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null | Happy Home may refer to:
Topics referred to by the same term | cbcd15b3-f4dc-4d5f-a2e5-5498dd1e3aa0 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine_Gorge_National_Park"} | Protected area in Queensland, Australia
Porcupine Gorge National Park is a national park in Porcupine, Shire of Flinders in North West Queensland, Australia, 1,174 km northwest of Brisbane and 60 km north of Hughenden. Established in 1970, the national park has an area of 54.10 km2 and is managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. It is an IUCN category II park.
The national park was established in the area surround Porcupine Gorge. The gorge features strata of sedimentary rocks which span hundreds of millions of years.
Fauna
The park provides habitat for the rock-wallaby, Pacific black duck, crimson-winged parrot and black bittern. | b1a3ca48-39f7-4bb9-9c8c-bf5071dea726 |
null | Septate is a morphological term defined in biology in two different instances: | e4095fb0-ce7e-4705-bca9-58b64c89be1d |
null | English footballer (born 1948)
Laurence Valentine Lloyd (born 6 October 1948) is an English former footballer player and manager. A defender, he won domestic and European honours for both Bill Shankly's Liverpool and Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in the 1970s.
Career
Early years
Lloyd started playing local football with Henbury Old Boys before being signed to Bristol Rovers.
Liverpool
Rovers accepted a £50,000 bid for Lloyd in April 1969 with manager Bill Shankly looking for a long-term successor to ageing skipper and defender Ron Yeats. Lloyd broke into the team in 1969, making his debut on 27 September in a league game at The Hawthorns. Liverpool drew with West Bromwich Albion 2–2. By the following year Lloyd was a regular as Shankly underwent a major rebuilding of the side, finding more new players of Lloyd's age.
Lloyd partnered one of the players who survived the Shankly cull, captain Tommy Smith. The pair were at the heart of the defence that took Liverpool to the 1971 FA Cup final, losing 2–1 after extra time to newly crowned league champions Arsenal.
Sir Alf Ramsey gave Lloyd his international debut on 19 May 1971 in a British Home Championship match against Wales. The game was played at Wembley and finished 0–0. Lloyd's club teammates Chris Lawler, Emlyn Hughes and Smith all started the game.
1972 saw Lloyd score his first goal for the Reds. It came in the 3–0 league win over Manchester City at Anfield on 26 February. His goal was the first of the 3 and came in the 37th minute. Kevin Keegan (53rd) and Bobby Graham (65th) completed the scoring.
Liverpool won the League and UEFA Cup double in 1973. Lloyd did not miss a single minute of the 54 matches played in the whole season. He scored in the first leg of the UEFA Cup final helping Liverpool to a 3–2 aggregate victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. The following year he suffered an injury losing his place to the young Phil Thompson and missed out on victory in the FA Cup final against Newcastle United.
Shankly quit that summer. Successor Bob Paisley preferred Thompson and Lloyd transferred to Coventry City.
Coventry City
On 15 August 1974, Coventry paid a club record transfer fee of £240,000 for Lloyd's services. The deal was to be funded by the sale to Tottenham of Mick McGuire and Jimmy Holmes for £200,000 but this fell through when Spurs manager Bill Nicholson resigned. As a consequence Coventry went substantially into the red and were left with financial problems for some years.
Nottingham Forest
In October 1976 Brian Clough, acting on Peter Taylor's advice, snapped up Lloyd for £60,000 after an initial loan period. Forest were chasing promotion to the top flight in English football. He made his Forest debut on 2 October in a league match against Hull City. Forest lost 1–0 away at Boothferry Park. It did not prevent Lloyd going on to win promotion with Forest that season. They won the League title the next season, and also won the League Cup final, against Lloyd's former club, Liverpool.
In 1979, Lloyd and Forest won the European Cup and retained the League Cup.
In the 1979–80 League Cup they reached the final for the third season running but lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In June 1979, Lloyd represented the League of Ireland XI as a guest player in a tour of Asia, scoring twice in a 4–1 win over Singapore.
In 1980, Forest retained their European crown. Also in May 1980, Lloyd earned a recall to the England squad and played in the 4–1 loss to Wales in the Home Internationals. It was to be his fourth and final cap, coming eight years after his previous one.
Wigan Athletic
Lloyd left Forest for Wigan Athletic in March 1981, where he was player-manager taking over from Ian McNeill. In 1981–82, he guided them to promotion from the Fourth Division, in only their fourth season as a Football League team. The following season, Lloyd oversaw their survival in the Third Division.
Notts County
Lloyd's success as Wigan attracted the attention of Notts County, who were looking for a new first team manager after Jimmy Sirrel "moved upstairs". However, after Lloyd's only season at Meadow Lane he left the club after relegation ended their three-year stay in the First Division.
Later years
Up until 2000 Lloyd was a regular and outspoken pundit for Nottingham-based local radio, firstly on GEM AM and latterly on Century 106, covering Forest matches. He lived in Spain for many years, where he had a number of bars and dealt in property sales. He was involved in football as manager of amateur side Real Marbella. In 2021, he returned to the UK to live in Nottinghamshire.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honours
Liverpool
Nottingham Forest | 6909b73b-5d3b-423e-93c7-5d80768721d9 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull_York_Medical_School"} | Medical school in Kingston upon Hull, England
Hull York Medical School (HYMS) is a medical school in England which took its first intake of students in 2003. It was opened as a part of the British Government's attempts to train more doctors, along with Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Peninsula Medical School and University of East Anglia Medical School.
History
The early history of medical education in Hull and York goes back to the three following institutions: Hull Medical School (1831), York Medical Society (1832) and the York Medical School (1834). Notable doctors associated with the York school included John Hughlings Jackson (in whose honour the modern medical school building at the University of York is named), Daniel Hack Tuke, Thomas Laycock (physiologist), James Atkinson (surgeon), and Sir Jonathan Hutchinson. It is thought that the York school closed in the 1860s.
The founding of a medical school as part of the University of Hull was considered in the Report of the Royal Commission on Medical Education 1965–68 (Todd Report) (published 1968), but the idea was not thought viable until the Humber Bridge was completed, as it would enable students to travel to placements in South Lincolnshire.
Teaching
The medical school has 156 places for 2018 and receives around 1,200 applications each year. Of the successful applicants each year, half are based at the University of Hull and the other half are based at the University of York for the first two years of their course. In 2017, the medical school was ranked 17th in the UK by The Guardian University Subject Guide and 17th by the Complete University Guide 2018. For 2019 these rankings fell to 30th and 26th respectively.
As of 2019[update] applicants are required to sit the UCAT admissions test.
Students spend the two years in phase one at their academic bases (either Hull or York). Phase two consists of rotation around York, Hull, Scunthorpe, Grimsby, Scarborough and Northallerton/Middlesbrough. In the final year of the course (phase three), students essentially take on the role of a 'junior' pre-registration house officer and are also able to carry out an 'elective' period overseas. This is a common feature in most UK medical curricula. The school's first international students began their studies in September 2006.
Hull York Medical School course uses problem-based learning. There is an emphasis on early and sustained clinical experience in General Practices, hospitals and community settings.
The medical school allows students to intercalate a BSc or master's degree in various subjects, such as anatomy, biology and ethics.
The medical degree curriculum is five years long and on completion students graduate with an MB BS degree (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery).
Campuses, NHS Trusts and Hospitals
Hull York Medical School is based at two university sites, the University of Hull and University of York, and is partnered with 3 Acute NHS Trusts and 3 Mental Health Trusts.
Acute Trusts and Hospitals
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust:
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust:
York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust:
Mental Health Trusts
List of deans
Staff
Professor John Lee, professor of Clinical Pathology was a co-presenter on Anatomy for Beginners (screened in the UK on Channel 4 in 2005) in which he explained the dissections of Gunther von Hagens. He co-presented a second series with von Hagens in 2006 called Autopsy: Life and Death (Channel 4, 2006). He left the medical school in 2014. | 36901d71-8859-4015-ac35-c2cf3cf967d3 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduate_tax"} | A graduate tax is a proposed method of financing higher education. It has been proposed in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Background
Under the Higher Education Act 2004 British and European Union students at publicly funded universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are charged tuition fees (called "top-up fees") directly by the universities. The amount of the fees is limited by law and the fees can be funded by government-backed student loans issued by a government-backed company. The loans need only be repaid when the graduate is earning a sufficient amount of money to do so. Non-EU students can be charged an unlimited fee by the universities, and these are usually considerably higher.
In 2009 the National Union of Students (NUS) proposed a tax on graduates who have received academic degrees over a period of years after the granting of the degree. Four of the five candidates running in the British Labour Party's leadership election in 2010 also backed the proposal.
A graduate tax was mooted before the introduction of top-up fees in the United Kingdom, but was ultimately rejected. A system of graduate tax was seriously considered as part of the Browne Review[citation needed] although Vince Cable has stated that "No decisions have been made." On 15 July 2010 Vince Cable appeared to endorse a graduate tax, saying in a speech that he was "interested in looking at the feasibility of changing the system of financing student tuition so that the repayment mechanism is variable graduate contributions tied to earnings".
Proposals and supporters
LSE
Howard Glennerster, a London School of Economics economist, was an early proponent of the graduate tax in the 1960s along with several other LSE economists. In 1968, Glennerster had identified problems with the higher education system which was at that time funded almost exclusively through general taxation, “in the United Kingdom, higher education is now financed as a social service. Nearly all the costs are borne out of general taxation.... But it differs radically from other social services. It is reserved for a small and highly selected group.... It is exceptionally expensive.... [And] education confers benefits which reveal themselves in the form of higher earnings. A graduate tax would enable the community to recover the value of the resources devoted to higher education from those who have themselves derived such substantial benefit from it.”
CVCP proposals
In 1990 the Working Group on Funding Mechanisms, set up by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP), published a report which proposed four possible alternatives to university funding: a full system of tuition fees charged at variable rates by subject; top up fees supplementing government funding; a loan scheme operating through National Insurance; and finally a graduate tax. Incoming Prime Minister John Major read the report but delayed any decisions on higher funding after dissatisfaction at the range of options. During the second Major ministry, a second CVCP working group chaired by Clive Booth, named Alternative Funding, again proposed four alternative models of university funding with a graduate tax once more making the list, however, it was not adopted.
Social Justice Commission
The Social Justice Commission, chaired by Sir Gordon Borrie within the Labour Party from 1992 and concluded in 1994 under Labour's leadership of Tony Blair, produced a report which contained a proposal for a graduate tax. Blair was seen as initially not averse to the idea, unlike his predecessor John Smith who had worried about potential loss of support among middle class voters by adopting a fees system.
Gordon Brown
In 2002, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown came out in favour of a graduate tax after an earlier review by the Labour government had suggested a 3% tax levied on graduates earning more than £30,000 until fees were repaid. Brown proffered the graduate tax as an alternative to Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan to top-up existing tuition fees, a plan which had caused Blair to come under pressure from some members of his Cabinet opposed to fee increases as well as from opposition Conservative Party leader Michael Howard who also opposed the increases.
NUS proposal
The National Union of Students has proposed a tax that would be levied on graduates for 20 years following their graduation, progressively ranging from 0.3% to 2.5% of their income.
David Willetts
Former Conservative MP and Minister for Universities in the Clegg-Cameron coalition David Willetts was a strong proponent of the graduate tax during the Browne Review in 2010.
Vince Cable
Liberal Democrat politician Vince Cable, who was closely involved with the tuition fees system introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, had supported the idea of a graduate tax in July 2010. However, by October 2010 Cable had abandoned plans for a graduate tax, stating that a "pure" graduate tax was not viable due to graduates potentially paying more than was necessary and the tax being impossible to collect on graduates who emigrated.
Adam Smith Institute proposal
In 2017, Dr Madsen Pirie of the free-market think tank Adam Smith Institute proposed a graduate tax in the Institute's A Millennial Manifesto publication: it suggested a tax of 5% levied on graduates earning over £22,500 in income, rising to 8% for those earning over £30,000. It also suggested that there should be no interest charged, instead indexing the amount each year in line with inflation.
Justine Greening
Former Education Secretary and Conservative MP Justine Greening proposed a graduate tax in 2018. Greening outlined a plan for a 'higher education fund' in which all graduates earning above £25,000 would pay into through a 9% levy on income over a 30-year period. Furthermore, Greening suggested that employers could also contribute to the fund to support degrees that had benefited their organisations.
“Pure” graduate tax
A distinction is sometimes made between a "pure" graduate tax and other forms of graduate tax or similar funding proposals. A "pure" graduate tax often entails a levy imposed on graduates throughout all or most of their productive lives, set at fixed rates by the government, continuing even well past the point a graduate has repaid the original costs of their higher education, and could also be retroactively applied. This is in contrast to more flexible forms of graduate tax where, for example, the tax would be lifted once the graduate had repaid the costs of their education plus interest.
Economist Nicholas Barr argued that a "pure" graduate tax system would suffer from what he called the "Mick Jagger" problem: some higher earners who had attended university would in theory end up effectively financing a large part of the system, creating incentives to emigrate and risking the stability of the system. Similarly, former Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable referred to problems over emigration when he ultimately rejected a "pure" graduate tax in 2010 during the Browne Review into higher education.
Comparisons to the current fees system
Numerous comparisons have been made of the existing tuition fees system in the UK and its similarities to a graduate tax. In 2010, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in analysing Lord Browne's proposals (much of which would later go on to be incorporated as the existing tuition fees system), explained that the system being proposed was structurally similar to a graduate tax because of the repayment method and the fact that debts are written off after 30 years, so that it would for over half of graduates act as a "30-year graduate tax of 9%". The IFS noted an important difference was that the Browne proposals would retain a market among universities.
Financial journalist Paul Lewis said in 2014 that the new system was "effectively" a graduate tax: "it's 9% of your earnings above £21,000, you'll pay it throughout your adult life." Then-Leader of the Liberal Democrats and former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said in 2015: "What we have introduced is a graduate tax and I really wish we had called it a graduate tax at the time".
Another difference includes the possibility of a graduate tax, depending on how it was designed, being vulnerable to future government cuts as it operates through the government treasury. Existing tuition debt might also have to be transferred to the treasury, potentially adding billions of pounds to the deficit. A graduate tax would prevent financially better off graduates from making up-front payments to reduce the total they would repay due to interest, whereas the current system does not.
Benefits
A graduate tax would allow education to be free at the point of delivery. Proponents claim that one benefit of a graduate tax is that it would prevent a market in higher education developing whereby students chose where and what to study based upon the ability to pay rather than academic ability. A graduate tax might raise more money for universities over the long term than capped tuition fees, depending on the level of the cap. David Greenaway, a critic of a graduate tax admits that an "obvious attraction" of such a tax is that it is levied only on graduates, the immediate beneficiaries of higher education.
Under the NUS's proposals a 'People's Trust' would be set up that would be independent of the Treasury. The current system of loans has been seen as unviable because they require an expensive public subsidy to universities. David Willets has described how a rise in tuition fees would increase public spending: "It is in such delicate equilibrium that shifting any single element requires us to shift everything else. If fees were to go up, the government would have to lend people the money to pay for them - and that would push up public spending....It's not just that students don't want to pay higher fees: the Treasury can't afford them. So the arrangements we have now are clearly unable to respond to the current economic climate."
A graduate tax may not be perceived to be a debt in the same way as a student loan is. Vince Cable states that "[the current system] reinforces the idea that students carry an additional fixed burden of debt into their working lives. Yet, most of us don’t think of our future tax obligations as 'debt'."
The UK Youth Parliament, funded by the British Youth Council, supports the abolition of tuition fees with a view to introducing a graduate tax. In November 2011 at their annual House of Commons debate, former Member of UK Youth Parliament Harrison Carter spoke of the benefits of the tax at the Government Despatch box. He contended that the tax would go straight to universities, bypassing the HM Treasury. He dubbed others "naive" for not wanting to give something back for an education they would ultimately benefit from. Carter spoke of the country's duty to educate its citizens. He said we were failing in that duty because "the debt from University, for many, makes it an impractical next step".
Criticisms
The graduate tax could create several perverse incentives. For example, graduates of UK universities would have an incentive to move away from the UK after graduation to countries where it would be difficult or impossible to collect the graduate tax. The Russell group of universities claims that this could "deprive the UK of vital skills and knowledge". Further perverse incentives may be present, depending on the details of how the scheme is implemented. If the tax is levied only upon students who graduate, then some students would have an incentive not to graduate after having completed their courses of study. If the tax is levied only upon students who graduate from UK institutions, then some students would have an incentive to transfer from UK universities to foreign institutions for their final year(s) of study.
A graduate tax breaks the link between the actual cost of a degree and the amount the graduate pays for it. Some graduates would end up paying more in taxes than their degrees actually cost, while others would pay less. The Russell Group claims that this situation "would be unreasonable and likely to be seen by many as unfair".
Because individual universities will not derive any direct financial benefit from becoming more attractive to students, the graduate tax would "provide little incentive or adequate resource for universities to drive up quality" according to the Russell Group.
Criticisms include the transitional problems which exist where students are going through university but not paying the tax. Retrospective taxation of those already graduated creates significant transition issues on moral as well as practical grounds. Moral in that retrospective taxation of those who graduated many years ago removes their choice to avoid taxation by following other routes to education to avoid the tax, and practical in that those who have already paid tuition fees would rightly consider this double taxation without some form of debt forgiveness. It also overlooks those who self-funded, and hence are being effectively taxed twice. Free-market thinkers have criticised the graduate tax for not creating a market based element in higher education. Alistair Jarvis of the 1994 Group of research universities has stated: "Any mechanism that prevents variable fees and the functioning of a regulated market would be damaging to the sector...We strongly support a regulated market because this is the best way to drive up excellence in research and teaching, and to deliver student satisfaction. A system of variable fees has been, and remains, the correct strategy. This system should be developed, rather than fundamentally changed."
It has also been argued by The Independent that it is too early to change the system again in the United Kingdom. Greenaway argues that a graduate tax would not deliver additional resources rapidly and that there is a potential problem of 'leakage' with EU nationals leaving the UK and therefore not paying the tax. A graduate tax is unpopular with Russell Group Vice-Chancellors as it would likely result in distribution of research funding more evenly to all universities without regard to performance, competence or quality.
Nicholas Barr, professor of public economics at the London School of Economics has praised the current system of student loans as a method of financing higher education, arguing that variable fees foster competition that is of benefit to both students and employers.
Another problem concerns how foreign students at UK universities and emigrants from Britain would be treated by the tax.
Madsen Pirie of the free-market Adam Smith Institute, writing in The Daily Telegraph, argues that it is wrong for talented graduates to face higher taxes under a form of progressive taxation and that such a proposal might make emigration more appealing to graduates. A loan can also be paid off early whereas a tax would continue to be charged for a longer period of time.
The Universities and Colleges Union, a supporter of free higher education has criticised a graduate tax. Sally Hunt has criticised the tax as a rise in fees by stealth: "All the polls show that the general public will not stomach a rise in university fees. If the Government thinks it can get the public to swallow higher fees as some sort of graduate tax, it is living in a dream world. We need a proper debate on how to fund our universities, not an exercise in rebranding. We will judge the plans on what they actually do and whether or not students will be forced to pay more, not how the Government markets them."
Ireland
A graduate tax has also been proposed in Ireland. Since 1995, the Free Fees Initiative has meant that almost all students in the Republic of Ireland from the European Economic Area and Switzerland do not have to pay fees, with the government paying them on their behalf. However, they must pay a student contribution (formally called the student services charge and informally known as the registration charge), which for the academic year 2010/11 was set at a maximum rate of €2,000 (up from €1,500 in the academic year 2009/10). Many students from lower-income families can get grants to cover this and other costs (such as academic field trips), as well as a maintenance grant.
In March 2009 Fine Gael, then the largest opposition party in Dáil Éireann, proposed a "graduate contribution scheme" to replace the current system. In its policy document The Third Way it proposed a system that would be automatic and universal (applying to all graduates regardless of wealth), and would amount to 30 per cent of the total cost of their third-level education. The party also proposed to abolish the student contribution so that education would be free at the point of delivery. The contribution would be collected via the PRSI system and would be ring-fenced for third-level education. There would be no interest charged on the contribution and it would not be retrospective. There would be a minimum rate of repayment set by the State, but graduates could increase the amounts repaid if they wished.
The scheme appeared in Fine Gael's 2011 general election manifesto. As part of the coalition deal between Fine Gael and Labour following the election, they committed to "undertake a full review of the Hunt and OECD reports into third-level funding before the end of 2011". They said that their "goal is to introduce a funding system that will provide third-level institutions with reliable funding but does not impact access for students".
In December 2011, in the run-up to Budget 2012, the Department of Education examined a number of models of funding for third-level education, including a return to fees, a student loan system (similar to the UK's or New Zealand's) and a graduate tax. | 63743403-ae43-49e8-bded-11c62eaf689a |
null | The 100 Neediest Cases is an annual charitable campaign jointly sponsored by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the local chapter of the United Way. The campaign selects 100 families and individuals that are profiled in the Post-Dispatch during November and December. Local students participate in contests for the selection of companion illustrations in the profiles. The sponsoring organizations and other charities absorb the administrative cost. Local organizations adopts individual cases, donating food, medications, household necessities, and holiday presents etc. for the 100 beneficiaries of the campaign.
The campaign also facilitates the adoption by local organizations of about 1,200 additional cases that are not featured in the newspaper. This is about ten percent of the annual total of meritorious cases that are identified and compiled by local social service agencies.
The campaign began in 1922. The Post-Dispatch began profiling the "100 neediest" cases in the mid-1950s and the name was born. The name parallels similar campaigns in other cities, such as the "neediest cases" campaign sponsored by The New York Times every holiday season. | 41481ae4-b960-4ef7-8c6b-e13327fb1829 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institute_of_Micro,_Small_and_Medium_Enterprises"} | National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ni-msme) is a national institute aimed to foster the progress of micro, small and medium enterprises in India under Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. NI-MSME is registered in Hyderabad, Telangana, under Public Societies Registration Act I of 1350 Fasli with effect from 1 July 1962. The affairs of the Society are managed, administered, directed and controlled through Governing Council constituted by the Government of India as per Rule 22(a & b) of Rules and Regulations of the Society. The Society, as provided under Rule 3 of Rules and Regulations, was constituted by the Government of India. The Institute has been working in the areas of capacity building, research, skill upgradation, job enrichment training in the field of Entrepreneurship and Skill including the development of women pursuing small trades at the cottage industry level from an Incubation centre at NI-MSME.
History
CIETI-SIET ni-msme was originally set up as Central Industrial Extension Training Institute (CIETI) in New Delhi in 1960 as a Department under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Government of India. It was decided to keep it free from the tardy and impeding administrative controls and procedures, so that the Institute can play a pivotal role in the promotion of small enterprise. Therefore the Institute was shifted to Hyderabad in 1962, and was renamed as Small Industry Extension Training (SIET) Institute.
NISIET SIET was conferred the status of national institute by the Government of India with the charter of assisting in the promotion of Small Enterprises mainly by creating a pro-business environment. In 1984, the UNIDO had recognised SIET as an institute of meritorious performance under its Centres of Excellence Scheme subsequently, it was also accorded the national status in the same year and SIET Institute became nisiet. Since then the institute has come a long way, carving a place of distinction for itself in the domain of entrepreneurship promotion, achieving recognition both at the national level and in the international arena.
NI-MSME To cope with the pressure of globalisation, the Government of India had enacted the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 in the Parliament, which became effective from 2 October 2006. Accordingly, the Institute, in order to reflect the expanded focus of its objectives with name was rechristened as ni-msme from 11 April 2007 and re-designed its structure and organisation. It is an organisation of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (formerly Ministry of SSI & ARI), Government of India. The ni-msme (formerly as SIET) was registered at Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh under Public Societies Registration Act I of 1350 Fasli with effect from 1 July 1962.
Director General
March 2019 to present: Dr. S. Glory Swarupa
Schools
School of Enterprise Extension (SEE)
School of Enterprise Development (SED)
School of Enterprise Management (SEM)
School of Enterprise Information & Communication (SEIC)
Publications
Activities
1964-2008
2009–2018
2019-20 | c5f24263-ad33-44d0-83f7-2782f8db2341 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Morlaix"} | Battle during the Hundred Years' War
The Battle of Morlaix was a battle fought in Morlaix on 30 September 1342 between the Anglo-Breton and Franco-Breton forces in Brittany. The Anglo-Breton under English command besieged the town, but a Franco-Breton relief force arrived. The English constructed a strong defensive position. After repeated attacks, the French forced the English to retreat into the woods, and the French force then withdrew.
The War of Breton Succession
Context
In 1341 John III, Duke of Brittany died without leaving an heir. The question of the succession ignited a civil war in sovereign duchy of Brittany which lasted about 25 years initially between John's half brother, John of Montfort and his niece Joan, Duchess of Brittany, wife of Charles of Blois. Charles and Joan had the support of the Breton nobility and clergy while John was an outsider whose main concentration of power was in the Île de France. However, Charles was also the nephew of Philip VI of France who backed Joan's claim and brought outside interference, while England supported John de Montfort's claim.
Relieving the Siege of Brest
Initially, Edward III of England could do little to help the de Montforts, he had his own problems at home, but eventually he felt able to send a small force under Sir Walter Mauny to aid them. As a result of Mauny's initial successes, Edward decided to send a larger force of knights and archers under the command of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton. For a long time its departure was delayed and by the time they arrived in Brittany, John de Montfort was a prisoner of the Franco-Bretons and the struggle was being carried on by his wife Jeanne de Montfort. When Northampton landed on 18 August 1342, the Countess, her men and the remnants of Mauny's force were besieged at Brest by a large Franco-Breton army under the command of Charles of Blois and a force of Genoese ships. On Northampton's arrival the Franco-Bretons appear to have fled without bothering to engage the smaller English force and the siege of Brest was relieved.
English Relief Force Moves inland
From Brest, Northampton moved inland and there are few details of what happened during this journey but eventually he reached Morlaix, one of Charles de Blois’ strongholds.
English Siege of Morlaix
His initial attack on the town was unsuccessful and having been repulsed with slight losses he then settled into a siege.
Since Charles de Blois' forces had withdrawn from the siege in Brest, they had been growing in numbers possibly reaching as many as 15,000. Informed that Northampton's force was considerably smaller than his own Charles began to advance on Morlaix intending to lift Northampton's siege. On receiving intelligence of de Blois’ advance Northampton, not wishing to be trapped between de Blois’ force and sorties from the garrison of Morlaix, made a night march to intercept him.
Only three chroniclers give any account of the battle and they are all English: Geoffrey le Baker, Adam Murimuth and Henry Knighton. This absence of contemporary interest is possibly because the battle was indecisive and also because Brittany was somewhat of a backwater removed from the main action of the courts and armies of Edward III and Philip VI. None of the chroniclers give much detail of the battle and little of the battle orders of the two sides beyond stating that the Franco-Bretons were deployed into 3 lines. At least one of the Franco-Breton divisions was solely of mounted knights led by Geoffroi de Charny. Adam de Murimuth puts the total Franco-Breton numbers at 3000 cavalry, 1500 Janissaries by which he may mean Genoese and a mixed force of Breton infantry. The bulk of the Bretons were probably quite an ineffective force, just local levies. The English numbers are also unclear. Northampton had less than 1,500 on his arrival at Brest. He had been reinforced by Robert of Artois with another 800 and an unknown number of Bretons of unknown quality. He would have had to leave some behind to contain the Morlaix garrison so almost certainly his numbers would have been less than the Franco-Bretons but all the figures are all from English sources and thus, for the French, probably an overestimation.
Modern interpretations of the battle
Burne
A.H. Burne, attributes huge numbers to the Franco-Bretons, maintaining that each of the Franco-Bretons divisions outnumbered the whole English army.
According to Burne's reconstruction, the infantry column attacked first and was sent reeling back by volleys of arrows before it even contacted the English line of dismounted knights. After a consultation between the commanders the second column of cavalry attacked and many were brought down by falling into the pits that had been dug by the English. Some did manage to penetrate the English line but these, including Geoffrey de Charny, were captured by the Breton infantry held in reserve. The last French cavalry column after seeing the defeat of the first two divisions hesitated to attack but because the English archers were now short of arrows Northampton withdrew into the woods at his back and formed a ‘hedgehog’. Here he was safe from a cavalry charge and though the last French column did attack everywhere it was driven back.
