Deir el-Ballas

Deir el-Ballas is an archaeological site in Upper Egypt. It was the location of a royal palace and administration center occupied by rulers of the Seventeenth Dynasty in ancient Egypt's late Second Intermediate Period.
Location.
Deir el-Ballas was "strategically located at a bend in the Nile" on its western bank, approximately twenty kilometers south of Dendara and just north of Thebes (modern-day Luxor).
History.
The complex was "a short-lived royal city-palace built by Theban kings as a military base for imperial campaigns against the Hyksos, a group of foreign rulers who had taken control of northern (Lower) Egypt during a period of national weakness at the end of the Middle Kingdom." Which of these kings built it in which dynasty is not yet known.
"A collection of inscribed potsherds, or ostraca, were recovered from Deir el-Ballas. These confirm that the forces for the attack on the Hyksos capital were marshalled here, and describe the large quantities of goods and personnel that were brought to the site, including cattle, men, possibly weapons, and a roster of ships and their crews. The Kamose Stela...mentions the assembly of the Theban fleet at a place called Per-djed-ken, which may well be the original name for Deir el-Ballas; another text mentions a royal residence at Sedjefatawy that belonged to Ahmose, the Theban king credited with driving out the Hyksos."
"With the success of the Thebans, the city-palace at Deir el-Ballas was no longer necessary, and was swiftly abandoned." However, the surrounding area continued to be used for a short time as a burial ground, as cemeteries were discovered "dating to the late Second Intermediate Period and the early 18th Dynasty, during the second half of the 16th centuries BC."
Structures.
Deir el-Ballas consisted of several facilities-- the North Palace, the South Palace, and "clusters of habitation...located north and south of the
central [North] palace" The latter included a workman's village, an administrative quarter "and a number of private houses, which ranged in size from small two-room huts to large 'villas'" Peter Lacovara provided information on these at length in the September 2017 issue of Current World Archaeology:
"The royal residence--North Palace – was built at the midpoint of a large semicircle of limestone cliffs that border the low desert, with clusters of residential buildings to the north and south of it...The full size of the settlement is unknown, as the eastern end of the site, which extends into agricultural land, remains uncovered. However, at least 45,000m2 of the North Palace and its enclosures have been recorded... The palace itself is made of unusually large mud bricks, about 54cm × 27cm × 18cm, and comprises a series of columned courts and a long entrance hall, grouped around an elevated central platform. This platform was constructed on casemate foundations: long mud-brick chambers filled in with rubble and capped by a brick pavement. Some of these casemates survive to a height of about 5m. They once supported the raised private apartments of the palace, which would have given it the appearance of a fortified 'Migdol’ tower." Lacovara notes elsewhere that "the palace was decorated with wall paintings of armed men carrying battle axes, and faience tiles, fragments of which were recovered by the Hearst Expedition." According to author Margaret Bunson, "the palaces (pero or per-a'a) (of the Second Intermediate Period) always contained two gateways, two main halls, and two administrative sections to reflect the upper and lower regions of the nation. Flagstaffs were used at the gates, as they were placed before temples. The remains of the Seventeenth Dynasty (1640–1550 BCE) palace at Deir el-Ballas, on the western shore north of Thebes, indicate somewhat luxurious surroundings and innovative decoration, following the "double" scheme. In some instances the walls and floors were designed to portray pools of fish and vast tracts of flowering shrubs."
As for the workmen’s village, it was situated apart from the main settled area. "A series of roughly built stone and mud-brick structures, consisting of one or more courts connected by short flights of stairs, were cut into the hillside. They closely resemble the layout of chapels found in the workmen’s village at Amarna."
Finally, "the southern extent of the settlement at Deir el-Ballas was marked by a large, rectangular mud-brick platform. Reisner [head of the Hearst expedition in 1900-1901] called this the ‘South Palace’, but it is clearly non-residential in character. Situated at the top of the hill, far from the rest of the settlement, it enjoyed commanding views of the Nile and surrounding countryside. The building has a wide terrace, fronting an elevated platform measuring about 40m wide and 150m long, with a broad flight of stairs leading to the top. Though the upper section of the platform, which has been all but destroyed by centuries of looting, probably supported reed structures or tents rather than a substantial construction. The design and location of the ‘South Palace’ suggest that, rather than a palace, it was an observation tower, keeping watch over the river and the southern approach to the settlement, and monitoring traffic entering the settlement. It was also an ideal post from which to watch the movement of the Theban fleet."
Excavation.
Deir el-Ballas was excavated from 1900 to 1901 by a University of California team, sponsored by Phoebe A. Hearst and led by George Andrew Reisner "These excavations uncovered a large royal palace, a settlement, and a series of cemeteries dating to the late Second Intermediate Period and the early Eighteenth Dynasty;" however, expedition records neither proved adequate enough for understanding nor were ever compiled for publication. (The Ancient Egyptian Heritage and Archaeology Fund, however, received a grant to accomplish this in the 2010s from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications. As of 2017 all of the items from the Hearst expedition had been documented save for the collection stored at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California; once this work is completed a draft manuscript will be composed and sent for final editing and publication.)
"In order to clarify the records of the expedition and enable publication of the site, four seasons of survey and clearance were undertaken in 1980, 1983, 1984 and 1986 by Peter Lacovara under the sponsorship of the American Research Center and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston." Their findings "revealed a site far larger than the Hearst expedition records had indicated, including palace complexes, a group of large houses, and remains of a previously unrecorded ancient settlement." "In addition to the large number of houses and other domestic structures, there appears to have been a group of memorial chapels similar to those recently excavated by The Egypt Exploration Society at Tell el-Amarna, and possibly an administrative quarter, also corresponding to Tell el-Amarna. At the conclusion of the survey seasons, a preliminary report was published under the auspices of the American Research Center in Egypt."
Some significant items discovered in this area include a carved limestone block inscribed with the name of the pharaoh Djehuti from the Second Intermediate Period and the Hearst papyrus, a Middle Kingdom-era medical text discovered in the area by an Egyptian peasant around the turn of the 20th century.
According to Peter Lacovara, "In more recent years, the growth of the modern village and the construction of a number of roads along the desert edge, along with looting that occurred during the revolution in 2011 has threatened to destroy a significant part of the site."
For two weeks in January 2017, Lacovara led an expedition "consist[ing] of a theodolite survey, photography and planning to assess the condition of the site, the perimeter of the antiquities area and possible ways to protect and conserve the site." The team returned January 2018 seeking to repair a wall at the South Palace, fill in casemates at the North Palace, clear the sites of trash, and place signs and fencing around the dig sites to deter further damage.


Watanuki Kannonyama Kofun

The is a Kofun period burial mound located in the Watanuki neighborhood of the city of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1973.The site dates from the late 6th Century, and many of the grave goods discovered during archaeological excavation were designated National Important Cultural Properties in 1994 In the year 2020, the collective status of 3346 artifacts from the tomb was raised to that of a National Treasure.
Overview.
The Watanuki Kannonyama Kofun is located on a plain on the west bank of the Ino River, six kilometers east of the city of Takasaki, and is constructed facing north. Its main dimensions are:
An archaeological excavation was conducted by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education from 1967 to 1968. The tumulus has a two-tiered construction and a double horseshoe-shaped moat. From the excavated Sue ware pottery, the date of construction is estimated to be the latter half of the 6th century AD. "Haniwa" were found in various locations around the tumulus, but no trace of "fukiishi" were discovered. The "haniwa" were of especial interest, as they depict men, women, boys and girls, in various costume, including what appear to be warriors in armor and with shields, farmers and aristocrats. There are also house-shaped "haniwa" and animal-shaped (horses and chicken) "haniwa" as well as "haniwa" shaped in the form of equipment and farm implements. Taken as a group, the "haniwa" appear to be narrating an event, possibly that of the accession of a new chief.
The burial chamber is a horizontal trapezoidal stone-lined room in the middle of the posterior circular portion, opening towards the southwest. It was found to be intact. The dimensions were the largest found in Gunma Prefecture, with a total length of 12.65 meters. The wall stones are andesite blocks, and the ceiling stones are sandstone. The blocks weigh up to 22 tons, but as there is no source for these materials from the neighborhood of the burial mound, it was necessary for these stones to be transported from a considerable distance to construct this tomb.
The grave goods included two bronze mirrors, gold, silver and glass jewelry, iron swords, iron spearheads, fragments of armor, horse harnesses, saddles, stirrups and Sue ware, Haji ware, copper water bottles and other containers, many of which were found to be in excellent preservation. These included copper water jars and iron helmets thought have been made in Northern Qi, and a copper water bottle and a mirror that were identical to objects excavated from the burial chamber of the Tomb of King Muryeong of Baekje in Gongju, South Korea. As these objects must have been cast from the same mould, it indicates a strong connection between the rulers of the Keno region of ancient Japan and the ancient Korean Peninsula.
The site was opened to the public as the first historic park in the prefecture in 1981. Some of the excavated items are on display at the Gunma Prefectural Historical Museum.


