In the Belly of the Bloodhound

"In the Belly of the Bloodhound" is a historical novel written by L.A. Meyer surrounding the adventures of a young girl named Jacky Faber, alias Bloody Jack, set in the early 19th century. It is the fourth installment in the Bloody Jack series and follows the heroine as she returns on land from her adventures on the seas in the previous novel, "Under the Jolly Roger". The story began in "Bloody Jack", "Curse of the Blue Tattoo", and "Under the Jolly Roger", and continues in "Mississippi Jack", "My Bonny Light Horseman", "Rapture of the Deep", "The Wake of the Lorelei Lee", "The Mark of the Golden Dragon", "Viva Jacquelina!", "Boston Jacky", and "Wild Rover No More".
Story.
This novel follows Jacky Faber upon her return to Boston. In her small sailboat, the "Morning Star", she sneaks into port past two British ships. When she is out of sight, she finds a young boy, Jim Tanner, to watch her boat for her. She goes into town to talk with her lawyer, Ezra Pickering. They decide it is best for Jacky to return to the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls. The school is being rebuilt with bricks after a fire caused when she knocked over a lamp while fighting for her life. The next day, Ezra, Jim, and Jacky take the "Morning Star" to Dovecote to see Amy, who is in a deep depression. Jacky surprises her by bringing her lunch to her. She tells Amy her story and then the two of them join Ezra and Randall for lunch.
The months pass after that. When school starts again, Jacky greets her old friends. Her old enemy, Clarissa, has brought a slave back with her, and Jacky is outraged. After about a month, Higgins comes to the school and becomes head of the serving staff.
Months go by, and classes too. One day, all the girls except Amy go on a planned field trip to the shore. Jacky is surprised that Mistress Pimm does not come, and is even more surprised when she realizes that Higgins is not there either. Only Mr. Harrison, the man leading their trip, and his slave Jerome are there. When they are taken to the docks, Jacky refuses to get in the lifeboat to take them to their picnic spot without Mistress Pimm or Higgins. Mr. Harrison then points a gun at her and forces her to get in the boat.
The girls are then taken onto a ship and learn Mr Harrison is a man named Colonel Bartholomew Simon, where Clarissa angrily calls him by his more popular name, "Blackman Bart". Clarissa recognizes him as a slave dealer, who often handles transactions with her father's plantation. Blackman Bart informs the girls that they will be sold into slavery in North Africa. While the girls are hysterical, Jacky quickly shoves her seabag full of supplies down into the hold. Jacky organizes the group. She divides the girls into three groups and assigns a leader to each group. The three leaders are Jacky, Dolley, and Clarissa. They find a rat hole into a storage room, and make plans to widen it with Jacky's shiv to escape through.
There is a guard at the door to the girls' prison that the crew calls Dummy. Jacky soon finds out that he is actually Hugh the Grand, or Hughie, from the Rooster Charlie Gang on the streets of London. Jacky reveals herself as "Little Mary", now Jacky, and he recognizes her.
The next day, a man named Sin-Kay enters the hold. He had posed as Blackman Bart's slave, when they were really business partners. He organizes the girls into an alphabetical line, and is quickly introduced to the wrath of Clarissa. He quickly singles out Clarissa and Jacky as the two "troublemakers". The girls begin to listen to their leaders of their groups, Jacky, Clarissa, and Dolley. Only one girl, Elspeth Goodwin, cannot cope. She becomes hysterical and emotional, begging to be sent home.
After a week, Elspeth rats Jacky out as the leader of the girls in a last-ditch attempt to be sent home. Jacky then gets a lashing with the cat-o-nine tails for organizing a hunger strike among the girls. The hunger strike was in response to the requests of the girls (better food and cleaner conditions).
As the girls work on widening the rat hole and sneaking supplies through, Jacky bargains with two of the less aggressive sailors, Mick and Keefe. They help get the girls clean water for washing in exchange for Jacky revealing parts of herself. While one girl, Constance Howell, expresses outrage and indignation, Jacky continues to do so, in exchange for every girl getting water to wash with.
Jacky also works on spreading superstitious stories through the crew. She has the youngest girl, Rebecca, wake up screaming about seeing a ghost, to scare the extremely superstitious crew. She also tells the sailors that the Captain is planning on killing them.
Two riots are also caused during the girls captivity. Clarissa continues to harass Sin-Kay and call him offensive names. The girls run out and cause trouble when he attempts to throw Clarissa overboard. Jacky also sneaks out of the Hold as the "black ghost", and is seen by two sailors. When the sailors become terrified and create pandemonium, Jacky sneaks back in and covers for herself by kissing Clarissa in the hold, claiming that the two of them are "particular friends." Jacky notes that Clarissa resists the kiss at first, and then doesn't, and that Jacky has "been kissed by worse."
Soon, the hole is big enough to escape through. The girls create a 100-second fuse to ignite the powder magazine and aid their escape. They all make it out the hole and make their escape in one of the lifeboats, with the help of Jacky's old friend, Hugh the Grand. Shortly after their escape onto the life boat, Hugh dies from an injury he received while protecting Jacky on the ship and Jacky falls ill from a wound on her leg.
Jacky wakes up on a Royal Navy Ship, "HMS Juno", which is taking the girls back to Boston. Before they get to Boston, the "Juno" has to make a quick stop in New York, where they meet up with Henry Hoffman, the school's stable boy and fiancé of one of the girls. That girl rides back to Boston with Henry ahead of the others.
When word of the girls' rescue and survival comes, everyone is excited and prepares for their return. When the "Juno" gets there, parents and loved ones, including Jaimy, are waiting. The "Juno" docks and the girls step off. The last three to get off are Dolley, Clarissa, and Jacky. The book ends with two marines stopping her before she can get off the ship and telling her she is under arrest for piracy.


Jean Bardin

Jean Bardin (1732–1809) was a French historical painter.
Life.
Bardin was born at Montbard in 1732. He was a pupil of Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée and later studied at Rome. He became a popular artist in France, and was admitted into the Academy in 1779. He was made director of the art school at Orléans in 1788. His subjects are partly historical, partly poetical, and sometimes religious. He was the instructor, in the elements of art, of David and Regnault. He died at Orléans in 1809. His daughter, and pupil, was the painter Ambroise-Marguerite Bardin.


Henry Howard (artist)

Henry Howard RA (31 January 1769 – 5 October 1847) was an early 19th-century British portrait and history painter.
Biography.
He was born in London and after being educated at a school in Hounslow, he started studying with the painter Philip Reinagle in 1786. In 1788 he began attending the Royal Academy Schools and was awarded a silver medal for drawing from life and a gold medal for historical painting for his "Caractacus Recognising the Dead Body of his Son".
In March 1791, Howard traveled to Italy, France, and Switzerland. In Rome, he met and studied sculpture with John Flaxman and John Deare. In 1792 he painted a "Dream of Cain". While abroad he applied to the Royal Academy for a grant after the bankruptcy of his father. Two years later, he returned to Britain by way of Vienna and Dresden. He began instructing Reinagle's daughter Jane in drawing and married her in 1803. Together they had four daughters and three sons. From 1806 they lived at 50 Newman Street, Westminster, until his death.
In the 1790s Howard painted and drew a variety of subjects from literature, portraits, and drawings of sculpture. In 1795 and 1796, he submitted five such pictures to the Royal Academy, including a sketch from Milton's "Paradise Lost". He illustrated Sharpe's "British Essayists" and Du Roveray's edition of Alexander Pope's translation of Homer. He also contributed designs for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. Between 1799 and 1802, he made a series of drawings of sculpture. One series was published by the Dilettanti Society and one was made for the collector Charles Townley, the sculptor John Flaxman, and the Society of Engravers.
Howard was elected an associate member of the Royal Academy and exhibited there until his death in 1847; he was elected a full member in 1808. In 1811 he became secretary of the Academy and in 1833 he was appointed professor of painting at the Schools (his lectures were published by his son, Frank in 1848). Howard's diploma work was "The Four Angels Loosed from the Great River Euphrates". He painted a series of works from Milton's "Comus" and several subjects from the plays of William Shakespeare. In 1809 he exhibited "Christ Blessing Young Children", which later became the altarpiece of St. Luke's, in Berwick St Soho, London (demolished 1936). One of Howard's most important patrons was Lord Egremont, a significant collector.
While his history paintings were in a neo-classical academic style following Flaxman and others, his portraits continued the general tradition of English 18th-century portraiture and many of his portraits are in the National Gallery.
His history paintings are hard to find on public display but his ceiling for the dining-room of the Sir John Soane's Museum, an "Aurora" adapted from Guido Reni (1837), can be seen obliquely.
In addition to his portraiture and historical painting, Howard worked on many decorative works. In 1805, a Mr. Hibbert commissioned him to paint a Cupid and Psyche frieze in 1814, along with several other artists. He painted large transparencies, apparently to be lighted from behind, for the "Grand Revolving Temple of Concord" built in Green Park for the visit of several sovereigns to celebrate (prematurely) the defeat of Napoleon. This was, according to some accounts, destroyed by, and according to others only saved by the cavalry from, "the multitudes of idle and dissolute spectators of all sorts". He also worked on a "Solar System" for the ceiling of Stafford House in 1835, then housing a superb art collection open to the public, as well as several other ceiling projects.
Howard died in Oxford on 5 October 1847 of "paralysis".
Works.
Two poetical illustrations of Howard's works were written by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. The first, of "The Hours", in her Poetical Catalogue of Paintings in The Literary Gazette (1823), and the second, of "Fairies on the Sea Shore" in her Poetical Catalogue of Modern Paintings in her 1825 volume "The Troubadour; Catalogue of Pictures, and Historical Sketches", this latter poem reappearing in "The Cabinet of Modern Art, 1836" accompanied by an engraving (by Edward Goodall).


The O. Henry Playhouse

The O. Henry Playhouse was an early American anthology television series which featured television adaptations of short stories written by 19th-century author O. Henry and primarily set in New York City. The series was both hosted and narrated by Thomas Mitchell, who portrayed the title character, and featured several television and film stars during its run such as Maureen Stapleton, Charles Bronson, DeForest Kelley, Lisa Montell, Otto Kruger, Max Showalter and Ernest Borgnine. The series was syndicated and initially ran from January 23 to May 25, 1957, and its final episode aired on November 19 of that year.