Sumption
Jonathan Sumption gives an alternative description of the battle which, while not contradicting Burne's battle order for the English, depicts the actions of the French nobility in a way that is far more in line with other battles of the 100 Years War.
According to Sumption, the first attack was mounted not by the infantry but by Franco-Breton cavalry under the command of Geoffrey de Charny. These reached the English positions but were thrown back in disarray and de Charny himself captured.
After this setback the second line of cavalry attacked but now fell into the pit traps.
Finally Sumption then goes on to say that almost no use was made of the French infantry who never left their starting positions.
DeVries
Kelly DeVries 'Infantry Warfare in the Early 14th. Century' seems to follow the existing chronicle sources more closely than the Burne and Sumption and he gives a different account of the deployment of the English army. He maintains that the archers were intermingled with the men-at-arms because the knights were so few and also that the archers were given other weapons than their longbows which seems to imply that the English used no archery at all.[citation needed]
Like Sumption he maintains that the first line of cavalry attacked under the command of Geoffrey de Charny but were immediately put to flight. There is some confusion in DeVries account because the map he has drawn of the battlefield shows pits and ditches dug all around the English but nowhere does it say the first French attack fell into the pits but if the pits were all around how could they not fall into them? Like Burne, after the first failure he has the French leaders holding a conference amongst themselves in order to decide what to do next but eventually, as the French still outnumbered the English, another attack was mounted. From the sources he says it was unclear whether it was just a cavalry attack or a joint cavalry/infantry attack. Now his account becomes even more confusing because he says that the second line actually hit the English but were pushed back into the pits and ditches but does not explain how this was possible. He quotes Henry Knighton as saying that the French were drawn into a narrow cave and they fell on top of each other into the pits the English had dug.[citation needed]
Ayton & Preston
According to Ayton & Preston, there is no detailed exposition of how the English were deployed except that they had taken position in front of a wood and that all were dismounted even the knights and that before the French arrived on the scene they had prepared the ground in front of them by digging pits and ditches and covering them with hay and grass.[citation needed]
Outcome of the battle
Whatever the details of the fighting, the final result was that 50 French knights were killed and 150 French captured including Geoffrey de Charny and a number of ‘populari’ which seems to indicate that at least some of the infantry were involved in the melee.
The English force now made apprehensive by the remaining French forces withdrew into the wood at their back where they were safe from a full blooded cavalry charge. What was left of de Blois’ force then evidently relieved Morlaix and the besieging English, now trapped in the wood, themselves became the object of a siege for several days.
Sources
Coordinates: 48°34′42″N 3°49′36″W / 48.5783°N 3.8267°W / 48.5783; -3.8267 | eef3620a-3e2b-4019-ba9e-99c3641c64eb |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sar_Hur"} | Village in Hormozgan, Iran
Sar Hur (Persian: سرهور, also Romanized as Sar Hūr; also known as Sirhur) is a village in Gowharan Rural District, Gowharan District, Bashagard County, Hormozgan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 219, in 47 families. | e5142a8b-01c2-4a13-85e5-b92498abc773 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany%E2%80%93Iran_relations"} | Bilateral relations
German–Iranian relations are the bilateral relations between Germany and Iran. Official diplomatic relations between Iran and Germany after World War II began in 1939, when Iran opened its first diplomatic mission office in Bonn, both countries′ predecessor states had maintained formal diplomatic relations since the end of 19th century. Germany has an embassy in Tehran, which was originally established in the court of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar in October 1884 and has been in the present building since 1894. Iran opened its embassy in Berlin in 1885. Germany and Iran continued to have political relations well into World War II which severely impacted ethnic minorities like Iranians of Jewish descent negatively. In December 2022, Germany said it was "suspending state incentives to promote trade with Iran due to the repression of demonstrators."
History
Qajar era
Unofficial relations between the German Reich and Iran date to the early 19th century. Goethe's dedication of his West-östlicher Divan (West-Eastern Divan) to Hafez in 1819 is an illustration of how far back such cultural ties go.
During the Qajar era, with the increasing unpopularity of world powers in Persia such as Russia and United Kingdom, especially after the Treaties of Turkmenchay and Gulistan and the revolt of Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi in the Tobacco movement, many Iranian intellectuals began searching for a "third force", which could be relied upon as a potential ally: Germany, which had largely remained out of the Great Game.
When Iran's first modern university was first established, Amir Kabir preferred the hiring of Austrian and German professors for Darolfonoon. Even Nasereddin Shah supported the idea of hiring them to serve as Darolfonoon's faculty, despite political pressures towards the contrary. In that regard, it is even written that Amir Kabir always showed interest in discussing the structural system of Germany's government and society as a model for modernizing his country.
During the Constitutionalist movement of Guilan, German soldiers were actively involved in training the popular army of Mirza Kuchak Khan. Mirza's field commander was a German officer by the name Major Von Pashen who had joined the Jangal movement after being released from a British prison in Rasht: he was Mirza's closest ally. Another famous German agent in Iran (especially during World War I) was Wilhelm Wassmuss, nicknamed the "German Lawrence".
Among commercial treaties, one can mention the June 6th, 1873 treaty signed in Berlin between Prince Bismarck and Mirza Hussein Khan.
First Pahlavi era and Nazi Germany
Iranian Jews were very negatively impacted by this relation. In 1936 head of Reichbank and the financial mastermind of Nazi Germany travelled to Tehran and many important commercial agreements were signed between the two countries. In 1939, Nazi Germany sent over 7500 books with racial tones advocating for greater collaboration between Aryan Persians and Germans. In 1936, Iranians were called pure Aryans and were excluded from the Nuremberg Laws. Iranian railways was constructed by German engineers. Railway companies were specifically ordered to avoid employing any person of Jewish descent in any of its subdivisions. Hitler personally promised that if he defeated the Soviet Union, he would return all of the Persian land taken by Russians during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many gentile anti-Semites were preparing for the Johoudkoshan (Massacre of the Jews) and were warning Jews in the streets to leave Iran while they can. Nazi Germany had nightly broadcasts in Persian and was calling many leading Iranian politicians who had anti-German tendencies "Crypto-jews". Bahram Shahrukh, who was employed by German radio, performed fiery anti-Jewish broadcasts every night. In Purim 1941, Shahrukh promoted the idea of revenge for the massacre of the Purim in biblical times, and suggested his Iranian followers to attack the Jews. Nightly newspapers were distributed in Tehran and swastikas were often painted on Jewish homes and shops. Thus many Persian Jews welcomed the British troops to capture Iran in 1942, since the alternative was to be taken over by Germans.
In order to fight the growing racial antisemitism among the Iranian population, many Jews joined the Tudeh party and advocated for communism. Even though Jews comprised less than 2 percent of the Iranian population, almost fifty percent of the members of the Tudeh party were Jewish. The Tudeh party was the only Iranian political party to accept Jews. Most writers for publications of the party were Jewish. Furthermore, many Iranian Jews viewed communism as a Jewish movement since many leading members of the communist revolution in Russia were Jewish and were looked upon favorably by Persian Jews.
The shelling of Iran's parliament by the Russians and the signing of the 1919 treaty firmly planted the roots of suspicion against Britain and Russia. Many people were aware of Wilhelm II's speech in Damascus in 1898 calling on all Muslims to rely on him as a true friend. By the early 1930s, Reza Shah or the elder Reza Pahlavi's economic ties with Nazi Germany began worrying the Allied states. Germany's modern state and economy highly impressed the Shah, and there were hundreds of Germans involved in every aspect of the state from setting up factories to building roads, railroads and bridges.
In 1936, the Hitler cabinet declared Iranians to be immune to the Nuremberg Laws, as they were considered to be "pure Aryans". Abdol Hossein Sardari, an Iranian junior diplomat, tried to save many Persian Jews from extermination by convincing many Nazi officials to leave them alone. Sardari was stationed in Paris at the time of the Nazi occupation. His efforts led the Nazis to issue a directive that Iranian Jews should be exempt from wearing the yellow star of David. It is said that Sardari gave out between 500 and 1,000 Iranian passports, without the consent of his superiors. His actions are believed to have saved 2,000 to 3,000 Jewish lives, as passports were issued for entire families.
In 1939, Germany provided Iran with the so-called German Scientific Library. The library contained over 7500 books selected "to convince Iranian readers... of the kinship between the National Socialist Reich and the Aryan culture of Iran". In various pro-Nazi publications, lectures, speeches, and ceremonies, parallels were drawn between the Shah and Hitler, and praises were given to the charisma and the virtue of the Führerprinzip.
For many decades, Iran and Germany had cultivated ties, partly as a counter to the imperial ambitions of Britain and Russian (later the Soviet Union). Trading with the Germans appealed to Iran because they did not have a history of imperialism in the region, unlike the British and the Russians.
From 1939 to 1941, Iran's top foreign trade partner (nearly 50% of its total trade) was Germany, which helped Iran in opening modern sea and air communications with the rest of the world.
Demands from the Allies for the expulsion of German residents in Iran, mostly workers and diplomats, were refused by the Shah. A British embassy report in 1940, estimated that there were almost 1,000 German nationals in Iran. According to Iran's Ettelaat newspaper, there were actually 690 German nationals in Iran (out of a total of 4,630 foreigners, including 2,590 British). Jean Beaumont estimates that "probably no more than 3,000" Germans actually lived in Iran, but they were believed to have a disproportionate influence because of their employment in strategic government industries and Iran's transport and communications network".
However, the Iranians also began to reduce their trade with the Germans under Allied demands. Reza Shah sought to remain neutral and to anger neither side, which was becoming increasingly difficult with the British and Soviet demands on Iran. Many British forces were already present in Iraq as a result of the Anglo-Iraqi War earlier in 1941. Thus, British troops were stationed on the western border of Iran prior to the invasion.
In 1941, the Allies forced Reza Shah to abdicate the throne to his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. His followers, who refused the British occupation of Iran, such as Fazlollah Zahedi and Mohammad Hosein Airom ,shared similar fates. The British believed that Zahedi was planning a general uprising in co-operation with German forces. He was arrested and found with German weapons and correspondence from a German agent. He was flown out of the country and interned in Palestine.
Second Pahlavi era
Postwar Iran came under the inescapable diplomatic shadow of the United States, which reduced the chances of further deepening relations between Tehran and Bonn. In commercial links, West Germany still remained well ahead of other European countries, even the United States, until 1974.[citation needed]
In 1972, after the visit to Tehran of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, Iran and West Germany signed an economic agreement to provide for Iranian exports of oil and natural gas to Germany, with West German exports to and investments in Iran in return. However, given its huge surplus in foreign trade in 1974 and 1975, the Iranian government bought 25% of the shares of Krupp Hüttenwerke (German for smelting plants), the steel subsidiary of the German conglomerate Krupp, in September 1974. That provided the much needed cash injection to Krupp, it also gave Iran access to German expertise to expand its steel industry. Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant was also designed and partially built by the German Kraftwerk Union of Siemens, meanwhile, an agreement that was inked. Along with the agreement, a letter of intent was also signed on November 10 by which the West German firm would construct four new 1,200-megawatt nuclear power stations in Iran over the next ten years. The letter was signed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and a director of Siemens on behalf of Kraftwerk Union. The four new plants were to be built in pairs, two in Isfahan and two in the Markazi Province, probably near Saveh. Target date for the first plant to go on stream was 1984, with another plant expected to become operational in each of the following three years. Kraftwerk Union was already building two similar-sized nuclear power stations near Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, while a French consortium headed by the Creusot-Loire subsidiary Framatome was building two 900-megawatt nuclear plants along the Karun River south of Ahvaz.
In 1975, West Germany became the second supplier of non-military goods to Iran. Valued at $404 million, West German imports amounted to nearly one fifth of total Iranian imports.
As the European country with the largest Iranian expatriate community, West Germany had the Shah's visits become the focus of much protest in the 1970s. As repression in Iran became more intense, the demonstrations became more vigorous. Many of Iran's intellectual ayatollahs, such as Ayatollah Beheshti actually spent some years in cities like Hamburg.
Since Iranian Revolution
Hans-Dietrich Genscher was the first Western foreign minister to visit Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, visiting Iran in 1984.
Although West Germany was a key technology supplier to Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq War, especially to Saddam's chemical weapons program, Germany also kept open relations with Iran in some industrial and civilian technological sectors.
After the war, Germany increasingly became a primary trading partner of Iran, with German goods worth about 3.6 billion euros being imported into Iran in 2004.
The 1992 Mykonos restaurant assassinations and Mykonos Trial in Berlin severely soured relations. On September 17, 1992, Kurdish Iranian insurgent leaders Sadegh Sharafkandi, Fattah Abdoli, Homayoun Ardalan and their translator Nouri Dehkordi were assassinated at the Mykonos Greek restaurant, in Berlin, Germany. In the Mykonos trial, the courts found Kazem Darabi, an Iranian national, who worked as a grocer in Berlin, and the Lebanese Abbas Rhayel, guilty of murder and sentenced them to life in prison. Two other Lebanese, Youssef Amin and Mohamed Atris, were convicted of being accessories to murder. In its 10 April 1997 ruling, the court issued an international arrest warrant for Iranian intelligence minister Hojjat al-Islam Ali Fallahian after it declared that the assassination had been ordered by him with knowledge of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ayatollah Rafsanjani.
In a 2004 letter to Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the then mayor of Tehran, objected to the commemorative plaque in front of the restaurant and called it an insult to Iran.
In 1999, a German, Helmut Hofer, was arrested in Tehran after he had an affair with an Iranian woman. That caused some tremors in the domestic political landscape and the diplomatic relations of Tehran-Berlin.
That was followed in 2005, when a German angler on vacation in the United Arab Emirates was arrested in the Persian Gulf and convicted to a prison sentence of 18 months. In 2009 a German lawyer, Andreas Moser, was arrested during the protests against the 2009 elections but was released after one week. Also in 2005, the hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stirred relations with comments directed against the Jewish Holocaust. However, Tehran's tensions with Germany and most of the rest of Europe have eased considerably in recent years after the election of the more moderate Hassan Rouhani as president in 2013.
2000s to 2010s
On 4 February 2006, the day that the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors voted to refer ("report") Iran's case to the United Nations Security Council, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy that the world must act to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. With Germany having been one of the three European Union countries that had negotiated with Iran for two-and-a-half years in a bid to persuade Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program, Merkel said that Iran was a threat to both Europe and Israel.
In July 2015, Germany was the only non-UNSC nation that signed, along with the five UN Security Council's five permanent members, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in May 2018, Germany, along with the two other EU state signatories to the JCPOA (E3), issued a joint statement, which said, "It is with regret and concern that we, the Leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom take note of President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States of America from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Together, we emphasise our continuing commitment to the JCPoA. This agreement remains important for our shared security"
In January 2020, Germany was among the E3 states that jointly formally informed the EU that they had registered their "concerns that Iran [was] not meeting its commitments under the JCPoA" and thereby triggered the dispute resolution mechanism under the JCPOA, a move that they said had "the overarching objective of preserving the JCPoA". The move was thought to be aimed at pushing the sides back to the negotiating table.
In September 2020, in the first coordinated move by the three countries, Germany, France and the UK summoned Iranian ambassadors in a joint diplomatic protest against Iran's detention of dual nationals and its treatment of political prisoners. In December 2020, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the envoys from France and from Germany, which held the EU rotating presidency, to protest French and EU criticism of the execution of the journalist Ruhollah Zam.
On 3 November 2022, amid severe crackdown on ongoing protests by the Iranian government, the German government urged German citizens (concerning, "above all", dual German-Iranian citizens) to leave Iran, upon reported risks of arbitrary detentions and long prison terms.
Trade
Around 50 German firms have their own branch offices in Iran, and more than 12,000 firms have their own trade representatives in Iran. Several renowned German companies are involved in major Iranian infrastructure projects,l especially in the petrochemical sector, like Linde, BASF, Lurgi, Krupp, Siemens, ZF Friedrichshafen, Mercedes, Volkswagen and MAN (2008).
In 2005, Germany had the largest share of Iran's export market with $5.67 billion (14.4%). In 2008, German exports to Iran increased 8.9% and were 84.7% of the total German-Iranian trade volume.
The overall bilateral trade volume until the end of September 2008 stood at 3.23 billion euros, compared to 2.98 billion euros the previous year. The value of trade between Tehran and Berlin has increased from around 4.3 billion euro in 2009 to nearly 4.7 billion euro in 2010. According to German sources, around 80% of machinery and equipment in Iran is of German origin.
The German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) has estimated that economic sanctions against Iran may cost more than 10,000 German jobs and have a negative impact on the economic growth of Germany. Sanctions would hurt especially medium-sized German companies, which depend heavily on trade with Iran.
There has been a shift in German business ties with Iran from long-term business to short-term and from large to mid-sized companies that have fewer business interests in the US and thus are less prone to American political pressure. Around 100 German companies have branches in Iran and more than 1000 businesses work through sales agents, according to the German-Iranian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
After the official agreement between Iran and the West during the Iran nuclear deal, Germany's economic relations with Iran has been increasing once more. German exports to Iran grew more than 27% from 2015 to 2016.
On 20 October 2018, the Association of German Banks stated that exports from Germany to Iran have reduced to 1.8 billion euros since January. | ddca45f9-d242-4f99-b242-508a1a24c2a0 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Idenburg"} | Dutch educationalist and statistician (1901–1995)
Philippus Jacobus Idenburg (Hillegersberg, 26 November 1901 – Wassenaar, 29 December 1995) was a Dutch educationalist and statistician.
Philip joined the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics) where he worked except for a short break until retirement in 1966. In 1940 he was involved with Gerd Arntz in salvaging the work of the Mundaneum in The Hague, transferring the material to the Dutch Foundation for Statistics which he set up under the leadership of Jan van Ettinger and Arntz. In 1943 Arntz was conscripted into the German Army, and when he returned to the Netherlands in 1946, Idenburg vouched for him and enabled him to return to his previous job. Philip Jacobus Idenburg was a younger brother of Petrus Johannes Idenburg (1898–1989), a Dutch professor of constitutional law and founder of the Afrika-Studiecentrum, Leiden.
Philip was married to 1) Margaretha Jacoba Johanna (Puk) Kohnstamm, who died in 1956 at the age of 52 and 2) to Sarah Carla (Car) Kohnstamm, both daughters of Dutch pedagogue Philip Kohnstamm and his wife An Kessler. | 3277e003-fd18-4918-80d7-4ceaef4ba879 |
null | Knight Bachelor is the oldest and lowest-ranking form of knighthood in the British honours system; it is the rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry. Women are not knighted; in practice, the equivalent award for a woman is appointment as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (founded in 1917).
Knights Bachelor appointed in 1920
Knighthoods announced in 1920 but where the date of investiture is unknown or after 1921
It was announced on 1 January 1920 that Gerald Aubrey Goodman was to be knighted, but he was unable to attend the investiture ceremonies held before late March. He was styled as a knight in The Edinburgh Gazette in December 1920, when he was appointed Chief Justice of the Straits Settlement.
The Rt Hon. Richard Watkins Richards, the Lord Mayor of Sydney, was also included in the 1920 New Year Honours published on 1 January 1920, but no record of his investiture has been found in The London Gazette.
The following were announced in the New Year Honours for India on 1 January 1920; they were to be dubbed by the Viceroy of India at a later date, an event which was not recorded in The London Gazette; some were later dubbed by the king in 1921.
The following were announced in the New Year Honours for India on 5 January 1920; they were to be dubbed by the Viceroy of India at a later date, an event which was also not recorded in The London Gazette: | 7743b209-b17b-4b0d-8d2d-e9291ca75577 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apateum"} | Genus of beetles
Apateum is a genus of beetles in the family Buprestidae, containing the following species: | b3e14e35-a82b-4a6d-9314-8b4ad3e398ed |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Rushdie_knighthood_controversy"} | In mid-June 2007, Salman Rushdie, the British-Indian novelist and author of the novel The Satanic Verses, was created a Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II. Soon after the news of the knighthood was released protests against the honour were held in Malaysia and in Pakistan where effigies of the writer were publicly burnt. On 19 June 2007, governments in both Pakistan and Iran summoned their British ambassadors to officially protest against the award. While many groups and individuals have renewed the call to execute Rushdie, the author "is not commenting on the latest threats to his life. It is understood he is anxious not to inflame the situation". When asked by the Associated Press if his silence was at the request of the British government, Rushdie replied by e-mail stating "The British authorities have not asked me to do or not do anything. I have simply chosen to remain out of this storm for the moment. And nobody is turning anything down." The media noted in July 2007 that Rushdie "has not been seen in public since the 16 June announcement of his knighthood." However, he was photographed receiving his knighthood formally the next year at a ceremony which, breaking with tradition, was not announced in advance of his attendance.
Knighthood
Rushdie was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 16 June 2007. He remarked, "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way." His knighthood was part of the UK's twice a year honours ritual "designed to recognise outstanding achievement – is part of an ancient and complex honours system." Rushdie's award was concurrent with 946 honours which included 21 knighthoods. The knighthood list was determined by independent committees that vet nominations from the government and the public. The Queen and the Prime Minister only had a ceremonial role in approving them.
The arts and media committee (one of eight similar committees) proposed Rushdie's honour to the main committee who then forwarded it with others to the prime minister. The arts and media committee was chaired by investment banker and former chairman of the trustees of the National Gallery, Lord Rothschild. Its other members were "Jenny Abramsky, the BBC's director of radio and music; novelist and poet Ben Okri, who is vice-president of the English chapter of PEN International, which campaigns on behalf of writers who face persecution; Andreas Whittam Smith, former editor of the Independent; John Gross, the author and former theatre critic of the Sunday Telegraph; and two permanent secretaries, one from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and one from the Scottish Government." Smith told reporters that the question of political outrage was not one they were authorised to examine, "Very properly, we were concerned only with merit in relation to the level of the award." All other aspects were for the main committee to examine. The British Foreign Office, which has a permanent secretary on the main committee, announced that there had been no requests to gauge possible Muslim reaction to the knighthood. It was noted that Rushdie's 13 books have won numerous awards, including the Booker Prize for Midnight's Children in 1981, the Booker of Bookers prize, the Whitbread novel award (twice), and the James Tait Black memorial prize.
PEN International had been a constant supporter of Rushdie being honoured, believing that awarding the author (born in India) would be "seen as a positive step in British-Asian relations." The director of their London chapter, Nathan Heawood said the group was shocked at the negative reaction, adding "The honour is for services to literature and a very belated recognition that he is a world writer, who was in the vanguard of a writing tradition that exploded in the 80s in South Asia. It seems a shame that a few lines in his fourth novel should have turned him into this hate figure. He has become a Guy Fawkes figure to be thrown on a bonfire whenever it suits a government to divert attention from what is happening in their own countries."
In response to criticism of the award by some foreign nations, the British Government stated that Rushdie's honour recognises free speech and is part of their "desire to honour Muslims in the British community." British Home Secretary John Reid also defended the award, saying that the UK has "a set of values that accrues people honours for their contribution to literature even when they don't agree with our point of view. That's our way and that's what we stand by." Speaking about the reaction to The Satanic Verses Reid insisted that allowing such works was not a plot targeting Islam, saying "A lot of people were upset when John Cleese made Life of Brian. Others had been offended by Mel Gibson's 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ. ...[Britons] have a right to express opinions and a tolerance of other people's point of view, and we don't apologise for that." In a similar light, John Sutherland, emeritus professor of literature and former Booker prize judge, noted that Islam was not the only institution held up for criticism by Rushdie in his most controversial book. He pointed out that "For the writer of The Satanic Verses, which was extremely rude about England, it's certainly unusual [to be so honoured]."
Rushdie was ultimately knighted in an investiture ceremony on 25 June 2008 which formalised his standing as a Knight Bachelor.
Iranian reaction
Ambassador summoned
On 19 June 2007, British Ambassador Geoffrey Adams, was summoned to appear before the Iranian Foreign Ministry where he was told by Foreign Ministry director Ebrahim Rahimpour that "This insulting, suspicious and improper act by the British government is an obvious example of fighting against Islam." The ministry also qualified the honour as rewarding "a hated apostate" and declared it Islamophobic. Ambassador Adams was told that the knighthood was seen as a "'provocative act' which angered one and a half billion Muslims worldwide." Adams insisted that "the honour was given for Rushdie's services for literature and should therefore not be regarded as insult."
Politicians protest
Also on the 19th, Mohammad Reza Bahonar vice speaker of the Majlis of Iran, told the nation's parliament that the knighthood "has hurt the feelings of more than 1.5 billion Muslims" and that "Salman Rushdie has turned into a hated corpse which cannot be resurrected by any action. The action by the British queen in knighting Salman Rushdie, the apostate, is an unwise one. The British monarch lives under this illusion that Britain is still a 19th-century superpower and that bestowing titles is something still deemed important." The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini told reporters that "Awarding a person who is one of the most hated figures in the Islamic world is a clear sign of the anti-Islamic stance of high-ranking British officials. …[It proves desecration of Islamic values in the West] is totally organised and done with the support and under the direction of those countries."
On Sunday 24 June 2007 Gholamali Haddadadel, the Iranian speaker of parliament spoke against the honour on state television. He said "The latest act of the British government was shameless and imprudent and can not be interpreted to anything but blind hostility and absolute brainlessness. The Muslims of the world will not leave this imprudent and shameless act without response."
Death fatwa still in effect
After Friday prayer services on 22 June 2007, prominent cleric Hujjat al-Islam Ahmad Khatami spoke to worshipers by broadcast on state radio from Tehran. He addressed the death sentence issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini against Rushdie, saying "In the Islamic Iran that revolutionary fatwa of Imam [Khomeini] is still alive and cannot be changed." He went on to say that "The old and decrepit government of Great Britain should know that the era of their empire is over and today they are a valet in the service of the United States." While in 1998 the Iranian government (under British diplomatic pressure) declared it would "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie," many clerics like Khatami rejected the move. Even soon after the government's disavowal, the Iranian press reported three clerics calling on their followers to kill Rushdie, stating that the fatwa was irrevocable. As late as January 2005, Khomeini's successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced that "he still believed the British novelist was an apostate whose killing would be authorized by Islam."
Iranian newspapers have been covering the story extensively viewing both Rushdie and the British government in a negative light. One example is the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper which reflecting on Queen Elizabeth II said, "The question is what the old British crone sought by knighting Rushdie: to help him? Well, her act only shortens Rushdie's pathetic life."
On 25 June 2007, foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was confronted by the local media on why Iran's position against the knighthood was more moderate when compared to other Muslim nations especially that of nearby Pakistan (see below). Hosseini noted that not only had he immediately condemned the knighthood as Islamophobia, but in a seeming reversal of his nation's previous stand said "The stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to this issue has not changed from what was put forward by Imam Khomeini." In a similar statement Parliamentarian for Tehran, Mehdi Kuchakzadeh, said "Rushdie died the moment the late Imam (Ayatollah Khomeini) issued the fatwa."
Also on the 25th, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission appeared with his Norwegian counterpart (Olaf Akselsson) to respond to Norway's request for a cancellation of the death fatwa. Boroujerdi stated that the "Late Imam Khomeini's decree on Salman Rushdie is eternal and irrevocable. Honoring religious sanctities is necessary and all societies must respect this. All countries have a red line in their policies. For instance, in spite of freedom of speech a university professor and a political figure loses his job because of denying the Holocaust in Europe, insulting Muhammad has caused the late Imam to issue the decree which is irreversible." Addressing the talks with Norway over human rights, he went on to say that reports of human rights abuses in Iran were the work of "MKO terrorist groups…so such wrong information would [naturally] cause wrong judgment…[Continuing diplomatic travel between Iran and Europe] would show the realities of Iran and would correct [the] unreal attitude of the West on Iran."
