Vicious and Delicious was a professional wrestling tag team composed of Scott Norton and Buff Bagwell who competed in World Championship Wrestling from 1996 to 1998.

History

Formation
Previously, Marcus Alexander Bagwell had been working on a tag team called The American Males, alongside Scotty Riggs. Scott Norton, having recently seen his tag team Fire and Ice (with Ice Train) break up, had been doing very little.

WCW President Eric Bischoff had recently been outed as the man behind the New World Order, and he extended an ultimatum to the WCW roster: Join the nWo, or be targeted by it. Norton and Bagwell were two of the wrestlers that answered the call, Bagwell turning on Riggs in the process.

The team
Vicious and Delicious fought mainly in the midcards against the nWo's enemies. They were usually accompanied to the ring by the nWo "Head of Security" Vincent, and often teamed with Konnan, another nWo midcarder.

They fought with The Steiner Brothers, but they were never able to win the tag team titles. The tag title scene in WCW was dominated by a feud between The Steiner Brothers and the Outsiders through most of 1997 and 1998, and as The Outsiders and Vicious and Delicious were teammates in the nWo, there was little room for Vicious and Delicious to advance in the division.

As Scott Norton was splitting his time between WCW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the tag team was inactive as often as not, with Bagwell wrestling singles while Norton was in Japan.

Breakup
On the April 22, 1998 episode of WCW Thunder, Bagwell was severely injured by a flying bulldog off the top rope from Rick Steiner. With Bagwell injured, the team was quietly dropped. Norton would spend the rest of his WCW career mainly winning squash matches in the lower midcard, while Bagwell, once recovered, moved on to team with Scott Steiner.

See also
The American Males
New World Order (professional wrestling)
Stars and Stripes

References

New World Order (professional wrestling) members
World Championship Wrestling teams and stables

Vicious and Delicious


Hallar-Steinn (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic poet active around the year 1200. He is best known for the poem Rekstefja, preserved in Bergsbók and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta. A few other disjoint verses by him are also known, quoted in Skáldskaparmál, Laufás-Edda and the Third Grammatical Treatise.

Rekstefja (O.N.: ; M.I.: ) traces the career of King Óláfr Tryggvason from his upbringing in Russia to his fall at Svöldr. It consists of 35 dróttkvætt verses. The poem's name derives from its refrain (Old Norse stef) which consists of three lines divided between three contiguous verses. The poem proclaims itself to be the third drápa on Óláfr Tryggvason, referring to two earlier ones by Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld and the unknown Bjarni. The poem is technically accomplished and makes use of complex combinations of kennings. It is influenced by the works of Arnórr jarlaskáld and Einarr Skúlason and has many similarities with Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar, preserved in the same manuscript.

No biographical information on Hallar-Steinn has come down to us. His name may be derived from the farm-name Höll in Þverárhlíð in Borgarfjörður. He was identified by some early commentators with the 11th century court poet Steinn Herdísarson but this is rejected by modern scholars.

References
 Eysteinn Björnsson (2002). Index of Old Norse/Icelandic Skaldic Poetry. Published online at: https://web.archive.org/web/20060923215712/http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/skindex.html See in particular "Hallar-Steinn" at https://web.archive.org/web/20070318071037/http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/hst.html using several different editions.
 Hoops, Johannes (2003). Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde: Band 22. Walter de Gruyter.
 Ross, Margaret Clunies (2000). Old Icelandic Literature and Society. Cambridge University Press.
 Vries, Jan de (1999). Altnordische Literaturgeschichte. 3. Auflage. Mit einem Vorwort von Stefanie Wurth. Walter de Gruyter.

Icelandic male poets
Skalds
12th-century Icelandic people
12th-century Icelandic poets

Hallar-Steinn


Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a 2019 American biographical true crime drama film about the life of serial killer Ted Bundy. Directed by Joe Berlinger with a screenplay from Michael Werwie, the film is based on Bundy's former girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall's memoir, The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy. The film stars Zac Efron as Bundy, Lily Collins as Kendall, Kaya Scodelario as Bundy's wife Carole Ann Boone, and John Malkovich as Edward Cowart, the presiding judge at Bundy's trial. The title of the film is a reference to Cowart's remarks on Bundy's murders while sentencing him to death.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019, and was released in the United States on May 3, 2019, by Netflix. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though Efron's performance was praised.

Plot
In 1969 Seattle, law student Ted Bundy meets Liz Kendall, a young secretary and divorced mother. The two begin dating, and Ted helps Liz raise her young daughter, Molly.

By 1974, news reports announce the recent murders of multiple young women, including two who disappeared in broad daylight at Lake Sammamish; a man resembling Ted was seen by several people asking women to help him load a sailboat onto a Volkswagen Beetle. A composite sketch of the attacker is released and, following hundreds of phone calls, Ted is arrested the following year.

A young woman named Carol DaRonch picks Ted out of a police lineup, claiming he had kidnapped and threatened to kill her before she managed to escape. Ted is released on bail, returning home to Liz who is upset after reading an article about him in the newspaper. Ted explains that Carol was shown his picture before the lineup took place, which is why he looked familiar to her, and says he believes he is being set up. After a four-day bench trial, Ted is found guilty of aggravated kidnapping and is sentenced to serve a minimum of one to a maximum of 15 years in the Utah State Prison.

A few weeks later, Colorado authorities charge Ted with the murder of Caryn Campbell, and he is transferred to Aspen, Colorado, in 1977. Liz refuses to believe Ted is guilty, but the events start to take a toll on her, and she begins drinking heavily as a result. While at Pitkin County Courthouse, Ted elects to serve as his own attorney and, as such, is excused from wearing handcuffs or leg shackles. During a court recess, Ted escapes from the courthouse by jumping out of a second-story window and running to the mountains through the town, but is recaptured after six days.

Liz visits Ted and ends their relationship. He later escapes again after sawing a square into his cell's ceiling. Two women at a sorority house are murdered at Florida State University, followed by vicious attacks on three more. After Ted is arrested, he tries to contact Liz, but she hangs up on him. He starts to receive a following of women who are fascinated by him, some even claiming they love him. Ted is also visited by an old friend, Carole Ann Boone, who believes he is innocent and moves to Florida to be closer to him during his upcoming murder trial.

A pre-trial plea bargain is negotiated in which Ted would plead guilty to killing the two sorority girls, Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, and twelve-year-old Kimberly Leach, in exchange for a 75-year prison sentence instead of the death penalty, but he refuses. Ted and Carole Ann grow closer as she visits him regularly; the two begin a relationship, but Ted continues to reach out to Liz who is following his trials via television. She carries the guilt of being the person who gave Ted's name to the Seattle authorities in 1975. Ted later proposes to Carole Ann mid-trial and they marry.

Incriminating physical evidence is provided in court, including a match of a plaster cast of Ted's teeth to the impressions of bite wounds left on Levy's buttocks. In under seven hours, the jury convicts Ted of the murders of Levy and Bowman, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of burglary. Trial judge Edward Cowart imposes death sentences for the murders.

Ten years later, Liz receives a letter from Ted and visits him, taking a photograph given to her by a detective. She demands the truth but Ted continues to deny having anything to do with the murders and proclaims his innocence. She then shows Ted a photograph, a crime scene image of one of his decapitated victims, and he finally admits that he sawed her head off by writing the word "hacksaw" in the condensation on the visiting room window that separates them. Liz leaves the prison in shock but is met outside by her new husband Jerry, and Molly, now a teenager, and she proclaims that she is finally okay.

As the film ends, archival footage and on-screen text say that Ted was executed in January 1989, aged 42 years old. Ted had confessed to over 30 murders days before his execution, and his ashes were scattered in the Cascade Mountains, where he had deposited the remains of numerous victims.

Cast

 Zac Efron as Ted Bundy, a former law student who is accused of murdering dozens of women.
 Lily Collins as Liz Kendall, a college student and single mother who enters a relationship with Ted and believes his claims of innocence through his trials.
 Kaya Scodelario as Carole Ann Boone, an old friend of Ted's who moves closer to him for support. They later marry in court.
 Jeffrey Donovan as John O'Connell, Ted's attorney in Utah who defends his kidnapping case.
 Angela Sarafyan as Joanna, Liz's close friend who believes Ted is guilty.
 Dylan Baker as David Yocom, the prosecuting attorney in Utah.
 Brian Geraghty as Dan Dowd, Ted's public defender in Florida when he is re-captured after escaping in Colorado.
 Terry Kinney as Mike Fisher, a homicide detective who ties Ted to a murder in Colorado.
 Haley Joel Osment as Jerry Thompson, Liz's co-worker at the University Medical Division whom she begins dating after Ted and eventually marries.
 James Hetfield as Bob Hayward, a police officer in Utah who first arrests Bundy. "The Four Horsemen", a song co-written by Hetfield for the Metallica album Kill 'Em All, is also featured in the film.
 Grace Victoria Cox as Carol DaRonch, a woman Ted kidnapped in Utah, leading to his first conviction.
 Jim Parsons as Larry Simpson, the prosecuting attorney in Florida.
 John Malkovich as Edward Cowart, the presiding judge at Ted's final murder trial.
 Justin McCombs as Jim Dumas, Ted's attorney in Colorado who defends his first murder case.
 Forba Shepherd as Louise Bundy, Ted's mother.

Molly Kendall, Liz's daughter, is portrayed at different ages by Macie Carmosino, Ava Inman, Morgan Pyle, and Grace Balbo. Director Joe Berlinger and cinematographer Brandon Trost make cameo appearances as the presenter and cameraman who interview Ted in Colorado.

Production
The project was unveiled at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, with Zac Efron set to star as the serial killer Ted Bundy, and documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger signed to direct. In October 2017, Lily Collins was cast as Bundy's girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall.

In January 2018, John Malkovich was cast to play Edward Cowart, the judge presiding over Bundy's case. Principal production began on January 18, 2018, in Covington, Kentucky. Angela Sarafyan, Jeffrey Donovan, Grace Victoria Cox, Kaya Scodelario, Jim Parsons, Haley Joel Osment, Dylan Baker and Terry Kinney joined the film throughout the rest of January, with Metallica guitarist and lead singer James Hetfield being added in February.

Release
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019. Shortly after, Netflix acquired the domestic distribution rights to the film for $9 million. It was digitally released on the platform on May 3, 2019, along with a limited theatrical release.

The film was theatrically released in several overseas markets, grossing a total of $9.8 million, with its largest markets being Mexico ($5.6 million) and Italy ($1.1 million).