The Restless Trio

The Restless Trio is a 1982 Hong Kong action comedy television series produced by TVB and starring Andy Lau, Stephen Tung and Patricia Chong.
Plot.
In Pak Tau town near the provincial capital during the era of the Republic of China, rich heir Chin Yat-tim (Andy Lau) falls in love with Cho-cho (Patricia Chong), a prostitute working on a flower boat. Yat-tim deliberately gets close to Cho-cho to please her. However, Cho-cho's heart belonged to her childhood friend, Wong Siu-po (Stephen Tung), a poor worker of the flower boat. Although Siu-po has feelings for Cho-cho, she did not dare to confess to her due to his poverty and low social status. Later, under a strange combination of circumstances, Cho-cho was forced to marry rich tycoon Lui Chin-pang (Lau Dan).
In actuality, Lui is a pirate. One day, after successfully robbing treasures, he was discovered by Ko Yung (Lau Siu-ming), who wanted a share of the treasures. As a result, the two launched an attack against one another, causing havoc on the flower boat.
After Lui's identity was exposed and was arrested, Cho-cho regains her freedom and reunites with Siu-po. At this time, Yat-tim gets Siu-po and Cho-cho's help during a family crisis. Being grateful to the two, Yat-tim reconciles with Siu-po and exits the love triangle between him, Cho-cho and Siu-po, and is determined to accomplish a major achievement.


Brother Russia


Nile (TV series)

Nile is a 2004 BBC Television documentary that tells the history and natural history of the Nile.
Production.
The series was produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in co-production with the Discovery Channel.
Episode three includes footage from the 1971 BBC Television mini-series "The Search for the Nile".
Reception.
Reviews.
"The Times" calls it an, "enlightening BBC series," that, "uses stunning photography and restrained dramatisations to pay homage to the longest river on Earth."
The reviewer concludes, "never mind the cardboard dramatisations — this is an heroic story."
Episodes.
Episode one: "Crocodiles and Kings".
Since the dawn of history the miraculous annual floodwaters have risen to transform the desert into a fertile paradise where the great civilisation of Ancient Egypt grew, but their existence was on a knife-edge held hostage by the river and the Pharaoh maintained the balance by appeasing the gods to ensure the gifts of the river.
The New Kingdom of Rameses and Tutankhamun began 3,500 years ago with the province of Thebes at its heart, and farmers, fishermen and temple builders thrive with the blessings of the rivers. At dawn hamadryas baboon climb to the top of the temples to great the sun god Ra who rides across the sky in his chariot, a sharp-eyed peregrine falcon bursts from the sun as a manifestation of the all-seeing Horus, and a feared cobra hunts in the fields its poisonous venom manifesting the suns burning rays. The scarab beetle embodies the sun's daily journey, born from the ground it sculpts a sphere of dung to feed its young which emerge again in perfect continuity, while a Nile catfish feeling its way with long whiskers guides the sun back to the east for its rebirth.
The Old Kingdom of the Pyramids had been destroyed by a 20-year drought that starved much of the population; now as the waters dry up the people turn for protection to the Pharaoh who is the son of Osiris. Osiris taught the people cultivation but was murdered by his brother Seth and scattered across the land only to re-emerge as a symbol of fertility while Seth was banished to the desert from where he threatens to return with famine and death. Female Hippos, fighting to defend their young, are worshipped as Tort; Crocodiles, welcoming the heat that maintains their body temperature, are worshipped as Sobek; and flocks of sacred Ibis, signalling the arrival of the flood, are worshipped as Thoth. The land is transformed into a flooded plain while the Pharaoh oversees the construction of dams and channels to tame the floods.
The receding waters leave behind thick fertile silt from which frogs and toads are born as symbols of the land's resurrection. The farmers sow their seeds as memorial to Osiris who in reborn again in the harvest crops only to be devoured by a swarm of locusts that poison whatever is left with their droppings. Wild dogs and jackals, scavenging the overflowing cemeteries, are worshipped as Anubis. The pharaoh death leaves the country in chaos as the body is mummified with a scarab amulet placed on the heart. As the drought approaches, with no pharaoh to intercede with the gods, Egyptian vultures flock over the river as a symbol of death. The Pharaoh, buried with precious provisions for his final journey, enters the "Hall of Judgment" where his heart is weighed against a feather by the gods.
The pharaoh is found worthy earning his place among the gods and the Nile rises again to revitalise the valley and sustain a civilisation that would inspire all those that followed.
Episode two: "The Great Flood".
The annual flooding of the Nile brought the water and fertile volcanic soil that made the Ancient Egyptian civilisation possible, but impassable rapids made it impossible for them to discover the source of this bounty they attributed to the gods. The river stretches into Sudan through a forbidding desert known as the "Belly of Stones" that was home to the "Black Pharaohs" of the Nubian kingdom of Kush who once ruled over their Egyptian neighbours. The Blue and White Niles merge in the "Longest Kiss in History" at the crossroad city of Khartoum.
The White Nile flows through the impenetrable swamps of the Sudd where shifting islands of papyrus buoyed by air-sacks in the steams long prevented further exploration. White-eared kob form one of Earth's greatest concentrations of large animals as they graze the neighbouring grasslands during the dry season. The native Dinka cowherds rely on their cattle for a diet of milk and blood supplemented only by fish when possible. The Dinka and kob are forced on the move as rains swell the swamp, bursting its banks and doubling its size. A lungfish emerges from its cocoon of mud and mucus and uses its primitive lungs to breathe air while it reaches for the nearest pool only to be caught in the oversized beak of the giant shoebill stalk, while family groups of speckle-throated otter and the powerful Nile monitor also hunt the waters. The Dinka and kob return and a stranded catfish crawls to safety as the waters evaporate in the sun but this is not the source of the Great Flood.
The Blue Nile flows through dry savannah from a deep barren gorge on the fringe of the Ethiopian highlands where the lammergeier vulture seeks out those who succumb to the drought. A volcanic plug that rose up 30 million years ago has left the region with Africa's highest mountains, where the hippos of Lake Tana live in the continent's highest body of water. The dry highland dome above is home to earth's highest density of rodents and the Egyptian wolf which digs them up. The indigenous gelada baboons feed exclusively on grass using their massive teeth only for the intimidation of rivals. Moisture-laden clouds from the Congo basin bring annual rains to "Africa’s Water Tower" that transforms the rodent's world with lush vegetation for food and cover from predators like the auger buzzard. Night time freezing breaks up the topsoil of one of the oldest areas of cultivated land in Africa and it is washed downstream to the lake where pelicans gather to feed and weaver birds build papyrus nests. The Christian highland farmers beg the pagan river spirit Guion for mercy at times of great flood.
Ancient Egyptians had heard rumours of Lake Tana but had no idea how important the Blue Nile that flows over the "Smoking Fire Falls" with its fertile volcanic soil was to their civilisation.
Episode three: "The Search for the Source".
From the heart of Africa to the Mediterranean Sea runs the world's longest river. Since the Egyptians first settled along its banks men have dreamt of discovering where the Nile was born, but for centuries the river kept its secrets close. The obsession grew and by the mid-19th century some were prepared to risk their lives to be the first to discover the source of the Nile.
Nomads first settled along the banks of the Nile around 5000 BC and replenished by annual floodwaters grew into the Ancient Egyptian civilisation but the source of the miraculous waters remained a mystery to them.
The Royal Geographical Society dispatched Richard Burton and John Speke to Lake Tanganyika to find the source in 1857 but unable to complete their mission Speke separated from the main party and discovered Lake Victoria. The vast lake retains water like a vast reservoir with evaporations drained back by surrounding mountains. Speke returned with James Grant a year later and discovered the outlet at Ripon Falls. The new moon rains trigger the emergence of vast breeding swarms of flies that plagued the expedition. Speke and Grant headed downstream from the outlet but were forced to take refuge at Gondokoro. Here they met with Samuel Baker and his wife who had travelled up stream in search of the source and discovered Lake Albert in 1864.
The newspaper reporter H.M. Stanley was sent to Africa in 1871 to find Dr. Livingstone who had vanished five years earlier exploring Lake Tanganyika. Together they searched unsuccessfully for the outflow till the time came for Stanley to return home. Following Livinstone's death Stanley returned in 1874 to map all three lakes but was prevented from completing his work by warring tribes. He returned in 1881 and discovered Lake Edward that he concluded creates a vast reservoir system with the other lakes that feeds the Nile. The Mountains of the Moon between the humid forest of the Congo basin and the monsoon lands of East Africa attract rains which, regulated by the forests of mosses, liverworts, ferns and lichens, trickle down into Lakes Albert, Edward and George to feed the Nile.
Tectonic movements created a vast plateau in East Africa 10-15 million years ago and the Mountains of the Moon 12 million years ago. The East African Rift fractured along the flank of the plateau collecting water into Lakes Albert, Edward and George 8 million years ago and the plateau depressed filling into Lake Victoria less than 1 million years ago. Lake Victoria, swelled by the wet climate phase at the end of the last ice age, broke its banks 12,500 years ago and flowed into Lake Albert creating a new river that cut north into the flatlands of Sudan where it joined by the sediment filled Blue Nile before following into the Egyptian desert where it gave birth to a civilisation 7,000 years later.


Josse-Pieter Geedts

Josse-Pieter or Pierre Joseph Geedts (1770–1834), a Belgian historical painter, born at Louvain, studied at the Antwerp Academy under Herreyns. In 1800 he was appointed one of the professors of the new Academy of Louvain, which post he held till 1833, when he was, as he always considered, unjustly dismissed. He died at Louvain in 1834. His best works are a "Calvary," and "The Archbishop of Cologne delivering a miraculous host to an Augustine Monk"; the latter is in the church of St. Jacques at Louvain.


Frida (opera)

Frida is a 1991 opera based on the life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo with music by Robert Xavier Rodriguez, book by Hilary Blecher, lyrics and monologues by Migdalia Cruz, conceived by Hilary Blecher.
Performances.
"Frida" was commissioned by the American Music Theater Festival (now Prince Music Theater) and premiered in Philadelphia in 1991, starring Helen Schneider as Frida Kahlo. It was revised in 1993, and has subsequently been produced at American Repertory Theater (Boston), the Brooklyn Academy of Music, City Summer Opera (San Francisco), the Houston Grand Opera, the Vienna Schauspielhaus, in Recklinghausen and Nordhausen (Germany), and by the Society for New Music (Syracuse, New York).
In 2007, to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Kahlo's birth, the opera was produced at the 10th Festival Cultural de Mayo in Guadalajara in a Spanish translation by Josefina Garcia. Original Cast: Helen Schneider (Frida Kahlo); Marc Krause (Diego Rivera); Karen Hale (Mother/Lupe Rivera/Mrs. Rockefeller/Mrs. Trotsky); Alba Quezada (Cristina Kahlo/Mrs. Ford); David Toney (Mr. Kahlo/Mr. Rockefeller/A. Cachucha/Edward G. Robinson/Petate Vendor).


