Batman: Beyond the White Knight is an American comic book published by DC Comics under its Black Label imprint. The eight-issue limited series — written and illustrated by Sean Murphy, lettered by AndWorld Design and colored by Dave Stewart — began its monthly publication on March 29, 2022 and ended on February 14, 2023. It is the sequel to both Batman: White Knight (2017–18) and Batman: Curse of the White Knight (2019–20), and is also the fifth installment in Murphy's self-titled Murphyverse line. It is also an adaptation of the animated television series Batman Beyond (1999–2001), with the plot of the comic book being based on the original premise of the TV show.

Batman: Beyond the White Knight takes place 12 years after the events which are described in the previous volume Batman: Curse of the White Knight, which ended with Bruce Wayne exposed as Batman to the general public and donating his entire fortune to the people of Gotham City, and then turning himself in to the police. Since that, the city has evolved into a futuristic megalopolis known as "Neo-Gotham". Following the murder of his father Warren, young Terry McGinnis — under the orders of his employer Derek Powers — steals a technologically advanced Batsuit to become the new Batman and avenge his father's death. At the same time, a middle-aged Bruce escapes from prison in an attempt to rid Neo-Gotham of Batman for good, all while a civil war slowly rages through the city and Powers transforms into the supervillain Blight.

Batman: Beyond the White Knight received critical acclaim from critics and readers alike, with praise for the comic's plot, dialogue and dynamics between characters, art style, and faithfulness to the source material. A two-issue limited series titled Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood — which serves as a prequel to Batman: Beyond the White Knight — began publication on August 2, 2022 and ended on the 23rd of the same month. A six-issue limited series titled Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker — which serves as a follow-up to Batman: Beyond the White Knight — began publication on May 9, 2023.

Synopsis

Setting
Batman: Beyond the White Knight occurs 12 years after the defeat of terrorist Jean-Paul Valley — also known as Azrael — at the hands of wealthy industrialist Bruce Wayne. Shortly before the latter surrenders to police custody after exposing his secret identity as the vigilante Batman to the public, Bruce voluntarily gives his fortune to the people of Gotham City by infusing the money into the city's budget, then dissolves and transforms his own company Wayne Enterprises into various nonprofit organizations, all with the aim of helping to renew the city and help the less fortunate. However, Bruce's actions inadvertently led to him being put on trial after his former employee Derek Powers filed a lawsuit against him, which allowed Powers to successfully acquire all of the Wayne family's assets; this, in turn, permitted Powers to prevent the dissolution of Wayne Enterprises and become its new CEO, thereby rebranding the company as Wayne-Powers Enterprises and preventing any of the charitable organizations Bruce created from having any effect on the city.

Over the past 12 years, Powers has used much of Gotham's budget intended to help the city to instead fund the paramilitary police group known as the Gotham Terrorist Oppression Unit (GTO) — led by Commander Dick Grayson, Bruce's second adopted son and former crime-fighting partner Nightwing — providing it with a vast array of high-tech weapons and equipment such as armored uniforms and specialized combat vehicles, all stylized in the likeness of Batman. Although the GTO overconsumes Gotham's budget, a portion of the money was still used to tremendously evolve the city into a technologically advanced megalopolis that is currently known as "Neo-Gotham", which has become a GTO-controlled police state that is heavily monitored by surveillance cameras and where crime is virtually non-existent, although tax rates on homelessness, suicides and depression have increased. As a result, the once-vigilante Batgirl-turned-Commissioner Barbara Gordon and the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) have severed ties with the GTO and are staunchly opposed to it, with tensions between the two parties slowly building into a civil war in Neo-Gotham. In addition, Bruce continues to serve time at Stonegate Penitentiary, being closely watched by Captain Jason Todd, Bruce's first adopted son and former sidekick Robin, who currently acts as the brutal vigilante known as the Red Hood.

Plot
High school student Terry McGinnis is sent by his employer Powers to steal the Beyond suit — a "special" Batsuit created by Bruce years earlier when he was still Batman, but which he never got to wear because it was considered too dangerous — from a historic site where the ruins of Wayne Manor and the Batcave are located. However, Terry is discovered by the site guards and, to avoid getting caught, he dons the Beyond suit, allowing him to beat down the guards and flee the scene. At Stonegate, Bruce prevents Jason from being killed by a cult-like gang dedicated to the now-deceased Valley called the Sons of Azrael in the midst of a riot, which is forcibly stopped with the arrival of the GTO. While escorting him back to his cell, GTO officer Duke Thomas shows Bruce footage of Terry wearing the Beyond suit he stole, and Bruce deduces that Powers is the one behind the robbery. Meanwhile, after a fierce argument with her daughter Jackie Quinzel, reformed criminal and retired vigilante Harley Quinn discovers that she has run away from home and finds in Jackie's room classified documents regarding Harley's murder of the psychotic criminal known as the Joker. Back at Stonegate, Bruce reconciles with Jason before breaking out of prison to put an end to Powers' plans. Upon arriving in Neo-Gotham, Bruce comes across a seemingly resurrected Joker.

A month earlier, Dick and the GTO witness how Terry beats up the criminal known as Mr. Fixx for allegedly murdering Warren McGinnis, Terry's father and Powers' former employee and best friend. Dick then intervenes on Terry's behalf and, rather than taking him into custody, introduces him to Powers, who reveals to Terry that Fixx was actually hired to kill Warren. Learning of this fact, Terry agrees to work for Powers in exchange for his help in locating and exacting revenge on those responsible for Warren's death. In the present, the Joker in front of Bruce informs him that he is actually a consciousness-based A.I. of the real Joker's sane alter ego Jack Napier — Harley's late husband and father to Jackie and her twin brother Bryce Quinzel. The A.I., calling himself "Jack" and appearing to Bruce as a hologram only he can see, explains to him that he is being projected from a microchip inside Bruce's head that was previously inserted by the original Napier following Bruce's first apprehension by the GTO. At the GTO headquarters, Duke quits his job upon refusing to obey Dick's order to arrest Jason for letting Bruce escape. While wandering around Neo-Gotham, Bruce is confronted by Dick, who he manages to defeat and immobilize with Jack's help. Realizing he lacks resources, Bruce sneaks into an old safe house of his to equip himself, but is approached by Harley, who has been given the house by him as a dwelling for her and her children. Much to Jack's confusion, Harley confesses to being married to Bruce.

Powers sends Terry to infiltrate several facilities around Neo-Gotham to steal various pieces of technology that Powers believes will help fix the malfunctioning Beyond suit, which he plans to use in a secret project he is working on. Powers later tells Terry that Bruce is the one who hired Fixx to kill Warren. At Harley's house, she explains that Powers was going to force her to testify against Bruce in the trial 12 years earlier, and that she married Bruce only because marital privileges would prevent that from happening while also revealing that her daughter is missing, most likely due to Derek Powers kidnapping her. Duke tries to rejoin the GCPD, but is turned down by Barbara, who instead gives him a Robin suit and requests that, as a vigilante, he assist Bruce in taking down Powers. Wearing a modified Batsuit, Bruce reveals to Napier that in the past, Powers deduced his secret identity as Batman, but rather than publicly disclosing it, Powers proposed that, as long as Bruce continued to fund him, not only would he not reveal Bruce's identity, he would also develop equipment for him to use in his crusade; albeit reluctantly, Bruce accepted Powers' proposal. Attempting to infiltrate the GCPD, Bruce encounters Terry, who — dressed as Batman — overpowers Bruce and tries to question him about his alleged role in Warren's death, but Duke appears as Robin to aid Bruce in fighting Terry, with the ensuing conflict between the three of them causing Bruce to fall off the roof where the fight was taking place and land on top of a car.

Jackie Quinzel is attacked by Azrael's gang, but is saved by Dick Grayson and takes her to Powers who wants her to help him find Bruce. Terry meets up with Powers and tells him that Bruce escaped with the help of Barbara Gordon and Duke Thomas. Barbara convinces Bruce to try to reason with Dick after revealing she and Dick had a child 5 years ago. Powers tells Terry he is making Terry steal things so that Powers can create a militarized army based on Batman and shows Terry a video that Earth will soon be invaded. While sneaking in GTO, Duke is confronted by Dick and defeats him. While meeting with his mom, Terry recalls how his father would always distance himself from the family, and had a falling out with his father on the day he died, but not before Terry's dad telling him Powers is insane and someone needs to stop him. Bruce and Napier meet a stray hound and call him Ace and restart a flying Batmobile.

