Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 (known simply as Sparkster in North America and Europe), is a 1994 side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Konami for the Sega Genesis. A sequel to Rocket Knight Adventures, the game involves the character named Sparkster attempting to save Princess Cherry and to stop the evil plans of King Gedol, who plans to take over the kingdom of Zephyrus. The game largely follows the same format as its precursor, with changes to the game's mechanics.

Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 is the second game in the Rocket Knight Adventures series. Another game under the same title, Sparkster, but without the Rocket Knight Adventures subtitle and not continuing the plot of the first game, was released on the SNES in the same year. A direct sequel, Rocket Knight, was released in 2010.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Sparkster is very similar to its precursor. Sparkster plays as a side-scrolling platformer, with a few areas in the game featuring auto-scrolling levels. Like its predecessor, the player can jump and attack using Sparkster's sword. Unlike the first game, the sword can no longer emit projectiles and can only perform melee attacks. Sparkster's maximum health has been reduced from eight hearts (16 hit points) to five hearts (10 hit points) compared to the first game. Sparkster can find various helpful items in the levels, such as apples and meat (the former restoring all hit points), gems, rocket pack items that automatically make him perform a screw attack when collected, extra lives, and a power-up capsule that increases Sparkster's attack power until he is hit.

Similar to its precursor, pressing the Rocket button will make Sparkster perform a rocketattack where he blasts into one of eight directions where the player has inputted on the directional pad (if no direction is pressed, Sparkster will perform a stationary spinning attack). The use of the rocket pack is changed in Sparkster. Instead of charging up a rocket attack manually, the rocket pack charges automatically. A rocket attack is now performed by pressing its separate Rocket button. The rocket pack charges up to two levels. If the energy gauge is filled red, the player can perform a rocket attack. If the secondary white gauge is filled, Sparkster can perform a "screw attack" which lets him travel a greater distance and can interact with certain level elements such as screws.

A slot machine, new to the game, is displayed on the top right of the screen. When 10 blue gems are collected (or when one red gem is collected), the slot machine will activate and will give items that help Sparkster, or bombs that hurt Sparkster. In harder difficulties, bombs become more common.

Sparkster is composed of six stages, with each stage ending with a boss fight. The introductory sequence begins with a mech battle that can be skipped by pressing Start; though the introductory sequence is necessary to complete in order to achieve the true ending of the game. The introductory sequence of the game and boss fight of the fifth stage involves Sparkster controlling his robot mech, named the "SparkRobo", to battle the mech of Sparkster's arch-rival, Axel Gear. In battle, SparkRobo can throw a direct punch, an uppercut and can block Axel's punches and projectile attacks. By pressing Down, the SparkRobo will charge a more powerful attack. In the fifth stage, the views alternate between the upper view of the SparkRobo and the bottom view, consisting of attacks and jumping respectively.

Across all the stages, there are seven buried swords known as "Keys to the Seal" scattered throughout the levels, which allows Sparkster to transform into a golden form if all of them are collected by the end of the Axel Gear fight of the sixth stage. Five keys are scattered throughout stages of the game, while two keys are collected by defeating Axel in the introductory boss fight and his fight at the final stage. Collecting all seven keys are necessary to achieve the "true" ending of the game. Gold Sparkster can deal more damage and can charge the rocket pack faster, but he is still able to sustain damage.

The game features multiple endings, with extended endings shown the harder the difficulty is. The "true" ending can only be seen if the game difficulty is set to Hard or Very Hard.

Plot
Following the events of the first game, the kingdom of Zephyrus (labelled as Zebulos in the international manuals) returns to a state of peace, until a global threat to Elhorn arises. A tribe of reptiles known as the Gedol Empire, led by King Gedol, emerges across the lands of Elhorn following the tribe's control from the Devontidos Empire, which was destroyed by Sparkster. Seeking to control the kingdom, Gedol recruits and dispatches Sparkster's arch-rival, Axel Gear to kidnap Princess Cherry, the cousin of Princess Sherry - as a way to lure Sparkster to doom.

In a cave, Sparkster is in the search for one of the seven "Keys to the Seal", powerful swords that allow great power to be unleashed. During his search with his mech, the SparkRobo, he is ambused by Axel and his mech, resulting in a fight between the two. Depending on the outcome, Sparkster defeats Axel and retrieves the first key, otherwise he will be defeated and flee the scene. Later on, during a reunion with princesses Sherry and Cherry, Axel Gear appears and kidnaps Cherry. Sparkster sets off to rescue Cherry by travelling to the Kingdom of Gedol, defeating many troops and winning occasional encounters with Axel. Eventually making it to Gedol's Castle, Sparkster confronts and defeats Axel Gear for the final time, with Axel leaving the last "Key to the Seal" behind. If all Keys have been collected, Sparkster transforms into Gold Sparkster and sets off to confront Gedol. If not, Sparkster sets off normally. Sparkster eventually confronts King Gedol and defeats him. If played on the Normal difficulty or harder, Gedol transforms into a giant, using his eyes as lasers. Sparkster eventually defeats him and slices him in half.

Sparkster rescues Cherry and escapes the exploding castle. If the game is finished on the Hard difficulty, Sparkster returns to the kingdom of Zephyrus, reuniting Cherry with the King and Sherry. With his job done, Sparkster flies elsewhere. If the player has achieved Sparkster's gold form, Sparkster returns to the location where he found the first key and returns it back into its place, reverting to his normal state in the process.

Reception
While not as acclaimed as the first game, Sparkster did receive a positive reception. Electronic Gaming Monthly commented that some of the attacks "take some getting used to" and that the game needs more colors, but that the sound effects are fitting and the look is an improvement over the original Rocket Knight Adventures. They summarized it as "overall a good action title" and gave it a 7.2 out of 10. While they criticized the severe slowdown in the later levels, GamePro concluded that the game is "a good progression from the original", applauding the special attacks, smooth graphics and animation, and the fact that the harder difficulty levels actually include new sections in the stages instead of just adding more enemies.

Allgame gave the game a score of 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 stating: "If you're in the mood for some high flying hijinks, and love action-platform games, give this Rocket Knight a whirl. You won't be disappointed".

Legacy
A Sparkster comic based on the game was written by Nigel Kitching in the UK-made Sonic the Comic. In an interview, Kitching said that Sparkster was the easiest game to adapt into a story, due to it being similar to the Sonic the Hedgehog games. He was working on a second Sparkster story, but the plan was dropped when Fleetway was unable to obtain permission from Konami to use the character.

The 2010 revival of the series, Rocket Knight, takes place 15 years after the events of this game.

References

External links

 Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 rating at Allgame
 Sparkster series review at Hardcore Gaming 101
 Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 can be played for free in the browser on the Internet Archive

1994 video games
Fictional opossums
Konami games
Platformers
Sega Genesis games
Sega Genesis-only games
Side-scrolling video games
Steampunk video games
Video game sequels
Video games scored by Akira Yamaoka
Video games scored by Michiru Yamane
Single-player video games
Video games developed in Japan

Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2


The Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts (SICA) was a non-profit arts center in Asbury Park, New Jersey.  It was previously located in Long Branch, New Jersey, United States, located in the former Lincon Can Manufacturing building.

Founded in 2000, the physical institute was officially opened in 2004. SICA had a gallery, a cafe, artists studios and classrooms. The cafe hosted local bands, film screenings, meetings and performances. SICA offered artists instruction and speakers as well as yoga classes. They also held the yearly ArtX performance event.

The Institute has closed as of December 2012.

References

Contemporary art galleries in the United States
Former buildings and structures in New Jersey
Arts centers in New Jersey
Arts organizations based in New Jersey
Defunct museums in New Jersey
Tourist attractions in Monmouth County, New Jersey
Long Branch, New Jersey
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Arts organizations established in 2000
Arts organizations disestablished in 2012
2000 establishments in New Jersey
2012 disestablishments in New Jersey

Shore Institute for Contemporary Art


Facing the Giants is a 2006 American Christian drama sports film directed by and starring Alex Kendrick. The supporting cast was composed of volunteers from Sherwood Baptist Church, and it is the second film that Sherwood Pictures has done. Shot in Albany, Georgia, the film tells an underdog story about American football from a Christian worldview. The film made $10.2 million on a $100,000 budget.

Plot
In 2003, Grant Taylor (Alex Kendrick) is the head football coach of the Shiloh Christian Academy Eagles and had yet to make the state playoffs or even post a winning record in his six-year tenure. After his seventh season begins with a three-game losing streak, a key player leaves for another school, and the remaining players' fathers begin to agitate for his firing. This is not the only problem Grant faces; his home has a leaking roof, his appliances are breaking down, and his car is an unreliable embarrassment.  Then, crushingly, he learns that he is the reason that his wife, Brooke, cannot become pregnant.

Suffering intense emotional turmoil, Grant stays up all night praying and studying scripture.  Finally, his old football coach inspires him to create a new coaching philosophy and praises God regardless of on-field results. At the same time he influences his players to give far greater effort and tells them they can win under God's guidance. The improved attitudes of his players influence the rest of the school. From then on, the Eagles win all their remaining regular season games and qualify for the state playoffs.

The Eagles lose their playoff opener but are awarded the win by forfeit after their opponent used ineligible players. The Eagles then advance all the way to the state championship game against the three-time and defending state champion Richland Giants. The Giants race out to a 14–0 lead, but the Eagles manage to tie the game at the start of the second half.  The Giants tack on another touchdown and a field goal before the Eagles manage to score another touchdown.

As the clock winds down, the Giants come within one yard of sealing the game with a touchdown. Defensive lineman Brock Kelley is exhausted and begs someone else to lead, but Grant encourages him to give him four more downs. Brock agrees, and the Eagles manage to get a sack, a stop, and a pass block, taking it to 4th down.  In a bit of arrogance, Richland head coach Bobby Lee Duke, insisting on a touchdown to put the game away (when a field goal would have sealed the victory), calls for the Giants to go for it. However, Brock causes a fumble, and the Eagles take it to the 34-yard line with 2 seconds to go.