On 29 June 2007, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati delivering Friday prayers over state run radio said he "hoped that the late Imam Khomeini's 1989 fatwa in sentencing the apostate writer to death will go in effect." He also spoke about the knighthood saying that "The result of such an act of Britain is its turning into [the] bete noire of the world nations. These measures are the reason the US and Britain have become the most hated states in the world's developed camp." He also called on the people of Iraq and Lebanon "to be vigilant against the arrogant powers' divisive plots."
Private bounty offered
The Organisation to Commemorate Martyrs of the Muslim World offered $150,000 to anyone killing Rushdie. Their secretary general, Forouz Rajaefar, declared that "The British and the supporters of the anti-Islam Salman Rushdie could rest assured that the writer’s nightmare will not end until the moment of his death and we will bestow kisses on the hands of whomsoever is able to execute this apostate."
Pakistani reaction
Early protests
After the news of the knighthood was released, "hundreds of people participated in protests in Islamabad and other cities" with some of the protestors calling on their government "to expel the British high commissioner".
Parliament's first resolution
On 18 June 2007, Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution condemning the knighthood and demanding the British revoke it. The resolution was passed unanimously.
Ijaz-ul-Haq's comments
After the resolution was passed Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq, made an address to the parliament which was carried by local television stations. Haq said that "insults to Islam were at the root of terrorism", and that "if someone committed a suicide bombing to protect the honour of the Prophet Mohammad, his act was justified." He called on all Muslim governments to break ties with Britain and warned that "This is an occasion for the [world's] 1.5 billion Muslims to look at the seriousness of this decision. If Muslims do not unite, the situation will get worse and Salman Rushdie may get a seat in the British parliament." When asked about his comments about suicide bombing later Haq stated that he "did not mean such attacks would be justified but was merely saying militants could use the knighthood as a justification." Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto condemned the minister's comments, seeing them as a call to assassinate Rushdie, she said "The minister... son of a previous military dictator (Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq) who had patronised [Islamic] extremist groups, had done a great disservice both to the image of Islam and the standing of Pakistan by calling for the murder of foreign citizens." The speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly expunged Haq's speech from the official record, citing the national interest. Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who ran the hardline Red Mosque in Islamabad, responded to Haq's initial comments saying "Salman Rushdie deserves to be killed and anyone who has the power must kill him."
After Pakistan's legislature passed its resolution against the honour, the road outside the parliament building was soon blocked by 300 burqa wearing female Islamists waving flags and placards against the knighthood.
UK diplomat summoned
On 19 June 2007 the British High Commissioner, Robert Brinkley, was called in by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and told that "Salman Rushdie has been a controversial figure who is known less for his literary contribution and more for his offensive and insulting writing which deeply hurts the sentiments of Muslims all over the world. Conferment of a knighthood on Salman Rushdie shows an utter lack of sensitivity on the part of the British government." They also told him that Rushdie's knighthood is a breach of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1624, which calls on all member states to "enhance dialogue and broaden understanding...[to prevent] the indiscriminate targeting of religions and cultures". Responding to the summons Ambassador Brinkley said "that the honour was not meant to offend Muslims". He also voiced Britain's "deep concern" at the comments by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq about suicide bombers telling them that "nothing can justify suicide bomb attacks". Haq later announced that he hoped to go to Britain soon to help "clear misunderstandings". Haq then announced he will be travelling to London with a delegation to discuss ways of engaging Muslim clerics. The British Foreign Office declared that there was no official visit with Haq scheduled but "It's not a matter for us if he is making a private visit."
Later Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam announced that her government formally asked the Organization of the Islamic Conference (a permanent delegation at the United Nations) to take a clear stance on Rushdie's knighthood. She said "We have formally approached the OIC to take a position on it," but she also noted that as there was no procedure to move the world body itself, her nation had no plans to approach the UN.
Pakistani leaders speak
On 21 June 2007, Afzal Sahi, the speaker of the Punjab provincial assembly reflecting on the knighthood said "blasphemers should be killed, I will murder a blasphemer if he comes across me.", and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, president of Pakistan's ruling party, accused UK Prime Minister Tony Blair of being "personally and mentally against Islam". Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the chief minister of Sindh province, said his outrage at the knighthood was causing him to return medals won by his grandfather and other relatives when the country was under UK colonial rule back to the British High Commission. Speaking during a trip to Washington D.C. Pakistan's foreign minister, Khurshid Kasuri, said that "Britain could not have been surprised by the outrage."
Private bounty placed on Rushdie's head
Also on the 21st, the General Secretary of the Islamabad Traders Association, Ajmal Baloch announced during a protest against the knighthood that "We will give 10 million rupees (USD 165,000) to anyone who beheads Rushdie." He also called on all Islamic countries to boycott British products.
22 June protests
On 22 June 2007, thousands of Pakistanis took part in protests led by the radical MMA Parliamentary alliance at the conclusion of prayer services. Friday protestors in Islamabad numbered around 300, they chanted "Death to blasphemer Rushdie! Death to Britain!" and "Our struggle will continue until Salman Rushdie is killed!" The crowd was addressed by parliamentary opposition leader (and noted supporter of the Taliban) cleric Fazalur Rehman who told them that "Britain must withdraw the knighthood and hand Rushdie to Pakistan to be punished under Islamic laws." Muttahida Majlis-e-Ammal Fazal ur Rehman a member of the parliamentary religious alliance told the demonstrators that "'Britain has opened a new front against Muslims by awarding a criminal like Rushdie."
In Karachi, over a thousand demonstrators chanted in support of Ejaz-ul-Haq's initial comments that they held to be an endorsement of Rushdie's assassination by suicide bombing. In the city of Multan, the British flag, and effigies of Rushdie and Queen Elizabeth II have been set aflame during protests in the country throughout the week of the news of the announcement with protestors chanting "Kill him! Kill him!" There were also mass protests in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, and Peshawar.
Parliament's second resolution
On 22 June 2007 Pakistan's government renewed its call for the UK to withdraw the honour. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afghan Niazi told the parliament "The British government has not withdrawn the title which has not only disappointed the entire Pakistani nation but has also hurt it. This august house again calls on the British government and its Prime Minister Tony Blair to immediately withdraw the title... and tender an apology to the Muslim world." Niazi's resolution passed unanimously. Khwaja Saad Rafiq a legislator from the party of exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif called for Rushdie's execution saying "Whosoever kills him will be the hero of Muslims."
Canadian author and Muslim Irshad Manji pointed out that Pakistan's Parliament has been silent on Islamist "assaults on fellow believers" in Iraq and Afghanistan, writing "I am offended that amid the internecine carnage, a professed atheist named Salman Rushdie tops the to-do list."
Clerics honour Bin Laden in response
In reaction to the announcement of the knighthood, the Pakistan Ulema Council bestowed Osama bin Laden with the title "Saifullah", or sword of Allah. Their chairman, Tahir Ashrafi, said "We have awarded this title in reply to Britain's decision to knight blasphemer Rushdie. If a blasphemer can be given the title 'Sir' by the West despite the fact he's hurt the feelings of Muslims, then a mujahid who has been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British must be given the lofty title of Islam, Saifullah."
Malaysian PAS Party reaction
On Thursday, 21 June 2007, thirty members of the hard-line Islamic PAS opposition party led a protest to the British High Commission calling for the honour to be revoked. The protestors chanted "Destroy Salman Rushdie, Destroy Britain!" and "Go to hell, Britain!; Go to hell, Rushdie!" The PAS' treasurer, Hatta Ramli, said making Rushdie a knight "has tainted the whole knighthood, the whole hall of fame of the British system. The British government must be responsible because it has created a sudden feeling of anger not just on Salman Rushdie but on the British government. They have to bear the consequences." After the "rare half-hour demonstration" the PAS members delivered a one-page memorandum to the British envoy written by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang. It read, "In the name of peace and mutual respect, we demand the award be withdrawn, and the British government distance itself from a provocateur like Salman Rushdie."
On 29 June 2007, following Friday prayers, the Muslim fundamentalist PAS Party again led a march of around 300 activists outside the British High Commission and the United States embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They denounced both the knighthood and US policy in the Middle East. They were monitored by riot police equipped with trucks carrying water cannons but the event did not descend into violence. The "Protesters spent 15 minutes outside the building, chanting slogans and waving posters that read 'Unite for Islam', 'Death penalty for Salman' and 'Salman Rushdie Get Lost From This World.'" One placard had a caricature of Rushdie with horns growing out of his head. At the 20 minute rally outside the US embassy, they shouted "Down with Bush!" and "Crush America!" The PAS spokesman at the demonstration said America was "trying to dominate Muslim countries" and was interfering "all over the world."
Afghan reaction
Afghanistan's Taliban released a statement on the Internet in response to the knighthood, saying "We hope that Muslims and Islamic societies show a strong and serious response ... and to force the British government to apologise to Muslims and retract this title." Reading a statement by the group's leadership over the phone to reporters a Taliban spokesman called Rushdie an "apostate" and said "We consider this another major affront to Islam by the infidels."
The US-installed Afghan government made no comment on the award.
Kuwaiti reaction
On 27 June 2007, the National Assembly of Kuwait stated its "disappointment and discontent" on the knighthood describing the step as "hurting Muslim feelings." The Assembly's statement said that "such measures as knighting those who combat the Islamic faith and challenge its principles do not create a positive climate or contribute to the success of any dialogue between civilizations, or help to create a common ground of understanding between the West and the Islamic world. ...[Bestowing the honour was] provocative and unbecoming conduct that is likely to worsen the fundamentalist behaviour that marks several cultures." They stated that "mutual respect among religious faiths and sects" was the best way "to ensure a peaceful and safe international social climate, which is free of discrimination, tension and worries." The Kuwaiti government also summoned their British ambassador to formally protest against the award.
Egyptian reaction
On 20 June 2007, the Egyptian Parliament criticised the knighthood. Parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorur invoked the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy declaring that "To honour someone who has offended the Muslim religion is a bigger error still than the publication of caricatures attacking the Prophet Mohammed."
Azerbaijani reaction
Ilqar Ibrahimoglu, the coordinator of the Centre for the Protection of Freedom of Conscience and Religion in Azerbaijan, stated that "such measures can be the cause of the strengthening aggression of the West against Islam. They provoke Muslims. Muslims should be very careful, watchful and cold-blooded." The Azerbaijani government has not issued any statements on the matter and there have been no organised protests.
Iraqi reaction
Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was in London meeting with Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett when the news of Rushdie's knighthood broke. Zebari said that while he "respected the right of Britain to decide who received the honour…the decision could be used to cause trouble. For my government, we share the views of many Muslims. Iraq is a Muslim country. We believe that, with all due respect to the knighthood, I think it was untimely. This is my view. I don't have any official position from my government on this issue, but I think it would be used by many quarters to exploit this issue outside this country." The Iraqi government has taken no official position on the matter and there have been no protests about it there. Speaking with Zebari, Beckett said "Obviously we are sorry if there are people who have taken very much to heart this honour, which is after all for a lifelong body of literary work." She also pointed out that Rushdie was among many Muslims who had been awarded by the British honours system – a fact that "may not be realized by many of those who have been vocal in their opposition."
Indonesian reaction
In Indonesia, Yenny Zannuba Wahid, head of the Wahid Institute and the daughter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, condemned both the knighthood and calls for retaliation. She felt the honour was undeserved "We deeply regret and strongly criticize it because the book is not at all praiseworthy." She said that though she "regretted Rushdie's action of selling his religion to get popularity, nobody had the right to revoke his right to exercise freedom of speech. We cannot revoke his right to express his views. Even those who do not believe in God have rights. They cannot be punished or killed or subjected to arbitrary acts. Islam does not teach violence." Moeslim Abdurrahman an Islamic scholar from the Muhammadiyah organisation, called on his nation to mediate between the UK and the Muslim world, adding "Indonesia needs to reduce (tension) and not to complicate the matter. If Indonesia also gets angry it will contribute nothing."
Indian reaction
There were protests in different parts of India over the knighthood, including one in Kanpur led by the AJ Fareedi Association denouncing Britain and chanting slogans against Rushdie. The Islamic Centre of India began a petition campaign with the end result to be handing over a banner to the British High Commissioner in New Delhi covered with thousands of signatures. The centre's general secretary, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangimahli, announced in his Friday sermon that by honouring Rushdie the UK "has acted against the whole Muslim community around the world." He demanded the Indian government alert Britain of their outrage. The leaders of the Sunni Board of India also condemned the move in a Friday meeting, likewise they demanded the Indian government express their anger to the British.
The Ulema Council of India said "the decision to honor Indian-born Rushdie reflects the anti-Islamic attitude of the British government." Its spokesmen, Maulana Abul Hasan, stated "Salman Rushdie is a detested figure among Muslims. The British government has hurt Muslim feelings by honoring a person who is facing a fatwa for blasphemous writings." On Sunday 24 June 2007 the Ulema Council joined with the Islamic Center of India, and the All India Sunni Board in sending a joint statement to the British High Commission in New Delhi condemning the knighthood.
Reactions in Britain
Politicians
Besides the reactions of Home Secretary John Reid and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett (see above), other UK politicians have expressed their view on the honour.
Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, a senior Labour Muslim peer, appealed to ministers to put the award on hold and told them that British Muslim business owners were attempting to organise a nationwide strike over the matter. Ahmed said "I would urge and plead with all Muslims around the world to remain calm." He also stated his belief that Rushdie's The Satanic Verses was also an insult to Christianity and had put "Her Majesty the Queen in a very difficult position". He also commented, "Actually, I was appalled to hear that Salman Rushdie had been given a knighthood, particularly when this man has been very divisive. This man – as you can see – not only provoked violence around the world because of his writings, but there were many people that were killed around the world and honouring the man who has blood on his hands, sort of because of what he did, honouring him I think is going a bit too far."
Conservative MP Stewart Jackson (the chairman of the all-party group on Pakistan) spoke against the honour, saying "We do not need a situation where we are gratuitously offending our allies in the fight against terror. I think the prime minister's office should think very carefully about that decision."
The Leader of the House of Commons, Jack Straw, said he sympathised with "the concerns and sensitivity in the [Muslim] community... [but there could be] no justification whatever for suggestions that as a result of this a further fatwa should be placed on the life of Mr Rushdie". Officials at the Cabinet Office denied charges that the honours vetting committees had failed to consider the wider implications knighting Rushdie. One Labour MP speaking to reporters off the record noted that a week before Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister the award "reinforces the impression that nobody's in control. Anybody with any common sense would have blocked this."
Conservative home affairs spokesman David Davis stated "Whatever you think of the work of Salman Rushdie, freedom of speech is a fundamental freedom in this country. What is more, the sovereign's choice of who she wishes to honour will never be the subject of intimidation."
Protests
On 22 June 2007, dozens of British Muslims (some with scarves masking their faces) gathered outside Regent's Park mosque denouncing Rushdie's knighthood, "noisily renewing calls for his death", and burning a poster of the British flag. They addressed worshippers leaving Friday services and soon had attracted a crowd of over 100 people. The demonstrators chanted "Death to Rushdie! Death to the queen!" and had signs with slogans such as "Salman Rushdie should be punished, not praised." Protest organiser Anjem Choudray (an ex-head of the British wing of the banned radical group al-Muhajiroun who helped co-ordinate the protests over the Jyllands-Posten cartoons) said "This knighthood is just another example of Tony Blair and his government's attempts to secularize Muslims and reward apostates. Rushdie is a hate figure across the Muslim world. This honour will have ramifications here and across the world. The awards pass across his (Blair's) desk and he could easily have blocked it, knowing it would offend Muslims everywhere." He pointed to the protests in Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia as proof that the outcry was growing. Another protestor told reporters "We've come to demonstrate against the apostate Salman Rushdie. He has insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Salman Rushdie is the devil. We have a responsibility – he should be punished, he should be attacked. We should not be afraid of the kuffar. They say Tony Blair is going to be sent to the Middle East as a peace envoy. We hope he comes back in a box."
The director general's staff at the mosque distanced themselves from the protestors, saying "We do not sanction this protest or the views they are expressing."
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the Muslim Parliament, condemned the protest, saying "This is unacceptable behaviour which the majority of Muslims in this country would not support. There's no denying a large section of the Muslim community feel very hurt about this issue. But having expressed your anger and frustration you've got to move forward. Unfortunately there will always be some strange lunatics, like in any community, who give others a bad name."
Fiona Mactaggart, the MP for Slough, upset some British Muslims by declaring the protest over the knighthood a "press stunt". Members of Slough's Muslim community claim she ignored them when they tried to present a petition to her at the surgery she held for constituents. She claims in turn that they neither contacted her nor tried to approach her at the surgery.
The Muslim Council of Europe called for a mass demonstration outside Blackburn Town Hall on 21 July 2007.
Muslim Council
The Muslim Council of Britain released a statement saying they were "disturbed at the deliberate political decision to confer a knighthood to Salman Rushdie...[who] caused deep hurt to Muslims everywhere." They characterised the honour as a "deliberate provocation". They offered suggestions to mosques and Islamic groups in the UK urging their fellow Muslims to "face provocation with dignity and wisdom" when protesting the knighthood and "resist efforts by fringe elements in the community to exploit disappointment felt at the award." They wrote "We should not allow the situation to be inflamed in any way or be exploited by other unsavory groups so as to bring our community and our noble faith into disrepute." They called for Muslims to "convey their feelings on the matter through letters to their parliamentary representatives and through local and national media...[and to take the] opportunity to correct the maligning of the character of the prophet in the book which earned its author his notoriety."
Muhammad Abdul Bari, the Muslim Council's secretary-general, said "Salman Rushdie earned notoriety amongst Muslims for the highly insulting and blasphemous manner in which he portrayed early Islamic figures. The granting of a knighthood to him can only do harm to the image of our country in the eyes of hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world. Many will interpret the knighthood as a final contemptuous parting gift from Tony Blair to the Muslim world."
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard officials said the "angry reaction to Rushdie's knighthood meant that a new threat assessment would have to be drawn up for him." He was also likely to "be given fresh advice on the precautions he takes abroad, and the unit around him in Britain is likely to be upgraded."
Mention by Al-Hesbah during attempted car bombings
When the events around the 2007 London car bombs occurred CBS News on 29 June 2007 reported that a message appeared on the widely used militant Internet forum Al-Hesbah at 08:09, 28 June 17 hours before the first car bomb was discovered. It read
"In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. Is Britain Longing for al Qaeda's bombings? We, and the whole world has seen what Britain has done ... their intention to honour Salman Rushdie who insulted and slandered Islam. This 'honoring' came at a crucial time, a time when the whole nation is reeling from the crusaders attacks on all Muslim lands. The British capital has witnessed blessed operations that shook it to its foundations. This was because the British had attacked the lands of Muslims and Al Qaeda is still threatening to strike against Britain to throw it out of the lands of Islam. But now, there's yet another reason for Al Qaeda to carry out such threats; the honouring of the apostate Salman Rushdie by the Crusaders ... Rushdie who insulted Islam ... and this reason has led Muslims to become even more sympathetic with the Mujahideen. The question now is: Has London longed for the bombings of Al Qaeda? We say to Britain: The Emir of al Qaeda, Sheikh Osama, has once threatened you, and he carried out his threats. Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed."
While some speculated that the bombing attempts "may have been revenge for the knighthood bestowed on author Salman Rushdie...there was no hard evidence of any motive."
On 12 July 2007, The Times of India claimed "It was knighthood to writer Salman Rushdie, which has angered many radical Islamic groups, that forced alleged bomber Kafeel Ahmed to execute the Glasgow airport attack. Investigators have stumbled upon this while gathering details about his transformation from a devout student to a radical." The report did not provide any further details or name the investigators.
Mention by Al-Qaeda
On 10 July 2007, BBC news reported that Al-Qaeda have also condemned the Rushdie honour. In a 20-minute audio recording entitled "Malicious Britain and its Indian Slaves" which was released onto a militant Islamic website, Al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri condemned British involvement in Afghanistan, and Iraq and called Rushdie's knighthood "an insult to Islam". He went on to remark, "I say to (Queen) Elizabeth and (former prime minister Tony) Blair that your message has reached us and we are in the process of preparing for you a precise response". Concerning the recording, the British Foreign Office stated "The Government has already made clear that Rushdie's honour was not intended as an insult to Islam or the Prophet Muhammad." | 36d681c4-f747-419a-a77a-b98c3be528d9 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Best_Science_Fiction:_1971"} | World's Best Science Fiction: 1971 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, the seventh volume in a series of seven. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1971, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. It was followed in 1972 by The 1972 Annual World's Best SF, edited by Wollheim, and The Best Science Fiction of the Year, edited by Carr, the first volumes of two separate successor series,
The book collects fifteen novelettes and short stories by various science fiction authors, with an introduction by the editors. Most of the stories were previously published in 1970 in the magazines Galaxy Magazine, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Amazing Science Fiction, If, Worlds of Tomorrow, and Fantastic, the anthologies Orbit 7 and Quark/1, and the collection Parsecs and Parables. One piece (The Last Time Around) had also been previously published in 1968 in the United Kingdom in the anthology New Writings in SF 12.
Contents
Awards
"Slow Sculpture" won the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1971 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, and placed sixth in the 1971 Locus Poll Award for Best Short Fiction.
"Continued on Next Rock" was nominated for the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, the 1971 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, and the 1972 Ditmar Award for Best International Long Fiction, and placed third in the 1971 Locus Poll Award for Best Short Fiction.
"The Thing in the Stone" was nominated for the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novella and the 1971 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
"Shaker Revival" was nominated for the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novelette.
"Dear Aunt Annie" was nominated for the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and placed tenth in the 1971 Locus Poll Award for Best Short Fiction. | da16170e-b284-4a25-b8dc-801f853153a5 |
null | Species of bird
The Argus bare-eye (Phlegopsis barringeri) is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. Known only from a single male specimen taken in 1951 in Colombia, its taxonomic validity is questionable, and most authorities do not recognize it, following Willis (1979) and Graves (1992), where it was shown to be a hybrid between the black-spotted and the reddish-winged bare-eye. | acc761d9-7c3d-43c5-9c63-ce48cd67cc42 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Lakeland_No._521"} | Rural municipality in Saskatchewan, Canada
The District of Lakeland No. 521 (2016 population: 915) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 15 and SARM Division No. 5.
History
The RM of Lakeland No. 521 was originally incorporated as a rural municipality on August 1, 1977. Its name was changed to the District of Lakeland No. 521 on June 1, 2011.
Geography
Communities and localities
The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the RM.
Villages
The following unincorporated communities are within the RM.
Organized hamlets
Localities
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the District of Lakeland No. 521 had a population of 1,300 living in 604 of its 1,859 total private dwellings, a change of 42.1% from its 2016 population of 915. With a land area of 488.65 km2 (188.67 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.7/km2 (6.9/sq mi) in 2021.
In the 2016 Census of Population, the District of Lakeland No. 521 recorded a population of 915 living in 438 of its 2,134 total private dwellings, a 5.3% change from its 2011 population of 869. With a land area of 493.44 km2 (190.52 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.9/km2 (4.8/sq mi) in 2016.
Government
The District of Lakeland No. 521 is governed by an elected municipal council and an appointed administrator that meets on the second Monday of every month. The reeve of the RM is Walter Plessl while its administrator is Tammy Knuttila. The RM's office is located in Christopher Lake.
Transportation | 4184cec4-5f92-4c72-b4d3-ecc4900cfaf0 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scieropepla"} | Genus of moths
Scieropepla is a genus of moths in the family Oecophoridae.
Species | f709466a-8667-44d4-8d4b-9aeb5a470374 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9lix_Gonz%C3%A1lez_Gatica"} | Chilean politician
Félix Marcelo González Gatica (born 26 May 1973) is a Chilean politician and public administrator who currently serves as a member of the Chamber of Deputies. | 03f2d4e6-c0ed-4b88-8c72-98a09a1de8b2 |
null | There are two townlands with the name Newtown, (Irish: An Baile Nua) in the Barony of Ikerrin in County Tipperary, Ireland.
There are nineteen townlands known as Newtown in the whole of County Tipperary. | 6875ebc0-45ac-490a-b529-13932e28246f |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki_J%C5%ABhachiban"} | Set of 18 Kabuki plays
The Kabuki Jūhachiban (歌舞伎十八番), or Eighteen Best Kabuki Plays, is a set of kabuki plays, strongly associated with the Ichikawa Danjūrō line of actors ever since their premieres. These works were chosen and assembled as "the eighteen" by actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (1800-1832). The pieces were considered to be seminal representations of the aragoto style in the repertoire. The Danjūrō line has continued to dominate the leading roles, and the printing and production of these plays ever since.
Shibaraku, Narukami, Sukeroku, Ya-no-Ne, and Kanjinchō are still considered among the greatest of all kabuki plays, and are performed at least once a year. These plays are also often performed for shūmei, auspicious naming ceremonies in which actors who receive new names, particularly those receiving the illustrious name "Ichikawa Danjūrō", perform in these great plays which are strongly associated with that lineage.
While the plays contained within the Kabuki Jūhachiban do number 18, the number, along with other eight-related numbers such as 80 and 88, is symbolic of the general concept of "a great many."
A Shin-Kabuki Jūhachiban (New Eighteen Best Kabuki Plays) was assembled by Ichikawa Danjūrō IX in the Meiji period, representing his favorites, many of which are particularly representative of Meiji period kabuki.
Of the original eighteen, only ten or eleven are considered to still be actively performed, though some are performed far less frequently than others.
The Eighteen
* These plays are generally considered to be no longer performed (to have fallen out of the repertoire); however, revivals have been done, and continue to be done, while on the other hand some of those plays considered to still be in the repertoire may be performed only very infrequently. | de6cee49-ebc3-467a-9f7d-f2b5912361c5 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Voorn"} | Dick "Cookie" Voorn (born 30 October 1948 in Uithoorn, North Holland) is a football coach. Until recently he was one of the assistant managers at the Dutch national team.
Voorn made his first steps in professional football in the 1990s when he became assistant manager at Fortuna Sittard where he worked alongside Bert van Marwijk. The two, as well as rehabilitation coach Egid Kiesouw became close friends and a dynamic trio. Together they brought Fortuna Sittard into the 1999 KNVB Cup final.
Van Marwijk left Fortuna and moved to Feyenoord Rotterdam where he would win the UEFA Cup. After that success he went to the Bundesliga to manage the team Feyenoord beat in the UEFA Cup final, Borussia Dortmund. Van Marwijk appointed his own staff and both Kiesouw and Voorn were appointed. The financial situation at the club was tough and the trio did all they could to get the best out of the team. They succeeded, although they were unable to earn any prizes. When Van Marwijk and Dortmund split up during the 2006-07 season Voorn and Kiesouw remained at the club until the end of the season.
During the summer break Van Marwijk returned to Feyenoord and technical director Peter Bosz let him appoint his own staff, which meant Voorn and Kiesouw re-joined Van Marwijk in his mission to bring Feyenoord back to the top. | 4b20a117-51c4-49c5-b19d-fdbe642864c4 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_All-Union_Philatelic_Exhibition"} | The First All-Union Philatelic Exhibition was held in Moscow in 1924–1925. Its full name was the First All-Union Philatelic, Scripophilic and Numismatic Exhibition. This was because it combined the objects of philately, scripophily (collecting stock and bond certificates), and numismatics.
The exhibition was organised from 15 December 1924 to 15 February 1925. This was done by the Presidium of the All-Union Philatelic Association and Board of the All-Russian Society of Philatelists. The combined exhibition was meant to prepare formation of the All-Union Society of Collectors. The society was to be under the direction of Feodor Chuchin, the Commissioner for Philately and Scripophily. | 95add420-d207-467c-a1d2-f77f25a37933 |
null | Andrew James Henderson (born September 8, 1950) is a palm-systematist and Curator of the Institute of Systematic Botany at the New York Botanical Garden. He has authored taxonomic descriptions of 140 species, subspecies and varieties of plants, especially in the palm family
Education
Henderson was educated in Wycliffe College in Gloucestershire and Birkbeck College, University of London. In 1986, he received 'The George H.M. Lawrence Memorial Award', in the amount of $2,000, presented by the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University and presented at the annual banquet of the Botanical Society of America. He later received his Ph.D. from City University of New York in 1987.
