Data cooling is one of the most fundamental  IT environment processes especially when it concerns a data center. As the new computer hardware becomes more compact while using the same amount or at times more electricity than the one that has been replaced, more heat is being produced inside the data centers. For collecting and transferring the remaining heat energy to the external atmosphere, accurate air conditioning and heat removal equipment is needed. The main goal is to transfer and transport unutilized heat energy from the IT environment to the external atmosphere.

Monitoring our service in real-life situations can be proved most of the times also equally important. With specific environmental sensors we can regulate,monitor and control data center's temperature, airflow and hotspots and in general be aware of the quality of the "internal" environment and temperature in the data center.

A computer room air conditioning (CRAC) unit is an apparatus that controls and maintains environmental features in the data center like temperature and humidity. While CRAC units makes use of mechanical refrigeration, a computer room air handler (CRAH) uses fans, cooling coils and a water-chiller system to remove heat.

Types of Data Center Cooling Techniques
The aim of cooling is to transfer heat from the data center (indoor environment) to the outside environment. There are two basic approaches for removing the remaining heat, either using air or liquid (typically water).

Air Cooling
Air cooling has some important advantages as it's practically easy to move and it doesn't provoke any damage to the IT apparatus. Since heat flows from the warmer objects to the cooler ones and warm air is increasing with respect to cold air this means that can make us distinguish them in some level. In fact many manufacturers of air-based cooling designs consider this particular property while constructing IT equipment.

Room based cooling, as an air cooling system, uses the most classical type of refrigerating technique: the basic idea is that coolers push cold air in the environment, extracting warm air to the outside. Conditioners not only refresh, but also mix the air to avoid hot spots. This idea results to be efficient if the power load used for mixing the air is a small fraction of the total load of the datacenter. Simulations show that this approach is valid for relatively low power load densities (320-750 ). Sometimes, when warm and hot air are being mixed the previous distinction is not plausible and this is where issues arise.

Hot/Cold Aisle Configuration
Hot/cold aisle is a format for racks of servers and generally IT apparatus inside a data center where the rack fronts face the rack fronts of the adjacent row. When cold aisle containment approach is used, row doors, aisle ceilings or overhead vertical walls are installed to contain the cold air coming from the cooling systems into the cold aisles. As the opposite, in hot aisle containment the hot air is contained so that the CRAC units just receive hot air.

The aim of this configuration is to decrease the amount of produced energy and reduce the costs regarding the cooling process by controlling the air flow.

Blanking Panels
If racks have empty space that it is not used then extra heat is being released into data center's airflow in order to "fill in" this unused space.The use of blanking panels can prevent the hot air from being transmitted in the data center's airflow.

Rack Placement
The top of the rack is considered to be the location which produces the greatest amount of heat. So, the specific placement of the racks can reduce the heat circulation from racks hot spots. The way that we can regulate this issue is by ordering rack components in a way that the more loaded equipment is placed on the lower racks and in such way we can ensure an optimal cooling. Since heavier equipment flow the most air, a lower rack placement will ensure that less heat is spreaded at the top of the rack.

Free Cooling
The free cooling method is composed of two main systems: the air-side economization and the water-side economization. The first one basically uses the air that comes from the outer environment in order to control and adjust the desired temperature in the IT apparatus. This technique is quite productive with respect to its cost (since we just take advantage of air from the external environment) but on the other hand has some disadvantages since it is likely to provoke humidity and moisture in the data center.

In a similar way, water-side economization works with air from the outdoors and is commonly used with evaporation processes.

Liquid Cooling
Liquid cooling can improve the efficiency of a data center as it provides an optimal and more targeted cooling. For example chilled water can be transferred directly to a rack of servers which is quite helpful as we want to provide cooling to specific places. Instead of trying to "balance" a desirable temperature throughout an entire room, it initializes the cooling process in the exact point that is needed; at a particular rack or cabinet. On the other hand, the use of liquid-based systems inside a data center could have some cons. Possible leaks are definitely a huge threat for the entire IT apparatus, transport of liquid may cause condensation and since the chilled liquid must be contained somewhere it requires more technological equipment and a suitable framework inside the data center; so in this case we need more resources. For the above reasons, although liquid-based systems are proved to be more reliable and effective, they appear to be quite expensive with respect to air cooling techniques and slightly more difficult to implement.

Single Phase Cooling
Using the setup of a liquid-based system, here the IT apparatus can be cooled by using water, or alternative cooling liquids to be pumped at server or rack level: cold plates are located as close as possible to the heat generating components. This technology makes use of the higher heat transfer capacity of the liquids, leading to greater savings in terms of energy requirement, in fact, single phase cooling systems can reduce, and sometimes eliminate needing for CRAC units.

One of the most important disadvantages is that they require high pumping power. Other side effects are microbe formation, electrical conductivity of the liquids and erosive nature due to high fluid velocities.

As the surface to be cooled increases, it is more difficult to achieve isothermality.

The main advantage, following an on-chip cooling approach is that, since direct discharge liquid stream is used, the energy capture is easier, permitting the waste heat recovery.

One of the pioneers of this technology has been IMB, with the Aquasar supercomputer, in 2009.

Two-phase Cooled Systems
Two-phase cooling means using devices that can transform at least part of the cooling fluids into vapour when in contact with warm IT components. The phase transition permits a much more efficient heat exchange, in terms of cooling medium mass: in other words: to exchange a fixed amount of heat, two-phase cooling uses less refrigerating liquid in comparison with the quantity which is necessary in single-phase cooling.

It was shown how, using multiphase systems, 4 times less mass-flow rates, 10 times less pumping power and 2 times less facility size.

The core of the evaporator is composed by a mini or microchannel heat-sink by which the plate surface is maximized; minichannels have a pitch of 2 to 8 mm, while microchannels have a pitch of less than 1 mm. Microchannels are more capable in transferring the heat thanks to their higher surface, but they are more easily clogged, corroded and eroded.

Cooling System Alternatives
There are many options available to services or IT experts when it comes to specifying cooling solutions. These options may differ according to the size or the particular type of the solution needed.

Airflow direction
Referring to the airflow process, large floor-mounted systems flow air in a downward direction (leading towards a lower flow level) or an upward direction (leading towards a higher flow level) and some can even flow horizontally (leading towards a horizontal flow level).

Fire, smoke, and water detection devices
These devices are best used in combination with IT monitoring and building management systems for quicker notification. They also provide early warning or automatic shut off during undesirable events.

Humidifiers
As a device that increases humidity, humidifiers can play an important role in the cooling process by preventing any unexpected overheating which may occur due to static electrical discharge.They are usually placed inside precision cooling devices in order to replace water vapor lost during the cooling process. Reassuring that the room has no current high or low humidity-related issues, the use of humidifiers can be in all computer room air conditioners and air handlers.

Reheat systems
When performing the particular technique, rooms should not have vapor barriers and also room temperatures should suggest humid climates. These systems in order to let the whole system provide increased dehumidification of the "internal" air, they add heat to conditioned cold air coming out of a precision cooling device.

Economizer coils
The advantage of using this approach is that it provides a surprisingly operating cost reduction when used.In this approach, diol (ethylene glycol) is used to cool the IT environment in a way which is similar to a chilled water system.

Insights
Data centers technology is quite complex and advanced and this has as a result to require huge amounts of energy. Therefore, data centers need to be as efficient as possible and data environmental control has a significant role to this issue.

The recommended temperature for a data center is estimated between 21°C and 24°C. In addition to,some studies regarding the desired temperature in a data center shown that maybe it is not so optimal (money-wise) for firms to keep the temperature below 21°C. Furthermore, typical data center limit temperatures have been estimated to be 85°C for processors and DIMMs, while disk drives can usually work in stricter conditions, at a maximum of 45°C.

It is also remarkable that, while the conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) for similar size rooms deal with heat fluxes in the order of 40-90 , cooling systems in data centers work with extremely higher heat loads: modern data center infrastructures can need to refresh apparatus that produces 6-10  as power density. In the next few years, it is estimated that the power density consumption will still raise up to 15 .

Google for instance mentions the significance of taking serious action to reinforce energy efficiency in case of either  running a small data center or a huge service. According to Google, many manufactures construct the suitable equipment to be used at temperatures higher than the standard 21°C we aforementioned. This may lead to next generation servers having the ability of performing at higher temperatures, fact that can make data center using less equipment and therefore save money. So for an effective  management and control data centers should be able to perform accurate temperature analysis by measuring the amount of energy spent for processes that concern cooling.Nevertheless, the best solution may be consulting the corresponding equipment manufacturer so with his expertise can point out the suitable approach.

Many opinions of experts about this subject point out that data centers could have better performance if they could adopt a mixture of cooling methods. Another important factor that could drastically contribute to an optimal performance is the location where data centers are placed. Constructing data centers either in places with cooler climates or near to sources of cold water not only could increase energy efficiency in a high level but also could reduce costs by deploying the external environment.

References

Data Center Cooling


USA Today is a daily newspaper founded by Al Neuharth. It has the most readers of any daily newspaper in the United States. About 2.25 million copies are sold on a weekday. It comes second worldwide. The Times of India sells about 2.6 million copies on a weekday.

The paper was founded in 1982. It is more colorful than other national newspapers, like The New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Its use of graphics makes its content rather like a tabloid.

The paper takes national polls before elections. It is connected, through its owners Gannet Company, to the TV show USA Today. It also has a news website.

References

Newspapers in the United States
1982 establishments in the United States
English-language television programs

USA Today


Masoud Dehnamaki (, born 1969 in Ahar, East Azerbaijan) is an Iranian conservative activist, filmmaker, and former journalist.