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of  based on  reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile often transcends its narrative limitations through sheer force of Zac Efron's compulsively watchable performance." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised Efron's performance for his accuracy in portraying Bundy, and wrote: "Extremely Wicked doesn't rub our noses in the horror of Ted Bundy. It shows us just enough, keeping the horror where it belongs, in the recesses of our imagination, where it remains what it should be: dark as midnight, and altogether too much to fathom." The Guardians Benjamin Lee gave the film three out of five stars, also praising Efron but calling the film itself a "pedestrian and graceless drama". He criticized Collins's performance, saying she was reduced to a stock character. Writing for Vulture, Emily Yoshida had a similar perspective, praising Efron but disliking the rest of the film, and saying, "The narrative feature from veteran documentarian Joe Berlinger seems as though it's setting out to be the story of serial killer Ted Bundy told through the eyes of his girlfriend ... But Berlinger's film gets sucked into the gravity of sensational events that are already a matter of public record, and spends so much time meticulously recreating them that the perspective is diluted."

Sonia Rao of The Washington Post wrote that the film failed to distance itself from the glorification of Bundy and did not address the impact of his crimes on his victims' loved ones.

References

External links

2019 films
2019 crime thriller films
2010s biographical films
2010s serial killer films
American biographical films
American courtroom films
American crime thriller films
American serial killer films
Biographical films about serial killers
Crime films based on actual events
English-language Netflix original films
Films about capital punishment
Films about Ted Bundy
Films based on biographies
Films directed by Joe Berlinger
Films produced by Joe Berlinger
Films scored by Marco Beltrami
Films set in the 1960s
Films set in 1969
Films set in the 1970s
Films set in 1989
Films set in Colorado
Films set in Florida
Films set in Seattle
Films set in Utah
Films shot in Kentucky
Thriller films based on actual events
Voltage Pictures films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
True crime


Kaluga () is a city in Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It is the capital of Kaluga Oblast. As of 2012, the city has 328,871 people.

History
Kaluga was used in the 14th century as a stronghold against the Tatar people on the southern borders of Muscovy. It later became a seat of provincial administration. In the early 17th century it was devastated by Cossacks, plague, and fire, and in the winter of 1941 it was held by the Germans. It has a wide range of industries, producing turbines, railway equipment, and consumer goods. The city is on the Vyazma–Tula railway near its junction with the Moscow–Kiev line.

Geography
Kaluga is located within western Russia. It occupies an area in the upper Oka River basin southwest of Moscow oblast. Broad, often swampy valleys alternate with rolling hills of the Central Russian Uplands. It is
189 kilometers southwest of Moscow, 880 kilometers southeast of Saint Petersburg and 623 kilometers southwest of Nizhny Novgorod.

Economy
Kaluga Region is one of the most promising regions of Russia to make investments in. The region holds the fifth place in the national rating of investment attractiveness. For a number of years Kaluga Region has been holding the leading positions in terms of industrial output growth rates.

Kaluga Region Government has created all conditions for successful development of both large-scale production facilities and industrial SMEs. Investors, operating in the region, admit that Kaluga Region investment policy meets the highest global standards. The regional legislative and regulatory framework guarantees the safety of investments.

Gallery

Capitals of oblasts of Russia
Golden Ring of Russia

Kaluga


Virginia is a gold mining town located in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality and on   goldfields of the Free State province in South Africa about 140 km (90 mi) northeast of Bloemfontein the provincial capital.

History
In 1890, two railway surveyors from the state of Virginia in the United States etched the name of their birthplace on a boulder near the farm Merriespruit. When a railway siding was eventually established at this spot, the name was adopted, and it stuck after the discovery of gold in 1949 which resulted in a mushrooming settlement on the banks of the Sand River. In 1988 the Sand River burst its banks and flooded parts of the town. In 1994 the Merriespruit tailings dam disaster occurred just outside Virginia, killing seventeen people.

On the 5 December 2000, Virginia was incorporated into the Matjhabeng Local Municipality along with the city of Welkom and the towns of Allanridge, Hennenman, Odendaalsrus and Ventersburg. During the apartheid era, black people Lived outside Virginia in the location of Meloding. The town itself boomed during the gold mining years' golden age and gold mining is still responsible for most of the towns' economy.

Economy
Virginia is surrounded by some of the largest gold fields in Free State, and its economy is dominated by mining, gold-extraction plants, and the manufacture of sulfuric acid from gold ore. It is also known for having the deepest pipe-mine into the earth on the planet. Commercial farms in the surrounding area primarily grow maize (corn) and raise livestock. Virginia is located on the main rail line between Bloemfontein and
Johannesburg.

References

Populated places in the Matjhabeng Local Municipality
Mining communities in South Africa

Virginia, South Africa


NASCAR Race Day is a tabletop game with aspects of both miniatures and  collectible card genres. The creators of the game, WizKids, dubbed it a "Constructible Racing Game".

Description
The goal of NASCAR Race Day is identical to that of an actual NASCAR race; "go fast, turn left, don't crash."  Players construct cars by popping out small pieces of styrene and assembling them into the likeness of NASCAR racing machines.  The game is packaged so that a person may play the game with only one game pack, but more packs add more vehicles and more tracks to the mix, making a larger set more desirable.

Cancellation
WizKids announced in mid-2006 that they were discontinuing support for Race Day and cancelling an upcoming expansion.  Primary factors listed for the decision were a lack of support from NASCAR itself, and weak support from rank-and-file NASCAR fans, who were not interested in the "blind draw" style of obtaining drivers; rather, they wished simply to purchase their favorite driver outright, and had no interest playing as anyone else.[The majority of this information comes from the official WizKids Race Day forum, which requires user registration.]

As of February 2007, WizKids have closed the official Race Day forum and removed all references to the game from their website.

Pack Contents
Each pack of the Race Day game includes two cars. These cars may be Common, Uncommon, or Rare. Generally speaking, packs include one Common and either an Uncommon or a Rare.  Also included are a short track (with part of a super-speedway printed on the reverse), an accessory card, a set of rules, and a minuscule die.

Three box sets were also sold.  These consisted of one promotional card, four regular cards (with no pre-determined mix of Common/Uncommon/Rare), accessory cards, a large, full-color map of a "famous" track, and a single large die.

Pack Ratio Retail Box (approx)  - 2:3 for a Common Card, 1:1 for an Uncommon Card, and 1:3 for a Rare Card
Approx Net from 36 pack Retail Box - 1 Complete 28 Car Set + 24 Extra Uncommon Cards + 20 Extra Common Cards

Sets

First Release
NASCAR Race Day 2005 was released mid-2005. The set included:
 30 different cards featuring 23 drivers:
 Four common cars: Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch
 Twelve uncommon cars: Rusty Wallace, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Travis Kvapil, Carl Edwards
 Twelve rare cars: Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, and Dale Jarrett, plus variants of Wallace, Martin, Biffle, Stewart, Gordon, Kurt Busch, and Edwards.
 Two promotional cars.
 Pocono Raceway map. (included in Limited Edition Starter Box with Joe Nemechek Promo Car)

Expansions
NASCAR Race Day 2006 Series 1

Released early 2006. This expansion was not a 2006 Nextel Cup update as some had hoped for, but was rather an addition to the 2005 season.
 Added cars: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Reed Sorenson
 Many of the common and uncommon cars were virtually identical to their 2005 versions, a move which disappointed collectors.
 There were four versions of Dale Earnhardt Jr. included in the series, all of which were visually identical (although they had different game statistics), which was also an unpopular decision.
 Added Martinsville Speedway map as the base four part constructed map.
 Added Daytona International Speedway map. (included in Limited Edition Starter Box with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Promo Car)

NASCAR Race Day 2006 Series 2

This expansion was announced in early 2006, but was confirmed to be cancelled when WizKids stopped supporting the line.  According to industry magazines and comments from the WizKids forums, the line would have updated for the 2006 Nextel Cup season, and would have tentatively had the following additions:
 Added drivers: Michael Waltrip, Denny Hamlin, J. J. Yeley, possibly Elliott Sadler
 Offered multi-driver packs without blind-packing, allowing consumers to buy their favorite driver rather than search.

Promotions
 2005: Joe Nemechek, U.S. Army: Available only with limited edition box set.
 2005: Jeremy Mayfield, "Top Banana" Dodge Charger: Available as a mail-in promotion.
 2006: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Earnhardt Incorporated: Available only with limited edition box set.
 2006: Dale Earnhardt, Goodwrench Service Plus: Available only with Wal-Mart exclusive limited edition box set.

External links
 WizKids homepage.

 Comprehensive game review at BoardGameGeek.
 Race Day fan site with downloadable tracks and cars

NASCAR mass media
Collectible miniatures games
Card games introduced in 2005
2006 disestablishments

NASCAR Race Day


International Orthodox Christian Charities, Inc. (or IOCC), based in Baltimore, Maryland, is the official international humanitarian agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. Since its inception in 1992, IOCC has distributed over $625 million in emergency relief and development assistance to families and communities in more than 60 countries. IOCC does not provide funds for Church missions such as religious education or missionary work.  All funds collected by the agency (minus administrative expenses) are instead used for humanitarian aid. All assistance is provided solely on the basis of need, and benefits families, refugees and displaced persons, the elderly, school children, orphans, and people with disabilities.

Through its US headquarters and field offices around the world (Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Tbilisi, Georgia; Jerusalem/West Bank/Gaza; Amman, Jordan; Beirut, Lebanon; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Belgrade, Serbia)  IOCC assists people living in some of the most volatile places in the world, including Gaza, Kosovo, and in Syria, where IOCC has provided relief to more than 3.3 million displaced and exiled people suffering through a catastrophic civil war.  IOCC is one of few agencies still working inside Syria and continues to support one of the largest humanitarian networks on the ground in the country.

IOCC carries a rating of four stars from Charity Navigator, the highest rating the organization awards. IOCC is a member of the ACT Alliance, a global coalition of more than 140 churches and agencies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance and advocacy, as well as a member of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.–based secular and faith-based organizations working to improve the lives of the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations.

See also
 Charitable organization
 Eastern Orthodox Church
 Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America

External links
 IOCC website
 Profile page on Charity Navigator
 http://assemblyofbishops.org/
 IOCC Profile page http://actalliance.org/about/members/international-orthodox-christian-charities-iocc/

References

Charities based in Maryland
Religious charities based in the United States
Eastern Orthodox organizations established in the 20th century
Organizations established in 1992
Eastern Orthodoxy in Maryland


Campiglia Marittima is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located about  southwest of Florence and about  southeast of Livorno. It is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association.