He joined the New York Botanic Garden in 1987.
Works
He has authored several books, including The Palms of the Amazon and a field guide to the palms of the Americas.
The standard author abbreviation A.J.Hend. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name. | d564a507-ddc3-4ef5-9809-2316b3d03f2c |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Exchange_railway_station"} | Former railway station in Flintshire, Wales
Hope Exchange railway station was located to the west of Penyffordd, Flintshire. The station was in fields with no road access, being an interchange between two lines. The high level section of the station opened on 18 November 1867 on the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway, and the low level section opened on the same day, on the London and North Western Railway. The high level platforms served what is now the Borderlands Line, and the low level platforms served the Mold Railway. The railway line to Hope Low Level was completely removed by 1982. The railway through Hope High Level remains in use as the Borderlands Line. The platforms on the Borderlands Line are still extant whereas the Mold Line ones have been demolished. | 177b846a-a40b-489b-9d3e-cbc599bfef44 |
null | Species of moth
Metriochroa pergulariae is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from South Africa.
The larvae feed on Pergularia daemia and Pergularia extensa. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a very long, narrow, irregularly contorted gallery on the upper side of the leaf. | 020ee5d1-9230-4d3b-b541-38dd79f4ddc6 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Allen_Smith_(politician)"} | American politician
Howard Allen Smith (October 8, 1909 – June 4, 1998) was a Republican representative from California from 1957 to 1973.
Biography
Born in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois, October 8, 1909, (Ronald Reagan's boyhood hometown) Smith was an F.B.I. agent and later a member of the California State Assembly for the 43rd district from 1949 to 1957, a Presidential Elector for California in 1956, and a representative from California's 43rd congressional district from 1957 to 1973.
Tenure
In Congress he compiled a conservative voting record. Smith voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was also a delegate from California to the Republican National Convention in 1960. Member, Freemasons; Shriners.
Death
He died in Glendale on June 4, 1998, and is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. He was married to Elizabeth Smith. They had two sons, Lauren and Stephen Smith. | df0bb2fb-f9e5-40eb-b73e-249f2a6b1bd4 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanna"} | Look up tanna in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Tanna may refer to:
Places
People
Other | 919569a5-bc4f-4ea4-b529-8eacb57a49bd |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collinsville,_Mississippi"} | Census-designated place in Mississippi, United States
Collinsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,984 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Collinsville is located in northwestern Lauderdale County at 32°29′16″N 88°50′39″W / 32.48778°N 88.84417°W / 32.48778; -88.84417 (32.487906, -88.844205). Mississippi Highway 19 passes through the community, leading southeast 13 miles (21 km) to Meridian, the county seat, and northwest 26 miles (42 km) to Philadelphia.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 14.3 square miles (37.0 km2), of which 0.03 square miles (0.07 km2), or 0.18%, are water. The town and Highway 19 lie on a low ridge separating Suqualena Creek to the west and Twitley Branch to the east, both of which are tributaries of Okatibbee Creek and part of the Chickasawhay/Pascagoula River watershed. Okatibbee Dam, forming 5.9-square-mile (15 km2) Okatibbee Lake, is at the eastern edge of the Collinsville CDP.
Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,984 people, 724 households, and 503 families residing in the CDP.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,823 people, 701 households, and 541 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 115.7 people per square mile (44.7/km2). There were 739 housing units at an average density of 46.9/sq mi (18.1/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.56% White, 12.51% African American, 0.38% Asian, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population.
There were 701 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the CDP the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,476, and the median income for a family was $41,714. Males had a median income of $31,779 versus $21,957 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,184. About 5.4% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 20.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people | 1c9b63a4-1a4f-4faf-9e75-5e939f73abb2 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Showalter"} | American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer
Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's The State, which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the Wet Hot American Summer franchise, with Showalter co-writing and starring in Wet Hot American Summer (2001), and the Netflix series. Showalter wrote and directed The Baxter (2005), in which he starred with Michelle Williams, Justin Theroux, and Elizabeth Banks. Both films featured many of his co-stars from The State, and so do several of his other projects. Showalter is also a co-creator, co-producer, actor, and writer for the TV series Search Party. He directed the 2017 critically acclaimed feature film The Big Sick.
Early life
Showalter was born in Princeton, New Jersey, the son of Elaine Showalter (née Cottler), an author, feminist literary critic, and professor of English, and English Showalter, a Yale-educated professor of 18th century French literature. His father is Episcopalian and his mother is Jewish. He has one older sister, Vinca Showalter LaFleur, a professional speechwriter. He attended Princeton High School. For five years, Showalter shared an apartment with his friend, comedian and actress Andrea Rosen.
Career
Showalter began his undergraduate studies at New York University, where he joined the sketch comedy group The New Group. He transferred to and graduated from Brown University. After he completed college, The New Group changed its name to The State and began creating video shorts for an MTV show called You Wrote It, You Watch It, hosted by Jon Stewart. The comedy troupe then got its own sketch comedy TV series, The State , which aired for two years on MTV.
Showalter has also had several smaller roles in movies and TV shows. He played Ron Parker, the arrogant host of Cheap Seats, on ESPN Classic in the pilot episode. However, after a bookcase fell on Showalter's character, tape librarians (and brothers) Randy and Jason Sklar took over the hosting duties. Showalter spent a brief time as a correspondent on The Daily Show (1996). He is also one half of The Doilies, an acoustic comedy band, in which he sings lead vocals opposite guitarist Zak Orth. In 2005 he wrote, directed and starred in the film The Baxter.
Showalter is the host of The Michael Showalter Showalter, an original Internet series on Collegehumor.com which premiered January 16, 2007. His first guest was comedian Zach Galifianakis. Other guests have included David Cross, Michael Ian Black, Paul Rudd, David Wain, Andy Samberg, Michael Cera, and Mike Birbiglia. In the fall and winter of 2006, Showalter toured the US with frequent collaborator Michael Ian Black. In March 2007 Showalter briefly toured as the opening act for Janeane Garofalo. The Ten reunites him with frequent collaborators from The State.
Showalter signed with JDub Records, a non-profit record label, in June 2007. He released his first stand-up CD titled Sandwiches & Cats in November 2007. He teaches screenwriting at New York University's Graduate Film School.
Showalter teamed up once more with Michael Ian Black in the Comedy Central series Michael and Michael Have Issues, which premiered in July 2009. The show detailed the two Michaels' trials and tribulations as they create a television series. They confirmed the series' cancellation in early 2010.
In an interview with The Rumpus in February 2009, Showalter talked about a memoir he is working on. "I am writing an 'important' memoir about not being able to write an important memoir. It winds up being kind of a novel-length comedic essay on insecurity and procrastination." The book, Mr. Funny Pants, was published in February 2011.
He appeared twice on the NBC drama Law & Order: in the episode "Endurance", which aired on October 18, 2000, and in the episode "Reality Bites", which aired on October 16, 2009.
Showalter also appeared in a series of commercials advertising the Toyota Yaris, starting in late 2011.
In 2013 Showalter and Michael Ian Black launched a podcast called "Topics" in which the duo discuss evergreen topics in a serious manner, although if something funny comes up, it's okay.
Showalter was a writer on the ABC sitcom Super Fun Night.
In 2014, Showalter co-wrote with David Wain They Came Together. Wain and Showalter then co-wrote the eight-episode Netflix prequel Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp based on the 2001 film with almost the entire cast of the original film returning. Showalter himself appeared as Gerald "Coop" Cooperberg and President Ronald Reagan in the series. The series premiered on July 31, 2015, and was more well received by critics. He also co-wrote and starred in the Netflix sequel Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later which premiered in 2017.
In 2015 his film Hello, My Name Is Doris debuted at SXSW, where it was acquired by Roadside Attractions. It was released in the United States in March 2016, and received critical acclaim.
His 2017 film The Big Sick starred Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter and Ray Romano. It saw a wide theatrical release and had an overwhelmingly positive 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Showalter next directed the 2020 film The Lovebirds, starring Kumail Nanjiani of The Big Sick, along with Issa Rae, Anna Camp and Paul Sparks. The film was scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on April 3, 2020, however due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic its theatrical release was cancelled, similar to many other films, and it premiered on Netflix on May 22, 2020. More recently, he signed an overall deal with HBO Max.
Personal life
Showalter married Anne Kalin Ellis on January 16, 2011, in New York. Anne gave birth to their twin children in 2014.
Filmography
Film
Acting roles
Television
Acting roles | ea3f583a-a22e-4e6a-9e4f-2a216003e146 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Bu%C3%B1uel"} | Spanish-Mexican filmmaker (1900–1983)
Luis Buñuel Portolés (Spanish: [ˈlwiz βuˈɲwel poɾtoˈles]; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.
When Buñuel died at the age of 83, his obituary in The New York Times called him "an iconoclast, moralist, and revolutionary who was a leader of avant-garde surrealism in his youth and a dominant international movie director half a century later". His first picture, Un Chien Andalou—made in the silent era—is still viewed regularly throughout the world and retains its power to shock the viewer, and his last film, That Obscure Object of Desire—made 48 years later—won him Best Director awards from the National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics. Writer Octavio Paz called Buñuel's work "the marriage of the film image to the poetic image, creating a new reality...scandalous and subversive".
Often associated with the surrealist movement of the 1920s, Buñuel created films from the 1920s through the 1970s. Having worked in Europe and North America, and in French and Spanish, Buñuel also directed films spanning various genres. Despite this variety, filmmaker John Huston believed that, regardless of genre, a Buñuel film is so distinctive as to be instantly recognizable, or, as Ingmar Bergman put it, "Buñuel nearly always made Buñuel films".
Seven of Buñuel's films are included in Sight & Sound's 2012 critics' poll of the top 250 films of all time. Fifteen of his films are included in the They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? list of the 1,000 greatest films of all time, second only to Jean-Luc Godard, with sixteen, and he ranks number 13 on their list of the top 250 directors. David Thomson names him as one of the greatest directors, adding "He is as intent on comedy as Kafka was, as little intent on showing off style, and as much a victim as the joke he tells."
Early years
Buñuel was born on 22 February 1900 in Calanda, a small town in the Aragon region of Spain. His father was Leonardo Buñuel, also a native of Calanda, who had left home at the age of 14 to start a hardware business in Havana, Cuba, ultimately amassing a fortune and returning home to Calanda at the age of 43, in 1898. He married the 18-year-old daughter of the only innkeeper in Calanda, María Portolés Cerezuela. The oldest of seven children, Luis had two brothers, Alfonso and Leonardo, and four sisters: Alicia, Concepción, Margarita and María. He would later describe his birthplace by saying that in Calanda, "the Middle Ages lasted until World War I".
When Buñuel was four and a half months old, the family moved to Zaragoza, where they were one of the wealthiest families in town. In Zaragoza, Buñuel received a strict Jesuit education at the private Colegio del Salvador, starting at the age of seven and continuing for the next seven years. After being kicked and insulted by the study hall proctor before a final exam, Buñuel refused to return to the school. He told his mother he had been expelled, which was not true; in fact, he had received the highest marks on his world history exam. Buñuel finished the last two years of his high school education at the local public school, graduating at the age of 16. Even as a child, Buñuel was something of a cinematic showman; friends from that period described productions in which Buñuel would project shadows on a screen using a magic lantern and a bedsheet. He also excelled at boxing and playing the violin.
In his youth, Buñuel was deeply religious, serving at Mass and taking Communion every day, until, at the age of 16, he grew disgusted with what he perceived as the illogicality of the Church, along with its power and wealth.
In 1917, he attended the University of Madrid, first studying agronomy then industrial engineering and finally switching to philosophy. He developed very close relationships with painter Salvador Dalí and poet Federico García Lorca, among other important Spanish creative artists living in the Residencia de Estudiantes, with the three friends forming the nucleus of the Spanish Surrealist avant-garde, and becoming known as members of "La Generación del 27". Buñuel was especially taken with García Lorca, later writing in his autobiography: "We liked each other instantly. Although we seemed to have little in common—I was a redneck from Aragon, and he an elegant Andalusian—we spent most of our time together... We used to sit on the grass in the evenings behind the Residencia (at that time, there were vast open spaces reaching to the horizon), and he would read me his poems. He read slowly and beautifully, and through him I began to discover a wholly new world." Buñuel's relationship with Dalí was somewhat more troubled, being tinged with jealousy over the growing intimacy between Dalí and Lorca and resentment over Dalí's early success as an artist.
Buñuel's interest in films was intensified by a viewing of Fritz Lang's Der müde Tod: "I came out of the Vieux Colombier [theater] completely transformed. Images could and did become for me the true means of expression. I decided to devote myself to the cinema". At the age of 72, Buñuel had not lost his enthusiasm for this film, asking the octogenarian Lang for his autograph.
Career
Early French period (1925–1930)
In 1925 Buñuel moved to Paris, where he began work as a secretary in an organization called the International Society of Intellectual Cooperation. He also became actively involved in cinema and theater, going to the movies as often as three times a day. Through these interests, he met a number of influential people, including the pianist Ricardo Viñes, who was instrumental in securing Buñuel's selection as artistic director of the Dutch premiere of Manuel de Falla's puppet-opera El retablo de maese Pedro in 1926.
He decided to enter the film industry and enrolled in a private film school run by Jean Epstein and some associates. At that time, Epstein was one of the most celebrated commercial directors working in France, his films being hailed as "the triumph of impressionism in motion, but also the triumph of the modern spirit". Before long, Buñuel was working for Epstein as an assistant director on Mauprat (1926) and La chute de la maison Usher (1928), and also for Mario Nalpas on La Sirène des Tropiques (1927), starring Josephine Baker. He appeared on screen in a small part as a smuggler in Jacques Feyder's Carmen (1926).
When Buñuel derisively rejected Epstein's demand that he assist Epstein's mentor, Abel Gance, who was at the time working on the film Napoléon, Epstein dismissed him angrily, saying "How can a little asshole like you dare to talk that way about a great director like Gance?" then added "You seem rather surrealist. Beware of surrealists, they are crazy people."
After parting with Epstein, Buñuel worked as film critic for La Gaceta Literaria (1927) and Les Cahiers d'Art (1928). In the periodicals L'Amic de les Arts and La gaseta de les Arts, he and Dalí carried on a series of "call and response" essays on cinema and theater, debating such technical issues as segmentation, découpage, the insert shot and rhythmic editing. He also collaborated with the celebrated writer Ramón Gómez de la Serna on the script for what he hoped would be his first film, "a story in six scenes" called Los caprichos. Through his involvement with Gaceta Literaria, he helped establish Madrid's first cine-club and served as its inaugural chairman.
Un Chien Andalou (1929)
After his apprenticeship with Epstein, Buñuel shot and directed a 16-minute short, Un Chien Andalou, with Salvador Dalí. The film, financed by Buñuel's mother, consists of a series of startling images of a Freudian nature, starting with a woman's eyeball being sliced open with a razor blade. Un Chien Andalou was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning French surrealist movement of the time and continues to be shown regularly in film societies to this day. It has been called "the most famous short film ever made" by critic Roger Ebert.
The script was written in six days at Dalí's home in Cadaqués. In a letter to a friend written in February 1929, Buñuel described the writing process: "We had to look for the plot line. Dalí said to me, 'I dreamed last night of ants swarming around in my hands', and I said, 'Good Lord, and I dreamed that I had sliced somebody or other's eye. There's the film, let's go and make it.'" In deliberate contrast to the approach taken by Jean Epstein and his peers, which was to never leave anything in their work to chance, with every aesthetic decision having a rational explanation and fitting clearly into the whole, Buñuel and Dalí made a cardinal point of eliminating all logical associations. In Buñuel's words: "Our only rule was very simple: no idea or image that might lend itself to a rational explanation of any kind would be accepted. We had to open all doors to the irrational and keep only those images that surprised us, without trying to explain why".
It was Buñuel's intention to outrage the self-proclaimed artistic vanguard of his youth, later saying: "Historically the film represents a violent reaction against what in those days was called 'avant-garde,' which was aimed exclusively at artistic sensibility and the audience's reason." Against his hopes and expectations, the film was a popular success with the very audience he had wanted to insult, leading Buñuel to exclaim in exasperation: "What can I do about the people who adore all that is new, even when it goes against their deepest convictions, or about the insincere, corrupt press, and the inane herd that saw beauty or poetry in something which was basically no more than a desperate impassioned call for murder?"
Although Un Chien Andalou is a silent film, during the original screening (attended by the elite of the Parisian art world), Buñuel played a sequence of phonograph records which he switched manually while keeping his pockets full of stones with which to pelt anticipated hecklers. After the premiere, Buñuel and Dalí were granted formal admittance to the tight-knit community of Surrealists, led by poet André Breton.
L'Age d'Or (1930)
Late in 1929, on the strength of Un Chien Andalou, Buñuel and Dalí were commissioned to make another short film by Marie-Laurie and Charles de Noailles, owners of a private cinema on the Place des États-Unis and financial supporters of productions by Jacques Manuel, Man Ray and Pierre Chenal. At first, the intent was that the new film be around the same length as Un Chien, only this time with sound. But by mid-1930, the film had grown segmentally to an hour's duration. Anxious that it was over twice as long as planned and at double the budget, Buñuel offered to trim the film and cease production, but Noailles gave him the go-ahead to continue the project.
The film, entitled L'Age d'Or, was begun as a second collaboration with Dalí, but, while working on the scenario, the two had a falling out; Buñuel, who at the time had strong leftist sympathies, desired a deliberate undermining of all bourgeois institutions, while Dalí, who eventually supported the Spanish fascist Francisco Franco and various figures of the European aristocracy, wanted merely to cause a scandal through the use of various scatological and anti-Catholic images. The friction between them was exacerbated when, at a dinner party in Cadaqués, Buñuel tried to throttle Dalí's girlfriend, Gala, the wife of Surrealist poet Paul Éluard. In consequence, Dalí had nothing to do with the actual shooting of the film. During the course of production, Buñuel worked around his technical ignorance by filming mostly in sequence and using nearly every foot of film that he shot. Buñuel invited friends and acquaintances to appear, for nothing, in the film; for example, anyone who owned a tuxedo or a party frock got a part in the salon scene.
"A film called L'Age d'or, whose non-existent artistic quality is an insult to any kind of technical standard, combines, as a public spectacle, the most obscene, disgusting and tasteless incidents. Country, family, and religion are dragged through the mud".
Excerpt from Richard Pierre Bodin's review in Le Figaro, 7 December 1930.
L'Age d'Or was publicly proclaimed by Dalí as a deliberate attack on Catholicism, and this precipitated a much larger scandal than Un Chien Andalou. One early screening was taken over by members of the fascist League of Patriots and the Anti-Jewish Youth Group, who hurled purple ink at the screen and then vandalised the adjacent art gallery, destroying a number of valuable surrealist paintings. The film was banned by the Parisian police "in the name of public order". The de Noailles, both Catholics, were threatened with excommunication by The Vatican because of the film's blasphemous final scene (which visually links Jesus Christ with the writings of the Marquis de Sade), so they made the decision in 1934 to withdraw all prints from circulation, and L'Age d'Or was not seen again until 1979, after their deaths, although a print was smuggled to England for private viewing. The furor was so great that the premiere of another film financed by the de Noailles, Jean Cocteau's The Blood of a Poet, had to be delayed for over two years until outrage over L'Age d'Or had died down. To make matters worse, Charles de Noailles was forced to withdraw his membership from the Jockey Club.
Concurrent with the succès de scandale, both Buñuel and the film's leading lady, Lya Lys, received offers of interest from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and traveled to Hollywood at the studio's expense. While in the United States, Buñuel associated with other celebrity expatriates including Sergei Eisenstein, Josef Von Sternberg, Jacques Feyder, Charles Chaplin and Bertolt Brecht. All that was required of Buñuel by his loose-ended contract with MGM was that he "learn some good American technical skills", but, after being ushered off the first set he visited because the star, Greta Garbo, did not welcome intruders, he decided to stay at home most of the time and only show up to collect his paycheck. His only enduring contribution to MGM came when he served as an extra in La Fruta Amarga, a Spanish-language remake of Min and Bill. When, after a few months at the studio, he was asked to watch rushes of Lili Damita to gauge her Spanish accent, he refused and sent a message to studio boss Irving Thalberg stating that he was there as a Frenchman, not a Spaniard, and he "didn't have time to waste listening to one of the whores". He was back in Spain shortly thereafter.
Spain (1931–1937)
Spain in the early 1930s was a time of political and social turbulence. Due to both a surge in anti-clerical sentiment and a longrunning desire for retribution for the corruption and malfeasance of the extreme right and their supporters in the church, Anarchists and Radical Socialists sacked monarchist headquarters in Madrid and proceeded to burn down or otherwise wreck more than a dozen churches in the capital. Similar revolutionary acts occurred in many other cities in southern and eastern Spain, in most cases with the acquiescence and occasionally with the assistance of the official Republican authorities.
Buñuel's future wife, Jeanne Rucar, recalled that during that period, "he got very excited about politics and the ideas that were everywhere in pre-Civil War Spain". In the first flush of his enthusiasm, Buñuel joined the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) in 1931, though later in life he denied becoming a Communist.
In 1932, Buñuel was invited to serve as film documentarian for the celebrated Mission Dakar-Djibouti, the first large-scale French anthropological field expedition, which, led by Marcel Griaule, unearthed some 3,500 African artifacts for the new Musée de l'Homme. Although he declined, the project piqued his interest in ethnography. After reading the academic study, Las Jurdes: étude de géographie humaine (1927) by Maurice Legendre, he decided to make a film focused on peasant life in Extremadura, one of Spain's poorest states. The film, called Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan (1933), was financed on a budget of 20,000 pesetas donated by a working-class anarchist friend named Ramón Acín, who had won the money in a lottery. In the film, Buñuel matches scenes of deplorable social conditions with narration that resembles travelogue commentary delivered by a detached-sounding announcer, while the soundtrack thunders inappropriate music by Brahms.
"Though the material is organized with masterly skill, the very conception of 'art' here seems irrelevant. It is the most profoundly disturbing film I have ever seen."
Award-winning film director Tony Richardson on Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan
Las Hurdes was banned by the Second Spanish Republic and then by the Francoist dictatorship. It is a film which continues to perplex viewers and resists easy categorization by film historians. Las Hurdes has been called one of the first examples of mockumentary, and has been labeled a "surrealist documentary", a term defined by critic Mercè Ibarz as "A multi-layered and unnerving use of sound, the juxtaposition of narrative forms already learnt from the written press, travelogues and new pedagogic methods, as well as a subversive use of photographed and filmed documents understood as a basis for contemporary propaganda for the masses". Catherine Russell has stated that in Las Hurdes, Buñuel was able to reconcile his political philosophy with his surrealist aesthetic, with surrealism becoming "a means of awakening a marxist materialism in danger of becoming a stale orthodoxy".
After Las Hurdes in 1933, Buñuel worked in Paris in the dubbing department of Paramount Pictures, but following his marriage in 1934, he switched to Warner Brothers because they operated dubbing studios in Madrid. A friend, Ricardo Urgoiti, who owned the commercial film company Filmófono, invited Buñuel to produce films for a mass audience. He accepted the offer, viewing it as an "experiment" as he knew the film industry in Spain was still far behind the technical level of Hollywood or Paris. According to film historian Manuel Rotellar's interviews with members of the cast and crew of the Filmófono studios, Buñuel's only condition was that his involvement with these pictures be completely anonymous, apparently for fear of damaging his reputation as a surrealist. Rotellar insists, however, "the truth is that it was Luis Buñuel who directed the Filmófono productions". José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, the titular director of two of the films created during Buñuel's years as "executive producer" at Filmófono, recounted that it was Buñuel who "explained to me every morning what he wanted...We looked at the takes together and it was Buñuel who chose the shots, and in editing, I wasn't even allowed to be present." Of the 18 films produced by Buñuel during his years at Filmófono, the four that are believed by critical consensus to have been directed by him are:
During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Buñuel placed himself at the disposal of the Republican government. The minister for foreign affairs sent him first to Geneva (September 1936) and then to Paris for two years (1936–38), with official responsibility for cataloging Republican propaganda films. Besides the cataloguing, Buñuel took left-wing tracts to Spain, did some occasional spying, acted as a bodyguard, and supervised the making of a documentary, entitled España 1936 in France and Espana leal, ¡en armas! in Spain, that covered the elections, the parades, the riots, and the war. In August 1936, Federico García Lorca was shot and killed by Nationalist militia. According to his son, Juan Luis, Buñuel rarely talked about Lorca but mourned the poet's untimely death throughout his life.
Buñuel essentially functioned as the coordinator of film propaganda for the Republic, which meant that he was in a position to examine all film shot in the country and decide what sequences could be developed and distributed abroad. The Spanish Ambassador suggested that Buñuel revisit Hollywood where he could give technical advice on films being made there about the Spanish Civil War, so in 1938, he and his family traveled to the United States using funds obtained from his old patrons, the Noailles. Almost immediately upon his arrival in America, however, the war ended and the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association of America discontinued making films on the Spanish conflict. According to Buñuel's wife, returning to Spain was impossible since the Fascists had seized power, so Buñuel decided to stay in the U.S. indefinitely, stating that he was "immensely attracted by the American naturalness and sociability".
United States (1938–1945)
Returning to Hollywood in 1938, he was befriended by Frank Davis, an MGM producer and member of the Communist Party USA, who placed Buñuel on the payroll of Cargo of Innocence, a film about Spanish refugee mothers and children fleeing from Bilbao to the USSR. The project was shelved precipitately when another Hollywood film about the Spanish Civil War, Blockade, was met with disfavor by the Catholic League of Decency. In the words of biographer Ruth Brandon, Buñuel and his family "lived from one unsatisfactory crumb of work to another" because he "had none of the arrogance and pushiness essential for survival in Hollywood". He just wasn't flamboyant enough to capture the attention of Hollywood decision makers, in the opinion of film composer George Antheil: "Inasmuch as [Buñuel], his wife and his little boy seemed to be such absolutely normal, solid persons, as totally un-Surrealist in the Dalí tradition as one could possibly imagine." For the most part, he was snubbed by many of the people in the film community whom he met during his first trip to America, although he was able to sell some gags to Chaplin for his film The Great Dictator.
In desperation, to market himself to independent producers, he composed a 21-page autobiography, a section of which, headed "My Present Plans", outlined proposals for two documentary films:
Nobody showed any interest and Buñuel realized that staying in Los Angeles was futile, so he traveled to New York City to see if he could change his fortunes.
"Luis Buñuel was there, with his thyroid eyes, the moles on his chin which I remember from so long ago when we first saw the surrealist films in the Cinémathèque,... and as he talked I remember thinking that his paleness was most appropriate for someone who spent his life in dark projection rooms... He has a sharp humor, a bitter sarcasm, and at the same time towards women a gentle, special smile".
Anaïs Nin, in her diary entry on encountering Buñuel when he was working at MoMA
In New York City, Antheil introduced Buñuel to Iris Barry, chief curator of film at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Barry talked Buñuel into joining a committee formed to help educate those within the U.S. government who might not have appreciated fully the effectiveness of film as a medium of propaganda. Buñuel was hired to produce a shortened version of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1935) as a demonstration project. The finished product was a compilation of scenes from Riefenstahl's Nazi epic with Hans Bertram's Feuertaufe. Buñuel stayed at MoMA to work for the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA) as part of a production team that would gather, review and edit films intended as anti-fascist propaganda to be distributed in Latin America by American embassies. While being vetted for the job at the OCIAA, upon being asked if he was a Communist, he replied: "I am a Republican," and, apparently, the interviewer did not realize that Buñuel was referring to the Spanish socialist coalition government, not the American political party. Describing Buñuel's work at MoMA, his friend, composer Gustavo Pittaluga, stated: "Luis created maybe 2,000 remarkable works. We were sent anodyne documentaries, often extremely feeble primary materials, which the Museum team turned into marvellous films. And not just Spanish versions, but also Portuguese, French and English... He would create a good documentary through editing." [italics in original]
In 1942, Buñuel applied for American citizenship, because he anticipated that MoMA would soon be put under federal control. But that same year, Dalí published his autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, in which he made it clear that he had split with Buñuel because the latter was a Communist and an atheist. News of this reached Archbishop Spellman, who angrily confronted Barry with the question: "Are you aware that you are harbouring in this Museum the Antichrist, the man who made a blasphemous film L'Age d'Or?" At the same time, a campaign on the part of Hollywood, through its industry trade paper, the Motion Picture Herald, to undermine the MoMA film unit resulted in a 66% reduction in the department's budget and Buñuel felt himself compelled to resign. In 1944, he returned to Hollywood for the third time, this time as Spanish Dubbing Producer for Warner Brothers. Before leaving New York City, he confronted Dalí at his hotel, the Sherry Netherland, to tell the painter about the damage his book had done and then shoot him in the knee. Buñuel did not carry out the violent part of his plan. Dalí explained himself by saying: "I did not write my book to put YOU on a pedestal. I wrote it to put ME on a pedestal".