Larry Klein discography

Larry Klein born 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, record and soundtrack producer, and head of Strange Cargo, an imprint with Universal Music Group.
Musician discography.
As bass player:
Production discography.
As record producer:


Icelandic heraldry

Icelandic heraldry is the study of coats of arms and other insignia used in Iceland. It belongs to the German-Nordic heraldic tradition, as the heraldry of Iceland has been primarily influenced by the heraldic traditions of Norway, Denmark and other Nordic countries. Iceland does not have a strong sense of heraldic tradition, however, because the country lacks a governing body to oversee this. As a result, coats of arms registered as such are virtually nonexistent in modern Iceland. While many municipalities use more or less heraldic logos, there are no heraldic standards to which these must adhere, and they are registered as graphic designs rather than as coats of arms.
Features.
Because Iceland lacks a governing body to create policy and guide style, as well as the island nation's relative isolation from mainland Europe, the heraldic forms and styles found in Iceland are often in sharp contrast to those of other European countries. Thus, Icelandic heraldry has several distinguishing features, including the widespread use of vaguely heraldic landscape-type logos for civic bodies, the prominence of fish and maritime symbols (e.g. lighthouses), and the peculiar charge of the stockfish (a headless cod, sometimes flattened). Appropriately for a country whose primary export has always been fish, the stockfish crowned with an open crown was even the country's own heraldic symbol from the 1590s up to the 19th century.
In keeping with the German-Nordic tradition, the tinctures (colours) used in Icelandic heraldry include silver, gold, blue, red, black and green. Notably absent are purple and furs, which are notably rare in other Nordic heraldic traditions.
History.
As in other Nordic countries, the use of heraldry started with seals in the 13th century. The earliest known use of the seal in Iceland was that of Hrafn Sveinbjarnarson, who died in 1213. This gold signet ring, bearing a raven ("Hrafn" in Icelandic), was an early example of canting arms. The ring was a gift from Bjarni Kolbeinsson, Bishop of Orkney.
Personal coats of arms were rare in medieval Iceland, and these had a distinctive character in comparison to other heraldic traditions, reflective of Iceland's distinctive flora and fauna. After Iceland became part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1262, some Icelandic nobles were granted arms by the king of Norway. Records indicate that two Icelandic knights, Haukur Erlendsson from around the year 1300, and Loftur the rich Guttormsson from around 1400, each bore noble arms featuring a falcon. Three extant letters from the 15th century granted noble arms to Icelanders: in 1450 Torfi Arason was granted the arms, "Azure, a bear argent, with a demi-bear argent on the crest;" in 1457 Björn Þorleifsson was granted the arms, "Azure, a bear argent, with a bear argent on the crest;" in 1488 Eggert Eggertsson, a Norwegian whose descendants became Iceland's governors for a while, was granted the arms, "Azure, a demi-unicorn argent, with a demi-unicorn argent on the crest." Nobility was abolished in Iceland in 1660, and no one in Iceland today has any rightful claim to an ancient family coat of arms.
Armigerous Icelanders included recipients of the Grand Cross of the Dannebrog and others eligible for this award. Under the modern republic, there is no regulatory body for the registration of arms, and heraldic designs can only be registered as a logo, not as an actual coat of arms. This means one particular graphic version is registered, while stylistically different designs conforming to the same blazon may be unprotected.
The modern coinage of Iceland frequently displays elements of the contemporary national coat of arms, including the shield and/or the four "guardian spirit" supporters. One notable example of a numismatic display of Icelandic heraldry is the 1974 bronze medallic coin pictured above.
National coat of arms.
Iceland's national coat of arms is officially described thus:
"A silver cross in a sky-blue field, with a bright red cross inside the silver cross. The arms of the cross shall extend to the rim of the shield on all four sides. The width of the cross shall be 2/9 of the width of the shield, but the red cross half as wide, at 1/9 of the width of the shield. The upper sections shall be squares and the lower sections the same width as the upper sections, but one-third longer. The shield bearers are the four guardian spirits of Iceland as described in Heimskringla: A bull on the right side of the shield; a giant, on the left; a bird on the right above the bull; and a dragon on the left, above the giant. The shield rests on a plate of columnar basalt."
The first national coat of arms of Iceland that can be attested in contemporary sources depicts a red lion upon a field of gold in the upper third and bars of silver and blue in the lower two-thirds (pictured below, first from left). Based upon this peculiar field, which is thought to be exceptional in placing the uppermost silver bar directly against the gold field, the heraldic advisory committee of Denmark in the 1950s hypothesised that the design must have taken into account an earlier coat of arms representing Iceland, that most likely consisted simply of twelve alternating bars of silver and blue. This design of twelve alternating silver and blue stripes may have been the emblem bestowed upon Gissur Þorvaldsson by King Hákon IV of Norway in Bergen in 1258, when he made him Earl of Iceland. At some point in the 16th century, a crowned stockfish came to be the heraldic representation of Iceland, though the origins of this design are lost to the ages. Its first use that can be attested without controversy is in a silver seal showing the crowned stockfish with the date 1593 and the inscription "SIGILLVM INSVLÆ ISLANDIÆ" ("seal of the island of Iceland"), which is now kept in the National Museum of Iceland. The crowned stockfish remained the symbol of Iceland until the 20th century, when it was supplanted by an image of a gyrfalcon on a field of blue. By royal decree of the king of Denmark in 1903, the coat of arms of Iceland was changed to "a white Icelandic gyrfalcon on a blue field," and in 1921 this design became the emblem of the newly established Order of the Icelandic Falcon.
The gyrfalcon did not endure long as Iceland's coat of arms, however, and on February 12, 1919 a new coat of arms was adopted, described by royal decree: "The Icelandic coat of arms shall be a crowned shield charged with the flag of Iceland. The bearers of the shield are the country’s four familiar guardian spirits: a dragon, a vulture, a bull and a giant." These four "guardian spirits" ("Landvættir") had been described by Snorri Sturluson in his 13th-century saga "Heimskringla". When Iceland reestablished its independence and reinstated the republic in 1944, recommendations for changes to the coat of arms were discussed; the crown had to be removed, as Iceland was no longer under a monarchy, and other possible changes, including reinstating the gyrfalcon, were discussed. In the end, major modifications were unanimously rejected and the crown was removed, the four supporters redrawn, and the compartment redrawn as a slab of columnar basalt. The newly redrawn version was officially adopted in 1944 by decree of Iceland's newly elected president, Sveinn Björnsson.
Municipal arms.
Since the modern republic of Iceland lacks a governing body to regulate the registration of heraldic arms, there is no heraldic armory registered as such other than the national arms, which were adopted by presidential decree upon gaining independence in 1944. Rather than actual coats of arms, municipalities carry logos which usually look vaguely like a coat of arms, but the rules of heraldry are not always observed and the results vary, ranging from such characteristically heraldic arms as those of Akureyri to such unheraldic logos as that of Djupivogur.


Ethan (given name)

Ethan is a male given name of Hebrew origin () that means "firm, enduring, strong and long-lived". The name Ethan appears eight times in the Hebrew Bible (1 Kings. 4:31, Ps. 89 title, 1 Chr. 2:6 and 2:8, 1 Chr. 6:42 and 6:44, and 1 Chr. 15:17 and 15:19). See Ethan (biblical figure).
It may also be spelled or pronounced as Eitan or Eytan.
Popularity.
In 2013, it was the fourth most popular name for boys in Australia. Ethan is also popular in the United States and was the 10th most popular boy's name in 2016. According to the US data, 97% of all American boys named Ethan were born after 1989.


Jelling

Jelling is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 3,522 (1 January 2020), located in Jelling Parish, approximately 10 km northwest of Vejle. The town lies 105 metres above sea level.
Location.
Jelling is located in Vejle municipality and Region of Southern Denmark. The town is mainly famous for the Jelling stones, national monuments.
Until the Municipal Reform of 2007 on 1 January 2007, Jelling was the capital of Jelling municipality. Jelling was also the only town in the former Vejle County headquarters for a bank – Jelling Sparekasse, which had its headquarters in the town until 2007 when it merged with , headquartered in Grindsted. Jelling Sparekasse's slogan was: "If king Gorm was alive today ... we would probably be the country's National Bank."
One source at least claims that Jelling was the capital of an ancient kingdom of Denmark that was known as Jellund.
Infrastructure.
From Jelling it is 56 km to Herning and Silkeborg, 80 km to Aarhus and 10 km to the regional capital Vejle. Jelling is close to the Østjyske Motorvej – (E45) and Midtjyske Motorvej – (Primary Route 18). The railroad track Herning – Vejle goes through Jelling.
In 2003 Jelling municipality was the first municipality in Denmark to offer its residents wireless Internet connection, up to 4 Mbit broadband, at a distance of up to 10 km from Jelling.
Town centre.
Vejle municipality has executed a reconstruction project in the village centre. The main road Gormsgade was closed and a new circumfering road constructed leaving place for the monument area of Jelling.
The plan was estimated to cost in the neighbourhood of 250 million DKK (33,5 million €) which included financing described by The State of Denmark, Vejle municipality, Haderslev Diocese and other private foundations, among them "AP Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation for General Purposes" – which has donated 70 million DKK (10 million €) for the project.
A new culture house and city square was built as additions to the modern village life, while houses were demolished elsewhere to make space for the monument area. Some houses of historical value were preserved in the museum of Den Gamle By in Aarhus.
History.
Jelling is an old and important historical town in the history of Denmark. In the Viking Age it served as the royal seat of the first Monarchs of the Kingdom of Denmark. Jelling is the site of a large stone ship and two large burial mounds, the Jelling stones and Jelling Church which are an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. In the North Mound, built between 958 and 959 CE (possibly for King Gorm of Denmark), an empty burial chamber was found. The South Mound was built around 970 and contains no burial. Beneath the two mounds is a large stone ship from around the end of the 9th century. Between the two mounds stand two rune stones, the Jelling stones. Near the stones, Gorm's son King Harald Bluetooth built a wooden church (965), and beneath it re-interred (965–966) the remains of his father.
Local culture.
The Jelling Music Festival is held annually and is currently Denmark's third largest festival. Bredagerskolen (situated in Jelling) is the largest school in Vejle municipality. The school currently has 810 students (2009) divided into 0–9 classes over 2–5 traces. The village houses the CVU Lillebælt, which trains teachers and educators. There are three grocery stores in Jelling, two gas stations, three garages, two banks, two breweries, and some other stores. The newly opened town house is to house Borgerservice, a library, a cinema, a café, and one of the two breweries.


