Sceptrophasma hispidulum, commonly known as the Andaman Islands stick insect, is a species of the stick insect family. It originates from the Andaman Islands and is commonly found in tropical forests there. They eat a variety of foliage, though in captivity they commonly eat blackberry bramble, hawthorn, oak, rose, and lettuce. The species has the Phasmid Study Group number PSG183.

Description
Females grow to 7 cm long and males to 6 cm long. The colours include: brown and bronze orange, with slight shining. The eggs take 2–3 months to hatch.

Reproduction
Sceptrophasma hispidulum must have both males and female parents for the ova to hatch. Females will stick their eggs just about everywhere. The ova are 0.8 cm long and are of slightly arched form. The eggs are rather fragile and take 2–3 months to hatch.

References

Phasmatodea
Insects of Asia
Insects described in 1873

Sceptrophasma hispidulum


"Ode to the West Wind" is an ode, written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1819 in Cascine wood near Florence, Italy. It was originally published in 1820 by Charles Ollier in London as part of the collection Prometheus Unbound, A Lyrical Drama in Four Acts, With Other Poems. Perhaps more than anything else, Shelley wanted his message of reform and revolution spread, and the wind becomes the trope for spreading the word of change through the poet-prophet figure. Some also believe that the poem was written in response to the loss of his son, William (born to Mary Shelley) in 1819. The ensuing pain influenced Shelley. The poem allegorises the role of the poet as the voice of change and revolution. At the time of composing this poem, Shelley without doubt had the Peterloo Massacre of August 1819 in mind. His other poems written at the same time—"The Masque of Anarchy", Prometheus Unbound, and "England in 1819"—take up these same themes of political change, revolution, and role of the poet.

Genre
In ancient Greek tradition, an ode was considered a form of formal public invocation. It was usually a poem with a complex structure and was chanted or sung  on important religious or state ceremonies. According to Harold Bloom, "Ode to the West Wind" reflects two types of ode traditions: odes written by Pindar and the Horatian ode. The odes of Pindar were exalted in tone and celebrated human accomplishments, whereas the Horatian odes were personal and contemplative rather than public. Shelley combines the two elements in this poem. In the English tradition, the ode was more of a "vehicle for expressing the sublime, lofty thoughts of intellectual and spiritual concerns". This purpose is also reflected in Shelley's ode.

Structure
"Ode to the West Wind" consists of five sections (cantos) written in terza rima. Each section consists of four tercets (ABA, BCB, CDC, DED) and a rhyming couplet (EE). The ode is written in iambic pentameter.

The poem begins with three sections describing the wind's effects upon earth, air, and ocean. In the last two sections, the poet speaks directly to the wind, asking for its power, to lift him up and make him its companion in its wanderings. The poem ends with an optimistic note which is that if winter days are here then spring is not very far.

Interpretation of the poem

The poem can be divided in two parts: the first three cantos are about the qualities of the Wind and each ends with the invocation "Oh hear!" The last two cantos give a relation between the Wind and the speaker. Each canto of the poem has its own theme which connects to the central idea.

First Canto
The first stanza begins with the alliteration "wild West Wind" (line 1). The form of the apostrophe makes the wind also a personification. However, one must not think of this ode as an optimistic praise of the wind; it is clearly associated with autumn. The first few lines contain personification elements, such as "leaves dead" (2), the aspect of death being highlighted by the inversion which puts "dead" (2) at the end of the line. These leaves haunt as "ghosts" (3) that flee from something that panics them.

"chariotest" (6) is the second person singular. The "corpse within its grave" (8) in the next line is in contrast to the "azure sister of the Spring" (9)—a reference to the east wind—whose "living hues and odours" (12) evoke a strong contrast to the colours of the fourth line of the poem that evoke death. In the last line of this canto the west wind is considered the "Destroyer" (14) because it drives the last signs of life from the trees, and the "Preserver" (14) for scattering the seeds which will come to life in the spring,

Second Canto

The second canto of the poem is much more fluid than the first one. The sky's "clouds"(16) are "like earth's decaying leaves" (16). This is a reference to the second line of the first canto ("leaves dead", 2). The clouds also are numerous in number like the dead leaves. Through this reference the landscape is recalled again. The "clouds" (16) are "Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean" (17). This probably refers to the fact that the line between the sky and the stormy sea is indistinguishable and the whole space from the horizon to the zenith is covered with trailing storm clouds. The "clouds" can also be seen as "Angels of rain" (18). In a biblical way, they may be messengers that bring a message from heaven down to earth through rain and lightning. These two natural phenomena with their "fertilizing and illuminating power" bring a change.

Line 21 begins with "Of some fierce Maenad" and again the west wind is part of the second canto of the poem; here he is two things at once: first he is "dirge/Of the dying year" (23–24) and second he is "a prophet of tumult whose prediction is decisive"; a prophet who does not only bring "black rain, and fire, and hail" (28), but who "will burst" (28) it. The "locks of the approaching storm" (23) are the messengers of this bursting: the "clouds".

Shelley also mentions that when the West Wind blows, it seems to be singing a funeral song about the year coming to an end and that the sky covered with a dome of clouds looks like a "sepulchre", i.e., a burial chamber or grave for the dying year or the year which is coming to an end.

Shelley in this canto "expands his vision from the earthly scene with the leaves before him to take in the vaster commotion of the skies". This means that the wind is now no longer at the horizon and therefore far away, but he is exactly above us. The clouds now reflect the image of the swirling leaves; this is a parallelism that gives evidence that we lifted "our attention from the finite world into the macrocosm". The "clouds" can also be compared with the leaves; but the clouds are more unstable and bigger than the leaves and they can be seen as messengers of rain and lightning as it was mentioned above.

Third Canto

This refers to the effect of west wind in the water. The question that comes up when reading the third canto at first is what the subject of the verb "saw" (33) could be. On the one hand there is the "blue Mediterranean" (30). With the "Mediterranean" as subject of the canto, the "syntactical movement" is continued and there is no break in the fluency of the poem; it is said that "he lay, / Lull'd by the coil of his crystalline streams, / Beside a pumice isle in Baiae's bay, / And saw in sleep old palaces and towers" (30–33). On the other hand, it is also possible that the lines of this canto refer to the "wind" again. Then the verb that belongs to the "wind" as subject is not "lay", but the previous line of this canto, that says Thou who didst waken ... And saw" (29, 33). But whoever—the "Mediterranean" or the "wind"—"saw" (33) the question remains whether the city one of them saw, is real and therefore a reflection on the water of a city that really exists on the coast; or the city is just an illusion. Pirie is not sure of that either. He says that it might be "a creative you interpretation of the billowing seaweed; or of the glimmering sky reflected on the heaving surface". Both possibilities seem to be logical. To explain the appearance of an underwater world, it might be easier to explain it by something that is realistic; and that might be that the wind is able to produce illusions on the water. With its pressure, the wind "would waken the appearance of a city". From what is known of the "wind" from the last two cantos, it became clear that the wind is something that plays the role of a Creator. Whether the wind creates real things or illusions does not seem to be that important.
Baiae's bay (at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples) actually contains visible Roman ruins underwater (that have been shifted due to earthquakes.) Obviously the moss and flowers are seaweed.
It appears as if the third canto shows—in comparison with the previous cantos—a turning-point. Whereas Shelley had accepted death and changes in life in the first and second canto, he now turns to "wistful reminiscence [, recalls] an alternative possibility of transcendence". From line 26 to line 36 he gives an image of nature. But if we look closer at line 36, we realise that the sentence is not what it appears to be at first sight, because it obviously means, so sweet that one feels faint in describing them. This shows that the idyllic picture is not what it seems to be and that the harmony will certainly soon be destroyed. A few lines later, Shelley suddenly talks about "fear" (41). This again shows the influence of the west wind which announces the change of the season.

Fourth Canto
Whereas the cantos one to three began with "O wild West Wind" and "Thou" (15, 29) and were clearly directed to the wind, there is a change in the fourth canto. The focus is no more on the "wind", but on the speaker who says "If I ..." (43–44). Until this part, the poem has appeared very anonymous and was only concentrated on the wind and its forces so that the author of the poem was more or less forgotten. Pirie calls this "the suppression of personality" which finally vanishes at that part of the poem. It becomes more and more clear that what the author talks about now is himself. That this must be true, shows the frequency of the author's use of the first-person pronouns "I" (43–44, 48, 51, 54), "my" (48, 52), and "me" (53). These pronouns appear nine times in the fourth canto. Certainly the author wants to dramatise the atmosphere so that the reader recalls the situation of canto one to three. He achieves this by using the same pictures of the previous cantos in this one. Whereas these pictures, such as "leaf", "cloud", and "wave" have existed only together with the wind, they are now existing with the author. The author thinks about being one of them and says "If I were a . . ." (43 ff.). Shelley here identifies himself with the wind, although he knows that he cannot do that, because it is impossible for someone to put all the things he has learned from life aside and enter a "world of innocence". That Shelley is deeply aware of his closedness in life and his identity shows his command in line 53. There he says "Oh, lift me up as a wave, a leaf, a cloud" (53). He knows that this is something impossible to achieve, but he does not stop praying for it. The only chance Shelley sees to make his prayer and wish for a new identity with the Wind come true is by pain or death, as death leads to rebirth. So, he wants to "fall upon the thorns of life" and "bleed" (54).

At the end of the canto the poet tells us that "a heavy weight of hours has chain'd and bow'd" (55). This may be a reference to the years that have passed and "chained and bowed" (55) the hope of the people who fought for freedom and were literally imprisoned. With this knowledge, the West Wind becomes a different meaning. The wind is the "uncontrollable" (47) who is "tameless" (56). This canto also sounds like a kind of prayer or confession of the poet, yet does not address God. Shelley was a staunch atheist and one of the characteristics of Romanticism is equating nature with divinity, with the West Wind taking on the role of God.

Shelley also changes his use of metaphors in this canto. In the first cantos the wind was a metaphor explained at full length. Now the metaphors are only weakly presented—"the thorns of life" (54). Shelley also leaves out the fourth element: the fire. In the previous cantos he wrote about the earth, the air and the water. The reader now expects the fire—but it is not there. This leads to a break in the symmetry.

Fifth Canto
Again and again the wind is very important in this last canto. At the beginning of the poem the wind was only capable of blowing the leaves from the trees. In the previous canto the poet identified himself with the leaves. In this canto the wind is now capable of using both of these things mentioned before.