Buñuel's first dubbing assignment on returning to Hollywood was My Reputation, a Barbara Stanwyck picture which became El Que Diran in Buñuel's hands. In addition to his dubbing work, Buñuel attempted to develop a number of independent projects:
In 1945, Buñuel's contract with Warner Brothers expired, and he decided not to renew it in order, as he put it: "to realize my life's ambition for a year: to do nothing". While his family enjoyed themselves at the beach, Buñuel spent much of his time in Antelope Valley with new acquaintances writer Aldous Huxley and sculptor Alexander Calder, from whom he rented a house.
In his autobiography, in a chapter about his second spell in America, Buñuel states that "[o]n several occasions, both American and European producers have suggested that I tackle a film version of Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano", but that after reading the book many times as well as eight different screenplays he was unable to come up with a solution for the cinema. The movie was eventually made in 1984 by John Huston.
Intermediate years (1946–1961)
Mexico (1946–1953)
In 1946, an old friend, producer Denise Tual, the widow of Pierre Batcheff, the leading man in Un Chien Andalou, proposed that she and Buñuel adapt Lorca's play La casa de Bernarda Alba for production in Paris. As it turned out, though, before they could both make their way to Europe, they encountered problems in securing the rights from Lorca's family. While in Mexico City, on a stopover, they had asked Óscar Dancigers, a Russian émigré producer active in Mexico, for financing. Dancigers ran an independent production company that specialized in assisting U.S. film studios with on-location shooting in Mexico, but following World War II, he had lost his connection with Hollywood due to his being blacklisted as a Communist. Although Dancigers wasn't enthusiastic about the Lorca project, he did want to work with Buñuel and persuaded the Spanish director to undertake a totally different project.
The Golden Age of Mexican cinema was peaking in the mid-to-late 1940s, at just the time Buñuel was connecting with Dancigers. Movies represented Mexico's third largest industry by 1947, employing 32,000 workers, with 72 film producers who invested 66 million pesos (approximately U.S. $13 million) per year, four active studios with 40 million pesos of invested capital, and approximately 1,500 theaters throughout the nation, with about 200 in Mexico City alone. For their first project, the two men selected what seemed like a sure-fire success, Gran Casino, a musical period piece set in Tampico during the boom years of oil exploitation, starring two of the most popular entertainers in Latin America: Libertad Lamarque, an Argentine actress and singer, and Jorge Negrete, a Mexican singer and leading man in "charro" films. Buñuel recalled: "I kept them singing all the time—a competition, a championship".
The film was not successful at the box office, with some even calling it a fiasco. Different reasons have been given for its failure with the public; for some, Buñuel was forced to make concessions to the bad taste of his stars, particularly Negrete, others cite Buñuel's rusty technical skills and lack of confidence after so many years out of the director's chair, while still others speculate that Mexican audiences were tiring of genre movies, called "churros", that were perceived as being cheaply and hastily made.
The failure of Gran Casino sidelined Buñuel, and it was over two years before he had the chance to direct another picture. According to Buñuel, he spent this time "scratching my nose, watching flies and living off my mother's money", but he was actually somewhat more industrious than that may sound. With the husband/wife team of Janet and Luis Alcoriza, he wrote the scenario for Si usted no puede, yo sí, which was filmed in 1950 by Julián Soler. He also continued developing the idea for a surrealistic film called Ilegible, hijo de flauta, with the poet Juan Larrea. Dancigers pointed out to him that there was currently public interest in films about street urchins, so Buñuel scoured the back streets and slums of Mexico City in search of material, interviewing social workers about street gang warfare and murdered children.
During this period, Dancigers was busy producing films for the actor/director Fernando Soler, one of the most durable of Mexican film personalities, having been referred to as the "national paterfamilias". Although Soler typically preferred to direct his own films, for their next collaboration, El Gran Calavera, based on a play by Adolfo Torrado, he decided that doing both jobs would be too much trouble, so he asked Dancigers to find someone who could be trusted to handle the technical aspects of the directorial duties. Buñuel welcomed the opportunity, stating that: "I amused myself with the montage, the constructions, the angles... All of that interested me because I was still an apprentice in so-called 'normal' cinema." As a result of his work on this film, he developed a technique for making films cheaply and quickly by limiting them to 125 shots. El Gran Calavera was completed in 16 days at a cost of 400,000 pesos (approximately $46,000 US at 1948 exchange rates). The picture has been described as "a hilarious screwball send-up of the Mexican nouveau riche... a wild roller coaster of mistaken identity, sham marriages and misfired suicides", and it was a big hit at the box office in Mexico. In 2013, the picture was re-made by Mexican director Gary Alazraki under the title The Noble Family. In 1949, Buñuel renounced his Spanish citizenship to become a naturalized Mexican.
The commercial success of El Gran Calavera enabled Buñuel to redeem a promise he had extracted from Dancigers, which was that if Buñuel could deliver a money-maker, Dancigers would guarantee "a degree of freedom" on the next film project. Knowing that Dancigers was uncomfortable with experimentalism, especially when it might affect the bottom line, Buñuel proposed a commercial project titled ¡Mi huerfanito jefe!, about a juvenile street vendor who can't sell his final lottery ticket, which ends up being the winner and making him rich. Dancigers was open to the idea, but instead of a "feuilleton", he suggested making "something rather more serious". During his recent researches through the slums of Mexico City, Buñuel had read a newspaper account of a twelve-year-old boy's body being found on a garbage dump, and this became the inspiration, and final scene, for the film, eventually called Los olvidados.
"The world doesn't work like Hollywood told us it does, and Buñuel knew well that poverty's truths could not be window-dressed in any way. This film continues to provoke reactions for its unapologetic portrayal of life without hope or trust. It stands out among Buñuel's works as the moment when he broke surface and bellowed, before sinking back into the world of the privileged where his surreal view most loved to play.
Booker Prize winning author DBC Pierre on Los olvidados
The film tells the story of a street gang of children who terrorize their impoverished neighborhood, at one point brutalizing a blind man and at another assaulting a legless man who moves around on a dolly, which they toss down a hill. Film historian Carl J. Mora has said of Los olvidados that the director "visualized poverty in a radically different way from the traditional forms of Mexican melodrama. Buñuel's street children are not 'ennobled' by their desperate struggle for survival; they are in fact ruthless predators who are not better than their equally unromanticized victims". The film was made quickly (18 days) and cheaply (450,000 pesos), with Buñuel's fee being the equivalent of $2,000. During filming, a number of members of the crew resisted the production in a variety of ways: one technician confronted Buñuel and asked why he didn't make a "real" Mexican movie "rather than a miserable picture like this one"; the film's hairdresser quit on the spot over a scene in which the protagonist's mother refuses to give him food ("In Mexico, no mother would say that to her son."); another staff member urged Buñuel to abandon shooting on a "garbage heap", noting that there were many "lovely residential neighborhoods like Las Lomas" that were available; while Pedro de Urdimalas, one of the scriptwriters, refused to allow his name in the credits.
This hostility was also felt by those who attended the movie's première in Mexico City on 9 November 1950, when Los olvidados was taken by many as an insult to Mexican sensibilities and to the Mexican nation. At one point, the audience shrieked in shock as one of the characters looked straight into the camera and hurled a rotten egg at it, leaving a gelatinous, opaque ooze on the lens for a few moments. In his memoir, Buñuel recalled that after the initial screening, Diego Rivera's wife the painter Frida Kahlo refused to speak to him, while poet León Felipe's wife had to be restrained physically from attacking him. There were even calls to have Buñuel's Mexican citizenship revoked. Dancigers, panicked by what he feared would be a complete debacle, quickly commissioned an alternate "happy" ending to the film, and also tacked on a preface showing stock footage of the skylines of New York City, London and Paris with voice-over commentary to the effect that behind the wealth of all the great cities of the world can be found poverty and malnourished children, and that Mexico City "that large modern city, is no exception". Regardless, attendance was so poor that Dancigers withdrew the film after only three days in theaters.
Through the determined efforts of future Nobel Prize winner for Literature Octavio Paz, who at the time was in Mexico's diplomatic service, Los olvidados was chosen to represent Mexico at the Cannes Film Festival of 1951, and Paz promoted the film assiduously by distributing a supportive manifesto and parading outside the cinema with a placard. Opinion in general was enthusiastic, with the Surrealists (Breton and poet Jacques Prevert) and other artistic intellectuals (painter Marc Chagall and poet/dramatist/filmmaker Jean Cocteau) laudatory, but the communist critic Georges Sadoul objected to what he saw as the film's "bourgeois morality" because of its positive depictions of a "bourgeois teacher" and a "bourgeois state" in rehabilitating street children, as well as a scene in which the police demonstrate their utility by stopping a pederast from assaulting a child. Buñuel won the Best Director prize that year at Cannes, and also won the FIPRESCI International Critics' Award. After receiving these accolades, the film was reissued in Mexico where it ran for two months to much greater acceptance and profit. Los olvidados and its triumph at Cannes made Buñuel an instant world celebrity and the most important Spanish-speaking film director in the world. In 2003, Los olvidados was recommended by UNESCO for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register, calling it: "the most important document in Spanish about the marginal lives of children in contemporary large cities".
"Here in Mexico, I have become a professional in the film world. Until I came here I made a film the way a writer makes a book, and on my friends' money at that. I am very grateful and happy to have lived in Mexico, and I have been able to make my films here in a way I could not have in any other country in the world. It is quite true that in the beginning, caught up by necessity, I was forced to make cheap films. But I never made a film which went against my conscience or my convictions. I have never made a superficial, uninteresting film."
– Luis Buñuel on his mid-century career in Mexico.
Buñuel remained in Mexico for the rest of his life, although he spent periods of time filming in France and Spain. In Mexico, he filmed 21 films during an 18-year period. For many critics, although there were occasional widely acknowledged masterpieces like Los olvidados and Él (1953), the majority of his output consisted of generic fare which was adapted to the norms of the national film industry, frequently adopting melodramatic conventions that appealed to local tastes. Other commentators, however, have written of the deceptive complexity and intensity of many of these films, arguing that, collectively, they, "bring a philosophical depth and power to his cinema, together offering a sustained meditation on ideas of religion, class inequity, violence and desire". Although Buñuel usually had little choice regarding the selection of these projects, they often deal with themes that were central to his lifelong concerns:
As busy as he was during the 1950s and early 1960s, there were still many film projects that Buñuel had to abandon due to lack of financing or studio support, including a cherished plan to film Mexican novelist Juan Rulfo's Pedro Páramo, of which he said how much he enjoyed "the crossing from the mysterious to the real, almost without transition. I really like this mixture of reality and fantasy, but I don't know how to bring it to the screen." Other unrealized projects during his lifetime included adaptations of André Gide's Les caves du Vatican; Benito Pérez Galdós's Fortunata y Jacinta, Doña Perfecta, and Ángel Guerra; Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One; William Golding's Lord of the Flies; Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun; J. K. Huysmans' Là-Bas; Matthew Lewis's The Monk; José Donoso's Lugar sin límites; a film of four stories based on Carlos Fuentes's Aura; and Julio Cortázar's Las ménades.
Mexico and beyond: return to international filmmaking (1954–1960)
As much as he welcomed steady employment in the Mexican film industry, Buñuel was quick to seize opportunities to re-emerge onto the international film scene and to engage with themes that were not necessarily focused on Mexican preoccupations. His first chance came in 1954, when Dancigers partnered with Henry F. Ehrlich, of United Artists, to co-produce a film version of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, using a script developed by the Canadian writer Hugo Butler. The film was produced by George Pepper, the former executive secretary of the Hollywood Democratic Committee. Both Butler and Pepper were emigres from Hollywood who had run afoul of authorities seeking out communists. The result, Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, was Buñuel's first color film. Buñuel was given much more time than usual for the filming (three months), which was accomplished on location in Manzanillo, a Pacific seaport with a lush jungle interior, and was shot simultaneously in English and Spanish. When the film was released in the United States, its young star Dan O'Herlihy used his own money to fund a Los Angeles run for the film and gave free admission to all members of the Screen Actors Guild, who in turn rewarded the little-known actor with his only Oscar nomination.
In the mid-1950s, Buñuel got the chance to work again in France on international co-productions. The result was what critic Raymond Durgnat has called the director's "revolutionary triptych", in that each of the three films is "openly, or by implication, a study in the morality and tactics of armed revolution against a right-wing dictatorship". The first, Cela s'appelle l'aurore (Franco-Italian, 1956) required Buñuel and the "pataphysical" writer Jean Ferry to adapt a novel by Emmanuel Roblès after the celebrated writer Jean Genet failed to deliver a script after having been paid in full. The second film was La Mort en ce jardin (Franco-Mexican, 1956), which was adapted by Buñuel and his frequent collaborator Luis Alcoriza from a novel by the Belgian writer José-André Lacour. The final part of the "triptych" was La Fièvre Monte à El Pao (Franco-Mexican, 1959), the last film of the popular French star Gérard Philipe, who died in the final stages of the production. At one point during the filming, Buñuel asked Philipe, who was visibly dying of cancer, why the actor was making this film, and Philipe responded by asking the director the same question, to which both said they did not know. Buñuel was later to explain that he was so strapped for cash that he, "took everything that was offered to me, as long as it wasn't humiliating".
In 1960, Buñuel re-teamed with scenarist Hugo Butler and organizer George Pepper, allegedly his favorite producer, to make his second English-language film, a US/Mexico co-production called The Young One, based on a short story by writer and former CIA-agent Peter Matthiessen. This film has been called "a surprisingly uncompromising study of racism and sexual desire, set on a remote island in the Deep South" and has been described by critic Ed Gonzalez as "salacious enough to make Elia Kazan's Baby Doll and Luis Malle's Pretty Baby blush". Although the film won a special award at the Cannes Film Festival for its treatment of racial discrimination, the US critics were so hostile upon its release that Buñuel was later to say that "a Harlem newspaper even wrote that I should be hung upside down from a lamppost on Fifth Avenue....I made this film with love, but it never had a chance."
Late international period (1961–1977)
At the 1960 Cannes Festival, Buñuel was approached by the young director Carlos Saura, whose film Los Golfos had been entered officially to represent Spain. Two years earlier, Saura had partnered with Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga to form a production company called UNINCI, and the group was keen to get Buñuel to make a new film in his native country as part of their overall goal of creating a uniquely Spanish brand of cinema. At the same time, Mexican actress Silvia Pinal was eager to work with Buñuel and talked her producer-husband Gustavo Alatriste into providing additional funding for the project with the understanding that the director, who Pinal described as "a man worshiped and idolized", would be given "absolute freedom" in carrying out the work. Finally, Buñuel agreed to work again in Spain when further support was provided by producer Pere Portabella's company Film 59.
Buñuel and his co-scenarist Julio Alejandro drafted a preliminary screenplay for Viridiana, which critic Andrew Sarris has described as incorporating "a plot which is almost too lurid to synopsize even in these enlightened times", dealing with rape, incest, hints of necrophilia, animal cruelty and sacrilege, and submitted it to the Spanish censor, who, to the surprise of nearly everyone, approved it after requesting only minor modifications and one significant change to the ending. Although Buñuel accommodated the censor's demands, he came up with a final scene that was even more provocative than the scene it replaced: "even more immoral", as Buñuel was later to observe. Since Buñuel had more than adequate resources, top-flight technical and artistic crews, and experienced actors, filming of Viridiana (which took place on location and at Bardem's studios in Madrid) went smoothly and quickly.
Buñuel submitted a cutting copy to the censors and then arranged for his son, Juan Luis, to smuggle the negatives to Paris for the final editing and mixing, ensuring that the authorities would not have an opportunity to view the finished product before its planned submission as Spain's official entry to the 1961 Cannes Festival. Spain's director general of cinematography José Muñoz-Fontán presented the film on the last day of the festival and then, on the urging of Portabella and Bardem, appeared in person to accept the top prize, the Palme d'Or, which the film shared with the French entry Une aussi longue absence, directed by Henri Colpi. Within days, l'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's official organ, denounced the film as an insult not only to Catholicism but to Christianity in general. Consequences to nearly all concerned were swift: Muñoz-Fontán was dismissed from his government post, the film was banned in Spain for the next 17 years, all mention of it in the press was prohibited, and the two Spanish production companies UNINCI and Film 59 were disbanded.
Buñuel went on to make two more films in Mexico with Pinal and Alatriste, El ángel exterminador (1962) and Simón del desierto (1965) and was later to say that Alatriste had been the one producer who gave him the most freedom in creative expression.
In 1963, actor Fernando Rey, one of the stars of Viridiana, introduced Buñuel to producer Serge Silberman, a Polish entrepreneur who had fled to Paris when his family died in the Holocaust and had worked with several renowned French directors, including Jean-Pierre Melville, Jacques Becker, Marcel Camus and Christian-Jaque. Silberman proposed that the two make an adaptation of Octave Mirbeau's Journal d'une femme de chambre, which Buñuel had read several times. Buñuel wanted to do the filming in Mexico with Pinal, but Silberman insisted it be done in France.
Pinal was so determined to work again with Buñuel that she was ready to move to France, learn the language and even work for nothing in order to get the part of Célestine, the title character. Silberman, however, wanted French actress Jeanne Moreau to play the role, so he put Pinal off by telling her that Moreau, too, was willing to act with no fee. Ultimately, Silberman got his way, leaving Pinal so disappointed that she was later to claim that Alatriste's failure to help her secure this part led to the breakup of their marriage. When Buñuel requested a French-speaking writer with whom to collaborate on the screenplay, Silberman suggested the 32-year-old Jean-Claude Carrière, an actor whose previous screenwriting credits included only a few films for the comic star/director Pierre Étaix, but once Buñuel learned that Carrière was the heir to a wine-growing family, the newcomer was hired on the spot. At first, Carrière found it difficult to work with Buñuel, because the young man was so deferential to the famous director that he never challenged any of Buñuel's ideas, until, at Buñuel's covert insistence, Silberman told Carrière to stand up to Buñuel now and then; as Carrière was later to say: "In a way, Buñuel needed an opponent. He didn't need a secretary – he needed someone to contradict him and oppose him and to make suggestions." The finished 1964 film, Diary of a Chambermaid, became the first of several to be made by the team of Buñuel, Carrière and Silberman. Carrière was later to say: "Without me and without Serge Silberman, the producer, perhaps Buñuel would not have made so many films after he was 65. We really encouraged him to work. That's for sure." This was the second filmed version of Mirbeau's novel, the first being a 1946 Hollywood production directed by Jean Renoir, which Buñuel refused to view for fear of being influenced by the famous French director, whom he venerated. Buñuel's version, while admired by many, has often been compared unfavorably to Renoir's, with a number of critics claiming that Renoir's Diary fits better in Renoir's overall oeuvre, while Buñuel's Diary is not sufficiently "Buñuelian".
After the 1964 release of Diary, Buñuel again tried to make a film of Matthew Lewis' The Monk, a project on which he had worked, on and off, since 1938, according to producer Pierre Braunberger. He and Carrière wrote a screenplay, but were unable to obtain funding for the project, which would be finally realized in 1973 under the direction of Buñuel devotee Ado Kyrou, with considerable assistance from both Buñuel and Carrière.
In 1965, Buñuel managed to work again with Silvia Pinal in what would turn out to be his last Mexican feature, co-starring Claudio Brook, Simón del desierto. Pinal was keenly interested in continuing to work with Buñuel, trusting him completely and frequently stating that he brought out the best in her; however, this would be their last collaboration.
In 1966, Buñuel was contacted by the Hakim brothers, Robert and Raymond, Egyptian-French producers who specialized in sexy films directed by star filmmakers, who offered him the opportunity to direct a film version of Joseph Kessel's novel Belle de Jour, a book about an affluent young woman who leads a double life as a prostitute, and that had caused a scandal upon its first publication in 1928. Buñuel did not like Kessel's novel, considering it "a bit of a soap opera", but he took on the challenge because: "I found it interesting to try to turn something I didn't like into something I did." So he and Carrière set out enthusiastically to interview women in the brothels of Madrid to learn about their sexual fantasies. Buñuel also was not happy about the choice of the 22-year-old Catherine Deneuve for the title role, feeling that she had been foisted upon him by the Hakim brothers and Deneuve's lover at the time, director François Truffaut. As a result, both actress and director found working together difficult, with Deneuve claiming, "I felt they showed more of me than they'd said they were going to. There were moments when I felt totally used. I was very unhappy," and Buñuel deriding her prudery on the set. The resulting film has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "possibly the best-known erotic film of modern times, perhaps the best", even though, as another critic has written, "in terms of explicit sexual activity, there is little in Belle de jour we might not see in a Doris Day comedy from the same year". It was Buñuel's most successful film at the box office.
Critics have noted Buñuel's habit of following up a commercial or critical success with a more personal, idiosyncratic film that might have less chance of popular esteem.
After the worldwide success of his 1967 Belle de jour, and upon viewing Jean-Luc Godard's film La Chinoise, Buñuel, who had wanted to make a film about Catholic heresies for years, told Carrière: "If that is what today's cinema is like, then we can make a film about heresies." The two spent months researching Catholic history and created the 1969 film The Milky Way, a "picaresque road film" that tells the story of two vagabonds on pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle James at Santiago de Compostela, during which they travel through time and space to take part in situations illustrating heresies that arose from the six major Catholic dogmas. Vincent Canby, reviewing the film in the New York Times, compared it to George Stevens' blockbuster The Greatest Story Ever Told, in that Buñuel had made a film about Jesus casting nearly all the famous French performers of the time in cameo roles. The Milky Way was banned in Italy, only to have the Catholic Church intervene on its behalf.
A few great directors have the ability to draw us into their dream world, into their personalities and obsessions and fascinate us with them for a short time. This is the highest level of escapism the movies can provide for us – just as our elementary identification with a hero or a heroine was the lowest.
Film critic Roger Ebert, on Tristana
The 1970 film Tristana is a film about a young woman who is seduced and manipulated by her guardian, who attempts to thwart her romance with a young artist and who eventually induces her to marry him after she loses one of her legs due to a tumor. It has been considered by scholar Beth Miller the least understood of Buñuel's films, and consequently one of the most underrated, due to a "consistent failure to apprehend its political and, especially, its socialist-feminist statement". Buñuel had wanted to make a film of Benito Pérez Galdós' novel Tristana as early as 1952, even though he considered Galdós' book the author's weakest. After finishing Viridiana and in the wake of the scandal its release caused in 1962, the Spanish censor flatly turned down this project, and Buñuel had to wait for 8 years before he could receive backing from the Spanish production company Época Films. The censors had threatened to deny permission for the film on the grounds that it encouraged duelling, so Buñuel had to approach the subject matter very gingerly, in addition to making concessions to his French/Italian/Spanish producers, who insisted on casting two of the three primary roles with actors not of Buñuel's choosing: Franco Nero and Catherine Deneuve. On this occasion, however, Deneuve and Buñuel had a more mutually satisfactory working relationship, with Deneuve telling an interviewer, "but in the end, you know, it was actually rather a wonderful shoot. Tristana is one of my favorite films. Personally, as an actress, I prefer Tristana to Belle de Jour."
The germ of the idea for their next film together, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) came from Buñuel and Silberman discussing uncanny repetition in everyday life; Silberman told an anecdote about how he had invited some friends for dinner at his house, only to forget about it, so that, on the night of the dinner party, he was absent and his wife was in her nightclothes. The film tells of a group of affluent friends who are continually stymied in their attempts to eat a meal together, a situation that a number of critics have contrasted to the opposite dilemma of the characters in The Exterminating Angel, where guests of a dinner party are mysteriously unable to leave after having completed their meal. For this film, Buñuel, Silberman and Carrière assembled a top-flight cast of European performers, "a veritable rogues' gallery of French art-house cinema", according to one critic. For the first time, Buñuel made use of a video-playback monitor, which allowed him to make much more extensive use of crane shots and elaborate tracking shots, and enabled him to cut the film in the camera and eliminate the need for reshoots. Filming required only two months and Buñuel claimed that editing took only one day. When the film was released, Silberman decided to skip the Cannes Festival in order to concentrate on getting it nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, which it won, leading Buñuel to express his contempt for a process that relied on the judgment of "2500 idiots, including for example the assistant dress designer of the studio".
As was his habit, Buñuel took advantage of the popular success of Discreet Charm to make one of the "puzzling, idiosyncratic films he really wanted to make". In 1973, at the Monastery of Paular in the Spanish Somosierra, he wrote the screenplay for The Phantom of Liberty (1974) with Carrière for production by Silberman and his Hollywood partners. The resulting film is a series of 12 distinctive episodes with separate protagonists, linked together only by following a character from one episode to another in a relay-race manner. Buñuel has stated that he made the film as a tribute to poet Benjamin Péret, a founding member of French Surrealism, and called it his "most Surrealist film".
Buñuel's final film was That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), adapted by Buñuel and Carrière from an 1898 novel by Pierre Louÿs called La Femme et le pantin, which had already been used as the basis of films directed by Josef von Sternberg (The Devil is a Woman, 1935) and Julien Duvivier (La Femme et le Pantin, 1959). The film, which tells the story of an older man who is obsessed by a young woman who continually evades his attempts to consummate a sexual relationship, starred the Spanish actor Fernando Rey, appearing in his fourth Buñuel film. Initially, the part of the young woman was to be played by Maria Schneider, who had achieved international fame for her roles in Last Tango in Paris and The Passenger, but once shooting started, according to Carrière, her drug usage resulted in a "lackluster and dull" performance that caused tempestuous arguments with Buñuel on the set and her eventual dismissal. Silberman, the producer, decided to abandon the project at that point, but was convinced by Buñuel to continue shooting with two different actresses, Ángela Molina and Carole Bouquet playing the same role in alternating sequences throughout the film. In his autobiography, Buñuel claimed that this unusual casting decision was his own idea after drinking two dry martinis, saying: "If I had to list all the benefits derived from alcohol, it would be endless". Others have reported that Carrière had first broached the idea while developing the film's scenario, but had been brushed off by Buñuel as "the whim of a rainy day".
Last years (1978–1983)
"Luis waited for death for a long time, like a good Spaniard, and when he died he was ready. His relationship with death was like that one has with a woman. He felt the love, hate, tenderness, ironical detachment of a long relationship, and he didn't want to miss the last encounter, the moment of union. "I hope I will die alive," he told me. At the end it was as he had wished. His last words were 'I'm dying'."
Long-time friend and collaborator, Jean-Claude Carrière
After the release of That Obscure Object of Desire, Buñuel retired from filmmaking. In 1982, he wrote (along with Carrière) his autobiography, Mon Dernier Soupir (My Last Sigh), which provides an account of his life, friends, and family as well as a representation of his eccentric personality. In it, he recounts dreams, encounters with many well-known writers, actors, and artists such as Pablo Picasso and Charlie Chaplin as well as antics, like dressing up as a nun and walking around town.
In his seventies, Buñuel once told his friend, novelist Carlos Fuentes: "I'm not afraid of death. I'm afraid of dying alone in a hotel room, with my bags open and a shooting script on the night table. I must know whose fingers will close my eyes." According to his wife, Jeanne, Buñuel died in Mexico City in 1983 from diabetes complications. Fuentes has recounted that Buñuel spent his last week in hospital discussing theology with the Jesuit brother Julián Pablo Fernández, a long time friend. His funeral was very private, involving only family and close friends, among them poets Octavio Paz and Homero Aridjis.