Grant, realizing again that they cannot outrun or overpower the Giants, decides to take a huge gamble and asks for a 51-yard field goal (into the wind) from kicker David Childers, who was forced to take over when the starting kicker was knocked out early in the second half. David insists he can't kick that far but goes out there anyway. After a rousing speech from Grant, another bit of arrogance by Duke (who calls a timeout to "ice" Childers), and seeing his father Larry Childers, who is a wheelchair user, stand beyond the fence and holding his arms up, David begs for God to help him with the kick. Seemingly in response, the wind suddenly turns favorable, and Grant tells them to kick it. David's kick barely clears the uprights, allowing the Eagles to stun the Giants and win the game.

After the game, Grant tells his players that they are not inferior or lacking in ability and that nothing is impossible with God. Later that night, Brooke reveals that she's finally pregnant, causing Grant to break down in tears of joy. Two years later, it is revealed that they have a young son with another child on the way, and in the interim, the Eagles have won a second state title.

Cast

 Alex Kendrick as Grant Taylor
 Shannen Fields as Brooke Taylor
 Bill Butler as Neil Prater
 Bailey Cave as David Childers
 Steve Williams as Larry Childers
 Tracy Goode as Brady Owens
 Jim McBride as Bobby Lee Duke
 Tommy McBride as Jonathan Weston
 Jason McLeod as Brock Kelley
 Chris Willis as J.T. Hawkins Jr.
 Ray Wood as Mr. Bridges
 Erin Bethea as Alicia Houston
 David Nixon as Mr. Jones
 Mark Richt as himself & former coach of Grant Taylor

Most of the cast and crew were members of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. For example, the role of Bobby Lee Duke, the opposing coach in the state final, was played by Sherwood Baptist associate pastor Jim McBride.

Production
The movie was shot on high definition digital video tape (using the Panasonic Varicam) and transferred to film. Using real high school football teams, the football action sequences were shot by the film's director of photography, Bob Scott, who is a veteran cinematographer for NFL Films. Another NFL Films technician, Rob Whitehurst, recorded the movie's sound. Principal photography began on April 27, 2004.

Soundtrack

 Track listing
 Come Together - Third Day
 Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns
 Facing the Giants Theme (Score) - Mark Willard, Alex Kendrick
 Finding You - Bebo Norman
 The Deathcrawl (Score) - Mark Willard
 Completely - Ana Laura
 A Gift from God (Score) - Mark Willard
 Come on Back to Me - Third Day
 Never Give Up on Me - Josh Bates
 The Fight (Score) - Mark Willard
 With You - Mark Willard, Mark Harris
 Attempting the Impossible (Score) - Mark Willard, Alex Kendrick

Release
The film was released to DVD in early 2007 and made its television debut on September 21, 2008, on Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Reception

Critical reception
The film received mostly negative reviews from mainstream critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 16% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 4.30/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "The tropes of both football and evangelical movies are gracelessly on parade in this banal, insipid drama." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Heather Boerner of Common Sense Media rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, categorizing it as "a heartwarming if overly religious story of faith" and saying its message would "speak to born-again men and their families, but, again, not their less-religious neighbors." Joel Rosenblatt of The Austin Chronicle, on the other hand, rated it 1 out of 5 stars, writing "Its feel-good storyline, shopworn message, and bottomless sermonizing would have played better in Sunday school than on the big screen, which is -- let's face it -- Babylon's turf."

Box office
In its first weekend, the film opened on 441 screens nationwide in the United States. Despite such a small number of theaters, the film opened in twelfth place with $1,343,537. The film ultimately was shown in over 1,000 theaters and grossed a total of $10,243,159. The film opened in South Korea on April 16, 2010, eventually grossing $64,828. DVD sales have totaled 2.3 million units sold in 57 countries.

Rating controversy
In May 2006, the producers of Facing the Giants received notice from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) that the film would be receiving a "Parental Guidance Suggested" rating, or PG rating. The Drudge Report picked up the story on June 8, 2006, which sparked a controversy alleging that the film was being given a "PG" rating solely because of its religious theme.

According to the film's producers, they were told the motion picture received a PG rating because of its strong religious themes and because it elevated one religion over another.  The MPAA later explained that Facing the Giants contains football violence and also deals with the mature topics of infertility and depression.

The Kendrick brothers expected the PG rating because of the movie's mature themes and did not appeal the board's rating.

See also
 List of American football films

References

External links

2006 films
2006 drama films
2006 independent films
2000s American films
2000s English-language films
2000s high school films
2000s sports drama films
American independent films
American sports drama films
Film controversies in the United States
Films about evangelicalism
Films directed by Alex Kendrick
Films set in 2003
Films set in 2005
Films set in Georgia (U.S. state)
Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state)
High school football films
Rating controversies in film
Religious controversies in film
Religious drama films
Religious sports films
Sherwood Pictures films

Facing the Giants


The Lady and the Highwayman is a 1989 United Kingdom romantic adventure television film based on Barbara Cartland's 1952 romance novel  Cupid Rides Pillion. The working title of the film was Dangerous Love.

The film stars Hugh Grant (in one of his earliest appearances) as highwayman Silver Blade and Lysette Anthony as Lady Panthea Vyne.  The film is a swashbuckling tale of romance, jealousy and betrayal set in England during the Restoration of Charles II, with Michael York as King Charles II of England.  Emma Samms as Lady Castlemaine and Oliver Reed are supported by guest appearances by Robert Morley and John Mills.
The Lady Castlemaine of the film, whose vendetta against Lady Panthea Vyne is forms part of the plot of the film, is based on the life of Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, one of King Charles II's mistresses and mother of several of his children.

In 2023 Grant told James Corden that The Lady and The Highwayman was the film he would erase from his Internet Movie Database (IMDb) page if given the chance. "I'm meant to be sexy" he recalled, but was undone by the "bad wig, bad hat. I look like Deputy Dawg."

Plot
The film begins with a narrator telling us that  Cromwell's tyranny is coming to an end, when we see several men approaching on horseback. We learn that King Charles II and several of his Cavaliers have been on an exploratory tour in England, checking to see if the populace is ready to back his return. At the moment he is being hounded by a troop of Roundheads. King Charles stops to bid one of his supporters, a Royalist Lord Lucius Vyne (Hugh Grant) who he gives one of his favorite rings, telling Lucius to send it if he ever needs his help. Taking the ring Lucius borrows the King's distinctive plumed hat and leads the King's pursuers away, allowing Charles and Lucius' cousin, Lord Richard Vyne to reach a waiting boat bound for France. Lucius manages to lose the Roundheads in a cavernous entrance of a quarried chalk cliff face.

In the next scene Lady Panthea Vyne (Lysette Anthony) is tricked into marriage by a lecherous older tax collector Drysdale (Ian Bannen) who had been seeking her hand in marriage. He promises to intercede and save her brother Lord Richard who, he tells her, is about to be executed.  Drysdale tells her he can save her brother if she agrees to marry him. Leaving the church she and her new husband, no sooner reach their waiting coach that he attempts to unbutton her dress. Her small Cavalier King Charles Spaniel barks at Drysdale, who throws it to the floor of the coach and stomps it to death. Just then a gun ball blows a chunk of wood from the coach beside Drysdale's head. The mysterious masked highwayman known as "Silver Blade" (secretly her cousin Lucius) puts a stop to Drysdale's advances and helps our heroine to bury her dog. She tells Silver Blade of her plight; he whispers that Drysdale has lied, telling her that her brother is already dead.

"Silver Blade" then duels with Drysdale, who Panthea warns Silver Blade is the best swordsman in England. Silver Blade soon runs him through and returns to the carriage where Panthea waits. Silver Blade finds gold in the carriage that Drysdale had unfairly collected during his role as a tax collector. He threatens the coachmen on pain of death to keep silent about the whole affair with Drysdale then takes Panthea home. He leaves her with two of the four bags of gold before riding off to return the rest of the money from whom it was stolen. The event will come back to haunt them both.

Next her aunt, Lady Emma Darlington (Claire Bloom) talks her into coming to live with her as Panthea is all alone now that her father and brother are dead, nevermind her dead husband. At a royal reception we learn that Aunt Emma was the King's 'second' mother. The King invites Panthea to be a lady of the queen's bed chamber. With Panthea attracting all of the males' admiring glances plus her now becoming part of the new queen's court, the King's mistress Lady Castlemaine  (Emma Samms) is livid. About then Panthea asks her Aunt who is 'that' lady, pointing to Lady Castlemaine. Her aunt tells her to look away.

Next Lady Castlemaine's guest Rudolph introduces himself, reminding Panthea and her aunt that he is Panthea's cousin on her distaff side. He then introduces Lady Castlemaine, when suddenly Lady Darlington grabs Panthea and abruptly turns her back and walks away. Lady Castlemaine is fit to be tied, and swears to take revenge for the slight.

Cousin Rudolph plots to inherit the title as Duke of Manston Hall, which is Panthea's home and also Lucius' hiding place. Lucius, instead of claiming his royal title, is in true Robin Hood fashion working against the King's secret enemies. Panthea, who has been in love with Silver Blade since the day he saved her, learns he is in grave danger and is about to be captured in a trap set for that night. She rides to warn him and saves the day after declaring her love for him. However, soon  after the King leaves for France, she falls victim to the schemes of Lady Castlemaine who is after her head. Meanwhile, Lady Castlemaine learns of the coach incident and pays the coachman, now a sergeant in the King's Guards, to accuse Panthea of murder. She sets her trap and soon Panthea is fighting for her life in court.

After she is condemned to death Lucius attempts her rescue and ends up arrested as well. He passes the King's ring to Panthea's maid, telling her to take it to the King, but Rudolph sees the sparkling ring and takes it from Lucius. On the morning of his execution Lucius tricks his jailer, and he and his men fight their way out of their jail and ride to the Tower of London to Panthea's rescue. As the hulking Axeman is in mid swing, an arrow from Lucius strikes his shoulder, causing his blow to miss Panthea's head, but Lucius and Panthea are surrounded; escape is seemingly impossible, but meanwhile in an amazing Deus Ex Machina, the plodding Rudolph, who can't wait till he is sure Lucius is dead, barges in before the King and demands to be declared the Duke of Manston Hall. The King, who has seemingly forgotten his friend, spies the ring and soon shows up at the tower, just in time to save the day.