Honduras lunar sample displays

The Honduras lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of Moon specimen brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions and given in the 1970s to the people of Honduras by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts.
Description.
Apollo 11.
The Honduras Apollo 11 lunar sample display commemorative podium plaque consists of four "Moon rock" rice size particle specimens that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small flag. The 4 "Moon rocks" weigh about 0.05 grams in total. They are encased in a clear plastic ball the size of a coin that is mounted to a wooden board approximately one foot square on a small podium pedestal display. The plaque display also has mounted on it a small Honduras flag that had been taken to the Moon and back on Apollo 11. The plaque display was given to the people of Honduras as a gift by President Richard Nixon. Similar lunar sample displays were also distributed to all the states of the United States and all the countries of the world.
Apollo 17.
The Honduras Apollo 17 lunar sample display commemorative plaque, measuring 10 by 14 inches, consists of one "Moon rock" particle specimen that was cut from lunar basalt 70017. This basalt was collected by Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt on the Moon in 1972. Once lunar basalt 70017 was brought back to earth from the moon, the basalt Moon rock was cut up into small fragments of approximately 1 gram each. The specimen was encased in a plastic ball and mounted on the wooden plaque along with the Honduras flag which had been taken to the Moon and back by the crew of Apollo 17. The plaques were then distributed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to all the countries of the world and the states of the United States as a goodwill gesture.
History.
The Honduras Apollo 17 "goodwill Moon rocks" plaque display, which was presented to the people of the Republic of Honduras in 1973 by President Nixon, came into the possession of retired colonel Roberto Agurcia Ugarte some time after 1993 and before 1995 in an illegal manner. It is unclear how Ugarte obtained it. Some speculate that he was inspired to steal the Honduras Apollo 17 "goodwill Moon rocks" plaque display with the 1 gram Moon rock because of the $442,500 selling price at a Sotheby's auction in December 1993 for a Russian sample of three tiny lunar pebbles weighing 0.2 grams that could only be seen under a microscope. Ugarte put the plaque up for sale, covering the stars of the Honduras flag to give the impression that the NASA wooden plaque display could have come from one of several Central American countries (as many have the same colors on their flags, El Salvador and Nicaragua in particular). He eventually found a buyer for it, a fruit distributor named Alan Rosen.
Rosen, a Floridian, was working in Honduras gathering fruit juice and selling it on his United States route. He heard "through the grapevine" that Ugarte wanted to sell the Honduras Apollo 17 "goodwill Moon rocks" plaque display. Rosen thought about the idea of purchasing it for a year, meanwhile verifying that NASA did not consider the gift to Honduras to be the property of the United States. Rosen checked with Harvard University that the Moon rock was real. He ultimately purchased the Honduras Apollo 17 "goodwill Moon rocks" plaque display from Ugate for what he claims was $50,000 in 1996.
In 1998 NASA joined with the United States Postal Inspection Service to launch a sting operation called Operation Lunar Eclipse, which attempted to catch those trying to sell fake lunar rocks to unsuspecting buyers. An undercover agent placed ads in the "USA Today" newspaper under the banner "Moon Rocks Wanted". Rosen responded to one of these ads on September 29, 1998. NASA then enlisted United States Customs Service agents, who met with Rosen at a Miami restaurant. Rosen offered the Honduras Apollo 17 "goodwill Moon rocks" display to the undercover U.S. Customs agents for $5 million. The agents seized the Moon rock on the premise that it was a piece of property considered illegally imported into the United States. The proper Customs Service forms were not filled out as required by United States federal law. It was the first time an object from another celestial body brought back to earth by man had been recovered by a law enforcement agency.
A lawsuit filed against Rosen in 2001, "United States v. One Lucite Ball Containing Lunar Material (One Moon Rock) and One Ten Inch by Fourteen Inch Wooden Plaque", went on trial and was settled in 2003. As a result of the trial, Rosen forfeited the Honduras Apollo 17 lunar sample plaque display, which was ultimately presented to Honduran President Ricardo Maduro on February 28, 2004. The Honduras Apollo 17 goodwill Moon rock plaque, of as 2012, is on display in Tegucigalpa at Centro Interactivo Chiminike.
According to Moon rocks researcher Robert Pearlman, the whereabouts of the Honduras Apollo 11 goodwill lunar display is unknown.


To do


Aharoni

Aharoni () is a surname. People with this surname include:


Tzuf Dvash Synagogue

The Tzuf Dvash Synagogue is a Sephardic synagogue which was founded in 1860 under Ottoman Empire rule in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. Today it is located at 15 Plugat ha-Kotel Street.
It is named after Rabbi David ben Shimon, (acronym D-b-Sh, ), who arrived in the Land of Israel from Morocco in 1854 and founded Machane Yisrael, one of the first neighborhoods outside of the Old City walls.
During the 19th century, a greater number of Jews arrived in Jerusalem from the North African countries. Through Ben Shimon's influence, the group broke off from the greater Sephardic community of Jerusalem and established the "Westerners' Synagogue" (as opposed to the Eastern Mizrahi Jews) in 1860. The building also contained the community's Talmud Torah and an old age home.
The community's property register, which was written after Ben Shimon's death in 1879, listed a yard with two synagogues, with the Ben Tzuf synagogue described as the "large and special one." The register adds that people would rise each midnight to study at the synagogue. The upper floor contained the Talmud Torah, which consisted of three rooms. The lower floor housed the meeting room of the community council, as well as two small rooms in which lived the widows who cleaned the yard.
After the 1948 war, the building was under Jordanian rule, along with the entire Old City of Jerusalem. Though the building was looted, it remained standing. After the Six-Day War, the building was refurbished and in 1980 it was restored as a house of prayer.
The domed rooms were rededicated in 1988 by the French community. The building also serves as a yeshiva.


Skalunda

Skalunda is a village at Lidköping Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden. Skalunda was an important location dating to the Iron Age and was one of the eight royal estates of early medieval Västergötland (cf. Uppsala öd).
Skalunda is the site of Skalunda Church dating to the during Middle Ages.
At Skalunda there are also several ancient remains, including the site of Skalunda Barrow, a historic burial mound.
Skalunda Church.
Skalunda Church ("Skalunda kyrka") was built in the 12th century.
The Romanesque church is commonly believed to have originated as a mission church.
The towerless church was built of finely hewn sandstone blocks.
Arches were built in the 15th century and at the end of the 19th century were taken down.
The belfry was built in 1772 and has two church bells dating from the Middle Ages; the smaller church bells from early 13th century, the larger church bell was cast in 1533.
Skalunda Barrow.
To the west of Skalunda Church is Skalunda Barrow ("Skalunda hög"). It measures 65 metres across and it is 7 metres high. The burial mound has not yet been excavated, but C14 surveys from the ground have dated it to the beginning of the 6th century. Next to the barrow there is a stone circle consisting of seven circularstones.
Swedish philologist, archaeologist and historian Birger Nerman (1888-1971) director of the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities, suggested Skalunda Barrow to be a likely burial site of the legendary hero Beowulf, a legendary Geatish king. Skalunda is not far from Aranæs (Old Swedish) and Aranäs (Modern Swedish), which is the same name as Earnaness (Old English) where the hero died in the epic "Beowulf".


Trzy Kawki coat of arms

Trzy Kawki (Polish for "Three Jackdaws") is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by the noble family of Borch.
Notable bearers.
Notable bearers of this coat of arms have included:
Reference in literature.
A bearer of the "Trzy Kawki" coat of arms is the fictional knight, Borch, in Andrzej Sapkowski's novel.


Congregation of Georgian Jews

The Congregation of Georgian Jews is an Orthodox synagogue at 6304 Yellowstone Boulevard, in the Flushing/Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York. The members are late twentieth century immigrants from the Republic of Georgia.
History.
The synagogue building was made possible by a donation from the Georgian Jewish philanthropist, Tamir Sapir.
When the Republic of Georgia released a postage stamp honoring the nineteenth century Rabbi Abraam Khvoles, the unveiling ceremony was held at the synagogue by Revaz Adamia, representative of Georgia to the United Nations.
Political defense of Georgia.
During the August 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner held an emergency meeting for the entire Georgian community in New York, Christian and Jewish, at the Congregation because the "ornate" synagogue is the only large, monumental structure built by Georgians in New York City.
Current leadership.
, the Senior Rabbi is Avraham Ashville, and the Rabbi and youth director is Aharon Chein.