Early life
Dehnamaki says that he was a member of the army that liberated Khoramshahr in 1982—a decisive turning point in Iran–Iraq War.

Activism
Dehnamaki was mostly unknown until he started his activities with Ansar-e Hezbollah. Dehnamaki has been for years the General Commander of the notorious Ansar Hezbollah and a leader of Baseej vigilantes who aggressively attacked conferences and festivals. For years, Massoud Dehnamaki was known widely as the feared enforcer of conservative rules that restricted freedom for women and society. He used to break-up peaceful gatherings, attack speakers, and bring motorcycle vigilantes into streets.

Dehnamaki was involved in the Tehran University student riots in July 1999. Several students who were protesting that night the closure of "Salam" and were subsequently beaten up by the attackers have told the investigation committee that Mr. Dehnamaki was among the ones who were directing the brutal night raid.

In 2002, Ansar e Hezbollah, hardline group best known for disrupting reformist gatherings and beating up students declared a "holy war" to rid Iran of reformers who promote Western democracy and challenge the country's supreme leader. Masoud Dehnamaki, an ideologue with the group, also said that Iranians who try to appease Iran's enemies such as the United States "should be stopped."

Journalism
He was a managing director of Do-Kouheh weekly, Jebheh weekly, Shalamcheh weekly, Ansar-e Hezbollah weekly Yalasarat, and Sobh magazine, all close to conservative ideology. Shalamcheh and Jebheh were closed by Tehran's Press Court. Shalamcheh was banned by the Iranian court reportedly for "insulting a source of emulation".

Film career
In 2002 he directed Poverty and Prostitution, a documentary on prostitution that traces its roots to the evils of poverty. His documentary shows the rampant prostitution that is so strictly forbidden and suppressed by the Islamic Regime in control of the country. Prostitution in Iran is a taboo and therefore not directly discussed or addressed, allowing for the problem to spiral out of control.

In 2004 Dehnamaki directed Which Blue, Which Red (2004).

Massoud Dehnamaki's debut feature film Ekhrajiha (The Outcasts) (2006), also called Expelled, tells the story of Majid, a gangster from south Tehran who falls in love with Narges, the daughter of Mirza, a pious man. Majid must reform himself to marry Narges, so he decides to head to the Iranian warfront and his protégés also follow him.

The film set a box-office record in Iran.

His most recent film, Ekhrajijha 3 (Outcasts 3) (2011), is a political comedy that follows a group of Iran–Iraq War veterans, two of the most power-hungry of which run for president of Iran and lie, cheat and organize illegal late-night parties to win the hearts of Iran's young people. Dehnamaki denies any similarity between his film's characters and any real-life figures, but the film's two villains resemble the official government image of incarcerated presidential challengers Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Dehnamaki maintains he is an independent artist, but Ekhrajijha 3 has been heavily promoted on state TV and Dehnamaki had sufficient influence to be granted permission to shoot scenes of big political rallies in the center of Tehran, gatherings that many mistook for anti-government demonstrations. It is even rumored that free tickets were handed out to government employees in order to boost the success of the film in the box office. Many critics and film fans have pointed out the cinematic weaknesses of the film. This film was released around the same time as the internationally acclaimed and Academy Award–nominated movie A Separation. Dehnamaki's film received much more success in the box office (breaking the record for the most selling film in Iranian history). Dehnamaki was very critical of A Separation and has expressed his indignation that the Iranian opposition has called for a boycott of his film in favour of A Separation.

Viewpoints
Dehnamaki believes Iran needs to modernize, within the confines of a strict Islam, but not Taliban-style. "If we are against the Islam that the Taliban introduced, we must be able to offer a good model of the Islam that we believe is the source of compassion and kindness," he said. "But it has to be according to the needs of today so that it would be acceptable to our youth."
"There was a time that I believed that the people were the problem. But that was a mistake. The real problems are our rulers, who have become used to corruption and cannot fulfill the promises of the early days of the revolution about social justice and equality."
In 2006, Dehnamaki wrote an open letter to the president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warning him against his "fundamentalist and backward supporters," those people "who reduced promotion of virtue and prevention of vice to fighting against women's dress, and ignored justice in society."

Books
 Ketābshenāsi-e Esārat (Persian: ; lit.: Captivity Bibliography)

See also
History of political Islam in Iran

Notes

External links
Iran's Michael Moore, criticized on 2 fronts
Iran's political struggle hits the box office

Living people
Iranian film directors
Iranian journalists
People from Ahar
Iranian activists
Ansar-e Hezbollah politicians
1969 births
Volunteer Basij personnel of the Iran–Iraq War

Masoud Dehnamaki


Eliza Alice Lynch (Cork, Ireland, 19 November 1833 – Paris, France, 25 July 1886) was the Irish mistress-wife of Francisco Solano López, president of Paraguay.

Slandered as the most vilified woman in Latin-American history, she was dubbed as "an ambitious courtesan" who seduced the heir apparent of the Government of Paraguay, Francisco Solano López, turning him into "a bloodthirsty dictator." However, all those accusations were part of the propaganda-warfare during the Paraguayan War, by the allies and are disproven.

Nowadays, she is considered as a "National Heroine" of Paraguay.

Early life
She was born Eliza Alicia Lynch in Charleville (Rathluirc), County Cork, Ireland. She was the daughter of John Lynch, MD. and Jane Clarke Lloyd,  who was from a family of officers of the Royal Navy. She emigrated at the age of ten with her family to Paris to escape the Great Irish Famine. On 3 June 1850, she married Xavier Quatrefages, a French officer who was shortly afterwards posted to Algeria. She accompanied him, but at eighteen years of age, due to deteriorating health, she returned to Paris to live with her mother in the Strafford household. Courtesy of a few fortuitous introductions, she later entered the elite circle surrounding Princess Mathilde Bonaparte and quickly set herself up as a courtesan.

Eliza Lynch was described as possessing a Junoesque figure, golden blonde hair and a provocative smile. In 1854, Eliza met General Francisco Solano López, son of Carlos Antonio López, the president of Paraguay. The young general, in training with the French army, regarded his country's interests above all as fundamental reasons for his European journey. However, Lynch and López would begin a relationship which led her to return with him during that same year to Paraguay.

Paraguay

Once in Paraguay, Eliza Lynch became López's partner, bearing him six children in total. The eldest of them, Juan Francisco "Panchito" López was born in Asuncion in 1855. The last child she would bear to López, Leopoldo, was born in 1867 in the midst of the Paraguayan War, and died soon afterwards of dysentery, as a result of the poor conditions at the front.

After C.A. López died in 1862, he left his son F.S. López as his successor as president. Eliza then became the de facto first lady, as she and López never actually married. Eliza Lynch would spend the next fifteen years as the most powerful woman in the country. While she never married López, her marriage to Quatrefages was annulled on the grounds that it did not fulfill the legal obligations for it to be considered a lawful marriage (he had not received permission to marry from his commanding officer, and they had no children together). This is supported by his remarriage in 1857, a marriage from which he had children.

She arguably is considered to be the reason Lopez was so ambitious. However, in a book she wrote in 1876 while in Buenos Aires titled "Exposición. Protesta que hace Elisa A. Lynch" (Exposition. Protest made by Elisa A. Lynch) she states that she had actually no knowledge of and did not meddle in political affairs, rather dedicating her time during the war to helping the wounded and the innumerable families which followed López wherever he went.

Battle of Cerro Corá

Lynch followed López during the entire war and led a group of women called "Las Residentas", composed of the soldiers' wives, daughters, and others, who supported the soldiers. It was in this role that she came to be in Cerro Corá on 1 March 1870 when López was finally killed. One of these women was Ramona Martínez, who became known as "the American Joan of Arc" for her fighting and encouragement of the soldiers.

After the Brazilian forces killed López, they headed towards the civilians in order to capture them. López and Lynch's eldest son Juan Francisco, who had been promoted to colonel during the war and was fifteen years old, was with her. The Brazilian officers told him to surrender, and upon replying "Un coronel paraguayo nunca se rinde" (A Paraguayan colonel never surrenders) he was shot and killed by the allied soldiers. At this Lynch, after jumping and covering her son's body, exclaimed "¿Ésta es la civilización que han prometido?" ("Is this the civilization you have promised?") in reference to the allies' claim that they intended to free Paraguay from a tyrant and deliver freedom and civilization to the nation. She then buried both López and her son with her bare hands before being taken as prisoner.

Life after the war, and death

After being taken prisoner she was taken on board a ship called the Princesa (Princess) to Asuncion, where she was banished from the nation by the newly established provisional government, constituted by Paraguayans who had fought in favour of the allied forces and against López's army. She returned to Europe with her remaining children; and after five years, and under promises of the then-elected Paraguayan president Juan Bautista Gill that she would be respected, she decided to return to Paraguay to settle there and try to claim her former property. Upon arrival, however, she was tried and banished from the country permanently by President Gill. It was during these events that she wrote her book.

Eliza Lynch died in obscurity in Paris on 25 July 1886. Over one hundred years later, her body was exhumed and brought back to Paraguay where the dictator General Alfredo Stroessner proclaimed her a national heroine. Her remains are now located in the national cemetery "Cementerio de la Recoleta".

Legacy and historical perception
Some historians believe that Eliza Lynch was responsible for inducing Francisco Solano López to start the Paraguayan War. During her time as First Lady, Eliza Lynch educated Paraguayan society in many European customs and was largely responsible for the introduction of social events and clubs. She is considered a prominent figure of the war for her support of the troops and her willingness to remain with López until the bitter end. She also introduced the protocol dinners with the ambassadors and ordered to composed several songs as London Karape. This music endures until now. She transformed the Paraguayan woman into her way of dressing and thinking. Lynch is known as Madam or Madama Lynch in Paraguay due to her European origins, the fact that she never married López, and the implications of her past as a courtesan.