Its toponym has been attested for the first time in 1004 as Campiglia and derives from the Latin campus ("field"). In 1862 the word marittima (from Latin Maritima) was added to underline its belonging to the Maremma, the area washed by Tyrrhenian Sea.

Overview
Situated on a hill overlooking the sea and the surrounding countryside, the town has medieval origins, but traces of Etruscan and Roman civilizations can be found as well. Its past is linked to metal-working activities as it's witnessed by the Val Fucinaia furnaces and the remains of mining and metallurgical works in the Archaeological-Mineral Park of San Silvestro.

Geography
Campiglia Marittima is situated in the Upper Maremma region, near the river Cornia, an intermittent watercourse which gives its name to the area Campiglia belongs to, the so-called Val di Cornia. The bounding municipalities are Piombino, San Vincenzo and Suvereto.

The comune includes the frazioni of Cafaggio and Venturina Terme, and the small hamlets of Banditelle and Lumiere.

Culture
The town hosts Apritiborgo Festival, a street art festival that has been held annually since 2005, usually in mid-August.

Main sights

Palazzo Pretorio
The building, ancient seat of political and military power, is an important evidence of Campiglia's late medieval period and shows the influence of two dominant Tuscan cities, Florence and Pisa. The original facade is made of two white-grey limestone arches in which an inscription indicates that the building was erected in 1246. The upper part of the facade is enriched with 72 heraldic emblems that date from 1406, year in which Campiglia passed under the rule of Florentine Republic. The building was originally smaller and it was enlarged several times down the centuries. Palazzo Pretorio houses the Municipal Historical Archive, a mineralogical museum, a children's library and the permanent exhibition of Carlo Guarnieri's paintings and engravings.

Rocca
The medieval complex of the Rocca rises on the peak of the hill where Campiglia lies. The building has an irregular polygonal plan and is made up of different parts. The oldest remains are the central tower, the cistern and scattered traces of stonework. In 1932, the construction of the municipal aqueduct brought considerable damages to the complex, such as the alteration of the ancient plan. In 1990 the Rocca was acquired by the Municipality of Campiglia. From 1994 the Department of Medieval Archeology of the University of Siena started an archaeological dig whose results are currently shown in the museum (Museo della Rocca) opened in 2008. It was detected the presence of a farmer's wooden-hut village since the 10th century, while the traces of the first stone buildings dates back to the 12th century as residential area for the powerful Della Gherardesca family, ruler of Campiglia at the time. At the end of the 13th century, since the local political scenario had been changed, a Pisan garrison settled in the castle, as witnessed by pieces of weapons and armours dug up in the area.

Archaeological-Mineral Park of San Silvestro

The park covers 450 hectares in the north of Campiglia Marittima and it shows history of mining and metallurgical cycle from the Etruscan era to the present day. The remains of Rocca San Silvestro, a fortified borough built by the della Gherardesca family in the 10th-11th centuries, represent the heart of the park. Lanzi-Temperino Tunnel, where visitors on board a train can discover the journey of the minerals, and Temperino Mine, where evolution of the techniques used to extract minerals is retraced, are as well noteworthy.

Teatro dei Concordi
The theatre was built in the half of 19th century. The project was funded by the Accademia dei Concordi, an association of Campiglia's wealthy citizens, and it was inaugurated on 26 December 1867. Its interiors are decorated by painter Michele Albioni and organized in three tiers of palchi (private boxes). It was acquired by the Municipality in 1990.

Museum of sacred art
Opened on 11 July 2003, it displays a collection of items for liturgical and devotional use which represent the historical and artistic heritage of the parish church of San Lorenzo. It is housed in the underlying room beneath the Church, the so-called Sala delle Volte ("vaulted room"), that is what is left of a medieval building.

Churches

 Pieve of San Giovanni: the Pisane Romanesque style church of San Giovanni is characterised by simple architectural lines with a plan in the form of a tau cross and a small apse at the end of the central aisle. According to a memorial inscription placed on the sides of the main door, the church was built in 1173. In the external side of the left transept, just below the edge of the roof, a palindrome magical formula is inscribed in a stone plaque. This Latin sentence, which reads "SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS", is an example of Sator Square and it lays out on three lines that may be read left-to-right or right-to-left. The architrave of the left-side portal features a stone carving that represents a wild boar hunting scene referring to Etruscan and Roman tradition.
 Parish church of San Lorenzo: it was first mentioned in 1325. Originally it had only a single aisle but later the transept and the 17th century Chapel of Mercy were added. Its interiors are embellished with 16th - 17th-century paintings, especially "Our Lady of Graces" attributed to Master of San Torpè.
 Church of Sant'Antonio: according to the historian Isidoro Falchi, the church was first mentioned in a 16th-century historical reference and it was presumably built in this period. The church, made of sandstone and limestone, has a single aisle and a gabled facade. A few steps from the main entrance a new tabernacle depicting Saint Anthony the Abbot was unveiled on 5 July 2015. It was realised by students from Florence Academy of Fine Arts.
 Sanctuary of Madonna di Fucinaia: it lies along the road from Campiglia to San Vincenzo. The year of construction is uncertain. Its first historical reference dates back to 1493 (other sources indicate the early 16th century) referring to the annexation of a monastery assigned to Augustinian friars. The Sanctuary takes its name from a painting of the Virgin which, according to tradition, was found in a forge ("fucina") near this site. A copy is displayed above the altar while the original painting is preserved in the parish church of San Lorenzo.

Lampo statue

There is a statue of the dog called Lampo (Lightning in Italian) at the Campiglia Marittima railway station in Venturina Terme. It commemorates the dog that was famous in Italy during 1950s for travelling by train. On the evening of 22 July 1961 in Campiglia Marittima, a maneuvering cargo train hit the dog, who was then buried in the flowerbed at the foot of an acacia tree at the railway station.

Notable people
 Lucio Colletti, politician and philosopher
 Isidoro Falchi, doctor and archaeologist
 Renato Fucini, poet
 Riccardo Fogli, singer
 Luciano Luci, football referee

Gallery

Bibliography
 Isidoro Falchi, Trattenimenti popolari sulla storia della Maremma e di Campiglia Marittima, Prato, 1880.
 Riccardo Belcari, Romanico tirrenico: chiese e monasteri medievali dell'Arcipelago Toscano e del litorale livornese, Pacini, Ospedaletto, 2009.

See also
 Venturina Terme

References

External links
 Official website

Cities and towns in Tuscany
Borghi più belli d'Italia

Campiglia Marittima


Huoching of Alamannia (c. 675–744) was an Alemannic nobleman.
According to the 9th century  Vita Hiudowici by Thegan, he was the son of Gotfrid Agilolfing (c. 650–709).
Huoching's son Hnabi (Nebi) was the founder of the Ahalolfings dynasty which rose to prominence in Alamannia in the Carolingian period.
The Agilofing descent has been doubted in scholarship. Wenskus (:497–500) has suggested a connection of Huoching and Hnabi to the historical Nibelungs. Jänichen (1976) compares the father-and-son pair Hoc and Hnaef in Old English heroic poetry (Beowulf, Finnsburgh fragment, Widsith) suggesting that Huoching and Hnabi are the historical template for these names in later heroic poetry.
In this, Jänichen is following a suggestion made as early as 1849 by John Mitchell Kemble in History of the Saxons in England (p. 419).

References
Michael Borgolte, Die Grafen Alemanniens (1986), p. 184.
Hans Jänichen Die alemannischen Fürsten Nebi und Berthold und ihre Beziehungen zu den Klöstern St. Gallen und Reichenau, Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte (1976), pp. 30–40.

8th-century Germanic people
670s births
744 deaths
Alemannic people
Ahalolfing dynasty
Year of birth uncertain

Huoching


Killinaskully  is an Irish television comedy series which details the bizarre goings-on in a fictitious Irish village called Killinaskully located in the hills of Ireland. It was actually filmed on location in the villages of Killoscully and Ballinahinch in County Tipperary, the title being a fusion of these two placenames. The show's humour comes from the unusual characterisations of traditional, stereotypical rural Irish folk. The show was chiefly written by the comedian, Pat Shortt, who also performed many of his own roles - starring among him were Jack Walsh, Joe Rooney and Páraic Breathnach. It has spawned its own themed holiday in farm accommodation in the Slieve Felim Mountain range region, within walking distance of the village used for filming the series. In an allusion to the popular song released by Pat Shortt, visitors are given a complimentary "Jumbo Breakfast Roll" upon their arrival.

Killinaskully was produced by Shortt's own company and was broadcast by RTÉ as part of their Sunday night schedule from 2004. All five series are available on DVD and have since been released in box set format. The show's fifth and final series, began transmission on 28 September 2008. It ceased on 2 November 2008, although the traditional special at Christmas time aired as normal the following month; in 2008 there were two such specials. Despite having a weekly audience of 800,000, Shortt has stated that the fifth was the final series as he wished to concentrate on the development of a new show with a new style, characters and storyline. RTÉ continued to rerun the series as summer filler.

Background

Shortt wanted to do a show that would make use of his acting skills and comic talent and this led to him transferring some of his stage show on the screen in the form of Killinaskully; it is this that leads him to play all the different characters that he does in the show. Shooting for the first series commenced in May 2003 in Limerick and Tipperary, continuing for a period of eight weeks. The pilot episode, entitled "The German Fillum', was broadcast during the Christmas period of 2003 and proved to be a massive ratings success. The first episode was broadcast on Sunday 17 October 2004 at 22:50.

The intro sequence of Killinaskully features Dan driving back home to Killinaskully.

Setting
Killinaskully, in keeping with the comic element of the show, has a fluctuating population; in the first episode it is said to consist of 167 inhabitants but in the second episode it is said to have a population of over 2,000 people. The village is located  from the sea. The nearest town is neighbouring Bally, a mere  from the coast. Bally is first alluded to in the fifth episode, entitled "The Pitch". The rural setting allows for greater comic effect in the introduction of such ideas as a community radio station to the show. The series is largely set around the buildings that Killinaskully is composed of, i.e. the church, school, garda station, public house and a pub.

Characters

Pat Shortt's characters
The Irish comedian Pat Shortt, who writes the series, is responsible for many of the characters in the show. He plays Dan Clancy the village's storyteller and regular at Jacksie's, corrupt politician Willie Power, sexually empowered bed and breakfast proprietress Goretti, teacher Louis Cantwell and traveller Pa Connors.