Barbara calls Bruce and tells him that Warren McGinnis and Powers had a falling out, and they were working on a secret project. Bruce tries opening up a secret file after sneaking into Powers' building, but Jackie finds out. Batman manages to convince Jackie to stand down by telling her that her father (when he was Napier) was a good man, and Harley had to kill him to prevent Joker from coming out. Batman is attacked by the GTO and while trying to escape he meets Terry and Powers. Batman deduces Terry's identity and convinces him that Powers is bad, which causes Terry to cause an explosion. Bruce has a panic attack, so Napier takes over Bruce's body and escapes. They meet with Harley, where Napier (in Bruce's body) confesses his feelings to her.

The next morning, Bruce wakes up but Harley reassures Bruce that they didn't have sex and she knew Napier was controlling his body. Bruce tries to push his feelings away from Harley, but Harley tells Bruce that the reason why he is having these panic attacks is because Bruce makes Batman his entire identity, and if he is scared that if he is no longer Batman then he is alone with nothing. Bruce talks to Napier, and make amends with him and Harley. Dick confronts Jason Todd, and they have a brawl in the middle of the street, which ends with Dick sending Jason to the Gotham City Police. Bruce meets with Dick who tells him that Powers is creating new weapons and had Terry's father killed when Warren threatened to go to the FBI. Bruce finally makes amends with Dick, and saves Dick when he is attacked by Powers and GTO after finding out Jackie knows the truth about Powers killing Terry's father. While Bruce is distracted, Dick jumps in front of a blast from Powers who turned into Blight.

Batman remembers how he recruited Dick, while Terry confronts Powers about the truth, but Powers takes control of Terry's suit. Powers forced Terry to fight Bruce, and Terry brutally beats Bruce to the brink of death. Duke, Red Hood, and Barbara help out Bruce, and Napier tells Bruce to wire Terry's suit to the Batmobile where he frees Terry but as a result everyone can see Napier. Bruce allows Terry to keep the Batsuit, and decides to lead an assault on Powers. During the assault, Powers activates the Bat Mechs and nearly kills Bruce's allies, and Bruce has another panic attack, but Harley helps him overcome it and Bruce becomes Batman once more. Powers nearly takes control of Terry's suit, but Napier double crosses him and Terry decides not to kill Powers. Napier saves his daughter, but in the process his programming is destroyed. After Powers is arrested, Diana Prince and John Stewart arrive and tell Batman that Derek Powers fears an invasion is coming because of the arrival of Superman.

Production

Development

In late November 2018, while working on the limited series Batman: Curse of the White Knight (2019–20), the sequel to Batman: White Knight (2017–18), comic book creator Sean Murphy revealed in an interview with DC Daily host Tiffany Smith that he planned to introduce Terry McGinnis — the successor to Bruce Wayne as Batman in the animated television series Batman Beyond (1999–2001) — to the Murphyverse, the comic book line overseen by Murphy himself. On the subject of presenting his own depiction of Batman Beyond in the White Knight series, Murphy said: "I'd like to eventually bridge the entire thing series into Batman Beyond. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with it or how I'm gonna introduce Terry, but I have an idea that will explain why Gotham [City] looks so gothic and Batman Beyond looks so futuristic, and how did this city change so fast. I think I have a way to explain that". Later interviews with Graeme McMillan of The Hollywood Reporter and Paul Shirey of JoBlo.com would reinforce the above statement concerning the creation of a sequel to Batman: White Knight and Batman: Curse of the White Knight based on Batman Beyond. A new installment in the Murphyverse titled Batman: Beyond the White Knight was confirmed by Murphy in early December 2019.

Writing
Speaking with Dustin Holland of Comic Book Resources (CBR) and Matthew Aguilar of ComicBook.com about bringing a distinct version of Terry to Batman: Beyond the White Knight, Murphy emphasized how important it was to him that the character be "unique, but sort of familiar at the same time", with part of his approach to him revolving around introducing Terry as an antagonist at the beginning of the story: "The trick there is like Terry is the antagonist for a bit, but I also don't want to make him a bad guy". Likewise, he simplified that Terry is not an evil person, just someone traumatized by the loss of his father Warren McGinnis and who is looking for a replacement role model in his life. In this way, Murphy hoped to explore Terry's complex nature and establish an engaging dynamic between him and Bruce, the latter who, in Murphy's words, "ages like a fine wine". Additionally, Terry is depicted as being multiracial (partly of Asian and Irish descent) in this book; this was a creative shift the author made to the character's ethnicity, something that was never addressed or specified by the production team of the original TV show, with many of its viewers assuming Terry was Asian for his physical appearance and Irish for his last name, a fact that Murphy was not initially aware of when he decided to diversify the character.

In May 2020, during a meeting with Jeff Spry of Syfy Wire, the author described the latest volume of the Murphyverse as a "sci-fi thriller", with its predecessors being a political thriller (Batman: White Knight) and a historical thriller (Batman: Curse of the White Knight), respectively. Furthermore, Murphy unveiled some plot details for Batman: Beyond the White Knight, while hinting at potential supervillains to make appearances in the volume — keeping in mind specific characters like corrupt businessman Derek Powers and criminal groups like the Jokerz and the Royal Flush Gang — who, according to Murphy, fit his "grounded" concept of antagonist that he tends to work with; he chose Powers due to his own belief that he is "the only logical choice of villain for a Batman Beyond-inspired sequel", and teased that—like the TV series—the book would include Powers' transformation into Blight, a form that has been described as a "glowing skeleton man". To turn Powers into a more empathetic character, Murphy added to him a compelling backstory involving Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze and Thomas Wayne, as well as "a personal grudge between [Powers] and Batman". Later, when asked why he prefers to write about complicated, redeemable antagonists for his stories, Murphy affirmed that it is his own interest in detailing the complexities of each villain that motivates him to portray them as sympathetic characters, regardless of whether the audience is rooting for them or not. He also mentioned that Batman: Beyond the White Knight has a comedic element that none of the other books in the White Knight series have.

Shortly after the announcement of Batman: Beyond the White Knight in December 2021, it was noticed by Jesse Schedeen of IGN midway through an interview how bizarre it seemed that Gotham could progress from "a grungy urban hellscape into the futuristic Neo-Gotham" in the span of just twelve years, and Murphy hinted that this sudden advance would be an important element in the series' plot, responding that "Gotham is able to evolve relatively quickly into Neo-Gotham because Bruce gave his fortune away at the end of Curse of the White Knight. And this influx of money (resources, social programs, etc.) changes everything". Murphy later revealed that the character Duke Thomas would adopt the mantle of Robin in Batman: Beyond the White Knight, an idea that Murphy originally attempted to include in earlier volumes of the White Knight series, but was unable to carry out beforehand in part due to his staff's massive discouragement, which arose due to the belief that the character would not look well dressed in a Robin costume; Murphy assured them that Duke would look "cool" like a Mortal Kombat character. The comic also features the appearance of characters such as Bruce's pet dog Ace the Bat-Hound, and the criminal Mr. Fixx.

Design

To illustrate Terry in the Beyond Batsuit in a way dissimilar to what most artists have done with the character, Murphy used different inking techniques — focusing more on texture than detail — to give the character a unique guise so he would never look twice the same as Batman. Moreover, Murphy likened Terry's black and red Batsuit to the blue and red costume belonging to the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man; he did not want to make any significant changes to the former's design, opining that this particular Batsuit is "so perfect the way it was originally conceived that it's hard to really add stuff to it without mucking it up". Alternatively, Murphy opted to incorporate simple yet small details into the Beyond suit, such as red vents at the elbows, knees and around the chest, for example. As for middle-aged Bruce's Batsuit, Murphy designed a makeshift costume for the character, replacing the cape with a hooded trench coat, spray painting over the bat symbol on the chest, and ditching the cowl, with Murphy arguing that there's no need to hide Bruce's face, as everyone in the book knows he was Batman. Murphy also designed the Batsuit-like uniforms of the GTO members to look like "overbearing RoboCops" in order to contrast those of the GCPD officers, who in the story represent the blue-collar cops as opposed to the "worst version of a police department" that is the GTO.

Regarding Neo-Gotham's design, which he integrated with elements of Batman Beyond, Murphy conceded that evolving the book's scenario — from the "gothic, jaded streets of Gotham" of the previous volumes to a "neo-noir nightmare of a not-so-distant utopia" — has been one of the funniest aspects of creating Batman: Beyond the White Knight for him. In his commentary: "I really missed working in Gotham and it feels so great to be back. Drawing Neo-Gotham as an upgraded, retrofitted futurescape has been a blast. I'm working hard to blend the Beyond aesthetic with the White Knight world". He also added: "I'm looking forward to drawing flying cars and all that kind of stuff again. The last time I got to do sci-fi was Tokyo Ghost (2015–16), and I really enjoyed it. So it will be interesting to take that and interpret it through Gotham, of what Gotham will look like in the future". Murphy's desire for Neo-Gotham was to give it a distinct presence, focusing on the roads and highways like veins that enter and leave the city from all directions, and also making sure not to keep Neo-Gotham too clean with elements of future architecture so it wouldn't look like a nighttime equivalent of Metropolis. Ultimately, Murphy analogized Batman: Beyond the White Knight to the Blade Runner franchise, the primary point of comparison being the futuristic setting that both works share, with him asserting that he wanted to design a Blade Runner-like city in Neo-Gotham: "I think every artist sort of wants Blade Runner and I've done it a few times in my career. Drawing traditional Gotham was great for the last two volumes, but I was really looking forward to drawing sort of Blade Runner Batman Beyond, sort of Neo-Gotham".