Mount Lee

Mount Lee is a peak in the Santa Monica Mountains, located in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Hollywood Sign is located on its southern slope.
History.
The original unnamed peak was one of the "three sisters" along with Cahuenga and Burbank peaks, the current flattened top being a result of silent movie pioneer Mack Sennett's unfulfilled plans to build an elaborate home on the property.
 To advertise the new Beachwood Canyon real estate development, the developers, including Sennett and "Los Angeles Times" publisher Harry Chandler, ordered a huge wooden sign built atop what is now known as Mount Lee. The mountain is named after early Los Angeles car dealer and radio station owner Don Lee. Lee, a one-time bicycle shop owner who became a protégé of Los Angeles pioneer businessman Earle C. Anthony, purchased his Los Angeles radio station KHJ from Chandler in 1927.
Four years later Lee began experimenting with television using call letters W6XAO. Studios were on the seventh floor of a building at Seventh and Bixel near his Cadillac dealership. A few years later, the transmitter was moved atop what is now called Mount Lee. An early reference to this name is in a June 1939 article in a magazine published by the California Chamber of Commerce: "Lee has bought a 20-acre site on a mountain top at the eastern boundary of Griffith Park, widening the transmission field of the Don Lee equipment to take in new thousands of homes in the Hollywood hills and the San Fernando Valley. The site is one and a half times higher than the top floor of the Empire State Building in New York. Mount Lee is thus the highest television location in the world. The transmitter is being rebuilt for installation on the mountain."
According to Wikimapia the immediate seller was not the original development company, but Sennett personally, "who wasn't doing too well in the post-silent Hollywood era and really needed the money." Lee was the first of what would become three active pre–World War II Los Angeles television pioneers. The others were Paramount Studios' W6XYZ (later called KTLA) and Lee's mentor Earle C Anthony's W6XEA (later called KSEE, KFI-TV, KHJ-TV and now operating as KCAL). Lee's W6XAO eventually became KTSL – standing for Thomas S. Lee, who had succeeded to his father's position when Don Lee died in 1934. KTSL was purchased by CBS in 1950 and became KNXT, today's KCBS-TV.
Lee's television head was Harry Lubcke. Paramount had Klaus Landsburg and Anthony had the venerable KFI radio dual chief engineer team of Headly Blatterman and George Mason. All three recognized that television signals from Mount Lee and similar points were inadequate to reach the greater Los Angeles basin. They needed a point overlooking the entire area. Part of Mount Lee was then sold to Howard Hughes, who intended to erect an estate for his then-current love interest, Ginger Rogers. Ultimately, the Hughes-Rogers relationship soured, and the mansion was never built.
After utilization during the war by the U.S. Army, the property remained an idle asset for decades, and eventually became part of the Hughes estate. Meanwhile, the three Los Angeles television pioneers were scouting out a more suitable location. Television experimentation was slowed considerably during the war but post-war preparations continued. The new site was code named "Mt. Anthony" in KFI-AM house organs of the day. After hostilities ended it turned out that Mt. Anthony was really Mt. Wilson – which is now the site of most Los Angeles FM and television stations due to its superior height.
Mount Lee continues to be the site of various non-commercial radio activities, but television transmissions ceased from that location in October 1951.
In 2002, the Hughes estate sold of their Mount Lee holdings to a group of Chicago investors. This opened up the possibility of development of four residential buildings adjacent to the sign. Many Angelenos, especially those in the movie industry, felt this would be sacrilege. A successful effort was mounted in 2010 to raise funds to purchase the land and add it to the adjacent Griffith Park.
The large tower atop Mount Lee today is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles. It is a newer structure which replaced the original W6XAO tower some years ago. Smaller tenants on the site have included some federal government and amateur radio users.
Hiking.
Mount Lee can be hiked; however, the immediate area where the Hollywood Sign is located is closed to the public since the area is home to the main communication tower for the City of Los Angeles.
Trails leading to the Hollywood Sign can be accessed from several official Griffith Park entrances. These include the Mt. Hollywood Trail, which can be accessed from the Griffith Observatory parking lot off Vermont Canyon Road or from Vermont Canyon Road just past the Greek Theater, the Bronson Canyon / Brush Canyon Trail (3200 Canyon Drive, Los Angeles, CA), and a number of trailheads that begin near the Griffith Park Visitors Center off Crystal Springs Drive in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles (free trail maps are available at the Visitors Center). A once-popular trailhead originating at the top of Beachwood Drive was closed by court order in April 2017.
Griffith Park.
Mount Lee's hiking trails and fire roads are part of Griffith Park; as such it's easy to get lost and be redirected. Maps of the trails and the land around the hills should be studied before attempting to hike the area for the first time.


Tay Canal

The Tay Canal is the portion of the Tay River in the eastern Ontario region, providing a connection between the town of Perth and the Rideau Canal at Beveridge Bay on Lower Rideau Lake. The canal is in length and is operated today by Parks Canada as part of their Rideau Canal operations. At the entrance to the Tay Canal are two locks, Upper and Lower Beveridge Locks, which provide a total lift of .
History.
First Tay Canal.
Proposals to make the Tay into a navigable waterway date to 1824, when local Perth entrepreneur William Morris started to lobby for this. When the construction of the Rideau Canal started in 1826, Perth business interests hoped that this would include the Tay, but the Superintending Engineer for the Rideau Canal, Lt. Colonel John By had no mandate to build any branch canals. So it was decided to form a company to build the Tay Canal. On 16 March 1831, legislation to form the Tay Navigation Company was passed.
In 1831, John Jackson, an ex-Sergeant in the army and a miller in Perth was awarded the contract to build the canal. The route would lead from Perth to the mouth of the Tay River. The locks were to be smaller than those on the Rideau, only , and a depth in the channel of . This was a less expensive option and it was felt that it would accommodate most of the commercial traffic of the day. By the end of 1834, five locks, six dams (with timber slides), two swing bridges and several embankments were built. This became known as the First Tay Canal.
The First Tay Canal was never a commercial success. Revenues were not sufficient to allow proper maintenance and the condition of the canal deteriorated over the years. In 1865, several of the locks were destroyed by logs and the canal was shut down.
Second Tay Canal.
After the demise of the First Tay Canal, a political lobby started to build a new canal. The Government of Canada had taken over the Tay Navigation Company, and in 1881, they initiated an investigation into making the Tay navigable to Perth. Perth's local member of parliament, John G. Haggart, had some influence in launching this investigation which was carried out by the engineers of the Rideau Canal under the direction of Superintendent Wise. Two routes were examined, one following the route of the First Tay Canal to Port Elmsley and a second involving a canal cut from Beveridge Bay of Lower Rideau Lake to the Tay River.
To the disappointment of the residents of Port Elmsley, the second route was chosen. In 1883, a Government of Canada Order-in-Council authorized a contract with A.H. Manning & Macdonald Company for the construction of the Tay Canal. The proposal included deepening the entire system to the required depth; cutting a wide, long canal to Beveridge Bay; building two locks near the south end of the canal cut, each with a lift of ; and building a flat overflow dam across the former channel of the Tay near the entrance to the new canal cut.
The locks were built to the same design and specifications as the Rideau Canal locks. Started in early 1885, they were completed in 1887. Final excavation of the canal to the required navigation depth and an expansion of the basin in Perth were not completed until 1891.
For a time, the canal from the Beveridges Locks to Perth became known as "Haggart's Ditch".
Tay Today.
The Tay Canal is currently operated by Parks Canada as part of their Rideau Canal operations. In normal conditions, the canal can handle boats up to in length, in width, and in height with a draft of up to (boats drafting over are asked to contact the Rideau Canal Office of Parks Canada prior to their trip). The locks are in operation from mid-May to mid-October.
The limiting factor for a trip all the way into Perth is the fixed height of the Craig Street bridge (). If a vessel is taller than this, the vessel will have to dock at Last Duel Park, a short walk from downtown Perth. If a vessel is less than 2.1 metres above the waterline but taller than , the vessel's operator will have to have the Beckwith Street Bridge swung open to get into the Perth basin. Vessel operators should mention this to the lock staff at Beveridges who can advise when the bridge will swing.


Christopher Harding

Christopher Harding (born July 1978) is a cultural historian of modern India and Japan, lecturer in Asian history at the University of Edinburgh, broadcaster and journalist. His series on culture and mental health, "The Borders of Sanity", was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service in 2016.
Harding's book, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives", was included in The Times' best history books of the year 2020.


Plater coat of arms

Plater coat of arms is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the times of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Its most famous bearer was Emilia Plater, a Polish-Lithuanian heroine of the November uprising.


The Soul Herder

The Soul Herder is a 1917 American silent Western film directed by John Ford, and featuring Harry Carey. The film is presumed to be lost. The film was premiered in Dayton, Ohio, on August 3, 1917.
Reception.
Like many American films of the time, "The Soul Herder" was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors ordered cut scenes showing the shooting of a clergyman, a man muffling a girl in a bedroom, killing a man outside a house, and the closeup of a dead man.


Kasbar Ipegian

Kasbar Ipegian (b. 1883 - d. 1952) was a Lebanese Armenian and one of the most important figures of Armenian theater. Ipegian was a lawyer by profession; he had studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and had a talent for learning foreign languages. Rather than pursue the practice of law, he became involved with shaping Armenian theater in Armenian diaspora communities around in the world including Tbilisi, Istanbul, Tehran, Baghdad and Egypt. Not long after Hamazkayin was first established in Beirut, Ipegian directed the Levon Shant play "Oshin Bail" and personally wrote the script for "Ara and Shamiram". He became chairman of the Beirut Committee of Hamazkayin; in 1941, during his tenure as chairman, Ipegian created the Hamazkayin Theater Association, which put on plays by Shant. Papken Papazian was involved in the Association's 1943 production called "Bebeks" (My baby). Ipegian died in 1952. The Hamazkayin Theater Association was renamed the Hamazkayin Kasbar Ipegian Theater Company in his honor.


List of New York State Historic Markers in Schenectady County, New York

This is an incomplete list of New York State Historic Markers in Schenectady County, New York.


Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal)