Personal life
Starting at the age of 17, Buñuel steadily dated the future poet and dramatist Concha Méndez, with whom he vacationed every summer at San Sebastián. He introduced her to his friends at the Residencia as his fiancée. After five years, she broke off the relationship, citing Buñuel's "insufferable character".
During his student years, Buñuel became an accomplished hypnotist. He claimed that once, while calming a hysterical prostitute through hypnotic suggestion, he inadvertently put one of the several bystanders into a trance as well. He was often to insist that watching movies was a form of hypnosis: "This kind of cinematographic hypnosis is no doubt due to the darkness of the theatre and to the rapidly changing scenes, lights, and camera movements, which weaken the spectator's critical intelligence and exercise over him a kind of fascination." Referring to Buñuel's interest in hypnosis, Anthony Lane wrote, "You can easily picture yourself being hypnotized by this man; sit through a sample of his movies, and you will think you have been.”
In 1926 he met his future wife, Jeanne Rucar Lefebvre, a gymnastics teacher who had won a bronze medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Buñuel courted her in a formal Aragonese manner, complete with a chaperone, and they married in 1934 despite a warning by Jean Epstein when Buñuel first proposed in 1930: "Jeanne, you are making a mistake... It's not right for you, don't marry him." The two remained married throughout his life and had two sons, Juan Luis and Rafael. Diego Buñuel, filmmaker and host of the National Geographic Channel's Don't Tell My Mother series, is their grandson.
Technique and influences
Buñuel's technique of filmmaking was strongly influenced by mise-en-scène, sound editing and use of music. The influences on his filmmaking have included a positive relationship to surrealism and a critical approach to atheism and religion. Buñuel's style of directing was extremely economical; he shot films in a few weeks, rarely deviating from his script (the scene in Tristana where Catherine Deneuve exposes her breasts to Saturno – but not the audience – being a noted exception) and shooting as much as possible in order to minimize editing time. He remained true throughout his working life to an operating philosophy that he articulated at the beginning of his career in 1928: "The guiding idea, the silent procession of images that are concrete, decisive, measured in space and time—in a word, the film—was first projected inside the brain of the filmmaker". In this, Buñuel has been compared with Alfred Hitchcock, another director famous for precision, efficiency and preplanning, for whom actually shooting the film was an anticlimax, since each man would know, in Buñuel's words, "exactly how each scene will be shot and what the final montage will be". According to actress Jeanne Moreau: "He was the only director I know who never threw away a shot. He had the film in his mind. When he said 'action' and 'cut,' you knew that what was in between the two would be printed."
Tributes
Characterizations
Buñuel has been portrayed as a character in many films and television productions. A portion of the television mini-series Lorca, muerte de un poeta (1987–1988), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem recreates the student years of Buñuel, Lorca and Dalí, with Fernando Valverde portraying Buñuel in two episodes. He was played by Dimiter Guerasimof in the 1991 biopic Dalí, directed by Antoni Ribas, despite the fact that Dalí and his attorney had written to Ribas objecting to the project in its early stages in 1985. Buñuel appeared as a character in Alejandro Pelayo's 1993 film Miroslava, based on the life of actress Miroslava Stern, who committed suicide after appearing in Ensayo de un crimen (1955). Buñuel was played by three actors, El Gran Wyoming (old age), Pere Arquillué (young adult) and Juan Carlos Jiménez Marín (child), in Carlos Saura's 2001 fantasy, Buñuel y la mesa del rey Salomón, which tells of Buñuel, Lorca and Dalí setting out in search of the mythical table of King Salomón, which is thought to have the power to see into the past, the present and the future. Buñuel was a character in a 2001 television miniseries Severo Ochoa: La conquista de un Nobel, on the life of the Spanish émigré and Nobel Prize winner in medicine, who was also at the Residencia de Estudiantes during Buñuel's time there. Matt Lucas portrayed Buñuel in Richard Curson Smith's 2002 TV movie Surrealissimo: The Scandalous Success of Salvador Dalí, a comedy depicting Dalí's "trial" by the Surrealists in 1934 for his pro-Hitler sympathies. A 2005 short called The Death of Salvador Dali, directed by Delaney Bishop, contains sequences in which Buñuel appears, played by Alejandro Cardenas. Paul Morrison's Little Ashes hypothesizes a love affair between Dalí and Lorca, with Buñuel (played by Matthew McNulty) looking on suspiciously. Buñuel, played by Adrien de Van, is one of many notable personalities encountered by Woody Allen's protagonist in Midnight in Paris (2011). In 2019, Fermín Solís published a graphic novel titled Buñuel en el Laberinto de las Tortugas (english translation, 2021: Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles) depecting the creation of Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan. An animated film of the book was released in 2019, directed by Salvador Simó.
Awards
Buñuel was given the Career Golden Lion in 1982 by the Venice Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize – Honorable Mention in 1969 by the Berlin International Film Festival. In 1977, he received the National Prize for Arts and Sciences for Fine Arts. At the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979, he was awarded the Honorable Prize for his contribution to cinema. He was nominated once for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968.
Filmography
Documentaries about Buñuel | bae8a18f-758f-4ede-9f43-85ab5f007057 |
null | Evan Evans may refer to: | 664ad68a-d546-4545-a262-7520b13f9e81 |
null | American football player (1929–2008)
American football player
Leo William "Ducky" Elter (October 21, 1929 – August 23, 2008) was an American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins.
Early life
Elter was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended Shaler Area High School, where he played football and baseball.
College career
Elter started his college football career at Duquesne University, but then transferred to Villanova University after the Duquesne team disbanded for a short time.
Military
After graduating from college, Elter joined the United States Marine Corps and was recruited to play for the football team at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
Professional career
After being discharged by the Marines, he was signed by Art Rooney, founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers. During his seven-year career in the NFL, he played four seasons with the Steelers (1953–1954 and 1958–1959) and three with the Washington Redskins (1955–1957), rushing for a total of 1,380 yards and catching passes for a total of 556 yards. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1956.
After football
After retiring from football, Elter worked at the Allegheny County Workhouse in Blawnox, Pennsylvania and coached the inmates' football team. He was elected to the Duquesne University Sports Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2000, he was inducted into the American Football Association Hall of Fame. | bd26be6f-43c4-4e2c-bdab-b8c04c90b40a |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C6orf62"} | Chromosome 6 open reading frame 62 (C6orf62), also known as X-trans-activated protein 12 (XTP12), is a gene that encodes a protein of the same name. The encoded protein is predicted to have a subcellular location within the cytosol.
Gene and Transcript
In the DNA, C6orf62 is 12,529 base pairs long and is located at 6q22.3. It is located on chromosome 6 on position 22.3 (6q22.3). The mature mRNA sequence is 2498 base-pairs long with 5 exons and 4 intronic regions that translates a protein that is 229 amino acids long and two predicted isoforms of 160 amino acids and 200 amino acids.
Protein
The main transcript is 229 amino acids long and is encoded from 5 exonic regions. There exists two transcript variants that are 200 amino acids and 160 amino acids long. There is a domain of unknown function (DUF4566) present in all three variants and spans positions 1–226 on the main transcript. The molecular weight of C6orf62 is 27.1 kDa and its isoelectric point is at a pH of 9.24. It is located subcellularly localized throughout the cytosol.
Protein Interactions
Expression
C6orf62 is broadly expressed within the human body, however, its protein abundance is not high. It is more heavily expressed in the gallbladder and testis, but it is not predicted to be expressed in the smooth muscle, lymph nodes, the spleen, ovaries, adipose tissue, and soft tissue.
Homology
C6orf62 is highly conserved among vertebrates and has orthologs found in invertebrates.
Orthologs in Select Mammals
Orthologs in Select Ray-Finned Fish
Orthologs in Select Amphibians
Orthologs in Select Reptiles
Orthologs in Select Birds
Orthologs in Select Invertebrates | 3ffdab06-6ee9-46a2-974f-7582a001a650 |
null | American politician from Indiana
Thomas E. "Tom" Saunders (born June 28, 1951) is an American politician. He is a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 54th District, serving since 1996. He is a member of the Republican party. He served as Chair of the Henry County Republican Party for 6 years and as its Vice Chair for 5 years. He also served as Henry County Assessor for 16 years. Saunders retired in 2022 after serving the district for twenty-five years. | ddc9d1ac-1f19-4692-bcdb-40ed91d61c4a |
null | Japanese footballer
Takanori Maeno (前野 貴徳, Maeno Takanori, born 14 April 1988) is a Japanese football player for Ehime FC.
Career statistics
Club
Updated to end of 2018 season.
1Includes Suruga Bank Championship.
Honours
Club
Kashima Antlers | c97706d4-bcbd-4857-aa86-4335bd1ab034 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireteam_2200"} | 1991 video game
1991 video game
Fireteam 2200 is a 1991 video game published by SimSystems.
Gameplay
Fireteam 2200 is a game in which ground combat in the 23rd century can be played against the computer, or using a modem it can be played as a two-player game or head-to-head.
Reception
Jesse W. Cheng reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "FireTeam 2200 was able to combine wargaming "realism," role-playing, solid EGA graphics and excellent AdLib sounds into a nice package. Despite the game's weaknesses (no scenario builder, lack of mouse support and a bit of complexity), this game would be a worthy addition to any wargame grognard's collection."
Alan Bunker for Amiga Action rated the game 70% and described it as "a game that will probably occupy you for a couple of days or so but not much longer".
Reviews | d643a982-29a2-4278-b4ca-388a68eafb77 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber"} | Look up Berber or berber in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
Places
People with the surname
Other uses | 575ba092-7725-4700-8945-8dabf91493d9 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Rainey"} | American actor (1908–2005)
Ford Rainey (August 8, 1908 – July 25, 2005) was an American film, stage, and television actor.
Early life
Rainey was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, the son of Vyrna (née Kinkade), a teacher, and Archie Coleman Rainey. He first acted on the stage while a student at Centralia High School, where he graduated in 1927. Rainey graduated from Centralia Junior College in Washington state and in 1933 from the Cornish School, now Cornish College of the Arts, in Seattle.
He then moved to Connecticut to study acting at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Studio. Growing up in the outdoors and learning to ride horses helped him in his career as a tough-guy film presence later in life. Like many young actors, he worked odd jobs, including as a logger, fisherman, fruit picker, carpenter, and clam digger, in addition to working on an oil tanker before becoming a successful actor.
He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.
Career
Rainey worked at radio stations KJR and KOMO in Seattle, Washington, as well as being a touring stage actor before breaking into films. His Broadway debut was in a 1939 Chekhov production of The Possessed with fellow Cornish alumnus Beatrice Straight that had a run of 14 performances. After the war he moved to Ojai, California, where he, Woodrow Chambliss and other actors who had studied under Chekhov founded the Ojai Valley Players.[citation needed]
He made his film debut in White Heat starring James Cagney in 1949 and became a familiar face in motion pictures, appearing in Perfect Strangers (1950) with Ginger Rogers, Two Rode Together (1961) with James Stewart and Richard Widmark, 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) with Tony Curtis, Johnny Tiger (1966) with Robert Taylor, and The Sand Pebbles (1966) with Steve McQueen. His other film credits included The Gypsy Moths (1969) with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, The Naked Zoo (1970) with Rita Hayworth, The Traveling Executioner (1970), My Old Man's Place (1971), Sixteen (1973), the horror films Halloween II (1981) and The Cellar (1989), Bed & Breakfast (1992) with Roger Moore and Inferno (1999). He also co-starred in the acclaimed television movie My Sweet Charlie (1970), and appeared in other TV movies such as A Howling in the Woods (1971) and The Stranger Who Looks Like Me (1974) with Meredith Baxter and Beau Bridges.[citation needed]
He guest-starred on such television series as The Adventures of Kit Carson, Bonanza, The Invaders, The Brothers Brannagan (in the 1961 series finale "The Hunter and the Hunted"), The Tall Man with Clu Gulager, Stoney Burke, Daniel Boone with Fess Parker, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, Empire, Dundee and the Culhane, Baa Baa Black Sheep, How the West was Won (aka The Macahans), The Untouchables with Robert Stack, and the 1976 western Sara. The tall austere, authoritative-looking actor was a natural at playing leaders.
In the 1961–62 season Rainey co-starred with Robert Young in the CBS series Window on Main Street, in which he portrayed newspaper editor Lloyd Ramsey. In 1963–1964, he was a member of the regular cast of the NBC anthology series The Richard Boone Show. He portrayed Dr. Barnett on the NBC crime drama Search in 1972–1973, he had the role of Police Chief Vernon in Tenafly in 1973–1974, and he played James Barrett on the crime drama The Manhunter on CBS in 1974–1975.
Between 1962 and 1965 Rainey made four guest appearances on the CBS courtroom series Perry Mason, beginning with the role of Russell Durham in "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle." In 1964 he played murder victim Harry Trilling in "The Case of the Ugly Duckling."
During the mid-1960s, Ford played U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in The Time Tunnel episode “The Death Trap” with Robert Colbert, the uncredited President seen on the TV addressing the Robinsons before their launch in the pilot episode of Lost in Space “The Reluctant Stowaway”, as well as the President once more in the “Doomsday” episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. (He played Lincoln again a decade later in the 1976 theatrical film Guardian of the Wilderness.)
Rainey portrayed the adoptive father of Lee Majors' Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man), and the foster father of Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman). He appeared in the 1987 miniseries Amerika.
Rainey played a general on CBS' M*A*S*H, and a judge on both The Waltons and Matlock.
Later television appearances, in the 1990s and 2000s, include ER and recurring roles on Wiseguy, Ned and Stacey, and The King of Queens. He could also be seen in some commercials in the middle 1970s through the 1980s, such as REACH toothbrushes. During that time he was part of Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island.
Personal life
Ford Rainey was a bachelor until the age of 46, when, in 1954, he married Sheila Hayden and settled in New York City, where sons Robert and James were born. The family moved to Malibu, California, where daughter Kathy was born.
Rainey remained in Malibu with his wife while he acted and enjoyed hobbies such as beekeeping and bird breeding until his death on July 25, 2005, of a stroke, at the age of 96. His interment was in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
In May 2012, Ford's 54-year-old chiropractor son Robert Rainey was found murdered in his Los Angeles, California office. The homicide remains unsolved.
Filmography | 645395f3-958c-4790-a42c-6b8804da72d8 |
null | Professional baseball player
Baseball player
George Gill was a Negro league first baseman in the 1930s.
Hamilton made his Negro leagues debut in 1931 with the Detroit Stars. He went on to play for the Homestead Grays and the Indianapolis ABCs, and finished his career in 1937 with the Indianapolis Athletics. | 97f72dff-af97-44ac-b0a0-3079ae9181a7 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_city_gate"} | The Martin city gate is one of three still existing city gates of the German city of Cochem.
History
The Martin city gate was built in 1352 according to an order of elector Baldwin of Luxembourg, the archbishop of Trier. It was built as a toll house. A chain, connecting the city gate with the opposite border of the river Mosel could stop ships trying to escape their duty of paying taxes.
Later on a new owner, Louis Ravené, created a storing room for ice in the small tower of the city gate. | cd74a6cd-39a4-49de-ad72-fad5e906e345 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrinocheilus"} | Genus of fishes
Gyrinocheilus is the single genus in the family Gyrinocheilidae, a family of small Southeast Asian cypriniform fishes that live in fast-flowing freshwater mountain streams. The species in this genus are commonly called "algae eaters." They hold on to fixed objects using a sucker-like mouth, and, despite the name, feed on a wide range of detritus, rather than simply on algae. A "golden" variety of G. aymonieri, the Chinese algae eater or "sucking loach", can be found in many pet shops and fish farms.
Sucker
The mouths of these fish have developed into a suckermouth, which allows the fish to cling onto objects in the fast-moving water of their habitat. They therefore stay close to the bottom, where their primary food, algae, is more readily available. Uniquely among fish, members of this family have gill slits with two openings each. Water enters through one opening, and leaves through the other. This allows the fish to breathe without having to take water in through the mouth, which is in use to cling to surfaces.
The Chinese algae eater is sometimes kept in aquaria to control algae. It can range up to 11 in (28 cm) in length and has a reputation for becoming increasingly territorial as it matures, and can also be aggressive to other fish, especially slow, flat-bodied species. In the home aquarium, the Chinese algae eater generally makes a poor tank mate. It can be very boisterous, and when improperly fed, has been known to attack other fish and rip off scales, causing infection. It rarely takes food from the surface of the water as it is a demersal species, and as such an appropriate sinking food should be provided. It is very hardy and can endure water conditions that would be toxic to many other aquarium fish, but it should never be kept in such conditions intentionally. Thriving over a wide temperature range, 64-86 °F (18-30 °C), it is frequently kept in unheated indoor aquariums in some climates.
Species
Similar fish
As "algae eater" is a common name for several fish, gyrinocheilids can be easily confused with other species. Most notably is the Siamese algae eater, Crossocheilus siamensis, which belongs to the family Cyprinidae. | ae8c34e2-214f-4991-ab98-f89640aecf55 |
null | German footballer
Erich Hänel (31 October 1915 – 17 March 2003) was a German footballer who played as a forward and made three appearances scoring one goal for the Germany national team. Hänel coached several different football clubs in Bremen, including the Blumenthaler SV, the Bremer SV, as well as some clubs from the Lower Saxony area, for example SV Altlas Delmenhorst, Victoria Oldenburg and the VfB Oldenburg. | a4509eee-fa2d-4f80-80dd-2cfd5a7e6bc2 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexhat_Daci"} | Former Acting President of Kosovo
Nexhat Daci (pronounced [neˈdʒat ˈdaːtsi]; born June 26, 1944 in Veliki Trnovac, Bujanovac, Serbia) is a Kosovan politician. He was elected as the speaker of Assembly of Kosovo in 2001 as a member of President Ibrahim Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). In 2006, he was ousted from the speakership due to infighting within the LDK He is a member of the Assembly of Kosovo and the leader of the Democratic League of Dardania, which he founded following his unsuccessful bid to become leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo.
Acting President of Kosovo
Nexhat Daci was the acting President of Kosovo from January 21, 2006 following the death of Ibrahim Rugova, to February 11, 2006 when Fatmir Sejdiu was elected president.
Education
Daci speaks English, Serbo-Croatian, German (passive) as well as his native Albanian.
He is an academic and is a member of the Academy of Science and Arts of Kosovo.
Activities and functions held, present and past
Publications
Other activities | cadfd3ae-8dd1-4a62-b14b-e41f2d3cd587 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-J%C3%BCrgen_von_Bose"} | German composer
Hans-Jürgen von Bose (born 24 December 1953) is a German composer.
Life
After an unsettled adolescence, Bose entered the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt in 1969, where he received instruction in piano and music theory. Upon graduating from the conservatory, he studied composition (under Hans Ulrich Engelmann), piano ( under Klaus Billing), and conducting at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. After attending the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1974 and the premiere of his First String Quartet, he was awarded several scholarships, among others from the Mozart Foundation and the German National Academic Foundation. In 1976, Bose dropped out of school in Frankfurt and settled in Munich as a freelance artist. The following works like Morphogenesis (1976), Das Diplom (1976), Die Nacht aus Blei (1981), 63: Dream Palace (1990), among others, he received numerous grants and awards:
He received commissions from renowned orchestras and opera houses including Idyllen (1982/83) for the Berlin Philharmonic. In the 1980s, Bose became a member of the jury of the "Summer Music Festival Hitzacker" as well as a lecturer at the "Young Composers' Meeting" in Weikersheim. After a visiting professorship for composition at the Salzburg Mozarteum he succeeded Wilhelm Killmayer as professor of composition at the University of Music and Theater in Munich in 1992 (until 2007). Now he is teaching again at University of Music and Theater in Munich since 2012.
As a teacher, he has decisively influenced the work of, among others, Lutz Landwehr von Pragenau and Klaus Schedl.[citation needed]
Hans-Jürgen von Bose moved in 2011 from Berlin to Zorneding near Munich.
Work
Hans-Jürgen von Bose's early works are characterized by the juxtaposition and interlocking of structural and public sound elements. Surmounting serial methods of composition and advocating a subjective semantics designated as the "New Simplicity" starting with the Darmstadt Summer Courses in 1978 (this was also true for other composers such as Wolfgang Rihm and Detlev Müller-Siemens), the connotations of this term could not cover the structure and complex treatment of time of their compositions. In its consensus against serial constructive thinking, the trend known in the 1970s by the catchphrase "New Subjectivity", gave significant impulses for a new concept of material by turning away from an objective understanding of them.
The label "New Simplicity" was misapplied to Bose's works starting with the String Trio of 1978, though it does point to the presence of an important, though intimate and concealed semantic dimension in his works which can be directly experienced. Beginning in 1989 with the opera 63: Dream Palace, Bose has enriched the process of temporal layering and serial organization characteristic of his music, in a spirit of reflective postmodernism, by borrowing stylistic elements from the past and present.
He wrote the libretto for 63: Dream Palace himself after the novella by James Purdy. It was premiered at the second Munich Biennale in 1990. The heterogeneity of post-modernism is processed through the different reflected styles. A highlight of this period is the opera Slaughterhouse V (1996), whose libretto is based on the novel Slaughterhouse 5, or the children's crusade, by Kurt Vonnegut.
Bridge-building between modernism and post-modernism appears as a significant aspect of Bose's work.[citation needed]
Slaughterhouse V
Post-structuralism
The French philosophy and its theory of "Death of the Author" (Roland Barthes) make this its influence significantly, as the "personal style" of Bose as a "hopefully soon to be overcome relic of the 19th Century".
Significant for Bose's creativity in general, and Slaughterhouse 5 in particular, is the treatment of temporal complexity. The linear understanding of time is replaced by simultaneity, zeitspastischen analogous to the understanding of the protagonist Billy Pilgrim. Bose also permits the findings from the chaos theory, neurobiology and astrophysics polymorphic in his understanding of time are introduced, through the music out into the structuring of the libretto were implemented. Sergei Eisenstein established form of the film will be cut here – even composition – used so that different levels of "fast and hard against geschnitten" can be used in compositional layering and continued interweaving. The composer speaks in this context of a "time-palimpsest".
The opera was created as a work commissioned by the Bavarian State Opera and opened in 1996 the Munich Opera Festival (directed by Eike Gramss de:Eike Gramss).
Compositions
Vocal music
Stage works
Instrumental music
Chamber music
Piano music
Publications
References and footnotes | ad2743eb-81ea-4e15-9366-e72cdf617f83 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonatodes"} | Genus of dwarf geckos
Gonatodes is a genus of New World dwarf geckos of the family Sphaerodactylidae.
Description
The majority of the species in the genus Gonatodes are diurnally active, scansorial, and sexually dichromatic, with adult body size (snout–vent length) ranging from 28 to 65 mm (1.1 to 2.6 in) for known species.[citation needed]
Diet
The diets of the various species of Gonatodes are composed mainly of very small arthropods.[citation needed]
Reproduction
Clutch size is one, with most species producing several clutches per year, and some utilizing communal egg-laying sites.[citation needed]
Habitat
Most species are humid tropical forest dwelling (some in warm lowlands, and others in somewhat cooler montane regions), with relatively fewer species utilizing more open, drier habitats at forest edge, tropical dry seasonal forest and scrub forest. Some species (usually those that use drier natural habitats) are able to utilize even more open human modified environments; in some cases including highly urbanized areas. Gonatodes usually spend most of their active hours perched anywhere from ground level to about 0.6 metres (2 feet) above ground, sometimes up to 2 or 3 metres (6.6 or 9.8 feet), on vertical or near vertical surfaces of tree trunks, tree stumps, logs and sometimes rocks (as well as on walls and house-posts for those that are able to use human altered environments). They seldom sit exposed to direct strong sunlight (they do not appear to bask), and most seem to prefer shade or less exposure to direct sun light.[citation needed]
Geographic range
Species of Gonatodes are found in Central America including southern Mexico, a few Caribbean Islands (including Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Union Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and the northern part of South America, including Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, parts of Brazil, Venezuela, the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and some of the small islands just off the cost of northern South America.[citation needed]
Introduced species
Human mediated introductions have occurred with Gonatodes caudiscutatus in the Galapagos Islands and G. albogularis in Florida. In addition, some species have been transplanted by human activity to various regions within the general range of the genus where the particular species did not previously exist.[citation needed]
Species
The following 34 species are recognized as being valid. Some subspecies are also listed.
Nota bene: A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Gonatodes. | 5f31b7ea-f86e-4ce2-95b7-b4d4f065dfef |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikkel_Thygesen"} | Danish footballer (born 1984)
Mikkel Thygesen (born 22 October 1984) is a Danish football coach and former player.
Thygesen was capped three times for the Denmark national team, all friendlies.
Club career
Early career
Born in Copenhagen, Thygesen started playing youth football for Greve Fodbold and later Brøndby IF, before getting his senior debut with Danish 1st Division (second tier) club BK Frem in the 2002–03 season. He helped Frem win promotion to the Danish Superliga in his second season, and was a part of Frem's starting line-up in the top-flight Danish championship. He played 30 out of 33 possible matches and scored five goals, which saw Frem relegated at the end of the season.
Midtjylland
Thygesen decided to stay in the Superliga, signing for FC Midtjylland in the summer of 2004. Here, he quickly established himself in the starting line-up.
Originally bought as a winger by Midtjylland, Thygesen made his breakthrough as a central midfielder, when he scored seven goals for the club in the first half of the 2006–07 season.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
On 9 January 2007, he was signed by Borussia Mönchengladbach in the German Bundesliga. Rumours had initially sent him to Alemannia Aachen, but they were unwilling to pay the transfer fee demanded by Midtjylland. He joined Mönchengladbach at their January training camp, which meant he had to drop the league national team tour. On 27 January 2007, he made his Bundesliga debut against Energie Cottbus, which Mönchengladbach lost 1–3. He made two appearances under head coach Jupp Heynckes, before the latter was fired, which meant that Thygesen had a hard time finding his way into the first team. Thygesen had failed to break into the team under new coach Jos Luhukay, playing only three of the remaining 15 league games.
Borussia Mönchengladbach were relegated from the Bundesliga at the end of the season, and Thygesen looked to leave the club in the summer 2007. He returned to FC Midtjylland on 1 July 2007, looking to strengthen his former club before their 2007-08 UEFA Cup campaign.
Brøndby
On 1 June 2011, he signed a three-year deal with Brøndby IF.
International career
Thygesen made his debut for the Danish under-21 national team in November 2004, when he replaced Sebastian Svärd in the second half of the 2006 European Under-21 Championship qualification match against the Georgia under-21s. He scored a goal in the game, which the Denmark under-21s won 4–2. In May 2006, he was selected for the Danish squad at the 2006 European Under-21 Championship main tournament.
On 15 November 2006, he got his debut for the senior Danish national team under national team manager Morten Olsen. Thygesen came on as a substitute for Christian Poulsen in the second half of a friendly match against the Czech Republic. Five days later, he was called up for the league national team, for the trip to the United States, El Salvador and Honduras in January 2007.
Coaching career
After four years at FC Roskilde, it was announced on 8 July 2019 that he had left the club. Two weeks later he announced, that he had retired and would continue at FC Helsingør as an assistant manager. Thygesen left the position in February 2023. | 6989f6e5-b3ad-4f39-a07a-bd1897d5b409 |
null | Agerskov is a surname of Danish origin. People with this surname include:
Agerskov is also a place in Denmark | b42c1103-092f-4e6b-9fdf-17526bb77365 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armina_major"} | Species of gastropod
Armina major is a species of sea slug, a nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Arminidae. | 7a501fe6-9c43-4f0c-92a3-97578ae66125 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guo_Yihan"} | Chinese speed skater
Guo Yihan (Chinese: 郭奕含, born on 9 March 1995) is a Chinese female short-track speed-skater. She won the gold medal for Ladies' 1000 meters in 2013 Winter Universiade, Trentino.[citation needed] | f3d05179-ab05-46bb-91ff-15328a395662 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zozibini_Tunzi"} | South African beauty queen, Miss Universe 2019 winner
Zozibini Tunzi (born 18 September 1993), also known as Zozi Tunzi, is a South African model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2019. Tunzi had previously been crowned Miss South Africa 2019. She is the third woman from South Africa to win the title, and the first black woman since Angolan Leila Lopes was crowned Miss Universe 2011.
