Paul Tiyambe Zeleza (born 25 May 1955) is a Malawian historian, literary critic, novelist, short-story writer and blogger at The Zeleza Post. He was (2009) president of the African Studies Association. He was the Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Quinnipiac University. He is the current Vice Chancellor of the United States International University Africa, located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Personal background
Zeleza was born on 25 May 1955 in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (today Harare, Zimbabwe) to Malawian parents. His family returned to Nyasaland (today Malawi) in 1956, before returning to Rhodesia in 1972. Zeleza attended primary school (1961–1968) and secondary school (1968–1972) in the cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre in Malawi. He matriculated at the University of Malawi, majoring in English and History and earning a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in 1976. He then served as a staff associate at the University of Malawi's Chancellor College from 1976 to 1977 before going to the United Kingdom for graduate school. He studied at the University of London's School of Oriental & African Studies and the London School of Economics, earning a Master of Arts in African History and International Relations in 1978. He went on to earn his Doctor of Philosophy in Economic History from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1982.

Work experience
Upon completing his PhD in 1982, Zeleza took up an appointment as a lecturer in the department of history at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, where he spent two years. In August 1984, he relocated to Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, the country on which he had done his PhD dissertation and where he had spent a year between 1979–1980 conducting research. At Kenyatta, he taught African economic history and began the extensive research that would eventually result in his award-winning book, A Modern Economic History of Africa. He was promoted from the position of lecturer to senior lecturer in 1987.

In January 1990, Zeleza left Kenyatta University to work on his research of African economic history, which took him to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and his alma mater, Dalhousie University in Canada, where he spent the next six months conducting research. In July 1990, he relocated to Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, where he was appointed assistant professor in the department of history. A year later he received tenure and was promoted to associate professor, and three years later to full professor. In 1994 he was also appointed principal of Lady Eaton College, one of the five constituent colleges of Trent University, as well as acting director of the university's International Program.

In August 1995, Zeleza was recruited to become director of the Center for African Studies and professor of history and African studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the United States, where he spent the next eight years and where he produced some of his most important academic work. In August 2003, he relocated to Pennsylvania State University where he was served as a professor in the departments of history and African and African American studies.

On 1 January 2007 he became Professor and Head, Department of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

On 1 August 2009 he assumed his new role as Dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

On 22 July 2013, Zeleza was appointed as the Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Quinnipiac University. On 16 September 2015, Zeleza was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of the United States International University Africa in Kenya with effect on 1 January 2016.

Research and scholarship
Zeleza is widely recognised as one of the leading authorities on African economic history. His book A Modern Economic History of Africa won the 1994 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa, the continent's most prestigious book award. The jury citation noted:

"The book is an exercise in historical reconstruction, and its strength and distinction above all lies in its bold and convincing challenge to hitherto accepted orthodoxies, terminologies, and interpretations, about the nature and development of African societies and economies. The book is an outstanding, pioneering work, destined to become highly influential, and providing such a wealth of information and detail as to elevate the study of African economic history to a new pedestal."

Over the years, Zeleza has also established himself as a leading intellectual historian of Africa, with influential publications on the development of ideas and higher education institutions. His scholarly output and reputation also extends to gender studies, human rights studies and diaspora studies. In 2003, he was appointed by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) to a nine-member advisory board to oversee the publication of "Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an Unequal World", a research study issued to mark the 10th anniversary of, and assess progress since, the United Nation's Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in September 1995.

He is currently working on a project, "Africa and Its Diasporas: Dispersals and Linkages", that seeks to trace the dispersal of African peoples globally (Asia, Europe, and the Americas), the formation of African diasporas in different world regions, and the linkages established between these diasporas and Africa over the centuries. The project is funded by a $200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation.

Zeleza is frequently invited as a keynote speaker at international conferences and to give public lectures across the world. Among the numerous conferences where he has given keynote addresses are those organised by UNESCO in Paris in December 2003 and the Association of African Universities in Cape Town in February 2005. In 1995, he was one of six African intellectuals invited by the Japanese government for a three-week tour of Japan, and he revisited several Japanese universities in 2004 at the invitation of the Japanese Association of African Studies. In Asia, he has also visited China and South Korea, and in Europe, he has been invited to France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Britain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, while in the Americas he has been to several Caribbean islands, Venezuela and Brazil. As for Africa, he has been invited to and visited more than twenty countries, from Egypt to South Africa. In 2006, he was appointed Honorary Visiting Professor in the Department of Historical Studies, the African Gender Institute, and the Center for African Studies at the University of Cape Town.

Literary work
Zeleza is also a renowned writer of fiction. He is the author of three books, two collections of short stories, Night of Darkness and Other Stories (Montfort Press, Limbe, 1976), and The Joys of Exile: Stories (Anansi: Toronto, 1994), and a novel, Smouldering Charcoal (Oxford: Heinemann, 1992).

He has also published critical essays on African literature and postcolonial criticism. Among the authors whose works he has examined are Edward Said and Yvonne Vera.

Partial bibliography
Zeleza is the author of scores of articles and essays and more than two dozen books, including the following
"The Transformation of Global Higher Education, 1945-2015." (New York: Palgrave amacmillan, 2016).
"Africa's Resurgence: Domestic, Global and Diaspora Transformations." (Los Angeles: Tsehai Publishers, 2014).
"In Search of African Diasporas: Testimonies and Encounters." (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2012).
"Barack Obama and African Diasporas: Dialogues and Dissensions." (Anthens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2009).
The Roots of African Conflicts: The Causes and Costs (Oxford: James Currey, Athens: Ohio University Press, 2008).
The Management of African Conflicts: The Management of Conflict Resolution in Africa and Post-Conflict Reconstruction. (Oxford: James Currey, Athens: Ohio University Press, 2008).
The Study of Africa Volume 1: Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Encounters; Volume 2: Transnational and Global Engagements. (Dakar: Codesria Book Series, 2006-7).
African Universities in the Twenty-First Century Volume 1: Liberalization and Internationalization; Volume 2: Knowledge and Society (Dakar: Codesria Book Series, 2004).
Human Rights, the Rule of Law and Development in Africa (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004).
Rethinking Africa's Globalization Volume 1: The Intellectual Challenges (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2003).
In Search of Modernity: Science and Technology in Africa (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press,  2003).
Leisure in Urban Africa (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2003).
Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century African History (London and New York: Routledge, 2002).
"Manufacturing African Studies and Crises." (Dakar: Codesria Book Series, 1998).
"An Economic History of Africa. Vol I: The Nineteenth Century." (Dakar: Codesria Book Series, 1993).
"Joys of Exile: Stories." (Toronto: Anansi, 1994).
"Smouldering Charcoal." (Oxford: Heinemann, 1992).
New Dictionary of the History of Ideas (New York: Charles Scribner%27s Sons, 2005). (associate editor).

Awards and grants
Zeleza is the winner of the 1994 Noma Award for his book A Modern Economic History of Africa and the 1998 Special Commendation of the Noma Award for Manufacturing African Studies and Crises. He is also the recipient of Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2003; Honorable Mention, Conover-Porter Award, 2004; and of numerous grants from the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, US Department of Education Title VI, National Endowment for the Humanities, Canada Social Science and Humanities Research Council, and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa. Recently he received the 2006 Penn State College of Liberal Arts Class of 1933 Distinction in the Humanities Award.

References
 Zeleza at the Department of African American Studies, UIC

1955 births
Living people
20th-century historians
20th-century Malawian educators
20th-century Malawian writers
21st-century Malawian educators
21st-century Malawian writers
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21st-century short story writers
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Alumni of SOAS University of London
Dalhousie University alumni
Academic staff of the Dalhousie University
Economic historians
Historians of Africa
Kenyatta University
Loyola Marymount University faculty
Malawian academics
Academic staff of the United States International University Africa
Malawian expatriates in Canada
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Malawian expatriates in the United States
Malawian expatriates in Zimbabwe
Malawian historians
Malawian novelists
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People from Harare
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty
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Paul Tiyambe Zeleza


Terry Watkinson (born 1940 in what is now Thunder Bay, Ontario) is an artist, painter, illustrator, and musician.

After spending his youth in Thunder Bay and Iroquois Falls Ontario, Watkinson attended the University of Toronto for two years in the field of architecture, until he left to participate in the band Max Webster. Upon the dissolution of the band, he returned to the university to study medical illustration. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science, he taught the subject at the University of Toronto.

He gained national prominence as a keyboardist for rock group Max Webster during the 1970s and early 1980s.

He is also active as a painter of other subjects.  In 1993 he painted the cover of Klaatu's compilation album, Peaks.

Other websites
Terry Watkinson official site, accessed 16 February 2007

1940 births
Canadian musicians
Canadian painters
Illustrators
Living people
People from Thunder Bay

Terry Watkinson


John Jaques (7 January 1827 – 1 June 1900) was a Latter Day Saint hymnwriter and missionary and an Assistant Church Historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Jaques was born to Thomas Jaques and Mary Ann Heighington at Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, England. He was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on 12 July 1848. A short time later, he served as a missionary for the church in Stratford-on-Avon.

Jaques crossed the Atlantic with his wife in 1856 on the Horizon. They landed at Boston and proceeded by train to Iowa City. There they joined the Martin Handcart Company. Jaques' oldest daughter was among the many in that company who died when they were caught in snowstorms in Wyoming.

Jaques wrote many poems and other works, including "Truth." As a young missionary in Stratford-on-Avon he contemplated Pilate's question to Jesus Christ "What is truth?". The poem was included in the first (1851) edition of the Pearl of Great Price. It was also set to music by Ellen Knowles Melling, whom Jaques baptized while preaching in Scotland. Entitled "Oh Say, What is Truth?", the hymn is included in the hymnal of the LDS Church.