Historia (TV channel)

Historia is a Canadian discretionary service owned by Corus Entertainment. The network broadcasts French-language programming related to history and historical fiction, and is a sister network to the English-language History; both channels operate as Canadian licencees of the U.S. network History.
History.
Licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as Canal Histoire to Alliance Atlantis and Premier Choix Networks (Astral), the channel was launched on January 31, 2000 as Historia.
On January 18, 2008, a joint venture between Canwest and Goldman Sachs Captain ital Partners known as CW Media bought Alliance Atlantis and gained its interest in Historia. The new company also acquired Historia's English language equivalent, History Television (now History).
On October 27, 2010, Shaw Communications completed its acquisition of Canwest and Goldman Sachs' interest in CW Media, giving it control of CW Media's 50% interest in Historia.
On March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral Media's stakes in Séries+ and Historia, as well as several other properties, under separate transactions with the two companies. The purchase was tied to Bell Media's pending takeover of Astral Media; an earlier proposal had been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012 due to concerns surrounding its total market share following the merger, but was restructured under the condition that the companies divest certain media properties. In a separate deal, Corus also acquired Shaw's interests in Séries+ and Historia, giving it full ownership. The deals were approved by the CRTC on 20 December 2013 and Corus become the full owner of the channel on 1 January 2014.
On October 21, 2014, Corus reached an agreement with A&E Networks to acquire French-language rights to programming from History, the U.S. counterpart of Historia's English-language sister network. The network was relaunched under History's logo and branding on March 9, 2015, while maintaining the Historia name.
On October 17, 2017, Bell Media announced its intent to acquire Historia and Séries+ from Corus for $200 million, pending regulatory approval. Corus cited the two channels as not being part of the company's "strategic priorities" at this time; the deal came shortly after an announcement that Corus no longer planned to commission original programs for the two channels. On 28 May 2018, both transactions were blocked by the Competition Bureau, as a violation of conditions placed on Bell's acquisition of Astral Media, which barred it from re-acquiring any of the properties it divested in the merger for 10 years. As a result, Bell and Corus mutually agreed to shelve the sale.
High-definition feed.
On October 30, 2006, Astral Media launched a high definition simulcast feed of Historia.


Constantin Hansen

Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting. He was deeply interested in literature and mythology, and inspired by art historian Niels Laurits Høyen, he tried to recreate a national historical painting based on Norse mythology. He painted also many altarpieces and portraits, including the monumental oil painting "The Danish Constituent Assembly" ("Den grundlovgivende Rigsforsamling") between 1861 and 1865.
Early life.
He was born in Rome, the son of portrait painter Hans Hansen. The family soon relocated to Vienna, where Constanze Mozart, the widow of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, became godmother at his christening. Within his first year, the family moved to Copenhagen, where he was raised.
Education.
He entered the architecture school of the Royal Danish Academy of Art ("Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi") at 12 years of age, but changed his course of study to painting at the age of 21. He began his training under Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg in 1828. He lost both his parents at about this time to typhus, and became the sole supporter of his younger sisters. He took over several commissions that had belonged to his father, including some copies to the Portrait Collection at Frederiksborg Palace and decorative paintings to Christiansborg Palace.
Foreign study.
In 1835 he received a two-year stipend to travel abroad, which was followed up by an additional year's stipend. His travels took him through Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Nuremberg and Munich on his way to Italy, where he travelled extensively and stayed longer periods in Rome, Naples and Pompeii. In Italy he met fellow Dane, the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. He travelled with other Danish artists, including Jørgen Roed, Christen Købke and decorative painter Georg Hilker (1807–1875).
The Copenhagen Art Union ("Kunstforening") commissioned a painting from Hansen in 1837. He provided them with "A Group of Danish Artists in Rome", ("Et Selskab af danske Kunstnere i Rom"). In addition he painted Italian folk scenes, and studies of Roman antiquities and architecture that reflect Eckersberg's spirit.
After eight years in Italy he finally returned to Denmark, staying briefly in Munich, where he studied the technique of fresco painting, in anticipation of a commission, along with Georg Hilker, to decorate the University of Copenhagen's vestibule on Frue Plads. This work continued from 1844 until 1853. Hansen painted the mythological figures, while Hilker painted the decorations and frameworks.
Marriage.
He married Magdalene Barbara Købke in 1846, and they had thirteen children. However, four children died within one year after being born and one of their sons, Hans Christian, was killed at the age of nineteen in a shipwreck.
In 1854 he was named professor at the Academy, but first became member of the Academy in 1864. One of his daughters, Elise Konstantin-Hansen, (1858–1946) became a recognized painter, and another Kristiane Konstantin-Hansen (1848–1925), became a tapestry weaver.


Hoplite (video game)

Hoplite is an iOS and Android video game developed by Australian indie developer Douglas Cowley and released on December 20, 2013. Its artwork includes old school pixel art done by Shroomarts.
Reception.
The game has a Metacritic rating of 88% based on 6 critic reviews Touch Arcade said "It's very simple to learn, but there's a huge amount of depth to the game. " PocketGamerUK said " An incredible, ever-changing blend of dungeon-crawling and tactical puzzles, Hoplite may lack a little longevity but it's impressively entertaining while it lasts. " D+Pad Magazine wrote " Ultimately Hoplite is not a game based to any great extent about discovering new content or unlocking secrets; while some abilities are added to the roster for completing achievements, it does not have the complexity of hidden mechanics that its close comparator 868-HACK does. Instead it is, bluntly, the more “accessible” game and perhaps as a result the truer evocation of retro gaming. Its rules can be learned very quickly, as any good short-playing game should, and yet it still has elements of deep strategy, choice and randomisation to provide a motivation for chasing high scores. " Gameblog.fr wrote " Hoplite is a procedural tactical game that will require patience, concentration and planning. The ideal indie game to chain-die in the bus, the subway or on the beach. " GradItMagazine said " Hoplite proudly flies its roguelike colours. Permadeath, turn-based combat and punishing difficulty await those game enough to plunder the dungeons’ depths in search of the Golden Fleece. The punishing, and often frustrating, difficulty of Hoplite is balanced by short, quick levels and an addictiveness that only comes from a desire to not let the game get the best of you. " Multiplayer.it wrote " Hoplite is the perfect example of how you can create a roguelike in a bunch of days and get the job done. "


Pancho Villa Returns

Pancho Villa Returns is a 1950 film directed by Miguel Contreras Torres and starring Leo Carrillo as the famous Mexican revolutionary general, Pancho Villa.
Made simultaneously with "Vuelve Pancho Villa", this film used the same script but the other film had Pedro Armendariz playing Villa instead of Carrillo.


Charlotte Salomon (opera)

Charlotte Salomon is an opera by Marc-André Dalbavie. The libretto is by Barbara Honigmann (portions translated into French by Johannes Honigmann) who based much of it on Charlotte Salomon's autobiographical and posthumous work "Leben? Oder Theater?" The opera was first performed at the Salzburg Festival on July 28, 2014.
Composition.
The nature of "Leben? Oder Theater?" is of an artist fashioning her own life into an artistic creation. Dalbavie said that the "intrinsically musical and even cinematic qualities of 'Leben? Oder Theater?'" combined with an attraction to real-life drama inspired him to compose an opera based on Charlotte Salomon. Since Salomon was aiming for a form of communication that combined various arts, Dalbalvie felt that her story needed music. He was quoted as saying "She recreated her life through a work of art." Just as Dalbavie's opera "Gesualdo" (based on the life of Carlo Gesualdo) incorporates portions of his subject's compositions, so too does Dalbavie incorporate existing music into his opera, such as the "Habañera" from Bizet's "Carmen" and "Wir winden dir den Jungfernkranz" from Weber's "Der Freischütz".
The opera includes a character representing the author Charlotte Salomon (speaking role), and also her fictive creation, named Charlotte Kann (mezzo-soprano). While the opera (including the role of Charlotte Kann) is sung in French, the character named Charlotte Salomon comments on the action in German. By the end of the opera, the languages are reversed, representing the integration of the artist her subject.
Dalbavie's orchestrations derives from his analysis of the human voice's acoustic frequencies, a technique used in spectral music as well as alluding to a singing teacher's character in the opera. Dalbavie described the scoring of the opera—for 65 orchestral musicians (the size of the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra)—as one designed not as much for dramatic impact as for "maximum tonal richness."
Premiere.
"Charlotte Salomon" is in two acts and an epilogue. It was first performed at the Salzburg Festival on July 28, 2014, where it was directed by Luc Bondy. The production involved twenty projections of Salomon's artwork.


Pieter Bout

Pieter Bout (between 1640 and 1658 – between 1689 and 1719) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and etcher. He is known mainly for his landscapes, city, coast and country views and architectural scenes painted in a style reminiscent of earlier Flemish masters such as Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Life.
Even while Pieter Bout was well known in his time as demonstrated by his frequent collaborations with prominent Flemish painters and his substantial output, the details of his life are not very well established. He was probably born in Brussels somewhere between 1640 and 1658. It is not known with whom he studied. He became a master in the Brussels Guild of Saint Luke in 1671 but his earliest work is dated 1664 and therefore predates his enrolment in the Guild. He got married on 30 November 1667 in Brussels.
Although primary sources do not confirm this, it is believed that from c. 1675 to 1677 Bout worked in Paris where he frequently collaborated with Adriaen Frans Boudewyns, a Flemish painter residing in Paris at the time. Bout returned to Brussels in 1677, where he married a second time on 9 August 1695. He remained active in Brussels for the rest of his career although he probably visited the Dutch Republic and Italy.
The date of his death is uncertain with some placing it as early as 1689 and others as late as 1719 (based on the date of a painting the dating of which has given rise to some doubt).
Work.
Pieter Bout was a very prolific artist who worked in many genres. Most of his works include a landscape element and many are views of cities, villages, ports, beaches or rivers. His views are in the tradition of Jan Brueghel the Elder. They also show similarity to the work of David Teniers the Younger and the landscapes of Brussels landscape painters such as Adriaen Frans Boudewyns, Lucas Achtschellinck and Jacques d'Arthois, for whom he also often painted the staffage. He further painted Italianate landscapes in the manner of Nicolaes Berchem. Some of his work is also similar to that of Pieter Casteels II, a Flemish painter known for his Italianizing landscapes and city views. His paintings often include lively scenes such as village festivals and people having fun on the ice.
Pieter Bout collaborated on a beach view with Lucas Smout who painted the staffage. This work referred to as ' (Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper) possibly represents a view of the beach and port of Scheveningen as in its composition and figures it closely resembles Pieter Bout's ' (Van Ham Auctions, 11 May 2012, Lot 518).
The Rijksmuseum attributes to Bout a religious painting entitled "".
His paintings are lively and the brushwork is precise. His palette is clear and soft and announces the 18th century.
Bout's drawings and etchings are similar to his paintings in style and subject matter.