Cllr. Willie Power
Cllr. Willie Power is the only Local Councillor representing the Local Electoral Area of Killinaskully presumably on North Tipperary County Council where Killinaskully is based. wheeler and dealer, fixer and chairman of every committee imaginable in the tiny village. A master stroke-puller, he is capable of turning any situation to his advantage and is easily excitable when someone tries to oppose him, particularly his arch-rival Larry Cummins. He was last elected in the 2005 Local Elections. He ran as the "Independent Republican Christian Social Democrat" Candidate where he received 1,900 votes beating Larry Cummins Independent and Dieter Langer Green Party. Known to be corrupt, he has a conviction of obstructing a tribunal into an insurance scandal.

Dan Clancy
Dan Clancy is an almost permanent fixture in Jacksie's Bar, the local public house. Dan is the man to ask about everything, he always knows an answer to everyone's question, but as he says in S02 E03, most things in the parish, is made up. He boasted in the 2005 Christmas Special Episode that he had been to Jacksie's Bar "every day for the last 30 years". If in the bar he is rarely shown on-screen without a pint of Guinness on the counter in front of him. His trips to the toilet have become a regular gag on the show and have spawned Clancy a catchphrase. If he feels a need to go to the toilet he utter his catchphrase, "I must go strain the ole spuds", hops off his stool and walks to the toilet. Dan is rarely to be seen out of the company of his two sidekicks, drinking buddies and partners in crime Jimmy Bourke and Timmy Higgins. Dan first appeared in D'unbeliveables episode "D Mammy". He is shown to spend most of his time in the bar, albeit without his signature pint, instead with a whiskey. Dan is noticeably different in D'unbeliveables. While he still tells stories, he tends to seem drunk almost every time he's on screen, even in the morning. Whether there is some continuity between D'unbeliveables and Killinaskully is unknown, although it seems likely.

Goretti
Goretti is the sexually voracious Protestant proprietress of the Mount Bernadette bed and breakfast. A mistress of the double entendre, she has lived alone since the mysterious disappearance of her husband, the magician Mossie The Magnificent. In her spare time she is the leader of the local power walking group. She is good friends with the only other Protestant in town, Theo Wigmore. In S01 E02 Goretti's husband, Mossie the magnificent returns telling Goretti of how he was performing a magic when he made real magic! After sometime at home with her, he gets annoyed and stomps to the bathroom, where he lifts his wand and disappears!

Louis Cantwell
Mr. Cantwell is a teacher in the local school (albeit a not-so-good one) and holds a not-so-secret affection towards Miss Fahy. He first appears in the second episode, entitled "The Date", when his affection for Miss Fahy meets competition in the newly arrived film maker Dieter. Ever since Miss Fahy and Dieter got married, Cantwell is usually to be found in a depressed state over something or other, as the light has left his life. Cantwell appears as a caring person towards Miss Fahy but when it turns to school children, he's not short of insults for them!

Pa Connors
A member of the travelling community with a keen eye for business. Based on Pat Shortt's character of Pa Connors from his DVD "Live and A Bit Dangerous". Has a brother, also called Pa Connors. He was named after his grandfather while the other Pa was named after his father. Pa and the local (quite corrupt) Garda, Sgt. Dick O'Toole are always trying to flog some bootlegged or stolen gear, Pa's sales techniques are that of an old time fair goer! Pa has a cousin Martin who accompanies him in his pursuit to get his mare Brandy, in foal to the fast race  horse!

Sgt. Dick O'Toole
Played by Pascal Scott, O'Toole is the local member of the Garda Síochána. He presides over a garda station, which is part betting office, part hardware store and part adult video rental agency amongst other things and will never meet a member of the public without trying to sell them something. Business partner of Pa Connors as well as being a good friend and co-conspirator of Willie Power. Several years after the ending of the series, Sgt. Dick O'Toole moved residency to the picturesque town of Schull in West Cork, where he has formed a family and does road bowling in his spare time.

Jacksie Walsh
Jacksie Walsh, played by Páraic Breathnach, is the very grumpy proprietor of An Bonnán Buí (Irish for "The Yellow Bittern" and the title of a classic Irish language poem) and spends his days indulging Dan Clancy, Timmy Higgins and Jimmy Bourke, without whom he would long since be redundant. Jacksie was formerly a Christian Brother, although he was asked to leave by his superiors who believed his severe methods of corporal punishment were an embarrassment to the order. Strictly a Guinness man he has little time for people who order what he would consider exotic drinks. As of late, Theo Wigmore has moved in with Jacksie (in a bid to avoid a loan shark) leading to a lot of "Odd-Couple" style situations to occur between both men.

Jimmy Bourke
Bourke, played by Jack Walsh, is a mechanic by trade and is Dan Clancy's sidekick. Jimmy is an expert rally car driver and has won many racing titles. He spends most of his day in the local pub where he delights in hearing (and interrupting) Dan's stories.

Timmy Higgins
Timmy Higgins, played by Joe Rooney, is another one of Dan Clancy's sidekicks who spends most of his time in the pub. He is more often than not the butt of Dan and Jimmy's gibes and is frequently referred to by his two drinking buddies as a liúdar' through a succession of daft questions and observations. Timmy reveals he is 48 years of age when Dan asks him his age after Timmy tries to convince him that Santa is real. Timmy is in a relationship with Nurse Maloney, although he fears her greatly. According to the third episode his mother died in 1974.

Miss Catherine Fahy
Played by Aoife Molony, Fahy is the local primary school teacher. She is the object of Louis Cantwell's affections but marries the German Dieter instead. She makes her debut in the second episode, entitled "The Date", when the love triangle is first examined. She later marries Dieter.

Dieter Langer
Dieter Langer, played by Louis Lovett, is a former German filmmaker who arrives in Killinaskully in the first episode with his partner Hans. Langer is a big fan of the singer Johnny Logan. After some difficulty in making their film, including the squashing of their equipment (and Hans) and Dieter's growing love for the local schoolteacher, Miss Fahy, Dieter switches trade to become a cheese vendor, a respectable trade which he hopes to use to woo his new love. He operates his Dieter's Driven Deli through the village from the back of his van. However, his cheese is responsible for causing some very strange dreams and the concepts of cheese and cheese-vending are used repeatedly for comic effect throughout the series. Still trying to come to terms with the strange ways of the locals, Dieter's desire to fit in is somewhat hampered by his innate belief in the importance of being earnest. Dieter ran against Cllr. Willie Power as the Green Party candidate in the 2005 Local Elections for the Killinaskully Local Area, he received 2 votes coming 2nd. His Father was a member of the German Parliament.

Fr. Philip Eno
Played by John Keogh, Fr. Philip makes his first appearance in the third episode of the first series when the previous parish priest, Fr. Mullarkey, is no longer fit to function and is packed off to a home for the bewildered. Eno is an amiable type who just wants people to get along, albeit his inadvertent habit of making insensitive remarks at the wrong time. He also has trouble remembering people's names. His name sounds like "Filipino" when said quickly, a running joke throughout the episode of his arrival as caused confusion prior to his coming. Amongst other things his unusual name led to a Filipino tourist being sworn in as parish priest of Killinaskully.

Larry Cummins
Played by Gerry Walsh, Cummins is a local politician with a consistent record: 1 vote at every council election. He is always seeking to put one over on Willie Power. Cummins makes his debut in the fourth episode of the series, entitled "The Sign".

The Widow Gilhooley
Played by Maria McDermottroe, Mrs. Gilhooley is a stern woman who is "not in the habit of repeating" herself. Mrs. Gilhooley is an exceptionally pious woman who always makes time for the church in her life and has a habit of being preachy towards others. She is also an award-winning fiddler. She makes her debut in the same episode of Fr. Philip Eno.

Theo Wigmore
Played by Jim Queally, Theo is a well-educated Protestant Pharmacist with an air of sophistication and fan of literature who regularly quotes poetry and who likes to assist in the artistic and literary aspects of the community, such as directing the nativity play at Christmas. He makes his debut in episode two of the series, entitled "The Date". As well as dispensing medicines for all the unusual ailments suffered by the local inhabitants, Theo was once the acting landlord at Jacksies while Jacksie was at a funeral and now lodges with him since the time his life was put under threat by his dead mother's dealings with a notorious money lender. Their living together leads to frequent bickering which leads both men to look like an old married couple, much to the amusement of Dan, Timmy and Jimmy. Incidentally his mother makes an appearance in the fourth episode, entitled "The Sign", when she is portrayed by Ronnie Masterson.

Nurse Sheila Maloney
Played by Eileen Gibbons, Maloney is infatuated with Timmy. This infatuation is first addressed in the fifth episode, entitled "The Pitch". She expresses concern for him when he is in danger and is full of praise for him when he does something correctly. Although at the wedding of Dieter to Miss Fahy, she and Timmy share a drunken sexual encounter (in the bridal suite), which by the start of the following series, has blossomed into a relationship. She first appears in the second episode, entitled "The Date".

Bridie Clancy
Played by Mary Harvey, she is Dan's sister. She makes her first appearance in the first episode of the second series, entitled "The Election". She is an expert at rabbit hunting and has a knack for getting into potentially lethal situations and coming out unscathed. It is implied on several occasions that she has a soft spot for Sgt. Dick.

Michael Clancy
Played by Paul Fitzgerald. A troublesome schoolboy who has a habit of ruining important moments, such as spoiling the nativity play by saying that there was in fact room at the inn. He shares Dan's surname although it is not clear if he is related to him or not.

The Bally Boys
The Bally Boys are the arch rivals of Killinaskully.

Cast
Pat Shortt as Dan Clancy/Willie Power/Goretti/Cantwell/Pa Connors
Jack Walsh as Jimmy Bourke
Joe Rooney as Timmy Higgins
Pádraic Breathnach as Jacksie Walsh
Pascal Scott as Sgt. Dick O'Toole
Louis Lovett as Dieter Langer
John Keogh as Father Eno
Mary Harvey as Bridie Clancy
Jim Queally as Theo Wigmore
Maria McDermottroe as Mrs Gilhooley
Aoife Molony as Miss Fahy
Gerry Walsh as Larry Cummins

Guest appearances
A number of well-known personalities have made appearances as themselves in Killinaskully. In episode six, entitled "The Funeral", RTÉ newsreader Ken Hammond and sports broadcasters George Hamilton and Jimmy Magee visit the village.

Episodes

The series has often been repeated by RTÉ; below are the dates of original transmission of each series.

