The following is a list of characters from the DreamWorks animated film media franchise Kung Fu Panda. The franchise includes a film trilogy (Kung Fu Panda, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Kung Fu Panda 3), a series of shorts and television specials, three television shows (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny and Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight), a series of digital comics, and multiple video games.

Protagonists

Master Ping Xiao Po (also known as Po)

Master Ping Xiao Po (voiced by Jack Black, Mick Wingert, and Eric Loomis) is the main protagonist of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. A kung fu fan and giant panda working at his adoptive father's noodle restaurant, Po is chosen by Grand Master Oogway as the legendary Dragon Warrior, a decision that angers Shifu and the Furious Five. When Tai Lung escapes from prison, Shifu uses food to motivate Po into mastering kung fu. He defeats Tai Lung in combat and is declared a master.

In Kung Fu Panda 2, Po learns that he was adopted by Ping as a baby (voiced by Liam Knight) after Lord Shen committed genocide against the giant pandas. The end of the film reveals that Po's biological father Li Shan is still alive, and he reunites with his son in Kung Fu Panda 3. When the undead warrior Kai steals the chi of the other kung fu masters, Po and Li create an army from the remaining giant pandas. After defeating Kai, Po has a spiritual reunion with Oogway, who informs Po that his journey as the Dragon Warrior has come full circle. He returns to the mortal world with his extended family.

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, which occurs between the first and second film, shows Po's greater development as a kung fu warrior and master after defeating Tai Lung, while the follow-up series, Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, takes place after the events of the third film and shows Po in a mentor role to four young pandas. Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, also takes place after the events of the third film and shows Po in a journey to protect four legendary and powerful weapons from two English weasel magicians who intend to use them to take over the world. Po also appears in all short films and specials, as well as the video games.

Master Shifu
Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman in the films and TV specials and Fred Tatasciore in the TV series and video games) is a red panda, the headmaster of the Jade Palace, and the trainer of the Furious Five. He joined the palace when his father, the con artist Shirong, abandoned him there. Later in life, Shifu adopted Tai Lung, and he did not acknowledge his own role in the snow leopard's turn to evil until after Po was deemed the Dragon Warrior. Although Shifu initially doubts Po's potential in kung fu, he later trains Po to help him defeat Tai Lung and become a kung fu master.

After Tai Lung's defeat, Shifu becomes a more relaxed master to Po and the Five. By the time of the third film, he has retired from active teaching in order to focus on learning how to use chi, and he passes on the instructor mantle to Po. When Kai attacks the Jade Palace, Shifu is turned into a jade soldier and a member of Kai's army, but he is returned to normal when Po destroys Kai in the Spirit Realm.

Grand Master Oogway
Grand Master Oogway (voiced by Randall Duk Kim in the films, television specials, and Legends of Awesomeness, Greg Baldwin in the video games, and Piotr Michael in The Paws of Destiny), was an elderly Galápagos Tortoise, the senior headmaster of the Jade Palace before Shifu, and the creator of kung fu. Highly venerated for his wisdom, knowledge, and experience, Oogway was considered by many to be a sage. He was known as the greatest kung fu master in history, with no other reputation surpassing his. In the first film he is the one to choose Po as the Dragon Warrior,  much to everyone's surprise, and his warmth and acceptance of Po serve as a foil to the strict and abrasive Shifu. He ascends to the Spirit Realm in the first film, but appears in flashback cameos in the second.

In the third film, while meditating in the Spirit Realm, Oogway is attacked by his former friend, Kai, who steals his chi and escapes the realm. After Po defeats Kai, he meets Oogway in the Spirit Realm, where Oogway explains to Po that on the first day they met, he saw both the future of kung fu in Po, as well as the past.  He sensed that Po would be the one to unite them both and become his true successor. He then presents Po with his staff,  to which he was hesitant to accept, before Po returns to the mortal realm.

Furious Five
The Furious Five are the supporting protagonists of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. The most skilled warriors in China, they are homages to the Five Animals Southern styles of Chinese martial arts: crane, viper, monkey, mantis, and tiger. While the Five initially dismissed Po as the Dragon Warrior, they grow to respect his courage and tenacity. In the Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness episode "Owl Be Back," it is revealed that a previous incarnation of the Five existed, made up of Shifu, Fenghuang, Master Rooster, Master Snow Leopard, and Master Elephant.

Master Tigress
Master Tigress (voiced by Angelina Jolie in the films and Kari Wahlgren in Legends of Awesomeness) is a South China tiger and the leader of the Furious Five. She was initially the most resentful of Po when he was chosen to be the Dragon Warrior instead of her, and the most vocal in her contempt. When Tigress overheard Po telling Shifu that he would never be able to defeat Tai Lung, Tigress took it upon herself to intercept the leopard, and managed to counter most of his attacks. When Po defeats Tai Lung, Tigress is very impressed, and the first to acknowledge him as a master of kung fu. As the film series progresses, Tigress grows closest to Po among his friends in the Jade Palace.

Tigress' backstory is largely revealed in a series of television specials. In Secrets of the Furious Five, it is revealed that she was an orphan living in the Bao Gu Orphanage, feared by the other children for her temper, and she taught herself control by learning to play dominoes. She was adopted by Shifu, and in Secrets of the Scroll, it is revealed that Shifu disapproved of her aggression and strength, wanting her to emphasize his control and precision. Oogway, on the contrary, encouraged Tigress to grow into her own.

Master Viper
Master Viper (voiced by Lucy Liu in the films and TV series) is a green tree viper with two small lotus flowers on top of her head. Although she was born with ineffective venomous fangs, she compensates with her strength and precision. Viper is the most outwardly compassionate and maternal member of the Five, and is the only one not to mock Po when he first joins the Jade Palace.

In Secrets of the Furious Five, she is revealed to be the daughter of Great Master Viper, who relied on his venomous fangs to protect the village where they lived. The Great Master hoped that his daughter would carry on his legacy, and was distraught at her lack of fangs. Viper instead took up ribbon dancing at a young age, and showed a proficiency for it. When a gorilla bandit came to the Autumn Moon Festival and shattered the Great Master's fangs using venom-proof armor, Viper used her dancing to tie the bandit up in her ribbon. Only then was her father satisfied with his daughter becoming a warrior on her own terms.

Master Monkey
Master Monkey (voiced by Jackie Chan in the films, and James Sie in Legends of Awesomeness) is a golden snub-nosed monkey with a thick Chinese accent, and the most humorous of the Five. He was the first to recognize Po's determination, and the first to refer to Po by his name. Unlike the other members of the Five, Monkey prefers to use a weapon in combat, and the staff that he uses is associated with the legendary Monkey King Sun Wukong. He is also the second-in-command of the Furious Five.

Monkey has an older brother, Wu Kong, who is the self-proclaimed "King of Thieves," and their mother died from the shock and grief of seeing her sons fight. Nevertheless, Monkey was an adolescent trickster, who humiliated the members of his village with pranks. Oogway put an end to Monkey's trickery, using his shell to hide from his attacks, and the tortoise encouraged Monkey to use his skills for good, putting him on the path to kung fu mastery.

Master Mantis
Master Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogen in the films) is a Chinese mantis and the smallest of the Five. He is, however, the strongest proportional to his size, and can move at superhuman speeds. When Po's girth was cited as a reason why he could not be a kung fu master, Mantis was the first to declare that size did little to define a warrior, and that it could be used to one's advantage.

Master Crane
Master Crane (voiced by David Cross in the films) is a black-necked crane and the most patient of the Five. He serves as a scout and lookout in combat situations, as well as a means of transport for the other members of the Five. Should any of the Five fall from a great height, Crane will appear to break their fall.

Before joining the Five, Crane was the janitor at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy, where he was looked down upon due to his slender build. However, Mei Ling, the top student, saw the skills that Crane used when cleaning the academy, and convinced him to try out for the school. While his nerve got the better of him at first, Crane soon gained the confidence to pass the obstacle course and gain admission into the academy.

List of Kung Fu Masters
A series of kung fu masters appear in the franchise, many of which only appear in passing within the TV show or comics.

Masters' Council of Gongmen City
The Masters' Council are a group of renowned Kung Fu Masters who are the protectors of the metropolis of Gongmen City. They governed the city after the parents of Lord Shen had passed on.

 Master Thundering Rhino (voiced by Victor Garber in Kung Fu Panda 2, Paul Scheer in Secrets of the Masters) is a Javan rhinoceros and the leader of the Masters' Council that protects Gongmen City. His father is rumored to be the Legendary Master Flying Rhino, and Rhino became legendary in his own right by slaying the Ten Thousand Serpents in the Valley of Woe. He frequently collaborated with Master Ox and Master Croc to subdue threats to China, and used the Cloud Hammer in battle. Rhino was among those first targeted by Lord Shen. When Shen defeats Ox and Croc, Rhino breaks his weapons and warns him that he is no match for kung fu. Shen agrees, but then reveals his cannon. It is implied that the first cannon blast kills Master Rhino off-screen.
 Master Storming Ox (voiced by Dennis Haysbert) is a water buffalo, another Master of Gongmen City and a member of the Masters' Council. He is an expert strategist who was trained by Master Thundering Rhino after sneaking into the Royal Palace. When Shen storms the Palace, Ox is imprisoned in Gongmen City Jail. He initially refuses to join the Five, believing that if he does, Shen will destroy everything, but he changes his mind at Shifu's persuasion. After Shen and Thundering Rhino's death, Master Storming Ox becomes the new leader of the Master's Council, and the new king of Gongmen City.
 Master Croc (voiced by Jean-Claude Van Damme in Kung Fu Panda 2, Tony Leondis in Secrets of the Masters) is a saltwater crocodile, another Master of Gongmen City, and a member of the Masters' Council. He was once the head of the Wool Stealing Crocodile Bandits of Crocodile Island until Master Thundering Rhino convinced him to mend his ways. When Lord Shen attacks the Royal Palace, Master Croc is defeated and imprisoned in Gongmen City Jail.