Lucius and Panthea are married and all ends well.

Cast
 Oliver Reed - Sir Philip Gage
 Claire Bloom - Lady Emma Darlington
 Christopher Cazenove - Rudolph Vyne
 Lysette Anthony - Lady Panthea Vyne
 Hugh Grant -  Lucius Vyne/Silver Blade
 Michael York - King Charles II of England
 Emma Samms - Barbara Castlemaine
 John Mills - Sir Lawrence Dobson
 Ian Bannen - Lord Christian Drysdale
 Robert Morley - Lord Chancellor
 Lamya Derval - The Queen
 Bernard Miles - Judge
 Gareth Hunt - Stangret/Sergeant Potter
 Steffanie Pitt - Martha
 Floyd Bevan - Jack
 James Booth - Robbery victim
 Liz Fraser - Flossie
 Terence Plummer - Axeman in the Tower of London

Filming locations
 Dorney Court, Dorney, Buckinghamshire
 Dover Castle, Dover, Kent UK
 Haddon Hall, Bakewell, Derbyshire
 Harlaxton Manor, Harlaxton, Lincolnshire

Notes

External links

1980s adventure films
1989 romantic drama films
1989 television films
1989 films
British television films
Adventure television films
English Civil War films
Films about criminals
Films set in the 1660s
Films based on adventure novels
Films based on British novels
Films based on romance novels
Films set in England
Films set in London
Gainsborough Pictures films
Films shot at Pinewood Studios
British swashbuckler films
Television series produced at Pinewood Studios
Films directed by John Hough
Films scored by Laurie Johnson
Films with screenplays by Terence Feely
Cultural depictions of Charles II of England
Films shot in Buckinghamshire
Films shot in Derbyshire
Films shot in Kent
Films shot in Lincolnshire
Films about highwaymen
Cultural depictions of Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
1980s English-language films
1980s British films

The Lady and the Highwayman


The First Lady of the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국 대통령 영부인; Hanja: 大韓民國 大統領 令夫人, informally referred to as FLOTROK or FLOSK), commonly known as the First Lady of South Korea, is the titled held by the hostess of the presidential residence, usually the wife of the President of South Korea.

Kim Keon-hee is the current First Lady of South Korea, as wife of the 13th and current President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol.

Role
The first lady is not elected by the citizens of South Korea, although there are no official  jobs she is required to do and not paid for being the first lady, she is often involved in political campaigns, managements of the Blue House (former residence; now officially the Presidential Residence of South Korea), supporting social causes and representing and accompanying the president to and at official and ceremonial events. First spouses have focused on different initiatives and has a strong influence on public opinion of policy to fashion.

First Lady of South Korea


Gene targeting is a biotechnological tool used to change the DNA sequence of an organism (hence it is a form of Genome Editing). It is based on the natural DNA-repair mechanism of Homology Directed Repair (HDR), including Homologous Recombination. Gene targeting can be used to make a range of sizes of DNA edits, from larger DNA edits such as inserting entire new genes into an organism, through to much smaller changes to the existing DNA such as a single base-pair change. Gene targeting relies on the presence of a repair template to introduce the user-defined edits to the DNA. The user (usually a scientist) will design the repair template to contain the desired edit, flanked by DNA sequence corresponding (homologous) to the region of DNA that the user wants to edit; hence the edit is targeted to a particular genomic region. In this way Gene Targeting is distinct from natural homology-directed repair, during which the 'natural' DNA repair template of the sister chromatid is used to repair broken DNA (the sister chromatid is the second copy of the gene). The alteration of DNA sequence in an organism can be useful in both a research context – for example to understand the biological role of a gene – and in biotechnology, for example to alter the traits of an organism (e.g. to improve crop plants).

Methods
To create a gene-targeted organism, DNA must be introduced into its cells. This DNA must contain all of the parts necessary to complete the gene targeting. At a minimum this is the homology repair template, containing the desired edit flanked by regions of DNA homologous (identical in sequence to) the targeted region (these homologous regions are called "homology arms" ). Often a reporter gene and/or a selectable marker is also required, to help identify and select for cells (or "events") where GT has actually occurred. It is also common practice to increase GT rates by causing a double-strand-break (DSB) in the targeted DNA region. Hence the genes encoding for the site-specific-nuclease of interest may also be transformed along with the repair template. These genetic elements required for GT may be assembled through conventional molecular cloning in bacteria.

Gene targeting methods are established for several model organisms and may vary depending on the species used. To target genes in mice, the DNA is inserted into mouse embryonic stem cells in culture. Cells with the insertion can contribute to a mouse's tissue via embryo injection. Finally, chimeric mice where the modified cells make up the reproductive organs are bred. After this step the entire body of the mouse is based on the selected embryonic stem cell.

To target genes in moss, the DNA is incubated together with freshly isolated protoplasts and with polyethylene glycol. As mosses are haploid organisms, moss filaments (protonema) can be directly screened for the target, either by treatment with antibiotics or with PCR. Unique among plants, this procedure for reverse genetics is as efficient as in yeast. Gene targeting has been successfully applied to cattle, sheep, swine and many fungi.

The frequency of gene targeting can be significantly enhanced through the use of site-specific endonucleases such as zinc finger nucleases, engineered homing endonucleases, TALENS, or most commonly the CRISPR-Cas system.  This method has been applied to species including Drosophila melanogaster, tobacco, corn, human cells, mice and rats.

Comparison to other forms of genetic engineering
The relationship between gene targeting, gene editing and genetic modification is outlined in the Venn diagram below. It displays how 'Genetic engineering' encompasses all 3 of these techniques. Genome editing is characterised by making small edits to the genome at a specific location, often following cutting of the target DNA region by a site-specific-nuclease such as CRISPR. Genetic modification usually describes the insertion of a transgene (foreign DNA, i.e. a gene from another species) into a random location within the genome. Gene-targeting is a specific biotechnological tool that can lead to small changes to the genome at a specific site - in which case the edits caused by gene-targeting would count as genome editing. However gene targeting is also capable of inserting entire genes (such as transgenes) at the target site if the transgene is incorporated into the homology repair template that is used during gene-targeting. In such cases the edits caused by gene-targeting would, in some jurisdictions, be considered as equivalent to Genetic Modification as insertion of foreign DNA has occurred.

Gene targeting is one specific form of genome editing tool. Other genome editing tools include targeted mutagenesis, base editing and prime editing, all of which create edits to the endogenous DNA (DNA already present in the organism) at a specific genomic location. This site-specific or 'targeted' nature of genome editing is typically what makes genome-editing different to traditional 'genetic modification' which inserts a transgene at a non-specific location in the organisms' genome, as well as gene-editing making small edits to the DNA already present in the organisms, verses genetic modification insertion 'foreign' DNA from another species.

Because gene editing makes smaller changes to endogenous DNA, many mutations created through genome-editing could in theory occur through natural mutagenesis or, in the context of plants, through mutation breeding which is part of conventional breeding (in contrast the insertion of a transgene to create a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) could not occur naturally). However there are exceptions to this general rule; as explained in the introduction, GT can introduce a range of possible size of edits to DNA; from very small edits such as changing, inserting or deleting 1 base-pair, through to inserting much longer DNA sequences, which could in theory include insertion of an entire transgene. However in practice GT is more commonly used to insert smaller sequences. The range of edits possible through GT can make it challenging to regulate (see Regulation).

The two most established forms of gene editing are gene-targeting and targeted-mutagenesis. While gene targeting relies on the Homology Directed Repair (HDR) (also called Homologous Recombination, HR) DNA repair pathway, targeted-mutagenesis uses Non-Homologous-End-Joining (NHEJ) of broken DNA. NHEJ is an error-prone DNA repair pathway, meaning that when it repairs the broken DNA it can insert or delete DNA bases, creating insertions or deletions (indels). The user cannot specify what these random indels will be, hence they cannot control exactly what edits are made at the target site. However they can control where these edits will occur (i.e. dictate the target site) through using a site-specific nuclease (previously Zinc Finger Nucleases & TALENs, now commonly CRISPR) to break the DNA at the target site. A summary of gene-targeting through HDR (also called Homologous Recombination) and targeted mutagenesis through NHEJ is shown in the figure below.

The more newly developed gene-editing techniques of prime editing and base editing, based on CRISPR-Cas methods, are alternatives to gene targeting, which can also create user-defined edits at targeted genomic locations. However each is limited in the length of DNA sequence insertion possible; base editing is limited to single base pair conversions while prime editing can only insert sequences of up to ~44bp. Hence GT remains the primary method of targeted (location-specific) insertion of long DNA sequences for genome engineering.

Comparison with gene trapping
Gene trapping is based on random insertion of a cassette, while gene targeting manipulates a specific gene. Cassettes can be used for many different things while the flanking homology regions of gene targeting cassettes need to be adapted for each gene. This makes gene trapping more easily amenable for large scale projects than targeting. On the other hand, gene targeting can be used for genes with low transcriptions that would go undetected in a trap screen.  The probability of trapping increases with intron size, while for gene targeting, small genes are just as easily altered.

Applications

Applications in mammalian systems
Gene targeting was developed in mammalian cells in the 1980s,  with diverse applications possible as a result of being able to make specific sequence changes at a target genomic site, such as the study of gene function or human disease, particularly in mice models. Indeed gene targeting has been widely used to study human genetic diseases by removing ("knocking out"), or adding ("knocking in"), specific mutations of interest.  Previously used to engineer rat cell models, advances in gene targeting technologies enable a new wave of isogenic human disease models. These models are the most accurate in vitro models available to researchers and facilitate the development of personalized drugs and diagnostics, particularly in oncology. Gene targeting has also been investigated for gene therapy to correct disease-causing mutations. However the low efficiency of delivery of the gene-targeting machinery into cells has hindered this, with research conducted into viral vectors for gene targeting to try and address these challenges.