In 1869 Jaques returned to England for a two-year mission. He co-edited the Millennial Star with George Teasdale and then from 1870 to 1871 he served as the sole editor of that publication. Jacques also wrote a catechism to teach the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was a very respected and popular compendium of Latter-day Saints doctrine in the early period of Church headquarters being in Utah. It is one of the sources that declare God having a specific place to live but still being omnipresent based on the influence and range of the Holy Ghost.

After returning to Utah Territory, Jaques began working for the Deseret News. In 1874 he became the principal editorial writer for this newspaper. He then served as an Assistant Church Historian starting in 1873. While in this position he was on a committee with A. Milton Musser and Franklin D. Richards that presented plans for a Genealogical Association of the church. This association was the forerunner of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. After the Genealogical Society of Utah was organized, Jaques served as its first librarian.

References

Allen, James B., Jessie L. Embry, Kahlile B. Mehr. Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894-1994 Provo: BYU Studies, 1995.
Cornwall, J. Spencer. Stories of our Mormon Hymns. Deseret Book Company: Salt Lake City, 1975.

External links

1827 births
1900 deaths
19th-century English musicians
19th-century Mormon missionaries
American Latter Day Saints
British Latter Day Saints
Converts to Mormonism
Editors of Latter Day Saint publications
English Latter Day Saint hymnwriters
English Latter Day Saint writers
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John Jaques (Mormon)


The Jehol biota  includes all the living organisms – the ecosystem – of northeastern China between 133 to 120 million years ago (mya). This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation, some 125–121 mya, and the Jiufotang Formation. It is also believed to have left fossils in the Sinuiju series of North Korea.

The ecosystem in the Lower Cretaceous was dominated by wetlands and numerous lakes (not rivers, deltas, or marine habitats). Rainfall was seasonal, alternating between semi-arid, and mesic conditions. The climate was temperate. The Jehol ecosystem was interrupted at times by ash eruptions from volcanoes to the west. The word Jehol was the name given during the Japanese occupation of North-East China, 1933–1946.

The Jehol biota is noteworthy for the many different fossils and the large numbers of individuals of each species that have been recovered.

Diversity
The biota includes many species that were previously known only from the Upper Jurassic or earlier. These include the dinosaur Sinosauropteryx, and the pterosaur Dendrorhynchoides. There was even a primitive protomammal – a tritylodont therapsid – from Lower Cretaceous Japan. Tritylodonts were previously thought to have gone extinct in the Middle Jurassic. The biota also has the earliest and most basal (primitive) known members of groups which spread all around the world by the Upper Cretaceous, including neoceratopsians, therizinosaurs, tyrannosaurs, and oviraptors.

The Jehol biota has produced fossils of plant mega- and microfossils, including the earliest angiosperms, charophytes and dinocysts, snails (gastropods), clams (bivalves), superabundant aquatic arthropods called conchostracans, ostracods, shrimps, insects, spiders, fish, frogs and salamanders, turtles, choristoderes, lizards (squamata), pterosaurs, and dinosaurs including dinobirds, the largest mammals known from the Mesozoic, and a great diversity of birds including the earliest advanced birds, and the smallest and largest birds known from the Mesozoic.

The forests around the lakes were dominated by conifers including members of the podocarp pine, araucaria, and cypress families. There were also ginkgos, bennettitaleans, ephedra, horsetails, ferns, and mosses. The leaves and needles of the trees show adaptations to a dry season, but some of the ferns and mosses are types that grow in very wet habitats. It is possible that the latter avoided dry conditions by growing very close to bodies of water. Archaefructus has been described as the earliest known flowering plant (Angiosperm), and it is reconstructed as a water plant.

Fossil preservation
The fossils have been found in several sites of exceptional preservation. The two most famous are the Yixian and Jiufotang Formations. The Yixian and Jiufotang Formations are Lagerstatten, meaning that they have exceptionally good conditions for fossil preservation. The fossils are numerous, but also very well preserved. They often have articulated skeletons (bones connected), soft tissues, colour patterns, stomach contents, and twigs with leaves and flowers still attached.

Palaeontologists deduced two things from this. The first is that the land animals and plants were washed into the lakes very gently, or were already in the lakes when they died. They do not show the damage seen in fossils formed by large floods. Second, volcanic ash is commonly interbedded with lake sediments, and ashfalls seem to have quickly buried the fossilized organisms, created anoxic conditions around them, and prevented scavenging.

The biota probably extended as far as North Korea. Its earliest appearance may be in another Chinese lagerstätte, the Huajiying Formation.

Yixian Formation
A geological formation in Liaoning, N.E. China. It has outstanding preservation. The deposits of siliclastic (SiO2) sediment alternate with basalt. It was first recognised by the Japanese when they occupied Manchuria ('Jehol'). The formation was laid down 125–121 million years ago. It contains the famous Confuciusornis beds.

Sinodelphys, the earliest metatherian mammal, was found in this formation.

Jiufotang Formation
The Jiufotang Formation is a Lower Cretaceous geological formation in Liaoning. It has yielded fossils of feathered dinosaurs, primitive birds, pterosaurs, and other organisms.

The exact age of the Jiufotang has been debated for years, with estimates ranging from the Upper Jurassic to the Lower Cretaceous. Argon radiometry confirmed a Lower Cretaceous age for the site, 120.3 +/-0.7 million years ago. Fossils of Microraptor and Jeholornis are from the Jiufotang.

Huajiying Formation
Lower Cretaceous, but exact dates uncertain. This is probably the earliest of the Jehol biota lagerstätte sites. Contains sedimentary members interspersed with volcanic ash. Contains birds, dinosaurs and fish.

References

Lagerstätten
Fossils
History of China
Geological formations

Jehol Biota


Amchoor or aamchur or amchur, also referred to as mango powder, is a fruity spice powder made from dried unripe green mangoes and is used as a citrusy seasoning. It is mostly produced in India, and is used to flavour foods and add the nutritional benefits of mangoes when the fresh fruit is out of season.

Preparation
To make amchoor, early-season mangoes are harvested while still green and unripe. Once harvested, the green mangoes are peeled, thinly sliced, and sun-dried. The dried slices, which are light brown and resemble strips of woody bark, can be purchased whole and ground by the individual at home, but the majority of the slices processed in this way are ground into fine powder and sold as ready-made amchoor.

Use
It has a honey-like fragrance and a sour fruity flavour and is a tart pale-beige-to-brownish powder. It is used in dishes where acidity is required, in stir fried vegetable dishes, soups, curries, and to tenderize meat and poultry. It is used to add a fruit flavour without adding moisture, or as a souring agent, and lends an acidic taste to the foods.

Amchoor is a predominant flavouring agent used in Indian dishes  where it is used to add a sour tangy fruity flavour without moisture. It is used to flavour samosa and pakora fillings, stews and soups, fruit salads and pastries, curries, chutneys, pickles and dals and to tenderize meats, poultry, and fish. It is added to marinades for meat and poultry as an enzymatic tenderizer and lends its sourness to chutneys and pickles. Amchoor is also a primary component of chaat masala, an Indian spice mix.

References

External links

Mangoes
North Indian cuisine
Sour foods
Spices
Powders

Amchoor


Acis and Galatea (HWV 49) is a musical work by George Frideric Handel with an English text by John Gay. The work has been variously described as a serenata, a masque, a pastoral or pastoral opera, a "little opera" (in a letter by the composer while it was being written), an entertainment and by the New Grove Dictionary of Music as an oratorio. The work was originally devised as a one-act masque which premiered in 1718.

Handel later adapted the piece into a three-act serenata for the Italian opera troupe in London in 1732, which incorporated a number of songs (still in Italian) from Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, his 1708 setting of the same story to different music. He later adapted the original English work into a two-act work in 1739.

Acis and Galatea was the pinnacle of pastoral opera in England. Indeed, several writers, such as musicologist Stanley Sadie, consider it the greatest pastoral opera ever composed. As is typical of the genre, Acis and Galatea was written as a courtly entertainment about the simplicity of rural life and contains a significant amount of wit and self-parody. The secondary characters, Polyphemus and Damon, provide a significant amount of humor without diminishing the pathos of the tragedy of the primary characters, Acis and Galatea. The music of the first act is both elegant and sensual, while the final act takes on a more melancholy and plaintive tone.  The opera was significantly influenced by the pastoral operas presented at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane during the early 18th century. Reinhard Keiser and Henry Purcell also served as influences, but overall the conception and execution of the work is wholly individual to Handel.

Acis and Galatea was by far Handel's most popular dramatic work and is his only stage work never to have left the opera repertory. The opera has been adapted numerous times since its premiere, with a notable arrangement being made by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1788. Handel never gave the work in the form in which it is generally heard today, since it contains music which, while by Handel, was never added by him.

Composition history

Handel composed the first version of Acis and Galatea while he was living at Cannons (the seat of James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos) during 1717–1718. It was Handel's first dramatic work in the English language and was clearly influenced by the English pastoral operas of Johann Ernst Galliard and Johann Christoph Pepusch, of whom the latter worked with Handel at Cannons. The work is set to a libretto by John Gay which is based on Ovid's Metamorphoses, xiii (see Acis and Galatea (mythology)), and there is some uncertainty as to whether he was the only author of the text. The structure of the writing indicates that the original work by Gay was intended for only three characters and that the text for more characters was added later, possibly by John Hughes or Alexander Pope whose writings were added to the work's text. The libretto also borrowed freely from John Dryden's English translation of Ovid published in 1717, The Story of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea.

Performance history
Acis and Galatea was first performed in the summer of 1718 at Cannons with local tradition holding that the work was performed outside on the terraces overlooking the garden. This is the period in which the gardens at Cannons were being extensively 'improved' with water features that included an impressive jet d'eau, and so the choice of Acis and Galatea at this time, given that the conclusion requires a fountain, seems particularly apt.