Other Kung Fu Masters
 Master Flying Rhino (voiced by David Cowgill) is the father and trainer of Thundering Rhino. He also trained Vachir, and recommended him to Oogway as the head of Tai Lung's incarceration at Chorh-Gom Prison. His armor is currently on display in the Hall of Warriors.
 Great Master Viper (voiced by James Sie) is the father of Master Viper and the last known leader of the Viper Clan. He was proud of his use of venomous fangs in combat, and was displeased when his daughter was born without them. He later changed his mind when a gorilla bandit broke his fangs, and his daughter subdued him with her ribbon dancing.
 Master Chao (voiced by James Sie) is a orange Asian water monitor and a member of the Sacred Oryx Council. Displeased with Po and Shifu's disobedience, Chao replaces Shifu with Master Junjie as leader of the Jade Palace. When Junjie reveals his villainy and is subdued by Po, Chao commends the panda for doing the right thing despite the risk.
 Master Yao (voiced by Paul Rugg) is a markhor  known for his intellect. He spent a lifetime meditating alone, bearing no contact with the outside world. When Yao comes out of hiding, he is ecstatic at everything surrounding him. Despite his lack of physical strength, Yao uses his mental abilities to knock the Qidan Clan unconscious.
 Mrs. Gow (voiced by Amy Hill) is an elderly goat and former kung fu master, known as Gow of the Hundred Stars. When Mr. Ping suggests that Mrs. Gow and Mr. Yeung help defend the Jade Palace, Po dismisses them on account of their age, but Gow proves her worth.
 Master Shengqi (voiced by Tim Dadabo) is a water buffalo who was falsely imprisoned for protecting his daughter Xiao Niao from Duke Pingjun when she accidentally ruined the latter's giant moon cake. He breaks out of prison and has a bounty placed on him. Po doesn't believe his story until he sees Shengqi wearing half of Xiao Niao's necklace. When Constable Hu is told the truth, he reverses Shengqi's sentence.
 Master Kweng (voiced by Jim Meskimen) is a goat and the CEO of Kung Fu Express, a group of messenger-warriors. He nearly creates a war between the Gorilla Clans when he takes a peace treaty with the Dragon Warrior's autograph.
 Master Mugan (voiced by April Winchell) is a goldfish and the master of Garnet Palace. She dislikes Po for his lack of discipline, and is possessive over her students. Mugan chooses Tigress for the new master of the Garnet Palace, and is trapped there until Po and Wu Yong trap her in her tank.
 Master Elephant (voiced by Nolan North) is an Indian elephant and an original member of the original Furious Five, along with Shifu, Fenghuang, Master Snow Leopard, and Master Rooster. When Po teams up with the original five to retrieve the Sword of Xi'an, Master Elephant is possessed by the owner of the blade and is freed by both the current and past incarnations of the Five.

Villains

Film Villains

Tai Lung
Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane in the films, Andre Sogliuzzo in the television series) is the main antagonist of Kung Fu Panda. He is a muscular snow leopard with supernatural strength. Shifu's adopted son, Tai Lung was the only student to be taught the Nerve Attack, and he believed that his destiny was to become the Dragon Warrior. When Oogway sensed the darkness in Tai Lung's heart and refused him the title, he felt betrayed and laid siege to the city and overwhelmed Shifu in combat  to try to claim the scroll, only to be finally defeated at the hands of Master Oogway. After his defeat, Tai Lung was sent to Chorh-Gom Prison for twenty years as a result of his crimes.

When Zeng arrives at the prison to order an increase in security, Tai Lung uses one of the goose's fallen feathers to pick the locks on his restraints and escape. He defeats the Furious Five in battle and storms the Jade Palace in search of the Dragon Scroll. In his hunt for the scroll, he overpowers Shifu and nearly kills him, but Po lures him away with the dragon scroll, sparking a brutal confrontation between the two. After Po is momentarily stunned, he finally sees the Scroll, but does not understand the symbolism of its blank, reflective surface (there is no secret to ultimate power, it all depends in yourself). Tai Lung is killed when Po utilizes the Wuxi Finger Hold on him. In Kung Fu Panda 3, it's explained that the Finger Hold sends its opponent to the Spirit Realm, indicating that Tai Lung now resides there. After his defeat, he continues to be seen in flashback sequences. He is also one of the kung fu masters in the Spirit Realm defeated by Kai and whose chi was collected by this latter.

Tai Lung's name is Cantonese for "Great Dragon" (大龍 daai6 lung4), which was inspired from that of the protagonist from T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger (a game developed by DreamWorks Interactive before the release of the first film), whose name is a play on another Cantonese vocabulary containing a similar meaning.

Lord Shen
Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman) is a leucistic Indian peafowl and the main antagonist of Kung Fu Panda 2. He was originally a prince of Gongmen City who became interested in gunpowder, wondering if it could be used for warfare. His parents, worried by his obsession, visited the Soothsayer, who told them that if he continued too far down this path, he would be stopped by "a warrior of black and white." Shen, eavesdropping on this conversation, deduces that the warrior in question would be a panda, and led his wolf guards into a massacre against the giant panda population to avert the prophecy. He was subsequently disowned by his parents and exiled from the family palace. Feeling resentful over his exile, Shen is obsessed with taking over China with his gunpowder based weapons.

Thirty years later, Shen returns to Gongmen City with an arsenal of cannons. He summons the Masters' Council to a duel, where he defeats Storming Ox and Croc, and kills Thundering Rhino with a cannonball shot. He initially thinks Po a simpleton and not the warrior of prophecy, but comes to fear him and attempts to kill him with a cannon blast. Po returns, having been nursed back to health by the Soothsayer and having achieved inner peace, and redirects the cannonballs fired at him, destroying Shen's fleet. In spite of Po's attempts to convince him to let go of the past and find peace, Shen rejects this and furiously attacks Po with his cold weapons. When the resulting melee cuts the ropes keeping the cannon wreckage from falling, Shen after a moment of shock refuses to move out of the way and accepts his death, and is crushed to death by the weapon while Po narrowly escapes the resulting explosion.

Wolf Boss
The Wolf Boss (voiced by Danny McBride) is an unnamed wolf who is the leader of Lord Shen's wolf army.

Kai
Kai (voiced by J. K. Simmons) is a bull and the main antagonist of Kung Fu Panda 3. He was originally a friend and brother-in-arms to Grand Master Oogway, and was taught how to use chi by the pandas of the Secret Panda Village. Kai became power-hungry with the knowledge, and learned how to take chi from others rather than give it, forcing Oogway to banish him to the Spirit Realm. Kai spent the next five hundred years collecting the chi of every kung fu master who ended up in the Spirit Realm before challenging Oogway to a duel, successfully overpowering him and absorbing his chi, allowing him to come back to the world of the living.

Kai and his jade warriors begin assaulting the Mortal World upon their arrival and begins stealing the chi of the living kung fu masters, including all members of the Furious Five but Tigress, who escapes to warn Po of his coming. When Kai and his "Jombies" reach the Secret Panda Village, Po attempts to use the Wuxi Finger Hold on him, but it does not work on a spirit. Po instead uses the move on himself to bring both of them back to the Spirit Realm. While he temporarily gains the upper hand against Po and almost absorbs him, he is soon overpowered when Po is empowered with the Chi of the inhabitants of the panda Village along with Tigress and Mr. Ping. Ultimately, Po overloads Kai with chi, triggering a spiritual explosion that obliterates Kai and freeing all the masters whose chi he had stolen.

Wu Sisters
Su Wu, Wing Wu, and Wan Wu (voiced by Sumalee Montano in Secrets of the Masters) are a trio of snow leopard sisters appearing in Secrets of the Masters. Once the sisters escaped prison, where they were kept for a series of crimes, they set out to unite the various crime families of China, which prompted Oogway to form an alliance with Thundering Rhino, Storming Ox, and Croc in order to defeat them. The Wu sisters also appear as an enemy team in Kung Fu Panda: The Game, and as minions of Tai Lung in Legendary Warriors.

Boar
Boar (voiced by Jayden Lund) is the main antagonist of Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll. A renowned warrior, Shifu intended to stop him, but was bedridden due to accidental food poisoning, and Tigress went in his place. When mimicking Shifu's style of combat, Tigress initially faltered, but when the rest of the Five came to her aid, Tigress abandoned Shifu's kung fu style in favor of her own, and managed to defeat him. Boar's attack and subsequent defeat inspired the creation of the Furious Five, and the story of their triumph sparked Po's love of kung fu.

Comic villains
 Kuo is a antelope who appears in the comic "Art of Balance." He initially appears to be a fan of Mr. Ping's noodles, but soon reveals himself to be a restaurant owner who went out of business because of Ping's popularity. Kuo blames Mr. Ping for making him a failure, but Po tells Kuo that he simply lost his balance.
 Qinchu is a Tibetan fox who appears in the comic "Special Delivery." The self-elected official of Mount Penglai, Qinchu hijacked a series of mail carts in search for the key to the city, which was passed from one location to another so that its exact whereabouts were always a mystery. Qinchu planned to use the key to lock the gates and isolate the city, but Po vanquishes him and leaves him to his angry citizens.
 The Five Elements Imposters appear in the comic "It's Elemental." They take advantage of a prophecy that one day, the Five Elements would take physical forms and become the ultimate protectors of the world. Po discovered the charade, and uncovered that the group used sesame oil, hidden containers, and concealed weapons to mimic the Five Elements.