Danger Along the Ohio

Danger Along the Ohio is a novel of historical fiction written by Patricia Willis and first published in 1997, it was the paperback edition. A hardcover edition was published in 1999. There was also a limited edition library binding edition that came out on October 1999.
Synopsis.
Traveling down the Ohio River in May 1793, thirteen-year-old Amos and his younger siblings Clara and Jonathan and their cow Queen Anne are separated from their father during a raid by the Shawnee Indians. The three children and their cow are swept down the river, and decide that they must make their way back through the wilderness in the direction of the Marietta, Ohio settlement, hoping to find their father there. They find an Indian in the Ohio River. They call him Red Moccasin. Red Moccasin mistrusts them and his condition slows them down, but Amos refuses to leave him behind to die. The children and their cow continue their dangerous journey towards the Marietta Settlement on their own, but they get captured by Red Moccasin's grandfather. Amos is thinking about the Indian Chef Blue Jacket about how he got captured by Indians to stay if they left his siblings go. They finally get to Marietta, and they find their father there. [see notes]
Major characters in "Danger Along the Ohio".
Amos.
The oldest boy of the family. His brother and sister are Clara and Jonathan.
Clara.
The only girl of the family. Her brothers are Amos and Jonathan.
Jonathan.
The youngest boy of the family. His brothers and sisters are Amos and Clara.
Minor characters.
Father.
Father of Amos, Clara, and Jonathan. His name is unknown.
Mother.
Amos's, Clara's, and Jonathan's mother. She died giving birth to Jonathan.
Red Moccasin.
He is the Indian that Amos, Clara, and Jonathan found. He is a Shawnee, and his grandfather name is unknown. His Indian name is also unknown. Also he would be dead if not for Amos.
Red Moccasin's Grandfather.
He is Red Moccasin's Grandfather. His name is unknown. He died in a battle.
Queen Anne.
Amos, Clara, and Jonathan's cow. Also if not for the cow the kids would have died many times from hunger.
Simon.
Amos old friend. Amos accidentally killed him with a gun when they were playing a game. It was when Amos [supposed to be not loaded] pulled that trigger and said "Bang,your dead!" The gun was loaded and it hit him in the stomach. It killed him a couple days later.
Major themes.
One of "Danger Along the Ohio" major themes is about how the struggle for land against the newly founded United States of America vs. the Native Americans. Also, one of its major themes is how the Europeans wanted to own land and how the Native Americans wanted people to share their land.
Reception.
Industry reviews.
Kirkus Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews said that
...Willis has created a rousing adventure; it will have readers turning the pages and rooting for the spunky Dunn kids all the way.
School Library Journal.
School Library Journal said that
...The author's sturdy plot advances distinctly and chronologically, resulting in pure suspense. She keeps her vocabulary action-oriented and her dialogue straightforward. The young Shawnee's presence raises intriguing philosophical questions regarding the nature of communication and the components of true friendship. After all of this, who could complain about a contrived happy ending?
Booklist.
Booklist said that
...In this fast-paced adventure, Willis successfully re-creates the anti-Indian prejudice of 1795 when white easterners fought to settle Ohio.
Awards.
"Danger Along the Ohio" has won the following awards...
Spur Award for Best Juvenile Fiction.
"Danger Along the Ohio" won the Spur Award for Best Juvenile Fiction in 1998.
Society of School Librarians International Book Awards.
"Danger Along the Ohio" won the 1997 Society of School Librarians International Book Awards for Novel. (Grades K-6)
Young Hoosier Book Award [Nominee].
"Danger Along the Ohio" was a nominee for Young Hoosier Book Award


Musya

 is a 1992 platform game developed by Jorudan for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was released by Datam Polystar in Japan on April 21, 1992, followed by English localized version produced by SETA USA and released in North America in December 1992. The title, which translates to "Warrior", is romanized in the Kunrei-shiki style ("Musya") instead of the Hepburn romanization style ("Musha"), likely to avoid confusion with the unrelated Sega Genesis game "MUSHA".
Gameplay.
Imoto, bearing 16 units of health (Qi (気 "Ki", meaning "life energy")), dies when the health is depleted. He carries up to three lives (命 "Inochi"). The game starts with three lives; once the life count is zero and Imoto dies, the game ends. When Imoto defeats a boss, the words "monster defeated" (怨霊調伏 "Onryō Chōfuku", "Vengeful Ghost Submitted") appear and the player gains a scroll containing a new spell.
Plot.
"Musya" follows a pikeman (described as a spearman in the Japanese version) named Imoto (Jinrai (神雷) in the Japanese version), who must descend to the abyss to save Shizuka, a maiden. After Imoto survives a battle in which all other combatants perish, he travels to Tengumura Village, where he collapses. The mayor, Akagi (who is not named in the Japanese version), greets Imoto and tells him that Shizuka (しずか) needs to be rescued. Imoto heads into Tengumura Cavern (known in the Japanese version as Kihōshōnyūdō (鬼宝鍾乳洞)).
Regional differences.
The game received several edits for the North American edition. For instance, the large testes of the tanuki character were removed for the North American edition. In addition, the manji (卍) shown to reveal the amount of spell scrolls held was edited away.
The Japanese version of the game is one of the few games that uses Japanese numerals. The English version uses Arabic numerals.
Japanese dialogue is replaced with English-language dialogue. In addition, "Musya" uses Japanese kanji characters in various parts of the game to represent modes and levels. For instance, in the Japanese version of the game, the English-language word "Pause" is not used; instead the word "Ippuku" (一服, meaning "break" or "to take a break") appears from both ends of the screen. In the English-language version, the word "Pause" forms under the word "Ippuku," with the "Pa" under the "一" and the "Use" under the "服."
The tagline for the Japanese version is "Japanesque Horror Action" (ジャパネスク・ホラー・アクション), which was changed to "The Classic Tale of Japanese Horror" for the U.S. version.


Nobody Likes Babies

Nobody Likes Babies is the thirteenth episode of the second season of "Scandal". It premiered on February 7, 2013 in the U.S. The episode marks the end of the original 13 episode order producer Shonda Rhimes received from ABC which Rhimes wrote as a self-contained arc.
Plot.
Hollis enters the elevator where Charlie is waiting to assassinate him. Huck enters shortly after and saves Hollis though he warns that unless Hollis keeps his mouth shut about Defiance Huck will let Charlie earn his pay check.
In the previous episode, Pope & Associates the team traced the money from Becky’s account and discovered the payment she got for the assassination attempt of President Grant didn't come from Hollis. Olivia goes to the White House to speak to Cyrus about keeping Hollis alive and keeping the truth about the rigged election from the president. While she is speaking with Cyrus, Fitz enters the room and tells her that despite the birth of his new son he is going forward with his divorce. He asks her not to marry Edison and wait for him, instead. Olivia tells him she will think about it.
Olivia then visits Supreme Court Justice Verna Thornton once she realizes that is must have been her who ordered the assassination attempt on President Grant. Verna confesses, then calls David Rosen as soon as Olivia leaves. However, Rosen is prevented from visiting because the president is on his way to visit her, himself. She dies during his visit.
The gladiators listen to tapes made from the surveillance Huck had in David’s apartment hoping to find some information they can use to stop him from discovering information on Defiance. While listening to the tapes they discover that he has the faulty Cytron Card used to rig the election. Abby, who has been listening to the tapes as well, realizes that David loved her and confronts Olivia about her plot to break the two of them up. She goes to David’s apartment and they reunite.
Meanwhile, David subpoenas James to testify before a grand jury. James confronts Cyrus, wanting to know whether he rigged the election or not. After Cyrus confesses, James tells him he has no choice but to testify. In a desperate bid to protect himself and Olivia, Cyrus hires Charlie to assassinate his husband only to change his mind at the last minute. Olivia and Cyrus believe they are going to jail, but James lies on the stand and Abby returns to the offices having broken into David’s safe and retrieved the card, leaving David with no evidence with which to prosecute. He confronts her at the office and ends their relationship.
Before Verna’s funeral Olivia returns Edison’s grandmother’s ring to him. Then at the funeral, she tells President Grant that she will wait for him—but he tells her he’s changed his mind. As he gives the eulogy, a flashback reveals that before she died Verna revealed that Cyrus, Mellie and Olivia rigged the election for him and that she tried to assassinate him in order to set things right without admitting her guilt to anyone and tarnishing her legacy. She tells him that she's changed her mind about preserving her reputation now, and plans to reveal all to David. President Grant stops her by removing her oxygen mask and pinning her down, causing her death.
As a distraught Olivia cries after Verna’s funeral service, the President and the First Lady reunite. He vows that from now on she will be the only one he trusts.
Production.
Scandal was officially renewed on May 11, 2012 for a 13 episode order. While waiting to hear if ABC would pick up the show for a full 22 episode season, producer Shonda Rhimes stated that no matter what the first 13 episodes would be a self-contained arc asserting that "we're doing 13 episodes and if we get more than that, we'll be telling two different season-long arcs.”
As part of the promotion for the episode Rhimes also released an official white house press release announcing the birth of Theodore “Teddy” Wallace Grant.
Speaking about his character’s last minute reversal on his relationship with Olivia Pope, Tony Goldwyn admitted that filming the scenes were upsetting revealing: "I was completely shocked... I couldn’t process that. I had, like, a literal and physical reaction."
Reception.
Critical response.
Time listed Nobody Likes Babies as one of their Top 10 TV Episodes of 2013 hailing the episode for "closing out a season 2 opening arc in which the show found its seamy, lusty reason for being."
Awards.
Actor Dan Bucatinsky won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his work on the episode.


Fathers and Crows

Fathers and Crows is a 1992 historical novel by the American author William T. Vollmann. It is the second book in a seven-book series called "."
"Fathers and Crows" explores the encounters and conflicts between French Jesuit missionaries in New France (Canada) and the native Huron and Iroquois peoples in Canada and present-day New York state. The Natives called the Jesuits "Black Robes", for their clerical costume.
Vollman features historical figures as major characters, including Jean de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, Samuel de Champlain, Marc Lescarbot, Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just, Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, and Kateri Tekakwitha, a Catholic Mohawk religious woman who was canonized in October 2012, the first Native American/First Nations person to be so honored.