It is not clear whether the original performance was staged, semi-staged, or performed as a concert work. The Cannons version included only five singers – a soprano, three tenors and a bass – who not only sang the principal roles but also served as the "chorus". This version contained the character of Coridon who was subsequently deleted from later versions. Aside from the aria "As when the dove," which is a reworking of "Amo Tirsi" from Handel's cantata Clori, Tirsi e Fileno, all of the music was original to this production. Perhaps the best-known arias from this piece are the bass solo: "I rage, I melt, I burn" and the tenor aria "Love in her eyes sits playing". The instrumental music for this first version was orchestrated for a minimum of seven players (basso continuo, strings, and oboes doubling recorders, however it is possible that the violins were doubled to add a fuller sound, and some early copies may indicate the use of a bassoon).
The opera was first published in 1722, and enjoyed a number of amateur performances in England from as early as 1719.

The work was not revived again professionally until 1731, when one performance was given in London without Handel's involvement. The following year, a staged production of the work was put on by Thomas Arne and John Frederick Lampe at the Little Theatre in the Haymarket. The production starred Thomas Mountier as Acis and Susannah Maria Cibber as Galatea. Arne advertised the work as "with all the Grand Chorus's, Scenes, Machines, and other Decorations; being the first Time it ever was performed in a Theatrical Way'."

The Little Theatre's production was highly successful and Handel, somewhat annoyed by the way Arne had promoted the production, retaliated by adapting the work substantially into a three-act serenata. This revised version incorporated a significant amount of music from his cantata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo (1708), as well as other music from further Italian cantatas and his Italian operas. The arias "Un sospiretto" and "Come la rondinella" were adapted from his cantata Clori, Tirsi e Fileno. The revised version was performed in a concert format in 1732 by the Italian opera in London and, according to Handel, included "a great Number of the best Voices and Instruments". The work was advertised on posters saying the following, "There will be no Action on the Stage, but the Scene will represent, in a Picturesque Manner, a rural Prospect, with Rocks, Groves, Fountains and Grotto's; amongst which will be disposed a Chorus of Nymphs and Shepherds, Habits, and every other Decoration suited to the Subject." Although successful, the three-act version was not as well received as Arne's production, as the mix of style and languages made the work oddly devised. Handel continued to make alterations to his 1732 version for successive performances up through 1741. He also gave performances of the original English work, adapting it into its two-act form in 1739.

Handel's two-act English version is the basis for the form of the work that is most often performed today, although modern productions typically use a different arrangement from the one that he himself actually devised. The work became Handel's most widely performed dramatic work during his lifetime, and has had a number of revivals in various forms, enjoying frequent performances throughout the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Notably in 1788, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart rescored the work for his then-patron Baron Gottfried van Swieten. In 2014, City Wall Productions revived the opera for the Festival of Chichester, restaging it in a 1920s manor house, highlighting the struggle between morality and class in the period.

Roles

The cast of the 1718 version is unknown.

Synopsis
Since Acis and Galatea has been adapted many times, it is impossible to provide a single synopsis that accurately reflects every presentation of the work. The following is a synopsis for the typical two-act presentation of the work that is most often used for modern performances.

Act 1
Shepherds and nymphs enjoy "the pleasure of the plains". Galatea, a semi-divine nymph, is in love with the shepherd Acis, and tries to hush the birds that ignite her passion for him (Recit."Ye verdant plains" & Aria "Hush, ye pretty warbling quire!") Acis's close friend, the shepherd Damon, provides counsel to the lovers as they pursue each other. Acis sings a beautiful siciliana-style serenade, "Love in her eyes sits playing", upon their first meeting. The act closes with a duet by the young lovers, "Happy we", which is echoed by a chorus (not in the Cannons original).

Act 2

The opera shifts from its pastoral and sensual mood into an elegiac quality as the chorus warns Acis and Galatea about the arrival of a monstrous giant, Polyphemus, singing "no joy shall last". The fugal minor-key of the chorus's music along with the percussive lines in the lower instruments, indicating the heavy footsteps of the giant, provides an effective dramatic transition into the more serious nature of the second act. Polyphemus enters singing of his jealous love for Galatea, "I rage, I melt, I burn", which is in a part-comic furioso accompanied recitative. This is followed by his aria "O ruddier than the cherry" which is written in counterpoint to a sopranino recorder. Polyphemus threatens force but is somewhat soothed by the impartial shepherd, Coridon ("Would you gain the tender creature"). Meanwhile, Acis ignores Damon's warning of the fleeting existence of love's delight ("Consider, fond shepherd") and responds with hostility and the determination to resist ("Love sounds th' alarm"). Acis and Galatea promise eternal fidelity to each other in what begins as a duet ("The flocks shall leave the mountains") but ultimately turns into a trio when Polyphemus intrudes and in a rage murders Acis. Galatea, along with the chorus, mourns the loss of her love ("Must I my Acis still bemoan"). The chorus reminds her of her divinity and that with her powers she can transform Acis's body into a beautiful fountain. The work closes with Galatea's larghetto air, "Heart, the seat of soft delight", in which she exerts her powers to enact the transformation, ending with the chorus celebrating Acis's immortalisation.

Recordings

Source:  Recordings of Acis and Galatea on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk

References
Notes

Sources
Stanley Sadie. "Acis and Galatea", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (retrieved 1 April 2006), grovemusic.com  (subscription access).
Winton Dean. "Handel's Dramatic Oratorios and Masques". Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959.
Music Associates of America: Acis and Galatea

External links
 Libretto of 1718 version

 NMA at the Mozarteum ( Score of Mozart's revision, KV 566, is in the supplement, series X group 28:1)

Operas by George Frideric Handel
Works by John Gay
English-language operas
Pastoral operas
1718 operas
1732 operas
Operas
Operas based on Metamorphoses

Acis and Galatea (Handel)


David XI () or Dāwūd Khan II (, ) (died c. 1579) was King of Kartli. A convert to Islam, he was appointed as Khan of Kartli by the Persian Shah Tahmasp I from 1562 (effectively from 1569) to 1578.

Life
David was a brother of the Kartlian king Simon I, who led a long-lasting liberation war against the Safavid Persian and Ottoman empires. In December 1561, David repaired to Qazvin to offer his submission to Shah Tahmasp, converted to Islam and adopted the name of Daud Khan. The shah appointed him ruler in Kartli, elevated him to the rank of farzand ("son") at his investiture, and sent with a Persian army to claim the power. He may have been an unnamed Georgian prince reported by the English explorer Anthony Jenkinson as attending his audience with Shah Tahmasp on 20 November 1562, but Daud appears to have been returned to Georgia in August 1562 and the Georgian prince of Jenkinson's report could have been another Georgian renegade, Prince Jesse of Kakheti (Isa Khan).

Relying on the Persian occupation forces and a few loyal nobles, Daud was in control of the Georgian capital Tbilisi and the province of Lower Kartli, while the rest of the kingdom remained faithful to Simon. The rival brothers met on the battlefield on several occasions. The hostilities took place mainly around Tbilisi, which was blockaded by Simon's forces from 1567 to 1569. Although the king won the battles at Dighomi (1567) and Samadlo (1569), the Persians eventually prevailed and took Simon captive at the Battle of Partskhisi, 1569. He was sent in chains to the fortress of Alamut, and Daud Khan assumed nominal control of all of Kartli. As previously, he relied on the Persians and paid an annual tribute to the Shah. A patriotic alliance of nobles led by Prince Sachino Baratashvili continued, however, resistance to the renegade Georgian ruler. In 1578, a peace between the Safavids and the Ottomans collapsed. The Turkish army commanded by Lala Mustafa Pasha overran much of Georgia and dislodged Daud Khan, who had burnt the citadel of Tbilisi and taken shelter at Lorri. The Shah presently freed Simon to fight against the Ottomans and reinstated him as king of Kartli. In retaliation, Daud Khan handed the control over Lorri to the Turks and fled to Istanbul, where he was welcomed and granted lordship over two sanjaks. His sons, Bagrat and Khosro, took shelter in Persia. During his stay in Turkey, Daud Khan compiled two Ottoman-era medical treatises (qarabadin) and translated it into Georgian, sending a copy to his motherland.

Family
David was married to Elene (), a relative of King Alexander II of Kakheti. They had the following children:
Bagrat VII, King of Kartli
A daughter, married Prince Asanbeg (Kaikhosro) Baratashvili (fl. 1599–1620)
A daughter, married Baindur (Baadur), Duke of Aragvi
A daughter, married Prince Adam-Sultan Andronikashvili. Their daughter, Tamar, married Luarsab, heir-apparent of Kartli.

By a concubine, a peasant woman from Tsavkisi, David had a natural son:
Rostom, King of Kartli

References

Sources

1579 deaths
16th-century people from Georgia (country)
Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Kartli
Converts to Shia Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy
Former Georgian Orthodox Christians
Shia Muslims from Georgia (country)
Safavid appointed kings of Kartli
Year of birth unknown
Safavid generals
16th-century people from Safavid Iran

David XI of Kartli


Wood is the main substance in trees. It is mainly formed by the xylem vessels which carry water up the plant. The two main substances in wood are cellulose and lignin. Wood is used to make buildings and furniture, and also for art. Firewood is a fuel. Paper is made from wood fibres. Wood is a renewable resource although it has become scarcer in recent centuries. Its origin is about 425 million years ago.

Wood is hard to cut, but it is also strong. A lumberjack is a person who cuts down trees. After a tree falls, the wood in it can be cut into long, straight pieces called lumber. Lumber can then be used to make posts, or put together with nails, screws, or even glue to make wooden frames for other shapes.

Wood comes in many different kinds. Oak, maple (hardwood) and pine and redwood (softwood) are widely used types of wood. Woods are usually divided into softwood (from conifers) and hardwood from flowering plants.