For Batman Beyonds flying Batmobile, Murphy tried to envision it as a strange spaceship while at the same time still trying to think of it as a car, which was a complicated and unusual process for him as this Batmobile had no wheels and he is used to designing cars with wheels, which is where a car comes to life in his opinion. To help him reshape the vehicle, Murphy made a model out of cardboard, paper, glue and paint, unsuccessfully trying to base the car's design on the one seen in the classic cartoon that, in his own words, "looks like two commas stuck together". Instead, he decided to give the Batmobile's appearance a personal touch, though he claims he did take some inspiration from the TV show. Murphy has also declared that several other iterations of the Batmobile from various Batman-related media make appearances throughout the series, including the version of the vehicle seen in the animated television show Batman: The Animated Series (1992–95), as well as those featured in the films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) by Tim Burton and The Batman (2022) by Matt Reeves.

Influences
As the title suggests, the original purpose of the series was to adapt the basic premise of Batman Beyond, with Murphy commenting that "this series is designed to check all the boxes of what readers love about Batman Beyond". However, he decided not to make a straightfoward retelling of the show's storyline, instead focusing on a different approach by reinventing it in order to establish the plot of Batman: Beyond the White Knight as something not only familiar, but unique in relation to the TV series. Murphy also teased that "Batman Beyond and Terry McGinnis fans will get everything they loved about the animated series, as well as a few twists". Aside from the TV series, Batman: Beyond the White Knight slightly differently adapts some plot elements from the animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000), such as the eponymous villain of the title having his consciousness transferred into a microchip. As inspiration for Batman: Beyond the White Knight, the author admitted that he took influences from Frank Miller's miniseries The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and several other Batman publications and storylines, not to cite the aforementioned Blade Runner, but also the Marvel character Spider-Man 2099 and the Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell (1989–91) by Masamune Shirow, among others.

Publication
Batman: Beyond the White Knight was written and illustrated by Murphy, lettered by AndWorld Design, and colored by Dave Stewart, the latter who replaced Matt Hollingsworth as colorist; Hollingsworth colored the earlier volumes of the White Knight series. Batman: Beyond the White Knight was officially announced in December 2021 by DC Comics, as the fifth installment in the Murphyverse line, whose titles are published under DC's Black Label imprint. Batman: Beyond the White Knight was originally scheduled for release in 2021, but was pushed back to 2022, with the eight issues released by DC at monthly intervals, the first being published on March 29. However, due to a printing error, the first issue of the comic book had to be reprinted for publication on May 3. A collected edition in prestige format titled Batman: Beyond the White Knight Showcase Edition, containing the first two issues of the series, was released on May 31 the same year. After releasing its fourth issue on June 28, Batman: Beyond the White Knight took a break in July and August before resuming publication on September 27 with its fifth issue. Batman: Beyond the White Knight ended its publication with the release of its eighth and final issue on February 14, 2023. A complete edition that collects all eight issues of Batman: Beyond the White Knight — along with the two issues of Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood — was released on June 13 the same year.

Issues

Collected editions

Reception

Critical response
According to ComicBookRoundup.com, Batman: Beyond the White Knight received an average rating of 8.4 out of 10 based on 64 reviews.

Reviewing Batman: Beyond the White Knight, Sayantan Gayen of CBR wrote: "Batman: Beyond the White Knight is a dialogue-focused, character-driven comic book that relies heavily on exposition, be it monologues or character interactions, to explain the timelapse. One of the most awaited titles this year, Batman: Beyond the White Knight knocks it out of the park with an enthralling start to what will surely be another blockbuster series". Later, Gayen noted how the series' story is divided into multiple narratives, each portraying a different dilemma for every character as they are used to slowly expose the comic's plot. Gayen then highlighted the design of both the Batsuits worn by Terry and Bruce, while also praising Murphy's art style and Stewart's coloring. Sergio Pereira of CBR—while more critical of the series' narrative than Gayen—ultimately hailed Murphy's art style as the comic's main selling point, saying that "it's easy to get lost in the detail and grandeur of the scenery as the art leaps off the page and grabs the reader's eye".

In his review, Matthew Aguilar of ComicBook.com gave Batman: Beyond the White Knight a rating of 5 out of 5, writing: "Batman: Beyond the White Knight captures your attention instantly with its eye-catching visuals, but it's the oh-so-human family dynamics at the center of it all that makes it so damn great. If you've been on the fence as to diving into the White Knight universe, this is the perfect place to start, and if you do you might find yourself jumping all the way in. Trust me, you won't regret it, and I can't wait to see where things go from here". Aguilar also declared that the series lives up to his high expectations, being one of his favorite DC stories. Ray Goldfield of GeekDad gave Batman: Beyond the White Knight a score of 8 out of 10, calling it a "full-on noir reinvention of the classic cartoon", although he was unsure whether this genre suited the style of the animated series. However, Goldfield still found the comic book intriguing despite its fast-paced tone and what the reviewer believed were predictable cliffhangers, though he also admitted to feeling a certain skepticism as the book progressed. In addition, Goldfield commented that while the comic—in his opinion—was nearly indistinguishable from the original Batman Beyond animated series, the former was able to differentiate itself from the latter by presenting some "unique twists" in the mythology originally pertaining to the TV show.

Thematic analysis
Joshua Lapin-Bertone of DC Comics.com linked Batman: Beyond the White Knight to the proverbial phrase "Clothes don't make the man" when stating that the comic book reflected the general belief that a person should not be solemnly judged by their appearance; Lapin-Bertone argued that Murphy, in order to fully embody this idea in the comic, utilized the characters' shadows to demonstrate that the way they dress contradicts who they really are. For example, Bruce Wayne, despite having abandoned his vigilante identity for over twelve years in the book, still "embodies Batman in everything he does", with the shape of his shadow corroborating the popular hypothesis of Batman being the character's true self. Additionally, with Terry McGinnis in possession of a dangerously powerful Batsuit in the book, Lapin-Bertone questioned whether just wearing the suit makes one Batman or not, while also wondering what kind of shadow Terry would cast by the end of the series.

Tie-in media
The eighth and final issue of Batman: Beyond the White Knight serves as the set-up for a Justice League-centric comic book titled World's Finest: White Knight.

Future
In December 2021, Murphy stated that he has "at least" one sequel planned for Batman: Beyond the White Knight. A two-issue prequel limited series titled Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood — co-written by Murphy and Clay McCormack, illustrated by Simone Di Meo and George Kambadais, and colored by Stewart — began publication on August 2, 2022 and ended on the 23rd of the same month. A six-issue limited series titled Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker — written by Katana Collins, McCormack and Murphy, illustrated by Mirka Andolfo and colored by Alejandro Sánchez — serves as a follow-up to Batman: Beyond the White Knight, with its publication beginning on May 9, 2023.

See also
 Joe the Barbarian — another comic book series illustrated by Murphy

Notes

References

External links

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Batman: Beyond the White Knight


Dano Raffanti (born 5 April 1948) is an Italian tenor, particularly associated with the Italian baroque and bel canto repertory.

Life and career
Born in Lucca, Raffanti trained in Milan with Rodolfo Celletti, and made his debut at La Scala in 1976, in Bussotti's Nottetempo.

The following year, he appeared at the Festival della Valle d'Itria, in Antigone by Traetta, he was to return there regularly, singing in Traetta's Le serve rivali, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Fra Diavolo, Il barbiere di Siviglia, etc. He sang Medoro in Vivaldi's Orlando furioso, in Verona, opposite Marilyn Horne, in 1978, repeating the role for his American debut in Dallas in 1980. He also appeared at the Rossini Opera Festival at Pesaro in La donna del lago opposite Katia Ricciarelli, Lucia Valentini Terrani and Samuel Ramey in 1983, and made his debut at the Royal Opera House in London as Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi in 1984 opposite Agnes Baltsa and Edita Gruberová conducted by Riccardo Muti. His debut at the Paris Opéra in 1985 was as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Raffanti made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1981 as Alfredo in La traviata, and later sang there the Duke in Rigoletto, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in La bohème, the Italian singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, and Goffredo in Handel's Rinaldo.