Keeper of the Doves

Keeper of the Doves is a 2002 American children's novel by Betsy Byars. Set in turn-of-the-century Kentucky, the novel is written in a series of episodes of first-person narratives about the emerging awareness of a girl, her place in her family and world, and the tremendous power of words for good and bad. Reflecting the narrator's love of words is the fact that each chapter begins with a succeeding letter of the alphabet.
Plot.
Amen McBee is born in 1891, the disappointing sixth daughter of a wealthy family; but grows up well-loved and into an awareness of everyone's strengths and weaknesses. Her twin sisters Arabella and Annabella teach her boldness and humour; older sisters Augusta and Abigail inspire more kindness. Her father is stern but loving, her mother loving but frail, and she also lives with her father's cold spinster sister. Amen's maternal grandmother, a progressive spirit bearing gifts of cameras, arrives during her daughter's new pregnancy, which culminates with long-awaited arrival of a son. Amen is also learning of the more secret parts of the family history, especially the death of an infant sister, and the mysterious Mr. Tominski, who might have saved her father's life as a child, but now inspires only fear in the children. He lives as a hermit on their property, caring for trained doves, until a misunderstood word brings tragedy and changes the lives of Amen's family. Amen starts to write poems.
Reception.
Publishers Weekly called the novel "jewel-like" and Kirkus Reviews said it has "prose that ripples with clarity and sweetness and an underlying evolution of spirit."


The Story of Woo Viet

The Story of Woo Viet is a 1981 Hong Kong political drama directed by Ann Hui and starring Chow Yun-fat as the title character, Woo Viet. The assistant director was Stanley Kwan and the action choreographer was Ching Siu-tung.
The film was one of the first political dramas made in Hong Kong. It used the story of Vietnamese refugees (boat people) to reflect on Hong Kong's handling of the refugee issue, and also on Hong Kong's sentiment regarding their uncertain future of sovereignty at the time. It is also the second part of Ann Hui's Vietnamese trilogy.
The movie features a famous Cantonese song, "This is Love", sung by Teddy Robin, the producer of this movie.
In the United States, the film is marketed under the title God of Killers, capitalizing on Chow's popularity in heroic bloodshed films.
Woo Viet, as he is Vietnamese, should actually have the surname of Hồ (as in the "Ho" in Ho Chi Minh) rather than the Cantonese translation of the Hu / Woo / Ho surname.
Plot.
The story features Woo Viet, who wants to leave his country, Vietnam, behind and start over in the United States. But he first must make his way to Hong Kong. In a refugee detention camp there, he discovers many of his countrymen are disappearing under mysterious circumstances. As Woo tries to find out what is happening, he realizes his life is in danger, and has to leave for the United States immediately using a false passport instead of seeking asylum. In the process, he meets a beautiful woman, Cham Thanh, who then travels with him. When Woo and his new love stop over in the Philippines, they discover that the females are conned to stay there to become prostitutes. Instead of taking the plane to the United States, Woo Viet decides to stay in the Philippines to save his love. However, as he is stranded in Manila's Chinatown, Woo Viet is forced to work as a hired killer.


Ferdinand Pauwels

Wilhelm Ferdinand Pauwels ([ˈpʌu̯əls]; 13 April 1830, Ekeren – 26 March 1904, Dresden) was a Belgian history painter who lived and worked in Germany.
Life.
From 1842 to 1850, he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp), under Gustave Wappers and Nicaise De Keyser, where he became an outstanding colorist. In 1852 he won the Prix de Rome (Belgium) for his painting "Coriolanus at Rome" and was able to spend four years studying in Italy.
From 1862 to 1872, he was the Professor of History Painting at the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School. Leon Pohle, Max Liebermann and Carl Rodeck were among his students there. This period was especially productive for him and he completed seven large wall panels at the Wartburg, depicting the life of Martin Luther.
After a short stay in Belgium, he returned to Germany, where he became a Professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. His students there included Ludwig von Hofmann, Osmar Schindler, Paul Thumann and Oskar Zwintscher. During this period he also executed six large historical wall panels at the Fürstenschule in Meissen.
From 1870 to 1881, he produced what was considered his greatest work: twelve frescoes in the upper part of the Ypres Cloth Hall, which had been left incomplete by Charles de Groux. They depicted scenes of Ypres' history from 1187 to 1383. Unfortunately, these works (and most of the Cloth Hall) were destroyed during World War I. In 2000, the city of Ypres acquired six paintings by Pauwels for their Municipal Art Museum at a cost of 3,250,000 Belgian Francs (approximately 80,565 Euros)
In 1930, Ekeren named a street in his honor and installed a memorial stone.


Nostromo (TV series)

Nostromo is a 1997 British-Italian television drama series directed by Alastair Reid and produced by Fernando Ghia of Pixit Productions, a co-production with Radiotelevisione Italiana, Televisión Española, and WGBH Boston. The music is composed by Ennio Morricone. It stars Claudio Amendola, Paul Brooke, Lothaire Bluteau, Claudia Cardinale, Colin Firth and Albert Finney. It is described as "an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's epic story "Nostromo" of political upheaval, greed and romance in turn-of-the-20th-century South America."
Release and reception.
The series was filmed in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia over twenty weeks in 1995. It had a budget of about 20 million dollars. It premiered on 25 June 1996 at the 48th Prix Italia Festival. "Nostromo" was later broadcast on the American channel PBS's "Masterpiece Theatre" and Italian channel Raiuno on 5 January 1997, and was shown on BBC 2 in the UK from 1 February 1997.
The series was nominated for an ALMA Award for Outstanding Latino/a Cast in a Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series and Claudio Amendola won the Golden Pegasus Award for Best Television Actor at the Italian Flaiano International Prizes.


Mykola Ivasyuk

Mykola Ivanovych Ivasyuk (Ukrainian: Мико́ла Іва́нович Івасю́к: 28 July 1865, Zastavna — 25 November 1937, Kyiv) was a Ukrainian painter; executed during the Great Purge. He specialized in history painting, but is also known for his postage stamp designs.
Biography.
His father was a carpenter. At the time of his birth, Zastavna was part of Austria-Hungary, so his primary education was conducted in German and Romanian. For his secondary studies, he went to Chernivtsi. One of his instructors there was the Ukrainian artist Yustyn Pigulyak, who discovered and encouraged his talent for art by giving him free lessons. Before long, he had decided to become a history painter. In 1884, he was able to gain admission to the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.
While there, he participated in student excursions to the Ternopil region, where he became acquainted with the nobleman, and painted portraits of his family. After graduating, he was recommended to the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, to complete his education. While there, he met the Russian artist, Ilya Repin, who advised him to establish himself in Kyiv.
Hel held his first exhibition in Chernivtsi, where he displayed genre works as well as historical scenes. In 1899, he established a school there for "talented but poor youth", which he operated until 1908, when he took Repin's advice about Kyiv. Just prior to World War I, however, the government of Bukovina offered him the sum of 1000 Crowns to establish another art school in Chernivtsi, so he returned. He also opened a workshop for icon painting. It was there that he executed his most famous work; "The Entrance of Bogdan Khmelnytsky to Kyiv in 1649", a reproduction of which was once a common sight in Ukrainian homes. As a supporter of Ukrainian independence, he created many similar paintings, but most of them were lost years later when he once again went to Kyiv.
In 1919, the Directorate of Ukraine commissioned him to design postage stamps for the Ukrainian People's Republic. He produced fourteen designs altogether and they were printed in 1921 but, shortly after, the Soviets took control of Ukraine and they were never used.
In 1926 Vlas Chubar, Chairman of the People's Commissariat of Ukraine, invited him and his student, , to become professors at the Kyiv Art Institute. Lipetskiy was wary of the Soviets and refused the offer; advising Ivasyuk to do the same. He accepted, however, and moved his family there the same year. They were immediately granted Soviet citizenship.
At first, he was honored and praised but soon, following instructions from Moscow, he began to be criticized; initially for small things, then for more serious matters. Eventually, he was transferred to Odessa, where he came under harsh criticism for "bourgeois deviations". Finally, it was forbidden to mention his name. In September, 1937, the NKVD conducted a search of his apartment and found nothing incriminating. He was arrested, nevertheless, and taken to Lukyanivska Prison.
The following month, he was formally accused of being a terrorist and an agent of German intelligence. He refused to confess. In November, he was convicted and, eleven days later, executed by firing squad. All of his personal property was confiscated and destroyed. His remains were returned to Bukovina. He was rehabilitated in 1980.


Canadian Communications Foundation

The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) is a Canadian nonprofit organization which documents the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television. Since 1995, the organization has distributed its collection via an internet website. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others.
The CCF was established in 1967, by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. Its mission: to "commemorate throughout Canada the development of electronic communications". In the ensuing years, the project moved forward slowly, perhaps because broadcasters were too preoccupied with the challenges of the present and the future to their industry to be able to properly reflect on or to chronicle the past. But, all the while, a search was carried on to find the ideal vehicle with which to fulfill the mission. It was not until the potential of the Internet was revealed and realized that the ideal vehicle was found and two veteran Canadian broadcasters became involved in CCF.
On December 31, 2014, Pip Wedge resigned from the presidency of the foundation, and on January 1, 2015, Dr. Evelyn Ellerman became president, Jack Ruttle was elected as vice-president, and Pip Wedge was appointed as executive director of the foundation.
The following past and present broadcasting industry executives and university faculty members have served on the board of the foundation in a voluntary capacity at various times since 1996: Ross McCreath, Lyman Potts, Pip Wedge, Jon Keeble, Mrs. Peggy Miller, Professor Michael Murphy, Peter O'Neill, Terry Scott, Fil Fraser, Bruce Raymond, Jim Macdonald, Hal Blackadar, Peter Searle, Nevin Grant, Charles Fenton, Bob Macdonald, Yvon Chouinard, Don Smith, J. Terry Strain, Mrs. Jean Caine, Gerry Acton, James Nelles, H.T. "Mac" McCurdy, Bruce Hogle, Craig Roskin, Dr. Evelyn Ellerman, Ted Barris, Jack Ruttle, Dr. Asma Sayed and Darren Harkness.


Sir Percy Hits Back

Sir Percy Hits Back is (chronologically) the ninth book in the Scarlet Pimpernel series by Baroness Orczy. It was first published in 1927.
A French-language version, translated and adapted by Charlotte and Marie-Louise Desroyses, was also published under the title "La Vengeance du Mouron Rouge".
Plot.
For young and pretty Fleurette the revolution seems far away until an aristocratic neighbouring family is threatened. The dangers become all too real, and she is accused of being a traitor. Can her father save her? Fleurette's father is Armand Chauvelin. The villainous agent is forced to ask his arch-enemy, the heroic Scarlet Pimpernel, for help.