Applications in yeast and moss
Gene targeting is relatively high efficiency in yeast, bacterial and moss (but is rare in higher eukaryotes). Hence gene targeting has been used in reverse genetics approaches to study gene function in these systems.

Applications in plant genome engineering
Gene targeting (GT), or homology-directed repair (HDR), is used routinely in plant genome engineering to insert specific sequences,   with the first published example of GT in plants in the 1980s. However, gene targeting is particularly challenging in higher plants due to the low rates of Homologous Recombination, or Homology Directed Repair, in higher plants and the low rate of transformation (DNA uptake) by many plant species. However, there has been much effort to increase the frequencies of gene targeting in plants in the past decades, as it is very useful to be able to introduce specific sequences in the plant genome for plant genome engineering. The most significant improvement to gene targeting frequencies in plants was the induction of double-strand-breaks through site specific nucleases such as CRISPR, as described above. Other strategies include in planta gene targeting, whereby the homology repair template is embedded within the plant genome and then liberated using CRISPR cutting; upregulation of genes involved in the homologous recombination pathway; downregulation of the competing Non-Homologous-End-Joining pathway; increasing copy numbers of the homologous repair template; and engineering Cas variants to be optimised for plant tissue culture. Some of these approaches have also been used to improve gene targeting efficiencies in mammalian cells.

Plants that have been gene-targeted include Arabidopsis thaliana (the most commonly used model plant), rice, tomato, maize, tobacco and wheat.

Technical challenges
Gene targeting holds enormous promise to make targeted, user-defined sequence changes or sequence insertions in the genome. However its primary applications - human disease modelling and plant genome engineering - are hindered by the low efficiency of homologous recombination in comparison to the competing non-homologous end joining in mammalian and higher plant cells. As described above, there are strategies that can be employed to increase the frequencies of gene targeting in plants and mammalian cells. In addition, robust selection methods that allow the selection or specific enrichment of cells where gene targeting has occurred can increase the rates of recovery of gene-targeted cells.

2007 Nobel Prize
Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans and Oliver Smithies were awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on "principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells", or gene targeting.

Regulation of Gene Targeted organisms
As explained above, Gene Targeting is technically capable of creating a range of sizes of genetic changes; from single base-pair mutations through to insertion of longer sequences, including potentially transgenes. This means that products of gene targeting can be indistinguishable from natural mutation, or can be equivalent to GMOs due to their insertion of a transgene (see Venn diagram above). Hence regulating products of Gene Targeting can be challenging and different countries have taken different approaches or are reviewing how to do so as part of broader regulatory reviews into the products of gene-editing. Broadly adopted classifications split gene-edited organisms into 3 classes of "SDN1-3", referring to Site Directed Nucleases (such as CRISPR-Cas) that are used to generate gene-edited organisms. These SDN classifications can guide national regulations as to which class of SDN they will consider to be 'GMOs' and therefore which are subject to potentially strict regulations.

 SDN1 = organisms created through Non-homologous End Joining of an SDN-catalysed break in the DNA. Hence random mutations have occurred through the error prone NHEJ, and no repair template has been used (hence is not Gene-Targeting). Often subject to less stringent regulatory oversight due to the lack of use of a DNA repair template and equivalence to conventional breeding techniques (in the case of plant breeding).
 SDN2 = one or several specific mutations have been introduced into the target gene at the SDN cut-site through use of a homology-repair template (hence this is Gene Targeting).
 SDN3 = longer sequences have been inserted at the cut-site, via homologous recombination (i.e. Gene Targeting) or through NHEJ. "Longer sequences" typically refer to entire genetic elements such as promoters or protein-coding regions. These are often considered transgenic and therefore often classed as GMO.

Historically the European Union (EU) has broadly been opposed to Genetic Modification technology, on grounds of its precautionary principle. In 2018 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that gene-edited crops (including gene-targeted crops) should be considered as genetically modified and therefore were subject to the GMO Directive, which places significant regulatory burdens on GMO use. However this decision was received negatively by the European scientific community. In 2021 the European Commission deemed that current EU legislation governing Genetic Modification and Gene-Editing techniques (or NGTs – New Genomic Techniques) was 'not fit for purpose' and needed adapting to reflect scientific and technological progress. In July 2023 the European Commission published a proposal to change rules for certain products of gene-editing to reduce the regulatory requirements for organisms developed with gene-editing that contained genetic changes that could have occurred naturally.

See also
 Cre recombinase
 Cre-Lox recombination
 FLP-FRT recombination
 Genetic recombination
 Recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (exchange of a preexisting "gene cassette" for an "gene of interest")
 Regulation of genetic engineering
 Site-specific recombinase technology
 Toll-like receptor (example of a gene targeted for analysis)
 Mus musculus (house mouse; common model organism)
 Physcomitrella patens (only plant in which gene targeting is available, as of 1998)

References

External links

 Outline of gene targeting by the University of Michigan
 Gene targeting in mouse diagram & summary by Heydari lab, Wayne State University
 Research highlights on reporter genes  used in gene targeting
 Targeted gene replacement in barley

Molecular biology
Genetic engineering
Genetics techniques
Biological engineering
Genetically modified organisms

Gene targeting


Le Monnier was an Italian publishing house. It was purchased by Mondadori in 1999.

History
Le Monnier was founded in Florence in 1837 by the Frenchman Felice Le Monnier (1806 - 1884).

Handed over in 1859 to the Successor Company Le Monnier, the company was discovered in 1922 by Armando Paoletti, who restored it with the "National Library" and the launch of the series "Studies and Documents on the History of the Risorgimento" directed by Giovanni Gentle.

From the 1960s, the publishing house has published important political, literary and scientific journals such as "Pegaso", "Il Ponte", "Italian Studies of Classical Philology", "La Cultura". Other publications include the illustrated Vocabulary of the Italian Language and the Vocabulary of the Italian Language by Giacomo Devoto and Gian Carlo Oli, and the Devoto-Oli of synonyms and contraries.

The company had personalities like Vittore Branca and Giovanni Spadolini (as director of "History Quotes " and, from 1976 to 1994, as president of the company),

In 1999, Le Monnier joined the Arnoldo Mondadori Editore group.

References

Publishing companies established in 1837
Italian companies established in 1837
Publishing companies disestablished in 1999
1999 disestablishments in Italy
Publishing companies of Italy
1999 mergers and acquisitions

Le Monnier (publishing house)


Michael Allardice (born 19 October 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock for  in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the  in the international Super Rugby competition.

Early career

Born in the rural town of Taihape in the centre of New Zealand's north island in the Manawatū-Whanganui region, he moved to the area's biggest town, Palmerston North for school and attended Palmerston North Boys' High School where he played first XV rugby.   Upon graduation, he moved south to Christchurch to study for a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in marketing and business management at the University of Canterbury which he completed in 3 years.

Senior career

While still studying in Christchurch, Allardice made 1 appearance for  during the 2012 ITM Cup, a 33–11 win over . In 2013 after completing his university studies he headed north to join the Hawke's Bay Magpies. He played every game for the Magpies as they reached the final of the ITM Cup championship before losing narrowly to . He continued to be a first choice lock in 2014, playing all 12 of the Magpies' games as they again lost in the Championship final, this time to . Once more he was an ever-present in 2015 as Hawke's Bay finally won promotion to the Premiership with a 26–25 victory over  in the final.

The 2016 New Zealand domestic season was a write-off for both him and his team, as injury meant he was ruled out of the entire campaign and the Magpies' stay in the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership proved to be a brief one as they were relegated to the Championship for 2017 after recording only 2 wins all season.

Super Rugby

A pre-season training stint with the  ahead of the 2014 Super Rugby season opened up some doors for him in the franchise and he was subsequently named in their squad for 2015.   Although injury curtailed his debut season prematurely, he still managed to make 7 appearances which were followed up by 10 more in 2016 as the  reached the competition's semi-final stage before going down to New Zealand rivals and eventual competition winners, the .   Despite, injury problems in the latter half of 2016, he was retained in the squad for the 2017 Super Rugby season.

In August 2016, Allardice made headlines in New Zealand for alleged homophobic abuse of a gay couple during a post season team bonding at a pub and public swimming facility at Okoroire Hot Springs near Tirau in the Waikato. He later made a public apology. The incident came on the heels of a study that found more young Kiwi men hide their sexuality on the playing field than in any other country.

In 2019, Allardice resigned with the Chiefs.

International

Allardice was a New Zealand Schools representative in 2009 and also turned out for New Zealand Universities during his time at the University of Canterbury.

Career Honours

Canterbury

Mitre 10 Cup Premiership - 2012

Hawke's Bay

Mitre 10 Cup Championship - 2015

Super Rugby Statistics

References

1991 births
Living people
New Zealand rugby union players
Rugby union locks
Chiefs (rugby union) players
Canterbury rugby union players
Hawke's Bay rugby union players
People educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School
University of Canterbury alumni
Toyota Verblitz players
Rugby union players from Manawatū-Whanganui

Michael Allardice


Turbatrix aceti (also called vinegar eels) is a species of nematode. They feed on the acidic bacteria from vinegar and other things, like fermented apples. They range from 1mm to 10mm long or larger. These nematodes go through a six-stage life cycle. The stages are: an egg, four larval stages, and reaching adulthood. They live about 10 months.

Anatomy
The nematode's reproductive system is sexual. Female vinegar eels have ovaries and produce eggs. Their reproductive system is in the form of a tube. The females also have a short sac-like seminal receptacle that stores sperm. A fertilized egg hatches in the uterus before leaving the womb. Vinegar eels give birth to as many as 45 babies every 8-10 days.  A male vinegar eels' reproductive system is smaller than the female's. They have testis and a vas deferens. The testes open into a wide sperm duct and then into a muscular duct which can push out the sperm. The duct empties into a  cloaca.