Early life
Tunzi was born in Tsolo, Eastern Cape to parents Philiswa Nodapu and Lungisa Tunzi, and raised in the nearby village of Sidwadweni. Tunzi is one of four sisters. She later moved to Cape Town, settling in the Gardens suburb, in order to attend Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She graduated with a National Diploma in public relations management in 2018. In 2017, Tunzi was working as a model and living in East London, Eastern Cape.
Prior to winning Miss South Africa, Tunzi was completing a Bachelor of Technology graduate degree in public relations management at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and worked as a graduate intern in the public relations department of Ogilvy Cape Town.
Pageantry
Miss South Africa 2019
Tunzi began her pageantry career in 2017, when she was accepted as one of the top 26 semifinalists of Miss South Africa 2017. She returned to pageantry to compete in Miss South Africa 2019. On 26 June 2019, Tunzi was confirmed as one of the top 35 semifinalists of the competition, among initial applications. After further auditions, Tunzi was announced as one of the sixteen finalists on 11 July.
After being selected as one of the finalists, Tunzi went on to compete in the Miss South Africa 2019 pageant in Pretoria on 9 August. She progressed through the stages of the final, advancing to the top ten, then top five, and finally the top two until she was crowned the winner by predecessor Tamaryn Green, besting runner-up Sasha-Lee Olivier.
Following her win, Tunzi received prizes including R1 million, a new car, and a fully furnished apartment in the Sandton neighbourhood of Johannesburg, which is valued at R5 million, for her to use throughout her reign. The achievement allowed Tunzi to represent South Africa at the Miss Universe 2019 competition.
Miss Universe 2019
Tunzi arrived in Atlanta, Georgia for Miss Universe 2019 in November 2019. She competed in the preliminaries on 6 December, and competed in the finals on 8 December at Tyler Perry Studios. During the competition, Tunzi advanced to the top twenty as the first semifinalist for the Africa/Asia-Pacific continental region. She then advanced to the top ten, then the top five, and ultimately the final three. By the end of the event, Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe 2019 by outgoing titleholder Catriona Gray of the Philippines, beating first runner-up Madison Anderson of Puerto Rico and second runner-up Sofía Aragón of Mexico.
Tunzi's win is South Africa's third Miss Universe winner; she is the first black woman to win the Miss Universe title since Leila Lopes was crowned Miss Universe 2011, and the first to do so with afro-textured hair. With her win, 2019 became the first year that all four major United States-based pageants were won by black women; other titleholders were Nia Franklin (Miss America 2019), Kaliegh Garris (Miss Teen USA 2019), and Cheslie Kryst (Miss USA 2019). Additionally, 2019 would also become the first year that black women won the two most prestigious international pageants after Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica later won Miss World 2019.
As Miss Universe, Tunzi lived in New York City, and took part in a number of events and appearances throughout the world. After winning Miss Universe, Tunzi was succeeded as Miss South Africa by her first runner-up Sasha-Lee Olivier.
In her capacity as Miss Universe, Tunzi traveled to Sumba and Jakarta in Indonesia, various cities within the United States and her home country of South Africa.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tunzi became the longest reigning Miss Universe titleholder of 525 days (1 year, 5 months and 8 days), surpassing Lopes' reign of 464 days on 16 March 2021, and her reign came to an end on 16 May 2021, crowning Andrea Meza of Mexico as her successor in Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida, United States.
Post Miss Universe
In January 2022, it was announced that Tunzi would make her acting debut in the film The Woman King, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film was released on 16 September 2022.
Filmography | 05098b9a-c7bf-416c-bc3e-1368a7f111df |
null | Australian public health specialist
Colin William Binns AO is an Australian public health specialist. He is the John Curtin Distinguished Emeritus Professor at Curtin University and founder of the Curtin Health Service.
Early life and education
Binns completed his medical degree at the University of Western Australia and worked for several years in hospitals in Perth before moving to Papua New Guinea for eight years. While working as a doctor in Papua New Guinea, Binns received a scholarship to complete a MPH degree at Harvard University.
Career
Following his MPH, Binns returned to Australia and accepted a faculty position at Curtin University. During his tenure at the institution, Binns founded the Curtin Health Service and was appointed the Head of the School of Public Health. In these roles, Binns also established the National Centre for Research into the Prevention of Drug Abuse and the Centre for Health Promotion Research. As such, he was awarded the 2010 Research Australia Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the "support he has given to health policy, practice and medical research." The following year, Binns was appointed a John Curtin Distinguished Professor, the highest honours the University can award its academic staff. As a result of his public health work, Binns was honoured as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2021. | 4502fd7a-844b-469d-a697-deb32ca67a43 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_It_(Busta_Rhymes_song)"} | 2005 song by Busta Rhymes
"Touch It" is a song by Busta Rhymes. Released on December 13, 2005, it was the first single from Rhymes' Aftermath/Interscope debut, The Big Bang. The song reached number one in New Zealand, and number six in the United Kingdom. The song features a minimalistic beat provided by Swizz Beatz, and a sample from the song "Technologic" by electronic duo Daft Punk. "Touch It" in turn was incorporated into Daft Punk's live album, Alive 2007.
History
"Touch It"
Busta Rhymes performs a "Touch It" from The Big Bang
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The release date for the single in the UK was 15 May 2006. However, due to UK chart rules allowing songs to chart on download sales alone, one week before the single's physical release, "Touch It" managed to make the top 40, entering at #23 on download sales only. After the physical single release, the song climbed to #6, its peak position. The song had a strong chart run initially, spending seven weeks inside the top 30 there, however, because the physical copies of the single were deleted, the single was withdrawn from the chart due to new chart rules stating that singles could only remain in the chart for two weeks after their physical deletion. This is why the record seemingly fell from the UK top 75 from the top 30. The song was also popular on the charts in the U.S., peaking at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the chart in New Zealand.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Touch It (Remix)
"Touch It"
Busta Rhymes feat. Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose and DMX perform a remix of "Touch It"
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After the release of "Touch It", a series of remixes were set into play. The main remix features Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose and DMX. The result was five popular versions of the song and a video, each featuring different well-known hip-hop artists. An EP was released on iTunes featuring four of the remixes on March 7, 2006. The final full-length remix had an accompanying video.
Remix video
In the opening of the video, the head cheerleader and the rest of the girls are in burgundy and silver outfits. Busta Rhymes then arrives and decides who runs the city. Upon the entrance of each performer, they mention something positive happening. After Bust and Spliff finish their battle (freestyle), the cheerleaders sing and step to the "Touch It" beat. An electronic machine makes a zapping-sound and a bolt of green lighting appears in the background.
In each scene, all the rappers wear colors that match the background. Usually, after one rapper finishes their verse the others appear and start strutting and dancing on beat. The screen shows two or more sides of the other backgrounds and their rappers. After Busta Rhymes, the other rappers appear in this order: Mary J. Blige in white, Rah Digga in pink, Missy Elliott in purple, Lloyd Banks in blue, Papoose in green and DMX in black (he has his hood up). Busta Rhymes and his friend, Spliff Star, appear in red at the beginning and in yellow at the end. Each singer appears with different outfits, such as Busta's white T-shirt, Papoose's, DMX's, Lloyd Banks' jackets, and the ladies' fur coats. During Mary J. Blige's part, her alter ego, Brooke Lynn, appears dressed in a matching white costume. Other cameo appearances in the music video are of Sean Paul, DJ Kayslay, Deelishis, producer Swizz Beatz, Winky Wright, Félix Trinidad, Black Rob and Spliff Star.
At the 2006 BET Awards, Busta performed the Video Remix live on stage, along with will.i.am, Elliott, Banks, Blige, Papoose, and Rah Digga. DMX was absent for the performance, but his part was played on the screens onstage. The performance also featured a surprise final verse by Eminem, who began with some of Busta's lines from A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario".
Official remixes and versions
Controversy and dedication
Busta Rhymes' bodyguard and entourage member, Israel "Izzy" Ramirez, was fatally shot outside the set of the music video for "Touch It" during filming in Brooklyn on February 5, 2006. The case remains unsolved. The video for the remix is dedicated to Ramirez's memory, and includes a slideshow featuring images of him.
Nominations and success
Along with the video for the original version of the song, a new video was created, featuring abridged versions of all six guest artists' verses. The video also includes cameos from Brooke Valentine, DJ Kay Slay, Sean Paul, Swizz Beatz, Spliff Star, and boxing champions Félix Trinidad and Winky Wright, who had fought in May 2005.
It was nominated for Best Male Video, and Best Rap Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Busta Rhymes himself placed it # 1 on his BET Top 25 countdown. It debuted on BET 106 & Park in the spring and received major airplay. The remix was also nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2007 Grammy Awards. | 1d562ba9-8137-4d56-ad68-6cb09a3cd476 |
null | This is a list of Shogi (将棋) video games. Throughout the years, hundreds of games were released exclusively in Japan for several consoles. A few were released outside Japan.
Sega SG-1000
Super Cassette Vision
Sharp X68000
MSX
Arcade
Family Computer
Famicom Disk System
Super Famicom
Panasonic 3DO
Neo Geo
Neo Geo CD
NeoGeo Pocket Color
Game Boy
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance
Turbo CD
PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16)
Sega Genesis
Sega Saturn
Nintendo 64
Nintendo DS
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo Wii U
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Vita
Dreamcast
PC
NEC PC98
Xbox
Xbox 360
iPhone/iPod
Mac OS X
Android
Bandai Pippin
WonderSwan | 9644ec84-e02a-49c4-a0f2-df80e33d38b2 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Ollesch"} | Heinz Ollesch (born November 27, 1966) is a strongman from Germany. He won Germany's Strongest Man 12 times, and participated in the World's Strongest Man finals in 1995 and 1997.
Biography
Ollesch was born in Rosenheim, Bavaria and grew up in Lehen, Großkarolinenfeld, starting with strength training 1984 and doing international Strongman contests since 1994. In the same year he was invited to the World's Strongest Man for the first time but did not make it past the qualifying heats. In 1994 he also became Germany's Strongest Man for the first time, a feat he would repeat to 2004. A year later he was invited again and made it to the final where he finished fourth, his best result at the World's Strongest Man. He would participate for several more years in the tournament but only managed to reach the final again in 1996 where he would finish sixth. The same year he finished second in Europe's Strongest Man. In 2006 he was Germany's Strongest Man for the last time. He managed a podium finish on three occasions at the World Strongman Challenge, third in 1995 and second in 1997 and 2000. He also played a supporting role in the Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong.
Honours | 0182b35e-7604-4972-b40c-e6f92976283e |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_The_Paul"} | Electric guitar manufactured by Gibson
The Paul is an electric guitar made by Gibson, manufactured from 1978 to the 1980s.
History and design
The model was developed by Whitey Morrison, the Gibson plant manager in Nashville. It was designed to be the lower-cost Les Paul-style variant in a new series of instruments.
The Paul Standard had a single sharp cutaway Les Paul-style walnut body, set walnut neck, 22-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlays, walnut headstock with gold Gibson logo (1978–1981), three-per-side tuners, Tune-o-matic bridge, stop tailpiece, two exposed humbucker pickups, four knobs (two volume, two tone), three-way pickup switch, chrome hardware, available in Natural Walnut finish. It had a 24.75-inch (628.6 mm) scale, and 1.6875-inch (42.9 mm) nut width. It was manufactured between 1978 and 1982. The guitar included such high end items as the Grover tuning keys.
The Paul Deluxe (Firebrand) is similar to The Paul Standard, except it has a mahogany body and three-piece mahogany neck. It was manufactured between 1980 and 1986 and was available in Antique Natural, Ebony (1985–86), Natural Mahogany, or Wine Red (1985–86) finish. A standard Gibson logo was branded into the headstock in the deluxe model.
In 1996, the model was resurrected with The Paul II, with a mahogany body and carved top like a Les Paul Studio instead of the flat top of prior models of The Paul The body is 2/3 as thick as a normal Les Paul and features a rear belly cut as well. In 1998 The Paul II was replaced by The Paul SL, itself discontinued in 1999.
In 2018, Gibson reissued The Paul, as it was first introduced 40 years earlier under its 2019 lineup. | 5bea7b84-28fe-4a63-a3b8-ffe255209e40 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Street_Pali_Hill"} | Indian thriller television series
K. Street Pali Hill is an Indian Thriller soap that aired on STAR Plus. It replaced another thriller, Kaahin Kissii Roz, when it concluded in 2004. K. Street Pali Hill was successful for about a year, only to plummet in popularity, owing to many of the actors' replacements. This show shared many similarities with DD National's popular daily soap Shanti.
Overview
K. Street Pali Hill is the address of one of Mumbai's most affluent families. Three friends share the same address. Money, power, fame, success - there's nothing that they do not have. They share everything including a secret, a secret so dark that it is casting shadows on their future.
Bikram Kaul, Aditya Khandelwal, Arindam Keshab are the premier business moguls of India. They live together in a sprawling mansion with their families. There is perfect harmony in the household, their kids love each other and the wives get along as well. But in this perfect world, if there's anything that is amiss, it is the old dilapidated outhouse that casts its evil shadow on the mansion. The outhouse is the foundation of their success and the keeper of their secret. Only the three friends know its past. It is like Pandora's box- silent until opened.
Plot
Part One Arindam Keshav, Aditya Khandelwal and Bikram Kaul are three wealthy businessmen who have been close friends for twenty years. They share a secret that can destroy their lives. Their families live in the huge K-Mansion on K Street, Pali Hill. They keep the secret buried in the old outhouse behind the mansion and never unlock it. Smriti enters the K Mansion as an interior decorator and bonds with the family members. Unusual haunting incidents begins to happen with everyone in the house. Somebody tries to create a rift among these three pals. Smriti is revealed to be the one behind all this. Her intention is to find out who among the three men is her father. Her mother, Meenakshi Gupta was raped by one of these friends. She tries all the possible ways to find out the culprit. The three friends feel disturbed about their secret being leaked. They check the outhouse where the rape happened but find nothing that can unveil their secret. Smriti tries to check out samples taken from the three friends, including hair samples, smoke samples and blood samples. Finally she discovers that Bikram is her father. Bikram reveals his secret story. He confesses that he raped Smriti's mother who used to be very loyal to his company and was a very innocent lady. After the secret is revealed, Bikram's wife Misha turns against him and expels him from the mansion. Smriti brings her mother to the mansion, but Bikram kills her in anger. Bikram calls his sister Gayatri Kaul a.k.a. GK and asks for her help. Gayatri enters K Mansion and starts plotting against the members of the household.
Part Two Drone Keshab, Arindam's eldest son, falls in love with Smriti. She does not reciprocate at first but later admits her attraction, and they decide to get married. Gayatri sends Drone out of K mansion for some business, and behind his back, she started instigating Aditya's wife Ishita to get her son Raunaq married with Smriti. Deboshree, Drone's mother, feels that Drone and Smriti must get married Meanwhile, Raunaq (Alok Arora) falls in love with Smriti, but she only considers him a friend. When Raunaq learns about Drone and Smriti, he feels jealous but accepts this truth. Preparations for Drone and Smriti's marriage start but unusual incidents start happening with her. Someone sends a card to Smriti; the card contains a drawing in blood, a knife and a word "SURPRISE". From that day, knives start appearing around her, sometimes in her bedroom, sometimes as a delivered gift, sometimes inside her purse. This creates a rift between Drone and Smriti, so they separate. After their breakup, Ishita picks up the topic of Smriti's marriage with Raunaq. Drone is beside himself when he hears about Smriti and Raunaq's upcoming marriage. He tries to convince Smriti that she did not understand what had really happened between them. But Smriti accepts Raunaq's proposal and marries him. Raunaq is then revealed to be the one behind all the threatening incidents as he is obsessively in love with Smriti and wanted to break up her relationship with Drone. Gayatri helps Raunaq in his plans because she wants to destroy Smriti. Drone, still in love with Smriti, marries Bikram's and Misha's daughter, Dweep Kaul. Smriti finds the SURPRISE posters in her husband Raunaq's wardrobe and realizes the truth. She breaks off all relations with Raunaq, though she does not break their marriage, as she does not want to hurt the other family members.
Part Three Raunaq gets into a car accident and is badly wounded. He needs B− blood group for his operation to be successful. Arindam's blood matches with Raunaq's blood and he saves Raunaq's life. Gayatri and Bikram find out that Ishita and Arindam had an affair twenty years ago, and Raunaq is not Aditya's son but Arindam's. They expose this secret to everyone and it creates a rift between Arindam and Aditya as also Deboshree and Ishita. Arindam tries to make Aditya understand that he did not do it on purpose. Twenty years ago he loved Ishita but sacrificed his love for his friend Aditya who was also in love with her. Aditya refuses to listen to any of this and breaks off all relations with Arindam. Raunaq recovers and starts to mistreat Ishita and Arindam. Everyone quarrels with each other and the entire family disperses. Smriti tries her best to solve the problem and reunite the family. She also starts to forgive her husband Raunaq for his past misdeeds with her, and keeps an eye on Bikram and Gayatri to learn their next move.
Part Four One day, Bikram and Gayatri start acting suspicious and leave. Smriti starts following their car. Gayatri and Bikram have planned this to lure Smriti and get her killed. They bribe a hit man to crash into Smriti's car with a truck. The car falls off the cliff and explodes. However, Smriti is saved by Dr. Vansh and he gives her a new face via plastic surgery as her face was burned badly in the accident. As the days pass, she hooks up with him and bonds with his sister, Netra, a fashion designer. Smriti then remembers how Gayatri and Bikram had tried to kill her and decides to take revenge. She changes her name to Simran and enters K Mansion, which is in chaos. She is stunned to come face to face with a woman having her original face and living in the mansion as Raunak's wife Smriti. Aditya drinks excessively and usually fights with Ishita as he still hasn't forgiven her for her infidelity. Arindam and Deboshree are unhappy with each other. Misha was declared dead but later it was revealed that Bikram and Gayatri turned her mental by giving her pills and was admitted to mental asylum. Through the help of Netra, Simran approached Misha and discharged her from the asylum and Vansh helped Misha in recovery. Simran investigates and finds out that the fake Smriti is actually a woman named Anju. Gayatri has found her somewhere and trained her to act as Smriti to get all the K Mansion property for herself. Soon Anju and Simran form alias and sort out all the disputes of Arindum, Aditya, Ishita and Deboshree. Simran and Anju creates a rift between Bikram and Gayatri, later Bikram kidnapped Gayatri and dishonestly blames Gayatri's murder on Simran. Advocate Arya helped Simran escape this situation by revealing that she is actually Smriti and Gayatri went against Bikram which sentenced him to jail. Anju and Raunaq decide to get married. Drone, by now, has started to love his wife Dweep. Smriti a.k.a. Simran marries Dr. Vansh, but he dies soon after in a tragic mishap. Heartbroken, Simran/ Smriti learns that his death was no accident but was caused by someone in K-Mansion. She wages a long war to find her husband's killer and eventually discovers that it is none other than Raunaq, who is still obsessed with her. She has a hard time convincing Anju about this. Simran finally settles down with a good friend of hers, a lawyer named Arya Kapoor, who has supported her throughout her struggle.
Gayatri kidnaps Dweep. She calls Anju and directs her to bring the property transfer papers. Anju arrives at Gayatri's hideout and gives her the property papers. Gayatri tries to kill Anju but police arrives on the scene and arrests her. The court announces its verdict: Gayatri gets life-imprisonment, Bikram gets six month imprisonment and Raunak is relieved for testifying against them. Raunaq requests Anju to forgive him for all his misdeeds and give him a last chance. Finally, Anju forgives him and they lived happily thereafter with others in K Mansion.
Characters
Production
During the launch episode, the lead characters Kashish and Sujal from Kahiin To Hoga made a guest appearance. On 12 July 2005, the series had a crossover with Kahiin. | 9818c46f-001a-496b-a825-4e93e78d3d76 |
null | American baseball player
Baseball player
Frederick Gottleib Graf (August 25, 1889 – October 4, 1979) was a Major League Baseball third baseman who played with the St. Louis Browns in 1913. In nine plate appearances he batted .400/.625/.600.
He was a minor league manager in the Southeastern League in 1926 and 1927. He was Jewish. | 5f2aa252-4b52-450e-aab2-3b855e6c253f |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perumthachan_(film)"} | 1990 film directed by Ajayan
Perumthachan (transl. The Master Carpenter) is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language Period drama film directed by Ajayan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. It is based on Perumthachan of the Parayi Petta Panthirukulam, a legend in the Kerala folklore. The problems caused by the generation gap are explored through the relationship between a skilled carpenter and his tradition-breaking son. The film won the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director and Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam. It was nominated for the Golden Leopard Award and is now considered as a classic in Malayalam Cinema.
Plot
In this Indian story, based on a Kerala legend, a pious and self-disciplined master carpenter of a supposedly mixed-caste, moves easily in his world, building temples and then carving the stone statues which embellish them. He is at home in his traditional world, is at peace with his inner self and the social mores of the time. By way of contrast, he begets a son who is of rebellious nature and questioning of the traditional social hierarchies of the time. He falls in love with the daughter of a royal household which ultimately leads to his demise.
Raman Perumthachan is unsurpassed as a wood-carver, sculptor and architect and his creations were so exquisite that he was regarded a reincarnation of the architect of the gods. He was also a man of great erudition. Though brought up as a carpenter, he was alluded to be the son of a Brahmin. Perumthachan himself doubted this supposition and in one part of the film he smiles approvingly when his son suggests to him that perhaps the made up story about his Brahmanical antecedents was a ruse by the upper castes to lay claim to some of his ability and prestige.
The screenplay begins at dusk with an old ambalavasi trying to light a stone lamp. But due to a strong gust of wind the lamp struggles to remain alight. A man lying in the tanner pandal close by gets up and places a stone slab strategically in such a way that the path of the wind is breached. He wears a sacred thread(poonool) and hence is mistaken for a Namboodiri. But he tells the ambalavasi that he is no Namboodiri, but a carpenter who had forgotten to remove his thread which he had worn during the construction of a temple. Immediately the ambalavasi recognises that this was no ordinary carpenter but the legendary Perumthachan himself. News spreads about the arrival of Perumthachan.
He meets up with a rich Brahmin who was his childhood friend and who is now the Thampuran of a rich royal household(Kovilakam). He is requested to oversee the construction of the family's shrine and the sculpting of the image of the goddess. The ravishing beauty of the Brahmin householder's wife Bhargavi Thampuratti catches his imagination and he sculpts the face of the goddess in the mould of the Thampuratti. Though a man of principles, Perumthachan feels drawn to the woman whose looks he compares to 'Swayamvara Durga'; but steps back, knowing well the consequences of any indiscretion on his part. This apparent attraction leads to a minor misunderstanding towards Perumtachan in the mind of the Thampuran and consequently he is not allowed to complete the work on the idol to his satisfaction and is insulted by the Thampuran during the consecration of the idol. Perunthachan leaves the place disillusioned.
Years roll on and his son Kannan has grown into an insightful young man of great charms and talent. Perumthachan is proud of his son's abilities and pleased by his son's growing reputation, but is also worried by his son's tendency to overlook the traditional rules and values of sculptural art and by the strain of unscrupulousness in the son which is a mark of the new, more materialistic and self-centred generation. It is Perumthachan's long cherished wish that he be the one who builds the Saraswati mandapam which Bhargavi Thamburatti had desired for. Kunhikkavu Thamburatti, the daughter agrees to her late mother's wish, but it is Kannan, not Perumthachan, who is called up to do the work. The young man goes to the very household of the same rich Brahmin for whom his father had carved the image of the goddess years ago and designs and supervises the building of the temple. In an ironical repetition of his father's experience, he falls in love with Kunhikkavu. But unlike his father, he does not hold himself back and a scandal erupts in the royal household. The girl's father tells perumthachan that he even wished that kannan died falling off from the construction rather than creating shame to the royal household. Seeing that the scandal is slowly destroying his old patron, the father of the girl, Perumthachan arrives to oversee the construction of the temple. He tries to cajole his son to walk away from his relationship. The son refuses to yield and the distraught Perunthachan, in a final act of desperation, drops his chisel deliberately on his son's neck, killing him during the work of the final touches to the dome of the temple.
Cast
Crew
Production
This film was directed by Ajayan with Santosh Sivan as the cinematographer. The story was written by M.T. Vasudevan Nair and the warm background music was composed by Johnson.
M.T. Vasudevan Nair has told this legendary story of the master carpenter with finesse, bringing to mind the old rituals and traditions and a world since long forgotten. He systematically builds up the suspense until ultimately the ending comes upon you surprisingly, almost shockingly, leaving you cold and unbelieving. In the afterword to his book The Master Carpenter, M. T. Vasudevan Nair wrote that Ajayan first approached him for a screenplay of his story Manikkakkallu. That did not materialise and later he approached with another dream project Perumthachan. In the end of the afterword, M. T. thanks Ajayan for persuading him to write screenplay for Perumthachan.
Awards | 6c26828a-8b06-4532-aa9c-72c1cb4e7d8a |
null | John Lee Hoerner (born September 1939) is an American businessman, CEO of Burton Group which became Arcadia Group from 1991 to November 2000.
Early life
Hoerner was born in September 1939.
Career
Hoerner was CEO of Burton Group which became Arcadia Group from 1991 to November 2000, succeeding Ralph Halpern.
He was "abruptly replaced" as chief executive at Arcadia by his "former protege", Stuart Rose.
Personal life
Hoerner and his wife Anna live on a Gloucestershire farm, with three horses, and their rescue dogs from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. | 72be72f8-ca06-411f-8fae-80a1b69f3a4f |
null | Crockett County is the name of two counties in the United States, both named for frontiersman and politician Davy Crockett: | cfd9715f-36f9-4b91-b53a-f0587aa50ff2 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institute_for_Research_in_Tuberculosis"} | The National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) is a tuberculosis research organization located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. NIRT carries out research on clinical, bacteriological as well as behavioural and epidemiological aspects of tuberculosis and HIV-TB.
Academics and Research
The NIRT (formerly known as the Tuberculosis Chemotherapy Centre) was set up in 1956 as a 5-year project, under the joint auspices of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), World Health Organization (WHO) and the British Medical Research Council (BMRC). The institute is recognized for post-graduate training leading to the Ph.D. degrees in bacteriology, biochemistry, immunology and statistics by the Madras University and by the Inter-University Board of India and Sri Lanka. | 43a6081b-2979-4276-9fdf-bb3e695622d5 |
null | Species of beetle
Glenea collaris is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Francis Polkinghorne Pascoe in 1858. It is known from Malaysia and Borneo. | d4acb061-f77d-49f4-9b60-b72f69d73c30 |
null | British politician
Brian Iddon (born 5 July 1940) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton South East from 1997 to 2010.
Early life
Born in Tarleton, Lancashire and attended the village's Church of England Primary School, Christ Church Boys' School, Southport and the Southport Technical College (now Southport College). He went on to study at the University of Hull where he was awarded a BSc degree in Chemistry in 1961 and a PhD in Organic chemistry in 1964. Later in 1981, he was awarded a DSc for his work in Heterocyclic Organic Chemistry.
He joined the staff of Durham University as a temporary organic chemistry lecturer in 1964 before becoming a demonstrator in organic chemistry in 1965. In 1966, he became an organic chemistry lecturer at the University of Salford until he became a senior lecturer at the university in 1978. In 1986, he became a reader and left the university on his election to the House of Commons in 1997.
Parliamentary career
From 1976 until 1998 he served on the Bolton Borough Council. He was first returned to Parliament in the 1997 election as the MP for Bolton South East following the retirement of David Young. He served as MP until he stood down at the 2010 general election. He served on the Environmental Audit United Kingdom from 1997 until 2001, was a member of the science and technology committee 2000–07 and a member of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills committee since 2007. He also known as a campaigner for the legalisation of cannabis. In October 2006, he announced that he would be standing down at the next general election.