Reception
Killinaskully received poor reviews from critics but earned large viewership figures. Shane Hegarty, The Irish Times'''s television critic, said the programme emphasised the rural/urban divide and "because TV critics tend to stand very firmly on one side of that gap, they have seldom attempted to understand the popularity of something so old-fashioned, predictable and lazy." John Drennan of the Irish Independent commented if there was "a sweeter sound in Irish journalism than the wails of the effete South Dublin TV critic when RTÉ viewing figures show Killinaskully has trounced John Kelly's The View once again?" Drennan said division over the show was the modern equivalent of the 19th-century cultural wars over the language movement, with one side featuring "the sort of cultural snob who faints at the sight of a Centra breakfast roll and who also fondly imagines the drawing rooms and restaurants of South Dublin bear an uncanny resemblance to the set of Frasier". John Boland in the Irish Independent has said how the characters lack depth: "I've never been much of a fan of Pat Shortt's broad brand of comedy, with its gallery of cartoon-culchie villager wearing silly wigs and speaking in exaggerated mock accents." Boland continued,  "Killinaskully makes Shortt's earlier work with Jon Kenny in D'Unbelievables seem like Curb Your Enthusiasm'' by comparison". Adele King dislikes the "paddywhackery", describing it as "insular, embarrassing and lacking in sophistication".

Despite repeated negative publicity from critics the show pulls in an average viewership of 500,000 for each episode, which rose as high as 800,000 for the Christmas specials on 25 December. In 2004 and 2005 it was Ireland's top-rated programme during the festive season. On 25 December 2005, 825,000 viewers tuned in to watch "A Killinaskully Christmas Carol". 25 December 2007 special episode attracted viewing figures of 770,000 for "Christmas Special IV: The Last Round". The 2008 festive double episode parodying The Emergency attracted 757,000 viewers, surprisingly losing its crown as Ireland's most popular Christmas Day show for the first time ever by 3,000 viewers to RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock. Despite this, the Christmas special was the fourth most watched television show in Ireland of 2008.

See also
D'Unbelievables
Jumbo Breakfast Roll
Pat Shortt

References

External links
Official site
Killinaskully complete dvd collection
Killinaskully on Pat Shortt's website
Tourist's Guide to Killinaskully
Review of Killinaskully

2003 Irish television series debuts
2008 Irish television series endings
RTÉ original programming
Fictional populated places in Ireland
Television shows set in the Republic of Ireland

Killinaskully


Death Valley is a National Park U.S. state of California. It is the hottest, driest, and lowest place in North America. It is a desert southeast of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Death Valley is a part of the Mojave Desert. It is the most important part of Death Valley National Park. It is an endorheic basin, which means that the rivers in it do not flow to the sea.

Geography
Death Valley has many famous and unusual geographical features. Some of these features include sand dunes, salt flats, colorful rocks, and tall mountains.  Large parts of Death Valley are below sea level. One feature, named Badwater Basin, is the lowest place in North America. It is  below sea level. The salt flats are another famous feature in Death Valley. Salt flats are very unusual. They are large, flattened areas where the surface of the ground is covered by salt instead of dirt. The salt that makes up a salt flat can be many inches or centimeters deep. The salt flats were created because thousands of years ago, Death Valley was underwater. Death Valley was covered by a lake that was named Lake Manly by geologists (scientists who study the Earth). Lake Manly used to be very large, but changes in the weather caused the rivers that brought water into the lake to dry up. After a long time, the water in Lake Manly began to dry up too. As the water dried, it left behind all the minerals that the rivers had brought to it along with their water. As these minerals dried, they created a crust (a brittle outer layer) of salt and other minerals on top of the dirt. Many lakes and seas in other parts of the world dried up in the same way.

Traveling rocks
All across Death Valley, rocks and stones leave small paths behind them in curved, zigzagged (with twists and turns), or straight patterns. The rocks are not alive, of course, but they still travel across the lake bed.

Dr. Robert Sharp, a geology professor, decided to find out about these rocks. He put tags on 30 stones of different sizes and shapes, hammered spikes into the ground where the rocks were sitting, and then he studied what happened for the next seven years. Twenty eight of the stones did indeed move, sometimes more than . Dr. Sharp matched the movements with the weather and found that the rocks moved because of wind and rain. Even though Death Valley gets less than two inches of rain a year, the raindrops make the smooth clay in the dry lake bed very smooth and slippery. The wind then blows the rocks across the slippery surface, sometimes as fast as  every second.

Climate

The changes in the weather that made the rivers dry up have not gone away. Death Valley is still very dry. There are less than  of rain in Death Valley every year. Because Death Valley is so dry all the time, even the dirt that is not covered in salt has become very hard. This means that even though it does not rain often, when it does rain, the dirt cannot absorb all the water quickly enough, and the water can turn into a flash flood (a flood that happens very fast and very violently). In August 2004 there was a very bad flood. The flood damaged many buildings and cars, and killed several people. The flood also destroyed many roads, so nobody could go in or out of Death Valley. Death Valley National Park had to be closed for a long time while the park rangers fixed everything.

Death Valley has extremely hot summers; the temperature can be 130 °F (54 °C). On July 10, 1913, it was 134 °F (57 °C), which is the hottest recorded temperature in the world. In winter, days are warm and nights are cool; snow is very rare.

History
Death Valley was named in 1849. Miners and settlers tried to travel across the valley during the California Gold Rush. Many people died because it was so hot and dry. It has very little water because the water evaporates, or disappears in the clouds, before it can touch the ground. Of the few people who lived in Death Valley, most were miners, especially of borax.

Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is a national park in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. It includes Death Valley. The park was designated as a national monument in 1933 and a national park in 1994.  It contains  in California and Nevada.  Death Valley National Park is the largest wilderness area in the United States.

The park is east of the Sierra Nevada, between the arid Great Basin and Mojave deserts. It has a diverse desert environment of salt-flats, sand dunes, badlands, valleys, canyons, and mountains.

This is the largest national park in the lower 48 states and is an International Biosphere Reserve. About 95% of the park is a wilderness area. It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. The second-lowest point in the Western Hemisphere is in Badwater Basin, which is  below sea level. The park is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh desert environment. Some examples include creosote bush, bighorn sheep, coyote, and the Death Valley pupfish, a survivor of much wetter times.

References

Deserts of North America
Valleys of California
Wilderness Areas of the United States
Inyo County, California
San Bernardino County, California

Death Valley


Annie Powell (1906–1986) was a Welsh Communist politician.

Born in Rhondda and educated at Pentre Higher Grade  School, Powell became interested in politics while at Glamorgan Training College, Barry, in the 1920s. It was while undertaking taking teacher training during the period of the 1926 General Strike that Annie Powell first became interested in politics and when she started teaching at Trebanog she witnessed the great degree of poverty faced by the schoolchildren and their families: "The poverty of the children hit me really hard". She joined the Labour Party, but was impressed by the emphasis laid on theory and action by the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). After long consideration, she put aside her non-conformist religious background and joined the CPGB in 1938.

She remained a teacher and became active in the National Union of Teachers, while contesting Rhondda East for the party at several general elections from 1955. At the general election of 1959 she secured 4,580 votes.  Powell was not only a Welsh speaker but also taught in Welsh. She sat on the Welsh Committee of the CPGB, and at one time was its women's organiser. In 1960, she was a CPGB delegate at a major conference of Communist parties in Moscow, where she claimed to have impressed Nikita Khrushchev with her rendition of "Hen Wlad fy Nhadau", the national anthem of Wales. Perhaps as a result of this meeting, she became a supporter of Khrushchev's ideas within the CPGB.

In 1955, after thirteen attempts, Powell was elected as a Communist councillor for Penygraig, losing in 1957. In 1961, Powell was re-elected as a councillor in Rhondda. She served on the council for the next twenty years, and in 1979 was appointed mayor. As such, she is often said to have been Britain's only Communist mayor, although Finlay Hart had held an equivalent post as provost in Clydebank and Joe Vaughan in Bethnal Green can also claim to be the first Communist mayor in Britain.

She stated in one interview that she had learnt valuable lessons from such Communists as Arthur Horner, Harry Pollitt, Will Paynter, Jack Davies, and the South Walian Jack Jones.

References
BBC - Wales On Air - Annie Powell
Annie Powell - Rhondda Communist
Annie Powell (obituary), The New York Times
Graham Stevenson, Compendium of Communist Biography

1906 births
1986 deaths
Women mayors of places in Wales
Communist Party of Great Britain councillors
Mayors of places in Wales
People from Rhondda
Welsh communists
Welsh schoolteachers
Women councillors in Wales

Annie Powell


A Biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. They vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures to huge polyglot codices containing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the New Testament, as well as other works.

Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh) manuscripts

The Aleppo Codex (c. 920 AD) and Leningrad Codex (c. 1008 AD) were the oldest Hebrew language manuscripts of the Tanakh. The 1947 find at Qumran of the Dead Sea scrolls pushed the manuscript history of the Tanakh back a millennium from the two earliest complete codices. Before this discovery, the earliest extant manuscripts of the Old Testament were in Greek in manuscripts such as Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus. Out of the roughly 800 manuscripts found at Qumran, 220 are from the Tanakh. Every book of the Tanakh is represented except for the Book of Esther; however, most are fragmentary. Notably, there are two scrolls of the Book of Isaiah, one complete (1QIsa), and one around 75% complete (1QIsb). These manuscripts generally date between 150 BC to 70 AD.

Ancient Jewish scribes developed many practices to protect copies of their scriptures from error.

New Testament manuscripts

Parts of the New Testament have been preserved in more manuscripts than any other ancient work. There are over 5,800 complete or fragmented Greek manuscripts, 10,000 Latin manuscripts and 9,300 manuscripts in various other ancient languages, such as Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Ethiopic, Coptic and Armenian.

The dates of these manuscripts range from about 125 AD (the Ryland manuscript, P52; containing fragments of the oldest copy of John) to the introduction of printing in Germany in the 15th century. Most of these manuscripts date after the 10th century. Although there are more manuscripts that preserve the New Testament than there are for any other ancient writing, the text preserved in these later, numerous manuscripts may not be the same as the text as it existed in antiquity.

Textual scholar Bart Ehrman wrote:
"It is true, of course, that the New Testament is abundantly attested in the manuscripts produced through the ages, but most of these manuscripts are many centuries removed from the originals, and none of them perfectly accurate. They all contain mistakes - altogether many thousands of mistakes. It is not an easy task to reconstruct the original words of the New Testament....".