Eliza Lynch in art and literature

Non-fiction
 A history based facts in The Shadows of Elisa Lynch by Siãn Rees. "There is no doubting her scholarship and fine writing"—Sunday Times.
 A sympathetic biography which discovers her birthplace is "The Lives of Eliza Lynch" by Michael Lillis and Ronan Fanning (2009) Gill & Macmillan, Dublin.
 A more fictional leaning anti-Lynch work,  The Empress of South America by Nigel Cawthorne.
 "Calumnia" La historia de Elisa Lynch y la guerra de la triple alianza by Michael Lillis y Ronan Fanning. Paraguay 2009 (Spanish translation)

Fiction
Eliza Lynch is often noted as the Paraguayan predecessor to the Argentine Evita (without the change of heart from aristocratic elitism to champion of the downtrodden).  Due to the melodramatic appeal of her story, many fictionalized accounts of her life were written at the time and up to the present day, but the historical record is somewhat ignored and liberties are taken to maximize dramatic effect.  Novels include:

 William Edmund Barrett, Woman on Horseback (1938)
 Graham Shelby, Demand the World (1990)
 Anne Enright, The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch (2003)
 Lily Tuck, The News from Paraguay (2004), which won the National Book Award for that year

See also The Shadows of Eliza Lynch by Sian Rees (Headline Review (6 January 2003)) and The Empress of South America by Nigel Cawthorne (William Heinemann, London 2003).

Madame Lynch y Solano Lopez by Maria Concepcion Leyes de Chavez. Editorial "El Lector" 1996 Paraguay. (Spanish)

Elisa Lynch by Hector Varela. Editorial "El Elefante Blanco". Argentina 1997. (Spanish)

Pancha Garmendia y Elisa Lynch Opera en cinco actos by Augusto Roa Bastos. Paraguay 2006. Editorial "Servilibro" (Spanish)

La Gran Infortunada by Josefina Pla. Ediciones "Criterio" Paraguay 2007. (Spanish)

Madame Lynch and Friend by Alyn Brodsky. Harper and Row Publishers New York 1975. (English)

The play Visions (1978) by Louis Nowra depicts Lynch and López leading Paraguay to disaster in the Paraguayan War.

Ballet in two acts "Elisa" (2010) libretto by Jaime Pintos and Carla Castro, music by Nancy Luzko and Daniel Luzko. Commissioned by Ballet Municipal de Asuncion

Film
In the 2013 biographical film Eliza Lynch: Queen of Paraguay, Eliza Lynch was portrayed by Maria Doyle Kennedy.

See also
Francisco Solano López
Paraguayan War

References

Sources
Margaret Nicholas, The World's Wickedest Women, Octopus Books, 1984; pp. 34–35
Ed Strosser and Michael Prince, Stupid Wars, pp. unknown

Literature
 Alyn Brodsky: Madame Lynch & Friend: The True Account of an Irish Adventuress and the Dictator of Paraguay who Destroyed that American Nation, London : Cassell, 1976.
 Nigel Cawthorne: The Empress of South America, London : Heinemann [u.a.], 2003,

External links

 Murray, Edmundo. "Beauty and the Beast: A Beautiful Irish Courtesan and a Beastly Latin American Dictator"
 Murray, Edmundo. "Eliza Lynch (1835–1886): A Bibliography"
 Murray, Edmundo. "¿Santa o cortesana?" in The Southern Cross (Buenos Aires) Vol. 133 No. 5933, February 2008 (in Spanish)

1833 births
1886 deaths
First ladies of Paraguay
People from Charleville, County Cork
People of the Paraguayan War
Women in war in South America
Irish emigrants to Paraguay
Irish courtesans
19th-century Paraguayan people
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
Women in 19th-century warfare
Paraguayan exiles
19th-century Paraguayan women
Francisco Solano López

Eliza Lynch


Gille Brigte of Strathearn (1150–1223), sometimes also called Gilbert, was the 3rd Earl or Mormaer of Strathearn.

The eldest of three children born to Ferteth, Earl of Strathearn and his wife Ethen, he first appears on record in 1164, as a witness to a charter by King William to the monks of Scone. He succeeded his father in 1171, and around this time was made Justiciar of Scotia, the highest legal official in the realm.

He does not seem to have taken a large role in public affairs, and does not often occur in public records. A number of royal charters do exist, granting him certain lands in Perthshire. He was more active in ecclesiastical affairs. He took an interest in the newly founded Abbey of Lindores, and in 1200 he and his wife founded an abbey at Inchaffray, dedicated to the memory of their eldest son Gille Críst, who had died two years previously. He was also a benefactor to Dunblane Cathedral.

Gille Brigte (Gilbert) died in 1223, perhaps in his 70s, a very long life for the period, a testimony to his comparatively peaceful career.

Marriage and issue
Gille Brigte married twice. His first wife was Matilda or Maud, the daughter of William de Albini Brito. His second wife was Ysenda, a lady who held lands in Abercairny and had two brothers, Sir Richard and Galfric of Gask. By his first wife Matilda, he had seven sons and three daughters:
Gille Críst, held the lands of Kinveachy and Glencarnie, died 5 October 1198
William, died c. 1209
Ferchar, died c. 1209
Robert, 1176–1244, succeeded his father as the 4th Earl of Strathearn
Fergus, held the lands of Auchtermuchty, died c. 1247
Malise (Máel ĺsu), held the lands of Rossie. His wife is not known, but he had two sons, Malise and Nicholas.
Gille Brigte/Gilbert of Glencarnie, held the lands of Glencarnie, and had a son of the same name. His line ended in an heiress, Matilda, who was the mother of Duncan (Donnchad) Grant of Freuchie, ancestors of the Earls of Seafield
Matilda or Maud, married Malcolm (Máel Coluim), who became Earl of Fife
Cecilia, married Walter Ruthven, ancestor of the Earls of Gowrie
Eithne, married David de la Hay, 7th Earl of Erroll, ancestor of the Earls of Erroll

Bibliography
 Neville, Cynthia J., Native Lordship in Medieval Scotland: The Earldoms of Strathearn and Lennox, c. 1140–1365 (Portland & Dublin, 2005)
The Scots Peerage, ed. James Balfour Paul, Vol VIII (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1911), pp. 241–4

References

12th-century births
1223 deaths
Nobility from Perth and Kinross
Mormaers of Strathearn
12th-century mormaers
13th-century mormaers

Gille Brigte, Earl of Strathearn


National Route 12 (RN12) is a road in Argentina, connecting the northeast section to the rest of the country. It runs through the provinces of Misiones, Corrientes, Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires.

Starting south of the city of Zárate in Buenos Aires Province, and crossing the Paraná River, through the Zárate-Brazo Largo Bridge, continues to the provincial capitals of Paraná, Corrientes and Posadas, ending at the Fraternity Bridge, in the city of Puerto Iguazú, bordering with Brazil. The road continues within Brazil as BR-469. Its length of , is fully paved.

In the Zárate - Ceibas section, the road is a wide, 4-lane highway. Before the opening of the Zárate - Brazo Largo bridge, on 14 December 1977. cars had to cross the Paraná de las Palmas and Paraná Guazú rivers by barge. The section between the rivers, in Talavera Island, was a treated, unpaved road.

Construction on the second lane (widening) on the  section between Brazo Largo and Ceibas (km markers 115 to 160) was started in May 1997, opening to the public on 12 October 1999.

National Law 25,680 published in the Official Bulletin on 3 January 2003 designates the section from Brazo Largo to Ceibas as David Della Chiesa road.

Cities
The cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants crossed by the road (from South to North) are:

Buenos Aires Province

Length: 30 km (km marker 82 to 112).

 Zárate Partido: Zárate (km 84).
 Zárate Partido - Islas Sector: no towns.
 Campana Partido: no towns.

Entre Ríos Province
Length: 535 km (km 112 a 647).
 Islas del Ibicuy Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
 Gualeguay Department: Gualeguay (km 231)
 Nogoyá Department: Nogoyá (km 337).
 Diamante Department: General Ramírez (km 376)
 Paraná Department: Crespo (km 401), San Benito and Paraná (km 445).
 La Paz Department: La Paz (km 601).

Corrientes Province

Length: 678 km (km markers 647 to 1325). RN12 is called John F. Kennedy Highway, between the capital cities of Corrientes and Misiones Provinces, Decree 8012 and Law 16484 of 24 September 1964, and Soberanía Nacional on the section Saladas - Goya, Decree 427 of 10 March 1981.
 Esquina Department: Esquina (km 684)
 Goya Department: Goya (km 795)
 Lavalle Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
 San Roque Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants, but the road passes through the Department seat, San Roque (km 902)
 Bella Vista Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
 Saladas Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
 Empedrado Department: Empedrado (km 977)
 Capital Department: Corrientes (km 1030)
 San Cosme Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants, but the road passes through the Department seat, San Cosme (km 1061)
 Itatí Department: Itatí (km 1089)
 Berón de Astrada Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
 General Paz Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
 San Miguel Department: no towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
 Ituzaingó Department: Ituzaingó (km 1256)

Misiones Province

Length: 317 km (km 1325 a 1642).

 Capital Department, Misiones: Posadas (km 1344), Miguel Lanús] (km 1347) and Garupá (km 1354).
 Candelaria: Candelaria (km 1361). The road also passes through the Department seat Santa Ana (km 1383).
 San Ignacio: San Ignacio (km 1398) and Jardín América (km 1437).
 Libertador General San Martín: Puerto Rico (km 1473).
 Montecarlo Department: Montecarlo (km 1521) and Puerto Piray (km 1531).
 Eldorado Department: Eldorado (km 1543).
 Iguazú: Puerto Esperanza (km 1591), Colonia Wanda] (km 1601), [Puerto Libertad (km 1608) and Puerto Iguazú (km 1640).