Nematodes, such as the vinegar eels, have no circulatory system. Through their body's wall, gas and excretion waste are diffused. Oxygen from the outside environment is diffused into the body, and carbon dioxide is diffused out of the body. Vinegar eels have to live in liquids that have enough oxygen so that it can diffuse into their bodies.

Aging research
Experiments with T. aceti were done to understand the cause of ageing.  DNA damage accumulates when the rate of damage occurrence is more than the rate of DNA repair.  Accumulation of DNA damage leads to a decline in gene expression. There is a consistent decline in DNA repair capacity with age in the nematode. A second report measured the ability to repair DNA damage in young and old nematodes after exposure to ionizing radiation.  They observed that the old nematodes were strikingly less able to carry out this type of DNA repair than young nematodes.  These experiments suggest that a decline in DNA repair capability occurs with age. This is the "DNA damage theory of aging".

References

Aquatic Community. "Raising Vinegar Eels." AC Tropical Fish & Aquarium. Aquaticcommunity.com, 2004-06. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
Pinckney, Rhonda DVM, PhD. "(The Parasitology Resource UW - Madison)." The Parasitology Rescource/ VetMed. UW School of Veterinary Medicine. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/pbs/foodsafety/parasite/vinegar.html >.
Tappin, Adrian R. "Vinegar Eels." Home of the Rainbowfish- Feeding. Selected for Inclusion in the National Library of Australia Digital Archive of Australian Online Publications (Jan. 1998), Dec. 2008. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/vinegar.htm >.
Wetman. "Vinegar Eels." The Skeptical Aquarist.com. The Skeptical Aquarist ©, 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/turbatrix >.

Nematodes

Turbatrix aceti


The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications located at the University of Minnesota is an organization established in 1982 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States.

Objectives
The primary mission of the IMA is to increase the impact of mathematics by fostering interdisciplinary research and linking mathematics  and scientific and technological problems from other disciplines and industry.

Activities
The IMA hosts long-term visitors, funds postdoctoral research positions, and holds several conferences annually. The NSF has granted the IMA $19.5 million over the period 2005–2010, the largest single mathematics grant the NSF has ever awarded.

Prize in Mathematics and its Applications

The IMA annually awards a prize to a mathematician who has received their PhD within the last 10 years. This award recognizes an individual who has made a transformative impact on the mathematical sciences and their applications.

 2019: Jacob Bedrossian
 2018: Anders C. Hansen
 2017: Jianfeng Lu
 2016: Rachel Ward and Deanna Needell
 2015: Jonathan Weare
 2014: David F. Anderson

Organization with similar names
Sharing a very similar name and the acronym IMA, it should not be confused with the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, a professional body for mathematicians in the UK.

References
IMA Celebrates 20 Prodigious Years, SIAM News, October 31, 2003.

Notes

External links
Institute for Mathematics and its Applications

Mathematical institutes
University of Minnesota
Research institutes established in 1982
Research institutes in Minnesota
National Science Foundation mathematical sciences institutes
1982 establishments in Minnesota


Saskatchewan Grain Car Corporation  was a Canadian crown corporation owned by the Government of Saskatchewan.

History
By the 1960s, it had become apparent that various economic factors, including competition and inflation, had led to Canadian railway companies losing increasingly larger sums of money handling grain. Furthermore, capital investments into branch line infrastructure and rolling stock was being increasingly neglected as to minimise costs, but this approach led to a long-term decline in the ability of the railways to support the demands of the agricultural sector. Thus, even thought large scale sales had been lined up with export customers such as China and Russia, by the late 1960s, it was clear that the railways were struggling to fulfil them satisfactorily. Seeking to address these issues, both the Canadian federal government and regional governments opted to intervene. Throughout the 1970s, various entities opted to purchase new rolling stock for grain trains; over a 20 year period, nearly 13,500 hopper cars would be procured via this approach.

The Government of Saskatchewan was one of the organisations that chose to actively participate in the matter. On 2 October 1979, the Saskatchewan Grain Car Corporation was established with the stated purpose of purchasing and renting grain rail cars for the transportation of statutory grains between Saskatchewan and export ports. Its existence and activities were governed by the Saskatchewan Grain Car Corporation Act. During 1990, the government invested $55 million into the corporation for the purchase of 1,000 new covered rail cars.

During 2011, the corporation shifted its priority for the leasing of its rolling stock towards the province's short line railways. This direction gradually led to the almost 500 cars previously being leased to Canadian National being returned and subsequently leased to smaller operators such as the Last Mountain Railway.

The corporation was able to generate a positive financial return during most of its operating years, returning a cumulative $20.5 million in dividends to the government. However, during 2016, a deficit of $221,000 was recorded by the corporation. During March 2017, the Government of Saskatchewan announced that the Saskatchewan Grain Car Corporation was going to be wound down and its assets sold off, noting that for long term operations to have continued, a $100 million investment to purchase new rail cars would have been necessary within a decade.

Rolling stock

Upon the corporation's establishment, rolling stock was quickly obtained from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway; these second hand cars were only used briefly before being replaced by new-build counterparts.

Between February and October 1981, 1,000 steel rail cars, lined with epoxy, were manufactured by Hawker Siddeley Canada for the corporation. Each of these cars had a capacity of 128.8 cubic metres (4548.5 cubic feet).  By 2010, approximately 906 cars remained operation, 417 of which were allocated to Canadian National while 489 were being operated by Canadian Pacific. Approximately 800 cars were in their original brown and orange paint scheme. During 2007, 110 cars were repaired by GE Rail Car Repair Services Company in Regina; a new paint scheme adopted around this time was applied to some of these units, being green with the type Saskatchewan!. Models of the rail cars are sold by North American Railcar Corporation.

During early 2017, as part of the corporation's winding down, the nearly 1,000 hopper cars in its inventory were put up for sale; priority was given to the 13 shortline operators based in Saskatchewan. Multiple operators submitted offers to buy numerous cars, of which three were accepted; these were Big Sky Railway, who bid for 663 cars, Great Western Railway, for 150 cars, and Great Sandhills Railway for 85 cars.

References

External links
  Saskatchewan Grain Car Corporation

Saskatchewan railways
Crown corporations of Saskatchewan
Companies based in Regina, Saskatchewan
Rolling stock leasing companies
Grain trade

Saskatchewan Grain Car Corporation


A nine-dart finish is a perfect leg (single game) of darts. It is achieved by using the minimum number of darts. The aim of each player is to gradually subtract their score from their initial number of points (501) until they reach 0 (without scoring under), by finishing either on a double or a bullseye.

Only a few players have ever managed to perform a nine-dart finish.

There are many different scoring combinations how one can manage a nine-dart finish. It is often done by two maximum scores of 180, followed by two triples (one 20 and one lower number) and a winning double.

Darts

Nine-dart finish


Harold E. Puthoff (born June 20, 1936) is an American parapsychologist and electrical engineer. In the 2010s, he co-founded the company To the Stars with Tom DeLonge.

Biography
Puthoff was born in Chicago, Illinois. He received his BA and MSc in electrical engineering from the University of Florida. In 1967, Puthoff earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University with a thesis on the topic of the stimulated Raman effect in lasers. He then worked on tunable lasers and electron beam devices, and co-authored (with R. Pantell) Fundamentals of Quantum Electronics (Wiley, 1969), published in English, French, Russian and Chinese. Puthoff published papers on polarizable vacuum (PV) and stochastic electrodynamics.

He took an interest in the Church of Scientology in the late 1960s and reached what was then the top OT VII level by 1971. Puthoff wrote up his "wins" for a Scientology publication, claiming to have achieved "remote viewing" abilities. In 1974, Puthoff also wrote a piece for Scientology's Celebrity magazine, stating that Scientology had given him "a feeling of absolute fearlessness". Puthoff severed all connection with Scientology in the late 1970s.

In the 1970s and '80s Puthoff directed a program at SRI International to investigate paranormal abilities, collaborating with Russell Targ in a study of the purported psychic abilities of Uri Geller, Ingo Swann, Pat Price, Joseph McMoneagle and others, as part of what they called the Stargate Project. Both Puthoff and Targ became convinced Geller and Swann had genuine psychic powers, however Geller had employed sleight of hand tricks, according to mentalist Ben Harris.

Business ventures
In 1985, Puthoff founded a for-profit company, EarthTech International in Austin, Texas. At about the same time, he founded an organization, Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin (IASA), which he directed. IASA, funded by anonymous donors, pursues ideas Puthoff finds interesting related to energy generation and propulsion.

Puthoff and EarthTech were granted a US Patent in 1998, with claims that information could be transmitted through a distance using a modulated potential with no electric or magnetic field components. These claims are generally considered to be false, and no such transmitter has been constructed. The case is used for educational purposes in patent law as an example of a valid patent for an inoperable invention. According to the Wisconsin Law School case study, "The lesson of the Puthoff patent is that in a world where both types of patents are more and more common, even a competent examiner may fail to distinguish innovation from pseudoscience."

Parapsychology and pseudoscience
Uri Geller was studied by Russell Targ and Puthoff at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). Targ and Puthoff declared to have demonstrated that Geller had genuine psychic powers, though it was reported that there were flaws with the controls in the experiments and Geller was caught using sleight of hand on many other occasions. According to Terence Hines:

Psychologists David Marks and Richard Kammann attempted to replicate Targ and Puthoff's remote viewing experiments. In a series of thirty-five studies, they were unable to replicate the results. While investigating the procedure of the original experiments, Marks and Kammann discovered that the notes given to the judges in Targ and Puthoff's experiments contained clues as to which order they were carried out. Examples included referring to yesterday's two targets, or the inclusion of the date of the session written at the top of the page. They concluded that these clues were the reason for the experiment's high hit rates. Terence Hines has written:

Marks noted that when the cues were eliminated the results fell to a chance level. James Randi noted that controlled tests by several other researchers, eliminating several sources of cuing and extraneous evidence present in the original tests, produced negative results. Students were also able to solve Puthoff and Targ's locations from the clues that had inadvertently been included in the transcripts.