Television villains
 Scorpion (voiced by Lynn Milgrim) is a scorpion. She was once the best healer in the Valley of Peace, until she injected herself with a hypnosis potion and kept the villagers under her spell for many years. Oogway breaks the spell and exiles her, but Scorpion steals the last sun orchid, a cure for river fever. When Po and Monkey hunt for the cure to Tigress' river fever, they find Scorpion, who hypnotizes Monkey before ultimately being defeated.
 Fung (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a mugger crocodile and the leader of a group of Crocodile Bandits. He is a recurring antagonist in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, although he occasionally mends his ways for the sake of his family.
 Gahri (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) is a mugger crocodile and the second-in-command of Fung's bandit gang. Despite being clumsy and apologetic, he does show great skill in battle, particularly with an axe. His name is usually mispronounced as "Gary" by Fung. He leaves the bandits in the episode "The Break Up" and gets a job at Ping's Noodle Shop.
 Lidong (voiced by Jim Cummings) is a saltwater crocodile and Fung's younger cousin. He was originally a runt, and became proud of his size and strength after a growth burst. As such, he is enraged by anyone of a larger size than he is. In "Huge," Mantis uses a magic potion to reduce Lidong to a fraction of his size.
 Temutai (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is a water buffalo and the Warrior-King of the Qidan Clan. He has claimed to have beaten every kung fu master in the land, and appears as a recurring antagonist in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.
 Jing Mei (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is a water buffalo, member of the Qidan Clan, and Temutai's nephew. In "The Kung Fu Kid," Temutai enters Jing Mei into the children's kung fu competition, where he is defeated by Peng.
 Taotie (voiced by Wallace Shawn) is a warthog and recurring antagonist in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. He is a mechanic who built the training hall for the Furious Five, and he used to train with Master Shifu. Taotie had a falling-out with Shifu and Oogway about the use of machines to surpass kung fu, and he vowed to get revenge. Taotie frequently uses automated machines such as iron claws or moving figurines to attack the Five.
 Bian-Zao (voiced by Simon Helberg) is the teenage son of Taotie, a reluctant helper in his father's plans. He assists Taotie with the construction of his revenge plots, but often feels guilt about it.
 Jong Sung Jai Kai Chow (voiced by Wayne Knight) is a takin and the ruler of a portion of land that looks poorly upon trespassers. Fung tricks Po into helping him break into Jong's castle to abduct the ruler's son, who Fung claims is his brother. When Jong's guards go to the Jade Palace and tell Shifu that they saw Po aid in the abduction, Po is nearly killed under the trespasser's penalty.
 Tong Fo (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a slow loris and a crime lord once known for holding the Sacred Hammer of Lei Lang. He was imprisoned for the destruction he caused with the hammer, but hid the weapon in Camelback Mountain before his incarceration.
 Fenghuang (voiced by Wendie Malick) is a Eurasian eagle-owl and a member of the previous Furious Five, alongside Shifu, Master Snow Leopard, Master Rooster, and Master Elephant. The strongest member of the original Five, Fenghuang became power-hungry, and challenged Oogway to a fight for the palace. She eventually flees for the Northern Mountains, but returns upon hearing of Oogway's death. Po pretends to have turned against Master Shifu to earn Fenghuang's trust before placing her in the cage Oogway once created for her.
 Master Junjie (voiced by Stephen Root) is a red fox and a member of the Sacred Oryx Council. He holds a grudge against Master Shifu, who was chosen to run the Jade Palace, and he believes Po unworthy of the Dragon Warrior mantle.
 Hundun (voiced by Diedrich Bader) is a Javan rhinoceros who speaks in Tautology and a former member of the Anvil of Heaven at Chorh-Gom Prison. When the prison was closed down after Tai Lung's escape, Hundun was left without a job, and blamed his failures on the Dragon Warrior.
 Bao (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) is a pig who, along with his accomplices Lao and Tsao, attack Mr. Ping's noodle shop. After being defeated, they decide they want to learn kung fu and kidnap Mr. Ping, who they mistook for Master Shifu.
 Su (voiced by Amy Hill) is a snow leopard and the leader of the Ladies of the Shade, a group of thieves who distract their targets through parasol dancing. Su assigns Song to get close to Po and enable the Ladies to enter the Jade Palace. Once inside, they steal the Dragon Chalice and escape to their campsite. Song turns against Su and helps to defeat her, taking over the Ladies.
 Wu Kong (voiced by James Sie) is a golden snub-nosed monkey, the older brother of Master Monkey, and the self-proclaimed Prince of Thieves. He has a strained relationship with his brother. Wu Kong appears in the episode "Monkey in the Middle," where he comes to the Valley of Peace to go on a crime spree across the village market.
 Meng Tao (voiced by Jim Meskimen) is a antelope and the diplomat to the Emperor of China. When Po makes a rash vow to train the emperor's grandson in kung fu, the antelope informs him that breaking the vow would result in beheading every member of the Jade Palace. It was revealed that he wanted Lu Kang to fail, knowing that disgrace to the emperor's family would allow him to take the throne. Lu Kang, however, is successfully trained and manages to defeat Meng Tao in combat.
 General Tsin (voiced by R. Lee Ermey) is a yak who is a hunter and a retired war hero. Unhappy with his retirement, Tsin begins "collecting" villains around the Valley of Peace, subjecting them to stiffening Zu Chao Powder. Po evades the powder and frees the villains, who willingly team up with Po to get revenge. He later returned where he was hunting a Qilin.
 The Undertaker (voiced by Christopher McDonald) is a goat and the property caretaker of the local cemetery. In "The Po Who Cried Ghost," it is revealed that he has been using a mystical staff to raise an army of Jiangshi. Po snatches the staff and orders the Jiangshi to return to the earth and be at peace.
 Ke-Pa (voiced by Alfred Molina) is a dragon-like demon and the leader of all the demons from the Underworld, who was subdued by Oogway and the power of the Peach Tree. He takes the mortal guise of a Taihu pig and begins to gain his power back as the Peach Tree dies. Po is nearly killed when his Hero's Chi is stolen, but his powers are regained by a sapling that Shifu planted at the end of the first film and he uses his power to defeat Ke-Pa.
 Master Ding (voiced by Enn Reitel) is a pig and a former kung fu master who used his spirit orbs to commit psychic attacks on innocent victims. When Po and Tigress accidentally release Ding's spirit orbs, they have to battle Ding's ghost.
 Heilang (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the leader of the Lin Kuei, a group of wolf assassins and thieves. Trained from birth to steal expensive and powerful artifacts from Kung Fu masters, Heilang and the Lin Kuei attempt to steal the Phantom Orb and the Shadow Crown, two artifacts which make the wearer intangible or invisible. Both times, they are defeated by members of the Furious Five.
 Pai Mei (voiced by Clancy Brown) is an emperor tamarin and a rogue kung fu master. He was exiled by Master Shifu after attempting to overpower the emperor, but reappears in "Five is Enough." The Five defeat him, and Pai Mei is last seen falling off of a cliff.
 Mei Ling (voiced by Susanne Blakeslee) is a female red fox, not to be confused with the snow leopard of the same name. A rogue kung fu master, Mei Ling was also Shifu's love interest until she refused to stop using her skills for thievery. Despite this, Shifu still harbors feelings for Mei Ling, and they reconnect after her redemption in "Crazy Little Ling Called Love."
 Kira Kozu (voiced by Tohoru Masamune) is a clam and former samurai who betrayed Yijiro and the Ishida Clan, becoming a Rōnin with plans to take over Japan. Po defeats Kira using the samurai methods taught to him by Yijiro.
 Fu-xi (voiced by Dwight Schultz) is a king cobra named after the Chinese deity. Once a famous hero, Fu-Xi felt betrayed by the "two-leggers," and attempted to recruit Master Viper to fight alongside him.
 Sanzu (voiced by John Kassir) is a Chinese pangolin and the greedy caretaker of a group of orphans, who he organized into stealing for him. Po freed the orphans from Sanzu's control and placed them in the care of Mrs. Yoon.
 Ju-Long (voiced by Paul Reubens) is a rat and the leader of the Lao Shu, a band of renegade rats, described by Master Shifu as "deadly and unbalanced." His diminutive size allows him to evade larger opponents. In "The Hunger Game," Ju-Long collaborated with Madame Zhao to steal food from the Valley of Peace, only to be betrayed by her and imprisoned with Po.
 Madame Zhao (voiced by Gaille Heidemann) is a gazelle who tricked Po into visiting her if he ever needed food. She uses this to imprison him in an underground room, but was vanquished by Po and Ju-Long.

List of supporting characters

Mr. Ping
Mr. Ping (voiced by James Hong) is a Chinese goose and the owner of the most popular noodle shop in the Valley of Peace. He adopted Po when he found a baby panda in one of the shop's radish crate deliveries. Ping worries about Po, especially in his continued development as a kung fu master, but is the one to tell him that things are special if someone believes them to be.

Po and Mr. Ping's relationship becomes strained when Po learns that his biological father, Li Shan, is still alive, but he comes to realize that having Li Shan in Po's life does not mean less for him, but more for Po.

James Hong is the only voice actor to reprise his role as Mr. Ping in the films, television series, and video games.

Li Shan
Li Shan (voiced by Fred Tatasciore in Kung Fu Panda 2, Bryan Cranston in Kung Fu Panda 3, and Christopher Swindle in The Paws of Destiny) is a giant panda, and the biological father of Po. He was separated from his son when Lord Shen's wolf army attacked their village, and was presumed dead with the other pandas. At the end of Kung Fu Panda 2, he is revealed to be alive and hiding in a secret refuge. In the third film, Li and Po reunite, and Li convinces his son to stay with the other pandas. He lies about knowing chi in order to prevent Po from leaving, but when Kai turns most of the masters into jade warriors, Li is part of the panda army that resists.

Shirong
Shirong (voiced by Malcolm McDowell) is a red panda and the father of Master Shifu. A con artist by trade, Shirong used his son as a shill before abandoning him at the Jade Palace. In the Legends of Awesomeness episode "Father Crime," Shirong stages a kidnapping in order to reconnect with his son, but Shifu is captured by Tong Fo in the process. Shirong, along with Po and Tigress, helps to free his son, and the two end on good terms.

Zeng
Zeng (voiced by Dan Fogler) is a swan goose and a messenger of Master Shifu. Ironically, while he is given the mission to double the amount of guards at Chorh-Gom Prison and prevent Tai Lung's escape, Tai Lung uses one of Zeng's fallen feathers to pick the lock on his restraints and escape. Zeng is spared in the resulting prison break, but is forced to return to the valley and herald Tai Lung's escape. His role in the film is a reflection of Oogway's proverb that "one often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it."

Vachir
Commander Vachir (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan) is a Javan rhinoceros, the chief of security at Chorh-Gom Prison, and the leader of the Anvil of Heaven, an army of elite battle rhinos. Prior to Tai Lung's incarceration, the Anvil opposed tyranny and injustice throughout China. Vachir was tasked with the construction of the prison, and personally oversaw Tai Lung's imprisonment for twenty years. When Tai Lung made his escape, Vachir was caught in an explosion with many of his troops and his prosthetic ruby horn-shaped cap is seen amongst the ruins, though it is unknown if he was killed.