In reference to the textual evidence for the New Testament, Bruce M. Metzger wrote,
"In evaluating the significance of these statistics...one should consider, by way of contrast, the number of manuscripts which preserve the text of the ancient classics. Homer's Iliad...is preserved by 457 papyri, 2 uncial manuscripts, and 188 minuscule manuscripts. Among the tragedians the witnesses to Euripides are the most abundant; his extant works are preserved in 54 papyri and 276 parchment manuscripts, almost all of the later dating from the Byzantine period...the time between the composition of the books of the New Testament and the earliest extant copies is relatively brief. Instead of the lapse of a millennium or more, as is the case of not a few classical authors, several papyrus manuscripts of portions of the New Testament are extant which were copies within a century or so after the composition of the original documents".

Every year, several New Testament manuscripts handwritten in the original Greek format are discovered.

References

Other websites
Carm

Biblical manuscripts

Biblical manuscript


Eric Gunnar Gibson (October 3, 1919 – January 28, 1944) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Biography
Born in Sweden, Gibson immigrated to the United States and joined the Army from Chicago, Illinois in February 1941. By January 28, 1944, he was a technician fifth grade serving as a cook in the 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. On that day, in Cisterna di Latina area near Isolabella, Italy, he was placed in command of a squad during an advance down a streambed. Gibson led his men from the front, repeatedly advancing ahead of the squad and three times attacking German positions alone. He was killed while charging a fourth German position. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor eight months later, on September 11, 1944.

Gibson, aged 24 at his death, was buried in Nora Cemetery, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. His parents had moved to Rice Lake while Gibson was serving in Europe.

Medal of Honor citation
Technician Fifth Grade Gibson's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On January 28, 1944, near Isolabella, Italy, Tech. 5th Grade Gibson, company cook, led a squad of replacements through their initial baptism of fire, destroyed four enemy positions, killed 5 and captured 2 German soldiers, and secured the left flank of his company during an attack on a strongpoint. Placing himself 50 yards in front of his new men, Gibson advanced down the wide stream ditch known as the Fosso Femminamorta, keeping pace with the advance of his company. An enemy soldier allowed Tech. 5th Grade Gibson to come within 20 yards of his concealed position and then opened fire on him with a machine pistol. Despite the stream of automatic fire which barely missed him, Gibson charged the position, firing his submachine gun every few steps. Reaching the position, Gibson fired pointblank at his opponent, killing him. An artillery concentration fell in and around the ditch; the concussion from one shell knocked him flat. As he got to his feet Gibson was fired on by two soldiers armed with a machine pistol and a rifle from a position only 75 yards distant. Gibson immediately raced toward the foe. Halfway to the position a machinegun opened fire on him. Bullets came within inches of his body, yet Gibson never paused in his forward movement. He killed one and captured the other soldier. Shortly after, when he was fired upon by a heavy machinegun 200 yards down the ditch, Gibson crawled back to his squad and ordered it to lay down a base of fire while he flanked the emplacement. Despite all warning, Gibson crawled 125 yards through an artillery concentration and the cross fire of 2 machineguns which showered dirt over his body, threw 2 hand grenades into the emplacement and charged it with his submachine gun, killing 2 of the enemy and capturing a third. Before leading his men around a bend in the stream ditch, Gibson went forward alone to reconnoiter. Hearing an exchange of machine pistol and submachine gun fire, Gibson's squad went forward to find that its leader had run 35 yards toward an outpost, killed the machine pistol man, and had himself been killed while firing at the Germans.

See also

List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II

References

External links

1919 births
1944 deaths
United States Army personnel killed in World War II
United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
Military personnel from Chicago
Swedish emigrants to the United States
United States Army non-commissioned officers
Swedish-born Medal of Honor recipients
World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
People from Rice Lake, Wisconsin

Eric G. Gibson


Jorma Tommila (; born 1959) is a Finnish actor. Winner of the Jussi Award for Best Actor in 1997, Tommila is best known for playing Aatami Korpi in the film Sisu (2022).

Early and personal life
Tommila was born in Rauma, Finland and spent his youth in Kiukainen. His father died when Jorma was four years old, after suffering from injuries to his lungs in World War II. Tommila was raised by his mother, and his older sister Kielo Tommila is also an actress. He lives with his family in Vaasa. He is married to actress Ida Helander-Tommila, the sister of director Jalmari Helander. He is the father of Onni Tommila, who is also an actor.

Career
Whilst at Helsinki Theatre Academy in 1987, Tommila was one of four founding members of God's Theater, a Finnish theater group that made experimental and radical stage art, their performances including full frontal nudity, the setting off of fire extinguishers, and the performers throwing faeces into the crowd. The four were arrested and fined, and given suspended prison sentences. They were also expelled from the college, the expulsion prompting protests from fellow students.

In 1997, Tommila won the Jussi Award for Best Actor for his role in the film The Christmas Party, directed by his God Theatre's fellow founder Jari Halonen.

Tommila's character in the film Sisu, filmed in Lapland with a budget of €6 million, has been compared with Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone) in the 1982 film, and with John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves). He has also been described as a "new action cinema icon".
Tommila portrays Aatami Korpi, an ex-commando and gold prospector who strikes gold but has his bounty stolen by Nazi soldiers. Korpi, with courage and "unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds", becomes "a one-man death squad who will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back – even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path." For the role Tommila won the award for best actor at the Sitges Film Festival in 2022.

Partial filmography

References

External links

Living people
1959 births
Finnish male film actors
20th-century Finnish male actors
21st-century Finnish male actors
People from Vaasa
People from Rauma, Finland
Date of birth unknown

Jorma Tommila


Marek Kopelent (; 28 April 193212 March 2023) was a Czech composer, music editor and academic teacher, who is considered to have been at the forefront of the "New Music" movement, and was one of the most-published Czech composers of the second half of the 20th century.

After studies in Prague, he worked as a music editor. In 1959 he became interested in European avantgarde music and incorporated its developments in his style. He received international recognition when his String Quartet No. 3 was performed at festivals throughout Europe. He co-founded and directed a contemporary music ensemble in Prague, Musica Viva Pragensis, and composed chamber music for them. He studied further for one year in West Berlin on a scholarship by Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst. When he returned, politics had changed to censorship of contemporary music; he lost his job, and his music was banned. For 15 years, he worked as an accompanist at a music school, and composed pieces for foreign commissions that he could not hear being performed. In 1989, he was able to return, and was appointed professor of composition at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. He was chairman of the Czech section of the International Society for Contemporary Music.

His compositions focus on chamber music, concertante music, and vocal music from solo songs to oratorios, based on a wide range of texts from medieval to contemporary. He received international awards.

Life and career

Early life
Kopelent was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on 28 April 1932. His father František Kopelent was a lawyer, and his mother was a French teacher. The boy and his sister were schooled in French. From 1951 to 1955 Kopelent studied composition with Jaroslav Řídký at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He followed the late-Romantic style of his teacher in an orchestral piece concluding his studies, Satanela. He then worked from 1956 as a music editor for contemporary music for the Supraphon publishing house.

1959
From 1959, Kopelent noticed increasingly the styles of the Second Viennese School and the European avant-garde movement. He read  books such as Ctirad Kohoutek's New Compositional Theories of Western European Music (Prague 1962), listened at the Warsaw Autumn to music and met Czech composers, Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderećki and others, and had personal contacts with Western European composers including Luigi Nono and Karlheinz Stockhausen. He absorbed influences and reflected them in his works. The first piece to come to the attention of the musical world outside of Czechoslovakia was his Third String Quartet (1963), in large part due to the interpretation of the piece by the Novák Quartet which performed it throughout Europe. In the 1960s, Kopelent became well known in contemporary European music circles, with his compositions being performed at such festivals as Warsaw Autumn, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik and the annual Darmstädter Ferienkurse.

1965–1973
From 1965 to 1973, Kopelent served as an artistic director of the contemporary music ensemble Musica Viva Pragensis, which had been founded by Petr Kotík in 1961. It was conducted by his colleague Zbyněk Vostřák, and for which he wrote several chamber pieces for the ensemble. In the Prague musical life of the 1960s, both the ensemble and the composers associated with it rose in importance, developing into the Prague Group of New Music, which brought together composers, musicologists and players, in opposition to the official Czech composers' association.

In 1969, Kopelent accepted a scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, which included a one-year artistic internship (Berliner Künstlerprogram) in West Berlin. In the meantime, the situation in Czechoslovakia changed following the Prague Spring, and New Music was less accepted. In 1971 Kopelent lost his job as editor, and his music was banned by the Czechoslovak government for twenty years. He was ostracized by the new Union of Composers, and his ensemble Musica viva Pragensis was not permitted by the authorities to pursue its concert activity.

1976
In 1976, Kopelent accepted a job as a piano accompanist for a children's dance schools in Radotin, where he remained for 15 years. During the 1970s he composed many pieces, a number of them for foreign commissions, but, as he could not leave Czechoslovakia, he was unable to hear their performances.

1989
After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Kopelent became a music advisor in the office of president Váćlav Havel. In 1991 he was appointed professor of composition at the musical faculty of Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, a position he retained. He was a co-founder and chairman of the Czech section of the International Society for Contemporary Music, and was chairman of the Atelier 90 composers' association.

Kopelent was the organiser and a regular lecturer to International Composers' Summer Courses, held in Český Krumlov. Among his students were Czech composer , recipient of a stabat mater at the national competition of young composers, Czech composer , First Prize in the 1993 national competition of young composers, Ukrainian composer Svitlana Azarova, and Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.

Kopelent died in Prague on 12 March 2023, at age 90, at the Motol University Hospital after a short illness.

Compositions
Kopelent's works include five string quartets, oratorios and concertante works. They have appeared in a number of compilations of Czech composers. He was one of the most-published Czech composers in the second half of the 20th century.