Marks and Kamman concluded: "Until remote viewing can be confirmed in conditions which prevent sensory cueing the conclusions of Targ and Puthoff remain an unsubstantiated hypothesis." According to Martin Gardner, Puthoff (and Targ) "imagined they could do research in parapsychology but instead dealt with 'psychics' who were cleverer than they were".

Puthoff's personal institute has also researched purported applications of zero-point energy. Massimo Pigliucci and others have noted that extracting energy from zero-point energy is considered to be a pseudoscience. Pigliucci wrote "Harold Puthoff [is] a well-known parapsychologist and conducts research on so-called zero point energy, the idea that one can extract energy from empty space — a proposition, I should add, that violates basic principles of thermodynamics and that is considered pseudoscience by credentialed physicists."

Publications

Peer-reviewed papers

References

Further reading
Henry Gordon (1988). Extrasensory Deception: ESP, Psychics, Shirley MacLaine, Ghosts, UFOs. Macmillan of Canada.

External links

 Profile at Earthtech International

1936 births
Living people
21st-century American physicists
United States Navy officers
American parapsychologists
Pseudoscientific physicists
Stanford University alumni
Remote viewers
American former Scientologists
University of Florida alumni
Place of birth missing (living people)
American electrical engineers
20th-century American engineers
People from Chicago

Harold E. Puthoff


Albrecht Fleckenstein (3 March 1917 – 4 April 1992) was a German pharmacologist and physiologist best known for his discovery of calcium channel blockers.

Life and career
Albrecht Fleckenstein was born on 3 March 1917 in Aschaffenburg, Germany. He received his medical training in Würzburg and Vienna. In 1964, Fleckenstein reported on the inhibitory actions of prenylamine and verapamil on the physiological process of excitation–contraction coupling. This contributed to his discovery of calcium antagonists.

Awards
In 1986, Fleckenstein received the Ernst Jung Prize, awarded annually for excellence in biomedical sciences. In 1991, he also received the Albert Einstein World Award of Science.

References

German pharmacologists
German physiologists
1917 births
1992 deaths
Albert Einstein World Award of Science Laureates
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Albrecht Fleckenstein


Tectonic  is a British electronic music label, founded and run by Rob Ellis (Pinch) which focuses primarily on dubstep and its related genres. As one of the founding dubstep labels, alongside Tempa, DMZ, Hyperdub, and Hotflush, Tectonic became a focal point for the Bristol scene, as well as introducing artists and releases that were among the first to bridge a gap between dubstep and techno.

Alongside releases from artists such as Skream, Benga, Digital Mystikz & Joker, Tectonic has also been responsible for some of the scene's  albums - particularly, 2562's Unbalance and Pinch's Underwater Dancehall.

Catalogue

References

External links

British record labels
Electronic music record labels
Record labels established in 2005
Dubstep record labels

Tectonic (record label)


"Genghis Khan" is a song performed by Swedish indie pop band Miike Snow from their third studio album, iii (2016). Written and produced by the band alongside Henrik Jonback, the song was conceived when lead singer Andrew Wyatt felt like a tyrant while in a long-distance relationship, comparing his cruelty to that of Mongolian emperor Genghis Khan. Wyatt did not want to commit to the relationship, while simultaneously not wanting her being involved with anybody else. Wyatt believed the public could relate to this irrational jealousy, recognizing it as a truth of human nature. Musically, "Genghis Khan" is an electropop song with funk and R&B influences and lyrics which see the protagonist likening his jealousy to the behavior of the Mongolian emperor.

"Genghis Khan" was released as iii second single on 3 December 2015 through Jackalope and Atlantic. It attracted generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom regarded it a focal point on iii and commended its catchiness, although some critiqued its subject matter. Commercially, it is among the band's most successful singles and appeared on several Billboard charts, achieving its highest peak at number six on Alternative Airplay. The song received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Genghis Khan" became Miike Snow's first song to chart in their native Sweden, peaking at number eight on the Heatseeker chart. The single also peaked at number 86 in Canada, where it was certified gold, and at number 44 in Australia.

The accompanying music video for "Genghis Khan", directed by Ninian Doff, depicts a love story between a villain and a James Bond-esque spy. The visual was met with acclaim from commentators, who applauded its theme and choreography. It received two UK Music Video Awards and a Webby Award nomination. Miike Snow has performed live renditions of "Genghis Khan" on several occasions, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the radio program Morning Becomes Eclectic. In 2016, American duo MS MR performed a live cover of the song for Triple J's Like a Version.

Background and release

"Genghis Khan" was written by Miike Snow's three members, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg and Andrew Wyatt, in collaboration with Henrik Jonback, for the band's third studio album, iii (2016). While in the studio in Los Angeles, California, Karlsson had conceptualized the general melody and beats for a track when vocalist Wyatt began singing about Genghis Khan, a 13th-century Mongolian emperor. Karlsson said, "I was like get a microphone and sing it and he did and we kept it ... So 'Genghis Khan' came from his brain, it was something that went down really quickly and that's what came out." Karlsson told The Wall Street Journal that the song started coming together after about 30 minutes. After recording the verses and chorus, Wyatt added a "whoo-oo-oo" hook, inspired by a child he overheard singing along to Akon's vocals on Gwen Stefani's song "The Sweet Escape" (2006).

The chorus came about when Wyatt thought of himself and how he felt while in an undefined long-distance relationship with a woman he was not committing to, yet at the same time he did not want her seeing anyone else. In an interview for Notion, he explained he felt like a "tyrant" and thought the notion of feeling the need to "have every girl" is "a little bit Genghis Khan", perceiving it as a "natural metaphor" for him. He further elaborated on the topic of tyranny in a separate interview for Nylon, "I felt that the nature of tyranny comes from that place, where you're entitled to freedom and choice and the other person has to be subjected to your scheme of things." He clarified that he is not endorsing Genghis Khan, but rather "identifying a negative property within [him]self" when referencing the emperor.

"Genghis Khan" is one of two tracks on iii that were co-produced by the band and Jonback, along with "Back of the Car". While working on their previous studio album Happy to You (2012), the band focused on a uniform sound as Wyatt wanted to present a consistent character during concerts. This changed for iii as the singer put his focus on his studio efforts rather than his stage performance. He adapted his singing style based on the needs of each song throughout the album, using a "sneering tone" on "Genghis Khan". The track was mixed by the band and Niklas Flyckt. Flyckt utilized a Urei 1176LN limiting amplifier to emphasize the ghost notes, and a Thermionic Culture Vulture to enhance the sound without causing digital domain issues. In an interview for Electronic Musician, he noted the song has a loop with automation on the drums, and said the combination of the 1176LN and Culture Vulture played an important role in keeping the "older sound" of the drums.

"Genghis Khan" premiered on Miike Snow's official YouTube channel on 3 December 2015, with a promotional video containing nine panels of vertically rotating graphics. Jackalope and Atlantic distributed it to digital retailers on the same date as the second single for iii, preceding the release of the album. The single was subsequently sent to alternative radio in the United States on 12 January 2016. Another digital release subtitled Remixes was made available on 29 January 2016. The set contains five remixes by Louis the Child, Hook n Sling, Empress Of, CID and Yacht Club. In Italy, "Genghis Khan" was serviced to contemporary hit radio on 4 March 2016.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, "Genghis Khan" is an electropop song with funk and R&B flourishes. Instrumentation is provided by drums, a piano and a synthesizer. The piece includes layered vocal tracks and parts with "Doo-oo-doo-oo" chants, as well as an Arabian riff. Wyatt utilizes a falsetto vocal style throughout the song. Spin critic Rachel Brodsky likened the structure of the bridge to the song "One Minute Man" (2001) by American rapper Missy Elliott.

The lyrics of "Genghis Khan" speak of a jealous protagonist not wanting to commit to a woman, but still not wanting her to be involved with anyone else. In the chorus, Wyatt compares his romantic jealousy to Mongolian emperor Genghis Khan as he sings "I get a little bit Genghis Khan / I don't want you to get it on with nobody else but me". Wyatt said the song is "about a feeling, a spirit, a feeling of pain, of jealousy, of cruelty that we all have." news.com.au's Mikey Cahill described the song as "Scandinavian ingenuity teamed with neurotic US therapy-talk", and Chris Schulz of The New Zealand Herald viewed it as an "upbeat love song". musicOMH critic Ben Hogwood wrote that while the lyrics could be perceived as "too possessive", Wyatt's "sweetly-sung tones" make them appear "strangely affectionate". Wyatt considers the "irrational jealousy and the potential for violence" of the song as "broad truths of the human experience". He stated,

I just think people like to hear lyrics they can connect to ... I think that level of songwriting has become more common; that people really wanna hear the real shit about what's going on in your personal life ... It's kind of everywhere in pop. And a lot of what we experience in life is not positive all the time, so it's just a reality and it's one of the things that, across the board, everyone has felt.

Critical reception
"Genghis Khan" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. While reviewing its parent album, Derek Staples of Consequence of Sound named it an essential track and wrote, "Little more than a foot-stomper about adolescent trust issues, 'Genghis Khan' flips the legacy of the violent ruler to comedic effects." Clash Luke Winstanley described it as "outrageously catchy", and Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic deemed it a highlight on iii. Noisey writer John Hill named it a "certified banger". Sean Maunier of Metro Weekly regarded it as "catchy and infectious", writing "It's about as much fun as you can have with a song about trust issues, and luckily, it never becomes too self-serious." Emily Zemler of Relix wrote that the single "has a groovy jaunt in its step and a catchy precision to its chorus". Writing for PopMatters, Ryan Dieringer applauded the hook and compared its "heart" to works by Swedish band Amason, of which Winnberg is a member, writing that "Genghis Khan" exhibits "just as much heart, and twice the hook". Similarly, Lee Butler of Vue Weekly praised the "powerful hooks and extensive production" of "Genghis Khan", and the writer named it their favorite track on iii. Butler opined that Wyatt's falsetto range "allows you to forget you're singing metaphorically about the jealousy of a relationship and the Emperor of the Mongol Empire".