Administration
In 1990 concessions were leased with toll collection on the busiest national roads, dividing the country in zones called "Corredores Viales".

The section between the junction with National Route 9 in Zárate and the junction with National Route 14 in Ceibas is part of Corridor Vial 18, under the management of Caminos del Río Uruguay (CRUSA) with a toll booth in Zárate (km marker 85).

In 1996 the concession was extended to 28 years with the condicion that the bidding company built a highway between the Complejo Unión Nacional and Gualeguaychú. The section between the General Justo José de Urquiza bridge and Ceibas was completed on October 12, 1999. Due to the currency devaluation of 2002, road work in the Ceibas - Gualeguaychú section was delayed.

The Virgen de Itatí Concesionaria de Obras Viales (VICOV) company took control of Corridor Vial 13, including, among others, Route 12 between km markers 871 and 1641, in the provinces of Corrientes and Misiones, from the junction with  National Route 123 to the access to the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, excluding the section near the provincial capital city of Posadas (km 1336–1349) installing toll booths in Riachuelo (km 1014), Ituzaingó (km 1262), Santa Ana (km 1374) and Colonia Victoria (km 1551).

In 2003 the Corredores Viales concession contracts expired, and the numbering system was changed when calling for a new bidding process.

Corridor Vial 6 is now controlled by Empresa Concesionaria Vial (Emcovial) and includes Route 12 in the same section as the previous concession.

Old roadbed
Originally National Route 12 had a different layout through the provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos and Corrientes.

The original road started in Buenos Aires, passing through General Pacheco, Campana and Zárate. The section between Zárate's port and Puerto Constanza, in Entre Ríos Province, crossed the Paraná river by barge in a 3-hour crossing.

After the change of route of National Route 9, in the late 1950s, the section from Avenida General Paz and Campana was changed to RN12. In 2005 the 8 km section between National Route 9 in Campana and the Bartolomé Mitre bridge access over the Paraná de las Palmas river changed to Buenos Aires provincial jurisdiction as a new section of Provincial Route 6. RN12 runs over the ol roadbed of National Route 193 to the bridge over National Route 9 in Zárate.

After Ceibas it followed the present National Route 14, traversing near Gualeguaychú, and the present Provincial Route 20, passing through Urdinarrain, Basavilbaso, Villaguay, Federal (Entre Ríos province) and San José de Feliciano.

In Corrientes Province, the road continued through Provincial Route 23 passing by Sauce and Perugorría, then by the present Provincial Route 24 until the junction with the present National Route 12.

This  old roadbed changed to federal control by National Decree 1595 of 1979 except the National Route 14 section between Ceibas and the junction with Provincial Route 20.

ON the new roadbed the section between General Galarza and Nogoyá, on the south of Entre Ríos Province was still unopened. In 2005, the Dirección Nacional de Vialidad signed an agreement with its provincial counterpart to receive transfer of sections of provincial routes 6 and 39 to complete the missing sections of RN12.

See also
 Zárate-Brazo Largo Bridge
 Fraternity Bridge

References

External links
  Caminos del Río Uruguay Manages the section between Zárate and Ceibas.
   Emcovial Manages the section between from the National Route 123 junction to Puerto Iguazú.

National roads in Misiones Province
National roads in Corrientes Province
National roads in Entre Ríos Province
National roads in Buenos Aires Province

National Route 12 (Argentina)


Bolivian coriander (Porophyllum ruderale) is an annual plant.  Its leaves can be used for seasoning food. The taste has been described as "somewhere between arugula, cilantro and rue." The plant is commonly grown in Mexico and South America.  There it is used in salsas. When fully grown, this plant grows to about 5 feet in height and 3 feet in diameter.

This herb is known by many names, including quillquiña (also spelled quirquiña or quilquiña), killi, papalo, tepegua and pápaloquelite.

Also, even though the name is "Bolivian coriander", this plant is not botanically related to the coriander.

Herbs
Asteraceae

Bolivian coriander


William Hornby (baptised 11 March 1723, Snaith, died 18 November 1803, The Hook, near Titchfield, Hampshire) was an English Governor of Bombay from 1771 to 1784.

Governorship
William Hornby joined the East India Company as a writer (clerk) in 1740, and rose to become Governor of Bombay in 1771. As Governor of Bombay, he is best remembered by the Vellard north of Cumballa Hill which was constructed at his behest against the wishes of the British East India Company. One of the first large works of civil engineering in the city, it transformed the geography of the islands by opening up the low-lying marshy areas of Mahalaxmi and Kamathipura for inhabitation on its completion in 1784. He was also the first governor to move his official residence from the Fort area to Parel. In a sense, this was also to change the demographics of the city by starting a northward move.

An intriguing dead-end of information is the statement attributed to John Murray, that "The Hornby diamond, brought from the East Indies by the Hon. William Hornby, Governor of Bombay, in 1775, weighs 36 carats [7.2 g], and is now, I believe, the property of the Shah of Persia."

Return
William Hornby returned to England in 1783, when the government granted him land near Titchfield, South Hampshire. He set out to build a country mansion, which he called The Hook, built in the style of the Government House in Bombay and removed the remains of a medieval village to create a parkland for himself. His country house was completed in 1790, at a cost of over £12,000. He died there in 1803.

One of Hornby's grandchildren, through his daughter, was the novelist and playwright Ann Doherty.

References

William Hornby

External links

1720s births
1803 deaths
Governors of Bombay
British East India Company people
People from Snaith and Cowick

William Hornby (governor)


Sir Peter Alexander Burt FRSE (6 March 1944 – 28 November 2017) was a Scottish businessman, former chief executive  and later governor of the Bank of Scotland.

Early life

Burt was born in 1944 in East Africa, and educated in Scotland. He graduated from the University of St Andrews and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and later worked in the computer industry in California and Scotland.

Bank of Scotland
Burt joined the Bank of Scotland in 1975, working in the international and oil and energy department. He rose to become head of the international division in 1985, treasurer and chief general manager in 1988 and eventually Chief Executive in 1996.

The main events of his stewardship were the failed takeover bid for the NatWest Bank and the merger with Halifax plc to form HBOS. Following the merger, he served as deputy chairman of HBOS and Governor of the Bank of Scotland, (a largely ceremonial role) from 2001 to 2003, and left the board afterwards.

By September 2008 HBOS was revealed to be in a poor financial condition and word broke of advanced merger talks with Lloyds TSB, the reports were later confirmed. In light of this development, news surfaced on 8 November of a letter from Burt and his contemporary Sir George Mathewson to HBOS Chairman Lord Stevenson. The letter recommended the immediate resignation of Lord Stevenson and HBOS Chief Executive Andy Hornby. The letter explained that the roles of chairman and chief executive would be filled by Mathewson and Burt respectively and that HBOS would continue to trade as an independent bank majority owned by The Treasury. However, the proposal was rejected by the bank in a swift response by Lord Stevenson and failed to win the endorsement of the UK Government The proposal was withdrawn on 20 November 2008.

Other work
In 2004, he was appointed chairman of ITV plc. He also served as a non-executive director of Royal Dutch Shell until 2006, Chairman of Dyslexia Scotland and on the boards of a number of charities.

He died in 2017 and is buried in the northern extension to Whitekirk graveyard in East Lothian.

References

1944 births
2017 deaths
British bankers
British chief executives
British chairpersons of corporations
Businesspeople awarded knighthoods
Governors of the Bank of Scotland
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni
Knights Bachelor
People educated at Merchiston Castle School
20th-century Scottish businesspeople
21st-century Scottish businesspeople
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Peter Burt


MTV Unplugged is an extended play (EP) and live album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released in the United States on August 19, 2011 by Virgin Records. It features an acoustic performance taped at Sony Music Studios in New York City on May 13 of that year for the television series MTV Unplugged. The show's purpose is to present name artists, and feature them stripped of studio equipment. The performance was accompanied by musicians from the Vitamin String Quartet, a gospel choir and included the contribution of the band's fans.

The extended play includes rearranged versions of three songs extracted from Thirty Seconds to Mars' third studio album, This Is War (2009), and a cover version of a song by U2. Upon release, MTV Unplugged received universal acclaim from music critics, many of whom complimented the band's musicianship and the album's production. Commercially, it debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200 and experienced moderate success in some international markets.

Recording
Thirty Seconds to Mars recorded their performance on May 13, 2011 at Sony Music Studios in New York City. The show featured a number of musicians from the Vitamin String Quartet and back-up vocalists from The Late Show's Gospel Choir. It marked the first live performance by the former. The show was produced by Jay Peterson and Leah Culton-Gonzales through the production company Original Media, with additional contributions by Jeff Baumgardner and Lee Rolontz. Thirty Seconds to Mars dedicated several days to rehearsals, in which they reworked and experimented with their musical repertoire.

The band invited their fans to attend rehearsal sessions to work on songs that needed background vocals. Jared Leto expressed his gratitude to the band's fans, termed as the Echelon, emphasizing their strong collaboration. During rehearsals, musicians from the Vitamin String Quartet were also involved, with Leto stating that they were "really open and collaborative, [...] fluid and in the moment and improvisational." Thirty Seconds to Mars explained the scrupulous process of deciding which songs to cover, considering tracks by artists as varied as Cyndi Lauper, Gheorghe Zamfir, Eminem, and Fleetwood Mac. The band stated that they also considered a song by Dolly Parton, before they decided on "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2, which is reputed a special song for Jared and Shannon Leto.