His works include:

Orchestral and vocal orchestral works
 Satanela, symphonic poem for orchestra, based on a poem by Jaroslav Vrchlický (1954–55), Library of the Academy of Music
 Symphony (1982), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Pazdravení (Greetings), overture (1984), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Chléb a Ptáci (Bread and Birds), cantata for contralto, recitation, mixed choir and orchestra, text: poem by Jan Skácel (1957–62), Czech Music Fund (CHF)
 Laudatio pacis, by P. H. Dittrich (Germany), Sofia Gubaydulina (USSR) and Kopelent, oratorio for soprano, contralto, tenor, bass and recitation soloists, chamber choir, mixed choir and orchestra to texts by Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius) (1975)
 Legend – "De passione St. Adalberti Martyris", oratorio for recitation, mixed choir and orchestra to a Latin text of an ancient Bohemian legend (1981), CHF
 Ona skutecne jest (She Really Exists), for tenor, bass, recitation, mixed choir, children's choir and orchestra, text by Vladimír Holan (1985–86)
 Messaggio della bontà, oratorio for soprano and baritone, recitation, children's choir, mixed choir and orchestra (1987), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Lux mirandae sanctitatis, oratorio for soprano, recitation, mixed choir, children's choir and instrumental ensemble (1994), Supraphon (SU)
 Judex ergo for Requiem of Reconciliation, 1995
 ARÍÍJAh, for orchestra, (1996)
 ZASTŘENÝ HLAS NAD HLADINOU KLIDU (A Dimmed Voice Above the Level of Calm), for trumpet and chamber orchestra (2000)

Concertante compositions
 Appassionato, for piano and orchestra (1970–71), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Sváry, for a group of twelve instruments and orchestra (1968), CHF
 A Few Minutes With an Oboist, concerto galante for oboe and chamber ensemble (1972), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Hrátky (Games), for alto saxophone and orchestra (1974–75), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Il canto de li augei, arias for soprano and orchestra to Italian lyrics by Renaissance poets (1977–78), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Libá hubda s sidovým motivem (Likeable Music With a Folkmotif, concerto for dulcimer and orchestra (1976), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Concertino for cor anglais and chamber ensemble (or orchestra) (1984), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Musique concertante, for cello, 12 cellos and orchestra (1991), SU

Music for chamber orchestra or ensemble
 Rozjímání (Contemplation), for chamber orchestra (1966), Breitkopf & Härtel + SU'
 Nénie (Nänie) with flute for the late Hana Hlavsová, for flute, nine female voices and chamber ensemble (1960–61), Schott Music Panton (PA)
 String Quartet No. 3 (1963), SU
 Quintet for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, viola and piano, Breitkopf & Härtel
 Pocta Vladimíru Holanovi  (A Tribute to Vladimír Holan) for nonet (1965)
 String Quartet No. 4 (1967), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Zátiší (Still Life) for chamber ensemble (1968), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Intimissimo, music and a poem for chamber ensemble and tape recording (2 reciters) of a poem by Paul Fort (1971), Breitkopf & Härtel, Styrian Autumn
 Brass Quintet (1972), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Sonata for 11 stringed instruments (1972–73), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Rondo "Před příchodem roztomilých katů aneb trojí klanění naději" ("Before the Arrival of the Charming Executioners" or "Three Bows to Hope") for five percussion instruments (1973), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Toccata for harp, harpsichord and dulcimer (or el. guitar) (1974), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Triste a consolante for wind quintet of new or early instruments ad lib. (1977), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Musica lirica for flute, violin and piano (1978–79)
 Furiant for piano trio (1979)
 String Quartet No. 5 (1979–80), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Êtres fins en mouvement for 6 percussionists (1987), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Eines Tages, for 6 cellos (1987), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Romanze for 2 pianos (one tuned a quarter tone lower) (1991), SU
 Le petit rien, for piccolo flute and percussion (1991)

Music for solo instruments
 Pro Arnošta Wilda, for piano (1966), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Hallelujah, for organ (1967), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Bijou de bohème for harpsichord (1967), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Ballad for piano (1976), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Capriccio for trumpet (1976), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Jitřní chvalozpěv (Lob in der Frühe, Morning Eulogy) for organ (1978), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Canto intimo for flute and vibraphone (1963), Edition Modern, Munich
 Musique piquante for violin and dulcimer (or piano) (1971), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Toccata for viola and piano (1978), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Le petit rien, for piccolo and percussion (1991)
 Karrak for cello and piano (1991)
 Canto espansivo for clarinet (1993), SU
 Per Aminko for harpsichord (1998), Ritornel
 Cantus rogas for cello (1990)
 Der Gnade Freude (Radosti z milosti) for organ (1999)

Vocal music
 Písně rozhořčené (Angry Songs) for baritone and piano to poems by Petrarca (1956), CHF
 Miniaturní písně (Miniature Songs) for baritone and piano to ancient Japanese poems (1960–61)
 Snehah for soprano, jazz contralto (from a tape recording), tape recording and chamber ensemble (1967), SU
 Bludný hlas (Irrende Stimme, Errant Voice) for an actress, tape recording, chamber ensemble, film (35 or 16 mm) and light ad lib. (1969),
 Black and White Tears for solo voice (1972), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Nářek ženy (A Woman's Lament), melodrama for an actress, 7 brass instruments, 14 female voices and a children's choir, texts by the composer and M. Procházková (1980), CHF
 Vrh kostek (The Casting of Dice), for 4 reciters and tape, to a poem by Mallarmé (1980)
 Zjitřený zpěv (Excited Song) for baritone and brass quintet, text by Josef Hora (1982–83), CHF
 Agnus Dei, for soprano and chamber ensemble to texts by Martin Luther (1983), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Mon Amour,  for soprano, tenor, chamber ensemble, and female choir, to texts by Marc Chagall (1988), SU
 Der Augenblick for soprano, flute and piano, to texts by Andreas Gryphius (1989), SU
 Le chant du merle au détenu, for mezzo-soprano, flute, accordion and piano, to poems by Jan Zahradníček (1991), SU
 Holanovská reminiscence for mezzo-soprano, recitation, choir, clarinet, trombone and piano, to poems by Vladimír Holan (1995)
 Cantus de dilectione filiarum Dei for 5 sopranos, baritone, and 3 trombones to texts by Thérèse de Lisieux (1998)
 Ze zápisníku Nataši H. (From the Notebook of Natasjy H., nine fragments for soprano and baritone, to texts by the mentally handicapped Natasja Hamouzová (2000)

Choral music
 Matka (Mother), frescoes for mixed choir with flute (1964), Pa and DGG (Deutsche Gramophongesellschaft) 11'
 Modlitby kamene (Stone Prayer) for a reciter, 2 mixed chamber choirs and 3 tom-toms, to a poem by Vladimír Holan (1967), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Žaloby (Klagen, Complaints) for mixed choir, trumpet and timpani ad lib. (1969), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Syllabes mouvementées (Syllables on the Move) for chamber choir (12 voices), (1972)
 Vacillat pes meus (I Stumble) for mixed choir to words from the Book of Psalms (1973), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Píseň kratochvilná (Amusing Song) for mixed choir, to a text by the Bohemian chronicler Lukáš Volný (1982)
 Regina lucis, for mixed choir to a text from the Czech Franus hymnal from the late l5th century (1985), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Cantus supplex for 12 vocalists to a medieval text (1966), Breitkopf & Härtel
 Alouette for 12 vocalists to the poem by Carmen Bernos de Gasztold (1990), SU
 Cantus pro defunctis, for medium voice (1994), SU
 Appels for 12 vocalists and 3 percussion players (1996)
 Cantus de navitate filii for medium (or low) voices (1997)

Music for children's choir
 Four Songs to poems by VÍTĚZSLAV NEZVAL, for children's choir and piano (1960)
 Dotty Ditties for children's choir, to texts by the composer (1967)
 Svítání (Daybreak), for a large children's choir (1975), SU
 Cantus simplex, for children's choir (1983)

Stage works
 Musica, or: A Story of Long, Long Ago That Angels Pass On From Age to Age'', singspiel for soprano, 2 actors, flute, oboe and harpsichord, to a text by Bohumil Sobotka  (1978–79), Bärenreiter

Awards
In 1991, Kopelent was honoured by the French government, which named him a Chevalier des arts et des lettres. He received the Czech Classic Award in 1999, the Herder Prize in 2001, and a Czech State Award for his lifelong contribution to Czech music in 2003.

References

External links

1932 births
2023 deaths
Czech composers
Czech male composers
Musicians from Prague
Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague
Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Herder Prize recipients
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni

Marek Kopelent


Rick Brookes (born 16 June 1948 in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales) is a British satirical cartoonist. Having studied art at Salford Art School, Manchester, he worked first as an assistant art editor for Mirabelle magazine and then as a graphic artist and designer for IPC magazines such as Woman's Own, Woman's Realm and Ideal Home.

Brookes was an illustrator and staff cartoonist at the Evening Standard from 1977, signing his strips first "Rick Brookes" then "Brookes". He worked alongside Jak for eighteen years, deputising for him  In 1994 Brookes began contributing to the Daily Express taking over from Giles, using the signature "Brook", and he kept the same signature after he moved to The Sun in 1996, taking over from Tom Johnston.

Brookes's cartoons appear regularly in newspapers such as News of the World, Mail on Sunday, The American and Punch, and is especially popular on Metro, with his series THIS LIFE. He also worked on the Allied Lyons advertising campaign for Saatchi & Saatchi. Greatly influenced by Giles, Low and Jak, Brookes also admires Oliphant, Matt and Mac. He is reported as drawing his sketches with a Swan fountain pen and flexible nib, just so that he can be suppler in his drawing. He used to hide a rook in his drawings "because there is a rook hidden in 'Brookes'".

Notes

External links
British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent
Cartoon joke by Brookes, based on TV series What The Victorians Did For Us (2005)
A cartoon by Brookes (2007)
A page from Metro, with cartoons by Brookes (2008)

Living people
1948 births
People from Bangor, Gwynedd
British editorial cartoonists
British illustrators
British satirists

Rick Brookes


A branch line is a secondary railway line. It links to a more important route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. David Blyth Hanna, the first president of the Canadian National Railway, said that although most branch lines cannot pay for themselves, they are essential to make main lines pay.

References

Transport infrastructure

Branch line


An oligotroph is an organism that can survive with relatively few nutrients. Because there are few nutrients, such organisms grow slower. Their metabolism usually runs at a slower rate. The population density is generally low.

Environments where oligotrophs can be found include the deep oceans.

Biology
Extremophiles

Oligotroph


Cosmo Radio was a channel on Sirius XM Radio. The station launched on March 14, 2006 as a collaboration between SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Cosmopolitan magazine. The programs featured everything that Cosmopolitan offered like advice on sex, love, and relationships, beauty and fashion tips, celebrity news and music.

Programming on Cosmo Radio included interviews with Cosmopolitan's expert editors, including Editor in Chief Kate White, on everything from astrological predictions to snagging the man of your dreams. The shows also featured celebrity guests talking about their latest projects as well as readers sharing their own experiences.