Everything that had been said before was part of the elements—wind, earth, and water. Now the fourth element comes in: the fire.

There is also a confrontation in this canto: Whereas in line 57 Shelley writes "me thy", there is "thou me" in line 62. These pronouns appear seven times in the fifth canto. This "signals a restored confidence, if not in the poet's own abilities, at least in his capacity to communicate with [. . .] the Wind".

It is also necessary to mention that the first-person pronouns again appear in a great frequency; but the possessive pronoun "my" predominates. Unlike the frequent use of the "I" in the previous canto that made the canto sound self-conscious, this canto might now sound self-possessed. The canto is no more a request or a prayer as it had been in the fourth canto—it is a demand. The poet becomes the wind's instrument, his "lyre" (57). This is a symbol of the poet's own passivity towards the wind; he becomes his musician and the wind's breath becomes his breath. The poet's attitude—towards the wind has changed: in the first canto the wind has been an "enchanter" (3), now the wind has become an "incantation" (65).

And there is another contrast between the two last cantos: in the fourth canto the poet had articulated himself in singular: "a leaf" (43, 53), "a cloud" (44, 53), "A wave" (45, 53) and "One too like thee" (56). In this canto, the "sense of personality as vulnerably individualised led to self-doubt" and the greatest fear was that what was
"tameless, and swift, and proud" (56) will stay "chain'd and bow'd" (55). The last canto differs from that. The poet in this canto uses plural forms, for example, "my leaves" (58, 64), "thy harmonies" (59), "my thoughts" (63), "ashes and sparks" (67) and "my lips" (68). By the use of the plural, the poet is able to show that there is some kind of peace and pride in his words. It even seems as if he has redefined himself because the uncertainty of the previous canto has been blown away. The "leaves" merge with those of an entire forest and "Will" become components in a whole tumult of mighty harmonies. The use of this "Will" (60) is certainly a reference to the future. Through the future meaning, the poem itself does not only sound as something that might have happened in the past, but it may even be a kind of "prophecy" (69) for what might come—the future.

At last, Shelley again calls the Wind in a kind of prayer and even wants him to be "his" Spirit: "My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!" (62). Like the leaves of the trees in a forest, his leaves will fall and decay and will perhaps soon flourish again when the spring comes. That may be why he is looking forward to the spring and asks at the end of the last canto "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" (70). This is of course a rhetorical question because spring does come after winter, but the "if" suggests that it might not come if the rebirth is strong and extensive enough, and if it is not, another renewal—spring—will come anyway. Thus the question has a deeper meaning and does not only mean the change of seasons, but is a reference to death and rebirth as well. It also indicates that after the struggles and problems in life, there would always be a solution. It shows us the optimistic view of the poet about life which he would like the world to know. It is an interpretation of his saying, If you are suffering now, there will be good times ahead. But the most powerful call to the Wind are the lines: "Drive my dead thoughts over the universe/like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!" Here Shelley is imploring—or really chanting to—the Wind to blow away all of his useless thoughts so that he can be a vessel for the Wind and, as a result, awaken the Earth.

Conclusion
This poem is a highly controlled text about the role of the poet as the agent of political and moral change. This was a subject Shelley wrote a great deal about, especially around 1819, with this strongest version of it articulated the last famous lines of his "Defence of Poetry": "Poets are the hierophants of an unapprehended inspiration; the mirrors of the gigantic shadows which futurity casts upon the present; the words which express what they understand not; the trumpets which sing to battle, and feel not what they inspire; the influence which is moved not, but moves. Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."

References

Sources
 Anderson, Phillip B. "Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind' and Hardy's 'The Darkling Thrush' ". Publications of the Arkansas Philological Association, 8.1 (1982): 10–14.
 Chayes, Irene H. "Rhetoric as Drama: An Approach to the Romantic Ode." PMLA, 79 (March 1964): 71–74. In Reiman, D., and Powers, S. (Eds.), Shelley's Poetry and Prose: Authoritative Texts, Criticism. NY: W.W. Norton, 1977. pp. 620–25.
 Duffy, Edward. "Where Shelley Wrote and What He Wrote For: The Example of 'The Ode to the West Wind' ". Studies in Romanticism, 23.3 (1984): 351–77.
 Edgecombe, Rodney Stenning. "'Creative Unbundling': Henry IV Parts I and II and Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind'". Keats-Shelley Review, 11 (1997): 133–39.
 Fogle, Richard Harter. "The Imaginal Design of Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind' ". ELH, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Sep. 1948), pp. 219–26.
 Forman, Harry Buxton. "How Shelley Approached the 'Ode to the West Wind' ". Bulletin and Review of the Keats-Shelley Memorial, Rome (London, 1913), I, No. 2, 6.
 Friederich, R.H. "The Apocalyptic Mode and Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind'." Renascence, vol. 36, no. 3, (1984), pp. 161–70.
 Gonzalez Groba, Constante. "Structure and Development of Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind' ". Senara, 3 (1981): 247–52.
 Haworth, Helen E. "'Ode to the West Wind' and the Sonnet Form". Keats-Shelley Journal, Vol. 20, (1971), pp. 71–77.
 Jost, François. "Anatomy of an Ode: Shelley and the Sonnet Tradition". Comparative Literature, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Summer, 1982), pp. 223–46.
 Joukovsky, Nicholas A. "Contemporary Notices of Shelley: Addenda to 'The Unextinguished Hearth' ". Keats-Shelley Journal, Vol. 56, (2007), pp. 173–95.
 Kapstein, I.J. "The Symbolism of the Wind and the Leaves in Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind' ". PMLA, Vol. 51, No. 4 (December 1936), pp. 1069–79.
 Leyda, Seraphia D. "Windows of Meaning in 'Ode to the West Wind' ". Hall, Spencer (ed.). Approaches to Teaching Shelley's Poetry. New York: MLA, 1990. 79–82.
 MacEachen, Dougald B. CliffsNotes on Shelley's Poems. 29 July 2011.
 Pancoast, Henry S. "Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind' ". MLN, (1920), XXXV, 97.
 Parsons, Coleman O. "Shelley's Prayer to the West Wind." Keats-Shelley Journal, Vol. 11, (Winter, 1962), pp. 31–37.
 SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on Shelley's Poetry". SparkNotes LLC. 2002. (accessed July 11, 2011).
 Wagner, Stephen and Doucet Devin Fischer. "The Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle: The Collection and the Collector." Biblion, 5.1 (1996): 52–57.
 White, Newman Ivey. The Unextinguished Hearth: Shelley and His Contemporary Critics. Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 1938.
 Wilcox, Stewart C. "The Prosodic Structure of 'Ode to the West Wind'." Notes and Queries, Volume CXCV, (18 February 1950), pp. 77–78.
 Wilcox, Stewart C. "Imagery, Ideas, and Design in Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind' ". Studies in Philology, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Oct. 1950), pp. 634–49.
 Wright, John W. Shelley's Myth of Metaphor. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1970.
 Yan, Chen. "Research on the Translation of 'Ode to the West Wind' in China". Journal of Jixi University, 2008.

External links

 Ode to the West Wind text
 Italian translation
 Reading of Ode to the West Wind
 Ode to the West Wind Analysis, Percy Shelley's Praise of Nature
 Audiorecording of "Ode to the West Wind" on Keats-Shelley website.
 Audiorecording of "Ode to the West Wind" by LibriVox, selection .

Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley
1819 poems
Poems in terza rima
Poems about the wind

Ode to the West Wind


Santa Gertrudis Independent School District (SGISD) is a public school district in Kingsville, Kleberg County, Texas, United States. The district covers approximately , and is located in  south of the city of Corpus Christi.  SGISD operates Santa Gertrudis Elementary and Academy High School. During the 2009–2010 school year, SGISD had 397 students enrolled, according to Texas Education Agency.

History of SGISD

Santa Gertrudis was formally established in 1917 as one of three schools associated with the King Ranch in South Texas. Today, Santa Gertrudis (now SGISD) is the only remaining school facility associated with the King Ranch.  The district boundaries are located within the Santa Gertrudis division of the King Ranch and a small part of La Paloma Ranch.
Santa Gertrudis ISD is fully accredited by the Texas Education Agency and has operated as an independent school district since 1942.  Prior to 1942, the district operated as a common school and in 1953 the district was formally recognized by legislative action.

In 1993, Santa Gertrudis began accepting nonresident transfer student from other area districts (before then the school was intended solely for children of King Ranch employees).  During the same year, the district also adopted a year around school calendar with four nine-week attendance periods, including two-week intersessions between attendance periods.  The school year begins late July and runs through late May (or early June).

Prior to 1994 Santa Gertrudis was solely a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school.  After eighth-grade, students left the district and entered area high schools.  It wasn't until 1994 when a high school program, grades nine through twelve, was established in partnership with Driscoll Independent School District and Texas A&M University–Kingsville.  The elementary school remains located on the King Ranch and the high school is located on the Texas A&M University Kingsville Campus.  The two campuses are  apart in location.

Campus Construction
As of December 2009, SGISD is building a new campus for all students, located off of the King Ranch. This school is nearing completion and move in dates are scheduled for early 2010.

Santa Gertrudis Elementary School

Santa Gertrudis Elementary provides programs for pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade, and had 182 students enrolled during 2009–2010.  The school is known for quality educational programs, advanced technology, a small student to teacher ratio, and a safe and supportive educational environment.  Located in the heart of the King Ranch, Santa Gertrudis continues the tradition of educating the children of King Ranch that originated with the famed matriarch of Rancho Santa Gertrudis, Mrs. Henrietta M. King (1832–1925), wife of Mr. Richard King.

Academy High School
Academy High School is an innovative, restructured, non-traditional high school program, with 210 enrolled during 2009–2010, located on the campus of Texas A&M University–Kingsville.

Academy has a foundation of self-paced curriculum and authentic assessment. The non-traditional approach offers each student a program developed to meet individual needs and capabilities. Since students are allowed to progress at a pace conducive to their abilities, they can master course requirements and move on to the next higher level of work. Small class size allows extensive student-teacher interaction on a day-to-day basis.