The show began with "Hurricane", followed by "Alibi", "Kings and Queens", "Closer to the Edge", "Night of the Hunter", "Where the Streets Have No Name", and "Message in a Bottle", originally by The Police. Short instrumental versions of songs by The Cure, Pantera and Slayer were also played by Tomo Miličević, Shannon Leto and Tim Kelleher. The Vitamin String Quartet musicians who took part in the recording included two violinists, a violist, a cellist and a conductor. The performance of "Where the Streets Have No Name" featured The Late Show's Gospel Choir, consisting of five men and five women dressed in red. After filming, Jared Leto described the band's excitement about being asked to record for MTV Unplugged stating, "I think our generation, it was kind of a rite of passage, and if you were invited to do MTV Unplugged, it certainly was a pretty big deal. So many of our favorite bands did 'Unplugged' and still do it, so we were really thrilled to be asked."

Release
The MTV Unplugged episode featuring Thirty Seconds to Mars premiered on MTV on July 19, 2011. The televised performance was shortened to five tracks, excluding "Alibi" and "Message in a Bottle". The episode debuted on MTV.com as part of a live viewing event where fans had the opportunity to interact with others through instant messaging while watching the show. Beginning on July 21, "Hurricane" went into music video rotations through MTV's main channels. A thirty-minute special debuted on the high-definition music channel Palladia on July 29, with an encore at midnight.

The concert's success prompted Virgin Records to release it as a four-track extended play on August 19, 2011 in digital format. The label also planned to release a video accompaniment package in time for the Christmas holidays. However, the deadline for the release was missed after some technical issues and Thirty Seconds to Mars decided to release it for download on VyRT in December 2011. Aside from featuring the four tracks which appears on the extended play, it includes the performance of "Alibi" and some exclusive footage of the recording. Virgin later released the video to digital retailers on March 2, 2012.

Critical reception

Upon its release, MTV Unplugged received universal acclaim from music critics. Ryan Jones from Alternative Addiction gave the album four stars out of five, writing that "the final product has been touched up perfectly and the four songs on the EP are the perfect selections." He described both "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Kings and Queens" as "chilling", but concluded his review saying that "it would have been nice to get a few more songs." Joanna Bomberg from MTV commented that "Thirty Seconds to Mars have delivered a truly visual and sonically compelling performance that will inspire their fans and captivate new ones." Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly praised the show and felt that the band's cover of "Where the Streets Have No Name" was "stellar." Alex Easton of AltSounds called the show "emotional, powerful and stunning." He praised Leto's vocals and wrote that the album "not only brings a different element to some classic songs, but cements Thirty Seconds to Mars' place as one of the finest acts of this generation."

Amy Sciarretto from Loudwire praised the band's musicianship and wrote, "While U2 songs are often sacred ground, Thirty Seconds to Mars handle their rendition of 'Where the Streets Have No Name' perfectly." Kayleigh Burn, writing for Chemical magazine, awarded the album five stars out of a possible five and felt that the band "conquer[s] the listener with a barrage of stunning vocals, memorable guitars and the recurring hum of the violins." She opined that "Hurricane" was "the best representation of a steadfast performance" and commented that the album "lends the opportunity for a tranquil and calm display of their abilities and more importantly, their hearts." At the end of 2011, the Unplugged version of "Hurricane" won the MTV Award for Best Live Performance, with critic James Montgomery commenting that the band's performance "is very much a communal thing, one where a celebration never seems all that far off."

Commercial performance
In the United States, MTV Unplugged debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200 and number 15 on the Digital Albums on the issue dated September 10, 2011. It also entered the Alternative Albums at number 12 and the Rock Albums at number 16. On September 2, 2011, the album debuted at number 38 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40. In Italy, it reached number 35 on the Musica e dischi singles chart on the week ending September 2, 2011. In Norway, MTV Unplugged entered the VG-lista at number 38 during the week of August 30, 2011.

In Portugal, the album debuted at number ten, eventually peaking at number nine the following week. On the week dated October 8, 2011, the track "Where the Streets Have No Name" reached number ten on the national singles chart. After spending ten weeks on the chart, the album was certified gold by the Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (AFP), denoting sales of over 10,000 units throughout the country. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 133 on the UK Singles Chart, during the week dated September 3, 2011. It also entered the UK Rock Chart at number three.

Track listing

Personnel

 Thirty Seconds to Mars – primary artist, music production, arrangement
 Steven Alvarado – audio coordinator
 James "Jimbo" Barton – audio mixing
 Leah Culton-Gonzales – video production
 Shamello Durant – production coordinator
 The Late Show's Gospel Choir – background vocals
 Tim Kelleher – bass
 Jared Leto – vocals, guitar
 Shannon Leto – drums, percussion
 Mike Levine – editing

 Jason Marcucci – audio recording
 Tomo Miličević – guitar
 Braxton Olita - keyboards
 Jacqueline Munro – assistant director
 Jared Jenkins – production manager
 Mike Judeh – audio engineering
 Christian Palladino – line production
 Jay Peterson – video production
 Matt Podaski – stage manager
 Vitamin String Quartet – strings

Credits for MTV Unplugged adapted from the video album.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

External links

2011 EPs
2011 live albums
2011 video albums
Live EPs
Mtv Unplugged (Thirty Seconds To Mars album)
Thirty Seconds to Mars EPs
Thirty Seconds to Mars video albums
Virgin Records live albums
Virgin Records EPs
Virgin Records video albums

MTV Unplugged (Thirty Seconds to Mars EP)


Udine Cathedral (, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Maggiore) is a Catholic cathedral located in Udine, north-eastern Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Udine.

History
The cathedral's construction began in 1236 by will of Berthold, patriarch of Aquileia, on a Latin cross-shaped plan with three aisles and side-chapels. The style should follow that of the contemporary Franciscan churches. The church was consecrated in 1335 as Santa Maria Maggiore.

In 1348 an earthquake damaged the building, which was restored starting from 1368. In this occasion, the larger previous rose window of the façade was replaced by the smaller current one.

At the beginning of the 18th century a radical transformation project involving both the exterior and the interior was undertaken at the request and expense of the Manin family. The designer was architect Domenico Rossi, the work being finished in 1735.

Description
The church has two main portals, one of which, called Portale della Redenzione, executed by an unknown German master in the 14th century. It has reliefs portraying the Redemption and pointed internal arches. The other one is known as Portale dell'Incoronazion, and was also executed by a German sculptor in 1395–1396. It has figures of saints and, one the upper tympanum,  scenes of the Life of Jesus.

The interior has a nave and two aisles separated by pillars. At the sides are four chapels communicating with each other.

In contrast with the Romanesque-Gothic exterior, the Baroque interior has monumental dimensions and contains many works of art by Maffeo Verona, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Pomponio Amalteo, and Ludovico Dorigny. The painter Pellegrino da San Daniele contributed to the altarpiece of Saint Joseph and the organ doors. On the ground floor of the bell tower (built from 1441 over the ancient baptistry) is a chapel which is completely adorned with frescoes by Vitale da Bologna (1349).

The cathedral also houses an important museum of religious decorative arts, the Museo del Duomo di Udine.

Burials
John Sobieslaw of Moravia

Sources

 Official website
 Museo del Duomo di Udine

13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1735
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy
Cathedrals in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Cathedral
Museums in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Religious museums in Italy
Art museums and galleries in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Romanesque architecture in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Gothic architecture in Italy

Udine Cathedral


Pecorino cheeses are hard Italian cheeses made from sheep's milk. The name "" derives from pecora, which means sheep in Italian.

Overview

Of the six main varieties of pecorino, all of which have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status under European Union law, Pecorino Romano is probably the best known outside Italy, especially in the United States, which has been an important export market for the cheese since the 19th century. Most Pecorino Romano is produced on the island of Sardinia, though its production zone also includes Lazio and the Tuscan provinces of Grosseto and Siena. Ancient Roman authors wrote about this cheese and its production technique.

The other five mature PDO cheeses are the pecorino sardo from Sardinia (casu berbeghinu in Sardinian language); pecorino toscano, whose production was already attested by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History; pecorino siciliano (or picurinu sicilianu in Sicilian) from Sicily; pecorino di Filiano from Basilicata; and pecorino crotonese from Province of Crotone in Calabria. Another well-known pecorino is the one that was produced in Abruzzo, the pecorino di Atri.

All come in a variety of styles depending on how long they have been aged. The more matured cheeses, referred to as stagionato ("seasoned" or "aged"), are harder but still crumbly in texture and have decidedly buttery and nutty flavours. The other two types, semi-stagionato and fresco, have a softer texture and milder cream and milk tastes.

Tradition

A variant from Southern Italy is pecorino pepato (literally, "peppered Pecorino"), to which black peppercorns are added. Today many other additions are made, for example walnuts, rocket, or tiny pieces of white or black truffle.

In Sardinia, the larvae of the cheese fly are intentionally introduced into pecorino sardo to produce a local delicacy called casu martzu, which means "rotten cheese". As it is illegal, casu marzu is primarily sold through the black market.

Meals may be finished with a good pecorino stagionato, served with pears and walnuts or drizzled with strong chestnut honey. Pecorino is also often used to finish pasta dishes, and used to be the natural choice for most Italian regions from Umbria down to Sicily, rather than the more expensive parmesan. It is still preferred today for the pasta dishes of Rome and Lazio, for example pasta dressed with sugo all'amatriciana, cacio e pepe, and pasta alla gricia.

