North America on November 17, 2003.

In the online video game FusionFall, one of the character items is based on Cow and Chicken. Cow and Chicken's cousin, Boneless Chicken, can also be seen on a billboard in the game. Though not in the game, Cow is seen as Supercow as a statue at Mt. Neverest.

See also
 I Am Weasel
 Cartoon Cartoons
 List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
 The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show
 The Ren & Stimpy Show

Notes

References

External links

  at Cartoon Network's Department of Cartoons ()

1997 American television series debuts
1999 American television series endings
1990s American animated television series
1990s American sitcoms
1990s American surreal comedy television series
American animated sitcoms
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated comedy television series
Animated television series about children
Animated television series about siblings
Animation controversies in television
Best Animated Short Subject Annie Award winners
Cartoon Cartoons
Cartoon Network original programming
Comedy franchises
Cross-dressing in television
Fiction about the Devil
English-language television shows
LGBT-related controversies in animation
LGBT-related controversies in television
LGBT-related controversies in the United States
Television controversies in the United States
Television series about cattle
Television series about chickens
Television series by Hanna-Barbera
Television series created by David Feiss

Cow and Chicken


The Khamnung Leipaak or Leinung is the netherworld or the land under the surface of the human world in Meitei mythology and religion. It is the kingdom ruled by Thongalel, the god of death. It is the place where the souls of the dead people used to go. According to ancient Meitei scriptures, the Khamnung kingdom is described as a generally dark and cool place, whose capital city is the "Khamnung Sawa", which remains isolated from the rest of the areas, as the "Ashi Turel" ("Ashi Tulel") (Styx river) flows encircling the charmed city of Thongalel. Unless permitted by Thongalel, no souls can enter the "Khamnung Sawa".  According to His Will, souls of those who died from suicide are strictly prohibited from entry as a mark of punishment.

Meitei mythology

Khamnung