Subedar Joginder Singh (film)

Subedar Joginder Singh is a 2018 Indian Punjabi-language biographical war film based on the life of Joginder Singh, an Indian soldier who was killed in the 1962 Sino-Indian War and posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra. It is produced by Saga Music and is set to release by 6 April 2018. The film stars Gippy Grewal and Aditi Sharma and is directed by Simerjit Singh who belongs to the same region of Moga where Joginder Singh was born. This movie was a high budget film. The film is authentic to that in the era of 1962.
The movie was shot in Suratgarh or Rajasthan which is nearly 100 km from the Indo-Pakistan border, to give a look of the pre-independence village of Punjab. The additional shooting of the movie took place in October 2017 at the Dras sector in Jammu and Kashmir to give real life experience of the Tawang valley during the 1962 war.
Plot.
This movie is based upon the life, struggle and valor of a subedar in Indian Army who achieved his martyrdom while fighting the Chinese in the Sino-Indian War in 1962. This movie is believed to depict the subedar's professional and personal life and how he handled it while serving his nation.
Shooting locations.
Suratgarh is a small town in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan and is in the close proximity of Radcliffe Line demarcated between India and Pakistan. Suratgarh is also famous for its Air Force Base Station which provides a strategic advantage to India over neighboring Pakistan. It was chosen for the shooting the first schedule of the film because of its resemblance with the village of Punjab in undivided India back in 1921 where Joginder Singh lived his childhood and adolescence till he joined the British Indian Army.
Dras, a beauteous town on National Highway 1D or popularly known as Srinagar-Leh Highway came into prominence owing to Pakistani incursions in the Kargil sector in the summer of 1999, but it is also the second coldest inhabited place in the world. The second schedule is going on in the treacherous terrain of Dras and will be wrapped up by the end of October 2017.


Pinocchio (video game)

Disney's Pinocchio is a platform puzzle adventure game from Virgin Interactive. It was released in 1996 for the Game Boy, Super NES, and Sega Genesis and is based on Walt Disney's animated feature film "Pinocchio", originally released in 1940. A Sega 32X version of the game was under development, but was canceled due to the add-on's decline.
Storyline.
The game uses intertitles between levels to convey the story, in the form of a children's storybook. Pinocchio travels from home and must choose to go to School or Easy Street (though the choice does not affect the level order). He then travels from Stromboli's marionette show to Pleasure Island and then into the sea, where he saves Geppetto from inside Monstro and they escape.
Reception.
Coach Kyle of "GamePro" gave the Genesis version a negative review, commenting that both the gameplay design and controls are shallow and rudimentary, the character animations are stiff, and the graphics lack detail. He concluded, "What a shame that such a long-awaited game, with such a famous story as a foundation, should turn out to be so disappointing." "GamePro" also negatively reviewed the Game Boy version, saying it simply translates the simplistic and easy levels from the Genesis version into portable form.


How William Shatner Changed the World

How William Shatner Changed the World (or How Techies Changed the World with William Shatner in Europe, Asia, and Australia) is a 2005 two-hour television documentary, commissioned by Discovery Channel Canada and co-produced for History Channel in the United States and Channel Five in the United Kingdom. Hosted and narrated by William Shatner, known for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk, and based on his 2002 book, "I'm Working on That", the show focuses on technological advancements and people in the real world that were inspired by the "Star Trek" phenomenon.
Summary.
First hour.
The first hour focuses on the original "Star Trek" series and the ideas that Gene Roddenberry had about the future of space travel.
It begins with the life of Dr. Marc D. Rayman, the chief propulsion engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and shows how Dr. Rayman became interested in propulsion through "Star Trek". It also discusses how NASA's newest deep space probe's ion propulsion was inspired by the 1968 "Star Trek" episode "Spock's Brain". Shatner also states that "those pesky trekkies are everywhere in the space program," hence the name for the first Space Shuttle: "Enterprise".
The show then examines the life of Martin Cooper, the chief engineer at Motorola, who invented the cell phone. Cooper states that "Star Trek" was his inspiration for the cell phone, and discusses the similarities between the modern day cell phone and a "Star Trek" communicator. He also discusses how "Star Trek" introduced the concept of computer voice recognition dialing.
Next, Mae C. Jemison describes how "Star Trek" inspired her to become the first African-American in space, and Seth Shostak, of SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), tells how it led him to astronomy.
The show also explores how "Star Trek" popularized the notion of the user-friendly personal computer, and how "Trek" fan Ed Roberts, invented the first home computer, the Altair 8800, named after the solar system Altair (Altair 6) in the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "Amok Time". This led to Bill Gates writing the computer programming language BASIC for the Altair and forming Microsoft.
Medical technologies are discussed, in particular the inspiration for non-invasive "Star-Trek"-style imaging technology.
Warp drive and faster-than-light interstellar travel with theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre's theories are mentioned. Lawrence M. Krauss, physicist and author of the 1995 non-fiction book "The Physics of Star Trek", is also featured.
The show then investigates the research work of Kevin Warwick at the University of Reading and considers its links with the Borg. Warwick's cyborg implants, linking his own nervous system into the internet, are featured.
Second hour.
The second hour focuses on further programs in "Star Trek" franchise: ', ', ' and ' and their impact and how they differed from the original series.
Next up is Steve Perlman, at the time principal scientist at Apple Computer, who was inspired to invent the QuickTime media player by watching an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation".
Filmed mostly in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the special featured some scenes that took place in locations shown in "Star Trek" TV series.
Awards.
The special was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2006 - Outstanding Nonfiction Special, and Outstanding Writing For Nonfiction Programming.


Randy, Red, Superfreak and Julia

"Randy, Red, Superfreak and Julia" is the season premiere of the 4th season of "Scandal", and is the 48th overall episode. It premiered on September 25, 2014 in the U.S. on ABC.
The premiere was received with critical acclaim from critics, with many commenting on the improvement from the third season after naming the previous season "messy". On Rotten Tomatoes the premiere got a rating of 100% fresh based on 6 reviews. The episode scored a series high in total viewers with 11.96 millions and in Adults 18-49 with a 3.8/11.
The episode focuses on Olivia's return to Washington, D.C. after being away for two months, and how everything has changed. The episode saw the departure of Columbus Short's character Harrison Wright, who was killed by Tom Larsen at the orders of Rowan Pope. The premiere introduced new characters, played by actors such as Portia de Rossi who was cast in a multiple-episode "top secret arc" starting with the premiere. Kelen Coleman and Matthew Del Negro were also cast for the premiere.
Plot.
Two months after president Grant's reelection, Olivia (Kerry Washington) has relocated to an island off the coast of Zanzibar and is living in secrecy with Jake Ballard (Scott Foley) under the name Julia Baker. A mysterious letter arrives with a wine shipment containing only a news clipping on the murder of Harrison Wright (Columbus Short).
Olivia decides to go back to Washington, D.C. with Jake for a few days in order to plan Harrison's funeral. Upon her arrival, she learns that Olivia Pope & Associates is empty except for Quinn (Katie Lowes), who reveals herself as the sender of the letter. Quinn also informs her where the other gladiators have scattered since Olivia left. Huck (Guillermo Diaz), taking the name Randy, is working as a counter clerk at an electronics store and refuses to talk to Quinn or Olivia. Meanwhile, Abby (Darby Stanchfield) is working for the Grant administration as the White House Press Secretary. When Olivia meets Abby, she discovers that Abby blames her for Harrison's death. Olivia gets furious about the accusation, blaming Abby for abandoning the other gladiators for the White House.
As a result of his loss of his son, Jerry, Fitzgerald (Tony Goldwyn) tries to make a change in his presidency by firing most of his cabinet members and pushing a Paycheck Fairness Act, which makes the new head of Republican National Committee (RNC) Elizabeth North (Portia de Rossi) upset. She talks to Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry) about how the Republican Party is getting impatient with Fitz's policies and "across the aisle" antics, in addition to a nomination of a Democratic Attorney General. She also complain about raising money for campaigns, and how Mellie's (Bellamy Young) erratic behavior and depression since the death of her son has affected public perception.
Jake visits David Rosen (Joshua Malina) to try to find out how far along he has come in his investigation to take down the administration and B613. David tells him that he has labeled the boxes in a color-coded system, but he has stopped working on it. When Cyrus calls David into his office to inform him of the nomination of Attorney General, he has second thoughts of continuing the investigation. However, when he talks to Abby about the nomination, she tells him to take it in order for him to get power which could help him with taking down B613.
While Olivia and Jake are in her apartment the assistant to Senator Stephanie Vaughn (Jessica Tuck) arrives pleading for help for the senator who specifically requested Olivia. When Olivia arrives at the scene, Senator Vaughn informs her she was attacked by Senator Benjamin Sterling and in the process of trying to fight him off she accidentally pushed him over a railing from the second floor. Olivia, realizing that Senator Sterling isn't dead, calls an ambulance and contacts a lawyer to take the case.
Though she claims not to want to be involved in Senator Vaughn's case, Olivia suspects the Senator is lying about being sexually assaulted and demands to know the truth about what happened. With help from Quinn, Olivia realizes that it was the assistant Kate Warner (Kelen Coleman) who was actually assaulted by Senator Sterling. However she realizes that Senator Vaughn knew that Sterling was attracted to women who looked like Kate and was actually hoping that she would be assaulted so she could blackmail Sterling into supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act.
At Harrison's funeral, Huck, Quinn and Abby join Olivia and Jake to say their goodbyes. As Olivia and Jake hug, Jake spots Rowan (Joe Morton) in a car watching the funeral making him suspicious. At the balcony of the White House, Fitz reveals to Mellie that Olivia is back in town. Despite Fitz's insistence that he has no intention of being unfaithful to her ever again, Mellie asks him to inform her when if he does start the affair again that he will tell her.
David is nominated as Attorney General by Fitz, Olivia decides to represent Kate in the investigation of the incident with Senator Sterling, and both Huck and Quinn come back to Olivia Pope & Associates.
Production.
The episode was written by Shonda Rhimes and directed by executive producer Tom Verica. The episode featured the songs "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb, "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel and "Window". The episode saw the departure of series regular Harrison Wright, played by Columbus Short, as his character was killed off. It was reported that it was due to personal reasons that Short did not return for the fourth season. The episode deals with each of the character's grieving the loss of Harrison as well as Olivia Pope's return to Washington D.C. and how people have changed since her departure. The table read for the premiere was on July 24, 2014, and the episode title was revealed by showrunner Shonda Rhimes the same day. Filming for the premiere began on July 28, 2014.
For the premiere, several castings were announced. Portia de Rossi, was cast in a multiple-episode "top secret arc" starting with the premiere, in which she played the head of the RNC, Elizabeth North. On July 30, 2014, Kelen Coleman was reported to appear in the season four premiere, playing Kate Warner, the assistant of Senator Stephanie Vaughn. On August 22, 2014, Entertainment Weekly announced that Matthew Del Negro would play a recurring role.
On May 13, 2014, ABC announced their new schedule, as well as a new time slot for "Scandal". The show remained on Thursday night, but it was moved to 9:00 pm E.T. to make room for ShondaLand Production Company's new TV series, "How to Get Away with Murder". In August, 2014, ABC programmed its entire Thursday primetime lineup with ShondaLand dramas "Grey's Anatomy", "Scandal" and "How To Get Away With Murder", then branded the night as "Thank God It's Thursday" (or "TGIT"). This echoes ABC's former TGIF branding of its Friday night family sitcoms and even NBC's Must See TV promotion of formidable Thursday night television hits in the 1990s.
Reception.
Ratings.
"Randy, Red, Superfreak and Julia" was originally broadcast on Thursday, September 25, 2014 in the United States on ABC. The episode's total viewership of 11.96 million scored a series high in total viewers, and the key 18–34 demographic, the episode earned a 3.8 Nielsen rating, building over the year-ago premiere by 13% and 6%, respectively. The episode was part of the new Thursday lineup branded "Thank God It's Thursday" or "TGIT" on ABC, with lead-in program "Grey's Anatomy" and lead-out program "How to Get Away with Murder" which made the Thursday ABC's strongest in viewers and young adults in 5 years - since 9/24/09.
The 11.96 million people tuned into the episode marked a 13 percent viewership increase from the previous season premiere (10.52 million), in addition of the installment's 3.8 Nielsen rating in the target 18–49 demographic marked a 6 percent increase. The Nielsen score additionally registered the show as the week's second-highest rated drama behind the new show "How to Get Away with Murder" and fourth-highest rated scripted series in the 18–49 demographic, placing behind CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" (5.4) & (5.4) and Fox's "Family Guy" (4.5) and ABC's "How To Get Away with Murder" (3.8). Seven days of time-shifted viewing added on an additional 1.7 rating points in the 18–49 demographic and 4.02 million viewers, bringing the total viewership for the episode to 15.97 million viewers with a 5.5 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic.
In the United Kingdom, the episode was watched by 266,000 viewers over 7 days and 313,000 over 28 days, making it the second most-watched broadcast on Sky Living that week.
Critical reviews.
The episode got universal acclaim from critics, as many agreed upon the accomplishment the premiere did to rebound the series after the third season, which many critics called "messy" and "disjoined". Cory Barker from "TV.com" said "I wanted to see how Shonda Rhimes & Co. would try to rebound from what a messy, disjointed, and frantic third season. And boy, did "Randy, Red, Superfreak, and Julia" rebound".
Miranda Wicker from "TV Fanatic" called Olivia the glue that holds everything together and her delight of the less focus of Olivia and Fitz's relationship. She said: "The writers clearly want us all rooting for Fitz and Olivia, but this show is about so much more than a love triangle, or it can be. If we choose to let it be about more than that."
Joshua Alston from "The A.V. Club" mentioned how the storyline about B613 and Maya Pope plots had drained Scandal's resources, and that the premiere made a good job to focus on the core characters of the show. Concluding on his review, he said " "Randy" demonstrated that Scandal, as much as its central character, is wise enough to know when its taken its loyal following over a cliff, and when its time to pull it all back together.