See also
 Calcagno (cheese)
 List of cheeses
 List of Italian cheeses
 List of Italian PDO cheeses
 Tuma

References

External links

Pecorino


Days of Heaven is a 1978 American romantic period drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in 1916, it tells the story of Bill and Abby, lovers who travel to the Texas Panhandle to harvest crops for a wealthy farmer. Bill persuades Abby to claim the fortune of the dying farmer by tricking him into a false marriage.

Days of Heaven was Malick's second feature film, after Badlands (1973), and was produced on a budget of $3 million. Production was particularly troublesome, with a tight shooting schedule in Canada in 1976 and significant budget constraints. Film editing took Malick a lengthy two years, due to difficulty with achieving a general flow and assembly of the scenes. This was eventually solved by incorporating improvised narration from teen Linda Manz. The film was scored by Ennio Morricone and photographed by Néstor Almendros and Haskell Wexler.

Days of Heaven received positive reviews on its original theatrical release. Its photography was widely praised, although a small number of critics considered only this aspect to be worthy of high praise. It was not a significant commercial success, but did win an Academy Award for Best Cinematography along with three nominations for the score, costume design and sound. Malick also won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Days of Heaven has since become one of the most acclaimed films of its decade, particularly for its cinematography. It continues to appear in polls of the best films ever made, and appeared at #49 on a BBC 2015 poll of the greatest American films. In 2007, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot
In 1916, Chicago manual laborer Bill knocks down and kills a boss in the steel mill where he works, then flees to the Texas Panhandle with his girlfriend Abby and his young sister Linda. Bill and Abby pretend to be siblings to prevent gossip. The three are hired as part of a large group of seasonal workers by a wealthy, shy farmer. Bill overhears a doctor telling the farmer he has only a year to live, although the nature of the illness is not specified.

When the farmer falls in love with Abby, Bill encourages her to marry him so they can inherit his money. They thus marry, and Bill stays as her "brother". The farmer's foreman suspects the scheme. The farmer's health unexpectedly remains stable, foiling Bill's plans. Eventually, the farmer discovers Bill's true relationship with Abby; meanwhile, Abby has begun to fall in love with her husband. When a locust swarm and fires destroy his wheat fields, the incensed farmer chases Bill with a gun, but Bill kills him with a screwdriver and then flees with Abby and Linda.

The foreman and police pursue and eventually find them; Bill is shot and killed while running. Abby inherits the farmer's estate and leaves Linda at a boarding school. Abby leaves town on a train with soldiers departing for World War I. Linda runs away from school with a friend from the farm.

Cast

 Richard Gere as Bill
 Brooke Adams as Abby
 Sam Shepard as the farmer
 Linda Manz as Linda
 Robert Wilke as the farm foreman

In addition, Jackie Shultis plays Linda's friend on the farm, who later helps her escape the boarding school, while future Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee Doug Kershaw appears as the fiddler.

Production

Jacob Brackman introduced fellow producer Bert Schneider to Terrence Malick in 1975. On a trip to Cuba, Schneider and Malick began conversations that would lead to the development of Days of Heaven. Malick had tried and failed to get Dustin Hoffman or Al Pacino to star in the film, and John Travolta auditioned for and won the lead role of Bill, but ABC-TV wouldn't let him out of his contract for his series Welcome Back Kotter. Schneider agreed to produce the film. He and Malick cast young actors Richard Gere and Brooke Adams and actor/playwright Sam Shepard for the lead roles. Paramount Pictures CEO Barry Diller wanted Schneider to produce films for him and agreed to finance Days of Heaven. At the time, the studio was heading in a new direction. They were hiring new production heads who had worked in network television and, according to former production chief Richard Sylbert, "[manufacturing] product aimed at your knees". Despite the change in direction, Schneider was able to secure a deal with Paramount by guaranteeing the budget and taking personal responsibility for all overages. "Those were the kind of deals I liked to make ... because then I could have final cut and not talk to nobody about why we're gonna use this person instead of that person", Schneider said.

Malick admired cinematographer Néstor Almendros's work on The Wild Child (1970) and wanted him to shoot Days of Heaven. Almendros was impressed by Malick's knowledge of photography and willingness to use little studio lighting. The two men modeled the film's cinematography after silent films, which often used natural light. They drew inspiration from painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Edward Hopper (particularly his House by the Railroad), and Andrew Wyeth, as well as photo-reporters from the start of the 20th century.

Principal photography
Production began in the late summer of 1976. Although the film was set in Texas, the Rocky Mountains are incongruously seen in the exteriors shot in southwestern Alberta in and around the ghost town of Whiskey Gap, located  from the Montana border, while the denouement was shot on the grounds of Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary.

Jack Fisk designed and built the mansion from plywood in the wheat fields and the smaller houses where the workers lived. The mansion was not a facade, as was usually the custom, but authentically recreated inside and out with period colors: brown, mahogany, and dark wood for the interiors. Patricia Norris designed and made the period costumes from used fabrics and old clothes to avoid the artificial look of studio-made costumes.

According to Almendros, the production was not "rigidly prepared", allowing for improvisation. Daily call sheets could have been more detailed, and the schedule changed to suit the weather. This upset some Hollywood crew members not used to working this way. Most crew members were used to a "glossy style of photography" and felt frustrated because Almendros did not give them much work. Daily, he asked them to turn off the lights they had prepared for him. Some crew members said that Almendros and Malick did not know what they were doing. The tension led to some of the crew quitting the production. Malick supported what Almendros was doing and pushed the film's look further, removing more lighting aids and leaving the image bare.

Due to union regulations, Almendros was not allowed to operate the camera. With Malick, he would plan out and rehearse the camera's and the actors' movements. Almendros would stand near the main camera and give instructions to the camera operators. Almendros was gradually losing sight by the time shooting began. To evaluate his set-ups, "he had one of his assistants take Polaroids of the scene, then examined them through powerful glasses". According to Almendros, Malick wanted "a very visual movie. The story would be told through visuals. Very few people really want to give that priority to image. Usually the director gives priority to the actors and the story, but here the story was told through images".

Much of the film would be shot during magic hour, which Almendros called: "a euphemism, because it's not an hour but around 25 minutes at the most. It is the moment when the sun sets, and after the sun sets and before it is night. The sky has light, but there is no actual sun. The light is very soft, and there is something magic about it. It limited us to around twenty minutes a day, but it did pay on the screen. It gave some kind of magic look, a beauty and romanticism." Lighting was integral to filming, and helped evoke the painterly quality of the landscapes in the film. A vast majority of the scenes were filmed late in the afternoon or after sunset, with the sky silhouetting the actor's faces, which would otherwise be difficult to see. Interior scenes that feature light coming in from the outside, were shot using artificial light to maintain the consistency of that intruding light. However, the "magic look" would also extend to interior scenes, which occasionally utilized natural light.

For the shot in the "locusts" sequence, where the insects rise into the sky, the filmmakers dropped peanut shells from helicopters. They had the actors walk backward while running the film in reverse through the camera. When it was projected, everything moved forward except the locusts. For the close-ups and insert shots, thousands of live locusts were used which had been captured and supplied by Canada's Department of Agriculture.

While the photography yielded the director satisfactory results, the rest of the production was difficult. The actors and crew reportedly viewed Malick as cold and distant. After two weeks of shooting, Malick was so disappointed with the dailies, he "decided to toss the script, go Leo Tolstoy instead of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, wide instead of deep [and] shoot miles of film with the hope of solving the problems in the editing room."

The harvesting machines constantly broke down, which resulted in shooting beginning late in the afternoon, allowing for only a few hours of light before it was too dark to go on. One day, two helicopters were scheduled to drop peanut shells to simulate locusts on film; however, Malick decided to shoot period cars instead. He kept the helicopters on hold at great cost. Production needed to catch up, with costs exceeding the $3,000,000 budget by about $800,000, and Schneider had already mortgaged his home to cover the overages.

The production ran so late that both Almendros and camera operator John Bailey had to leave due to a prior commitment on François Truffaut's The Man Who Loved Women (1977). Almendros approached cinematographer Haskell Wexler to complete the film. They worked together for a week so that Wexler could get familiar with the film's visual style.

Wexler was careful to match Almendros' work, but he did make some exceptions. "I did some hand held shots on a Panaflex", he said, "[for] the opening of the film in the steel mill. I used some diffusion. Nestor didn't use any diffusion. I felt very guilty using the diffusion and having the feeling of violating a fellow cameraman." Although half the finished picture was footage shot by Wexler, he received only credit for "additional photography", much to his chagrin. The credit denied him any chance of an Academy Award for his work on Days of Heaven. Wexler sent film critic Roger Ebert a letter "in which he described sitting in a theater with a stop-watch to prove that more than half of the footage" was his. Later in life, however, he had accepted Almendros receiving credit as cinematographer:

I thought, "Well, God damn it. I should get credit with Nestor on it." And then I had talks with the producer, Bert Schneider, and he said, "Look, you've won Oscars already. What the hell, Nestor should have it." So then I said to myself, "Well, Haskell, you're being a little selfish." And the real thing that convinced me not to say anything ... was that Nestor set the tone of the film. It was actually me maintaining his style to a certain extent, so if there was to be an award, which we didn't know there would be, he should get it. And I'm so happy now — particularly since he is no longer with us — that that happened.

Post-production

Following the completion of principal photography, the editing process took over two years to complete. Malick had a difficult time shaping the film and getting the pieces to go together. Schneider reportedly showed some footage to director Richard Brooks, who was considering Gere for a role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar. According to Schneider, the editing for Days of Heaven took so long that "Brooks cast Gere, shot, edited and released Looking for Mr. Goodbar while Malick was still editing".