Mei Ling
Mei Ling (voiced by Stephanie Lemelin) is an Asian golden cat and the star student at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy, where Crane worked as a janitor. After seeing his graceful movements, she urged him to enroll as a student. When Crane's first attempt at the induction challenge was mocked, Mei Ling felt as if she was responsible for exposing Crane to public humiliation, but he recovered with a strong obstacle course performance and was admitted to the academy.

Wo Hop
Wo Hop (voiced by Jack McBrayer) is a rabbit and a renowned chef who auditioned for the honor to cook for the Kung Fu Masters Winter Festival banquet. Po, unfamiliar with the intricate customs of the selection process, inadvertently disgraced Wo Hop while waving to Monkey, and the chef became desperate to redeem himself through his own death. Po contained the rabbit and helped him complete a meal for the banquet. After the meal was complete, Po presented Hop with the Golden Ladle, the intended honor for the official cook of the feast, which restored Wo Hop's honor.

Soothsayer
The Soothsayer (voiced by Michelle Yeoh) is an elderly cashmere goat and Shen's former nanny, who foretold the peacock's doom. She also aids Po, treating him with acupuncture and a herbal mixture after his presumed death. The Soothsayer knows what Shen did to Po's village, and helps Po stop fighting his memories in order to achieve inner peace.

Peng
Peng (voiced by Danny Cooksey) is a snow leopard and the nephew of Tai Lung. He leaves his life as an assistant potter to become a self-taught prodigy in the martial arts, which brings him to the Jade Palace. Peng shows a great aptitude for the martial arts, but needs help reining in his temper. Po reveals to Peng the kind of character Tai Lung was in order to stop the leopard from avenging his uncle. He later creates a Kung Fu Fight Club, teaching citizens how to defend themselves.

Song
Song (voiced by Lauren Tom) is a young snow leopard and a member of the Ladies of the Shade, a group of bandits who distract their marks with parasol dancing. Su, the leader of the Ladies, tasks Song with charming Po into allowing the gang to enter the Jade Palace. As she talks to him, Song begins to like Po, and is about to tell him the truth of her origin when Su arrives and asks if the ladies can spend the night in the Palace. When the Ladies abscond with the dragon chalice, Po follows them to their campsite, and rejects Song's apology. Nevertheless, when Su and the other Ladies find Po, Song protects him, and she becomes the leader of the group after Su's defeat.

Constable Hu
Constable Hu (voiced by Neil Ross) is an Indian elephant and recurring character in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. He is largely stoic and focused on his job. In "The Midnight Stranger," he outlaws the practice of kung fu, a decision later revealed to be forced upon him by the pig criminals.

Grandma Panda
Grandma Panda (voiced by Barbara Dirikson) is an elderly female panda. She loves to be happy, take a walk and spend time with her grandson. At the end of Kung Fu Panda 3, she hugs her grandson with the others after Po destroyed Kai.

Characters exclusive to the video games

Appearing in Kung Fu Panda: The Video Game
Kung Fu Panda: The Video Game is a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 release loosely based on the film of the same name. In it, Tai Lung recruits a series of gangs and bandits to aid him after escaping from Chor-Gom Prison.

 Blackhoof Boar Clan Leader (voiced by Bill Farmer) - A wild boar who is the leader of the Blackhoof Boar Clan.
 Queen Crocodile (voiced by Susan Blakeslee) - A mugger crocodile and the leader of the Imperial Golden Croc Gang, she is accidentally awakened when Po and Master Crane rescue the last remaining tortoise egg, and sends her husband, the Crocodile Sergeant after them.
 Crocodile Sergeant - A mugger crocodile who is the husband of the Queen Crocodile and leader of the Imperial Gold Croc Gang.
 Great Gorilla (voiced by Phil Morris) - A mountain gorilla and the leader of a gang of gorillas. Following Great Gorilla's defeat, remnants of his gang worked with the Lang Shadow Army.
 Lang Shadow Army - An army of Tibetan wolves that served Tai Lung prior to his defeat and incarceration. When Tai Lung escaped from Chor-Gom Prison, the Lang Shadow Army came out of hiding and assisted their master once again. They were later joined by the remnants of Great Gorilla's gang and two ox mercenaries.

Appearing in Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors
Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors is the sequel to the 2008 video game, and similarly includes a series of boss battles against the leaders of gangs recruited by Tai Lung in his quest for revenge.

 Rat Boss (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - A rat and the leader of the Black Moon Scavenger Clan.
 Great General Ox - An ox and the leader of the Hoof Clan.
 Baboon Boss (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) - The leader of a gang of baboons.
 Gorilla Boss (voiced by Daran Norris) - The leader of a gang of gorillas.

Appearing in Kung Fu Panda 2: The Video Game
 Zhou Dan is the leader of a gang of komodo dragons. Following the defeat of Lord Shen, he takes advantage of the chaos caused by the remnants of Shen's wolf and gorilla armies and attempts to take over Gongmen City.

References

Fictional prison escapees

Lists of animated film characters
Animated characters by series
Lists of fictional animals in animation
Lists of fictional animals by work
Fictional Shaolin kung fu practitioners
Universal Pictures cartoons and characters

List of Kung Fu Panda characters


Double steaming, sometimes called double boiling, is a Chinese cooking technique to prepare delicate food such as bird's nest soup and shark fin soup.  The food is covered with water and put in a covered ceramic jar and the jar is then steamed for several hours.  This technique ensures there is no loss of liquid or moisture (its essences) from the food being cooked, hence it is often used with expensive ingredients like Chinese herbal medicines.

In Cantonese, double steaming is called dun (). The meaning of the Chinese character for dun in Cantonese is different from that in Mandarin, because dun means to simmer or stew in Mandarin. This technique is also common in Fujian, a neighbouring province of Guangdong (Canton).

Famous examples

Tong sui, or dessert soups, which contain medicinal herbs can be cooked using double steaming.

Cantonese cuisine is famous for its slow-cooked soup. One famous dish of this kind is called the winter melon urn (冬瓜盅). It is prepared by emptying the inside of a winter melon to make an urn. The outside of the winter melon is often carved with artistic patterns. The inside is then filled with soup ingredients, such as Chinese cured ham, and Chinese herbs. The whole urn, complete with its original melon lid, is double-steamed for at least four hours. The flavour of the soup is soaked into the flesh of the melon. The whole melon and its contents are brought to the dinner table. The soup is served by scooping out the liquid and the inside wall of the melon. In this case, the edible melon takes the place of the double steaming jar. This application is possible because winter melon has a waxy, and thus waterproof, rind. Winter melon is believed to be nourishing and it is seldom cooked with ingredients that are believed to be too yin or too yang.

A dessert dish called double-steamed frog ovaries in a coconut (椰青燉雪蛤膏) is traditionally prepared for women. Chinese medicinal ingredients (including hasma), spices, and rock sugar, are placed inside a young coconut to soak in the original coconut juice. The filled coconut is then double-steamed for several hours. The whole coconut is served whole at the table after dinner. The contents and the inside wall of the coconut are scooped out to be consumed.

See also

 Steaming
 Simmering
 Double boiler
 Bain-marie
 List of steamed foods

References

Chinese cooking techniques

Double steaming


Kevan Christopher Barbour (born 23 October 1949) is an international cricket umpire from Zimbabwe. Previously he served in the roles of president, chairman and provincial manager of the Manicaland Cricket Association.

Early life
Barbour was born in Bulawayo and educated at Milton High School.  He played for Matabeleland from 1968 until 1970, when he moved to work in Mutare, and then played for Manicaland until 1975.  He also played for the Rhodesia B cricket team.  After a further move to Kwekwe, he played for Midlands until 1977.  He settled back in Mutare and played for Manicaland again until 1979.

Retired
He retired as a cricketer in 1996, and took up umpiring.  He made his international umpiring debut in 1998 during an ODI game between Zimbabwe and Pakistan before making his Test umpiring debut the following year in the 1st Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka at Bulawayo in November 1999.  He umpired three further Tests in 2001, all in Zimbabwe: the 1st Test against Bangladesh at Bulawayo in April 2001, the 2nd Test against West Indies at Harare in July 2001, and then 2nd Test against South Africa at Bulawayo in September 2001.  He was an umpire at the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

As of August 2010, he has umpired four Tests and 51 ODIs, mostly recently standing in an ODI in October 2009.  Save for two World Cup ODIs in South Africa, and three other ODIs in Sharjah in 2003, all have been played in Zimbabwe, and all but a handful involving the Zimbabwe national cricket team.  Barbour has also been the third umpire in six Tests in Zimbabwe, most recently in 2005, and 29 ODIs.

See also
 List of Test cricket umpires
 List of One Day International cricket umpires

References

External links
Cricinfo
CricketArchive

1949 births
Living people
Zimbabwean Test cricket umpires
Zimbabwean One Day International cricket umpires
White Zimbabwean sportspeople
White Rhodesian people
Cricketers from Bulawayo
Rhodesian cricket from 1890–91 to 1979–80
Rhodesia cricketers
Zimbabwean cricketers

Kevan Barbour


Indocentrism is any ethnocentric perspective that regards India to be central or unique relative to other countries and holds that the "host" culture i.e. of India, is superior to others.

Viewpoint
According to Indologist Michael Witzel, there is a recent tendency of indigenously minded historical revisionism and rewriting of India's history and archaeology in scholarly publications, media, the Internet and government publications. This Indocentric rewriting includes claims that the first human civilization in the world formed in India in c. 10,000 BC, that there is an uninterrupted continuity of the Indian civilization from 7500 BC to present, and that Indo-European speaking Europe was populated by the immigrant people from the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

According to Science Historian Meera Nanda Indocentrism is a concept in Indian historiography of science, akin to Eurocentrism, that asserts India as the originator of significant scientific contributions. It often assumes that if an idea appears in India and elsewhere concurrently, it must have originated in India. This approach has hindered recognition of potential influences from other regions, such as the South-East Asian transmission of Chinese numerals, challenging the conventional narrative of India as the exclusive source of mathematical innovations.

Numerous indocentric assertions regarding the Fibonacci sequence and the "golden ratio" in mathematics oversimplify the subject's historical context. Nowadays, there is a proliferation of articles and social media posts connecting the Fibonacci series and the golden ratio to Indian culture. Such indocentric claims tend to exaggerate their assertions, often neglecting to acknowledge the original innovators who deserve due credit in the field of mathematics.