Housing
For a long time and even today, many buildings, mostly houses, have been made of wood. To build a house with wood, lumber is put together into frames that are the shape of each wall, floor, and roof of the house. Then the frames are placed into the shape of a house. Then the frames can be covered to make solid walls. Sometimes the walls are made of more wood.

When the outside of a house or building is covered in wood, the wooden pieces are usually flat and stacked. These pieces are called shingles. Wood is also sometimes used in other parts of the house, like doors and staircases. Wood is also used to make fences.

Carpentry

Carpenters make houses of mostly soft wood such as pine. For many kinds of furniture they use harder wood such as maple or oak. When someone builds something with wood, they often paint it. Paint protects and beautifies the wood. Some people like the look of wood, so they put clear paint called varnish on it. This helps to protect the wood and gives it a shiny finish.

Some people make art with wood. Sometimes sculptures are built with wood: see Grinling Gibbons.

Regular pencils are made of wood. Inside is the "lead", which is not actually lead. Clay or wax and graphite form the "lead" in a pencil.

Paper
Wood is turned into paper in large factories called paper mills.  Heat, chemicals and machines separate the cellulose fibers from other parts and press the fibers into paper.

References

Related pages

 Tree
 Petrified wood
 Plywood
 Firewood

Other websites
 Wood -Citizendium

Basic English 850 words

Wood


Hatoon Kadi () is a Saudi Arabian comedian and activist who hosts the Noon Al Niswa comedy show on YouTube, which has 292,912 subscribers (as of 8 December 2016). She presents social phenomena from a woman's perspective, using sarcasm, avoiding judgment and without trying to find solutions. She is known for her satiric videos about women's and family issues, often highlighting everyday life in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Hatoon Kadi started with comedy when she realized that there were plenty of Saudi Arabian internet comedians, but a lack women in the field. In 2014, she was named one of the BBC's 100 Women.

Kadi is the mother of two, and writes a weekly column for Arab News, an English language Saudi Arabian daily newspaper. She lectures part-time at Dar Al-Hekma University, School of Business and Law, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Kadi completed two degrees in the United Kingdom.  In 2009, she graduated with MSc Information Technology, Management and Organization, from Lancaster University. In 2016, she achieved her PhD at University of Sheffield.

In December 2016, Kadi was among with a group of social media influencers in the Persian Gulf region who launched a campaign in support of Syrian refugees in Jordan. Their aim was to raise awareness about the challenges of Syrian refugees in Jordan and to mobilise financial support. The influencers published written and filmed stories about their visits to Syrian refugee camps, bringing attention to refugee suffering.

References

External links
 NoonAlniswa YouTube channel
 Hatoon Kadi on twitter

Living people
Academic staff of Dar Al-Hekma University
Saudi Arabian women comedians
Saudi Arabian YouTubers
Saudi Arabian journalists
Saudi Arabian women journalists
Alumni of Lancaster University
Alumni of the University of Sheffield
Year of birth missing (living people)

Hatoon Kadi


Planet Ice Arena Milton Keynes is a 2,800-capacity multi-purpose ice rink/hockey rink located in Milton Keynes, England, as part of the Leisure Plaza complex (near the Central station).

Arena history

Opening

In 1990, the rink opened as the Bladerunner Arena as part of the brand new Leisure Plaza complex, located close to Milton Keynes Central railway station. The Leisure Plaza facility offered a leisure and retail complex to Milton Keynes: the location featured trees, shrubbery, family picnic areas and a large pond hosting wildlife and plants with a footbridge crossing the water. In addition to the ice rink, the new complex also featured Flamingo's nightclub, Megabowl 10-pin bowling alley, Cafe Moonshine (later Heroes sports bar), an Argos superstore and Homebase centre.

The ice rink itself boasted 2,200 seats, 3 licensed bars (one overlooking the ice surface, the other a kiosk at ice level), a restaurant, 3 function rooms (2 of which overlooked the ice surface – one having a bar), an ice sports shop, cafeteria, video games area, skate hire, 8 team changing rooms (1 reserved for the home professional ice hockey team), DJ box, management offices and an olympic sized ice pad. Its facilities and ice pad was one of several rinks which opened in the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 1990s two of Bladerunner's smaller changing rooms were converted into a large changing room, office and meeting area for the specific use of the Milton Keynes Kings Junior Ice Hockey Club.

1990–96

Bladerunner would regularly sellout on Kings game nights and would often have to turn customers away due to the success of their public ice skating sessions. Other events included ice shows, figure skating competitions and concerts. On several occasions the Great Britain men's national ice hockey team used the arena for training camps and games and it was also used as the training base for Olympic champion figure skaters, Jane Torvill & Christopher Dean.

In 1992 arena owners First Leisure closed the venue, however it was opened soon after following public outcry, including public rallies outside the offices of Milton Keynes Council and First Leisure. Public demand saw the ice rink re-open in time for the 1992/93 ice hockey season. However this was not the last time the ice rink would close its doors, a second short closing and re-opening in the early 1990s was followed by a permanent closure in 1996.

1996 closure

Public protest and the popularity of the Kings ice hockey team were not enough to find a new owner for the ice rink and the doors became locked, apparently for good, in the summer of 1996. Users of the ice rink instead were forced to travel over an hour to ice rinks in Oxford, Stevenage, Peterborough and Haringey – including the MK Kings Junior Ice Hockey Club who re-located first to Stevenage and then to Haringey under the Milton Keynes name.

1998 re-opening

After two years of closure the arena re-opened under the new ownership in April 1998 and was renamed Planet Ice, with the Kings ice hockey team being re-formed in the third tier of English ice hockey under the ownership of local businessman Mike Darnell. Popularity of the venue was just as high as when the venue first opened in 1990, with Planet Ice's learn to skate courses being over-subscribed for several years. The arena featured several changes when it was re-opened, including; large scale re-decoration, the ice sports shop in the arena concourse being bricked up, the alcohol kiosk at bar level converted into a store room, a new 'Skate Xpress' shop opening in the skate hire area of the building. Not all areas of the ice rink complex re-opened, including the restaurant which remained closed.

In addition to the MK Kings re-formation, Planet Ice reached an agreement with Anschutz Entertainment Group for their newly formed Superleague side London Knights to use the arena as their training base. This saw the junior club's purpose built changing room converted into a luxury dressing room with a two of the smaller changing rooms converted into an office and gym, all for exclusive use by the Knights. Delays in the opening of the Knights new arena in London saw the team play several home games in Milton Keynes before they were finally able to host games at the London Arena whilst the team trained and lived in MK. Planet Ice was sporadically converted into a basketball court and used as home venue for British Basketball League side Milton Keynes Lions for home games selected for live television coverage on Sky Sports.

2000–02

The Knights left Milton Keynes in the summer of 2000, moving to Lea Valley to be based closer to their home arena. The next year in 2001 saw the formation of a new senior ice hockey team, Milton Keynes Thunder to play at the fourth level of English ice hockey, key for local players not good enough to make the step up to the Kings team who had by now moved up to the second tier British National League. In 2001 a second senior ice hockey team, Milton Keynes Thunder, began using the arena as their home venue, albeit in the lower leagues of British ice hockey. A dispute over which league the Kings team should compete in led to Planet Ice evicting them from the arena in 2002, with the new Milton Keynes Lightning formed in their place who joined the third tier English Premier League.

2002–2013

Thunder and Lightning have remained in the arena since, with Lightning achieving multiple league, playoffs and cup championships over their 10 seasons – both teams have also moved up one league tier since their inceptions – although attendances at games have diminished since Wimbledon FC moved to Milton Keynes in 2003. In 2012 the MK Lions basketball side explored the possibility of using Planet Ice as a permanent home following the closure of nearby Prestige Homes Arena, however no agreement was reached and the team re-located out of the city.

Since the opening of the Xscape development in Central Milton Keynes, Leisure Plaza lost its prestige and had become rather neglected as the popularity of this once popular complex diminished. Flamingo's nightclub closed and was re-opened as 'Empire' but closed down again in the mid-2000s and has been shut since. Heroes sports bar also closed before re-opening as 'Smile Gentleman's Club'.

201314 refurbishment

Plans to refurbish the site, including upgrading the ice arena and the opening of apartments, retail units, a supermarket and casino, had been planned for some years; in March 2013 the redevelopment of the rink was confirmed as starting in summer 2013 with the permanent closure of the bowling alley. The ice rink closed on 14 July 2013 and redevelopment work started. The new rink opened in late 2014 in conjunction with a Morrisons Supermarket and another as yet unannounced shopping unit.

2017
In April 2017, AEW UK bought the freehold interest in the arena building from Planet Ice.

In June 2018, Strong Style Evolved UK, a two-day professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling, took place at the Planet Ice Arena.

In March 2020, the venue was temporarily transformed into a morgue to help deal with the casualties of the coronavirus pandemic.

References

Sport in Milton Keynes
Indoor ice hockey venues in England
Buildings and structures in Milton Keynes
Indoor arenas in England

Planet Ice Arena Milton Keynes


Deepak Verma MBE (b. 11 February 1969) is a British actor, writer and television/film producer of Indian Punjabi descent and Hindu heritage. His role as market-stall trader Sanjay Kapoor in long-running BBC One soap opera EastEnders brought him to the attention of UK mainstream viewers.

Career
Verma trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He made his television debut in the Scottish detective series Taggart in 1992. However, he is best known for his portrayal of the adulterous gambler Sanjay Kapoor in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders (1993–1998). During his time on the show, Verma's character was central to many explosive storylines, including the breakdown of his marriage to Gita (Shobu Kapoor), caused by his extramarital affair with her sister, as well as being falsely accused of her suspected murder. The couple eventually left Walford together in the midst of press scandal.

Since leaving EastEnders in 1998, Verma has set up his own film and television production company, Pukkanasha Films. The company's mission is to develop and produce a slate of innovative, offbeat, fresh and vibrant feature films by drawing on diverse cultural backgrounds, particularly Indian and western.