History
Academy was approved by the Texas Education Agency in the spring of 1994 and the first year of operation was 1994–1995.  Through support from Texas A&M University Kingsville, qualified students are able to begin college courses starting in the ninth grade.  The first graduation in 1998 was held at Naval Airs Station Kingsville, and all 36 inaugural ninth grade students graduated.  Fifty percent of the graduating seniors had earned 12 or more hours of college credit while in high school, 80% earned three or more hours, and 80% of the class entered post secondary education following graduation. However thanks to new staff at Academy High School in the 2017–2018 school year, students are now being limited on the college courses that they are allowed to take.

Athletics
Prior to 2007, Academy High School did not have a football team.  In the fall of 07, academy successfully played its first season of six-man football, with a junior varsity team and five away games (no home games).  During the first season, 44 athletes joined the team and became part of Academy High School history.

Entrepreneurship Program
In 1997, the Academy Entrepreneurship Program was established.  The program is a school-based business in which students manage all facets of a computer business, from building desktops and computer maintenance and repair, to technology training for faculty and staff.  The "Entre" program, Pride Computers, has built all the computers within the district, and it also performs all the computer maintenance for the district, including managing the network.

Advanced Studies Program
In the 2002–2003 school year, academy, working in collaboration with Coastal Bend College, established an Advanced Studies Program, offering students the opportunity to graduate high school with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Computer Information Technology.  Since the inception of the program, it has expanded to other career and degree areas within the community college.  Students also have the opportunity to take courses at Texas A&M University Kingsville, to earn credits applicable towards a four-year degree.   Students are allowed to take as many classes as desired, as long as they fit within a degree plan at an accredited university.  All college courses are tuition free to the students and are funded through several grants from the State and other sources. Key developers of the Entrepreneurship Program and the Advanced Studies Program were Bill Fette, District Technology Coordinator, and Thom Driver, District Network Administrator.  Bill Fette was the first to serve as Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator.

In 2005, due to the Advanced Studies Program, three students graduated with both a high school diploma and an associated degree from Coastal Bend College.  The three students were: Hailee Bugenhagen, Justin Walker, and Omar Gonzalez.

College hours earned by each graduating class
1998 – 117 credit hours, 36 students
1999 – 98 credit hours, 34 students
2000 – 85 credit hours, 39 students
2001 – 101 credit hours, 28 students
2002 – 141 credit hours, 26 students
2003 – 221 credit hours, 35 students
2004 – 531 credit hours, 40 students
2005 – 587 credit hours, 32 students
2006 – 509 credit hours, 33 students
2007 – 486 credit hours, 43 students

Demographics
The enrollment is 70.8% Hispanic, 27.2% Anglo, and 7% African American.

Attendance rates
Santa Gertrudis had a 98.08% overall attendance rate for the week of 02/22/2010 to 02/26/2010.
Pre-K = 99.26%
Kinder = 98%
1st Grade = 94%
2nd Grade = 100%
3rd Grade = 96%
4th Grade = 81.02
5th Grade = 100%
6th Grade = 97.89%
7th Grade = 99.05%
8th Grade = 98.89%

Academy High school had a 94.72% overall attendance rate for the week of 02/22/2010 to 02/26/2010.
9th Grade = 95.36%
10th Grade = 97.02%
11th Grade = 93.49%
12th Grade = 92.53%

School Board
Jesse Garcia - President
Carrie DeLaney – Vice-president
Catherine Montalvo – Secretary
Florinda Falcon – Trustee
Delia Perez – Trustee
Bobby Caldera – Trustee
Oscar Cortez – Trustee

See also

References

External links

SGISD Twitter
Santa Gertrudis Lion Student Facebook Page
New York Times: Diversity in the Classroom (2006 statistics)
2000 Performance Review by Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander

School districts in Kleberg County, Texas
Kingsville, Texas
1917 establishments in Texas
School districts established in 1917


is a Japanese anime television series produced by Tatsunoko Productions. It aired from October 5. 1969 to September 27, 1970, with a total of 52 episodes on Fuji TV. It tells the story of a boy who finds a bottle with a mysterious power - each time its user sneezes or yawns, a genie will come up and must grant the user's wish. A 1992 Saban Entertainment English dub called Bob In A Bottle was shown internationally, with a sequel series airing on YTV in Japan in 2020.

Plot
An old bottle has found its way into the household of a family, where an elementary school student named Kan, his parents, and a pet bulldog lived. A genie, Hakushon, and his daughter, Akubi, reside inside it. When Kan finds the bottle, he discovers that a sneeze summons Hakushon and he must grant the wish of whoever sneezed, while a yawn summons Akubi and she must do the same for whoever yawned. Getting wishes granted by either genie may not be a good thing, for Hakushon messes them up due to his own extreme clumsiness, while the more capable Akubi likes to cause mischief by twisting their words and meanings so that something bad happens.

Localization
The series was dubbed in English by Saban Entertainment in 1992 under the name Bob in a Bottle. A reggae-style theme song was composed for this version. Hakushon, Akubi and Kan were renamed "Bob", "Illana" and "Joey" respectively. Later, Bob in a Bottle was aired in Spanish, German, French, Swedish, Danish, and Hebrew. The English version aired in the United States on PRISM from 1994 to 1995, and also aired on Canada's YTV, Kenya's KTN, Australia's Seven Network in 1992, Zimbabwe's ZBC TV, New Zealand's TV2 in 1994, and the Netherlands' TV10. The motto for the English version is "Make everyday like paradise" and "You sneeze, I please, that's the way it goes". It was shown in Latin America under the name Yam Yam y el Genio, in Italy under the name "Il Mago Pancione Etcì" and in Arabic speaking countries as El Fatah Borhan.

The English dub of the series was considered lost until April 2020 when a YouTube channel on the history of English anime dubs by the name of Yui-Senpai TV discovered that all episodes of the dub have been preserved on videocassette copies in the Library of Congress. On December 28, 2021, a YouTube channel by the name of TVFourgade discovered that the tapes being held in the Library of Congress are on the U-matic tape format. According to the librarian, the tapes are in decent condition, with some visual noise on one of the tapes. Since 2022, a YouTube channel by the name of FilmwaysVTC has been uploading full episodes of the show taken from syndicated airings on Seven Network in 1992.

2020 Remake
A new anime television series by Tatsunoko Production and Nippon Animation aired on ytv from April 11, 2020, to September 26, 2020. It is a sequel series that takes place 50 years after the end of the original anime and centers on Akubi and Kantarō, the grandson of the original anime's protagonist. Atsushi Nigorikawa directed the series, with Hiroko Kanasugi handling series composition, Shin Takemoto and Masatsune Noguchi designed the characters, and Takamitsu Shimazaki, Hiroshi Sasaki, and Teppei Shimizu composed the series' music. On May 24, 2020, it was announced that episode 8 and further episodes would be delayed to June 20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Viz Media licensed the series as Genie Family 2020 and released it on Crunchyroll on October 15, 2020. The anime is also available on Roku, Peacock and Tubi.

Cast

Japanese version (1969)
Hakushon Daimaō - Tōru Ōhira
Akubi - Takako Sasuga
Daidaimaō - Ichirō Nagai
Shakkuri-sensei - Hisako Kyōda
Kan - Midori Katō
Daddy - Isamu Tanonaka
Mommy - Mitsuko Asō
Gejigon - Kazuya Tatekabe
Yuriko - Minori Matsushima
Burukō - Tarō Sagami
Sorekara-ojisan - Kinya Aikawa

Japanese version (2020)
Hakushon Daimaō - Kōichi Yamadera
Akubi - Sumire Morohoshi
Kantarō Yodayama - Miyuri Shimabukuro
Pūta - Daiki Yamashita

English version
Bob - Gary Jewell
Joey - Sonja Ball
Mr. Carter - Richard Dumont
Mrs. Carter/Chauncey - Jane Woods
Llana - Liz MacRae
Tilly - A.J. Henderson
Dora/Miss Green - Kathleen Fee
Additional Voices - Terrence Scammell, Mark Hellman, Pauline Little, Arthur Holden, Aron Tager, Bronwen Mantel

Spinoffs
The Hakushon Daimaō franchise made a comeback in the 2000s with two animated spinoff series produced by Tatsunoko and directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa, featuring Akubi as the central character and Hakushon as a supporting character.

Yobarete Tobedete! Akubi-chan

In Yobarete, Tobidete! Akubi-chan (26 episodes, 2001–2002), Akubi (now voiced by Asuka Tanii) befriends a shy young girl named Koron Nemuta (voiced by Sakura Nogawa), who habitually yawns whenever she is embarrassed, thus summoning Akubi forth from the bottle.

Akubi Girl

In 2006's Akubi Girl (also 26 episodes), Akubi befriends a first-grader named Ruru-chan and attempts to grant her wish of becoming close friends with Itoshi-kun, the boy on whom she has a secret crush.

Crossover
Pandora to Akubi, an anime film crossover between The Genie Family and Monster Strike was released on April 5, 2019.

Other appearances
A statue of Hakushon Daimaō can be seen in the first episode of the 2008 series of Yatterman.
Hakushon Daimaō is featured as a playable character in the Japan-exclusive fighting game Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes in December 2008, though due to licensing issues, he was not featured in the second iteration, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, which was released internationally.
A brief reference to the series is made in the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers episode "A Bad Reflection on You" in which clips from the English intro (Bob in a Bottle) are shown on a miniature television. Bulk (portrayed by Paul Schrier) states that it is his favorite cartoon. Music from the show, accompanied by visuals of Around the World in 80 Dreams (another Saban cartoon), also appeared at the end of the season 2 episode "The Power Stealer", where Skull (portrayed by Jason Narvy) enjoys watching.

References

External links

 Official 2020 anime website
 "Bob in a Bottle" / "Hakushon Daimao" - English Dub History Episode 1, Yui-senpai TV Youtube

1969 anime television series debuts
1970 Japanese television series endings
2001 anime television series debuts
2006 anime television series debuts
2020 anime television series debuts
Anime postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Anime productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Anime with original screenplays
Comedy anime and manga
Fox Kids
Fuji TV original programming
Genies in television
Japanese children's animated comedy television series
Nippon Animation
Television series by Saban Entertainment
Seven Network original programming
TVNZ 2 original programming
Tatsunoko Production
Viz Media anime
Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming
YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming

The Genie Family


Jules Aimé Lavirotte (March 25, 1864 in Lyon – March 1, 1929 in Paris) was a French architect who is best known for the Art Nouveau buildings he created in the 7th arrondissement in Paris.  His buildings were known for his imaginative and exuberant decoration, and particularly for his use of sculpture and glazed ceramic tiles on the facades, made in collaboration with leading sculptors and the ceramic manufacturer Alexandre Bigot.   He was three times awarded prizes by the city of Paris for the most original facades,  for the Lavirotte Building  at 29 Avenue Rapp (1901),  for the Ceramic hotel, 34 Avenue de Wagram (1904), and for the building at 23 avenue de Messine (8th arrondissement) in 1907.