His roles include also Ugo in Donizetti's Parisina d'Este, Elvino in Bellini's La sonnambula, the title roles in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito and Idomeneo, Lyonel in von Flotow's Martha, Rinuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and the role title in Verdi's Don Carlos, which he performed at Turin's Teatro Regio in 1990.

Raffanti is married to soprano Maria Rosa Nazario.

Videography
 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538, 2009

References
Notes

Sources
 Elizabeth Forbes, Raffanti, Dano, in Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997, III, p. 1215,

Further reading
 R. Mancini & J.-J. Rouvereux, Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique, Fayard, 1986,

1948 births
Italian operatic tenors
Living people
20th-century Italian male opera singers
Musicians from Lucca

Dano Raffanti


Parfait is a type of food that is eaten as a dessert. It is a French word that means perfect.

Styles of Parfait
Parfaits are made differently in different countries.

French Parfait
A common parfait is the French kind. A French parfait mixes sugar, whip cream, an egg yolk, sauce, cold fruit and frozen ice cream. French parfaits are usually served on a plate not in a glass.

Japanese Parfait
Japanese parfait made mainly of ice cream and fruit with a sweet ingredient. It is served in a tall glass. It is a classic on a coffee shop menu. It is one of the more popular desserts.

Varieties
Fruit parfait
Chocolate parfait
Strawberry parfait
Mango parfait
Banana parfait
Custard pudding parfait
Green tea parfait

Ice cream
French food

Parfait


César (born Cesare Baldaccini; 1 January 1921 – 6 December 1998), also occasionally referred to as César Baldaccini (), was a noted French sculptor.

César was at the forefront of the Nouveau Réalisme movement with his radical compressions (compacted automobiles, discarded metal, or rubbish), expansions (polyurethane foam sculptures), and fantastic representations of animals and insects.

Biography

He was a French sculptor, born in 1921 to Italian parents from Tuscany in the working-class neighbourhood of la Belle-de-Mai in Marseilles. His father was a cooper and bar owner. After studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Marseilles (1935-9) he went on to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1943-8). He began making sculptures by welding together pieces of scrap metal in 1952 and first made his reputation with solid welded sculptures of insects, various kinds of animals and nudes.

His first one-man exhibition was at the Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris, 1954.

His early work used soldered and welded metal as well as junk materials, and by 1960 César was considered one of France's leading sculptors. In that year, on a visit to a scrap merchant in search of metal, he saw a hydraulic crushing machine in operation, and decided to experiment with it in his sculpture.  He astonished his followers by showing three crushed cars at a Paris exhibition. It was for these 'Compressions' that César became renowned.  César selected particular cars for crushing, mixing elements from differently coloured vehicles. In this way he could control the surface pattern and colour scheme of the piece.

Later the same year he joined the Nouveaux Réalistes (New Realists) - Arman, Klein, Raysse, Tinguely, Pierre Restany and others who found their inspiration in urban life.

In 1965, he started to work with plastics, first with plastic moulds of human imprints, then from 1966 by pouring expanded polyurethane, which was allowed to expand and solidify. He gave up making welded-metal sculpture in 1966 and organised a series of Happenings from 1967 to 1970, in which he produced expansions in the presence of an audience. His later works also included sculptures made out of molten crystal.

In 1995, he was asked to paint a McLaren F1 GTR that participated in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car Chassis GTR5 is still in the livery created by César, and represents the only 'Art Car" based on the iconic Mclaren.

He is the creator of the César du cinéma trophy, which is awarded to the best in French cinema.

He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur on 22 January 1978 and promoted Officier (Officer) in 1993.

He married Rosine and had one daughter.

He died in Paris in December 1998. Following his death there was an extended dispute over his will between his widow and daughter on the one hand and Stéphanie Busuttil, his companion at the time of his death, on the other.

Works on public display
Examples of César's work can be seen in the permanent collection of le Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou (Bas relief, Tortue, le Diable) and the Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris (Facel Véga). He also designed his own grave at the Montparnasse Cemetery, on the esplanade de La Défense (Le Pouce), in Marseille on the avenue de Hambourg near the MAC and the Bonneveine Centre (Le Pouce Géant).

One of his most iconic pieces, Conserve expansion - Martial Raysse (1970-1972), is at the Museo Cantonale d'Arte in Lugano.

The Flying Frenchman was installed in Hong Kong in the early 1990s.

Sources
 Ronald Alley, Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists, Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, p. 99.
 Le Monde, 12 January 2008

References

External links

National Galleries of Scotland Website
 Media Art Net | César (Baldaccini, César): Biography
 Arquivo.pt
 Cesar Baldaccini artist and art...the-artists.org
  César Baldaccini

1921 births
1998 deaths
Sculptors from Marseille
French people of Italian descent
French contemporary artists
People of Tuscan descent
Officers of the Legion of Honour
Nouveau réalisme artists
Academic staff of the École des Beaux-Arts
Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery
Recipients of the Praemium Imperiale
20th-century French sculptors
20th-century French male artists
French male sculptors

César Baldaccini


Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS) is a distributed message queuing service introduced by Amazon.com as a beta in late 2004, and generally available in mid 2006. It supports programmatic sending of messages via web service applications as a way to communicate over the Internet. SQS is intended to provide a highly scalable hosted message queue that resolves issues arising from the common producer–consumer problem or connectivity between producer and consumer.

Amazon SQS can be described as commoditization of the messaging service. Well-known examples of messaging service technologies include IBM WebSphere MQ and Microsoft Message Queuing. Unlike these technologies, users do not need to maintain their own server. Amazon does it for them and sells the SQS service at a per-use rate.

API
Amazon provides SDKs in several programming languages including Java, Ruby, Python, .NET, PHP, Go and JavaScript.  A Java Message Service (JMS) 1.1 client for Amazon SQS was released in December 2014.

Authentication
Amazon SQS provides authentication procedures to allow for secure handling of data.  Amazon uses its Amazon Web Services (AWS) identification to do this, requiring users to have an AWS enabled account with Amazon.com.  AWS assigns a pair of related identifiers, your AWS access keys, to an AWS enabled account to perform identification.  The first identifier is a public 20-character Access Key.  This key is included in an AWS service request to identify the user.  If the user is not using SOAP with WS-Security, a digital signature is calculated using the Secret Access Key. The Secret Access Key is a 40-character private identifier.  AWS uses the Access Key ID provided in a service request to look up an account's Secret Access Key.  Amazon.com then calculates a digital signature with the key.  If they match then the user is considered authentic, if not then the authentication fails and the request is not processed.

Message delivery
Amazon SQS guarantees at-least-once delivery.  Messages are stored on multiple servers for redundancy and to ensure availability.  If a message is delivered while a server is not available, it may not be removed from that server's queue and may be resent.  , Amazon SQS does not guarantee that the recipient will receive the messages in the order they were sent by the sender.  If message ordering is important, it is required that the application place sequencing information within the messages to allow for reordering after delivery.

Messages can be of any type, and the data contained within is not restricted.  Message bodies were initially limited to 8KB in size but was later raised to 64KB on 2010-07-01 and then 256KB on 2013-06-18.  For larger messages, the user has a few options to get around this limitation.  A large message can be split into multiple segments that are sent separately, or the message data can be stored using Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) or Amazon DynamoDB with just a pointer to the data transmitted in the SQS message.  Amazon has made an Extended Client Library available for this purpose.

The service supports both unlimited queues and message traffic.

Message deletion
SQS does not automatically delete messages once they are sent.  When a message is delivered, a receipt handle is generated for that delivery and sent to the recipient.  These receipts are not sent with the message but in addition to it.  SQS requires the recipient to provide the receipt in order to delete a message.  This feature is new as of 2008 where only the message ID was required for message deletion.  Because the system is distributed, a message may be sent more than once.  In this case, the most recent receipt handle is needed to delete the message. Furthermore, the receipt handle may have other validity constraints; for instance, the receipt handle may only be valid during the visibility timeout (see below).

Once a message is delivered, it has a visibility timeout to prevent other components from consuming it.  The "clock" for the visibility timeout starts once a message is sent, the default time being 30 seconds.  If the queue is not told to delete the message during this time, the message becomes visible again and will be present.

Each queue also consists of a retention parameter defaulting to 4 days. Any message residing in the queue for longer will be purged automatically. The retention can be modified from 1 minute up to 14 days by the user. If the retention is changed while messages are already in the queue, any message that has been in the queue for longer than the new retention will be purged.

Notable usage
Dropbox, Netflix and Nextdoor are examples of companies that use SQS extensively.  SQS is also widely used within Amazon.com.

See also
 Java Message Service
 Message queue
 Message Queuing as a Service
 Oracle Messaging Cloud Service

References

SQS
Message-oriented middleware
Inter-process communication
Web services
Cloud platforms

Amazon Simple Queue Service


The Battle of Lagos was a sea battle during the Nine Years' War on 27 June 1693 (17 June 1693 O.S.), when a French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet under George Rooke near Lagos Bay in Portugal. Rooke's squadron was protecting the Smyrna convoy, and it is by this name that the action is sometimes known.