He has also written several stage plays and screenplays, including Tandoori Chicks, a screenplay about three sisters and their dad's Indian restaurant; Eastside Story and London Gold (BBC films), two high concept feature films; Hitman, a film based on the cult novel by Max Kinnings; and a screenplay entitled Ghostdancing  Based on Émile Zola's Thérèse Raquin, it is a tale of adultery and murder transposed to a small town in the present day.

His first play, Pool of Tranquility, was selected in the finals of the Royal Court Young People's Theatre's young writers' festival in 1992, where it was a finalist. That led to a BBC Radio 4 commission to write a play based on the life of India's most famous bandit, Phoolan Devi, 'Bandit Queen'. He's since penned further plays for Radio 4, the BBC World Service and a play at the King's Head, Islington, London.

Verma was chosen to represent the UK at the Talent Campus at the Berlinale 2004, Berlin Film Festival. He is a member of the European Producers' Club and recently was a participant in RISE (Recontres Internationales Des Scenaristes Europeens). He is currently a participant in the prestigious Eave programmes for European producers.

Deepak won an award for achievement for his contribution to the arts, presented by Keith Vaz MP at the House of Commons in 1997.

Verma continues to act on mainstream television in the UK. Other notable credits include Holby City (2001); White Teeth (2002); River City (2003); Doctors (2003) and All About Me (2003).

He performed in Dominion - Seed of Evil, a US television series.

Deepak has appeared in various theatre shows in the UK as well as training with EAVE in Europe, the film producers' training organisation. Deepak regularly teaches at the Actors' Centre in London and is experienced in leading workshops, including at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Tom Allen Centre in London.

His company Pukkanasha Films is producing a film version of 'Wuthering Heights' set in India (Rajasthan), originally produced by Tamasha Theatre company in 2009–2010.

In 2011/2012 he completed a film Called 'Mumbai Charlie', about a community in India who worship Charlie Chaplin. It won the Silver Lei award at the Honolulu Film awards. He and his team worked with local children from underprivileged schools and did drama workshops with them, eventually incorporating them into the 30-minute film.

His plays Ghostdancing, an adaptation of the French Novel Thérèse Raquin, and adaptation of Wuthering Heights have been published by Methuen. The latter is on the reading list for Royal Holloway University's Drama department.

In 2010 Verma conceived Faith Shorts, a global film competition to inspire young people to make short films about their faith. This was developed and produced by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and is an annual event. Tony Blair said: "By gaining insights into the lives of young people across the world this competition has the potential to build bridges across cultural and religious divides. I hope this competition will provide a platform for creative and talented young people and an opportunity for young filmmakers to see their work promoted on the global stage."

Verma was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to the arts.

References

External links
 Official website

 Interview with Deepak Verma
 Pukkanasha Films

Living people
1969 births
British male soap opera actors
British male film actors
British film producers
Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Members of the Order of the British Empire
20th-century British male actors
21st-century British male actors
British people of Indian descent
British people of Punjabi descent
British male actors of Asian descent

Deepak Verma


The Wells Fargo Center is a multi-use indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was called Spectrum II before it was built. It has previously been called the CoreStates Center, First Union Center and Wachovia Center.

The Wells Fargo Center is the home arena of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, and the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. The Center was finished in 1996 to replace the Spectrum as the home arena of the Flyers, 76ers, and Wings. It was built on the former site of John F. Kennedy Stadium (originally Philadelphia Municipal Stadium). The cost of it was $210 million, and it was mostly privately financed (though the city and state helped to pay for the local infrastructure). It is owned by Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the Flyers. Global Spectrum operates the arena. Comcast Spectacor also owns Global Spectrum.

The Wells Fargo Center is at the southwest corner of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Some of the buildings there are Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and Xfinity Live!.

Facilities

The Center officially seats 20,318 for NBA and NCAA basketball games and 19,537 for NHL hockey and indoor ("box") NLL lacrosse.  With more standing-room areas available in luxury and club-box suites, the total paid capacity is actually more than that. The Center has 126 luxury suites, 1,880 club-box seats, and a many restaurants and clubs (both public and private) available for use by patrons.  The offices, studios, and production facilities of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia are all located in the facility.

On June 9, 2010, the Center set the record for the highest attendance for an indoor hockey game in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania (20,327) when the Flyers lost Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Center also set a record for the highest attendances for a college basketball game in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 13, 2006, when Villanova University played and defeated the #1 ranked University of Connecticut before a crowd of 20,859.

On August 1, 2006, Comcast Spectacor announced it would add a new center-hung scoreboard to replace the original one made by Daktronics. The new scoreboard, manufactured by ANC Sports is like other scoreboards in new NBA & NHL arenas. Another linear LED display lining the entire arena was also added between the suite and mezzanine levels. Other renovations for the Center's ten-year anniversary included upgrading the suites with more flat screen TV's, as well as changing ticket providers from Ticketmaster to New Era Tickets, which is owned by Comcast Spectacor.

The PA announcer at the Center for Flyers games is Lou Nolan, who moved with the team from the Spectrum, where he has worked since 1972. Matt Cord is the PA announcer for 76ers games. Jim Bachman is the PA announcer for Villanova basketball games.  Kevin Casey handles PA duties for the Philadelphia Wings.

Tenants

Full time
Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL
Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA
Philadelphia Wings of the NLL
Philadelphia Soul of the AFL

Part time
Villanova University Wildcats of the NCAA Big East Conference; some big men's basketball home games which the on-campus arena, The Pavilion, is inadequate to use.

Former part time
Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL); the Flyers' AHL development club played some regular season and Calder Cup playoff games at the Center each season between 1996 and 2009 when the Spectrum was unavailable because of other events.
Philadelphia Soul of the original AFL; split games between the Center and the Spectrum between 2004 and 2008. The AFL folded in 2009. The Soul returned in 2011 (see above).

Capacity
The capacity for 76ers games:
20,444 (1996-2006)
20,318 (2006-2010)
20,328 (2010–present)

The capacity for Flyers games:
19,463 (1996-1997)
19,511 (1997-1998)
19,519 (1998-2003)
19,523 (2003-2008)
19,537 (2008–present)

References

Other websites
Official Site

Indoor arenas
Buildings and structures in Philadelphia
Philadelphia Flyers

Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)


John Judd (born 9 April 1942) is a Formula One engineer from England. He is the boss of Engine Developments Ltd., manufacturers of  Judd engines. He is also known for his partnership with triple F1 World Champion Sir Jack Brabham.

Formula 1 work with Brabham
Judd began his career at a young age, shortly after he decided to leave school. He managed to get signed as an employee for the engine company Coventry Climax, his first job. They gave him a scholarship to study at a local college. In the early 1960s he began working on the Coventry Climax Formula 1 engine, which was used at the time by Jack Brabham. After Brabham separated with Coventry to move to Repco, Judd was hired by Brabham to work with engine designer Phil Irving. He was to design and build the new 3-litre engines for Brabham, the result being two drivers championships and two constructors championships in 1966 and 1967.

Later, Brabham switched again to Ford DFV engines built by Cosworth, and once again, Judd was hired by Jack Brabham to do developmental work on the Cosworth DFV engines. The Brabham team later sold to Bernie Ecclestone, and Jack Brabham planned to create a new project in engine development. He and Judd founded Engine Developments Ltd. in 1971. In the years that followed Engine Developments prepared Cosworth engines for teams such as Williams, Arrows, Lotus, Ensign and Fittipaldi.

Independent company
In the late 1970s, Judd and his team extended to IndyCar. In 1980, Judd was hired by Honda to develop an engine for the company's return to Formula Two in association with Ron Tauranac's Ralt team.

Return to Formula 1
Judd and his company came back to F1 in the 1988 season supplying engines for Williams, Ligier and March. In 1991 Judd struck a deal with Scuderia Italia to supply V10 engines for a Dallara-designed car.

In 1992 Judd created a partnership with Yamaha to build and develop engines for Formula 1. The best result of this collaboration came in the 1997 Hungarian GP when Damon Hill finished second behind Jacques Villeneuve. The partnership ended at the start of the 1998 season. Judd continued to develop his V10 engine in 1998 and 1999.

Le Mans
Beginning the 21st century, Judd and his company moved to touring cars and the Le Mans Series, resulting in victory in the 2001 American Le Mans Series with Dick Barbour Racing, and second place in the teams championship in the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2002 with Doran.

In 2004, Judd's collaboration with Ray Mallock Ltd. earned the XV675 one of its few successes, winning the LMP2 class at the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2007 Judd planned to supply the LMP2 team with his engine.

References

External links
 John Judd profile

1942 births
Living people
Formula One engine engineers
British motorsport designers

John Judd


Tomás Batuecas Marugán (1893–1972) was a Spanish chemist, most notable for his work on atomic weights of the elements. Batuecas was a professor of chemistry and vice-chancellor of the University of Santiago de Compostela.

Life
He graduated with honors from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Salamanca in 1913 and in the same year began doctoral studies in Madrid under Blas Cabrera Felipe. In 1916, Batuecas studied in the University of Geneva with Philippe A. Guye where he was interested in density and compressibility of real gases. In Geneva he also met Enrique Moles Ormella, who became his long-standing research colleague.

In 1917, he presented his doctoral thesis at the University of Madrid and then returned for a brief period to the University of Geneva to teach chemistry. On his return to the Complutense University of Madrid, he continued his work on properties of gases with Cabrera and Moles. In 1932, Batuecas joined the University of Santiago, where he remained until his retirement in 1963. In 1936, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor.

During his career, Batuecas published more than 130 scientific papers. His research mainly involved determinations of atomic weights, either using density measurements of gases or X-ray crystallography. The work on atomic weights started in Geneva in 1916 with Guye, and was focused to evaluate Daniel Berthelot's method of limiting densities for real gases. In Madrid (1924) Batuecas also became interested in X-ray crystallography to determine the atomic weights of elements.