Biography
Lavirotte was born in Lyon, and went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, where he was a pupil of Antoine Georges Louvier (1818–92). He subsequently studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under the tutelage of Paul Blondel (1847–97), and gained his architect's diploma there in 1894.

The first five buildings built by Lavirotte were all in the same part of Paris, the 7th arrondissement.  Three were in close proximity to each other, at 3 Square Rapp, 29 Avenue Rapp, and 12 Rue Sedillot.  The first two buildings benefited from Lavirotte's collaboration with Alexandre Bigot, a chemistry professor who imported the technology of making glazed earthenware tiles, which he had seen at the 1889 Paris Exposition.  His firm provided the exterior decoration for Lavirotte's most famous buildings, as well as for works by the other prominent art nouveau architects,  Three of his buildings were awarded prizes in the Paris facade competition, which gave prizes to several buildings each year;  The Lavirotte Building (1901), at 29 Avenue Rapp, his most flamboyant and famous work, known for its extravagant sculpted portal; The Ceramic Hotel, 34 Avenue de Wagram, 8th arrondissement (1904), which also featured ceramic decoration by Bigot; and the building at 23 avenue de Messine in the 8th arrondissement (1906-1907).  His last two major Paris buildings, next to each other at 23 Avenue de Messine and 6 rue de Messine, were in a more subdued style, with less flamboyant decoration,  but with refined craftsmanship and sculptural ornament.  They were his last art nouveau works.

In 1904, he traveled to Tunisia, where he designed a villa and a chateau and restored a church in the town of Chaouat.  In 1906, he built an experiment in low-cost housing, a bungalow at 169 Boulevard Lefebvre in 15th arrondissement (no longer existing).  In 1907, he designed the villa Dupont, located at 2 rue Balzac in Franconville, Val-d'Oise,  in the Paris suburbs.

He died in 1929, and his work was largely ignored until the 1960s, when art nouveau was rediscovered.  His major works were declared historic landmarks, and he was recognized, along with Hector Guimard and Henri Sauvage.  as one of the major figures of the Paris art nouveau,

Notable works (1898-1899)

151 Rue de Grenelle, 7th arrondissement (1898)
The first major building designed by Lavirotte. Its facade—influenced by the French Rococo style—offers only hints of the theatrical displays for which Lavirotte was to become known.

12 Rue Sedillot, 7th arrondissement (1899)
This building is very close to two other notable Lavirotte buildings, at 3 Square Rapp and 29 Avenue Rapp. The building was originally commissioned by the Comtesse de Montessuy as her residence, and is sometimes called the Hôtel Montessuy. It was completed in 1899.  It became the headquarters of a political party in the 1930s, and then a school, the  Lycée Italien Leonardo-de-Vinci.  While the style of the facade is largely Louis XV, it also includes a display of the imaginative details and exuberant decoration that characterize the work of Lavirotte.   The use of a railing with ceramic columns on the first floor balcony was repeated by Lavirotte  at 3 Square Rapp and 29 Avenue Rapp.   The interior was extensively modified when the residence was made into a school.  The winding stairway, with an art nouveau wrought iron railing, is one of the few original features that survived.  The courtyard behind the house was made into a gymnasium; the former rear exterior wall of the house is now an interior wall of that room.

Notable works (1900-1901)

3 Square Rapp, 7th arrondissement  (1899-1900)
This apartment building, on a small square just around the corner from the Lavirotte Building on Avenue Rapp, was the residence of Lavirotte, who had an apartment on the fifth floor.  It featured many of the art nouveau features of his later buildings, including a very ornate doorway and whimsical borrowings from earlier architectural periods, and also made extensive use of the decorative ceramic tiles of Alexanadre Bigot on the upper floors of the facade. The ornamental tower on the corner rests on column.  The building  is separated from the street by an ornamental grill and small fountain by Lavirotte, which frames a remarkable view of the Eiffel Tower.

29 Avenue Rapp, 7th arrondissement (1901)
The large scale deployment of glazed earthenware on the facade of the Lavirotte Building in 1901 was the first example of its kind in the West. Glazed tiles embedded in the stone and in the bricks are the work of ceramicist Alexandre Bigot; the building proved to be an effective advertisement for his wares. It was very lavishly adorned even by the standards of the many ceramically finished facades that were built in the following years, which were for the most part appointed this way because this was a way to protect and beautify the iron and concrete materials whose use was fast becoming the standard. The building at 29 avenue Rapp also had a highly exotic door frame designed by the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Larrive, and sculpted by Messrs Théobald-Joseph Sporrer, Firmin-Marcelin Michelet, and Alfred Jean Halou.

Later buildings (1904-1907)

Ceramic Hotel, 34 avenue de Wagram (8th arrondissement) (1904)
The Ceramic Hotel, located at 34 avenue de Wagram in the 8th arrondissement, was built in 1904.  It was constructed of reinforced concrete, and the ceramic decoration on the facade was made by the firm of Alexandre Bigot.  The sculptural decoration of climbing plants on the exterior of the first floor is signed by the sculptor Camille Alaphilippe, a winner of the Prix de Rome given by the Academy of Fine Arts. The building was a winner of the city competition for best facade in 1905. It originally was a maison meublée,  a furnished house or an establishment which rented furnished rooms.  It later became a hotel, the Elysée-Ceramic Hôtel,  and still later took its current name. Almost all of the original interior decoration disappeared when it became a hotel, but a few of the original details, including a stairway  and a stained glass window in the stairway, remain.   It was listed as an historic monument in 1964.

Number 6 Rue de Messine and number 23 Avenue de Messine (8th arrondissement) (1906-1907)
The two buildings on Avenue and rue Messine are next to each other, were built at about the same time, and followed a very similar design.  Number 23, on the corner of avenue de Messine and rue Messine, was a hôtel particulaire, a private residence, and was originally just three stories high.  The four upper floors and small tower were added later.  Number 23 was a winner in the 1907 facade competition.  The style of both buildings was more subdued than his earlier buildings, but both still featured a lavish use of sculpted ceramic tiles, wrought iron balconies, and floral sculpture above the entrance on the rounded corner number 23.   The sculpture on both buildings was the work of  Léon Binet.

List of buildings
151 Rue de Grenelle, 7th arrondissement (1898)
12 Rue Sedillot, 7th arrondissement (1899)
3 Square Rapp, 7th arrondissement (1899)
134 Rue de Grenelle, 7th arrondissement (1900)
29 Avenue Rapp, 7th arrondissement (1901)
Chateau at Chaouat (Tunisia, c.1904)
Villa at Chaouat (Tunisia, c.1904)
Restoration of the Church at Chaouat (Tunisia, c.1904)
Ceramic hotel, 34 Avenue de Wagram, 8th arrondissement (1904)
169 Boulevard Lefebvre, 15th arrondissement (1906)
23 Avenue de Messine, 8th arrondissement (1906, top floors added later, doing away with Lavirotte's garden roof)
6 Rue de Messine, 8th arrondissement (1907)
2 Rue Balzac, Franconville, Val d'Oise ()

See also
Paris architecture of the Belle Époque
Architecture of Paris
Art Nouveau
Concours de façades de la ville de Paris of which he was thrice one the winners (1901, 1905, 1907)

References

Notes and citations

Bibliography

External links
Pictures of Jules Lavirotte Art Nouveau Buildings in Paris
Pictures and description of many Lavirotte buildings around Paris

Jules Lavirotte - current photographs
Jules Lavirotte - architect - Biography and pictures of his works (in French)
 Fragrance 1900, a site devoted to art nouveau, with section on Lavirotte and his buildings, including interior and exterior photos (in French)

1864 births
1924 deaths
20th-century French architects
Architects from Lyon
Art Nouveau architects

Jules Lavirotte


Checking in ice hockey is any of a number of defensive techniques aimed at disrupting an opponent with possession of the puck or separating him from the puck entirely. Most types are not subject to penalty.

Types

Body checking
A player drives the shoulder, upper arm and hip and elbow, equally into the opponent to separate them from the puck, using the body to knock an opponent against the boards or to the ice. This is often referred to as simply checking or hitting and is only permitted against  an opponent with possession of the puck. Body checking can be penalized when performed recklessly.

In women's IIHF ice hockey, body checking is considered an "illegal hit" as well as in non-checking leagues, and is punishable by a minor penalty, major penalty and automatic game misconduct, or match penalty. Body checking was allowed at the first women's world ice hockey championship in 1990 but has been considered illegal since.

Hip-checking
When a player drops to a near-crouching stance and swings his hips toward an opposing player, sending the opponent off balance, often falling to the ice. This is performed most commonly against the boards. A hip-check at or below the knees is called "clipping"; it is considered an infraction in the National Hockey League.

Shoulder-checking
A player puts shoulder into an opponent to muscle the other player out of position. The elbow must be tucked in or the act may be considered elbowing, which is against the rules and can result in a penalty.

Poke checking
Using the stick to poke the puck away from an opponent. For example, a defensive player may hit the puck out of the puck carrier's possession before making physical contact. This is a common form of checking for goalies to use against opponents that approach closely, since they must avoid moving their bodies far from the goal.

Hook checking
Using the stick in a hooking manner on the ice surface to retrieve the puck from opponent players. Hook checking should not be confused with the other infraction hooking.

Sweep checking
Using the stick in a sweeping motion to knock the puck away from opponents or deter them from passing.

Stick checking
Using the stick to interfere with an opponent's stick.

Forechecking
Skating done in the offensive zone, often to recover possession of the puck after a dump in or turnover.

Backchecking
Rushing back to the defensive zone in response to an opposing team's attack. While behind the attacker, a defender may try to make physical contact with the puck carrier to check so that the opposing team may regain control of the puck.

Cross-checking
The act of checking an opponent with the shaft of the stick held in both hands. This is illegal and earns a minor, major, misconduct, or match penalty depending on the severity of the infraction.