Madeline Walker, writing for Odyssey, commended the "cunning and unique" lyrics, writing, "Rarely before has there been a hit that compares love, longing, and selfishness to one of the world's most feared yet respected dictators." On the other hand, Eric Renner Brown of Entertainment Weekly felt the band's "expertise doesn't always extend to their lyrics", defining the comparison of jealousy and a Mongolian warlord as "ill-fated". Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe felt the production of iii overcompensates for Wyatt's vocals and "poorly conceived lyrics". Capobiano concluded, "The sketchy self-loathing and creepy possessiveness of 'Genghis Khan' is transformed into ingratiating dance music for women filing restraining orders." DIY critic David Beech opined its pop composition showed confidence, but considered it to be "less organic, more contrived" than the band's earlier work. Brodsky of Spin argued that "better ideas on paper manage to fall flat", asserting that "The otherwise promising 'Genghis Khan' sounds like a Gorillaz mock-child's hand-game chant before straight-up jacking Missy Elliott's 'One Minute Man' on the bridge."

Chart performance
Commercially, "Genghis Khan" is among Miike Snow's most successful singles. It made its debut on the Swedish Heatseeker chart on 3 March 2016, at number nine. This made it the first of the band's singles to chart in their native Sweden. The next week, it rose to number eight, which became its peak position. In Australia, "Genghis Khan" charted for three weeks on the singles chart and peaked at number 44. In Canada, the single charted for a week at number 86 on the Canadian Hot 100 in the issue dated 26 March 2016. It also reached number 12 on Billboard Canada Rock. The single later received a gold certification by Music Canada on 5 October 2016, denoting sales of over 40,000 digital units.

In the United States, "Genghis Khan" debuted at number 39 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, ranked by airplay detections, in the issue dated 26 December 2015. It fell off the following week, and re-entered in the issue dated 9 January 2016, at number 33. The single reached its peak position at number six on 14 May 2016. It spent a total of 22 weeks on the chart. "Genghis Khan" also appeared on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, measured by airplay, sales and streaming activity. It debuted at number 45 in the 20 January 2016 issue of Billboard. The song peaked at number 12 on 26 March 2016, and spent 21 weeks on the chart in total. It also appeared at number 12 on the Rock Airplay chart, in addition to placements at number 22 and 26 on Alternative Digital Songs and Rock Digital Songs, respectively. By the end of 2016, Billboard ranked "Genghis Khan" at number 25 on the year-end chart of Alternative Airplay, and number 35 on the year-end chart of Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. The song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 20 November 2020.

Music video
Ninian Doff directed the accompanying music video for "Genghis Khan". The concept of the video follows a James Bond-esque theme in which a villain struggles to kill his captive due to personal conflicts. In an interview for Vice The Creators Project, Doff explained he chose to use a villain as the protagonist due to the song itself, "I thought it was really funny and clever that [Miike Snow] managed to reference a man who was responsible for the death of about 40 million people in a happy sing along love song." He began thinking of "evil people falling in love" and conceived a story about an archetypal movie villain struggling with human emotions. Winnberg told Swedish magazine QX that they chose between twenty different concepts before settling on the gay romance between the villain and the spy. Patrick Meller provided the video's cinematography and Supple Nam created the choreography. It was produced by Pulse Films, with Ross Hallard as editor, Rik Green as producer and Tim Gibson as production designer. The video stars Adam Jones as the villain and Edward Hayes Neary as the spy. The two actors returned in new roles in the visual for iii next single "My Trigger", also directed by Doff.

As the "Genghis Khan" video commences, the villain is holding the Bond-like spy captive in his lair. Just as he is about to push a button to kill his captive, his shift ends, leaving the spy's fate to the next work day. At home, the villain is shown to be unhappy in his marriage to his wife (Caroline O'Hara). Instead of completing his task, the villain ultimately chooses to release his captive, who then makes an attempt to escape. However, in a last minute change of heart, he voluntarily returns to his captor. The two characters then unite through a joint dance sequence, while the villain is seemingly happy for the first time in the video. The video explores themes of homosexuality, as seen by the protagonist of the story leaving his wife to start a new life with his male former captive. The story ends with the protagonist's ex-wife vengefully spying on him and his male partner, seemingly plotting her revenge.

The video premiered on 12 January 2016 via BuzzFeed. It was met with positive remarks from commentators. Zach Blumenfeld of Paste and Maunier of Metro Weekly applauded the choreography. The Daily Dot Gavia Baker-Whitelaw viewed it as "an excellent parody ... mimicking set design and color schemes from vintage Bond movies", and noted fan art dedicated to the video had appeared on social networking site Tumblr. In 2016, the video was nominated for four UK Music Video Awards, winning for Best Pop Video (International) and Best Cinematography. The clip was also nominated in the music video category at the 2017 Webby Awards.

Live performances and cover version

Miike Snow performed "Genghis Khan" with added horn instrumentation alongside previous single "Heart Is Full" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March 2016. On 7 March 2016, the band performed the song at Paste Studio in New York City for music magazine Paste. The performance was then uploaded to the magazine's website on 4 April. Wyatt and Winnberg performed an alternative version of the single together with "Animal" and "I Feel the Weight" at the studio of musician Jim Eno in Austin, Texas, on 16 March 2016. Winnberg created a new beat for "Genghis Khan" on the spot using a Teenage Engineering OP-1 keyboard. The audio recording was subsequently released as part of the Spotify Sessions EP on streaming service Spotify. On 18 April 2016, Miike Snow included "Genghis Khan" in a live set at Apogee Studios for radio station KCRW. The set aired on the station's radio program Morning Becomes Eclectic on 3 May. The band also performed the single on the iii World Tour in North America and Europe throughout 2016.

On 29 April 2016, American duo MS MR covered "Genghis Khan" for Australian radio station Triple J's segment Like a Version. This rendition begins with a rhythm-less intro, followed by a keyboard and synth-based beat for the remainder of the song. The cover is included on the compilation album Like a Version 12 (2016).

Track listings
Digital download
"Genghis Khan" – 3:32

Digital EP – Remixes
"Genghis Khan" (Louis the Child remix) – 3:16
"Genghis Khan" (Hook n Sling remix) – 4:32
"Genghis Khan" (Empress Of remix) – 3:08
"Genghis Khan" (CID remix) – 4:15
"Genghis Khan" (Yacht Club remix) – 4:17

Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the iii liner notes.

Christian Karlsson – songwriting
Pontus Winnberg – songwriting
Andrew Wyatt – songwriting, piano
Henrik Jonback – songwriting, production, piano
Miike Snow – production, engineering, mixing
Nisse Törnqvist – drums
Pierre Riddez – assistant engineering
Niklas Flyckt – mixing
Kevin Grainger – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

2015 singles
2015 songs
Miike Snow songs
Songs written by Christian Karlsson (DJ)
Songs written by Pontus Winnberg
Songs written by Andrew Wyatt
Song recordings produced by Bloodshy & Avant
Song recordings produced by Henrik Jonback
Songs about Genghis Khan
Music videos directed by Ninian Doff

Genghis Khan (Miike Snow song)


Cooking is a process to make food ready to eat by heating it.

Raw food is food that is not cooked. Some foods are good to eat raw.  Other foods are not good for the body when they are raw, so they must be cooked. Some foods are good to eat either raw or cooked.

Methods
Cooking is often done in a kitchen using a stove or an oven. It can also be done over a fire (for example, over a campfire or on a barbecue).

The heat for cooking can be made in different ways. It can be from an open fire that burns wood or charcoal. It can be on a stove or in an oven that uses propane, natural gas, or electricity.

There are several different ways to cook food. Boiling cooks food in hot water. Frying (deep or shallow) cooks food in hot butter, fat or oil.  Baking and roasting cook food by surrounding it with hot air. Grilling means cooking food on a metal grill that has heat under it.

People often cook meat by boiling, roasting, frying, or grilling it. Some foods such as bread or pastries are usually baked.

Usually food is cooked in some kind of pot or pan.  Sometimes people cook food by putting it directly into the fire, or by wrapping the food in leaves before they put it into the fire.

Cooks

A person whose job it is to cook food may be called a cook or a chef.  The word cooker means a machine or tool that a cook might use to cook food. Rice cookers and pressure cookers are examples.

Basic English 850 words

Cooking


George Thomas Barnes (August 14, 1833 – October 24, 1901) was a Georgia state legislator, military officer, and  United States Representative.

Biography
Barnes was born in the Summerville suburb of Augusta, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens in 1855 with a Bachelor of Arts (A.B. degree. He was admitted to the state bar in 1855 and became a practicing lawyer in Augusta.

During the American Civil War, Barnes served as a second lieutenant and major brevet in the Confederate States Army as a member of the Washington Light Artillery Company. He was also a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1860 through 1865. From 1876 through 1884, Barnes served on the Democratic National Committee.

In 1884, Barnes was elected as a Democrat to the 49th United States Congress as the Representative for Georgia's 10th congressional district. He was re-elected to that position for two additional terms before losing his bid for reelection in 1890.  After his congressional service, Barnes returned to the practice of law. Barnes was a UGA trustee for the last two years of his life before dying in Augusta on October 24, 1901. He was buried in City Cemetery in that same city.

References

 Retrieved on October 13, 2008
History of the University of Georgia, Thomas Walter Reed,  Imprint:  Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia, c. 1949, pp. 560–561

1833 births
1901 deaths
Politicians from Augusta, Georgia
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives
19th-century American politicians
University of Georgia alumni
People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War
Confederate States Army officers

George Barnes (Georgia politician)


The Assay Office is a historic building at 210 Main Street in Boise, Idaho.  It is significant for its role in the history of mining in Idaho, and was the first major federal government building in the Idaho Territory. During the first half of the 1860s, Idaho's gold production was the third highest in the nation.  Due to the difficulty of transporting bulky, heavy ores the long distance to the nearest U.S. Mint in San Francisco, there was great demand for an assaying office in Idaho.  Gold and other precious metals are not mined in a pure form.  In order to place a value on an ore, the precious metal must be separated from the impurities.  This is what an assay office does.