According to Bengali Anthropologist, Sayeed Ferdous Partition Studies have made progress in exploring the multifaceted impact of the 1947 Indian subcontinent Partition on people's lives and collective consciousness. However, the field exhibits a tendency towards indocentrism, where Indian experiences dominate the narrative, overshadowing other perspectives. The nationalization of nostalgia post-Partition reshaped identities within nationalist contexts, making India a regional superpower. An "indocentric" approach dominated Partition studies, often overlooking perspectives outside of India. To gain a more comprehensive understanding, it's crucial to consider the broader regional impact and relationships between India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Responses of other countries

Sri Lanka
Much of Sri Lanka's early history has been described as having an Indocentric bias. This Indocentric bias in understanding Sri Lankan history led to a trend of Sri Lankan historians breaking away from the Indocentric bias in Sri Lankan history and instead focusing on Sri Lanka's historical and cultural links with Southeast Asia, which the country had close ties to. One of the most famous historians to break the Indocentric view of Sri Lankan history was Senarath Paranavithana who focused on Sri Lanka's connection with the Malay Peninsula and the rest of the Malay Archipelago. He established the "Malaya theory", claiming Sri Lanka's history with Kalinga was with the Kalingga Kingdom of Central Java, Indonesia and not with the Kalinga kingdom of eastern India.

See also
Indian nationalism

References

Geocultural perspectives
Ethnocentrism
Society of India
Indosphere

Indocentrism


Montenay is a commune of 1,399 people (1999). It is found in the region Pays de la Loire in the Mayenne department in the northwest of France. The name of the place occurred as Montaniaco in the ninth century,  and as Monteneio en 1225. It probably comes from the Latin Montanus. The area was probably settled in Neolithic times (5000-3000 BC). There is a dolmen and a groove nearby.  The groove is called St. Guillaume's stone, and is located about 3km from the village.

Communes in Mayenne

Montenay


Pensnett High School was a secondary school located in the Pensnett area of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the West Midlands of England. There were around 150 pupils aged 14–16 on the school roll before closure.

History
Originally known as the Pensnett Secondary Modern School, it was opened in 1932 for pupils aged 11 years and above in the expanding Pensnett area of the Brierley Hill district. Several modern extensions and improvements were added to the original school building over the years.

Eric Hancock was the Headmaster of Pensnett Secondary Modern School from 1956 until his retirement in 1972. Hancock had purchased the old organ from nearby St Mark's Church in Brierley Hill, for use by the school orchestra. He also made school uniform and homework compulsory, and was one of the first head teachers at secondary modern schools in the area to give pupils the chance to study O Levels. Eric Hancock died in December 1986 at the age of 79.

The retirement of Mr Hancock in 1972 coincided with the redesignation of the school as a 12-16 school in September of that year. September 1975 saw the school follow suit of all other secondary modern and grammar schools in Dudley (which Brierley Hill district became part of in 1966) by converting to comprehensive status. It retained comprehensive status until closure; however, the age range was reverted to 11-16 in September 1990.

In July 2001, in response to a written question by Peter Ainsworth MP to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell included Pensnett School of Technology in a list of those schools which have benefited from the work of school sports coordinators.

In September 2007, the school underwent a name change from Pensnett School of Technology to Pensnett High School.

Plans were unveiled in December 2007 to merge the school by September 2010 with The Crestwood School, in nearby Kingswinford, and to create a new Academy. However, these plans were scrapped in March 2009 by Dudley Council due to financial technicalities.

Three arson attacks at the school in spring 2010 caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Academic standards
The school received a somewhat poor Ofsted report in June 2006, that graded the school on point 4, (Unsatisfactory'), on a 4-point scale".

Following a re-inspection in July 2007 Ofsted graded the school on point 3, (Satisfactory), and said "Pensnett is a satisfactory and improving school. It has made good progress since its last inspection and its reputation is getting better."

The 2010 GCSE A*-C (including Maths and English) results represented a 63% improvement on the previous year.

Facilities
New technology classrooms were added in the early 1990s, with the new department being officially opened in 1993.

The School successfully experimented with playing music during lessons and found that music can aid learning and improve behaviour.

In April 2007 Wolverhampton Wanderers player Craig Davies opened a £1.3 million community sports hall that was for use by residents, sports groups and clubs during non-school hours.

Notable former staff
Sir Geoff Hampton, now a professor at the University of Wolverhampton.

Closure
Dudley Council soon afterwards announced plans to close the school at the end of the 2009/10 academic year. Despite widespread opposition by pupils, staff, parents and members of the local community, the decision to close the school was made on 29 December 2009 with effect from July 2010. However, it remained open for two years as a learning centre for the oldest two year groups in the school, before completely closing in July 2012, bringing an end to 80 years of education at the site.

Just after the decision to close the school was confirmed, it was revealed that Pensnett High had once again been the lowest ranking school in the borough for pupils studying for GCSEs being completed in summer 2009. However, the total of pupils gaining 5 GCSEs at grade C or above had improved to 19% from 11% the previous year. A new high of 32% was attained in 2010.

After laying empty for four years, in October 2014 Dudley Council announced that the former school site will be redeveloped into a centre for young people with learning disabilities. Some buildings on the site will be demolished but the recently built sports hall will be refurbished and have new facilities.

References

External links
 Official website
 Brierley Hill in Old Photographs: Brockmoor, Bromley and Pensnett (Ned Williams)

Defunct schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
Brierley Hill
Educational institutions established in 1932
Educational institutions disestablished in 2012
1932 establishments in England
2012 disestablishments in England

Pensnett High School


The Pachuca's Monumental Clock is a clock tower 40 m high, located in Plaza Independencia of the Historic centre of the city of Pachuca, in Hidalgo State, Mexico. Which was built between 1904 and 1910 to commemorate the Centennial of the Independence of Mexico. Its machinery is identical to that of Big Ben in London. The Monumental Clock is the best known symbol and representative of the city.

History

Background

On January 20, 1901, musical group known as the Banda de Rurales provides its first performance in a wooden bandstand in the Plaza de las Diligencias (now Plaza Independencia), directed by Candelario Rivas. The band gained popularity in the context of popular glory, a group of British mining companies proposing the governor Francisco Valenzuela, build a majestic tower of concerts, entrepreneurs were led by Alfonso María Brito. The project was approved until 1904, when she began her construction, but had to be suspended a year later for lack of funds.

In 1906, Governor Pedro L. Rodriguez returned the work, its design was by architect Tomás Cordero, and was built by engineers Francisco Hernández and Luis Carreón.

Construction

Francis Rule, a mining magnate originally from Cornwall, provided financing for the clock.
Construction began in 1906 with contributions from mining companies established in the region, the total cost amounted to approximately 300 thousand pesos oro, used in its construction quarry of Tezoantla town located in the municipality of Mineral del Monte.

The process used in the construction was tongue and groove based treatment technique that is quarried pierce each block with a cylindrical bore at the top and sculpt a kind of spike in the lower and the latter fits into the drilled without limestone use any material on the boards, 35 quarriers worked on the first stage and 29 in the second, among the latter Jacinto and Pedro Hernández Baldovino were charged with sculpting acroteria crowning the clock face. For the placement of carillon and copper dome, was requested to intervene and also alacateros of the mining company of San Rafael.

Jesús Zenil collaborator of the minister plenipotentiary of Mexico in Austria-Hungary, purchased the machinery for the clock in England and sent it to Pachuca. He went to the factory founded by Edward John Dent and there discussed the acquisition clock and carillon that has a sound like that of its twin installed on the Big Ben, the machinery came to Pachuca years before the end of the construction of the tower and the installation was done by Tomás Zepeda. The clock was kept first in the Capilla de la Asunción, and later in the Casa de Francisco Rule until being installed in the tower.

The tower has open balconies, this was the place where the band would play, but it was a failed attempt as the height, the show could not be appreciated by people. The Banda de Rurales played at the kiosk attached to the tower again and finally ended the monument representing the Centennial of Mexican Independence. To complete the monument ordered a sheet of copper dome built in the Monterrey Iron Foundry Steel and opened in 1900. The piece was brought by rail and stood before the inauguration.

Opening

On September 15, 1910, shortly before 08:00 am, Alberto Dross, a German watchmaker verify the sound of bells and the accuracy of the hands of the four dials. At 12:00 pm, Gumersindo Meléndez put the finishing touches to the lighting of the plaza; About seven o'clock in the evening the plaza was completely obscured, at 21:00 the Rurales body arrival behind them came the great brass band.

At 21:15, Governor Ladislao Pedro Rodríguez, accompanied by his wife, Virginia Hernández, and various authorities, he made his entry into the plaza where he presided over the ceremony, that began with an overture played by the Banda de Rurales then the lawyer Joaquín González gave the official speech, an oratory on the meaning of Independence and the effort to build the great tower, which was followed by an interpretation of the band, immediately followed by the students in the public schools of Pachuca Hidalgo played the anthem again the Banda de Rurales executed a musical prelude to a poem by Miss Luz Conde, the band ended its involvement with the overture of the opera Tosca and closed the program with the poet Miguel Bracho his recitation of a poem.

It took his first strokes at 23:00 pm that day. The governor on the ground floor, to hear the first ringing pulled the curtain that hid the marble plaque testified to that opening, then rose to the first plant, of the discovered balconies, where he gave the cry of independence and the Mexican National Anthem.

Mr. Dross had arranged the machinery of the clock, so that for fifteen minutes, the ringing is constant, which is added the controlled explosion of dynamite charges that triggered mining companies in the hills surrounding the town, after the fires were which fireworks continued. During the early years, care of equipment and operation of the clock, was in charge of Mr. Alberto Dross.

Centennial
On September 15, 2010, the clock turned 100 years of being built. Commemoration which was on par with the celebrations of the Bicentennial of Mexican independence. A ceremony where it talk about the historical and evolutionary portrait of the Monumental Clock in voice of Luis Corrales Vivar, director of the Casa de la Cultura de Pachuca, are counted with the participation of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Pachuca, it had the Centennial flag located on Elementary School Julián Villagrán and is the same national flag with which, were honored in laying the foundation stone of the Monumental Clock.

The September 24 of 2010 was a light show and a concert by Ranchera music singer Pepe Aguilar, compared with 10 000 spectators, also unveiled a plaque commemorating the centennial. It also carried out art competition "100 Years, 100 watches" urban art exhibition by citizens of Pachuca the corridor is located at the street Río de las Avenidas.