Lift checking
Using the stick to lift or knock an opponent's stick upwards followed immediately by an attempt to steal the puck. This may also be used by a defender to keep an attacker from deflecting shots when both players are positioned in front of the net.

Press checking
Using the stick to stop or control the movement of an opponent's stick by placing pressure over the top of the opponent's stick.

Body checking in other winter team sports

Body checking is disallowed in the winter team sports of bandy, rink bandy, rinkball, ringette, spongee, and some broomball and ice hockey leagues, though other forms and levels of body contact may occur during play in each of the respective sports.

Although some broomball leagues allow the use of body checking, the sport in all of its formats and variants uses shoes or shoes with special soles for traction on the ice and does not use any type of ice skate. As a result, the body checking style used in broomball leagues that allow it are different from the style used in ice hockey and more closely resemble the style seen used in either lacrosse or box lacrosse.

Rules on checking

Illegal checking
Charging, hitting from behind and boarding are examples of illegal hits. "Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner. A "charge" may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame, or in open ice". Boarding is when a check violently throws a defenseless player into the boards. Due to their dangerous nature and increased likelihood of causing serious injury, these hits can have penalties ranging from a minor two-minute penalty to a major and game misconduct.

In women's ice hockey, any form of body checking is illegal. It is also not allowed in leagues with young children. Men's amateur leagues typically allow checking unless stipulated otherwise in league rules. Some intramural university leagues do not permit body checking, in order to avoid injury and incidents of fighting. "Leaning" against opponents is an alternative to body checking but can be penalized for holding if abused. Many studies have been done regarding injuries in hockey that have caused stricter rule enforcement in the 2010s. There have been decreases in the number of concussions and other serious injuries since these changes.

Beginning with the 2010–11 NHL season, any form of "lateral or blind side hit to an opponent, where the player's head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact" (which is known as an illegal check to the head) became prohibited. That season, an illegal check to the head is punishable with either a major penalty and a game misconduct, or a match penalty. This new rule was instituted as a result of concussion injuries to NHL players in previous seasons.

One season later, the criteria was changed so that the opponent's head was both the principal point of contact and targeted. That hit is punishable with either a two-minute minor or a match penalty. In the 2013–14 NHL season, the rule was clarified to "A hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. As mentioned before, that is punishable with either a two-minute minor or a match penalty.

New NHL standard of rule enforcement, 2005–06
For the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted stricter enforcement of many checking violations that in previous seasons would not have been penalized. The intent of the new standard of enforcement was to fundamentally alter the way ice hockey is played, rewarding speed and agility over brute strength, as well as increasing opportunities for scoring and minimizing stoppage of play. However, it is unclear how expanding the definition of a penalty would minimize the stoppage of play, as penalty calls entail play stoppage.  One explanation may be that more clearly defined rules give players more distinct boundaries on penalties, resulting in fewer penalties. The intended result is a faster-paced game with generally higher scores than in previous years.

New USA Hockey rules on checking, 2011–12
Beginning in the 2011–12 season, USA Hockey moved the age of legal body checking from 12U to 14U. The discussion of this rule change began with a look into Peewee (12U) and Squirt (10U) levels of hockey. Through observation, it was clear that Squirts skate more aggressively and try to play in the correct manner. Peewees in similar situations would either let the opponent get the puck first so they can check them or hold back so they don't get hit themselves. Injury was not an initial concern, but with research it was brought into the discussion. Research shows that the 11-year-old brain has not developed skills to anticipate. As a result, Peewees acquire injuries four times more in checking vs. non-checking hockey.

See also
 Neutral zone trap

References

Ice hockey strategy
Ice hockey terminology

Checking (ice hockey)


Carl Fellstrom (born 1964 in Sutton Coldfield) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster who specialises in crime and investigations.  He has written for all the major UK national newspapers contributing particularly to the Sunday Times, The Observer, Sunday Telegraph and Daily Mail.

He has also worked for the BBC and Channel 4 on documentaries including assistant producer for Undercover Prisoner for the Dispatches series which highlighted life inside one of Britain's prisons.  In December 2008, he published the highly acclaimed and controversial book Hoods, a best selling in depth study of gun crime, drugs and gangsters in the city of Nottingham.

References

External links

1964 births
British reporters and correspondents
Daily Mail journalists
Living people
The Sunday Times people

Carl Fellstrom


Carting Island is the largest of the four islands owned by Stratford, Connecticut in the Housatonic River between I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. The island is north of the Moses Wheeler Bridge, east of Peacock Island (Connecticut), and southwest of Long Island (Connecticut), and Pope's Flat, it is also south of  Fowler Island in Milford and the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge. The island is uninhabited except for occasional visits by anglers, bird watchers and duck hunters. All transportation to and from the island is by boat.

From 2011 the island was part of a multi-year wetland restoration report by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, NOAA, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The project goal was to eradicate an invasive species of plant known as Phragmites.

Geography

Elevation: ~
The mercury content was evaluated in 2003 at ~300 to 5000 ppb.

References

External links

Stratford, Connecticut
Landforms of Fairfield County, Connecticut
River islands of Connecticut
Uninhabited islands of the United States

Carting Island


Mariella Farré (born 7 January 1963 in Thurgau as Gabriella Filomeno) is a Swiss singer of Italian descent, best known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1983 and 1985.

Farré's first attempt at Eurovision came in 1981 when, as a newcomer, she entered the Swiss selection heat, only for her song "Una cosa meravigliosa" to finish sixth and last. She was to have more luck in 1983 with "Io così non-ci sto" ("I Don't Like It This Way"), which won the selection and went forward to the 28th Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 23 April in Munich, where it finished in a disappointing 15th place of the 20 entries. Undeterred, Farré returned in 1985 with two participating songs; a solo entitled "Oh, mein Pierrot", and "Piano, piano", a duet with Pino Gasparini (himself a Eurovision veteran, having been the lead singer with Switzerland's 1977 entrants the Pepe Lienhard Band).  "Piano, Piano" (which despite its title was sung in German) emerged the winner and advanced to the 1985 Eurovision, held in Gothenburg, Sweden on 4 May.  Farré this time got a slightly better result, 12th of 19.

Farré subsequently moved into dance and choreography, which she has made into a successful career.  She currently owns and runs two dance training schools in the Aargau canton of northern Switzerland.

References

External links
 Mariella Farré website
 "Io così non ci sto" lyrics
 "Piano, piano" lyrics

1963 births
Living people
People from Thurgau
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1983
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1985
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Switzerland
20th-century Swiss women singers

Mariella Farré


Kieran Omar Akeem Powell (born 6 March 1990) is a Nevisian sportsman who has played international cricket for the West Indies. He is a left-handed opening batsman.

Having represented the West Indies under-19s at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, Powell made his first-class debut for the Leeward Islands in March 2008. He was selected to make his One Day International (ODI) debut for the West Indies in 2009, against Bangladesh, and made his Test debut just under two years later, against India. Powell scored his first Test century in July 2012, against New Zealand, and later in the year made centuries in both innings of a Test against Bangladesh, becoming one of the youngest to do so.

Powell was dropped from the West Indies team in June 2014, midway through a series against New Zealand. In December 2015, he announced that he would be attempting to switch from professional cricket to professional baseball, pursuing a contract with a Major League Baseball team. This switch did not come to fruition and in March 2017 Powell was recalled to the West Indies team.

Early career
Powell was born in Charlestown, the largest town on the island of Nevis (one of the two constituent islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis). He lived in England from the ages of 14 to 16, where he attended Millfield School, an independent school in Somerset. While attending the school he played for their cricket team, and opened the batting with future England batsman Craig Kieswetter.

Having already played for the Leeward Islands at under-15 and under-19 level, Powell was chosen to represent his home island of Nevis in the inaugural Stanford 20/20 competition. On 14 July 2006, the 16-year-old Powell made his Twenty20 debut in the first round match against St Kitts, batting at number 3 and scored 26 runs from 16 deliveries as Nevis chased down the total. Powell was moved up to open the innings in the quarter-final match against Antigua and Barbuda, and scored 21 off 9 balls, setting a fast scoring pace to the innings which eventually totalled the highest of the tournament. In the semi-final against Trinidad and Tobago he was dismissed for a duck as the team was defeated by 74 runs.

Powell made his first List A appearances for the West Indies Under-19 in the 2007–08 KFC Cup. The team was playing in the competition as part of their preparation for the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup. Powell made his debut on 17 October 2007 against Barbados; it was a poor match for the under-19 team as they were dismissed for a record low total of 18, opening the batting Powell scored one run. Powell was dropped for the second group match but returned for the third and scored 2. In February 2008 the Under-19s made a short tour of Bangladesh in the lead up to the World Cup, Powell played in all three one-day matches against the home side scoring 44 runs from three innings.

Powell's form improved in the World Cup itself as he scored 253 runs at an average of 42.16, including three half-centuries. He was second highest scorer in the tournament behind India's Tanmay Srivastava. Cricket writer George Binoy wrote: "the way he took a step down to the fast bowlers and lofted them straight reminded one of Chris Gayle".

Powell finished the 2007–08 season by making his first-class debut for the Leeward Islands against Combined Campuses and Colleges in March 2008, he scored 85 in the first innings and 99 in the second, in the process winning the Man of the match award. Powell was a regular for the Leeward Islands in the 2008–09 WICB Cup, playing in all five group matches he scored 79 runs at 15.80. In July 2009 the West Indies players were in a dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), so an understrength team took to the field. Amongst the players was Powell, one of several players who would make their international debut during the tour. On 31 July he played his maiden One Day International squad to face Bangladesh. Opening the batting with Andre Fletcher, Powell was dismissed from the first ball of the match, dismissed leg before wicket by Mahbubul Alam as the West Indies lost all three matches in the ODI series.

With the contract dispute still unresolved, the West Indies took their weakened squad to the Champions Trophy in September. Powell played a single match during the tournament, making five runs before he was out. He would not play another ODI for two years. When the players' dispute with the WICB was resolved in November, Powell was one of several players who were replaced by more experienced cricketers.

International breakthrough
After his first taste of international cricket, Powell returned to play for the Leeward Islands but periodically represented West Indies A. His progress was hindered by an injury in 2011, but in July that year (two years after he was first called into the West Indies squad) Powell was selected to replace batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for the third Test against India. At the time Powell averaged 38.91 from 23 first-class matches. Chris Gayle, who regularly opened the batting for the West Indies, was not playing at the time due to a dispute with the WICB, so on debut Powell joined Adrian Barath (who made his Test debut in 2011 and was similarly inexperienced) to open the West Indies innings. Powell managed scores of 3 and 4 while the match ended in a draw.