Figaro Here, Figaro There

Figaro Here, Figaro There (Italian: Figaro qua, Figaro là) is a 1950 Italian historical comedy film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and starring Totò and Isa Barzizza. The title and the plot allude to "The Barber of Seville". It was made at Scalera Studios in Rome. Set design was by Alberto Boccianti.
Plot.
The film is set in the eighteenth century. The protagonist is Figaro, the Sevillian barber, who is likely to be arrested because he operates his shop on Sundays, which is forbidden. Figaro is a friend of a nobleman who fell in love with Rosina, his friend and daughter of the governor. But Rosina's father does not agree to their marriage. One day Rosina, through her maid Dove, tells the Count that one night she is staying at the inn "of four bulls". The Count and Figaro go with a friend to the inn before they get to Rosina and her court.
Their plan is to replace the host, pose as their owners of the inn and abduct Rosina. But unfortunately not all is according to plan. Pedro, a dangerous bandit, learns that Rosina and her court must stay at the inn that night and his men raid the inn: they capture Figaro, the Count and his friend. Finally Rosina comes and is disappointed when she sees that her beloved is not there. Figaro, however, has an idea: he writes a note to tell her that the man in the white hat is Pedro. Unfortunately at that time soldiers capture Figaro and Pedro, and stop believing that it is Pedro and the plan fails. Figaro is sentenced to death by firing squad, but in the end escapes helped by the Count. Eventually, after many vicissitudes, Count marries Rosina and Figaro goes to live with them.


Royal Highness (novel)

Royal Highness () is a 1909 novel by Thomas Mann. It is Mann's second novel and was written between the summer of 1906 and February 1909. "Royal Highness" is characterized by its fairytale-like qualities and was modeled after Mann's own romance and marriage to Katia Mann in February 1905. First published in 1909 in "Die neue Rundschau", the novel was met with great enthusiasm from the public. However, it was met with a more divided reception from critics.
Film adaptation.
In 1953, the novel was adapted into film by Hans Abich and Rolf Thiele under the same title, "Königliche Hoheit". Directed by Harald Braun, it was produced in the studios of Filmaufbau GmbH Göttingen in Agfacolor. The main characters were portrayed by Dieter Borsche, Ruth Leuwerik and Lil Dagover. Thomas Mann's daughter, Erika Mann, played a small role in the film.


Awit sa Paglikha ng Bagong Pilipinas

Awit sa Paglikha ng Bagong Pilipinas (), also known by its incipit Tindig! Aking Inang Bayan (), is a patriotic song written by Filipino composer Felipe Padilla de León. It was commissioned during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and intended to supplant "Lupang Hinirang" (then sung to its English translation as the "Philippine Hymn") as the national anthem. It was also sung by the members of the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon, however, the words bear sentiments against the Japanese occupiers and the desire for national liberation.
The song was also appropriated by the communist New People's Army with the title "Tindig Uring Anakpawis" ().
The Philippine Madrigal Singers recorded a rendition of the song for the album "Bayan Ko, Aawitan Kita" ("My Country, I Shall Sing For Thee"), an anthology of historic patriotic songs from the Spanish era up to the 20th century that was released for the Philippine Centennial in 1998.


Jan Hovaert

Jan Hovaert or Giovanni Hovart (c. 1615–1665) was a Flemish painter who after training in Antwerp spent his known active career in Italy. He was initially a collaborator in the studio of the de Wael brothers in Genoa and later developed an independent practice. While he appears to have enjoyed the patronage of the nobility of Genoa, the scope of his oeuvre is not very well understood. A few portraits and a history painting have been attributed to him.
Life.
Details about the life of the artist are scarce. The artist biographer Raffaello Soprani discusses Hovaert in his 1768 "Vite de' pittori, scultori, ed architetti genovesi", in which he refers to the artist as 'Giovanni Hovart'. His birthplace was likely Brussels but may also have been Antwerp. He is believed to be the person registered under the name Hans de Houwer as a pupil of the otherwise obscure painter Jan Blanckaert in the records of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in the guild year 1633–33.
He left Flanders soon after commencing his training in Antwerp. He is recorded in Genoa around 1635. Genoa was at the time an attractive destination for artists since the competition between artists there was less intense than in the leading Italian cultural centres Rome, Florence and Venice. Genoa was also a thriving port city where a large number of potential customers and collectors lived.
In Genoa Hovaert seems to have quickly been taken under the wing of Cornelis. Cornelis de Wael was a painter as well as a merchant who had moved to Genoa with his brother Lucas from their native Antwerp around 1619. The workshop of the brothers de Wael in Genoa was the centre of the colony of Flemish artists who resided in or passed through the city. These itinerant Flemish artists could take advantage of the work and artistic activity that their workshop attracted. The brothers provided a home, materials and tools, they assisted their compatriots with their local integration, passed on recommendations to clients and formulated competition rules. When Anthony van Dyck visited Genoa, he also stayed with the de Wael brothers. Several Flemish artists visiting Genoa became collaborators in the de Wael workshop. This was also the case of Jan Hovaert who is described as a pupil as well as a collaborator of Cornelis de Wael.
It seems that later on Hovaert was able to establish himself as an independent painter of historical and religious subjects as well as portraits. These works were highly appreciated by the Genoese nobility but only a few of these have been located. The contemporary fame of Hovaert is attested by his inclusion in his contemporary Luca Assarino's "Giuochi di Fortuna, o sia gli avvenimenti di Astiage e di Mandane", of 1669. Assarino includes Hovaert, whom he refers to as 'Giovanni Havvorth', among the leading painters in Genoa of that time such as Salvatore Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Giovanni Andrea de Ferrari and Giovanni Battista Carlone.
Hovaert married Giovanna Anna Teodora Smit, daughter of Lambert Smit, the Consul of the Flemish-German nation in Livorno in 1631. They had a number of children. One of their sons became a painter and studied in Rome.
He died in Genoa in 1665.
Work.
De Wael was a painter of religious subjects as well as of portraits. His currently known oeuvre is limited to two works.
Hovaert was active as a portrait painter. Among the 111 works recorded to be in his workshop upon his death were many portraits of prominent personalities in Genoa. Luca Assarino mentions that Hovaert's reputation relied on his portraits of female and male sitters and that he painted a portrait of Luca Giustiniani, the Doge of the Republic of Genoa between 1644 and 1646. Two portraits representing Luca Giustiniani, (private collection) and the (Musée de Bastia) were formerly attributed to his master Cornelis de Wael but are now given to Hovaert.
A painting representing (Church of Saint Magdalene, Genoa) is the sole surviving religious work of the artist. The altarpiece was most likely commissioned to celebrate the second dedicatee of the church of the Magdalene, Saint Jerome. Saint Jerome was dear to the Somaschi Fathers who owned the church since 5 October 1576 as their founder Gerolamo Emiliani was named after the saint. The Somaschi Fathers initiated a total renovation of the church interior in 1635. It is therefore plausible to take the year 1635 as the earliest date for the execution of Hovaert's altarpiece. The canvas has a pyramidal composition. Saint Jerome is sitting at the center of the group of three saints Paula, Blaesilla and Eustochium. He is shown reading out from a big book that is on his lap. He is reading the genesis of the Vulgate, an educational theme that was dear to the Somaschi Fathers. Hovaert has depicted Saint Jerome as the austere wise model portrayed by Antonello da Messina rather than the disheveled and gaunt figure devoured by penitence preferred by 16th and 17th century painters. The work shows the stylistic characteristics of the artist: the use of rapid touches and a free brush in the physiognomies and palette of the painting. The face of Gerolamo is marked by study and age, and weighed down by dark and voluminous circles. His eyes are vivid and very mobile and their liquidity and brightness is highlighted through carefully placed highlights and dots of color. The hands follow less the diaphanous and elongated form of the Vandyckian model. The fingers have an earthy and fleshy consistency. The style and palette are close to the works of Cornelis De Wael.
Hovaert may also have been active as the copyist who created many of the copies after van Dyck that are found in Genoa.