In 2011 it was declared a protected area by order of Pachuca City Council, published in the Official Gazette of the State of Hidalgo.

Architecture

Tower

The tower is built of white stone quarry in neoclassical style. Each of its four faces pointing to the cardinals. The tower is composed of four sections or levels:

 The first level, the lower is the smallest and has four doors, one on each side of rectangular vains, which provide access to the building.
 The second level is a frontispiece of Ionic order, which is accessed by a spiral staircase, is a space that overlooks the plaza through two separate balcony is on each side, which open arches would listen auditions of the Banda Rurales.
 The third level contains columns with Corinthian capital, in which houses the clock machinery, has light with four windows, one on each side, in which are four female statues.
 The fourth level, where the dial, each framed by an eagle with spread wings on the bottom and a semicircular cornice topped by an acroterion with the image of time, the whole is surmounted by a dome of copper and wrought iron, manufactured in Monterrey, in which three rectangular and one circular openings on each side allow the output of the sound of the bells housed there.

Female statue

At the third level of the tower are in each of the faces, female statues 3m high, carved in Italy with Carrara marble. These represent Mexican historical moments until 1910, being these,1810 the beginning of the Independence of Mexico 1821 the consummation of the Independence of Mexico, 1857 enactment of the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States 1859 the Law Reform.

Therefore, the statues representing the Liberty, Independence, Constitution and Reform: All of these dates are related to public rights and constitutional history, point which is reinforced by the image of each sculpture:
 The Independence (1810) is a young naked woman of upper torso with sword and torch in each hand.
 The Freedom (1821) also has the torso without coat, the right hand in up holding the bay laurel of victory, element that also takes by crown on the left wears a broken chain, left leg forward subtly and pleated tunic.
 The Constitution (1857) with grave, deep eyes, wearing a belt at the waist and holding in his hand the Magna Carta, his index finger of his right hand seems to point to the value of holding the left.
 The Reform (1859) in his right hand has a parchment unrolled and in left an open book covered with a robe, and wearing a skirt, it looks like progress because the folds the move of their clothes and his hair is wavy.

Clock

The clock machinery is identical to that of the Big Ben in London, since it was built by the same factory in Austria before this factory was burned. The sound produced by giving the time clock is similar to the English. On the cover the Roman numeral IV is written IIII. In the fourth level the Monumental Clock, is a copper dome which houses eight different bells sounding in the key of "C Major" play every 15 minutes to the hour, to hour and quarter, to the hour and half, and hour and forty-five. At 6:00 pm the bells sing the National Anthem.

Lighting

On January 16, 2011, was inaugurated the lighting, the project leaders were: Javier Villaseñor and Javier González, directors of lighting design and Santiago Bautista, who were in charge of installing the equipment. They used LED technology, to light up the four sides of the building, highlighting the dial, as well as sculptures. The LEDs reduce energy use 88% compared with traditional halogen lighting technology. The following was used for the illumination:

 60 LED projectors of different power and scope.
 40 m of LED strip.
 14 Digital controllers to communicate between all the equipment.
 1 digital memory to control all the effects, the Brain.

References

Towers completed in 1910
Towers in Mexico
Clock towers
Monuments and memorials in Mexico
Buildings and structures in Hidalgo (state)
Pachuca
Tourist attractions in Hidalgo (state)

Monumental Clock of Pachuca


"Alive" is a song recorded by American entertainer Jennifer Lopez. It was written by Lopez, Cris Judd, and Cory Rooney for the Michael Apted-directed thriller, Enough (2002). Lopez stars in the film as Slim, a waitress who marries a wealthy contractor, and flees with their 5 year old daughter as he becomes increasingly abusive. While on the run, Slim, who discovers that her husband is following her, "trains herself for a final, violent confrontation". The producers of Enough wanted Lopez to write a new song for film, however, she felt as if it was not something that could be forced. In October 2001, while on their honeymoon, Judd played her a melody that he had written on the piano. Lopez thought that the melody was "really beautiful", and that it would be perfect fit for Enough. She incorporated the hardships that Slim went through in the film, as well as her own personal struggles, into the song's lyrics.

"Alive" doesn't appear on the film score of Enough, and instead was included as the sole original song on Lopez's first remix album, J to tha L–O! The Remixes (2002). It was serviced to radio in the United States on April 29, 2002, by Epic Records. The song was released commercially on a 12" vinyl as a double a-side along with "I'm Gonna Be Alright (Track Masters Remix)" on July 30, 2002. Music critics were divided on "Alive"; some deemed Lopez's change in musical style to be refreshing, while others felt as if she should stick to the dance arrangements of her previous work. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Jim Gable. It features Lopez playing the piano, writing the lyrics to "Alive" and recording the song, intercut between scenes from Enough. While the song failed to appear on any national charts, it did reach number two on the US Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart. Lopez performed the song live for the first and only time on The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 17, 2002.

Background
It was first reported in November 2000 that Jennifer Lopez was in talks to star in the Michael Apted-directed thriller Enough. Sandra Bullock had originally signed on to portray the lead, but was forced to back out of the film due to scheduling conflicts. Lopez's casting in the film was confirmed by MTV News on May 19, 2001. Filming began two days later and took place on location in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Recording music and filming Enough at the same time, Lopez became overworked and had a nervous breakdown. She suffered from a lack of sleep and froze up in her trailer. In 2008, Lopez confessed: "I was like – I don't want to move, I don't want to talk, I don't want to do anything".

Lopez stars in Enough as Slim, a waitress whose life is severely altered after she marries Mitch, a wealthy contractor portrayed by Billy Campbell. She flees her increasingly abusive husband with their daughter following her birth. Slim soon discovers that she is being followed by Mitch. While on the run, she "trains herself for a final, violent confrontation" with her husband. For the final act, which required Lopez to "become a believable lean, mean fighting machine", she considered learning tai chi or taekwondo, but was worried about learning it at an expert level in a short period of time. Her personal trainer then suggested that she study Krav Maga, the "official self-defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces which has recently become trendy in the States", according to MTV News. Enough was initially scheduled to be released in September 2001, but was later pushed back to "early 2002" and eventually saw a release on May 24, 2002.

Writing and production

The producers of Enough wanted Lopez to write a new song for the film. According to the entertainer, writing a song is something that cannot be forced; "It kinda just has to happen". While on their honeymoon in October 2001, her then-husband Cris Judd played her a melody that he had written on the piano. Lopez thought that the melody was "really beautiful" and that it would make a "wonderful song". She felt that a "little bit of it sounded like the movie, a little haunting". When she heard the melody, she said to herself: "I can write something to that right now. And we can use it in Enough". Lopez then began to think about the film and the character that she portrays and what she had been through. She also thought about the things that she had gone through in her own life. According to Lopez, it was easy to be inspired by the melody Judd had written, "and just kind of that grateful feeling, to just be here [...] And keeping it simple. Because life can get so crazy and everything. And then you realize, it's all just kinda about the simplicity of being here, and being healthy. And being alive. So that's where the song came from".

"Alive" was written by Lopez, Judd and her frequent collaborator Cory Rooney. The song was produced by Rooney and Dan Shea, who also provided programming for the song. Lopez's vocals were recorded at Sony Music Studios and The Hit Factory in New York City. Her vocals were engineered by Robert Williams, with assistance from Jamie Gudewicz, Jason Dale and Kyle White. Pat Webe acted as the stage engineer for the song. Humberto Gatica provided audio engineering for the strings, which were arranged and conducted by Bill Ross. They were recorded by Bill Smith at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, with assistance from Jason Lloyd, Mark Eshelman and Julianne Masted. "Alive" was mixed by Mick Guzauski at Barking Doctor Studios in Mount Kisco, with assistance from Tom Bender. The song was mastered by Herb Powers at Hit Factory Mastering in New York City. After the song was completed, Lopez played it for the producers of Enough and they "loved it".

"Alive" is not "the type of music" that the singer is used to making. According to Lopez, she knew that there was something "inside of me that I have to offer to this ["Alive"]. And then, you know, things happen. Things have a weird way of happening naturally and organically when they're supposed to. And I feel that this song was just meant to be, for this movie. Basically, I wrote the song for me to go through all these kinds of things as an actress with this character. You draw from all different experiences in your life. From way back to the present, to whatever, to make it really true and honest". "Alive" means "the world" to Lopez because of its positive message and the fact that it was something that she created with Judd.

Release and promotion

"Alive" was serviced to radio in the United States on May 21, 2002, as the third single from J to tha L–O! The Remixes. The song was released commercially on a 12" vinyl as a double a-side along with "I'm Gonna Be Alright" on July 30, 2002. Chris Cox and Barry Harris, known collectively as Thunderpuss, remixed "Alive" into a "club-ready" dance track. The song managed to reach number two on the US  Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, staying behind "You Gotta Believe" by Tommy Boy Silver. It topped the Maxi-Single Sales chart for three weeks. The song also managed to reach number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart. At the 2003 Billboard Latin Music Awards the Thunderpuss Remix of "Alive" received an award for Latin Dance Single of the Year and Latin Dance Club Play Track of the Year.

The accompanying music video for "Alive" was directed by Jim Gable  and edited by Scott C. Wilson. The video opens with Lopez composing the melody and writing the lyrics for "Alive" on a piano in her living room, which overlooks a pier. Behind her, a flashing screen displays scenes from Enough, along with Lopez recording the song in a studio with her band. After walking away from the piano, she lies optimistically on her sofa. She is then seen singing amid a large body of outdoor water. At the instrumental passage for "Alive", Lopez embraces the music being played by the band and changes a few chords with Rooney, who is seated at a piano. She then emotionally finishes recording the song during its final chorus. Throughout the entire video, clips from the film continue to be inter cut with these settings. The music video for "Alive" was included on a special edition DVD re-release of Enough, as well as Lopez's first music video compilation The Reel Me (2003). Lopez performed the song for the first and only time on The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 17, 2002.