In October 2018, Cricket West Indies (CWI) awarded him a red-ball contract for the 2018–19 season.

Switch to baseball
In December 2015, it was reported that Powell had been training in Florida in an attempt to make a career change from cricket to baseball and in hopes of making it in Major League Baseball. In January 2016, Powell worked out for the MLB's Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets.

Coaching career
In July 2019, he was appointed as the batting coach of the United States national cricket team on a short-term basis.

References

External links

1990 births
Living people
West Indies Test cricketers
West Indies One Day International cricketers
West Indies Twenty20 International cricketers
Leeward Islands cricketers
Nevis representative cricketers
Nevisian cricketers
Antigua Hawksbills cricketers
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots cricketers
Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club cricketers
People educated at Millfield

Kieran Powell


Émilie Barthe (March 26, 1849 – May 10, 1930) was a Canadian most widely known for the rumours of having an intimate relationship with Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Her son, Armand Lavergne, is thought to be their illegitimate offspring. Later into her life she would become a Catholic nun.

Early life
Émilie Barthe was the daughter of Joseph-Guillaume Barthe, a lawyer, journalist and political figure in Canada East, and Louise-Adélaïde Pacaud, the sister of Édouard-Louis Pacaud.

Marriage and children
In 1876, Barthe married Joseph Lavergne, a Quebec lawyer, judge, editor and political figure. Barthe would change her last name to Lavergne. Their first child was born in 1877, Gabrielle. In 1880, they had a son Armand Lavergne, who would become a lawyer, journalist and political figure, serving in the House of Commons and the Legislative Assembly of Quebec.

Relationship with Wilfrid Laurier
Beginning in 1878, Laurier had an "ambiguous relationship" with the then married Émilie Barthe. Despite being married to Zoé Lafontaine, he maintained his relationship to Barthe as she relished literature and politics just as he did, while Lady Laurier was not an intellectual.

The two corresponded with letters. Towards the end of her life she gave 41 of Laurier's letters to her nephew. Among those letters was this passage from August 23, 1891:

Since Laurier became the seventh Prime Minister of Canada on July 11, 1896, he could not resume his affair with her. It was by his decision that on August 4, 1897, Joseph Lavergne, who been a Member of Parliament, was made a judge of the Superior Court for the district of Ottawa. This appointment encouraged the  family to move to Ottawa, where Barthe and Laurier could continue their relations.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier began to realize the potential damage of the rumours, he returned Barthe's letters to her and in 1901, he positioned Joseph Lavergne from Ottawa to Montreal. He limited his communication by sending his regards to her through her husband and children.

Armand Renaud Lavergne is widely thought to be the illegitimate son between Émilie Barthe and Sir Wilfrid Laurier. When Renaud Lavergne was younger he bore an uncanny facial resemblance to Laurier.

Later life
In 1922, her husband, Joseph Lavergne died. On October 15, 1924, at the age of 75, Émilie joined the Grey Nuns as a recluse.

The loss of her eldest child and only daughter, Gabrielle, in 1928, sent Barthe into a depression.

Barthe would eventually die on May 10, 1930. She was buried in Arthabaska.

References

External links
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/primeministers/h4-2315-e.html
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/cmarchive/vol18no3/dearestemilie.html
http://www.lanouvelle.net/Actualites/Politique/2008-10-14/article-1331921/Wilfrid-Laurier-et-Emilie-Barthe%26hellip%3B-ce-que-le-juge-Cliche-en-a-dit/1

1849 births
1930 deaths
20th-century Canadian nuns
People from Montreal
19th-century Canadian women

Émilie Barthe


The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the head of government of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The chief minister leads the legislative branch of the provincial government, and is elected by the Provincial Assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits. Muhammad Azam Khan is the current caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is elected by the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to serve as the head of the provincial government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

History
In 1901, NWFP was declared as a Chief Commissioner Province and thirty-one years later in 1932 its status was raised to the Governor Province and NWFP Legislative Council was formed. The first session of the council was summoned on 18 May 1932 under the presidentship of His Lordship Hon'ble K.B. Khan Abdul Ghafoor Khan, Khan of Zaida at the Town Hall Abbottabad, at 9 a.m. of the clock, swearing Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum as the minister for Transferred Departments.
In 1937, the Government of India Act 1935 was enforced in NWFP changing the pre set regulations which introduced the portfolio of the chief minister, abolishing the portfolio of the president. The first session of the new parliament was summoned on 12 March 1946 under the Chairmanship of Sardar Bahadur Khan while Nawabzada Allah Nawaz Khan was elected as Speaker and Lala Girdheri Lal as Deputy Speaker on 13 March 1946. The total number of members was 50. This Assembly was dissolved in 1951 and the number of members was increased from 50 to 58. The legislative Assembly became a Provincial Assembly through a presidential order known as legal framework order 1970. After the restoration of the Provincial Assembly in 1970, General Elections were held for the NWFP Provincial Assembly on 17 December 1970. At that time the number of member's seats in the Assembly was 43 out of which 2 seats were reserved for women and only one for minorities. The first session of the Assembly was summoned on 2 May 1972 in the hall of Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, University Town Peshawar. Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak was elected as Speaker and Arbab Saifur Rehman Khan as Deputy

List of chief ministers

See also
 Government of Pakistan
 Prime Minister of Pakistan
 Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
 Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
 Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
 List of chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
 List of current Pakistani chief ministers
 List of current Pakistani governors
 Chief Minister of Punjab
 Chief Minister of Balochistan
 Chief Minister of Sindh
 Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan
 Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

References
Functions Of Chief Minister's Secretariat - khyberpakhtunkhwa.gov.pk/

External links
 Chief Minister's Website

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

North-West Frontier Province

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa


Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth or ZPG) is a non-profit organization in the United States that raises awareness of population challenges and advocates for improved global access to family planning and reproductive health care. The organization was founded in 1968 by Paul R. Ehrlich, Richard Bowers, and Charles Remington in the wake of Ehrlich's best-selling book, The Population Bomb. The organization adopted its current name in 2002.

Mission
"Overpopulation threatens the quality of life for people everywhere. Population Connection is the national grassroots population organization that educates young people and advocates progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth's resources."

Population Connection is the largest grassroots population organization in the United States, with 40,000 dues-paying members. Population Connection works to ensure that everyone around the world who wants to delay or end childbearing has access to the health services and contraceptive supplies they need.

Issues and campaigns
 Connections between population, health, and the environment, in the United States and around the world
 U.S. foreign assistance funding for international family planning
 U.S. funding for the domestic family planning program for low-income Americans, Title X
 Ending U.S. policies that restrict access to family planning and reproductive health care, including safe abortion, domestically (e.g. Hyde Amendment) and internationally (e.g. Global Gag Rule, Helms Amendment, restrictions on funding for UNFPA)
 Comprehensive (as opposed to abstinence-only) sex education for American teens

Initiatives

Education
Population Connection's education program, known as Population Education or PopEd, develops K-12 curricula and conducts professional development workshops for teachers that focus on human population issues. Since 1975, the program has developed age-appropriate curricula to complement students' science and social science instruction about human population trends and their impacts on natural resources, environmental quality, and human well-being. The program staff and their network of regional volunteers facilitate approximately 550 workshops each year for 11,000 teachers and future teachers throughout Northern America. PopEd lesson plans educate over three million American and Canadian students on population challenges each year. Population Education also hosts an international student video contest each year through their World of 7 Billion website.

Activism
Population Connection Action Fund is the political arm of Population Connection. Founded in 2013, their mission is to educate the American people and advocate progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by Earth's resources.

Population Connection and Population Connection Action Fund co-sponsor an annual advocacy event in Washington, D.C., called Capitol Hill Days. During the event, activists attend information sessions, learn advocacy techniques, and lobby on Capitol Hill for the elimination of the Global Gag Rule, for a greater U.S. investment in international family planning, and for a reliable contribution to UNFPA.

Population Connection Magazine
Population Connection is Population Connection's quarterly publication. The magazine highlights the connections between overpopulation, the environment, poverty, and women's empowerment. It provides important population news, research, program developments, and legislative updates. Annual membership ($25) includes a one-year subscription to Population Connection magazine. All contributions, bequests, and gifts are fully tax-deductible in accordance with current laws.

See also
 List of population concern organizations
 Zero population growth

References

External links

1968 establishments in the United States
501(c)(3) organizations
Human overpopulation think tanks
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Organizations established in 1968
Political advocacy groups in the United States
Population concern organizations
Political and economic think tanks in the United States
Population concern advocacy groups
Population research organizations
Sustainability organizations

Population Connection


Sra peang (, ) is a rice wine stored in earthen pots and indigenous to several ethnic groups in Cambodia, in areas such as Mondulkiri or Ratanakiri. It is made of fermented glutinous rice mixed with several kinds of local herbs (including leaves and roots). The types and amount of herbs added differ according to ethnic group and region. This mixture is then put into a large earthenware jug, covered, and allowed to ferment for at least one month. The strength of this alcoholic beverage is typically 15 to 25 percent alcohol by volume.

Nomenclature
Sra peang is the Khmer name given to the wine rine mainly produced and consumed by the minority people in Northeast Cambodia and local names vary among the different indigenous groups both Mon-Khmer, such as the Brao people, Kachok people, Kravet people, Krung people, Lun people, Phnong people, Tampuan people, and Austranesian such as the Jarai, the Tai-Ladai and the Lao.

History

Archeological traces of wine jars from Angkor era
According to Khmer ethnologist Ang Choulean, the jar wine was consumed by Khmer people since Angkorian times, as can be observed on some bas-relief of the Bayon temple, though the characters drinking from the beverage may actually be from Chenla. Other bas-relief in Angkor Wat represents distinctively Chinese individuals drinking from the wine jars. Khmer wine jars of the 13th century have also been observed among other ceramic artefacts of the Angkorian era, though many such artifacts are of Chinese origin. French archeologist Georges Cœdès was also able to identify rituals involving wine jars in Angkorian inscriptions.