Prelude
In the spring of 1693, a large convoy was organized to transport English and Dutch merchant ships which were bound for Spain and the Mediterranean; they had been held back by the threat of attack by the French fleet, or by commerce raiders.

The convoy, consisting of upwards of 200 sail, was to be escorted by a strong squadron of eight English and five Dutch ships of the line, with fireships, scouts and other auxiliaries, under the command of Vice-Admiral George Rooke and Rear Admiral Philips van der Goes. This squadron was bound for the Mediterranean, to take up station there. The convoy was to be covered by the combined allied fleet for its passage across the Channel, until it was past the port of Brest, to guard against attack by the French stationed there. The fleet, which was also charged with protecting England from the threat of invasion, would then double back to cover the Channel.

The French, however, whilst they had made good their losses of the previous year, had abandoned the intent to invade in favour of a guerre de course, a war against the allies' trade and commercial interests.

To this end, Louis XIV had dispatched the French fleet under Tourville, his most able commander, to set an ambush for the convoy before it entered the Straits of Gibraltar. By the end of May, Tourville had assembled a fleet of 70 ships of the line, plus fireships, stores vessels and other auxiliaries, about 100 sail in total; and taken up station near Lagos Bay in Portugal.

The convoy sailed at the end of May, with the allied fleet of 24 Dutch warships under Philips van Almonde and 45 English under a leadership committee of Admirals Henry Killigrew, Ralph Delaval and Cloudesley Shovell.

By 7 June (O.S) the convoy was about 150 miles southwest of Ushant, and the main allied fleet had turned back, leaving Rooke and the convoy to proceed south.
The allies had made no move to check where the French fleet was, and received no news of its whereabouts until 17 June (O.S). By this time Rooke and the convoy were in action off Lagos, having been sighted by the French on the morning of 17 June (O.S).

The battle
Rooke could not avoid battle, but held the advantage of being to windward. Ordering the merchant ships to disperse, his squadron took up battle positions. The battle started around 8 pm. when the rear of his squadron was overtaken by the French van, led by . Two Dutch ships, Zeeland (64, Philip Schrijver) and Wapen van Medemblik (64, Jan van der Poel), engaged the French, thus sacrificing themselves. They fought valiantly, giving the rest of the allied ships time enough to escape. When the two Dutch ships finally surrendered, Tourville was very impressed and congratulated the two captains, asking them if they "were men or devils".Rooke declared it "one of the best judged things I ever saw in action".

The next day Rooke, with 54 merchant ships in company, was standing west. In pursuit were just four French warships. As they closed, Rooke's flagship, the Royal Oak (100) guns, turned to face them. After a short exchange they abandoned the chase and drew off. Rooke and his group were able to reach Madeira without further incident, where he found Monck (60) with one of the Dutch warships, and 40 or 50 merchant ships in company. With this party and stragglers collected en route, Rooke was able to reach Ireland on 30 July.

Aftermath
While over half of the convoy was saved, some 90 ships were lost, the majority Dutch. 40 ships were taken as prizes by the French, the remainder destroyed. The two main goals of the convoy: first, to deliver the traders to their destinations in the Mediterranean and second, to establish a naval presence there, were defeated. For the French there was a huge gain, with prizes valued at 30 million livres. The City of London judged it the worst financial disaster since the Great Fire, 27 years previously.

For Tourville it was worthy revenge for his defeat in the Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue one year earlier.

Notes

References

External links
  Zeegevecht bij Lagos (Dutch)

1693 in France
Naval battles involving France
Naval battles involving the Dutch Republic
Naval battles involving England
Naval battles of the Nine Years' War
Conflicts in 1693
1693 in Portugal
Lagos, Portugal

Battle of Lagos (1693)


Noyan may refer to one of the following.

 Noyan, Quebec, Canada
 Noyan, a title of authority in Central Asia, including:
 Baiju Noyan (died 1260), Mongolian Commander.
 Baycu Noyan (fictional character), a character in Diriliş: Ertuğrul based on Baiju Noyan.
 Chormaqan Noyan, or Chormagan Noyan, (died 1241), Mongolian General.
 Jebei Noyan, or Jebe or Chepe Noyan, (died 1225), Mongolian General.
 Kitbuqa Noyan (died 1260), Mongolian soldier.
 Engin Noyan, Turkish musician.
 Abbas Noyan, Afghanistani Politician.

See also
 Noyon, Oise, France

Noyan (disambiguation)


The 9 mm Mars is an experimental centerfire pistol cartridge developed in the late 19th century based on necking down the .45 Mars Long case.  The bullet has two deep cannelures, and the case is crimped into both.  The case mouth is chamfered on the outside to fit flush into the forward cannelure.  This elaborate bullet seating was necessary to withstand the violent feed mechanism of the Mars Automatic Pistol.  The cartridge headspaces on the shoulder adjacent to the neck.  The case has a thin rim and deep extractor groove in comparison to most rimless pistol cartridges.  There was a very similar 8.5mm Mars cartridge firing a 139 grain bullet at 1550 feet per second.  The Mars cartridges were publicized as the most powerful handgun cartridges through the early 20th century; but less than 100 pistols were made and manufacture ceased in 1907.

See also
 9mm caliber
 Table of handgun and rifle cartridges

References

Pistol and rifle cartridges

9mm Mars


Horace Mann Towner (October 23, 1855 – November 23, 1937) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa's 8th congressional district and appointed the governor of Puerto Rico. In an era in which the federal government's role in health and education was small, he was an early leader of efforts to expand that role.

Early life and education
Towner was born in Belvidere, Illinois, the son of John and Keziah Towner. He was educated in the public schools at Belvidere, at the University of Chicago, and at the Union College of Law (now the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law).

Career
Towner was admitted to the bar in 1877, and initially practiced law in Prescott, Iowa, in Adams County. In 1880, he was elected county superintendent of schools at Corning, Iowa, in which capacity he served until 1884. He resumed the practice of law in Corning. In 1887 he married Harriet Elizabeth Cole, at Corning. They had three children, Leta, Horace, and Constance.

In 1890, he was elected as a judge of the third judicial district of Iowa. He also served as a lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Iowa from 1902 to 1911.

He was also a pianist and a composer, who set to music "Iowa, Beautiful Land", once Iowa's official song.

U.S. Congress
In 1910 Towner ran successfully as a Republican to succeed retiring Democrat William Darius Jamieson representing Iowa's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House. He was re-elected five times. From 1919 to 1923, he was served as the House Republican Conference Chairman.

He was the co-author (with Texas Senator Morris Sheppard) of the first federal law to offer matching federal funds for social welfare or to offer grants-in-aid to states for health purposes. That law, known as the Sheppard-Towner Act or the Maternity and Infant Act, was designed to lower the United States' relatively high rates of infant mortality, and established maternal and child health services in each state. First offered in 1919, it passed in 1921. Although the program it created was chronically underfunded after passage and was allowed to expire in 1929, it paved the way for many similar state-federal social welfare programs in the New Deal era and thereafter.

Towner was also the co-sponsor of the Towner-Sterling bill, which would have created a cabinet-level department of education. It failed to pass during his tenure in the House, and over fifty years would pass before its objective would be fully realized.

Governor of Puerto Rico
During his congressional tenure, Towner served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Insular Affairs, a committee with oversight responsibility over protectorates and territories. In early-1923, President Warren G. Harding appointed Towner Governor of Puerto Rico, a post he held until September 29, 1929. His tenure was characterized by the construction several public works projects, such as the system of aqueducts in various sectors, the irrigation system in Isabela, the School of Tropical Medicine building in Puerta de Tierra, and the penitentiary. He also implemented a retirement law for public employees and a new tax law.

Personal life
Towner resumed the practice of law in Corning until his death on November 23, 1937. He was interred in Walnut Grove Cemetery.

He is the namesake of Horace Mann Towner Primary Schools in Comerío, Puerto Rico and Cataño, Puerto Rico

References

1855 births
1937 deaths
People from Belvidere, Illinois
Governors of Puerto Rico
University of Chicago alumni
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni
University of Iowa faculty
Iowa lawyers
Iowa state court judges
Musicians from Iowa
Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa
People from Corning, Iowa

Horace M. Towner


Horseshoes is a lawn game played between two people (or two teams of two people) using four horseshoes and two throwing targets (stakes) set in a lawn or sandbox area. The game is played by the players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground,  which are traditionally placed  apart. Modern games use a more stylized U-shaped bar, about twice the size of an actual horseshoe.