Notre-Dame Basilica () is a basilica in the historic district of Old Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The church is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, at the corner of Saint Sulpice Street. It is located next to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary and faces the Place d'Armes square.
The interior of the church is amongst the most dramatic in the world and regarded as a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture. The vaults are coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is decorated in blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal. It also has a Casavant Frères pipe organ, dated 1891, which comprises four keyboards, 92 stops using electromagnetic action and an adjustable combination system, 7000 individual pipes and a pedal board.
Approximately 11 million people visit Notre-Dame Basilica every year, making it one of the most visited monuments in North America.
History.
In 1657, the Roman Catholic Sulpicians arrived in "Ville-Marie", now known as Montreal; six years later, the seigneury of the island was vested in them. They ruled until 1840. The parish they founded was dedicated to the Holy Name of Mary, and the parish church of Notre-Dame was built on the site in 1672. François Baillairgé, an architect, designed the interior decoration and choir 1785–95; facade and vault decoration, 1818.
The church served as the first cathedral of the Diocese of Montreal from 1821 to 1822.
By 1824 the congregation had completely outgrown the church, and James O'Donnell, an Irish-American Anglican from New York City, was commissioned to design the new building, with a goal of accommodating a congregation of up to 10,000. O'Donnell was a proponent of the Gothic Revival architectural movement, and designed the church as such. He intended for a terrace to be built on the exterior of the church, but this was never completed due to a lack of funding. He is the only person buried in the church's crypt. O'Donnell converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed and was thus buried in the crypt.
The primary construction took place between 1824 and 1829. The cornerstone was laid at Place d'Armes on September 1, 1824. The sanctuary was finished in 1830, and the first tower in 1841, the second in 1843. O'Donnell designed the towers to be traditionally Gothic, and intended for them to be seen from any point in the city. Following O'Donnell's death, John Ostell, an English-born architect, finished the towers according to O'Donnell's original plans. Upon completion, the church was the largest in North America, and remained so for over fifty years. Samuel Russell Warren constructed a new organ in 1858. The facade of the church was completed in 1865, and included three statues by French sculptor Henri Bouriché: Saint-Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Jean-Baptiste.
The interior took much longer, and Victor Bourgeau, who also worked on Montreal's Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, worked on it from 1872 to 1879. Stonemason John Redpath was a major participant in the construction of the Basilica. The sanctuary originally hosted a large canopy, but because it caused a lighting effect that would blind the congregation, the interior designs were reworked by Bourgeau and Victor Rousselot, the current priest. They were inspired by the Saint-Chappelle in Paris, with gold leaf motifs paired with brightly painted columns.
Because of the splendour and grand scale of the church, a more intimate chapel, Chapelle du Sacré-Cœur (Chapel of the Sacred Heart), was built behind it, along with some offices and a sacristy. It was completed in 1888. In 1886, Casavant Frères began constructing a new 32-foot pipe organ at the church, completing it in 1891. It was notably the first organ with adjustable-combination pedals to be operated by electricity.
Arson destroyed the Sacré-Cœur Chapel on December 8, 1978. It was rebuilt with the first two levels reproduced from old drawings and photographs, with modern vaulting and reredos and an immense bronze altarpiece by Quebec sculptor Charles Daudelin.
Notre-Dame Church was raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II on April 21, 1982. The Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Church was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989.
On May 31, 2000, the provincial state funeral for former Montreal Canadiens superstar Maurice "Rocket" Richard was held in front of thousands, both inside and outside the Basilica.
On October 3, 2000, Justin Trudeau gave his eulogy just steps from the High Altar during the state funeral of Pierre Trudeau, his father and Canada's 15th prime minister.
It was also the setting of Celine Dion's December 17, 1994, wedding to René Angélil and hosted the funeral service for Angélil on January 22, 2016.
In the summer of 2014, a French collector named Pierre-Jean Chalencon displayed a variety of artifacts that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte. These items included clothing, weapons, and furniture, and were on display in the crypt on the basilica.
In April 2019, following the Notre-Dame de Paris fire, Montreal's Notre-Dame announced that it would accept donations to aid in the Paris cathedral's reconstruction.
Bells.
Both towers have bells, the West Tower (La Persévérance), has a bourdon the bell nicknamed Jean-Baptiste, casted in John Dod Ward’s Eagle Foundry in 1848. Jean-Baptiste weighs 10,900 kg and only tolled only on special occasions such as funerals, great church festivals and even Christmas Eve. The East Tower (La Temperance), houses a ten-bell carillon from the same foundry in May 24, 1842.
Public access.
The basilica offers musical programming of choral and organ performances. It is a tradition among many Montrealers to attend the annual performance of Handel's "Messiah" every Christmas.
More than 11 million people visit Notre-Dame every year, one million fewer than Notre-Dame de Paris.


History of the violin

The violin, viola, and cello were first made in the early 16th century, in Italy. The earliest evidence for their existence is in paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari from the 1530s, though Ferrari's instruments had only three strings. The "Academie musicale", a treatise written in 1556 by Philibert Jambe de Fer, gives a clear description of the violin family much as we know it today.
Violins are likely to have been developed from a number of other string instruments of the 15th and 16th centuries, including the vielle, rebec, and lira da braccio. The history of bowed string instruments in Europe goes back to the 9th century with the Byzantine "lira" (or "lūrā", "Greek: λύρα").
Since their invention, instruments in the violin family have seen a number of changes. The overall pattern for the instrument was set in the 17th century by luthiers like the prolific Amati family, Jakob Stainer of the Tyrol, and Antonio Stradivari, with many makers at the time and since following their templates.
Early history.
The two earliest bowed instruments are the ravanastron and the omerti found in India and made of a hollowed cylinder of sycamore wood. They were played in the manner of a cello. Also in China, another two-stringed bowed instrument was the "erhu".
The direct ancestor of all European bowed instruments is the Arabic "rebab" (ربابة), which developed into the Byzantine lyra by the 9th century and later the European rebec. In Welsh, the equivalent were the three- and six-strings crwths (from the 11th century).
The Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 911) of the 9th century was the first to cite the bowed Byzantine lyra as a typical instrument of the Byzantines and equivalent to the rabāb used in the Islamic Empires of that time. The Byzantine lyra spread through Europe westward and in the 11th and 12th centuries European writers use the terms "fiddle" and "lira" interchangeably when referring to bowed instruments (Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009). In the meantime rabāb was introduced to the Western Europe possibly through the Iberian Peninsula and both bowed instruments spread widely throughout Europe giving birth to various European bowed instruments. During the Renaissance, the rebec came in different sizes and pitches: soprano, tenor, and bass. The smaller versions of the instrument were known in Italy as "ribecchino" and in France as rubechette.
Over the centuries that followed, Europe continued to have two distinct types of bowed instruments: one, relatively square-shaped, held in the arms, known with the Italian term lira da braccio (meaning 'viol for the arm') family; the other, with sloping shoulders and held between the knees, known with the Italian term "lira da gamba" (or "viola da gamba", meaning 'viol for the leg') group. During the Renaissance the gambas were important and elegant instruments. The very successful family of fretted viols appeared in Europe only few years before the violin. They eventually lost ground to the louder (and originally viewed as less aristocratic) "lira da braccio" family of the modern violin.
Emergence.
The first clear record of a violin-like instrument comes from paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari. In his "Madonna of the Orange Tree", painted in 1530, a cherub is seen playing a bowed instrument which clearly has the hallmarks of violins. A few years later, on a fresco in the cupola of the church of Madonna dei Miracoli in Saronno, angels play three instruments of the violin family, corresponding to violin, viola and cello. The instruments depicted by Ferrari have bulging front and back plates, strings that feed into peg-boxes with side pegs, and f-holes. They do not have frets. The only real difference between those instruments and the modern violin is that Ferrari's have three strings and a rather more extravagant curved shape. It is not clear exactly who made the first violins, but there is good evidence that they originate from northern Italy, near (and at the time within the political orbit of) Milan. Not only are Ferrari's paintings in that area but also towns like Brescia and Cremona then had a great reputation for the craftsmanship of stringed instruments.
The earliest documentary evidence for a violin is in the records of the treasury of Savoy, which paid for "trompettes et vyollons de Verceil", that is to say, "trumpets and violins from Vercelli", the town where Ferrari painted his Madonna of the Orange Tree. The first extant written use of the Italian term "violino" occurs in 1538, when "violini Milanesi" (Milanese violinists) were brought to Nice when negotiating the conclusion of a war.
The violin quickly became very popular, both among street-musicians and the nobility, which is illustrated by the fact that Charles IX of France commissioned an extensive range of string instruments in the second half of the 16th century. Around 1555, the French court imported a dance band of Italian violinists and in 1573, during one of Catherine de Medici's celebration "the music was the most melodious one had ever seen and the ballet was accompanied by some thirty violins playing very pleasantly a warlike tune," wrote an observer.
The oldest confirmed surviving violin, dated inside, is the "Charles IX" by Andrea Amati, made in Cremona in 1564, but the label is very doubtful. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has an Amati violin that may be even older, possibly dating to 1558 but just like the Charles IX the date is unconfirmed. One of the most famous and certainly the most pristine is the Messiah Stradivarius (also known as the 'Salabue') made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 and very little played, perhaps almost never and in an "as new" state. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford.
Early makers.
Instruments of approximately 300 years of age, especially those made by Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù, are the most sought-after, by both performers and (generally wealthier) collectors. In addition to the skill and reputation of the maker, an instrument's age can also influence both price and quality.
The violin has 70 parts, actually 72 if top and bottom plates are each made from two pieces of wood. Each of the separate parts is indispensable.
The most famous violin makers, between the early 16th century and the 18th century included:
Transition from Baroque to modern form.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, several changes occurred, including:
The results of these adjustments are instruments that are significantly different in sound and response from those that left the hands of their makers. Regardless, most violins nowadays are built superficially resembling the old instruments.
Trade violins.
In the 19th and 20th centuries numerous violins were produced in France, Saxony and the Mittenwald in what is now Germany, in the Tyrol, now parts of Austria and Italy, and in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic.
About seven million violin family instruments and basses, and far more bows, were shipped from Markneukirchen between 1880 and 1914. Many 19th and early 20th century instruments shipped from Saxony were in fact made in Bohemia, where the cost of living was less. While the French workshops in Mirecourt employed hundreds of workers, the Saxon/Bohemian instruments were made by a cottage industry of "mostly anonymous skilled laborers quickly turning out a simple, inexpensive product."
Today this market also sees instruments coming from China, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Recent inventions.
More recently, the Stroh violin used mechanical amplification similar to that of an unelectrified gramophone to boost sound volume. Some Stroh violins have a small "monitor" horn pointed at the player's ear, for audibility on a loud stage, where the main horn points at the audience. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries before electronic sound amplification became common, Stroh violins were used particularly in the recording studio. These violins with directional horns better suited the demands of the early recording industry's technology than the traditional violin. Stroh was not the only person who made instruments of this class. Over twenty different inventions appear in the Patent books up to 1949. Often mistaken for Stroh and interchangeably known as being Stroh-viols, phono-fiddles, horn-violins or trumpet-violins, these other instruments have slipped into comparative obscurity.
The history of the electric violin spans the entire 20th century. The success of electrical amplification, recording and playback devices brought an end to the use of the Stroh violin in broadcast and recording. Acoustic-electric violins have a hollow body with soundholes, and may be played with or without amplification. Solid-body electric violins produce very little sound on their own, and require the use of an electronic sound reinforcement system, which usually includes equalization and may also apply sonic effects.
Electric violins may have four strings, or as many as seven strings. Since the strength of materials imposes limits on the upper string, it is usually tuned to E5, with additional strings tuned in fifths below the usual G3 of a typical four-string violin. The five-string electric violin shown in the gallery below was built by John Jordan in the early 21st century, and is tuned C G D A E.
Sources.
Boyden, David The History of Violin Playing from its origins to 1761. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1965. .