An indigenous sacrifice: the rite of alliance

Rice wine was kept and consumed in jars until the 20th century according to French ethnologist Adhémard Leclère. However, it did not have a religious or ceremonial character.

This ritual character is observed in other ethnical groups of Cambodia such as the Phnong tribe where drinking from a wine jar is a sign of alliance closely linked with animal sacrifices. To this day, the ceremony begins with the beating of traditional gongs before the buffalo is sacrificed and its head placed on an altar. After village elders drink ceremonial rice wine from earthen jars place on the dirt floor through meter-long bamboo straws, the villagers then cook and eat the meat, he added, sharing it with all the participants.

In the Brou tribe, it has been observed that the men will sip one after the other from the wine jar for at least two rounds before women are invited to take their turn.

During the French colonization, the French officials frequently observed wine offerings and joined ceremonies involving drinking from wine jars in an effort to pacifiy remote areas of the protectorate of Cambodia where ethnic minorities resisted their presence. Wine jars therefore became a sign of alliance, or according to Khmer literary scholar Khing Hoc Dy, a "trap".

An element of indigenous identity and pride

In the 1960s, when the first evangelical missionaries, Thompson and Smith, arrived to Mondulkiri, they refused to drink from what they considered to be a major animist practice. Thereafter, drinking from rice wine jars was strictly forbidden by the Christian and Missionary Alliance missionaries. In contrast, Catholic missionaries allowed the Bunong tribe which to continue using wine jars as a sign of alliance and community, to the wine jars of the marriage in Cana where Jesus turned water into wine.

In recent years, sra peang has become an element of indigenous identity kept in the Bunong houses, and it is served in ethnic restaurants in Phnom Penh as an alcoholic beverage. It is also a sign of hospitality for both environmentalists, ethnologists and tourists traveling to remote areas populated with ethnic minorities of Cambodia.

Varieties
Four kinds of jar wine are found in Cambodia. The first is made from the leaves of the Lak Oan tree, which are ground and dried in the sun. The leaves are steamed and mixed with rice, a mixture that is then stored in a jar from three months to two years. Rice husks serve as the base to another cup of wine, which is made by mixing rice husks, sticky rice and leaven. The wine is drinkable after being stored in a jar for one to six months. A third type of wine is made from cooked potatoes, rice husks and leaven. This concoction must be stored in a jar for at least one month. A final cup of wine is produced from cooking maize with rice husks and leaven. This wine also must be stored for a month for its flavor to fully develop.

See also
Rượu cần, a similar wine drunk in Vietnam
Lao-Lao, a similar wine drunk in Laos

References

External links

Rice wine
Cambodian alcoholic drinks
Bunong culture

Sra peang


A buffet  is a serve-yourself food system.

Food is placed in a public area where the diners choose what they want.

Buffets are now usual in many hotels for breakfast, and sometimes for other meals. They are also common at social events, where people stand up to eat and talk.

Buffet restaurants usually offer all-you-can-eat food for a set price. Buffets usually have some hot dishes. The term cold buffet (see Smörgåsbord) has been developed to describe buffets lacking hot food. Hot or cold buffets usually involve dishware and utensils, but a finger buffet is designed for small pieces taken by hand, such as cupcakes, slices of pizza, foods on cocktail sticks, etc.

The essential feature of the various buffet formats is that the diners can see the food and immediately select which dishes they wish to eat, and usually also can decide how much food they take. Buffets are effective for serving large numbers of people at once, and are often seen in institutional settings, such as business conventions or large parties.

Buffets grade into cafeterias when there is a serving counter and the customer moves with a tray along a track.

References

Restaurants

Buffet


Virata (, IAST virāṭa) was the king of the Matsya Kingdom, in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. Virata was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and Princess Uttarā, who married Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. Abhimanyu and Uttara's son Parikshit succeeded Yudhishthira on the throne of Hastinapura, after the war of Mahabharata. He is the titular character of the Virata Parva, the fourth book of the epic Mahabharata

Life
Virata married his commander-in-chief Kichaka's elder sister Sudeshna. Though himself a strong warrior, he was intimidated by Kichaka's might. He was unable to stop Kichaka when he was insulting Draupadi in disguise of Sairandhri. After Bhima killed Kichaka, Virata became independent. When Trigarta king Susharma attacked him on Duryodhana's order from another direction, he fought with him bravely, but when Susharma was about to kill him, Virata was saved by Bhima. His daughter Uttarā was married to Arjuna's son Abhimanyu whose son Parikshit succeeded Yudhishthira's throne.

Role in the Kurukshetra War and death
He supported Pandavas in the war. Before, the war Sahadeva preferred Virata to be the commander-in-chief of their army,  but Yudhishthira and Arjuna preferred Dhrishtadyumna.

On the first day, his son Uttara was killed by Shalya. On the second day, an enraged Virata killed Shalya's son Madranjaya as revenge for Uttara. During the war, he fought Bhishma several times. On the seventh day, he confronted Drona but his horses, charioteer, banner and chariot were quickly destroyed by Drona. Then, he ran towards his son Shankha's chariot. Together, they managed to stop Drona's onslaught and wounded him. An enraged Drona shot a poisonous arrow at Shankha, killing him instantly and forcing Virata to withdraw. During the 15th day, he was killed by Dronacharya in a fierce battle, as per the BORI CE. In a different version, he was killed during a Kaurava attack in the Kurukshetra War along with his sons.

See also
 Virata Kingdom

References

Swami Ramsukhdas: Shrimad Bhagvadgita - Sadhaka-Sanjivani, translated into English by S.C. Vaishya, Gita Press Gorakhpur,

Characters in the Mahabharata

Virata


William Charles Virdon (June 9, 1931 – November 23, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Virdon played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 through 1965 and in 1968. He served as a coach for the Pirates and Houston Astros, and managed the Pirates, Astros, New York Yankees, and Montreal Expos.

After playing in the minors for the Yankees organization, Virdon was traded to the Cardinals, and he made his MLB debut in 1955. That year, Virdon won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He slumped at the beginning of the 1956 season, and was traded to the Pirates, where he spent the remainder of his playing career. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the Cardinals and Pirates, Virdon led a strong defensive team to the 1960 World Series championship. In 1962, Virdon won a Gold Glove Award. Following the 1965 season, he retired due to his desire to become a manager.

Virdon managed in the minor leagues until returning to the Pirates as a coach in 1968. He served as manager of the Pirates in 1972 and 1973, before becoming the manager of the Yankees in 1974. During the 1975 season, the Yankees fired Virdon, and he was hired by the Astros. After being fired by the Astros after the 1982 season, Virdon managed the Expos in 1983 and 1984. Virdon won The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award in 1974, his only full season working for the Yankees, and in 1980, while managing the Astros. He returned to the Pirates as a coach following his managerial career, and remained with the Pirates as a guest instructor during spring training.

Early life
William Charles Virdon was born in Hazel Park, Michigan, on June 9, 1931. His parents, Bertha and Charles Virdon, were originally from Missouri, but moved to Hazel Park during the Great Depression, where they were able to find jobs in automotive factories. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to West Plains, Missouri.

Virdon attended West Plains High School. He competed in American football, basketball, and track and field for the school. As West Plains did not compete in baseball, Virdon traveled to Clay Center, Kansas, to play for their American Amateur Baseball Congress team as a center fielder and shortstop. He enrolled at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.

Playing career

Minor league career
Virdon attended an open tryout held by the New York Yankees in Branson, Missouri, and scout Tom Greenwade signed Virdon to the Yankees for a $1,800 signing bonus ($ in current dollar terms). Virdon made his professional debut in 1950 with the Independence Yankees in the Class D Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League, and was promoted to the Kansas City Blues in the Class AAA American Association for the final 14 games of the season. Virdon played for the Norfolk Tars in the Class B Piedmont League in 1951, and for the Binghamton Triplets in the Class A Eastern League in 1952. The Yankees assigned him to Kansas City in 1953, but he struggled, batting .233. While he played in Kansas City, Virdon was diagnosed with astigmatism. When Kansas City manager Harry Craft noticed Virdon reading while wearing glasses, Craft told him to wear them while he played.

The Yankees demoted Virdon to the Birmingham Barons in the Class AA Southern Association. In 42 games for Birmingham, Virdon had a .317 batting average. According to Hal Smith, his roommate with Birmingham, Virdon changed his approach to hitting, prioritizing line drives to all parts of the field, rather than trying to hit for power.

Virdon remained stuck behind Mickey Mantle on the Yankees' depth chart for center field, while Gene Woodling and Hank Bauer played the corner outfield positions. The Yankees traded Virdon to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1954 season with Mel Wright and Emil Tellinger for veteran outfielder and All-Star Enos Slaughter. Virdon struggled during spring training, and Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky worked with Virdon to improve his hitting. The Cardinals assigned Virdon to the Rochester Red Wings of the Class AAA International League for the season. He led the league with a .333 batting average and hit 22 home runs, finishing second in voting for the International League Most Valuable Player Award to catcher Elston Howard with the Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club.

Major league career
Virdon joined the Cardinals in 1955, as the Cardinals moved Stan Musial to first base to allow Virdon to play the outfield. As a rookie, Virdon had a .281 average with 17 home runs and 69 runs batted in (RBIs). He was named the winner of the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award, voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, beating Jack Meyer of the Philadelphia Phillies.

After the 1955 season, the Cardinals hired Frank Lane, nicknamed "The Trader", as their general manager. Virdon slumped to begin the 1956 season, and the Cardinals traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in May 1956 for Bobby Del Greco and Dick Littlefield. Lane claimed that Virdon's late season slump in 1955 was because he tired down the stretch, and that is why he chose to trade him. Lane later referred to the trade as "the worst trade [he] ever made".

When he arrived at Pittsburgh, he developed an eye condition, for which he received treatment, missing one week of the season. Virdon's vision improved, and he challenged Hank Aaron for the NL batting title. Virdon batted .334 for the Pirates during remainder of the season, which increased his season batting average to .319, second-best in the NL to Aaron, who batted .328. Pirates' announcer Bob Prince gave Virdon the nickname "Quail" due to the frequency of his soft-hit infield hits.