The most notable contribution of Batuecas in this field is perhaps his role in the adoption of the international scale of atomic weights based on the carbon-12 nuclide. Batuecas was the chairman of the International Atomic Weights Commission from 1960–1963 and, in 1961, at the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) General Assembly held in Montreal, he played a decisive role in establishing the new atomic mass scale.

Honors
The city of Santiago, where Batuecas lived for 40 years, awarded him the silver medal of the city on the eve of his death. A street is named after him in Santiago. and in his hometown.

References

1893 births
1972 deaths
Spanish chemists
University of Salamanca alumni
Academic staff of the University of Santiago de Compostela
Academic staff of the Complutense University of Madrid

Tomas Batuecas


The Japanese serow is a mammal that lives in Japan.

Appearance
Adult Japanese serow stand about 81 centimetres (32 in) tall and weigh 30–45 kilograms (66–99 lb). They are black to whitish, and colouring lightens in summer.

Living areas
They live in dense woodland in Japan, primarily in northern and central Honshu and are found in dense mountain forests.They live in open grassland and forests at an elevation of about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), and uses caves to rest in.

Food and water
They eat leaves, shoots, and acorns.

Threats
It is infectious disease. For example, it is Genus Parapoxvirus.

Reproduction
Capricornis crispus is socially monogamous.

Relationship with humans

The animal is seen as a national symbol of Japan and protected in conservation areas.

Caprids
Mammals of Japan

Japanese serow


"Canuck" is a slang term for Canadian people.

History
The term was first used in the 19th century, although its etymology (origin) is not clear. Some possibilities are:
 kanata1 "village"
 Canada + -uc (Algonquian noun suffix)
 Canada + -inuk (Inuit for "man")
 Connaught, a rarely-used term for Irish-French-Canadians.

Meaning
The Random House Dictionary says that: "The term Canuck is first recorded about 1835 as an Americanism, originally referring specifically to a French Canadian. This was probably the original meaning, though in Canada and other countries, Canuck now more often refers to any Canadian."

Usage and examples
When "Canuck" is used by Canadians, the meaning is usually affectionate, friendly or patriotic.

The history and use of the term include:
 The Vancouver Canucks hockey team
 The Canada national rugby union team Canucks
 The Crazy Canucks, a group of Canadian alpine ski racers who were active in the '70s.
 Johnny Canuck, an image of Canadians in early political cartoons of the 1860s resisting Uncle Sam's bullying. Johnny Canuck was used again in 1942 by Leo Bachle to defend Canada against the Nazis.
 In 1975 in comics by Richard Comely, Captain Canuck is a super-agent for Canadians' security, with Redcoat and Kebec being his sidekicks. (Kebec is claimed to be unrelated to Capitaine Kébec of a French-Canadian comic published two years earlier.) Captain Canuck had enhanced strength and endurance thanks to being bathed in alien rays during a camping trip.  The captain was reintroduced in the mid-1990s, and again in 2004.
 Operation Canuck was the name of a British Special Air Service raid led by a Canadian captain, Buck McDonald in January 1945.
 "The Dark Canuck" is a song on The Tragically Hip's album In Violet Light.
In 1995, Canada Post released 45-cent postage stamps showing Johnny Canuck and Captain Canuck.
"Canuck" is a nickname for the Curtiss JN4 and Avro CF-100 aircraft.
One of the first uses of "Canuck" – in the form of "Kanuk" – specifically referred to Dutch Canadians as well as French Canadians.
Team Canuck is a small-sized team at RoboCup.
 North Plainfield High School Canucks, is the mascot of this High School in New Jersey.
"Canuck Rubber", a reference to Canadian Tire stores.

The use of "Canuck" is similar to the use of some other potentially offensive nicknames. When it is used by the people it names – Canadians in this case – it is usually acceptable. But when it is used by an outsider it can be thought of as insulting one's heritage.

Related pages
 Soviet Canuckistan, a derogatory nickname for Canada.
 Canuck Letter

References

 Random House Dictionary
 The Oxford Companion To The English Language Oxford English Dictionary Unkind Words : Ethnic Labeling from Redskin to WASP'' - Irving Lewis Allen

Other websites

 History of the Vancouver Canucks National Hockey League team
 Canuck Unlimited Canadians airplane crews who operated in Southeast Asia during World War II
 Johnny Canuck: with a stamp illustration
 Captain Canuck: with a stamp illustration
 The Word Detective
 The National Superhero in Canadian Comic-Book Art
 ECanuck Atlantic Canadian Web Portal / Community

Canada
Slang

Canuck


John Downton (27 March 1906 – 1991) was an English artist, philosopher, musician, and poet.

Born in Erith, Kent, on 27 March 1906 to Albert Victor Downton (1873 - 1925; an engineer) and Flora Edith (1875 - 1962; née Mitchell) both of Wiltshire, Downton drew well from an early age. He was educated at Erith Convent, followed by Erith Grammar School. At the age of fifteen he won the youth silver medal of the Royal Drawing Society.  He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge (1925–1928), first in English and then in Art History, and then trained as a painter at the Slade.  Downton played the violin all his life, was often invited to give performances, and always participated in the fortnight-long Grittleton Summer School of Music in Malvern, Worcestershire. He also wrote books, such as The Death of Art (1937) and Craftsmanship, Art and Criticism (1993). But it is his paintings for which he is now chiefly remembered. He travelled regularly around Europe, and was particularly happy in northern Italy. His main subject was young girlhood, rendered in the manner of the Italian old masters and with the tempera technique that had been revived by the Birmingham Group.

Both his subject matter and his techniques were deeply unfashionable during most of his adult life, and he ceased to exhibit after the start of the Second World War, during which he was a conscientious objector, working on the land in Shropshire and Pitlochry, Scotland. He had two sisters: Hilda (1901 - 2006) and Mary (1903 - 1989). Hilda, who lived to 104, was a talented artist. Her painting of Ightham Mote is owned by the National Trust, and it was she who established the John Downton Award in 2000. Her legacy also provided for a specialist music room at Walthamstow Hall School in her brother's name. John Downton's portrait of Hilda was gifted to the Hull Museum Collection He never married, and lived mostly in Cambridge. On his death in 1991, all his work passed to The Downton Trust.

A major retrospective exhibition and catalogue was produced in 1996, and the exhibition toured the UK. His three main masterpieces are: The Battle (1935, now in Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery); Portrait of a Girl (1938, now in The Tate); Nora Russell (1935, which was gifted to the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Bournemouth, in 1998).

There is an annual John Downton Award for Young Artists, given to those attending secondary schools in the county of Kent.

Books by John Downton

The Death of Art: Incorporating Notes on Philosophy and Ethics (1937, 1995).
Craftsmanship, Art and Criticism (1993).
Philosophical Notes (1993).
Reflections on Violin Playing (1994).
Poems (1995).

Further reading

Wootton, David. John Downton 1906-1991: Temperas and Drawings.  Maas Gallery, 1996

References

External links

1906 births
1991 deaths
People from Erith
20th-century English painters
English male painters
British conscientious objectors
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
20th-century English male artists

John Downton


Made in India is a television show hosted by Nasirr Khan about inventions and contributions by India to the world. It airs every Monday at 10:30 PM on Epic (TV channel).It has completed 4 episodes as on 16 December 2014.

Episodes

Episode 1

Sushruta

It is 600 years B.C.E. and the oldest city in the world, Varanasi is home to a man who transformed lives of people by surgery. Using tools and techniques available in that ancient time, he instituted a system of surgery and operation which at that time made him an outcast in society, but which left behind a legacy that is an important part of medical history today. This is the story of surgery, practiced by Sushruta – the father of modern medicine. His tools antechniques remain virtually unchanged 2600 years later. How did he become so skilled? The answers unfold in the Banaras Hindu University in Banaras, with a contemporary surgeon explaining Sushruta's techniques.

Episode 2

Bodhidharma

A 60-year-old Tamil monk, carrying nothing but his patra (bowl) arrives in China. He is an ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian who trains the monks at Shaolin in a hand-to-hand combat form – which then becomes Shaolin Kung Fu. The practice of Zen and unarmed combat spreads all across the East – Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, and takes various forms - especially Chinese action flicks, where most heroes behave much like Bodhidharma – the Tamil Monk. Who was Bodhidharma? Where did he come from? Why did he go to China? Where did he learn to fight? From the traditional Silambam and Kalaripayuttu masters of South India to the Far East, this is a story that needs to be told.

Episode 3

Board Games

The origin of three of the world's most loved and played games all over the world can be traced back to India. Modern chess developed out of this ancient Indian game - chaturaṅga – meaning four parts. Trace the history of Chess back to the Gupta Period in the 6th century AD. From the Indian game Pachisi, Ludo has become one of the most popular games in the world, played in all cultures and among all kinds of people. And Snakes and Ladders originated from the ancient Indian game of Mokshapattam, where the squares had morals attached to them. So what are the legends and stories associated with these games which are so much a part of our culture and tradition?

Episode 4

Wootz Steel

326 B.C.E. In the epic battle between Alexander and Porus, Porus's much smaller force holds out against Alexander's massive army and creates a legend of courage equal to the Spartans. When Porus surrenders he hands Alexander a sword made of the finest steel known to man. This sword can slice cleanly through a falling handkerchief, is self-sharpening, and at the same time sharper and more bendable that any steel for the next 2000 years. Wootz steel (from the Tamil ukku/urukku) was used to make the legendary Damascus steel blades. These blades were more highly prized than wealth and gemstones across the world, and the steel was only manufactured in India. Yet, by the 18th century, the technique was lost for ever. This is the story of the greatest weapons ever made, one that held primacy over the world for close to 2000 years, was developed and manufactured in our land, but has been forgotten, and lost. Perhaps in some small Tamilian village, there is a blacksmith from out of time, still forging wootz steel unbeknownst to the world. Anything is possible in India.