Game play

NHPA Official Rules of the Game of Horseshoes
The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association (NHPA), the sport of horseshoes' governing body, maintains a set of rules and their specifications of the game on their website. They outline the style of play, the two most common scoring methods (cancellation and count-all), acceptable equipment, and exact court specifications as well as additional methods of organizing tournament and league competitions.

Style of play
The game begins with a horseshoe flip to decide who goes first. The winner of the flip  throws both horseshoes—one at a time—at the opposite stake, and then the second player throws both of their horseshoes—again, one at a time—at their end. After scoring, the next round is done in reverse order, or by throwing back at the original stake. Play continues until one player has at least 15 points commonly 21 points at the end of a round. NHPA sanctioned games are generally played to 30, 40, or 50 points, or a shoe limit of 30, 40 or 50 shoes. The horseshoes can be made of either plastic or metal.

Scoring
In horseshoes, there are two ways to score: by throwing "ringers" or by throwing the horseshoe nearest to the stake. A ringer is a horseshoe that has been thrown in such a way as to completely encircle the stake. Disputes are settled by using a straightedge to touch the two points at the ends of the horseshoe, called "heel calks". If the straightedge does not touch the stake at any point, the throw is classified as a ringer.

One player pitches both shoes in succession to one pit, followed by the other player. This is formally called an inning. Normally only one pitcher can score points per inning, however some leagues and tournaments play "count all", in which all points in each inning are counted. A live shoe that is not a ringer, but comes to rest  or closer to the stake, has a value of one point (alternate scoring methods give two points if the horseshoe leans on the stake. Also known as a "leaner"). If both of one player's horseshoes are closer than the opponent's, two points are scored. A ringer scores three points. In the case of one ringer and a closer horseshoe, both horseshoes are scored for a total of four points. If a player throws two ringers, that player scores six points. If each player throws a ringer, the ringers cancel and no points are scored. If two ringers are thrown by one player and one ringer by the opponent, the player throwing two ringers scores three points. This is typically called "two dead and three" or "three ringers three" for score-keeping purposes. Such occurrences are called "dead ringers" and are still used toward the pitcher/ringer average. Back-yard games can be played to any number of points that is agreed upon, but are usually to 21 points, win by 2. In most sanctioned tournaments the handicapped divisions pitch 50 shoe games, most points win. If there is a tie, the pitchers pitch two additional innings (alternating pitch) until the tie is broken. Championship divisions, or non-handicapped divisions are pitched to 40 points, regardless of the number of shoes pitched.

Single points in amateur games must measure 6 inches or less from any part of the shoe to the nearest part of the stake. Also, a game cannot be won when an opposing player, tossing a shoe, bumps an opponent's shoe to cause the opponent to reach the winning score. The game-winning point must be attained by the person tossing the horseshoe pertaining to their own score. Examples: If a player has 10 points and an opponent has 8 points, and the player with 10 points tosses a horseshoe and bumps their opponent's horseshoe for a ringer, the opponent scores 3 points for a total of 11 points, but does not win the game because of the two-point rule. If a player has 9 points and an opponent 8 points and the player with 9 points tosses a horseshoe and bumps his opponent's horseshoe for a ringer, the opponent cannot score 3 points, because the winning point must be attained by their own toss. However, the opponent can take two points, bringing their total point score to 10.

This scoring system gives rise to the popular expression "Close only counts in horseshoes", or alternatively "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades".

History

The games of horseshoes and quoits are closely related. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was general agreement about how horseshoes should be played, but details differed. Organizers of horseshoe matches published their own rules in local newspapers. The most dramatic difference from the modern game was the peg or pin, as the center stake was called, which protruded only  from the ground. The horseshoes were true horseshoes, nearly circular in shape, and, as in quoits, the expectation was that a ringer would land around the peg and remain there, some insisting the shoe not touch the peg.

In the 1907 "World Championship", shoes that rested  from the peg were declared foul, and cost the player a half-point each. A player could score one or two points if his shoes were closer to the peg than his opponent's. Ringers scored five points, and leaners, three. The scoring rewarded with 10 points a player who capped or slid under an opponent's ringer with one of their own, a difficult achievement with a 2-inch peg. Topping two ringers by an opponent with a ringer of one's own earned fifteen points, and two ringers topping two ringers counted twenty-one points. There were similar rewards for topping a leaner with a leaner or a leaner with a ringer.

In 1920, the Chicago Horseshoe Tournament prescribed a peg  above the ground. A shoe resting 2 feet from the peg was still foul, but no longer cost the player points. A distinction was made between a perfect ringer, which circled the peg when it struck the ground, and a scratch ringer, which circled the peg in some other manner. These scored five points and three points respectively. Leaners were also worth three points. There were no bonuses for topping opponents.

By 1925, local newspapers were citing the rules used at the national tournament, "as adopted by the national association January 1, 1925." Stakes were 40 feet apart and projected upward . The scoring was close to what is observed today, without penalty points, bonuses for topping, or special attention to leaners.

Even in more recent years, local rules continue. "Whether a 'leaner' will count as one or two points is up to the home team" in one contest. As successful as the NHPA has been, there are still those who find a park, drive stakes in the ground about thirteen strides apart, and wait for others to appear once the chiming begins.

A horseshoe pit was built at the White House in the 1940s by President Harry Truman. The horseshoe champion Jimmy Risk demonstrated his skills at the pit for Truman and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in 1946. The pit was recreated by President George H. W. Bush in 1989. Bush became an avid player of the game and hosted tournaments with White House domestic staff, family members, and administration personnel. Bush also demonstrated the game for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II and the Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Gallery

See also
Cornhole
Digor
Gorodki
Muckers
Quoits
Ring toss
Washers

References

 Kane, E E. "How to Play Horseshoes". Lifescript. N.p., 4 June 2008. Web. 14 Oct. 2010.
horseshoepitching.comhorseshoepitching.com

External links

 Rules, National Horseshoe Pitching Association.
 How to Pitch Horseshoes, NHPA.
 A Fictional Short Story About Horseshoes: Huggy and the Eggtones, clydepark.com.
 A biography of Frank Jackson, first national champion
 World Horseshoe Pitching Champions

Lawn games
Throwing games

Horseshoes (game)


Sverker 21 is a tool steel manufactured by Uddeholms AB. It is primarily used for Cold Work applications such as blanking, piercing, cropping, bending, forming and cutting. It's a proprietary equivalent to D2 [tool steel].

International standards comparison chart

Chemical composition

Properties
Sverker 21 is characterized by high compressive strength, high
surface hardness after hardening, good though-hardening properties and high wear
resistance (abrasive type of wear profile). These characteristics combine to give a steel
suitable for the manufacture of medium run tooling for applications where abrasive
wear is dominant and the risk of chipping or cracking is not so high, e.g. for blanking and
forming of thinner, harder work materials.

Application areas
It is a 12% chromium steel suitable for medium production volume tooling where the production materials cause abrasive wear and the risk of chipping is not so high.

Other Uddeholm Cold Work Steels
Arne,
Caldie,
Calmax,
Rigor,
Sleipner,
Sverker 3,
Unimax,
Vanadis 4 Extra,
Vanadis 6,
Vanadis 10,
Vanadis 23,
Vancron 40,
UHB 11,
Formax,
Holdax,

References

Steels

Sverker 21


John Ignatius "Sonny" Feehan (17 September 1926 – 11 March 1995) was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for several clubs in both Ireland and England.

Born in Dublin, Feehan began his football career as an amateur with Dublin-based Bohemians. He turned professional two years later, when he signed for Waterford. After four years with Waterford, he crossed the Irish Sea to England to play for Manchester United in November 1948. He was brought in as understudy to United's regular goalkeeper, Jack Crompton, and it took him a whole year to make his debut. His first appearance for the club came on 5 November 1949, keeping goal in a 6–0 home win over Huddersfield Town. An injury to Crompton later in the season afforded Feehan with an extended run in the team, including a 3–1 win over Portsmouth in an FA Cup Fifth Round replay in February 1950, but he was plagued by inconsistency and was transferred to Northampton Town in August 1950.

Feehan spent two seasons at Northampton, playing in almost 40 league matches, but he then dropped out of the game for two years before being picked up by Brentford. However, his appearances for Brentford were sporadic, making just 30 appearances in five seasons with the Bees.

Feehan died on 11 March 1995.

References

External links
Profile at StretfordEnd.co.uk
Profile at MUFCInfo.com

1926 births
Association footballers from Dublin (city)
1995 deaths
Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Bohemian F.C. players
Waterford F.C. players
Manchester United F.C. players
Northampton Town F.C. players
Brentford F.C. players

Sonny Feehan


Davidstow Cheddar is a brand of Cheddar cheese manufactured by Dairy Crest, at the Davidstow Creamery in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, alongside Cathedral City Cheddar.