The Pirates hired Danny Murtaugh as their manager during the 1957 season; Virdon credited Murtaugh with pushing him to perform at his best. Virdon consistently batted in the .260s for the next several seasons. He led all NL center fielders in assists in 1959 with 16, and in double plays turned with five. In 1960, Virdon, along with right fielder Roberto Clemente, shortstop Dick Groat, second baseman Bill Mazeroski, and third baseman Don Hoak, formed a strong defensive unit for the Pirates, and they reached the 1960 World Series, where they faced the New York Yankees. Virdon batted .241 during the seven game series. In the deciding Game 7, he hit a ground ball that struck Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat after taking an unpredictable bounce, enabling Virdon to reach base safely. This started a rally for the Pirates that culminated in Bill Mazeroski's home run that won the series for Pittsburgh.

Virdon led the NL in triples with 10 during the 1962 season. That year, he won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. He struggled in the 1964 season, batting only .243. Though his batting average improved to .279 in the 1965 season, Virdon retired after the season due to his desire to become a manager. Virdon retired with 1,596 MLB hits and a career batting average of .267 with 91 home runs during his 1,583-game NL career.

Virdon hit an impressive .404 against Sandy Koufax, the highest average of any batter facing the legendary Hall of Fame pitcher.

Coaching and managing career

Virdon began operating a baseball academy in 1956. After the 1962 season, Virdon coached in the Arizona Instructional League. He coached in the Florida Instructional League following the 1964 season. Following his retirement as a player after the 1965 season, Virdon spent the next two seasons as a manager in the minor leagues for the New York Mets' organization. In 1966, he managed the Williamsport Mets of the Eastern League, and in 1967, he managed the Jacksonville Suns of the International League. He led Williamsport to a 68–72 win–loss record, and Jacksonville to a 66–73 record.

Virdon joined the Pirates' major league coaching staff under manager Larry Shepard in 1968. He also appeared in six games as a player because a number of Pirates players had entered military service. Shepard left the Pirates after the 1969 season, and Virdon interviewed to become the Pirates' next manager. However, the Pirates re-hired Murtaugh, and Virdon remained on Murtaugh's coaching staff. Virdon coached for the Pirates as they won the 1971 World Series. Due to health problems, Murtaugh retired after the 1971 season, and Virdon was named as his successor.

As a manager, Virdon led the Pirates to the 1972 NL East division title, but the Pirates lost the 1972 National League Championship Series (NLCS) to the Cincinnati Reds when Pittsburgh pitcher Bob Moose unleashed a wild pitch in the final inning of Game 5, allowing the winning run to score. The 1973 Pirates now played without Clemente, who died during the previous offseason. Further struggles included pitcher Steve Blass' inability to throw strikes and injuries to Dock Ellis. Virdon clashed with Ellis and Richie Hebner. The Pirates were in third place with a 67–69 record when the team fired Virdon and replaced him with Murtaugh.

The Yankees announced the hiring of Dick Williams as their manager for the 1974 season, but American League president Joe Cronin nullified the transaction because Williams was still under contract with the Oakland Athletics. The Athletics demanded prospects Otto Vélez and Scott McGregor as compensation for Williams, but the Yankees decided the price was too steep. Without a manager, the Yankees hired Virdon, signing him to a one-year contract. Virdon led the Yankees to a competitive finish, one game behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East division. He won The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award. The Yankees signed him to a two-year contract after the 1974 season, with a raise from $50,000 to $65,000 per year. However, Virdon clashed with Bobby Murcer. He received a death threat due to his preference of playing Elliott Maddox over Murcer in center field. The Yankees struggled in 1975. When Billy Martin was fired as manager of the Texas Rangers during the 1975 season, the Yankees fired Virdon on August 2 and hired Martin. With Yankee Stadium being renovated in the two years he was at the helm (the club played at Shea Stadium instead), Virdon became the only Yankees manager (post-1923) to never manage a game at the Yankees' venerable ballpark.

The Houston Astros hired Virdon as their manager on August 20, 1975, succeeding Preston Gómez. Tal Smith, who had served as executive vice president for the Yankees, had become the Astros' general manager on August 7. Virdon led the Astros to third-place finishes in 1976 and 1977, but the Astros slipped to fifth place in 1978. The 1979 Astros fell one game short of winning the NL West division championship. The Astros tied the Los Angeles Dodgers for the division championship in 1980, and defeated them in the 1980 NL West tie-breaker game. The Astros played the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 NLCS, losing the series in five games. He again won the Manager of the Year Award in 1980. Due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, the 1981 season was split into halves with each half's winner appearing in the 1981 NL Division Series. The Dodgers won the first half, while the Astros won the second. In the Division Series, the Dodgers defeated the Astros in five games. During the 1982 season, the Astros fell to fifth place. Virdon was fired during the season and replaced by Bob Lillis.

The Montreal Expos hired Virdon as their manager before the 1983 season, replacing Jim Fanning, and signed him to a two-year contract. During the 1984 season, Virdon expressed to Expos general manager John McHale that he did not want to return to the Expos in 1985. With a 64–67 record in August 1984, the Expos fired Virdon, replacing him with Fanning. Gary Lucas, a pitcher for the Expos, felt that they had lost many one-run games because Virdon was too conservative in his managing, not employing the hit and run play and relying on the starting pitcher for too long into the game.

Virdon returned to the Pirates as the hitting coach under Jim Leyland in 1986, Leyland's first season as a manager. He took the position only when he was convinced that he would not succeed Leyland should the Pirates fire him. Following a contract dispute, the Pirates replaced Virdon with Milt May before the 1987 season. Virdon remained with the Pirates as a minor league hitting instructor from 1987 through 1989. He worked as a spring training instructor for the Cardinals in 1990 and 1991, and then rejoined Leyland's coaching staff in Pittsburgh in 1992.

With Major League Baseball expanding by two teams for the 1993 season, in 1992 Virdon interviewed for the managerial positions of both expansion teams, the Florida Marlins and the Colorado Rockies. The Marlins instead hired Rene Lachemann, and the Rockies hired Don Baylor. In 1994, Virdon interviewed with the Orioles for their vacant managerial position. Virdon left the Pirates after the 1995 season. He became the bench coach for the Astros under first-time manager Larry Dierker in 1997. The Pirates brought Virdon back as their bench coach for the 2001 season under first-time manager Lloyd McClendon. He retired from coaching after the 2002 season.

Virdon's career managerial record, over all or parts of 13 seasons, was 995–921 (.519). He also managed in the minor leagues for the Cardinals and the Astros. In June 2012, the Pirates attempted to add Virdon and Mazeroski to their coaching staff, but were rebuffed by MLB for violating the rules on uniformed coaching staffs after one game. Virdon continued to serve as a special outfield instructor for the Pirates during spring training.

Managerial record

Personal life
Virdon and his wife, Shirley, married in November 1951, and lived in Springfield, Missouri. They had three daughters. Together, Bill and Shirley Virdon endowed two scholarships at Southeast Missouri State University, Shirley's alma mater, with one specifically devoted to a baseball player.

A portion of the U.S. Route 63 business route in West Plains from Grace Avenue to US 63 is named "Bill Virdon Boulevard". Virdon was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1983, and named a Missouri Sports Legend by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. The Independence Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Virdon in 2013. Following Whitey Herzog's election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010, Herzog indicated that he would champion Virdon's cause to the Veterans Committee in future elections.

Virdon died on November 23, 2021, at the age of 90.

See also

 Houston Astros award winners and league leaders
 List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career assists as a center fielder leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career fielding errors as a center fielder leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career games played as a center fielder leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a center fielder leaders

References

External links

1931 births
2021 deaths
American expatriate baseball players in Cuba
Baseball coaches from Michigan
Birmingham Barons players
Drury Panthers men's basketball players
Gold Glove Award winners
Houston Astros coaches
Houston Astros managers
Kansas City Blues (baseball) players
Major League Baseball bench coaches
Major League Baseball center fielders
Major League Baseball first base coaches
Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners
Minor league baseball managers
Montreal Expos managers
New York Yankees managers
Norfolk Tars players
People from Hazel Park, Michigan
Baseball players from Oakland County, Michigan
People from West Plains, Missouri
Pittsburgh Pirates coaches
Pittsburgh Pirates managers
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Rochester Red Wings players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Williamsport Mets players

Bill Virdon


A nurse educator is a nurse who teaches and prepares licensed practical nurses (LPN) and registered nurses (RN) for entry into practice positions.  They can also teach in various patient care settings to provide continuing education to licensed nursing staff. Nurse Educators teach in graduate programs at Master's and doctoral level which prepare advanced practice nurses, nurse educators, nurse administrators, nurse researchers, and leaders in complex healthcare and educational organizations.

The type of degree required for a nurse educator may be dependent upon the governing nurse practice act or upon the regulatory agencies that define the practice of nursing. In the United States, one such agency is the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.  For instance, faculty in the U.S. may be able to teach in an LPN program with an associate degree in nursing.  Most baccalaureate and higher degree programs require a minimum of a graduate degree and prefer the doctorate for full-time teaching positions. Many nurse educators have a clinical specialty background blended with coursework in education. Many schools offer the Nurse Educator track which focuses on educating nurses going into any type setting.  Individuals may complete a post-Master's certificate in education to complement their clinical expertise if they choose to enter a faculty role.

Nurse educators can choose to teach in a specialized field of their choosing. There is not extra degree needed to be earned other than a master's degree in nursing. Most schools will only hire a nurse to teach a class if they have had experience in that area. This is so the students can have a better understanding of the current subject being taught.

In Australia, Nurse Educators must be Registered Nurses (RNs/Division 1 Nurses).  The Nurse Educator role is not available to Enrolled Nurses (ENs/Division 2 Nurses).
Nurse Educators require a minimum of a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment to teach the Diploma of Nursing in both the classroom and clinical placement settings.  Bachelor of Nursing Educators do not technically require this qualification, but it is generally favoured.  A Nurse Educator may also complete post-graduate university study in Nursing or Clinical Education, which may lead to an academic career including research, lecturing or doctoral study.
To become a Clinical Nurse Educator in a healthcare setting (e.g. on an acute care ward), Registered Nurses are generally required to have 5–10 years clinical experience and 6–8 years of study (a bachelor's degree plus post-graduate certificate or diploma).

See also

 Nurse education
 Nursing school

References

 Sayers, J., DiGiacomo, M., & Davidson, P. (2011). The nurse educator role in the acute care setting in Australia: important but poorly described. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(4), 44–52.

http://anmf.org.au/documents/reports/Fact_Sheet_Snap_Shot_Nursing_Career_Paths.pdf

External links

Nurse educator