David Allan (painter)

David Allan (13 February 1744 – 6 August 1796) was a Scottish painter, limner and illustrator, best known for historical subjects and genre works.
Life.
He was born in Alloa in central Scotland. On leaving Foulis's Academy of painting at Glasgow (1762), after seven years' successful study, he obtained the patronage of Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart and of Erskine of Mar, on whose estate he had been born. In 1764 Erskine made it possible for Allan to travel to Rome. He remained in Italy until 1777, studying under Gavin Hamilton and copying the old masters.
In 1771 Allan sent two history paintings, "Pompey the Great after his Defeat" and "Cleopatra Weeping Over the Ashes of Mark Antony" (both now lost) to the exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In 1773, still in Rome, his "Hector’s Farewell from Andromache" won the Accademia di San Luca's gold medal.
Among the original works which he then painted was the "Origin of Portraiture", now in the National Gallery of Scotland — representing a Corinthian maid drawing her lover's shadow — well known through Domenico Cunego's excellent engraving. This won him the gold medal given by the Accademia di San Luca in 1773 for the best specimen of historical composition. While in Italy he also visited the kingdom of Naples, where he was well received by the British ambassador Sir William Hamilton, who was brother-in-law to Allan's patron Lord Cathcart. Allan made many lively drawings of street life in Rome and Naples.
Returning from Rome in 1777, he lived for a time in London, and occupied himself with portrait-painting. In 1780 he removed to Edinburgh, where, on the death of Alexander Runciman in 1786, he was appointed director and master of the Academy of Arts. He set up at Writers Court next to the City Chambers. There he painted and etched in aquatint a variety of works, including those by which he is best known, such as "Scotch Wedding", "Highland Dance", "Repentance Stool" and his "Illustrations of the Gentle Shepherd" (based on Allan Ramsay's poem "The Gentle Shepherd"). He was sometimes called the "Scottish Hogarth", although he lacked Hogarth's satirical qualities. Among his students was Alexander Carse whose early works show Allan's influence. He also produced illustrations for a version of James Macpherson's Ossian poems.
In his final years Allan lived at the head of Dicksons Close on the Royal Mile, east of the Tron Kirk. He died in Edinburgh. His grave is located in the Old Calton Burial Ground. The headstone, which features a portrait relief, was paid for and erected by the Royal Scottish Academy.


Beautiful Assassin

Beautiful Assassin is a historical fiction novel by Michael C. White. The book focuses on Lieutenant Tat'yana Levchenko, whose husband goes missing and daughter is killed, inspiring her to become a soldier. After becoming a Soviet hero for killing over 300 Germans, she is wounded in battle and while recovering is asked to come to the United States at the request of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to promote the war effort.
Plot.
The novel centers on Lieutenant Tat'yana Levchenko, who decides to join the Soviet Army as a sniper after her husband, Nikolai Grigorovich (who is known as Koyla by "those few friends he had") goes missing in action and her daughter, Masha, is killed by Germans in their hometown of Kiev, Ukraine. After Masha's death, Tat'yana desires to become a soldier and boards a train filled with recruits. As she and the recruits change into military gear and uniforms on the train, while some make lewd comments at her, Tat'yana is one of the first to acknowledge that she can fire a gun when asked by a political officer. After killing a cow in a farmer's field, the officer smiles and tells her to "Do the same with the Germans." (page 248) During the Siege of Sevastopol, Tat'yana becomes a Soviet hero when she kills a confirmed 300 Germans, including one called the "King of Death." After being wounded in action (which requires a hysterectomy), Tat'yana is evacuated from the front and while recovering from her injuries is presented with the Gold Star medal, is honored a Hero of the Soviet Union, and receives many letters thank her for her service and bravery.
Tat'yana's fame grows to the point that Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, hears of her actions and invites her to America. While in America, Tat'yana becomes friends with Mrs. Roosevelt, along with her interpreter Captain Jack Taylor (real name Charles Pierce), and becomes an unwilling pawn in the efforts of her handler Vasilyev, who wants Tat'yana to get close to the first lady in the hopes of uncovering President Franklin D. Roosevelt's war intentions. Forced to question the motives of her handler and even her translator and must make the decision of whether to remain in the United States or return to the Soviet Union, then she mysteriously disappears.
In the book's epilogue, many decades after her disappearance, an elderly Tat'yana is tracked down by a journalist who revealed her story of her wanting to marry Captain Taylor (who died in a plane crash before the end of the war), learning from him about a Soviet spy network in the United States, a letter from Mrs. Roosevelt after President Roosevelt's death, a photo of Tat'yana and her family, and the log she recorded her kills in. The novel ends with the journalist, whose name is Elizabeth, revealing that she and her husband adopted a Russian girl named Raisa, who Tat'yana remembered rescuing from the Germans in the sewers of Sevastopol during her time as a sniper, but had no knowledge of what happened to her after the war.
Characters.
Lieutenant Tat'yana Levchenko: Russian sniper who becomes famous for killing a confirmed 300 Germans (often exaggerated for publicity) at the Battle of Sevastopol
Nikolai (Koyla) and Masha: Tat'yana's husband and daughter. Koyla is serving country when he goes missing and is presumed dead, but later is revealed to be recovering in a hospital. Masha was killed in front of her mother, leading Tat'yana to want to take a direct role in the war against Germany.
Vasilyev: Tat'yana's handler during her tour of the United States
Captain Jack Taylor (real name Charles Pierce): Tat'yana's interpreter, who she later falls in love with and decides to defect to the United States
Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945
Raisa: Girl rescued during the Battle of Sevastopol and later adopted by the reporter Elizabeth
Elizabeth: Journalist who interviews an elderly Tat'yana at the end of the novel
Major themes.
World War 1939-1945—Fiction, Women Spies—Fiction, Snipers—Fiction, Russians—United States—Fiction
Development history.
Michael Whites' explanation of the story of "Beautiful Assassin " on Harper Collins Publishers website:
"I am heavily invested in two projects right now.
The first is a novel called Beautiful Assassin, about a female sniper in WWII. Tat'yana Levchenko is the most decorated sniper in the Russian Army in 1942, with a record 300 confirmed kills of German soldiers. She is a national hero in the darkest days of the war—so famous, in fact, that Eleanor Roosevelt hears of her and invites her to come to the United States. And whether she wants to go or not, she is sent to America. Her stated mission is to build support for the Russian war effort, though she would prefer to fight on with her comrades at the front. While in America she becomes friends with Mrs. Roosevelt as well as with the First Lady's interpreter, Lieutenant Taylor. She finds America and its people both fascinating and frustrating, with a wealth of freedom and material success but spoiled and self-absorbed, especially at a time when the world is at war and her own country is losing tens of thousands to the German war machine. She also finds herself an unwilling pawn at the mercy of her Soviet handlers who have more sinister plans than just supporting the war effort.
Guarded by NKVD agents, Tat'yana mysteriously disappears on her tour in America, and her death in a plane crash is reported. It will be 50 years before the real story is revealed and the mystery of Tat'yana solved.
The story is loosely based on an actual female Soviet soldier, Lyudmila Pavlichenko. I've fictionalized her character and am telling the story from her own point of view. Tat'yana is an amazing woman for her time or for ours—strong, brave, intelligent, loyal, and sensitive. I find her to be a remarkable woman in a remarkable time.
My second project is acting as Program Director for Fairfield University's (CT) new low-residency MFA in Creative Writing. Our first residency begins this December on Enders Island, off the coast of Mystic, Connecticut, and I am busy gathering a great stable of writers to teach in the program. This is an exciting project for me, because when I'm not writing, I am a teacher and I am as passionate about teaching creative writing as I am about my own writing."
http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/books.aspx?authorid=10507
Publication history.
2010, USA, William Morrow, Pub date 30 March 2010, Hardcover
2011, USA, Harper Perennial, Pub date 22 March 2011, Paperback
Explanation of the novel's title.
The name Beautiful Assassin is explained on page 155:
"Over the next several days, Vasilyev would pick me up and show me about the city as if it were his own private amusement park. During the day we visited museums and art galleries and historical sites, while in the evening we attended elegant dinners or went to the theater or to the Bolshoi, where there were always crowds eager to see me. Before one ballet performance, I was asked to come onstage, where I received a bouquet of flowers from a ballerina in a tutu. Beside her, I felt clumsy an unfeminine in my uniform and heavy boots. Nonetheless, I received a standing ovation from the crowd. Wherever we went, Vasilyev paraded me around, often introducing me by some clever pet name--the Ukrainian Lion or the Queen of Fire. But his favorite was Krasavitsa Ubiytsa, which translated roughly to "Beautiful Assassin," a title that he was quite proud of having coined and one that I wouldn't be able to shake. One time, we showed up where a large group of people had gathered in the street. It was below Vorobyovy Gory. A small military band composed of old men was playing some marital theme. It turned out they were name a street after me--"ulitsa Levchenko". I toured hospitals, where I shook hands with wounded vets, and old people's homes and spoke to groups of schoolchildren. They had me go on the radio and tell of my experiences, though not before Vasilyev had coached me to "sound positive," to put our war effort in good light."
Reception.
A breathtaking tale of love, loyalty, and intrigue set in the early days of World War II from the acclaimed New York Times Notable Book author of Soul Catcher, which USA Today hailed as "a marvelous historical novel"
“Michael White is a wonderful storyteller, and his work is long on atmosphere, and packed with action.”
—Kevin Baker, author of Paradise Alley
“It has been occupying most of my free moments for the past several days... Painstakingly researched, relentlessly paced, Beautiful Assassin is a book you will not put down easily, and one that will resonate well past the closing pages.”
— BookPage.com
“This is a superb 1940s drama... a winner that condemns nations for their expendable deployment of individuals.”
Harriet Klausner
"It is rare to find a work of historical fiction that can so intricately weave fact and fiction into a fantastic story. We follow Soviet sniper Tat'yana Levchenko from the Eastern Front of World War II to the United States as she tours with Eleanor Roosevelt, embarking on a journey of mystery and intrigue and revealing the shaky alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States."
Zachary Schwarz, Indie Next List, April '10