Production
Cheddar cheese has been produced at Davidstow for over 60 years; the plant was set up there in 1951 by Cow & Gate. Milk is supplied by 300 farms in Cornwall and Devon, all within a 50-mile (80 km) radius. The Davidstow plant is the largest in Britain, having been upgraded in 2004, and has the capacity to produce 1,000 tonnes of Davidstow and Cathedral City cheese per week.

Awards
Davidstow won Gold trophies  at the International Cheese Awards in Nantwich in 2010 and 2011. Rick Stein has put his name to a brand of savoury oat biscuits with Davidstow cheddar cheese. and Davidstow cheddar is used by Nathan Outlaw in his two Michelin star restaurant.

References

External links

Davidstow Cheddar website

Cornish cheeses
Cow's-milk cheeses

Davidstow Cheddar


Andrew James Coulouris (born August 10, 1978) is a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He is a former Democratic Party member of the Michigan State House of Representatives from the 95th District, located in Saginaw County, which includes the city of Saginaw, Buena Vista Township, Spaulding Township, and Bridgeport Township.

Early life
Coulouris graduated from Arthur Hill High School in 1996. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He and his wife Natasha have been married since 2002 and have a child, Alex, who was born in 2006, and Mia who was born in 2010. He is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church in Saginaw.

Political career

City of Saginaw
Coulouris served as a member of the Saginaw City Council, having been appointed on February 11, 2002 to fill the remaining term of a seat vacated by another council member. He was subsequently elected to the city council in the 2003 election for a full four-year term, but he resigned before completing his term on September 12, 2005. He also served as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Saginaw County, although the position is not an elected position.

State representative
In the August 8, 2006 Democratic primary election he was the leading candidate among five candidates having received a plurality with 39.18% of the votes. In the general election held on November 7, 2006, Coulouris defeated Republican Joel Wilson, receiving 80.94% of the votes cast in the 95th District, a district heavily favoring candidates from the Democratic Party. His first term ended on January 1, 2009.

In the August 5, 2008 Democratic Primary election he defeated Terry W. Sangster, a former County Commissioner and Democratic candidate for State Representative, receiving 77.56% of the votes cast in the 95th district. Coulouris defeated Republican Ted Rosingana in the November 4, 2008 General Election, receiving 85.47% of the votes cast in the 95th District.  Had he not resigned, his second term would have ended on January 1, 2011.

As a state representative, Coulouris served on the Banking and Financial Services, Health Policy, Judiciary, and Tax Policy Committees. He was the Chair of the Banking and Financial Services Committee.  Coulouris was also named 2009 Legislator of the Year by the Michigan Municipal League.

Resignation from office
Under Michigan's legislative term limits, Coulouris was eligible for one additional term as a State Representative. As opposed to running for reelection in 2010, Coulouris instead announced that he would not seek a third term, citing the desire to spend more time with his family. However, it was later revealed that Coulouris took a job as a lobbyist for Dow Corning in Washington, D.C., and he resigned his position as State Representative on April 30, 2010. This left the 95th District without representation for a period of over 5 months, until the special election of Stacy Erwin Oakes in November 2010.

References

External links
 Representative Andrew J. Coulouris's Home Page

Living people
Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives
Michigan city council members
1978 births
University of Michigan Law School alumni
Politicians from Saginaw, Michigan
21st-century American politicians

Andrew Coulouris


Antonio Andrisani (born 1966) is an Italian filmmaker and director.

Andrisani was born at Matera. Inspired by the works of Stanley Kubrick, he has created a number of significant cinematographic works, including La Ragazza nel Bar (The Girl in the Bar), La Sosta (The Stop), Il Garante (The Guarantee), 31, La Mosca (The Fly), Ecco perciò (Here therefore), Al proprio posto (To his own place), Il numero uno (The number one).

He wrote the screenplay for the latest Silvia Ferreri movie, still editing, Lo stallo (The stall), where he also plays the main role together with Rolando Ravello and Pierfrancesco "Titizzo" Natale.

External links
 More information about Andrisani
 Official site

1966 births
Living people
People from Matera

Antonio Andrisani


Operation Cuu Long 44-02 was an operation during the Vietnam War conducted by South Vietnamese and Cambodian forces from 13-25 January 1971 to reopen Route 4 in Cambodia.

Background
The operation was conducted in order to assist the Cambodian Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) in reopening and re-establishing security along Route 4. In September 1970, Khmer Rouge forces together with units of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 1st Division, had closed this line of communications by occupying the Pich Nil Pass (). Several FANK outposts on Route 4 had been overrun in the process and other posts had been evacuated without resistance. Although the Mekong River supply route was open, Route 4 was very important to the FANK and to the Cambodian Government for all types of supplies, but particularly for military equipment. When the FANK requested help on Route 4, the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff (JGS) assigned the mission to the Commander of IV Corps General Ngô Quang Trưởng.

Forces for the operation consisted of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 4th Armor Brigade and 4th Ranger Group from IV Corps. In addition, the JGS reinforced the operation with the 2nd Marine Brigade. These forces were organized for combat into two task forces. Task Force North consisted of the 2nd Marine Brigade and the 12th Armor Regiment. It moved by vehicle, along Route 1 to Phnom Penh and by Route 4 to Kompong Speu. Task Force South consisted of the 4th Armor Brigade and the 4th Ranger Group. It departed Hà Tiên on Route 16 along the coast and was to continue west to Route 4, then north then northeast to link up with Task Force North as it moved southwest. Air support was the responsibility of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force 4th Air Division at Binh Thuy Air Base, whose assets were supplemented by US air units, reconnaissance, tactical strike aircraft and B-52s. In addition, US fire support and medical evacuation helicopters were positioned at An Thoi Naval Base on Phú Quốc island, from where they were in a better position to support the forces operating in the south.

Operation
The operation began on 13 January 1971 as the 4th Armor Brigade with the 12th and 16th Armored Cavalry Regiments, three Ranger battalions, an artillery battalion, and an engineer group moved 300 kilometers from Cần Thơ to Hà Tiên in 14 hours. For the next two days the brigade pushed north along Route 4. The first enemy encountered had set up an ambush that the 16th Armored Cavalry Regiment blew away by charging on line.

A second ambush further north against the 12th Armored Cavalry also failed. The enemy tried to isolate the lead squadron by destroying the first and last vehicles. The lead commander however, kept his flaming vehicle moving and his machine gun firing. Hit three times and burning, the ACAV continued north for about 150 meters before it blew up killing the crew. This prevented the column from being trapped on the road allowed the cavalry to get out of the enemy firing lines. The Ranger battalion behind the cavalry squadron stopped and opened fire. The ambushers were now in a deadly cross-fire between the cavalry and the Rangers. Two US aerial fire teams sealed off the enemy escape routes. When the smoke cleared 200 of the enemy lay dead and 75 weapons, including 2 75mm recoilless rifles and three heavy machine guns. had been captured. The 12th Armored Cavalry Regiment lost five killed, twenty wounded and three ACAVs destroyed.

On 17 January FANK forces with Vietnamese Marine Corps support, fought to the outskirts of the Pich Nil Pass and secured it while the armor brigade secured Route 4 as far north as Route 18. After helping the Cambodians set up strongpoints the 4th Armor Brigade withdrew towards South Vietnam, arriving by 25 January.

Aftermath
The operation ended on 25 January. PAVN/Khmer Rouge losses were 211 killed while ARVN losses were 16 killed.

References

Conflicts in 1971
Battles and operations of the Vietnam War
Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1971

Operation Cuu Long 44-02


The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise (the Enterprise) is an alliance of organizations formed to accelerate the search for an HIV vaccine.  Initially proposed in Science magazine in 2003  and developed by scientists, health experts and policy makers, the concept of the Enterprise received support from the G8 the following year. The primary aim of the organization is to provide leadership in efforts to reverse the AIDS epidemic.  The organization, based in New York City, was founded by representatives from The Gates Foundation, NIH, WHO-UNAIDS, European Commission, Wellcome Trust, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis.

History

In June 2003, a group of 24 individuals in the field of HIV vaccines published a Policy Forum article in the journal Science  proposing the creation of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. The article asserted that current attempts to develop such a vaccine were insufficient and that a renewed HIV vaccine research effort was required. The G8 pledged support in July 2004 and the following year, the Enterprise published the Scientific Strategic Plan in the journal PLoS Medicine. The activities of the organization are managed by a Secretariat, overseen by a Board of Directors and advised by the Enterprise Council and a Science Committee.