Episode 5

Tipu Sultan's Rockets

The first rockets to be used as weapons were fire arrows in China, then Korea, and then by the Mongols of Genghis Khan. However, the effect of fire arrows was more psychologically than physically destructive. However, in the mid-1700s, in the kingdom of Mysore, the valiant fighter and the Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan along with his father Haidar Ali developed a new kind of weapon. Unlike earlier rockets they built theirs out of iron –making a hollow tube into which an explosive was placed. These new rockets were not only far more dangerous and could cause great damage to anything they struck, but also had an effective range of over 2 kilometres. Tipu Sultan used these effectively against the British forces, wreaking great havoc among the British armies, before he was ultimately defeated. However, those rockets of Tipu's became the blueprint for the Congreve rocket, which the British used to defeat Napoleon, and were the forerunners of all rocket artillery. And today the rockets have not only taken the shape of missiles, they also are the technology behind satellites. Tipu's Rocket has come a long way!

Episode 6

Lothal Dockyards

The world's oldest known dock is situated at the Indus Valley site of Lothal (2400 BCE). It was located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt. Modern oceanographers have observed that the Harappans must have possessed great knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering. This was the earliest known dock found in the world, equipped to berth and service ships. It is speculated that Lothal engineers studied tidal movements, and their effects on brick-built structures, since the walls are of kiln-burnt bricks. Come explore the history of this dock with us, as we talk with archaeologists, oceanographers, maritime engineers and scientists, and travel down to Lothal to unravel the science and technology behind this marvel of engineering and try to gain some insight into the minds and culture of the Harappan people who created this marvel and then fell into obscurity.

Episode 7

Flush Toilets

The Indus Valley civilisation, circa 3000 years ago, created the first integrated city toilet system know to man. And yes, the toilets flushed! How did they do it? To understand that, we visit Dholavira and discover that not only the sanitation and drainage systems, the city planning, the water storage and water management systems were more advanced than in some of the modern cities today. The IVC also gave us many other inventions that are in common use today – things such as buttons, bangles, rulers. The thing is – buttons for clothes, bangles and ornaments, and the flush toilet – are the things that define modern civilisation. Which brings us to the very interesting query – did The IVC actually invent modern civilisation, albeit in ancient times?

References

External links

2014 Indian television series debuts

Made in India (2014 TV series)


Radicchio is a perennial cultivated form of leaf chicory sometimes known as Italian chicory because of its common use in Italian cuisine. It is grown as a leaf vegetable and usually has colorful, white-veined red leaves that form a head. Radicchio has a bitter and spicy taste that mellows if it is grilled or roasted.

Vegetables
Asteraceae

Radicchio


The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party is a political party in Scotland that is part of the British Conservative Party. The party's policies usually promote conservatism and the continuing of Scotland as part of the United Kingdom.

In the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 31 out of 129 seats. The party's leader is Douglas Ross. The Conservatives have six out of 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

In Scotland, the Conservatives used to be known as the Unionist Party and were Scotland's largest party during the 1950s. However in 1965, the Scottish Unionist Party merged with the Conservative Party which triggered a decline in Conservative support across Scotland. At the 1987 General Election, the Conservatives were reduced from 21 to 10 Scottish seats, and the party lost all of its Scottish seats in 1997.

Other websites
Official website

Political parties in Scotland
Conservative Party (UK)

Scottish Conservative Party


Robert Carl (born July 12, 1954 in Bethesda, Maryland) is an American composer who currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut. He was chair of the composition program at the Hartt School, University of Hartford.

Music
Carl studied with Jonathan Kramer, George Rochberg, Ralph Shapey, Iannis Xenakis, Betsy Jolas, George Crumb, Richard Wernick, and Robert Morris.

From each of the first four respectively, the composer has commented that he feels he learned about time, history, counterpoint/phrasing, and form. His music finds its roots in the spirit of eclectic juxtapositions, transcendentalism, and experiment embodied in the output of Charles Ives and other American "ultramodernists", including Carl Ruggles.

Carl's music until 1997 tends to explore different styles, and to create unusual syntheses thereof. A history major as an undergraduate at Yale University, he has felt that the musical past is a fertile source to be manipulated for new expressive purposes. Duke Meets Mort (1992) is a saxophone quartet that interprets the harmonic changes of Duke Ellington's Mood Indigo in the voice of Morton Feldman. Time/Memory/Shadow (1988) is a double trio (piano quintet and harp) based on a march written in the composer's adolescence, which is slowly "excavated" in the course of the piece, and only revealed at the end.

From 1998, starting with Open for string trio, Carl's music has become less referential. Since 2001 he has developed a technique of basing his harmonies on the overtone series, with common partials above different fundamentals serving as pivots for progressions and modulations. In American Music in the Twentieth Century, critic Kyle Gann described Carl's more recent style: "(he) has settled into a more serene, meditative idiom, but still with a dissonant edge."  More recent works that represent this approach include The Wind's Trace Rests on Leaves and Waves (2005) for string quintet (premiered by the Miami String Quartet and Robert Black); Marfantasie (2004) for electric guitar and large ensemble; Shake the Tree for piano four-hands (2005); A Musical Enquiry Into the Sublime and Beautiful (2006–07) for chamber orchestra; La Ville Engloutie (2007) for wind ensemble; Fourth Symphony (2008); The Geography of Loss (2010) for soprano, baritone, chamber chorus, and instrumental octet; and Piano Quintet, "Search" (2012).  Carl also frequently collaborates with sculptor Karen McCoy, creating sound components of installation art works, including pieces for the Sculpture Key Festivals of 2009 and 2010, and the 2013 Wintergreen Festival.

Carl's music has been released by Innova Recordings, New World Records, BMOPSound, and Centaur Records, among others. He has received both the Charles Ives Fellowship and a Music Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as grants from the NEA and Chamber Music America.

In August 2021 his opera Harmony, on a libretto by novelist Russell Banks, was premiered at the Seagle Festival in the Adirondacks.  The work explores the historical meeting of Mark Twain and Charles Ives on the eve of the latter's betrothal to Harmony Twitchell.

Writings
Since 1994, Carl has been a critic for Fanfare magazine, where he writes extensively on new music recordings. In addition, he has completed a book on Terry Riley's In C, published in 2009 by Oxford University Press. His interest in Japanese music (Carl often performs his own music on the shakuhachi) led to a residency in Tokyo in spring 2007, which resulted in interviews with 25 contemporary Japanese composers. In 2013, Carl published "Eight Waves a Composer Will Ride in This Century" on an emerging common practice period that he observes in twenty-first-century compositional practice, based on the universality of music technology, globalism, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and sonic essentialism. This essay has become the basis for, published by Bloomsbury in August 2020. He has also edited the final (posthumous) book of Jonathan Kramer, Postmodern Music, Postmodern Listening, also published by Bloomsbury.

Selected works

Orchestral and Ensemble
 Symphony No. 2 "Liberty and/or Death" (1989–1992)
Marfantasie for electric guitar and large ensemble (2004)
A Musical Enquiry Into the Sublime and Beautiful for chamber orchestra (2006–2007)
La Ville Engloutie for wind ensemble (2007)
 Symphony No. 4 "The Ladder" (2008)
Rocking Chair Serenade for string orchestra (2013)
Symphony No. 5, "Land" (2013)
What's Underfoot for chamber orchestra (2016)
Symphony No. 6, "Dome of Refuge" (2017)
White Heron for orchestra (2012)
Rocking Chair Serenade for string orchestra (2012)
What's Underfoot for large ensemble (2016)
Symphony No.7, "Infinity Avenue" for laptop, voices, and chamber orchestra (2020)

Chamber Music
 String Quartet No. 1 "A Path between Cloud and Light" (1985)
Roundabout for contrabass and fixed electronic part (1988)
Time/Memory/Shadow for double trio (piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, harp or synthesizer/sampler) (1988)
Duke Meets Mort for saxophone quartet (1992)
A Sampler of the Senses for viola, cello and piano (1994)
Open for string trio (1998)
 Violin Sonata No. 2 "Angel Skating" (1999)
 String Quartet No. 2 "Fear of Death/Love of Life" (2001)
 Piano Trio No. 2 "The Blossom" (2002)
Excavating the Perfect Farewell for viola and piano (2003)
The Wind's Trace Rests on Leaves and Waves for string quintet (2005)
A Clean Sweep for shakuhachi and Max/MSP (2005)
River's Bend  for flute duo (2012)
 Piano Quintet, "Search"  (2013)
Open/Empty for Pierrot sextet (2014)
Jyun On for two shakuhachis and ichigenkin (2016)
Piano Quartet, "Just Listen" (2018)
String Quartet No.3, "Spatial-Temporal/Abstract-Visceral/Transcendent-Humane" (2020)

Piano
 Piano Sonata No.1 "Spiral Dances" (1984)
Piano Sonata No. 2, "The Big Room" (1993-99)
Braided Bagatelles for solo piano (2001)
Shake the Tree for piano four-hands (2005)
Piano Sonata No. 3, "Clouds of Clarification" (2014)
What's Underfoot for solo piano

Vocal
Our Heart and Home Is with Infinitude for soprano and piano (1998)
Simic Songs, 15 Madrigals for 4 voices on poems of Charles Simic (2004)
Geography of Loss, for soprano, baritone, chamber choir, and eight instrumentalists (2010)
Harmony, opera in two acts (libretto by Russell Banks) (2018)

References

Further reading
 Carl, Robert. 2009. Terry Riley's in C. Oxford University Press.
 Carl, Robert, 2020. Music Composition in the 21st Century: A Practical Guide for New Common Practice.  Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-5013-5757-2
 Gann, Kyle. 2006. Liner Notes for Carl's Music for Strings. New World Records.
Gann, Kyle. 2016. Liner Notes for The Geography of Loss. New World Records
 Smigel, Eric. 2012. "Liner Notes for Carl's From Japan". New World Records.
 Smigel, Eric. 2013. "Robert Carl", The Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd edition.