A breakthrough came when Malick experimented with voice-overs from Linda Manz's character, similar to what he had done with Sissy Spacek in Badlands. According to editor Billy Weber, Malick scrapped much of the film's dialogue, replacing it with Manz's voice-over, which served as an oblique commentary on the story. After a year, Malick had to call the actors to Los Angeles, California to shoot inserts of shots that were necessary but had not been filmed in Alberta. The finished film thus includes close-ups of Shepard that were shot under a freeway overpass. The underwater shot of Gere's falling face down into the river was shot in a large aquarium in Spacek's living room.

Meanwhile, Schneider was disappointed with Malick. He had confronted Malick numerous times about missed deadlines and broken promises. Due to further cost overruns, he had to ask Paramount for more money, which he preferred not to do. When they screened a demo for Paramount and made their pitch, the studio was impressed and reportedly "gave Malick a very sweet deal at the studio, carte blanche, essentially". Malick was not able to capitalize on the deal. He was so exhausted from working on the film that he moved to Paris with his girlfriend. He tried developing another project for Paramount, but after a substantial amount of work, he abandoned it. He did not make another film until 1998's The Thin Red Line 20 years later.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Days of Heaven is a strong reflection of the film's context. Ennio Morricone provided the film's score and received his first Academy Award nomination
in his soundtrack composing career for his work on the film. Morricone recalled the process as being "demanding" and said of Malick: "He didn't know me very well, so he made suggestions, and in some cases, gave musical solutions. This kind of annoyed me because he'd say: 'This thing ... try it with three flutes.' Something impossible! So, to humor him, I would do it with three flutes and then he'd decide to use my version after all. His was impossible or I would have written it myself. And more nitpicking like that which means he was very attentive and careful about music."

Morricone's score includes four recurring pieces: "Harvest", "Happiness", "The Honeymoon", and "The Return". "Harvest" is the film's main theme and opens with a melody that references "Aquarium", the seventh movement from Camille Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals. The soundtrack was remastered and re-released in July 2011 on the Film Score Monthly label, in a two-disc edition and featuring excerpts of Manz's narration.

The country music heard during the harvest party is the Cajun tune "Swamp Dance", played and sung by Doug Kershaw. Kershaw is seen playing the fiddle with a broken bow-string.  Additional songs were contributed by guitarist Leo Kottke. Kottke was originally approached by Malick for the entire score, but declined.

Reception and legacy

Box office
Days of Heaven opened theatrically on September 13, 1978, at Cinema I on 3rd Avenue in New York City. It had screened the night before for sponsors and benefactors of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. It was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1979, where Malick won the award for Best Director—making him the first American director to win the award since Jules Dassin in 1955 for Rififi (in a joint win shared with Sergei Vasilyev for Heroes of Shipka). The film was a commercial failure: its box office gross of $3,446,749 was only slightly more than it cost to make the film ($3 million), but Charles Bluhdorn who ran Paramount's parent company Gulf + Western, loved it so much he offered Malick $1 million for his next project, whatever it was.

Contemporary response
Critical reaction initially varied. Many critics found the film visually beautiful, but others found its story weak. Dave Kehr of The Chicago Reader wrote: "Terrence Malick's remarkably rich second feature is a story of human lives touched and passed over by the divine, told in a rush of stunning and precise imagery. Nestor Almendros's cinematography is as sharp and vivid as Malick's narration is elliptical and enigmatic. The result is a film that hovers just beyond our grasp—mysterious, beautiful, and, very possibly, a masterpiece".
Variety called the film "one of the great cinematic achievements of the 1970s." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune also wrote that the film "truly tests a film critic's power of description ... Some critics have complained that the Days of Heaven story is too slight. I suppose it is, but, frankly, you don't think about it while the movie is playing". Time magazine's Frank Rich wrote, "Days of Heaven is lush with brilliant images". The periodical went on to name it one of the best films of 1978. Nick Schager of Slant Magazine has called it "the greatest film ever made."

Meanwhile, detractors targeted the film's direction of storyline and structure. In his review for The New York Times, Harold C. Schonberg wrote, "Days of Heaven never really makes up its mind what it wants to be. It ends up something between a Texas pastoral and Cavalleria Rusticana. Back of what basically is a conventional plot is all kinds of fancy, self-conscious cineaste techniques."
Monica Eng of the Chicago Tribune criticized the lack of significant plot and stated "the story becomes secondary to the visuals".

The Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert responded to these criticisms in a reevaluation in 1997, saying:

Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" has been praised for its painterly images and evocative score, but criticized for its muted emotions: Although passions erupt in a deadly love triangle, all the feelings are somehow held at arm's length. This observation is true enough, if you think only about the actions of the adults in the story. But watching this 1978 film again recently, I was struck more than ever with the conviction that this is the story of a teenage girl, told by her, and its subject is the way that hope and cheer have been beaten down in her heart. We do not feel the full passion of the adults because it is not her passion: It is seen at a distance, as a phenomenon, like the weather, or the plague of grasshoppers that signals the beginning of the end.

Retrospective response
Days of Heaven was re-evaluated years after its original theatrical release and is considered a pioneering achievement in cinema. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 93% based on reviews from 58 critics, with an average rating of 8.30/10. The website's consensus reads, "Illuminated by magic hour glow and wistful performances, Days of Heaven is a visual masterpiece that finds eloquent poetry in its spare scenario." On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 93 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It is frequently cited by critics and scholars, including Roger Ebert, as one of the most visually arresting films ever made; in 1997, Ebert added Days of Heaven to his Great Movies list. In 2007, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

In 2012, Time included the film among the 20 new entries added to the magazine's "All-Time 100 Movies" list. The same year, Days of Heaven ranked #112 in the British Film Institute's decennial Sight & Sound critics' poll of the greatest films ever made, and #132 in the directors' poll of the same magazine. The New York Times placed the film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list.

Awards

Per Academy custom, the award was given in the name of principal photographer Néstor Almendros. This was somewhat controversial, as previous winner Haskell Wexler also received credit on the film. Almendros mentioned Wexler in his acceptance speech, saying, "I would like to thank all the people that helped to get these images, all the camera operators and very specially Haskell Wexler who came at the end of the movie when I had to leave on a previous commitment."

American Film Institute recognition
 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies—Nominated
 AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions—Nominated
 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)—Nominated

Home media
Days of Heaven has been released on home video on different formats over the years. Its first notable release was on home video in the early 1980s, followed by various reissues in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, the film was released on a special widescreen edition format on home video to preserve the film's original theatrical aspect ratio, which was uncommon for videotapes at the time, with majority of them being pan and scan, a technique that crops a portion of the image to focus on the more important composition. This often results in the side being cut out and the middle center being the only remaining part. Days of Heaven premiered on DVD on March 30, 1999, with no special features. The feature itself was presented in widescreen and released by Paramount Pictures, the copyright owner of the film itself. It was re-released on DVD in 2004, again without special supplements.

In 2007, the Criterion Collection released an exclusive special edition of the film, with digitally remastered sound and picture, supervised by Malick, editor Billy Weber and camera operator John Bailey. Bonus features include an audio commentary by art director Jack Fisk, editor Billy Weber, costume designer Patricia Norris, and casting director Dianne Crittenden; an audio interview with Richard Gere; video interviews with Sam Shepard, Haskell Wexler, and John Bailey; and a booklet featuring an essay on the film by Adrian Martin and an extract from Néstor Almendros' autobiography. The Criterion Collection also released a Blu-ray format of the film on March 7, 2010, with the same special features. The design art created by Criterion for the film's packaging marks a departure from the early video releases, featuring a still of Gere's character in the wheat fields, with the mansion on the horizon. The Criterion Collection release is now out of print, but a new release has been scheduled by Criterion for November 14, 2023.

References

Citations

Bibliography
 Almendros, Nestor (1986). A Man with a Camera. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
 Biskind, Peter (1998). Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Further reading
 Charlotte Crofts (2001), "From the 'Hegemony of the Eye' to the 'Hierarchy of Perception': The Reconfiguration of Sound and Image in Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven, Journal of Media Practice, 2:1, 19–29.
 Terry Curtis Fox (Sept./Oct. 1978), "The Last Ray of Light", Film Comment, 14:5, 27–28.
 Martin Donougho (Fall 1985), "West of Eden: Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven, Postscript: Essays in Film and the Humanities, 5:1, 17–30.
 Terrence Malick (1976), Days of Heaven, Script registered with the Writers Guild of America, 14 Apr; revised 2 Jun.
 Brooks Riley (Sept./Oct. 1978), "Interview with Nestor Almendros", Film Comment, 14:5, 28–31.
 Janet Wondra (Oct. 1994), "A Gaze Unbecoming: Schooling the Child for Femininity in Days of Heaven, Wide Angle, 16:4, 5–22.

External links

 "Days of Heaven: On Earth as It Is in Heaven", 2010 essay by Adrian Martin at the Criterion Collection
 "Days of Heaven: "Somewhere, I don't know, over there...", 2011 essay by Jim Emerson at RogerEbert.com

1978 romantic drama films
1978 films
American romantic drama films
1970s English-language films
Films about farmers
Films directed by Terrence Malick
Films scored by Ennio Morricone
Films set in 1916
Films set on farms
Films set in Texas
Films set in the 1910s
Films shot in Alberta
Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
United States National Film Registry films
1970s American films
Rail transport films

Days of Heaven


Bulimba Memorial Park is a heritage-listed park at 129 Oxford Street, Bulimba, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1919 to 1980s. It is also known as Bulimba Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Park and Jamieson Park. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

History
Part of Bulimba Memorial Park may have been established by the Balmoral Shire Council as early as , as Jamieson Park. Following the First World War (1914–18) it was opened officially on 1 November 1919 by Walter Barnes, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly as the Bulimba Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park, dedicated to Bulimba servicemen and women who had served in the Great War.