Originally a Sirius-only channel, the channel was added to XM Satellite Radio on November 12, 2008.  It went off the air on October 25, 2013.

Off the air
In October, 2013, Cosmo Radio elected to no longer continue with its radio offering on Sirius XM.  The last day that Cosmo Radio was broadcast was Friday, October 25.

References

Sirius Satellite Radio channels
XM Satellite Radio channels
News and talk radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 2006
Radio stations disestablished in 2013
Defunct radio stations in the United States

Cosmo Radio


Ivan Minekov () is one of the most appreciated contemporary Bulgarian sculptors. He lives and works in Sofia.

A graduate of the Academy for Fine Arts "Nicolae Grigorescu" in Bucharest, Romania (1970–1975), under Professor Paul Vasilescu's beneficial guidance, Ivan Minekov's striking talent quickly attracted the attention of the Bulgarian artistic society.

In the early years of his career, Ivan Minekov participated in all common exhibitions in Bulgaria, as well as in representative exhibitions in Europe. In the period between 1975 and 1990 he completed a number of large monumental works in many Bulgarian cities, among which his native Pazardzhik, Burgas (1978), Rousse, Lovech, Dorkovo and others.

In the same period he was included in the Encyclopedia of Bulgarian Fine Arts. The Bulgarian National Television produced a short film about his monumental work Levski (1987) and a documentary about the artist (1988), which is now included in BNT's golden fund. Also in 1988, Minekov's work was chosen as a symbol of the second allied space journey of Bulgaria and Russia.

The portrait of Professor Denton Cooley (1990), founder of the Texas Heart Institute, owned and deeply appreciated by Mr. Cooley, as well as Georges Ecly's interest towards Minekov's art, opened the doors to a rewarding international artistic career. In 1993-94 the Harada Collection in Tokyo commissioned Ivan Minekov to create the portrait of Peter Michailov and in the year of 2000, Minekov's inclination towards mythology and history brought to life Dimitar Peshev's portrait, honoring the great politician for saving the Bulgarian Jews in World War II. The bust has proudly found its place in the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg.

Today Minekov's works are owned by private collectors throughout Europe, USA, Israel and Japan. In the last few years the artist has participated in two exhibitions in the Netherlands (2005, 2007) and in a joint exhibition with painter Branimir Tzakov in the Seasons Gallery in Sofia (2006). He has also completed two portraits commissioned by private collectors from New York, USA. In 2007 Ivan Minekov was chosen as one of Bulgaria's leading artists to be represented on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official website.

External links

 Part of greater Europe - a Council of Europe release, page 56

Bulgarian male artists
1947 births
Living people
People from Pazardzhik

Ivan Minekov


Herbert Edward Andrewes (9 November 1863, Reading – 16 December 1950, Highgate) was a stockbroker and an English entomologist who specialised in beetles of the order Coleoptera.

Herbert Andrewes was one of four sons of engineer and mayor of Reading Charles James Andrewes and his wife Charlotte Parsons. His elder brother was the pathologist and bacteriologist Sir Frederick William Andrewes.

Andrewes' initial training was at the forestry school in Nancy, France, now INRA. In 1885, he entered the Indian Forest Service. His next post was at the British Museum (Natural History) where he specialised in Carabidae. He was a prolific author, writing over 120 short scientific papers in addition to catalogues, taxonomic works, faunal monographs and identification manuals. Andrewes was a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society from 1910 until his death (Council 1920-22). The society holds his library.

Selected works
(1925) A revision of the Oriental species of the genus Tachys. Ann Mus Civ Stor Nat Genova 51: 327-502.
(1926) A catalogue of Philippines Carabidae. Philippine Journal of Science 31, 345–361.
(1931) On the Carabidae of Mount Kinabalu. Federated Malay Museums, Journ. 16: 431-485, map. 1933. On some new species of Carabidae, chiefly from Java. Treubia 14: 273-286.
(1933) A catalogue of the Carabidae of Sumatra. Tijdschr, v. Ent. 76: 319-382.
(1929)The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Carabidae 1. Carabinae 431pp. 62 figs 9 pl. Taylor and Francis, London.
(1935)The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Carabidae 2. Harpalinae 323 pp. 51 figs 5 pl. Taylor and Francis, London.

Collection
Most of Andrewes' personal collection is in the Natural History Museum, London, together with beetles from Sikkim collected by Herbert Stevens.
Further collections including syntypes and a collection from India, Burma, New Guinea, Natal, Tennessee, including syntypes of Martin Jacoby, Walther Hermann Richard Horn, and Maurice Auguste Régimbart (1900), is in Oxford University Museum.
Other parts of Andrewes' collection are in the Natural History Museum of Giacomo Doria, Genoa.

References

Britton, E. E. 1951: "Andrewes, H. E." Entomologist's Monthly Magazine (3) 87 64
Poggi, R. & Conci, C. 1996: "Andrewes, H. E." Mem. Soc. Ent. Ital. 75 9
Wigglesworth, V. B. 1951: "Andrewes, H. E." Proc. R. Ent. Soc. London (C) 15 75

English coleopterists
Employees of the Natural History Museum, London
Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society
1863 births
1950 deaths

Herbert Edward Andrewes


Mount Meager is a potentially active volcano in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada, 150 kilometers north of Vancouver. The top of the mountain is mostly covered by snow and glaciers. It lies in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt and is the northernmost volcano of the Cascade Volcanic Arc that extends down to northern California. Its most common type of rock is lava that is almost a million years old (with a thickness in some places over 1 km).

The mountain is part of the Pacific Ranges of mountains and is 2,680 meters (8,793 feet) high. It was previously called Cathedral Mountain.

Geologic history
Meager is known for its last major eruption about 2,350 years ago. The strange thing about the eruption was the fact it released the debris from the northeast side of the volcano, as rock and ash blocked a major river called the Lillooet River. The river was dammed to a height of at least 100 meters, forming a lake. The lake reached a maximum elevation of 810 meters and was at least 50 meters deep. The breccia soon eroded from water activity within the lake, forming Keyhole Falls. There was a massive flood when the water first broke through the breccia, carrying small house sized blocks of breccia. During this eruption, ash was hurled into the air over 20 kilometers above sea level. The ash was carried eastward as far as Alberta.

Volcanic hazards
Meager is an unstable volcano. It is built of unstable volcanic and has dumped clay and rock several meters deep into the Perberton Valley at least three times during the last 7,300 years. Two earlier debris flows, around 4,450 and 7,300 years ago, sent rubble at least 32 kilometers from the volcano. Recently, the volcano has created smaller landslides about every ten years, including one in 1975 that killed four geologists near Meager Creek. Logging, mining, tourism and wilderness recreation on nearby slopes and valleys are vulnerable to the volcano's excellent geomorphic activity. The possibility of Mount Meager covering settled parts of the Pemberton Valley in a debris flow is estimated at one in 2400 years. There is no sign of volcanic eruptions with these events, however scientists warn the volcano could release another massive debris flow over populated areas anytime without warning.

The explosive nature of past eruptions at Mount Meager indicates that this volcano also poses a considerable long-distance treat to communities across southern British Columbia and Alberta. It is also a local treat to the town of Pemberton, British Columbia, about 50 km away. Another explosive eruption at Mount Meager would also have a considerable impact on local mining and logging operations, as well as significant negative impacts on the Lillooet River fishery.

Other websites
Global Volcanism Program: Meager
Volcanology of the 2350 BP Eruption of Mount Meager Volcanic Complex, British Columbia, Canada

Volcanoes of British Columbia

Mount Meager


Poison gas is any gas that is also a poison. Poison gases can kill or hurt a person if there is lots of it. There is a wide range of different poison gases and each has own properties. Many toxic liquids are also evaporate easily at normal temperatures and their vapors are poison gas. "Poison gas" can refer to poisons in chemical weapons, but most of them are in fact liquids, for example mustard gas and VX are sticky liquids that are spread out into fine mists.

In small amounts, corrosive poison gases (gas that can damage people or objects) usually cause irritation, and may have a smell, but this is not always the case. There are several gases that can kill sneakily, without a warning smell or irritation.

All gases other than oxygen can take over air, and cause death by asphyxiation. This does not make them poison gases. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide are two common examples. This has to be taken into account in handling of any compressed or liquified gas. Gases can be also dangerous because they are flammable (easily bursting into flame).

Poison gases can cause injury more easily than solid or liquid poisons because they diffuse (move) in the air, exposing skin, and are easily breathed in. Immediate contact with corrosive gas leads to chemical burns of the skin and lungs. When taken into the inside of the human body and into the blood, either by breathing in or through skin, several poison gases cause a poisoning. In a poisoning, medical help is often needed; simply removing the victim from the gas is not enough to prevent symptoms.

 Corrosive poison gases such as hydrogen chloride cause chemical burns into skin and inside the lungs. This causes lungs to fill up with liquid, which can kill.
 Alkylating poison gases such as methyl chloride are attacked by human DNA and proteins. In human cells, this causes cell death, cancer and a diverse set of symptoms caused by malfunctioning of the alkylated proteins. Mustard gas is an alkylating agent.
 Gases that release the fluoride ions into the human body can cause a loss of calcium in the blood, which leads to heart attack and death. Examples are hydrogen fluoride and chlorine trifluoride.
 Ammonia can cause corrosive burns.
 Hydrogen sulfide has a powerful smell, but it will easily desensitize the nose. After that it can shut down the breathing center in the brain, which stops the breathing reflex and kills the victim from asphyxiation.
 Nerve agents are poisonous liquids, that easily evaporate. They shut down biochemical processes that allow muscles to relax. The result is that all muscles contract, including muscles required for breathing, causing death by asphyxiation.

Poison gases are used in industry as chemical reagents. The chemical reactions they can be used for are more important than their toxicity. Today, chemists try to avoid the use of poisonous gases, but it is often not possible. Examples of large-volume industrial poisonous gases are hydrogen sulfide, cracked from oil, chlorine, in diverse chemical uses and to disinfect drinking water, and ammonia, which is a valuable fertilizer into itself and can be converted into a range of other fertilizers, in addition to chemical uses.

Some fumigants (chemicals used to kill pests) are also poison gases, for example phosphine, which is used to kill pests living in grains. The advantage of a gas is that it evaporates after use, so that if food is treated with gas, there is no need to rinse it to remove the poison. Some gasses can kill and some can't. Gasses have advantages and disadvantages.

Weapons
Chemical warfare

Poison gas