External links
Robert Carl: The Time Keeper by Molly Sheridan
Robert Carl interview, November, 2001
Robert Carl's website
Recordings of Carl's work available on the DRAM music database
Recording of Carl's work available on Innova Records
Robert Carl's publisher: American Composers Alliance
NPR "the1A" program on In C: Robert Carl is a featured commentator
Interview with Robert Carl by Thomas Little

1954 births
American male classical composers
American classical composers
20th-century classical composers
Living people
University of Hartford Hartt School faculty
Yale University alumni
Musicians from Bethesda, Maryland
American music critics
Classical music critics
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
Centaur Records artists

Robert Carl


North Center is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois, located in the city's North Side.

North Center is bordered on the north by Montrose Avenue, on the south by Diversey Parkway, on the west by the Chicago River and on the east by Ravenswood Avenue; it includes the neighborhoods of Northcenter, Roscoe Village, St. Ben's, and Hamlin Park.

The Brown Line of the Chicago "L" has stops within the community area.

North Center was settled in the latter part of the 19th century and the early 20th century largely by Germans who worked in what is known as the industrial corridor along Ravenswood Avenue, and the large industrial plants along the Chicago River to the west.

Other websites
Official City of Chicago North Center Community Map
Northcenter Neighborhood Association
Northcenter Chamber of Commerce
Roscoe Village Neighbors
Encyclopedia of Chicago entry on North Center
 Lakeside Community Development Corporation
Photographs of North Center by Jordan Bettis

Community areas of Chicago

North Center, Chicago


Berakah is a UK-based musical ensemble featuring musicians from Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith backgrounds. Founded in July 2005 it is the first project of its kind in the UK to explicitly draw its musical personnel from their faith heritage. According to its founder, guitarist and composer Mohammed Nazam, this was done to show people from different religious communities with a history of tension, co-operating and working together in a positive light, against a background of growing unrest as a result of the New York 9/11 attacks and the London 7/7 bombings.

The ideology behind the band was to use music to transcend barriers of religion, race and culture as well as encouraging peace and compassion for all human beings. In 1997 Berakah was given huge support by The Arts Council of Great Britain which enabled them to perform extensively across the UK. In 1997 they released their debut album "Music for The Heart" which featured compositions fusing Jazz, Classical and Middle Eastern influences.

"The aims of the band are to make good music! But also, through the music and the songs, to encourage non-violence, peaceful coexistence, dialogue between people of differing faiths; to raise awareness of common roots of the three main monotheistic faiths and the celebration of diversity. The real aim though, is to draw audiences from the three faiths so that Jews, Muslims and Christians can sit with each other and enjoy a cultural event and maybe even strike up a conversation. Who knows what could happen then? Some of them might realise that the images they had of the other may have been slightly ill-advised and might actually start talking to each other! Having said that I have to make it clear that Berakah can be enjoyed, and is relevant to, people of faith, people of little faith and those of no faith whatsoever!"

Concerts are held in major music venues such as The Purcell Room's in London's Southbank Centre, but also in places of worship so as to draw people of differing faiths into a place usually associated with another community, therefore helping to build bridges and increase understanding between people's, with music as the facilitating element. To this end, concerts have been held in synagogues (Harrow and North West London Progressive Synagogue, London), churches (St Paul's, Covent Garden, St. Anne's Queens Park) and Muslim community Centres (Southwark Muslim Women's Community Centre).

Although dealing with issues of faith the group and its organisational structure are avowedly progressive and liberal, as shown by their Mission Statement which makes it clear that it is a secular organisation, in keeping with the ideals of its founder. To this end, although the musicians are all drawn from a cultural and religious heritage some of them are "observant" or "practicing" and some are not.

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Mohammed Nazam's work with Berakah led to an invitation to take part in projects based in Israel/Palestine in 2005 and 2009. In 2005 Nazam took part in music workshops with young Palestinians in the West Bank and young Israelis in Tel Aviv

In 2009 Nazam took part in a project devised by Israeli peace organisation 'Windows For Peace', which saw young Jewish Israelis and Israeli citizens of Palestinian descent working together to produce a song and an accompanying video.

Mohammed Nazam, in an interview With One Jerusalem on 16 June 2009, gives further insight into the Windows For Peace Project:

"It's important that during challenging times like these the people and organisations who are working for peace step up a gear and show the world that there are ways of increasing understanding and crossing religious, national and cultural divides. The work that Windows for Peace are doing with Israelis and Palestinians is incredibly important and I am touched and honoured to have been asked by  Robert Cowan, founder of Point Blank (Point Blank Music College), to be involved in this initiative; I absolutely believe that no matter what, hatred and war are truly not viable options."

Point Blank, is a frequent visitor to the Middle East; four years ago Robert Cowan formulated an idea for using the Point Blank training system to engage young people from Israel and Palestine and bring them together through music and film-making.

Band
 Guitar: Mohammed Nazam
 Vocals: Chantelle Duncan
 Keyboards: Mark Hinton Stewart
 Acoustic Bass: Eustace William
 Violin: Serena Leader
 Percussion: Abdelkader Saadoun

References

External links
 Berakah web site
 MySpace
 Windows For Peace

British session musicians

Berakah Project


Paul Hervieu (2 September 185725 October 1915) was a French novelist and playwright.

Early years
He was born Paul-Ernest Hervieu  in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
Hervieu was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family.
He studied law, but sought also had contact with writers like Leconte de Lisle, Paul Verlaine and Alphonse Daudet. After graduating in 1877, he first practiced in a law firm, in 1879 qualified for the diplomatic service, and was posted in the French Embassy in Mexico.
But he preferred to remain in France, where he attended fashionable literary salons, and the acquaintance of artists and writers such as Marcel Proust, Paul Bourget, Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy, Guy de Maupassant and Edgar Degas. On the recommendation of his friend Octave Mirbeau, he tried his hand as a journalist.

Career
Hervieu was called to the bar in 1877, and, after serving some time in the office of the president of the council, he qualified for the diplomatic service, but resigned on his nomination in 1881 to a secretaryship in the French legation in Mexico.

He contributed novels, tales and essays to the chief Parisian papers and reviews, and published a series of clever novels, including L'Inconnue (1887), Flirt (1890), L'Exorcisée (1891), Peints par eux-mêmes (1893), an ironic study written in the form of letters, and L'Armature (1895), dramatized in 1905 by Eugène Brieux.

Hervieu's plays are built upon a severely logical method, the mechanism of which is sometimes so evident as to destroy the necessary sense of illusion. The closing words of La Course du flambeau (1901) "Pour ma fille, j'ai tué ma mère" (For my daughter, I killed my mother), are an example of his selection of a plot representing an extreme theory.
The riddle in L'Énigme (1901) (staged at Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1 March 1902, as Caesar's Wife) is, however, worked out with great art, and Le Dédale (1903), dealing with the obstacles to the remarriage of a divorced woman, is reckoned among the masterpieces of the modern French stage. He produced his last play, Le Destin est Maître, in 1914.

Honours
He was elected to the Académie française in 1900.

Death
Hervieu died at age 57 in Paris, France, and was interred in its Passy Cemetery.

Bibliography

Les Paroles restent (Vaudeville, 17 November 1892)
Les Tenailes (Théâtre Français, 28 September 1895)
La loi de l'homme (Théâtre Français, 15 February 1897)
La Course du flambeau (Vaudeville, 17 April 1901)
Point de lendemain (Théâtre de l'Odéon, 18 October 1901), a dramatic version of a story by Vivant Denon
L'Énigme (Théâtre Français, 5 November 1901)
Théroigne de Méricourt (Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, 23 September 1902)
Le Dédale (Théâtre Français, 19 December 1903)
Le Réveil (Théâtre Français, 18 December 1905)

See also

List of French-language authors
List of French novelists
List of French playwrights
List of members of the Académie française

References

External links

1857 births
1915 deaths
Writers from Neuilly-sur-Seine
19th-century French novelists
19th-century French dramatists and playwrights
20th-century French dramatists and playwrights
Members of the Académie Française
Burials at Passy Cemetery
French male novelists
19th-century French male writers
20th-century French male writers

Paul Hervieu


The 1996 Lijiang earthquake occurred at 19:14 on 3 February near Lijiang City, Yunnan in southwestern China. The shock measured 6.6 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme).

Earthquake
According to authorities, up to 322 people died and more than 17,000 were injured. About 358,000 buildings were destroyed, and 320,000 people were made homeless.

Damage
The earthquake destroyed many structures and buildings in the region; property damage was estimated at 506 million US dollars. In addition to damage to structures, it triggered more than 200 landslides in a 12,000 km2 area. Many further landslides occurred in the months afterwards, as monsoon rains swept away debris already loosened, and as late as 1999, scientists warned that widespread ground fracturing throughout much of the area might lead to further landsliding in the event of heavy rain.

Aftershocks
One hundred and eighty-four aftershocks occurred in the first 26 hours, including 18 which measured between 4.0 and 4.8 on the Richter scale.

Aftermath
Many high-rise buildings in the area were torn down and traditional single-family dwellings were constructed in their place. Reconstruction assistance from the provincial government and the World Bank was used to restore traditional streets, bridges, and canals. These efforts played a major role in Lijiang's efforts to achieve the World Heritage Site designation by UNESCO.

See also
List of earthquakes in China
List of earthquakes in Yunnan

References

Further reading

External links

1996 Lijiang
1996 disasters in China
1996 earthquakes
Lijiang earthquake 1996
Lijiang earthquake
Geography of Lijiang

1996 Lijiang earthquake