Toto and the King of Rome

Toto and the King of Rome () is a 1952 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and Steno. Italian horror film director Lucio Fulci worked on this film as an assistant director.
Plot.
The film's title alludes playfully to the politicians who rule the town of Rome, since the laws that are in their favor and the tricks that make for years to stay in office. In fact the whole film as a kind of political satire and Italy was also censored.<br>
Ercole Pappalardo is an archivist who is forced to do anything not to lose his job. In fact, some of his colleagues take the dirtiest means for groped to pander to their manager, and Ercole is one of them. Ercole deeply hate Italian politics since according to him is wrong and does not provide any benefit for people in difficulties and may lose the place as him. His troubles begin when by mistake, according to a theatrical show in the gallery, sneezes the head to his audience that the director begins to not take it anymore. Since then, the career of Ercole is in real danger and the only way to save is to do the lick just like his colleagues. Among these is a particularly slimy and cunning: prof Palocco (Alberto Sordi) to obtain a seat on the upper floors with its subterfuge that also puts him to persecute the poor Ercole.
In fact, during that time, Mr. Pappalardo had been entrusted with the task of recovering its director for a parrot that had endured the World War II, but that he had accidentally killed by a shot fired from a bottle cap of champagne. As if all the problems were not enough to Ercole addition, there is also a new one, because the pimp Palocco (Sordi) finds out that Ercole did the exam for primary school, and so Pappalado is forced to study again for to continue his work. The directors of the office try to pass Ercole turning a blind eye to the cause, but the cruel Palocco comes at the last moment. Here is an example of political satire and as a result of censorship: Ercole is asked the name of an elephant and he, not knowing what it was that kind replies "De Gasperi" (the name of the political Alcide De Gasperi, but the Italian censorship cut the joke, imposing a dubbing, so that the current joke results "Bartali" from Gino Bartali).
Ercole is rejected and so hopes to communicate only in death his wife play the numbers on the ticket lottery. Ercole dies and finds himself to wait in the office of the High Pines to gain access to Heaven. Having waited so long for the overcrowding of divine offices, God summons Hercules and would punish him for the gesture he made. Yet when God discovers that Ercole has worked for thirty years in the archives of the Ministry, without ever being noticed and praised for what he has done with some increase in salary or grade, he sends him in Heaven. Now, finally, Ercole can make his family grow rich by communicating his lottery numbers to his wife in dreams.
External links.


Bess Meredyth

Bess Meredyth (born Helen Elizabeth MacGlashen, February 12, 1890 – July 13, 1969) was a screenwriter and silent film actress. The wife of film director Michael Curtiz, Meredyth wrote "The Affairs of Cellini" (1934) and adapted "The Unsuspected" (1947). She was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Early life.
Meredyth began her involvement in performing and writing from an early age. Her father was the manager at a local theatre, and she studied piano throughout her childhood. After encouragement from her English teacher, Meredyth also pursued fiction writing. At the age of 13, she approached the local newspaper editor about writing a fiction column. Each story she wrote for the paper earned her a dollar, making this her first paid work as a writer.
Meredyth began her career in show business in vaudeville as a comedian. She most often sang or performed monologues while accompanying herself on the piano, a form she referred to as a "pianologue."
Acting career.
Meredyth began her screen career as an extra at D.W. Griffith's Biograph Studios in New York, before moving to Los Angeles in 1911. Meredyth worked as an actress for five years, subsidizing her income with screenwriting. While most of this work was as an extra, her most prominent role was the titular character in the 4-reel "Bess the Detectress" (1914) serials.
Relationship With Wilfred Lucas.
Meredyth met Wilfred Lucas in 1911 when he encouraged her to pursue screen acting. The year after, the two worked together on the film "A Sailor's Heart" (1913)"," the first of many artistic collaborations. They were eventually given their production unit at Universal Studios, in which they produced the 30-reel long "Trey of Hearts" (1914) serials.
Meredyth and Lucas had one child together, television writer John Meredyth Lucas. They divorced in 1927, following her return from supervising "" (1925)
Work with Snowy Baker.
In 1918, Meredyth and Lucas traveled to Australia to work with Australian sportsman Snowy Baker. They made three films together, "The Man from Kangaroo" (1920), "The Jackeroo of Coolabong" (1920) and "The Shadow of Lightning Ridge" (1921), the first two of which Meredyth co-directed. She was arguably the first professional screenwriter to work in Australia.
Relationship with Michael Curtiz.
Meredyth and director Michael Curtiz met soon after his arrival in the United States, while both were working at Warner Brothers Studios. They were married in 1929 and unsuccessfully attempted to start a production unit at MGM studios in 1946.
Though often uncredited, Meredyth contributed to several of Curtiz's projects. Most notably, Curtiz reportedly called Meredyth for input several times a day while working on his most successful film, "Casablanca" (1942).
Meredyth and Curtiz separated twice; once in 1941, and again in 1960. However, they remained in contact after this separation, and Curtiz included Meredyth in his will upon his death in 1962.
Book.
In 1934, Covei-Friede published "The Mighty Barnum" by Meredyth and Gene Fowler. In a review in "The New York Times", John Chamberlain wrote that the book "marks the first time that a motion-picture scenario, or 'shooting script,' has been published in book form."
Retirement.
Throughout her time at MGM studios, Meredyth had mainly worked under Irving Thalberg. Upon his death in 1936, the new MGM executives dropped Meredyth's contract. Rather than re-entering as a "junior writer," as the new executives offered, Meredyth decided to retire from professional screenwriting. Despite this announcement, she has three credits after her alleged retirement," The Mark of Zorro" (1940), "That Night in Rio" (1941), and "The Unsuspected" (1947).
Death.
On July 13, 1969, Meredyth died at the Motion Picture Country Hospital at age 79.


Swatow ware

Swatow ware or Zhangzhou ware is a loose grouping of mainly late Ming dynasty Chinese export porcelain wares initially intended for the Southeast Asian market. The traditional name in the West arose because Swatow, or present-day Shantou, was the South Chinese port in Guangdong province from which the wares were thought to have been shipped. The many kilns were probably located all over the coastal region, but mostly near Zhangzhou, Pinghe County, Fujian, where several were excavated in the mid-1990s, which has clarified matters considerably.
Many authorities now prefer to call the wares Zhangzhou ware, as it seems that Swatow did not become an important export port until the 19th century, and the wares were actually probably exported from Yuegang, now Longhai City, Zhangzhou. The precise dates for the beginning and ending of production remain uncertain, but the evidence from archaeology suggests production between about 1575–1650, though an earlier start has been proposed. The peak levels of production may have ended around 1620.
Compared to contemporary Jingdezhen porcelain, Swatow ware is generally coarse, crudely potted and often under-fired. Decoration in underglaze blue and white using cobalt is the most common, and was probably the only type of decoration at first, but there are many polychrome wares, using red, green, turquoise, black and yellow overglaze enamels. Underglaze blue decoration had been common in Chinese ceramics for over two centuries, but polychrome enamels had been relatively unusual before this period. The pieces are mostly "large open forms such as dishes, painted with sketchy designs over the glaze in red, green, turquoise and black enamels". On the other hand, the "drawing has a spontaneity not found in the central tradition" of finer wares.
While "Swatow ware" is typically reserved for pieces with the characteristic styles of decoration, "Zhangzhou ware" also covers other types of wares made in the same kilns, for export or not, including large stoneware storage jars, whitewares, and a few figurines of the "blanc de Chine" type.
Characteristics.
The most common subjects are birds in flight or at rest in or by water, and flowers. Animals, especially deer, set in a landscape are also common, as main subjects or in medallions in the border. Human figures are usually shown as staffage in landscapes, especially manning boats, but sometimes as a main subject. Other motifs are sea-monsters and dragons, both oddly-shaped. Some dishes have Islamic inscriptions in Arabic, intended for South East Asian Muslims rather than those further west. Some dishes show European ships, and represent Western ship's compasses. The designs show awareness of contemporary Jingdezhen porcelain, but at a considerable distance. Smaller numbers of pieces, often undecorated, are in a range of other background colours, especially blues and browns, usually achieved by slips, but also by applying coloured glazes all over.
The pieces very often have grit from the kiln on the glaze at the foot, indicating rather careless making. They were fired in dragon kilns of various designs, and the numerous potteries were small concerns, far removed from the industrial scale of Jingdezhen. Pieces were mostly wheel-thrown, but moulds were also used to form pieces.
The iconography has peculiarities, including the motif of the "split pagoda" where the central scene "is dominated by what resembles a three storey pagoda split in two vertically by a funnel-like strip reserved in white, almost like a volcanic eruption", which has puzzled scholars; there are a number of suggestions as to its meaning. This is now interpreted by some, including the Percival David Foundation and Victoria and Albert Museum, as "the path to the islands of the Immortals" of Chinese mythology, leaping above the building, while others retain an open mind. This design is one of many where the Chinese characters in "debased" seal script make no sense, reflecting illiterate decorators producing for a market that could not read Chinese.
A division of the blue and white wares into three "families" or broad groups has been proposed by Barbara Harrisson: "conservative", "persistent" and "versatile", in chronological order. This classification was further refined by Monique Crick in 2010 into three types of decoration: "Sketchy", "Composed", and "Full "rim-to-rim"". The "Sketchy decoration" group uses "a vigorous, brushed style, painted freehand and spontaneously" by a single artisan. The later groups often use drawing in dark concentrated blue to create the design, which is then overpainted with a lighter wash, in the same style that is often used with black and turquoise in the polychrome enamels. Some of these pieces have visible pin pricks indicating where a stencil was fixed, presumably allowing rapid painting of the wash. The outline would have needed to dry before the wash was applied, suggesting that a number of artisans were involved in different stages of production requiring different levels of skill.
The polychrome enamel wares may not have begun until the start of the 17th century, but then increased rapidly, forming about half of the Swatow pieces from the Binh Thuan wreck, which perhaps sank in 1608. The dishes were given a white slip coating, and fired at the high temperature necessary for porcelain, which would have burnt the coloured enamels. They were then painted before a short second firing at about 800° C. Common palettes are red, green and (rather less) yellow, and turquoise, red, green and black. The black, mainly used for line-drawing, was actually made from the cobalt used for underglaze blue, in impure and concentrated form.
A relatively rare type is decorated in both underglaze blue and white and overglaze enamels. These pieces were expensive to produce and seem to have been made for the Japanese market. An example can be seen in the wall of dishes illustrated (D5).
Markets.
Asia.
Almost no examples of Swatow ware have been excavated in China itself, other than at the actual kiln sites, and it seems the wares were, like some other types, entirely made to export. The main markets were the islands of South-East Asia, especially modern Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, together with Japan. Other traditional markets for Chinese ceramics such as Korea and Vietnam seem not to be involved; they had already developed more traditional Chinese tastes favouring finely shaped monochrome wares or more delicately decorated styles. The dishes were used for display, and for dining; even royalty sat with guests on mats on the floor, eating communally from several large dishes, as early European visitors reported.
In Japan fragments have been found at prestigious castle and temple sites, and it seems that the rather crude vigour of the decoration appealed to the very sophisticated aesthetic sense of some Japanese tea-masters, leaders of taste at the time. The smaller bowls and jars were more easily utilized in the Japanese tea ceremony and other contexts, and some Japanese pieces imitated Swatow shapes and decoration.
A wreck off the south coast of Vietnam at Binh Thuan carried a cargo whose surviving elements were Swatow ware and cast iron woks; its excavation was published in 2004. The porcelain was about half blue-and-white and half with overglaze enamels, the latter having suffered from the extended immersion in the sea. It may well be the ship recorded as lost at sea in 1608, which the Dutch East India Company (VOC) had arranged to carry a cargo, mainly of Chinese silk, to their station at Johore in modern Malaysia, perhaps intending to trade the ceramics for spices around the Spice Islands. There were thousands of "medium-sized dishes", as well as some blue and white ones up to 42 cm across, and smaller dishes and jars. There were many designs, repeated in batches, much as in modern ceramic output, but with the designs varying from the free and presumably rapid execution.
European.
European markets were probably much less significant, and the Kraak ware of the same period was probably always sent in greater quantity there. This has many similarities but was all in underglaze blue and white. The Portuguese had traded at Yuegang until expelled in 1548, but were allowed to return from 1567, and in 1577 were allowed to establish a station at Macao. The Santos Palace in Lisbon has a room decorated between 1664 and 1687 with a spectacular angled ceiling covered with Chinese blue and white porcelain dishes; three of these have been identified as Swatow ware.
The Spanish, who were settled at Manila in the Philippines, carried goods including Chinese luxuries between there and New World ports such as Acapulco in the Manila galleon trade. Swatow ware has been recovered from several Spanish sites and wrecks, including Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho's "San Agustin", wrecked in 1595 at Drakes Bay, just north of San Francisco.
The Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, traded with Indonesia, a major market for the wares. They were not allowed to trade directly with China, and contented themselves with capturing any Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese vessels they could, and probably arranging deliveries to their bases by Chinese ships. From 1624 they had a base on Formosa (modern Taiwan). The rather similar export Kraak porcelain was adapted to suit European tastes, which Swatow ware never seems to have been. Later Swatow wares may have been exported directly to Europe by the Dutch. These European trades have left fragments of Swatow ware at various land sites and wrecks around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
Collections.
The pieces have remained appreciated in their original markets, especially in Indonesia and Japan, where there are several good collections. They were generally not collected by the Chinese and most Western and Chinese museums with good collections of ceramics have sparse holdings. The Dutch Princessehof Ceramics Museum has an exceptional collection of some 170 pieces, with "the most representative range of the type", though in terms of shapes it concentrates on the large dishes. This was originally assembled in Indonesia by a Dutch colonial administrator in the 19th century.