The building
In 1869, Congress appropriated $75,000 to build an assay office in Boise, Idaho.  The city block site bounded by Main, First, Idaho and Second was donated by Alexander Rossi, a prominent citizen of Boise.  Ground was broken in 1870, and the building was completed in 1871. The builder was John R. McBride, Chief Justice of Idaho. The building featured a cupola for ventilation and the interior doors were equipped with iron cages.  The first floor of the building held the assayers offices, vaults and safes, assaying and melting rooms (furnaces), laboratory and reagents storage.  The second floor was devoted to living quarters for the chief assayer.  There was a parlor, pantry, dining room, kitchen and three bedrooms.  The basement housed fuel and supply rooms, guards' quarters and wells.

Operations
All equipment was finally in place by the time of the first assay on March 2, 1872.  Builder John R. McBride was appointed Superintendent of the Assay Office.  Alexander Rossi, who donated the land, was temporary Chief Assayer. By this time, mining was in a slump due to the playing out of surface mines.  This slump lasted about a decade until further gold strikes were made in the northern part of the state.  In 1887, the advent of the railroad in Idaho and an influx of capital made deep mining possible.  A few years after opening, the Assay Office had begun purchasing gold on behalf of the U.S. government. By 1895, deposits were over one million dollars.  For the next eleven years they averaged over one and a half million dollars per year. Renovations on the building in 1889 and 1890 included a new fence, new floors, a hot and cold water system and electric lights.

Subsequent uses
The Assay Office closed in 1933 and the building was turned over to the United States Forest Service for use as offices.  Renovations at that time included removing the iron bars from the windows, adding windows to the back wall, removal of the vaults and assaying furnaces and rearrangement of partitions.  The Assay Office was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961, recognizing its significant role in the state's development.
In 1972 the building was turned over to the Idaho State Historical Society. It currently houses the State Historical Preservation Office and the Archaeological Survey of Idaho.

See also
List of National Historic Landmarks in Idaho
National Register of Historic Places listings in Ada County, Idaho

References

National Historic Landmarks in Idaho
Government buildings completed in 1871
Alfred B. Mullett buildings
Buildings and structures in Boise, Idaho
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho
Idaho State Historical Society
National Register of Historic Places in Boise, Idaho
Product-testing organizations

Assay Office (Boise, Idaho)


The Norwegian eProcurement Secretariat () was a Norwegian government agency responsible for managing electronic commerce throughout the Government of Norway and other public bodies. The agency's two primary goals were to increase the use of e-commerce in the public sector and to ensure that electronic services and support functions to improve public procurement efficiency were developed. The agency was created in 2005, and was merged with Norge.no and Statskonsult to create the Agency for Public Management and eGovernment on January 1, 2008.

References

Defunct government agencies of Norway
Government agencies established in 2005
Organisations based in Oslo
Organizations disestablished in 2007

Norwegian eProcurement Secretariat


The referendary (Latin: referendarius; French: référendaire) was the officer of the palace in the Merovingian period who made the report of the royal letters in the chancelleries, so as to decide whether they should be signed and sealed.

They were frequently also the Lord Chancellors serving the Merovingian dynasty.

Referendaries
Known referendaries include:
 Saint Rémigius, Bishop of Reims (497–533)
 Siggo, in the courts of Sigebert I, then Chilperic I and finally Childebert II (561)
 Ansbert, Bishop of Rouen, in the court of Clothar II (dates as référendaire unknown)
 Audoin, Bishop of Rouen (641–689), Grand Référendaire of Dagobert I and Clovis II from 638 to 657
 Robert I, Bishop of Tours, in the courts of Dagobert I and Clovis II (through 663)
 Bonitus, Bishop of Auvergne, in the court of Sigebert III, King of Austrasia
 Robert II, also Chancellor to Clothaire III (through 677).

Undoubtedly, many of the other lord chancellors were also référendaire, but none are recorded as such.

See also

 Royal Administration of Merovingian and Carolingian Dynasties.

References
Bluche, François. L'Ancien Régime: Institutions et société. Collection: Livre de poche, Fallois, Paris, 1993
Fouracre, Paul and Gerberding, Richard A., Late Merovingian France, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1996
Ordericus Vitalis. Forester, Thomas, ed. The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Henry G. Bohn, London, 1854

People of the Merovingian Kingdom
Merovingian referendaries
Frankish nobility

List of Merovingian referendaries


Kaštanka is a forest. It has one of the highest lying sets of chestnuts in central Europe. It is in a small town called Nasavrky. Nasavrky is in eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic. It is about 25 km south of county seat Pardubice.

History

Jan Adam von Auersperg came back from Italy with six seedlings of chestnut at the end of 18th century.  He ordered that the seedlings were planted on the north side of Nasavrky hill. This happened between 1776 to 1778. The plants were the start of Kaštanka. In passing time, the set was expanded a lot. Kaštanka had over 110 trees in the turn of 19th and 20th century.
Kaštanka was made a nature monument on 1 December 1990. At that time, Kaštanka had over 138 trees. One of the first planted trees survives to this day. It was named "Knížák" in honor of prince Auersperg.
The chestnut became the sign of Nasavrky. It became the main motive in the emblem of the city Nasavrky, and the flag of Nasavrlky in 1996.

Main information

Kaštanka is natural monument which was declared as special protection area on 1st December 1990. The set of chestnuts is on a slight rise north ward. This area is in a built-up area about 100 meters from the city square. Kaštanka is at an altitude of 472 – 486. The area of set is 1,088 hectares large and all trees are chestnut trees expect a few that are on the edge.

Inspired by Kaštanka

Kaštanka was main theme of many artists like painters, sculptors and writers. Some writers wrote novels about Kaštanka. Two of the authors that did this were Marie Doležalová and Alois Stanislav Novák. Kaštanka gave Věra Vovsová, Jiří Poláček and Karel Pavlík the inspiration to make art. Vovsová said this about Kaštanka:

References

Forests of Europe
Geography of the Czech Republic

Kaštanka


The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October.

The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society, a provincially-registered non-profit and federally-registered charitable organization, which also runs the year-round programming of the Vancity Theatre and Studio Theatre at the VIFF Centre.

Both in terms of admissions and number of films screened (133,000 and 324 respectively in 2016), VIFF is among the five largest film festivals in North America. The festival screens films annually from approximately 73 countries on 10 screens.

The festival has three main programming platforms: East Asian film, Canadian film, and nonfiction films. Besides films from around the world, VIFF also includes talks, workshops, performances, and other special events related to cinema.

History
The festival was first launched in 1958; however, facing financial and organizational difficulties in the late 1960s, it was discontinued after the 1969 festival. The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society was incorporated in the early 1980s and relaunched the festival in its current form in 1982.

In 2019, Member of Parliament Hedy Fry, chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, announced that the Government of Canada would provide over $1.4 million in funding for that year's festival, as well as for cultural infrastructure upgrades to its main theatre.

Venues

The relaunched festival was staged entirely at the city's independent Ridge Theatre, although the festival has since expanded into a multi-venue event headquartered at the VIFF Centre in downtown Vancouver.

The VIFF Centre hosts VIFF's year-round programming, workshops, special events and collaborates with local organizations for special events.

Awards

Festival awards (juried and audience-voted):

 Most Popular International Film
 National Film Board Award for Best Documentary
 Special Jury Prize
 Kyoto Planet "Climate for Change" Award
 Dragons and Tigers Award for Young Cinema
Citytv Western Canadian Feature Film Award

Women In Film and Television Vancouver Artistic Merit Award
 Rogers People's Choice Award
 International Film Guide Inspiration Award
 documentary Audience Award
 VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award
 VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award
 Super Channel People's Choice Award
 Ignite Award
 VIFF IMPACT Award

BC Spotlight Awards
 Sea to Sky Award — a $20,000 cash prize awarded to one female key creative on a BC-produced feature or short.
 Best BC Film Award — $10,000 from Creative BC and $15,000 in post-production services credit supplied by Company 3.
 BC Emerging Filmmaker Award — a $5,000 award from UBCP/ACTRA, with an additional $10,000 equipment credit supplied by William F. White International Inc.

Canadian Awards
 Best Canadian Film — $15,000 award presented by the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC).
 Emerging Canadian Director — $3,000 award presented by the DGC.
 Best Canadian Documentary — $15,000 prize presented by the Rogers Group of Funds.
 Best BC Short Film — $5,000 award presented by TELUS Storyhive.
 Best Canadian Short Film — $15,000 in colour grading and/or VFX services credit supplied by Side Street Post and $2,000 award presented by VIFF.
 Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film

International Awards
 VIFF Impact Award — CA$5,000 presented by the Lochmaddy Foundation to an international documentary playing in the 'Impact' competition.
Rob Stewart Eco Warrior Award — $5,000 prize presented by RBC and Cineplex to a documentary playing in the Impact competition that recognizes an outstanding contribution by an activist-storyteller.

VIFF Immersed Awards

VIFF Immersed Awards focus on narrative-driven virtual-reality experiences.

 Best in Cinematic Live-Action
 Best in Documentary
 Best in Animation
 Honorable Mention in Animation — determined by unanimous decision from the jury.
 Audience Award — determined by votes cast on the VeeR VR platform.

Audience Awards
 Super Channel People's Choice Award
 VIFF Most Popular International Feature
 VIFF Most Popular International Documentary
 VIFF Most Popular Canadian Documentary
 #mustseebc

Sustainable Production Excellence Awards
 Sustainable Production Impact
 Sustainable Production Champion

References

External links

VIFF on IMDb

Film festivals established in 1982
1982 establishments in British Columbia

Vancouver International Film Festival