Critical reception
Music critics were divided on "Alive". Chuck Taylor of Billboard stated that: "Remember that 'Oh, my' feeling the first time you heard Madonna sing her first ballad, 'Crazy for You'? It's déjà vu with 'Alive'." According to Taylor, Lopez instills a "vulnerable spirit of romanticism" in the track. He wrote that Lopez "does her best" with the song, a "regal ballad". He called "Alive" a "bold new terrain" for Lopez, "an artist who is heralded more for her videogenics than her voice." Taylor wrote that "it's nice to have top 40's leading staple artist diversify her portfolio with a musical summer fling that will maintain programmers' and fans' love affair with Lopez". He stated that the radio remix of "Alive" is "made more luxurious" with the addition of a "cascade of fluttering strings".

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called "Alive" the "biggest surprise" of J to tha L–O! The Remixes. William Ruhlmann of Allmusic gave the song a negative review, writing that her vocal limitations "come to the fore when she is spotlighted on such a song without a dance arrangement to support her". He stated, however, that her vocal limitations are not "as big a deal" as her lack of emotional involvement: "Though she tries to fake it here and there, she still sounds like she's singing her grocery list instead of the song's clichéd lyrics". David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called the song a "syrupy ballad" that is "neither alive nor a remix". He stated that if you listen to the song long enough, "you may actually be conned into thinking Lopez's voice and songs are passable". He concluded by stating as a result of "Alive", J to tha L–O! The Remixes may be the most insidious album ever made.

Track listings

UK CD promo single
"Alive" (Album Version)  – 4:41
"Alive" (Thunderpuss Radio Mix)  – 4:12

US CD promo single
"Alive" (Radio Remix)  – 4:20
"Alive" (Album Version)  – 4:41

US 12" promo vinyl
"Alive" (Thunderpuss Club Mix)  – 8:51
"Alive" (Thunderpuss Tribe-A-Pella)  – 7:50
"Alive" (Thunderpuss Radio Mix)  – 4:12

US 12" vinyl
"I'm Gonna Be Alright" (Track Masters Remix) featuring Nas  – 2:51
"I'm Gonna Be Alright" (Track Masters Remix)  – 3:14
"I'm Gonna Be Alright" (Track Masters Remix Instrumental)  – 3:14
"Alive" (Thunderpuss Club Mix)  – 8:51
"Alive" (Thunderpuss Tribe-A-Pella)  – 7:50

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of J to tha L–O! The Remixes.
Locations
 Vocals recorded at Sony Music Studios and The Hit Factory in New York City, New York.
 Strings recorded at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.
 Mixed at Barking Doctor Studios in Mount Kisco, New York.
 Mastered at Hit Factory Mastering in New York City, New York.

 Personnel
 Jennifer Lopez — songwriter
 Cris Judd — songwriter
 Cory Rooney — producer, songwriter
 Dan Shea — producer, programmer
 Robert Williams — engineer
 Jamie Gudewicz — assistance engineer
 Jason Dale — assistance engineer
 Kyle White — assistance engineer
 Pat Webe — stage engineer
 Humberto Gatica — string engineer
 Bill Ross — string engineer and conductor
 Bill Smith — string recorder
 Jason Lloy — assistant string recorder
 Mark Eshelman — assistant string recorder
 Julianne Masted — assistant string recorder
 Mick Guzauski — mixer
 Tom Bender — assistant mixer
 Herb Powers — mastering

Charts

Release history

References

External links

2000s ballads
2002 songs
2002 singles
Jennifer Lopez songs
Songs written for films
Songs written by Jennifer Lopez
Songs written by Cory Rooney
Song recordings produced by Cory Rooney
Song recordings produced by Dan Shea (producer)
Downtempo songs
Pop ballads
Rhythm and blues ballads

Alive (Jennifer Lopez song)


CyberLink MediaShow is a software application for organizing, editing and sharing photos and videos, published by CyberLink Corporation. MediaShow allows users to import video and photo files from digital cameras, phones, and camcorders.  Its main competitors are Arcsoft MediaImpression, Adobe Bridge, Roxio Creator and Google Picasa. The program also resembles, but does not directly compete with Apple iPhoto. MediaShow software can be purchased online or in popular computer retail stores.

Version History
MediaShow version 3 allowed for the creation of photo slideshows and the option to edit photos using auto-fixes or manually.

MediaShow version 4 introduced a number of significant updates. New features included video editing tools with auto-fixes that enhanced video lighting and steadied shaky video content. Photo management with tagging features makes searching for files easier than in previous versions and in addition there is an option to upload photos to Flickr or videos to YouTube, all directly from the program's interface.

Version 5 featured the addition of face detection and face recognition technology, video conversion, and the option to upload photos to Facebook.

The latest, version 6 features the addition of calendar and instant views, and is optimized for touchscreen interfaces.

References

External links
CyberLink MediaShow (DVD converter)
Free download CyberLink MediaShow

Photo software
Image organizers
Windows multimedia software
Image-sharing websites

CyberLink MediaShow


Erica hirtiflora, the hairy-flower heath, is a species of Erica that was naturally restricted to the south-western corner of the Western Cape, South Africa around the city of Cape Town.

It produces flowers at any time of year - and in such quantities that the whole bush turns pink. Consequently, it is becoming a popular ornamental plant for Capetonian gardens.

References

hirtiflora
Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces
Natural history of Cape Town

Erica hirtiflora


Leslie "Les" Stubbs (18 December 1929 – 1 February 2011) was an English footballer.

Playing mainly as an inside forward, Stubbs started out with his local side, Great Wakering Rovers before signing for Southend United. He made his debut for Southend in 1948 and scored 45 goals in 88 games over the next four seasons. In November 1952, he joined Chelsea for £10,000 having been persuaded by Blues manager Ted Drake that he was capable of playing in the top tier.

His career with Chelsea started slowly and Stubbs played just five games in his first season, without scoring. However, he scored nine goals in thirty league games in 1953–54 and in the next helped Chelsea win their first League title. He scored five goals that season, including a crucial stoppage time equaliser against Chelsea's main rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, paving the way for teammate Roy Bentley's winner a minute later. He then helped Chelsea win the Charity Shield.

Stubbs' later years at Chelsea saw his playing opportunities reduced by the emergence of talented youngsters such as Jimmy Greaves, Peter Brabrook and Ron Tindall. He made only sixteen appearances in his final two seasons, though he did play for the representative London XI side which competed in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Stubbs ended his Chelsea career with 123 appearances and 35 goals to his name. He left in 1958 to re-join Southend for a further two years, scoring 3 goals in 23 games. He later turned out for Bedford Town before re-joining Great Wakering Rovers, where he remains the most successful product of that club.

When Chelsea won the FA Premier League title in 2004–05, Stubbs and his surviving teammates from the 1954–55 title-winning side, such as Roy Bentley, Stan Willemse, Frank Blunstone and Jim Lewis were invited to the trophy presentation.

References

External links
 Southend vs Bristol Rovers 1952 newsreel

1929 births
2011 deaths
Chelsea F.C. players
English men's footballers
People from Rochford District
Southend United F.C. players
Bedford Town F.C. players
Great Wakering Rovers F.C. players
London XI players
English Football League players
Men's association football inside forwards
Footballers from Essex

Les Stubbs


Sheep Hills is a locality in the northern Wimmera region, north-west Victoria. It is 271 km north-west of Melbourne.  The locality is situated on the railway line south-east of Warracknabeal, north of Minyip.

The original inhabitants of the area around Sheep Hills were the Wotjobaluk, an Aboriginal Australian people.

Sheep Hills was the name of a farm operated by Archibald McMillan in 1847. The population boosted in the mid-1870s when many migrants, mostly German and Scottish, began farming in the area.  The district was named Bangerang (the name of a Lutheran school) and Tarkedia (the name of a State school). In 1886 the railway from Minyip was extended to Warracknabeal, and many settled around the station, forming the township under the name of Sheep Hills.

As of 2016, Sheep Hills has a cricket, a golf and a tennis club. Also in use is the Sheep Hills Town Hall.

References

External links

Towns in Victoria (state)
Wimmera

Sheep Hills, Victoria


Joseph F. Bruno (born circa 1944) is a public official in New York City who has served as a lawyer, FDNY Fire Commissioner, New York City Civil Court Judge and New York State Supreme Court Judge. He most recently served as Commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management.

Bruno is now president of Helen Keller Services, a post he has held since January, 2016.

Education
Bruno graduated from City College in 1966 with a B.S. in Economics and in 1968, he earned a Juris Doctor from St. John's University Law School. In 1988, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree from St. John's Law School.

Career
His career in public service began in 1971, when he joined the New York City Law Department as a trial attorney.

NYC Fire Commissioner
He served in various Law Department posts and on October 20, 1987 he was appointed the 26th Fire Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Edward I. Koch. Under his leadership, the Fire Department developed a major fire safety education campaign, with particular emphasis on children and senior citizens. He continued to serve as Fire Commissioner until the end of the Koch Administration on December 31, 1989.

NYC Civil Court and NYS State Supreme Court Judge
In 1991, Bruno was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York and assigned to the Criminal Court. In 1996, he was elevated to Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County, and elected Justice of Supreme Court in 2002.

Commissioner of NYC Emergency Management
In March 2004, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Joseph F. Bruno commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management (NYC OEM). He was the fourth head of the agency since it was established in 1996.

Among his first major initiatives, Commissioner Bruno successfully oversaw New York City's adoption and implementation of the Citywide Incident Management System (CIMS). CIMS is now the City's standard for responding to and managing emergencies and planned events.

Commissioner Bruno also oversaw the comprehensive revision of the City's Coastal Storm Plan to ensure the City is prepared for a worst-case scenario hurricane and can shelter more than 600,000 residents. OEM also developed the "What if New York City…," a post-disaster housing competition that challenged teams of architects and planners to design temporary housing for dense, urban environments. This marked a critical step in New York City's effort to plan ahead for long-term housing after a catastrophic disaster.

During his tenure, Commissioner Bruno has successfully coordinated the City's responses to a variety of emergency and planned incidents. He headed the City's plan to maintain order during the 2005 New York City transit strike – three days that left New Yorkers with no subway service and minimal bus transportation. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, he oversaw the development and operation of a Family Assistance Center to assist victims who migrated to New York City.  Commissioner Bruno also managed the City's responses to the Queens blackout in 2006, the 2007 New York City steam explosion in midtown Manhattan, the 2007 Brooklyn tornadoes, two major crane collapses in 2008, the outbreak of the H1N1 virus in 2009, and two tornados and a microburst in 2010.