Edmund, son of Harold Godwinson

Edmund or Eadmund ( 1068 – 1069) was a son of Harold Godwinson, King of England. He was driven into exile in Dublin by the Norman conquest of England, along with two of his brothers, and from there he twice took part in expeditions to south-western England, but with little success. He disappears from history in the early 1070s.
Parentage and upbringing.
Edmund's precise date of birth is unknown, but can be estimated from the fact that his elder brother is thought to have been born in the mid- or late 1040s. His family was one of the most powerful in Anglo-Saxon England: his paternal grandfather was Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and his father was Harold Godwinson, who at about this time inherited the same title. His mother, Edith Swan-neck, was married to Harold "more danico", "in the Danish manner", that is to say they had a form of marriage which was not recognized by the Church but which was at the time widely considered legitimate among the laity. Harold Harefoot, for example, succeeded to the throne despite being the son of such a marriage between king Cnut and Ælfgifu of Northampton. Harold Godwinson had five sons, probably not by the same mother, and Edmund seems to have been either the second or third of these. Edmund was probably named after Edmund Ironside, the English king who in his short reign led the resistance to the Danish invasion. Edmund Haroldson can be presumed to have received an education befitting the son of a great nobleman, with the emphasis on gaining military and diplomatic skills, and though he was apparently too young to fight for his father, now king of England, at the Battle of Hastings, he had opportunities to use these skills in the next few years.
Resistance in south-west England.
Harold Godwinson's defeat and death at Hastings were a disaster for his family, especially since the Anglo-Saxon magnates in London responded by electing as king not one of Harold's sons but Edgar Ætheling, a great-nephew of Edward the Confessor. Edgar's brief "reign" – he was never actually crowned – ended when William the Conqueror reached London in December 1066. Edmund's grandmother Gytha, the widow of Earl Godwin, retreated to the south-west of England to consolidate her power in that still unconquered part of the country, but at the beginning of 1068 William led his army against her, and besieged her in Exeter. Edmund is not specifically mentioned in contemporary sources as being part of this south-western rebellion, but it is very likely that he and his brothers Godwin and Magnus were there, asserting their claim to be leaders of the Anglo-Saxon opposition. After eighteen days Exeter submitted to William, but by that time Gytha, and perhaps her grandchildren, had escaped and taken refuge on an island in the Bristol Channel, probably Steep Holm.
Raids from Ireland.
That summer Edmund was in Dublin under the protection of king Diarmait of Leinster, who had many years previously given refuge similarly to his father. Edmund was accompanied by his brothers Godwin and Magnus, if we are to believe the chronicler John of Worcester, or by Godwin and his first cousin Tostig (a son of Swein Godwinson) if we believe the Anglo-Norman chronicler Geoffrey Gaimar. They seem to have had Harold Godwinson's remaining housecarls in their service, and still had the resources to make Diarmait gifts such as the "battle standard of the king of the Saxons" mentioned by the Annals of Inisfallen, and to hire a force of mercenaries. With a fleet of 52 ships they sailed to the Bristol Channel and first harried the area around the mouth of the river Avon, then attacked Bristol, and after being driven off by the townspeople they sailed back to the Somerset coast and landed again. They may have expected a welcome there and planned to recruit more men, since Godwin's only landholdings at the death of Edward the Confessor had been two small manors in Somerset at Nettlecombe and Langford-in-Burrington, but if so they were disappointed. They encountered a local force under the command of Eadnoth the Staller which fought a bloody battle with them at Bleadon. Eadnoth was one of the fatalities, and possibly also Edmund's brother Magnus. After harrying Devon and Cornwall the surviving brothers returned to Dublin, richer but having won no great military success.
In the summer of 1069 another raid was launched from Dublin, but this time, the sources tell us, by only two of the sons of Harold, whom they do not name. This time they sailed in 64 ships to Exeter, which they failed to take, and then ravaged parts of the south coast of Devon and perhaps the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall before rounding Land's End and landing, "incautiously" as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says, in the estuary of the river Taw on the north coast of Devon. After pillaging the area around Barnstaple they took their forces into the hinterland and at the Battle of Northam encountered an army under the command of Brian of Brittany, which, to quote the Chronicle again, "slew all the best men from the [brothers'] troops while the few survivors escaped to their ships". The two raids had been politically and militarily disastrous, and had only demonstrated that the memory of their father's reign could not gain them any supporters in the south-west.
Flanders to Denmark.
It is likely that Godwin and Edmund accompanied their sister Gytha, aunt Gunnhild, and grandmother Gytha when they fled to St Omer in Flanders in, perhaps, late 1069 or early 1070. It is certain that they later went on to the court of king Swein Estrithson in Denmark along with the younger Gytha. They doubtless hoped that Swein would support them in an invasion of England, but he did not; Swein had recently failed badly in a similar attempt on his own behalf and he can have had little inclination to try again on theirs, especially since there was bad blood between the two families, Swein's brother having long ago been murdered by a brother of Harold Godwinson. Gytha was married off to Vladimir Monomakh, Prince of Smolensk, probably in 1074 or 1075, but Godwin and Edmund make no further appearance in history. The date of their deaths is unknown.


Dacian art

Dacian art is the art associated with the peoples known as Dacians or North Thracians; The Dacians created an art style in which the influences of Scythians and the Greeks can be seen. They were highly skilled in gold and silver working and in pottery making. Pottery was white with red decorations in floral, geometric, and stylized animal motifs. Similar decorations were worked in metal, especially the figure of a horse, which was common on Dacian coins.
Background.
The Geto-Dacians lived in a very large territory, stretching from the Balkans to the northern Carpathians and from the Black Sea and the river Tyras to the Tisa plain, sometimes even to the Middle Danube. Between 15th-12th century, the Dacian-Getae culture was influenced by the Bronze Age Tumulus-Urnfield warriors.
Dacian civilization went through several stages of development, from the Thracian stage in the Bronze Age to the classical period of the Geto-Dacians (the first century BC to the first century AD). In the Bronze Age, proto-Thracian populations emerged from the fusion of the local Eneolithic (Chalcolithic) stock with the intruders of the transitional Indo-Europeanization Period. From these proto-Thracians, in the Iron Age, there were developed the Dacians of the Danubian-Carpathian Area on the one hand and the Thracians of the eastern Balkan Peninsula on the other.
Pre-Dacian periods.
North Thracian population was chiefly an Early Bronze Age mix of the descendants of intrusive stockbreeding people and of survivors of the autochthonous Chalcolithic culture that the newcomers had destroyed. In this ethnic synthesis which gave birth to the Thracian people, the former predominated but, especially in the more mountainous areas, vestiges of Chalcolithic traditions survived through the Early and into the Middle Bronze Age.
The local, Daco-Thracian art should not be mistaken for the art of the Thracians south of the Balkans although mutual influences had undoubtedly appeared.
Thracian art was typically geometric in its decoration, a taste which was a remnant of Late Bronze Age traditions. While the Thracian tribes adopted-no doubt from the Scythians-some aspects of mounted nomadism in the first millennium B.C., they also preserved many traditions of the European Bronze Age and belonged more to the world of European cultures than to that of the East.
Classical Dacian periods.
The 1st century BC silver work from the lower Danube region consists mostly of bracelets and fibulae alongside of a small number of decorative disks, plaques, and bowls. To distinguish it from earlier Thracian silver work, one might label this later silver work as Geto-Dacian or Geto-Thracian depending on whether is found above or below the lower Danube.
The design of Geto-Dacian helmets (i.e. Ciumesti, Iron Gate) is sufficiently unusual in ancient art to offer the opportunity to trace it to its origin, and, thereby, provide some insight into the Scythian elements that went into the formation of early Dacian art and the means by which ancient Oriental motifs survived and were transmitted into Europe Almost identical in decoration and details of craftsmanship are the two silver beakers, now in Bucharest and New York and unquestionably were made in the same metalsmith shop as the helmet.