Scientific Strategic Plan

Following the foundation of the Enterprise, the organization published its Scientific Strategic Plan for accelerating HIV vaccine research in the February 2005 issue of Public Library of Science (PLoS) — Medicine. The plan described the major challenges facing the field and made recommendations in six priority areas. The primary aims of the 2005 Plan were to propose new activities in the field, increase collaboration and acquire funding commitments from government and non-government organizations.
In September 2010, the Enterprise published the 2010 Scientific Strategic Plan  in Nature Medicine. The organization's current Plan aims to assess the impact of the 2005 Plan and further advancements in the field.
The development of the 2010 Plan is driven by five Working Groups made up of more than 100 researchers representing different scientific approaches.

Activities

Consistent with its mission to foster collaboration in the field, the Enterprise participates in and hosts conferences throughout the year including the International AIDS Conference in Vienna and the AIDS Vaccine 2010 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

In collaboration with the National Press Foundation and the International AIDS Society, the Enterprise organized a training program for science journalists to report on the conferences.

The Young and Early Career Investigators (YECIs) initiative was formed by the Enterprise to recruit new scientists in the field. The group is chaired by representatives from Harvard Medical School and University of KwaZulu Natal

References

Further reading
 IAVI. "Nipping HIV In the Bud", IAVI Report Volume 14 No. 1, New York, January–February 2010.
 Keeton, Claire. "Top 10 lessons learned from HIV vaccine trials presented at M2010", Times Live, New York City, 25 May 2010. Retrieved on 2010-06-14.
 Farlow, Andrew. "Purchase Commitments: What is the Fit? A Response to 'Making Markets' and 'Strong Medicine'", Submission to: Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health, University of Oxford, 22 March 2005.

HIV vaccine research
Vaccination-related organizations
HIV/AIDS research organisations
International medical and health organizations

Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise


A stress-strain curve is a graph that is used to describe the relationship between stress and strain of a specific material; with stress being captured on the y-axis and the strain on the x-axis. Stress is the amount of force needed to change the material's shape: in this case, to make it longer. Strain is a measurement of how much the shape changes.

This graph is usually made by testing a material with a tensile test. The test consists of a force, of varying amount, is used to pull the sample apart at a constant rate until it breaks. This graph is used to show important characteristics of a material such as the yield strength, ultimate strength, fracture point, strain hardening, necking and Young's modulus.

 Yield strength -  point after which permanent, un-fixable damage occurs (think of overstretching a rubber band and now it's larger than it was originally)
 Ultimate strength - strongest recorded measurement of the material a.k.a maximum stress
 Fracture point - point at which the material breaks
 Strain hardening - area where the material becomes stronger, but is undergoing permanent, un-fixable damage
 Necking - area where the material is past it's ultimate strength and now the material is becoming smaller in area at the location where it breaks
 Young's modulus - the slope of the stress-strain curve before the yield strength point, used to describe "plastic" deformation a.k.a. damage to the material that can be completely reversed (think of stretching a rubber band and returning it back to place and it's back to it's original size)

Elasticity (physics)

Stress–strain curve


Mafera Park (officially Joseph F. Mafera Park) is a park in Queens, New York City, United States. It is approximately  in size, located adjacent to the New York City Subway's Fresh Pond Yard and close to the Fresh Pond Junction between the Long Island Rail Road's Bay Ridge and Lower Montauk branches. It has facilities for baseball, basketball, roller hockey, and handball.

The park is named after Ridgewood resident Joseph F. Mafera; when Mafera died in 1967, the park was renamed by law in his honor. The City of New York purchased the land in 1948, and on June 28, 1949, a groundbreaking ceremony was held, featuring New York City mayor William O'Dwyer, Queens Borough President James A. Burke, and Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Robert Moses.

Mafera Park was also known as Farmers' Oval due to the park's history hosting the semi-professional Glendale Farmers Base Ball Club for almost 50 years, from the 1900s until the 1950s. In the late 1940s and early 1950s it was also briefly called Ridgewood Park and Glen Ridge Park, as the park is between Glendale and Ridgewood.

It was renovated in the early 1990s, and a ribbon cutting ceremony was hosted by mayor Rudy Giuliani, Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, and New York City parks commissioner Henry Stern on March 18, 1995.

References

External links
 Mafera Park, NYC Parks

Parks in Queens, New York
Nature reserves in New York (state)
Glendale, Queens

Mafera Park


Stephen Kraftcheck (March 3, 1929 – August 10, 1997) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and coach, born in Tinturn, Ontario. He played parts of four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1950 and 1959 with the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1948 to 1964, was mainly spent in the American Hockey League (AHL)., and he was inducted into the AHL's Hall of Fame in 2008,

Playing career
His first National Hockey League (NHL) season was 1950–51, where he played 27 games for the Boston Bruins; 5 of these were in the playoffs versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, who went on to win the Stanley Cup that year. The next two seasons Kraftcheck played with the New York Rangers (1951-1953), netting 10 goals and 18 assists. After this stint, Kraftcheck remained a perennial all-star, but in the American Hockey League (AHL). The only other ice-time he saw in the NHL was for 8 games during the 1958–59 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kraftcheck played 13 productive seasons in the AHL, where he scored 73 goals and added 417 assists. In two separate seasons, Kraftcheck scored 41 assists, and during three other seasons he scored 37.

Kraftcheck also held the head coach/player role during 3 seasons for the AHL's Rochester Americans (1958-1961). His team made the playoffs two of these years, with Kraftcheck remaining an integral presence on the ice. In 1959–60, his Rochester Americans were defeated in the Calder Cup finals by the Springfield Indians. Of his 3 coaching years, this was the only season Kraftcheck was the head coach for the entire year.

He also played in 5 AHL All-Star games throughout the 1950s. He was posthumously inducted to the AHL Hall of Fame in 2008. Kraftcheck was the first recipient of the Eddie Shore Award, awarded to the player chosen as the AHL's best defenceman.

During his AHL career, Kraftcheck also played for the Cleveland Barons, Indianapolis Capitals, and the Providence Reds.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

AHL Hall of Fame Bio

1929 births
1997 deaths
Boston Bruins players
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Indianapolis Capitals players
New York Rangers players
Providence Reds players
Rochester Americans coaches
Rochester Americans players
San Francisco Shamrocks (PCHL) players
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Canadian ice hockey coaches

Steve Kraftcheck


Eivind Albin Andreas Bolle (13 October 1923 – 10 June 2012) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Hol.

He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Nordland in 1973, and was re-elected on two occasions. He had previously served as a deputy representative during the term 1969–1973. He was the Minister of Fisheries from 1973 to 1981 during three different cabinets: second cabinet Bratteli, cabinet Nordli and first cabinet Brundtland. During these three periods he was replaced in the Parliament by Eindride Sommerseth, Karl Ingebrigtsen and Finn Knutsen respectively.

On the local level he was a member of Hol municipality council from 1959 to 1963, and later in Hol's successor municipality Vestvågøy. He served as mayor from 1971 to 1973, during which term he was also a member of Nordland county council.

Outside politics he worked as a fisher from 1938 to 1974.

References

1923 births
2012 deaths
Government ministers of Norway
Members of the Storting
Labour Party (Norway) politicians
Mayors of places in Nordland
20th-century Norwegian politicians

Eivind Bolle


The State Management Scheme was the nationalisation of the brewing, distribution and sale of liquor in three districts of the United Kingdom from 1916 until 1973.
The main focus of the scheme, now commonly known as the Carlisle Experiment, was Carlisle and the surrounding district close to the armament factories at Gretna, founded in 1916 to supply explosives and shells to the British Army in the First World War. However, there were three schemes in total: Carlisle and Gretna, Cromarty Firth, and Enfield. In 1921 Carlisle and Gretna was split into two separate areas. Carlisle was the larger part and supplied some beer to Gretna. In 1922 the Enfield scheme ended and its public houses were sold back to private enterprise.

The scheme was privatised by Edward Heath's Conservative Government in 1971 and its assets were sold at auction in six lots, mostly to established brewing interests.

Ethos
A central pillar of the scheme was the ethos of disinterested management: public house managers had no incentive to sell liquor, which supported the aim of reducing drunkenness and its effects on the arms industry. From 1916 to 1919 the scheme had a "no treating" policy, forbidding the buying of rounds of drinks.

Architecture
The scheme also involved the refurbishment of public houses, and the demolition and replacement of substandard premises. Most of the new premises were designed by the scheme's chief architect, Harry Redfern in his New Model Inn style, which influenced the design of public houses in the rest of the UK.

References

Further reading
 John Hunt, A City Under the Influence: The Story of Half a Century of State Pubs, Lakescene 1971,
 Olive Seabury, The Carlisle State Management Scheme: Its Ethos and Architecture, Bookcase Carlisle 2007,

Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom
History of Carlisle, Cumbria
1916 establishments in the United Kingdom
History of the London Borough of Enfield
History of Dumfries and Galloway
History of the Scottish Highlands
Ross and Cromarty
Alcohol law in the United Kingdom
Alcohol agencies

State Management Scheme