At the end of 2010 and into 2011, the commissioner coordinated responses to winter storms that led to a number of new winter storm initiatives, like the creation of a tow-truck task force and live video monitoring of road conditions.

In August 2011, Commissioner Bruno coordinated the City's response to Hurricane Irene, the worst coastal storm to hit the City in more than a decade. The City took unprecedented steps to prepare for the storm, including a mandatory evacuation of more than 370,000 residents in low-lying areas and the entire Rockaway peninsula, a complete shutdown of public transportation, the evacuation of 7,000 patients from hospitals and nursing homes, and opening more than 80 evacuation centers and emergency shelters. The City's careful planning and coordinated response to Irene helped minimize the storm's damage.

Highlighting the importance of preparedness, more than 10 million emergency preparedness guides have been distributed through the Ready New York campaign under Commissioner Bruno's leadership. And with the commissioner's support, NYC's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program has grown to over 56 teams and 1,500 volunteers trained in basic emergency response, preparedness, and first aid. Commissioner Bruno also added OEM's technological expertise to the creation of Notify NYC, an emergency notification system for New York City residents that uses text messaging, e-mail and phone to warn subscribers about emergencies.

Joseph F. Bruno resigned as the Commissioner of Emergency Management on June 27, 2014.

References

Commissioners of the New York City Fire Department
New York Supreme Court Justices
Commissioners in New York City
Disaster preparedness in the United States
Living people
New York City Emergency Management
1944 births

Joseph F. Bruno


The Pitman arm is a part used in automobiles, trucks, SUVs and other vehicles to steer the wheels. When the steering wheel is turned right or left the pitman transmits the motion it receives from the steering gearbox to the tie rod. A "drop pitman arm" is used to correct the steering when a vehicle has a suspension lift.

References

Auto parts

Pitman arm


Rogue Elk is an unincorporated community in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Oregon Route 62 and the Rogue River between Shady Cove and Prospect. Elk Creek enters the river at Rogue Elk.

Rogue Elk County Park is by the river. This  park offers river access,  fishing, rafting, swimming, and picnicking. It has riverfront campsites as well as sites for recreational vehicles (RVs) with hookups for water and electricity. Amenities include restrooms, showers, barbecues, a playground, and a two-lane boat ramp, which is open year-round. The campground is generally open from mid-March to late October.

References

Unincorporated communities in Jackson County, Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Oregon

Rogue Elk, Oregon


Alfred Birnbaum (born 1955) is an American translator.

Alfred Birnbaum was born in the United States and raised in Japan from age five. He studied at Waseda University, Tokyo, under a Japanese Ministry of Education scholarship, and has been a freelance literary and cultural translator since 1980.

From March 1977 to June 1979 Birnbaum, William Shurtleff, and Akiko Aoyagi did extensive field research and translation in Japan on natto, hamanatto and Daitokuji natto. This material was later published (in various formats) by Soyinfo Center, a research and publishing company in Lafayette, California. In the 1990s, while studying in Yangon, he helped document architecture that was being replaced or destroyed.

Birnbaum's translations include Haruki Murakami's Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball, 1973,  Norwegian Wood, A Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Underground, and other works; Miyabe Miyuki's All She Was Worth; and Natsuki Ikezawa's A Burden of Flowers. He also compiled the short story anthology Monkey Brain Sushi: New Tastes in Japanese Fiction. With his wife Thi Thi Aye he translated Smile as they Bow by Nu Nu Yi from Burmese into English.

See also
Philip Gabriel
Jay Rubin

References

1955 births
Japanese–English translators
Living people
American expatriates in Japan
Waseda University alumni

Alfred Birnbaum


Tatarophobia () refers to the fear of, the hatred towards, the demonization of, or the prejudice against people who are generally referred to as Tatars, including but not limited to Volga, Siberian, and Crimean Tatars, although negative attitudes against the latter are by far the most severe, largely as a result of the Soviet media's long-standing practice of only depicting them in a negative way along with its practice of  promoting negative stereotypes of them in order to provide a political justification for the deportation and marginalization of them.

Against the Crimean Tatars

Soviet era
After the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in May 1944, the government strongly promoted existing negative stereotypes of Crimean Tatars and built up upon them; declaring them to be "traitors", "bourgeoisie", "counter-revolutionary", and falsely implied that they were "Mongols" with no historical connection to the Crimean peninsula. Political agitation by party members encouraged other citizens at deportation destinations to abuse them and conferences in Crimea dedicated to promoting and sharing anti-Crimean-Tatar sentiments was held. Traces of Crimean Tatar presence in the peninsula were wiped off the peninsula after the deportation in 1944, with thousands of villages previously bearing Tatar names being given new Russian names, officially detatarizing the peninsula. The deported Crimean Tatars who worked in Central Asia lived under the "special settler" regime, which deprived them of many civil rights that other Soviet citizens enjoyed and confined them within a small perimeter. People involved in the Crimean Tatar civil rights movement repeatedly noted strong similarities between the conditions suffered by designated "special settlers" and victims of apartheid as well as Palestinians under Israeli occupation.

In modern times
While still very prevalent in modern society, Tatarophobia generates more controversy and pushback in modern times than it did in the past. While no longer officially a state-mandated institution, it remains pervasive throughout government and society; a notable example being when Russian consul Vladimir Andreev demanded that none of the invited Russian citizens attend the debut of Haytarma, a film about Crimean Tatar twice Hero of the Soviet Union Amet-khan Sultan, because it did not depict the Crimean Tatar population in a sufficiently negative light. Andreev admitted that he did not actually see the movie when he told people not to attend, but said that he felt it would be historically inaccurate because it was directed by a Crimean Tatar.

Confusion about different Tatar peoples has been taken advantage of by propaganda, which will celebrate the relative equality experienced by Volga Tatar in order to lead uneducated recipients of propaganda to confuse them with Crimean Tatars and be led to believe that interethnic relations are overwhelmingly positive. It is not unusual for Volga Tatars to be praised and lauded as brotherly peoples by the same institutions that simultaneously engage in Tatarophobia against Crimean Tatars, and it is not unusual for the relative lack of hostility towards Volga Tatars to be pointed out as an excuse to avoid correcting xenophobia towards Crimean Tatars. Despite the Crimean Tatar language being very distant from the Kazan Tatar language, the Soviet Union long opposed the request by the Crimean Tatar civil rights movement for their autonomy to be restored in Crimea, and offered to create an autonomous region in Tatarstan for them instead - insulting much of the Crimean Tatar leadership.

Against the Volga Tatars
Historically the Volga Tatars have been lauded as a "model minority" in Russia and the Soviet Union and treated much better than the Crimean Tatars. Nevertheless, prejudices against Volga Tatars exists and there have been some attempts to de-Tatarize Tatarstan by Russian nationalists. In 2007, a young Tatar man was stabbed to death by a group of people on his way to work in St. Petersburg. The Tatar community stated that the murder was racially motivated and a consequence of Islamophobia. After Elmira Abdrazakova was crowned Miss Russia in 2013, she was bombarded with racial slurs.

See also
 Anti-Chechen sentiment
 Anti-Mongolianism
 Anti-Turkish sentiment
 Deportation of the Chechens and Ingush
 Deportation of the Crimean Tatars
 Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union
 Deportation of the Meskhetian Turks
 Islam in the Soviet Union
 Islam in Russia
 Islamophobia
 Persecution of Muslims
 Population transfer in the Soviet Union
 Racism against Asians
 Racism in the Soviet Union
 Racism in Russia

References

Tatarophobia


The American golden-plover (Pluvialis dominica), is a medium-sized plover. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from pluvia, "rain".  It was believed that golden-plovers flocked when rain was imminent.  The species name dominica refers to Santo Domingo, now Hispaniola, in the West Indies.

Description

Measurements:

 Length:
 Weight:
 Wingspan:

The breeding adult American Golden-plover has a black face, neck, breast, and belly, with a white crown and nape that extends to the side of the breast. The back is mottled black and white with pale, gold spots. The breeding female is similar, but with less black. When in , both sexes have grey-brown upperparts, pale grey-brown underparts, and a whitish eyebrow. The head is small, along with the bill.

It is similar to two other Golden-plovers, European and Pacific. The American Golden-plover is smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than European golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria) which also has white axillary (armpit) feathers. It is more similar to Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva) with which it was once considered conspecific under the name "lesser golden plover". The Pacific golden plover is slimmer than the American species, has a shorter primary projection, and longer legs, and is usually yellower on the back.

Distribution
The breeding habitat of American golden plover is Arctic tundra from northern Canada and Alaska. They nest on the ground in a dry open area. They are migratory and winter in southern South America. They follow an elliptical migration path; northbound birds pass through Central America about January–April and stage in great numbers in places like Illinois before their final push north. In fall, they take a more easterly route, flying mostly over the western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea to the wintering grounds in Patagonia. The bird has one of the longest known migratory routes of over . Of this,  is over open ocean where it cannot stop to feed or drink. It does this from body fat stores that it stocks up on prior to the flight. It is a regular vagrant to western Europe.

A comparison of dates and migratory patterns leads to the conclusion that Eskimo curlews and American golden plovers were the most likely shore birds to have attracted the attention of Christopher Columbus to the nearby Americas in early October 1492, after 65 days at sea out of sight of land.

Behavior

Breeding

This bird uses scrape nests, lining them with lichens, grass, and leaves. At its breeding grounds, it is very territorial, displaying aggressively to neighbors. Some American plovers are also territorial in their wintering grounds.

The American golden plover lays a clutch of four white to buff eggs that are heavily blotched with both black and brown spots. The eggs generally measure around . These eggs are incubated for a period of 26 to 27 days, with the male incubating during the day and the female during the night. The chicks then hatch , leaving the nest within hours and feeding themselves within a day.

Diet
These birds forage for food on tundra, fields, beaches and tidal flats, usually by sight. They eat terrestrial earthworms, terrestrial snails, insects, insect larvae, crustaceans, fish, berries and seeds.

Status
Large numbers were shot in the late 19th century and the population has never fully recovered.

References

Further reading

External links

 American golden plover at ENature.com

American golden plover
Native birds of Alaska
Birds of North America
Birds of South America
Birds of the Dominican Republic
American golden plover
American golden plover

American golden plover