Robert Jamieson was an early Bulimba farmer and the park is part of his  subdivision of portion 7. Bulimba ratepayers had discussed the acquisition of part of Jamieson's land for a recreation ground as early as January 1888, when it was offered to them at a reduced price. Nearly  of this land eventually was acquired by the Balmoral Shire Council in 1904, and in subsequent years a number of adjacent subdivisions were incorporated within the park. The first memorials erected in the park were the Oxford Road formal entrance gateway and an adjacent pillar. A plaque on the memorial pillar records that the park is dedicated to the soldiers, sailors and nurses who enlisted from Bulimba for service in the Great War 1914–1919.

Between 1919 and 1923 trees were planted along the Stuart, Godwin and Oxford Street frontages. Each tree bore a commemorative plaque honouring a serviceman killed in action. These plaques have since disappeared, and only six names are recorded. Most of the surviving memorial trees are located along Oxford Street.

The grandstand on the Godwin Street side was built about 1923 through local fund raising efforts. It has been suggested that the architect was George Henry Male Addison, who designed the nearby Bulimba ferry wharf building.

In 1925, the park became the property of the Brisbane City Council, following the creation of Greater Brisbane.

A shelter shed near the corner of Oxford and Stuart Streets appears to date from the 1920s. Other structures on the site include playground equipment adjacent to the shelter shed and 1950s Girl Guides and Boy Scouts buildings. The former Boy Scout Hut is leased by the Southside Eagles Soccer Club and has been extended. The Babs Shield Senior Citizens Club was built . Other buildings include 1980s toilet facilities and a canteen.

During the 1980s the Brisbane City Council found that not all the subdivisions which comprised the park were Council owned. These were officially acquired, including the unformed James Street, and by 1990 the park contained over .

The park has been a venue for local cricket, rugby, soccer and other recreational uses since early this century. It is adjacent to the local shopping centre and it is the only remaining open park land with sporting facilities in the district.

Description

Bulimba Memorial Park comprises approximately  of land in the heart of the suburb of Bulimba, bounded by Godwin Street to the west, Oxford Street on the north, Stuart Street to the east, and housing and sections of Barramul Street to the south. The extensive perimeter is delineated by regularly spaced timber posts, and the roadway boundaries ensure free access and visibility and plenty of street parking for park users. The ground is flat, and apart from some perimeter plantings, mostly comprises open playing fields.

The park contains a number of elements intended as memorials to local persons who served in the First World War. These include:
 memorial gateway (), a wrought iron arch bearing the words Memorial Park, supported by a pair of solid timber posts, is located along the Oxford Street boundary
 memorial pillar (), adjacent to the Oxford Street gateway, resembles a small solid lectern constructed of concrete. It has a square base and a short pedestal with cornice. A brass memorial plaque is set on the face of the lectern.
 memorial trees (-23), principally figs with alternating palms. The mature trees, mostly along Oxford Street, provide shade for spectators and locals enjoying the park's open space.
 memorial grandstand (), a two-storeyed timber structure with a gable roof of corrugated iron, located midway along the Godwin Street side of the park. The symmetrical front facade is dominated by a wide gabled bay which is flanked by access stairs that lead to the raked back seating in the upper level. The sloped seating is balanced by the angle of the skillion roof of the rear changing rooms at ground level. The grandstand is open-sided, the roof being supported by slender timber columns with winged brackets. Decorative elements include dowel balustrades and lattice valance panels.

Other structures within the park include a shelter shed (s) near the corner of Oxford and Stuart Streets, Girl Guides' Hall (1950s), former Scout Hut (1950s – now a soccer club), senior citizens' club (), public toilets (1980s) and canteen (1980s).

The s shelter shed is an open-sided structure, with timber posts with winged brackets supporting a short-ridged roof of corrugated iron.

The soccer club is a two-storeyed, L-shaped building with a corrugated iron gable roof. The ground floor is constructed of concrete bricks while the first floor is weatherboard, and there is an extensive timber deck at first floor level. The Girl Guides' Hall is a two- storeyed weatherboard structure with a gable roof of corrugated iron. The senior citizens' club, at the corner of Stuart and Barramul Streets, is a brick and glass, L-shaped structure. Near the 1923 grandstand are brick public toilets and a concrete block canteen, both with flat roofs.

Heritage listing
Bulimba Memorial Park was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.

Bulimba Memorial Park is significant as a First World War memorial park with extensive and varied components. The trees are significant for their commemorative function, aesthetic value and practical usage.

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.

The place is important as a Brisbane open space which, unusually, is available for both organised and informal recreational use.

The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.

The grandstand is a fine example of interwar vernacular domestic architecture adapted to non-domestic use. The trees are significant for their commemorative function, aesthetic value and practical usage. The park is a community landmark which has been used for a variety of social and recreational functions for over eight decades, and its aesthetic value contributes significantly to the Bulimba townscape.

The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

The place is important as a Brisbane open space which, unusually, is available for both organised and informal recreational use. The park is a community landmark which has been used for a variety of social and recreational functions for over eight decades, and its aesthetic value contributes significantly to the Bulimba townscape.

References

Attribution

External links

Queensland Heritage Register
History of Brisbane
Bulimba, Queensland
Parks in Queensland
Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register
Protected areas established in 1919
1919 establishments in Australia
World War I memorials in Queensland

Bulimba Memorial Park


Leafcutter ant is the general name for any of 47 species of leaf-chewing ants of the two genera Atta and Acromyrmex.
These species of tropical, fungus-growing ants are all endemic to South and Central America, Mexico and parts of the southern United States.  Leafcutter ants "cut and process fresh vegetation (leaves, flowers, and grasses) to serve as nutrition for their fungal cultivars".

The Acromyrmex and Atta ants have much in common anatomically; however, the two can be identified by their external differences.  Atta ants have three pairs of spines and a smooth exoskeleton on the upper surface of the thorax, while Acromyrmex ants have four pairs and a rough exoskeleton.

Next to humans, leafcutter ants form the largest and most complex animal societies on Earth.  In a few years, the central mound of their underground nests can grow to more than  across, with smaller, radiating mounds extending out to a radius of , taking up  and containing eight million individuals.

Colony life cycle

Reproduction and colony founding
Winged females and males leave their respective nests en masse and engage in a nuptial flight known as the revoada. Each female mates with multiple males to collect the 300 million sperm she needs to set up a colony.

Once on the ground, the female loses her wings and searches for a suitable underground lair in which to found her colony. The success rate of these young queens is very low, and only 2.5% will go on to establish a long-lived colony. To start her own fungus garden, the queen stores bits of the parental fungus garden mycelium in a pocket in  her mouth.

Colony hierarchy
In a mature leafcutter colony, ants are divided into castes, based mostly on size, that do different work.  Acromyrmex and Atta show a high degree of biological polymorphism, with four castes in established colonies - minims, minors, mediae and majors.  Majors are also known as soldiers.  Atta ants are more polymorphic than Acromyrmex, meaning there is comparatively less difference in size from the smallest to largest types of Acromymex.

 Minims are the smallest workers, and look after the growing brood or care for the fungus gardens.  Head width is less than 1 mm.
 Minors are slightly larger than minim workers, and are present in large numbers in and around foraging columns. These ants are the first line of defense. They continuously patrol the surrounding terrain and vigorously attack any enemies that threaten the foraging lines. Head width is around 1.8-2.2 mm.
 Mediae are the foragers which cut leaves and bring the leaf fragments back to the nest.
 Majors, the largest worker ants, act as soldiers, defending the nest from intruders. They also do other things, like clearing the main foraging trails of large debris and carrying bulky items back to the nest. The largest soldiers (Atta laevigata) may have body lengths up to 16 mm and head widths of 7 mm.

Life-style
"Leaf-cutter ants are the major forest herbivores in Central America and consume more plant matter than all the vertebrate herbivores put together. Their subterranean nests can be vast and home to many millions of ants and they have a really neat defence system where minor workers ride shotgun on top of the leaf loads carried by the major workers and fend off the attacks of parasitic flies". George McGavin.

References

Ants

Leaf-cutter ant


Condor is the name for two species of New World vultures. Each is the only species in its genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are:

 The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus), which lives over the Andes.
 The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus), now found only on the western coastal mountains of the United States and Mexico.

Condors are part of the family Cathartidae, whereas the 15 species of Old World vultures are in the family Accipitridae, that also includes falcons, hawks, and eagles. The New World and Old World vultures evolved from different ancestors.

Condors are scavengers. They feed on carrion (dead animals). Their distinctive bare heads are an adaptation to their feeding method. It helps to keep them clean as they feed inside a carcass.

The Andean Condor has a wingspan of between 274 and 310 cm, and weights around 11–15 kg. The California Condor is smaller.

Fossil record
Fossils from the Pleistocene era have been found in various parts of North America, including New York and Florida. California Condors or their ancestors once lived on the west coast of North America as well as all the way to the eastern coast. An ancient relative of the condor, Argentavis magnificens from South America, may have been the largest flying bird ever with a wingspan of .

References

Other websites

Andean Condor postage stamps
Californian Condor stamps

Vultures
Cathartidae

bpy:কোনডোর্

Condor


Greg Ellena (born in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania) was a designated hitter who is most notable for winning the 1985 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a junior at University of Miami. He is one of four players from University of Miami to win that award. The others are Dan Smith, Pat Burrell and Charlton Jimerson.

He never played professionally. He did however bat 1.000 in exhibition games against major league teams while in college.

Ellena graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked for Florida Power and Light and Dominion Power.

References
Article on Ellena

External links

 University of Miami College of Engineering alumni
Living people
College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners
Year of birth missing (living people)

Greg Ellena