Odzemek

The Odzemek (in slovak Odzemok) is a Slovak solo traditional dance for men which always has an improvised character. The dance starts out slow and gets faster as the dance goes on, and is traditionally danced in Slovakia and also Moravian Wallachia. The name Odzemok comes from the words 'od zeme,' which means 'from the ground.'
Composers such as Antonín Dvořák composed these dances. The first dance from the "Slavonic Dances" Op. 72 is an odzemek.


Jorge Mautner

Henrique George Mautner (born January 17, 1941), better known by his stage name Jorge Mautner, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, lyricist, violinist, actor, screenwriter, film director and poet, considered to be a pioneer of the MPB scene and of the "Tropicalista" movement.
Biography.
Mautner was born in Rio de Janeiro on January 17, 1941, one month after his mother, Anna Illich, a Catholic Yugoslav, and his father, Paul Mautner, an Austrian Jew, emigrated from Europe to Brazil to escape from the Holocaust. Despite being a sympathizer of Getúlio Vargas, Paul was a part of the Jewish underground resistance. Anna eventually suffered from a major paralysis due to a trauma caused by the fact that Jorge's sister, Susana, was not able to embark to Brazil with them, and so until he was 7 years old a nanny, Lúcia, took care of him; Lúcia was a "mãe-de-santo", and introduced Jorge to Candomblé.
In 1948 Jorge's parents divorced, and Anna eventually remarried Henri Müller, a violinist who played for the São Paulo State Symphony, and who taught Jorge how to play the violin. His family later moved to São Paulo, where he studied at the prestigious Colégio Dante Alighieri; despite being an excellent student, he would, however, be expelled before he could graduate from high school because of a text he wrote, considered "indecent" by his teachers.
Mautner began to write his first book, "Deus da Chuva e da Morte", when he was 15 years old; it was published in 1962, and in the following year it won the Prêmio Jabuti. "Deus da Chuva e da Morte" would be the first part of what is today known as his "Mitologia do Kaos" trilogy, which also comprises "Kaos" (1963) and "Narciso em Tarde Cinza" (1965). In it, Mautner would define the main ideology of what he calls the "Kaos Movement".
In 1962 he joined the Brazilian Communist Party, after being invited by Mário Schenberg.
Mautner was arrested during the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état, but was later released, under the conditions of "expressing himself more carefully". In 1966 he recorded his first musical release, the 7" single "Radioatividade", through RCA Records. Soon after he travelled to the United States, where he worked for the UNESCO and as a translator of Brazilian books. He later met poet Robert Lowell, serving as his secretary, as well as Paul Goodman, with whom he developed a strong friendship and suffered an everlasting influence from him.
In 1968 he briefly returned to Brazil, where he worked as screenwriter on Neville d'Almeida's film "Jardim de Guerra", that was only released two years later.
In 1970 he travelled to London, where he befriended Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. He later returned to Brazil, settling in Rio de Janeiro once more, where he began to write for the humoristic newspaper "O Pasquim". In the same year he directed the film "O Demiurgo", which starred himself, Gil, Veloso, José Roberto Aguilar, Péricles Cavalcanti and Leilah Assunção. The film was censored by the dictatorship though, and never received a wide release. (In 2013 Mautner made the film available in its entirety through his official YouTube channel.) Around the same time he met Nélson Jacobina, one of his most prolific songwriting partners, with whom he wrote, among many other songs, the 1974 hit "Maracatu Atômico".
On December 10, 1973, Mautner was invited to partake in the "Banquete dos Mendigos" "show-manifesto", idealized and directed by Jards Macalé. The show, that happened at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro and was backed by the UN, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and also counted with the presence of Chico Buarque, Dominguinhos, Edu Lobo, Gal Costa, Gonzaguinha, Johnny Alf, Luiz Melodia, Milton Nascimento, MPB4, Nélson Jacobina, Paulinho da Viola and Raul Seixas, among others. It spawned a double-disc live album, which due to censorship issues was only released in 1979.
In 1988 Mautner took part in a short-lived "joke side project" formed by then-Titãs member Arnaldo Antunes named Vestidos de Espaço, which also comprised Branco Mello, Charles Gavin, Paula Toller of Kid Abelha and record producer Liminha. The band's only release before their demise in the following year was a 7" single with the tracks "Pipi Popô" and "A Marcha do Demo"; the latter was included in the Titãs compilation album "E-collection" from 2000.
In 2002 Mautner served as a guest musician on synth-pop band Metrô's third album, "Déjà-Vu", providing violin and additional vocals for a track. In the same year he released a collaborative album with Caetano Veloso, "Eu Não Peço Desculpa", which won the Latin Grammy Award in 2003.
A documentary about Mautner, directed by Pedro Bial and Heitor d'Alincourt, was released in 2012 to positive reception, entitled ""; it was inspired by his autobiography of the same name, published in 2006. In the same year he collaborated with Rogério Skylab in his album "Abismo e Carnaval", writing the lyrics and providing additional vocals for the track "Palmeira Brasileira".
On January 17, 2016, coinciding with his 75th birthday, Mautner published his eleventh book, "Kaos Total".
On July 28, 2016, it was reported that Mautner suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the Hospital Samaritano in Rio. He underwent a surgery to implant four stents into his heart, but eventually recovered. One month later, on August 30, he announced that he began work on a 10-volume series of books about his years as a militant for the Brazilian Communist Party during the mid-1960s.
In 2017 Mautner appeared in Laís Bodanzky's film "Just Like Our Parents" as Homero Fabri.
In April 2019 he released his first studio album in 12 years, entitled "Não Há Abismo em que o Brasil Caiba". One of the album's tracks is a tribute to feminist/LGBT activist Marielle Franco, murdered in 2018. The album was considered one of the 25 best Brazilian albums of the first half of 2019 by the São Paulo Association of Art Critics.
Personal life.
In 1968 he married historian Ruth Mendes, with whom he had a daughter, Amora (born 1975), who became a famous "telenovela" director.


Order of the Rue Crown

The Order of the Rue Crown () or Order of the Crown of Saxony is a dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue ("crancelin") found in the coat of arms of Saxony. It occupies the highest rank of the former Saxon honour system.
History.
The order was created to be the civil counterpart to the Military Order of St. Henry, the only order previously at the disposal of the new king. It was established in 1807 by Frederick Augustus I, the first King of Saxony. The order was originally limited to 24 knights, but exceptions were made for members of ruling houses and those whose membership in the order would add to its prestige.
The Order of the Rue Crown was presented in a single grade, Knight. Twice, the order was granted in a special grade with diamonds, to Portuguese Prime Minister Dom Nuno José de Moura Barreto, Duke of Loulé in 1859 and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1885. From its founding to the fall of the Kingdom of Saxony in 1918, the order was presented 332 times.
Appearance.
The badge of the order is a gold Maltese cross, enameled in green with a white border. The white center medallion features the crowned monogram of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, encircled by a green crown of rue. Between the arms of the cross is a golden crown of rue.
The star of the order is made of silver, and has eight points. The center of the star bears a gold medallion with the motto of the order, "PROVIDENTIÆ MEMOR", inside a ring of green rue leaves.
The badge of the order is borne on a ribband of grass green, worn over the right shoulder.


Mohawk Chapel

Her Majesty's Royal Chapel of the Mohawks in Brantford, Ontario is the oldest surviving church building in Ontario and was the first Anglican church in Upper Canada. It is one of only three Chapels Royal in Canada. In 1981, the chapel was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
History.
Constructed in 1785 by the British Crown, the chapel was given to the Mohawk people led by Joseph Brant for their support of the Crown during the American Revolution. They had migrated to Canada after Britain lost the Thirteen Colonies and were awarded land for resettlement. Originally called "St. Paul's", the church is commonly referred to as the "Mohawk Chapel". It is part of the Anglican Diocese of Huron and has a chaplain appointed by the Bishop of Huron, in consultation with the congregation.
In 1850, the remains of Joseph Brant were moved from the original burial site in Burlington to a tomb at the Mohawk Chapel. His son, John Brant, was also interred in the tomb. Next to Brant's tomb is a boulder memorializing the writer Pauline Johnson, who was born in the nearby Six Nations Reserve and attended services in the chapel.
In 1904, it was designated as a Chapel Royal by King Edward VII.
Design.
Architecturally, the chapel is a simple building with a rectangular floor plan; it is constructed of a wood frame faced with painted clapboards. It has been renovated several times. In November 2001, it suffered minor damage during two failed arson attempts.
Originally, the entrance faced east to the canoe landing site on the bank of the Grand River, the transportation route. Eight stained glass windows, installed between 1959 and 1962, depict events from the history of the Six Nations of the Iroquois.
Chaplains and associated clergy.
1786 to 1827 (the first missionaries - no resident clergy):
1827 to present (chapel incumbents - resident clergy):