Personal life
He married Merrilyn Muncaster in 1965 in Leeds and they had two daughters before they divorced in 1989, in 1995 he later married Eileen Harrison, and they have two step sons. In 2009, Iddon was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in recognition of his long-standing support of the chemistry using industries.
Bibliography | 6c521056-06b2-4b46-a50d-cd5bda1b03c9 |
null | The United States Revenue Act of 1948 reduced individual income tax rates 5-13 percent, increased the personal exemption amount from $500 to $600, permitted married couples to split their incomes for tax purposes, made the distinction between community property jurisdictions and non-community property jurisdictions less relevant in the administration of the income, estate, and gift taxes, and provided additional exemption for taxpayers age 65 and older. The Revenue Act of 1948 was vetoed by President Harry S. Truman, but his veto was overridden on April 2, 1948, by a two-thirds vote of each House of the Republican-controlled Eightieth Congress of the United States. | 9daf8a18-ac47-4026-92c5-bc27e59013ef |
null | Dai Hung oilfield (Mỏ Đại Hùng in Vietnamese) is an oil field in the block 05.1 belong to northwest of Nam Con Son Basin, Vietnamese offshore, South China Sea. This field is discovered in 1988, estimated the reserve of petroleum about 354.6 million barrels (56.38×10^6 m3) oil; 8.482 trillion cubic metres (2.995×1014 cubic feet) of natural gas and 1.48 million barrels (235×10^3 m3) condensate with the probability of 50%.[citation needed] | 6ed1bf96-c9e2-497a-a3ac-b3ceeb9de6b7 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaEntity"} | 2012 French thriller webcomic
MediaEntity is a Turbomedia webcomic created by Emilie Tarascou and Simon Kansara since 2012. Following the story of a young man whose social media account suddenly started generating compromising messages, the webcomic features a large amount of free bonus content that fits its paranoid theme. The webcomic was first released in print form in 2013, using augmented reality features.
MediaEntity won the jury prize at La Nuit des Médias 2010.[clarification needed]
Synopsis
MediaEntity is a paranoid thriller that follows the story of young trader Éric Magoni, whose account on the fictional social media website MediaEntity starts generating compromising messages out of its own. Éric is the first such victim of the website, which has a scheme that goes much deeper than first appears. The webcomic is about the loss of control over one's digital identity, as it poses ethical questions regarding the future of people's data and the companies that hold them.
Development
MediaEntity is the result of a four year long collaboration between visual designer Emilie Tarascou and screenwriter Simon Kansara. The duo based their work on the company Mutation Narrative, which was founded in December 2009 to promote audio-visual creation and publishing. Tarascou and Kansara noted in 2012 that they had enough funds to continue the project for at least five years. The MediaEntity website features a large amount of bonus content which, though not essential for the basic understanding of the webcomic, amplifies the reading experience. Tarascou and Kansara have created two social media accounts, an alternate reality roleplaying game titled MediaEntity: Smoke Screen (which allows players to take on the role of an illegal immigrant in the MediaEntity universe), and an interactive web series titled MediaEntity: Roots.
The first volume of MediaEntity was released in print in August 2013. The seven-page booklet offered its content using augmented reality, which could be accessed using a mobile phone or tablet after downloading a required application. A second volume came out in January 2014.
MediaEntity was rereleased in a new digital form in 2018, with a new interactive treasure hunt. This time, readers were encouraged to explore an augmented reality mystery through PDF-files hidden within thumbnails, and Morse code messages posted on social media. | 3b53b9e9-e4b8-4449-9871-0a1b7a240fc2 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_National_Legislative_Assembly_of_Thailand"} | The president of the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand was the presiding officer within the National Legislative Assembly.
List of presidents of the National Legislative Assembly | 0c5bbc6d-893d-4092-b0a5-56bf2c1e3c32 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stout_Law_Library"} | The Robert Stout Law Library is the law library of the University of Otago in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. It is named in honour of Sir Robert Stout, the first lecturer in law at Otago (1873-1876). Following his time at Otago, Stout went on to serve as Attorney-General, Premier, and Chief Justice of New Zealand.
The Law Library is currently located in the Richardson Building in Otago's main campus in Dunedin. It occupies four floors of the Richardson Building, with 275 reader spaces. In the 1970s the library moved to the Richardson Building from the adjacent historic building which now houses the university's Staff Club.
The Law Library currently houses over 66,000 volumes of legal material, including primary sources from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada. It also subscribes to the major legal journals and databases. | dfeb1ac7-137c-4574-b783-ca70021964b4 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_the_Shore"} | Annual lacrosse match between two USA universities
[Interactive fullscreen map]
Locations of Washington College and Salisbury University
The War on the Shore is the annual Men's Lacrosse game between rivals Washington College and Salisbury University. These two schools are located on Maryland's eastern shore and are just 82 miles (132 km) apart. This game is nicknamed "The War on the Shore" because they are two major colleges on the eastern shore of Maryland and the close proximity creates a natural rivalry between the schools. This Division III game is played every spring and is considered one of the most anticipated games of the year in lacrosse.
Charles Branch Clark, a 1934 graduate of Washington College and lacrosse coach at both schools, has been called the "tie binding the lacrosse traditions of both schools." After Clark's passing in December 2003, the Charles B. Clark cup was named in his honor and has since been awarded annually to the winner of the war on the Shore. The game between these two teams draws several thousand fans each year earning this game the title "The Biggest Little Lacrosse Game in America."
The Shoremen and Sea Gulls have faced off 53 times, with Salisbury leading the overall series 33-20, since the series began in 1974, including 10 times in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The competition did not occur in 2020 or 2021 amid both universities closing for the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned in 2022.
From 2002 to 2012, the Sea Gulls of Salisbury had won 10 straight games over the Shoremen of Washington until the Shoremen broke the streak with a 7-6 victory in 2013. Each game is played either at Roy Kirby Stadium on the campus of Washington College or Sea Gull Stadium on the campus of Salisbury University.
Game results | 24c7af43-9ed7-4a64-95ba-07840d312c05 |
null | Tim Prentice (born c. 1964) is an American industrial designer and president of Motonium Design in California. Prentice holds a B.S. in industrial technology from California State University, Chico (1987) and is a graduate of Art Center College of Design's transportation program (1990). He has also been an instructor at Art Center for industrial design and illustration, as well as a guest lecturer at Stanford University.
Prentice was motorcycle designer of the 2009 Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle, Mission Motors' 2010 Mission R electric motorcycle, and the 2011 Triumph Speed Triple. Prentice and his firm won the Red Dot and Core77 industrial design awards in 2011 (respectively) for the Mission R. | 523becf4-7ce1-42a5-a2af-9355549177bf |
null | North Korean football club
Man'gyŏngbong Sports Club (만경봉체육단) is a North Korean football club. The club plays in the DPR Korea League, the top-flight football league of North Korea. Man'gyŏngbong Stadium, which has a capacity for 2,000 people, is their home venue.
The club's football training facilities were upgraded in November 2013, including the installation of artificial turf meeting FIFA standards on the training pitch; when the work was completed, it was inspected by Kim Jong-un. | b6bafa93-1ac7-48cc-8257-a80fb1ed42f8 |
null | Musical artist
Demetrius La Vell "Dee" Harvey (August 24, 1965 – December 1, 2012) was an American R&B singer. He was at one time signed to Motown Label and recorded his first album, Just as I Am with Motown in 1991.
Harvey was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and attended Trezevant High School. Harvey was best known for his 1991 hit "Leave Well Enough Alone", which reached #61 on the US R&B chart, and his 1992 hit "Just As I Am" (#68 R&B).
Harvey also sang with Harry Belafonte in 1989. During his career he also sang with Aaron Neville and Dionne Warwick among others. In 2010, he mainly performed as a backup singer to Rod Stewart. He also performed and sang two songs, "In the Middle" and "Are You Ready for Me", on the soundtrack of the 1991 movie The Five Heartbeats directed by Robert Townsend.
Dee Harvey died at age 47 in California. | 21c80db3-5c6e-4db0-9fc7-4fcb6146b158 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_Dragon"} | Floating Dragon is a horror novel by American writer Peter Straub, originally published by Underwood-Miller in November 1982 and G.P. Putnam's Sons in February 1983.
Synopsis
Set during the spring and summer of 1980, the novel deals with events that befall the affluent suburb of Hampstead, Connecticut.
An adulterous housewife named Stony Friedgood picks up a man at a bar, but is brutally murdered by the patron. At the same time, her husband Leo, working with the Department of Defense, is involved in the cover up of DRG-16, a nerve gas that escapes its containment and rushes into the town of Hampstead. Leo works to stop the public from finding out about the gas that leaked, which already killed three men at the lab. When he arrives home, the gas is above Hampstead, causing deaths and hallucinations.
Meanwhile, the descendants of the founders of Hampstead have returned: Richard Allbee, a former child actor turned architect with a wife and child on the way, returns from London and is plagued by dreams and visions of his former co-actor Billy Bentley, who died; Graham Williams, an old historian who murdered a serial killer in his past, and discovered a cycle of evil in the town that arrives every thirty years in the name of a monster named the Dragon; Patsy McCloud, the abused wife of Les McCloud, who has psychic abilities; and Tabby Smithfield, a young child with an alcoholic father, who has similar abilities like Patsy. The four connect with each other and learn from Graham that an older evil has poisoned the town and wreaks havoc, as is happening at that moment.
Several of the locals experience frightening visions they believe was brought on by DRG, but was in fact created by the Dragon. The Dragon, originally businessman Gideon Winter, had bought land from the town centuries ago and killed women and children, was discovered and murdered by the founders, leading to his vendetta against the town and its inhabitants. The Dragon would possess people each cycle to commit atrocities, such as Bates Krell. Williams had confronted Bates Krell years ago and murdered him, after discovering his acts of villainy. Williams then devoted himself to uncover the history which he shares with the other three.
Tabby reluctantly accompanies three teenage robbers on their trip to doctor Wren Van Horne's home, where they are attacked and killed; several children drown themselves on the town beach; policemen murder each other during an annual meeting at a movie theater; a group of firefighters die when they spontaneously combust trying to stop several houses from burning; Leo escapes town but dies in the streets of New York; and local reporter Sarah Spry and her friend Ulick Byrne attempt to uncover the secret of Hampstead.
More evil and terrifying hallucinations brought on by the Dragon destroy the town and send the townsfolk away. The four are no stranger as they watch firsthand the town crumble. As the novel progresses, the Dragon gets more hostile trying to split the group and demotivate them: Les McCloud, Patsy's husband, is killed during a drive after a dog kills itself when it crashed into his car; Richard comes home from his work to see his wife murdered, while pregnant; Tabby's home catches fire, and his father kills his stepmother, and they are consumed by the flames; and Graham visits Kendall Point, a place of terror in town, and nearly falls to his death.
The government discovers the slip and failed coverup of DRG as reporters and news stations discover the events happening in Hampstead. Sarah and Ulick, after investigating, arrive at the home of former killer Bates Krell and are attacked by Wren Van Horne, who became the new host of the Dragon and murdered several locals, including Stony Friedgood. Tabby arrives at Van Horne's manor with Patsy, in an attempt to stop the Dragon single-handedly like Graham previously. They meet one of the surviving thieves, Bruce Norman, who helps them break in. They easily shoot and kill Van Horne, but a celestial form of the Dragon kidnaps Tabby and burns the house down. At the same time, Graham and Richard, figuring out what Tabby planned to do, are attacked by an indestructible dog at Williams' home, but manage to escape with Graham's shotgun.
The two, along with Patsy, journey to Krell's home and are hit with vivid hallucinations, like dead beings emerging from the basement floor and blood inside the basement. They enter a tunnel and several caverns where each individual is tested by the Dragon: Patsy sees the victims of the Dragon in a chamber, in them Sarah, Ulick, and her husband Les; Richard returns to the set of the show he acted in and is attacked by Billy Bentley, but learns to accept his death; and Graham is embarrassed for his infidelity with his wives and accusations of being a communist. They arrive underneath Kendall Point, and rescue Tabby. The Dragon appears, in the form of a literal dragon, and causes an earthquake.
The four enter a large cave created by the Dragon. Patsy unites the group with her powers, and gives them the strength and courage to face the Dragon. Singing “When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,” Richard uses a shotgun which transforms into a sword to stab the Dragon and kill him, seemingly ending the cycle. The four escape Kendall Point before it cracks and falls into the ocean, along with Van Horne’s mansion and a few buildings. The four recoup at Graham’s home where it is fully revealed that the novel was written by Graham on the suggestion of Richard.
The novel ends with Patsy moving with a new boyfriend to New York, then somewhere south, Richard getting a new wife and daughter, adopting Tabby, who goes to college, and Graham publishing Floating Dragon and being promised by Patsy to meet again soon.
Main characters | 6536a32f-06a6-43a7-975c-b091c381bd3e |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Queen%27s"} | Federal electoral district in Prince Edward Island, Canada
East Queen's was a federal electoral district in Prince Edward Island, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1904.
This riding was created in 1892 from parts of King's County and Queen's County ridings.
It was abolished in 1903 when it was redistributed into King's and Queen's ridings.
It consisted of the eastern part of Queen's County and parts of King's County.
Election results
By-election: On election being declared void, 11 February 1901 | 3775de24-d356-49a5-9ee5-271b844382f2 |
null | Russian billionaire entrepreneur
Dmitry Itskov (Russian: Дмитрий Ицков) is a Russian entrepreneur, billionaire and the founder of New Media Stars, a web-based media company. He has made a reported £1bn from his Moscow-based news publishing company. Itskov is best known for being the founder of the 2045 Initiative, which aims to achieve cybernetic immortality by the year 2045. Itskov started his foundation in 2011.
Itskov said, in a 2016 BBC Horizon TV documentary, that the "ultimate goal of [his] plan is to transfer someone’s personality into the new artificial carrier." | 58a9349b-2b69-4d3d-b53e-840dcc394e4f |
null | Ahačič is a Slovene surname. Notable people with the surname include: | 36af636c-cd5f-471a-838f-a73e3b07cb15 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_(Jamie-Lee_Kriewitz_song)"} | 2015 song by Jamie-Lee Kriewitz
"Ghost" is a song performed by German singer Jamie-Lee Kriewitz. The song represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden, and was written by Thomas Burchia (better known as DJ Thomilla), Anna Leyne, and Conrad Hensel. The song was released as a digital download on 12 December 2015 through Polydor and Island Records. It was also performed as Kriewitz's winner's single during season five of The Voice of Germany.
Eurovision Song Contest
Kriewitz was announced as one of the participants in Unser Lied für Stockholm on 12 January 2016. In the final, she performed ninth and later advanced to the superfinal. She performed last in the superfinal, and was later announced as the winner with 44.5% of the tele-vote. She then represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Being a member of the "Big Five", the song automatically advanced to the final, where it came in last place with 11 points.
Track listing
Charts
Release history | 005df6ec-2646-4451-9191-e155afc2ad72 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_marmoset"} | Species of New World monkey
The white marmoset (Mico leucippe), or golden-white bare-ear marmoset, is a vulnerable species of marmoset, a small monkey endemic to the Amazon rainforest in Pará, Brazil. | fc147d00-f76e-49ba-b5b5-40bca0c91921 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin_Microdosing_Safety"} | Psilocybin microdosing is the academic use of psychedelic Psilocybin mushrooms at sub-sensorium "microdoses", i.e. below the level at which a person can perceive effects, to promote positive effects on the persons wellness and cognition. Traditionally, one-tenth of a hallucinogenic effect producing dose is considered a microdose. Safety considerations in microdosing with psilocybin include activation of serotonin receptors.
Microdosing
Microdosing is a practice in the process of drug development where the drug or the drug candidate is administered in a lower than therapeutic concentration. This allows for safer studies with human subjects. It also makes the drug development process more streamlined with diminished waste of time, money, and resources on studying non-viable drug candidates, especially in animal studies.
The positive effects of low dose administration of serotonergic psychedelics on mood and certain mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, etc., are being analyzed in studies focused on psychedelic microdosing.
Psilocybin is among the two most common psychedelics being analyzed for psychedelic microdosing protocols. It is a psychedelic phosphate prodrug that gets dephosphorylated in vivo to generate the active metabolite psilocin.
Psilocybin/Psilocin agonists at 5-HT Receptors
Psychedelics such as psilocin and LSD are known to bind to serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) receptors primarily. The serotonin receptor family (5-HT family) is a group of G-protein coupled neurotransmitter receptors that consists of the following classes and subclasses: 5-HT1(a, b, d, e, f), 5-HT2(a, b, c), 5-HT3, 5-HT4, 5-HT5(a, b), 5-HT6, and 5-HT7. Several studies, including the blocking of the effects of psilocybin on healthy human subjects by the 5-HT2 antagonist ritanserin, pointed toward the importance of the 5-HT2 subtype of this receptor family. Furthermore, the diminishing of hallucinogenic effects by 5-HT2a-selective antagonist ketanserin, confirmed the agonist action of psilocin on the 5-HT2a receptor subtype. While the hallucinogenic effects of psilocybin and psilocin are predominantly due to the 5-HT2a receptors, other receptors were also found to contribute to the effects.
Binding Affinity Data Table
Binding affinity is defined as a measure of the strength of the interaction between ligand and a protein. The binding affinity Ki values are presented in Table 2. All values are in nanomolar concentrations. An asterisk (*) in the data table represents an average of two Ki values from different sources as cited. Preference was given to data where species = human. Rat/mouse/bovine data points are included if no human data available. NA denotes data not available.
*Average of two Ki values. NA = Data Not Available.
Safety Discussion
5-HT2b and Fen-Phen
A combination of drugs, fenfluramine, and phentermine, was used as an anti-obesity drug for the anorectic effects of the two drugs. The drug combination was called fen-phen. The patients took varying concentrations of the two medicines, with dosages of fenfluramine ranging from 10 to 220 mg per day and phentermine dosages ranging from 15 to 60 mg per day. In 1997, Mayo Clinic reported 24 cases of valvular heart disease in patients treated with this combination of drugs. Consequently, the FDA and the CDC conducted a dose-effect study for fen-phen patients with heart valve disease. The subjects in the study had taken the drug combination in varying concentrations for a median of 11 months. The study found that the risk of severe valvular heart disease increased significantly at a fenfluramine dose of ≥ 60 mg per day. Phentermine dosage and duration of drug use were not found to contribute to the observed severe adverse side effects. The overstimulation of 5HT2b receptors was considered to be the main reason for the development of defective heart valves in the patients. Subsequent studies on the harmful effects stemming from fenfluramine use found that the agonist action of fenfluramine and its primary metabolite, norfenfluramine, at 5-HT2b receptors was the leading cause for heart valve abnormalities in the patients taking fen-phen.
Microdosing Safety
Ever since the negative side-effects related to the diet pill Fen-Phen were determined to be attributable to the activation of serotonin 5-HT2b receptors, the psychedelic community has tried to stay vigilant about any similar effects of long-term psilocybin microdosing use. A comparison of the Ki values for fenfluramine, norfenfluramine, psilocybin, and psilocin against 5-HT2b receptors as detailed in Tables 1 and 2 here show that consumption of at least 6 mg of psilocybin daily would be needed to get to a similar risk profile as fen-phen, which became significantly more dangerous at a daily dose of 60 mg. This dose is significantly higher than the microdosing dose of 1–3 mg of psilocybin.
Additionally, the safety and efficacy of fenfluramine have been evaluated as an add-on therapeutic for Dravet syndrome with a maximum total daily dosage of 26 mg/day. Furthermore, as reported by the FDA, clinical trials with fenfluramine as an add-on therapy for Lennox Gastaut Epilepsy are currently underway. The maximum allowed dosage of fenfluramine in these trials is 30 mg per day. This indicates that the FDA agrees to a lower level of 5-HT2b receptors activation as safe. The common practice of not microdosing every day but employing differing schedules such as 2–4 days microdosing followed by a break for three days lends further credibility to the safety profile of psilocybin microdosing. | cf7b08c3-433a-4852-ade3-41e06c12eee8 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capnobotes_attenuatus"} | Species of cricket-like animal
Capnobotes attenuatus, the slender longwing, is a species of shield-backed katydid in the family Tettigoniidae. It is found in North America. | c3e52f00-33ca-4b80-9a9c-a66219689788 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenocrater"} | Genus of flowering plants
Hymenocrater is a genus of plants from the mint family. It is native to central and southwestern Asia from Turkey to Turkmenistan and Pakistan.
Species | deac8d77-f15f-4968-98a4-c47a42830ee6 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswani_Kiran"} | Indian volleyball player
Aswani Kiran (born 15 May 1985) is a former Indian female volleyball player who has also captained the India women's national volleyball team internationally. She was selected to represent India at the 2010 Asian Games, captained the national team at the 2010 Asian Games and was part of the squad which finished 9th in the women's team event. | e8b396ac-6c9a-44ec-9092-95afb8a17536 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alby_Tame"} | Australian rules footballer
Australian rules footballer
Albert Edward Tame (16 July 1877 – 30 April 1965) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). | 24e9a18d-4a35-41f9-8404-376b4ba1ad17 |
null | Database management system for IBM mainframes
Model 204 (M204) is a database management system for IBM and compatible mainframe computers developed and commercialized by Computer Corporation of America. It was announced in 1965, and first deployed in 1972. It incorporates a programming language and an environment for application development. Implemented in assembly language for IBM System/360 and its successors, M204 can deal with very large databases and transaction loads of 1000 TPS.
Product description
Model 204 relies on its own type of bitmap index, originally devised by Bill Mann, and combines the use of hash table, B-tree, and partitioned record list technologies to optimize speed and efficiency of database access.
It has been described as "one of the three major inverted-list [database systems] ... the other two being" ADABAS and ADR's Datacom/DB.
Although M204 is a pre-SQL (and pre-relational) database product, it is possible to manually map the files of an M204 database to approximate SQL equivalents and provide some limited SQL functionality using Model 204 SQL Server.
Users
Model 204 is commonly used in government and military applications.
It is used commercially in the UK by Marks & Spencer.[citation needed] It is also used at the Ventura County Property Tax system in California, the Harris County, Texas, Justice Information Management System, and in the New York City Department of Education's Automate The Schools system. An informal list of past and present Model 204 users, compiled in 2010, identified more than 140 organizations worldwide. Beginning in 1986, it was used by the US Navy Fleet Intelligence Center Europe and Atlantic (FICEURLANT).
Model 204 has been a central part of Australian social security for decades. Services Australia have used it for their ISIS system that pays over $110 billion in welfare payments to around 6 million Australians. A 1.5 billion Australian dollar project to replace ISIS was expected to be completed in 2022 but has experienced delays.
Corporate information
Add-on products for Model 204 database were formerly available from Sirius Software, Inc. Sirius, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, was acquired by Rocket Software in 2012. | 4c7aeafb-baf6-4aab-b685-322fcaa4ab8b |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senior_League_World_Series_(East_Region)"} | The Senior League World Series East Region is one of six United States regions that currently sends teams to the World Series in Easley, South Carolina. The region's participation in the SLWS dates back to 1962.
East Region States
Region Champions
As of the 2022 Senior League World Series.
Results by State
As of the 2022 Senior League World Series. | d2b30209-28e1-4e5d-a09b-bf9705c2285f |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Confucius"} | Temple to venerate Confucius and Confucian sages and philosophers
A temple of Confucius or Confucian temple is a temple for the veneration of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism in Chinese folk religion and other East Asian religions. They were formerly the site of the administration of the imperial examination in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam and often housed schools and other studying facilities.
There is a 72-meter-tall statue of Confucius made of brass and reinforced with steel. The giant statue is located in Qufu, Shandong province, birthplace of the ancient Chinese educator and philosopher.
Names
The temples are known by a variety of names throughout East Asia. The two greatest temples in Qufu and Beijing are now known in Chinese as "Temples of Confucius" (Kǒngmiào, 孔廟). In some localities, they are known as "Temples of Literature" (文廟) (Chinese: wénmiào; Vietnamese: văn miếu; Korean: munmyo; Indonesian: boen bio) or "Temples of the Sage of Literature" (Vietnamese: văn thánh miếu). In Southern China, however, temples by that name generally honor Wenchang Wang, a separate deity associated with the scholar Zhang Yazi. In Japan, they are usually known as "Temples" or "Halls of the Sage" (Japanese: seibyō or seidō, respectively).
History
The development of state temples devoted to the cult of Confucius was an outcome of his gradual canonisation. In 195 BC, Han Gao Zu, founder of the Han Dynasty (r. 206–195 BC), offered a sacrifice to the spirit of Confucius at his tomb in Qufu. Sacrifices to the spirit of Confucius and that of Yan Hui, his most prominent disciple, began in the Imperial University (Biyong) as early as 241.
In 454, the Liu Song dynasty of southern China built a prominent state Confucian temple. In 489, the Northern Wei constructed a Confucian temple in the capital, the first outside of Qufu in the north. In 630, the Tang Dynasty decreed that schools in all provinces and counties should have a Confucian temple, as a result of which temples spread throughout China. Well-known Confucian shrines include the Confucian Temple in Jianshui, the Confucian Temple in Xi'an (now the Forest of Steles), the Fuzi Miao in Nanjing, and the Confucian Temple in Beijing, first built in 1302. The Confucian Temple of old Tianjin is located on Dongmennei Dajie, a short distance west of Traditional Culture Street (Gu Wenhua Jie). Occupying 32 acres of land, The Confucian Temple is the largest extant traditional architectural complex in Tianjin.
The largest and oldest Temple of Confucius is found in Confucius' hometown, present-day Qufu in Shandong Province. It was established in 479 BC, one year after Confucius's death, at the order of the Duke Ai of the State of Lu, who commanded that the Confucian residence should be used to worship and offer sacrifice to Confucius. The temple was expanded repeatedly over a period of more than 2,000 years until it became the huge complex currently standing. There is another temple in Quzhou. In addition to Confucian temples associated with the state cult of Confucius, there were also ancestral temples belonging to the Kong lineage, buildings commemorating Confucius's deeds throughout China, and private temples within academies.
Structure
Beginning in the Tang dynasty (618–907), Confucian temples were built in prefectural and county schools throughout the empire, either to the front of or on one side of the school. The front gate of the temple is called the Lingxing Gate (simplified Chinese: 棂星门; traditional Chinese: 欞星門). Inside there are normally three courtyards, although sometimes there are only two. However, the complex in Qufu has nine courtyards containing scores of steles commemorating visits by an emperor or imperial grants of noble titles upon descendants of Confucius. The main building, situated in the inner courtyard with entry via the Dachengmen (simplified Chinese: 大成门; traditional Chinese: 大成門), is called the Dachengdian (Chinese: 大成殿), variously translated as "Hall of Great Achievement", "Hall of Great Completion", or "Hall of Great Perfection". In imperial China, this hall housed the Spirit Tablets (Chinese: 神位) of Confucius and those of other important sages (simplified Chinese: 圣; traditional Chinese: 聖) and worthies (simplified Chinese: 贤; traditional Chinese: 賢). In front of the Dachengdian in Qufu is the Apricot Pavilion or Xingtan (simplified Chinese: 杏坛; traditional Chinese: 杏壇). Another important building behind the main building is the Shrine of Adoring the Sage (Chongshengci simplified Chinese: 崇圣祠; traditional Chinese: 崇聖祠), which honoured the ancestors of Confucius and the fathers of the Four Correlates and Twelve Philosophers.
Unlike Taoist or Buddhist temples, Confucian temples do not normally have images. In the early years of the temple in Qufu, it appears that the spirits of Confucius and his disciples were represented with wall paintings and clay or wooden statues. Official temples also contained images of Confucius himself. However, there was opposition to this practice, which was seen as imitative of Buddhist temples. It was also argued that the point of the imperial temples was to honour Confucius's teachings, not the man himself.
The lack of unity in likenesses in statues of Confucius first led Emperor Taizu of the Ming dynasty to decree that all new Confucian temples should contain only spirit tablets and no images. In 1530, it was decided that all existing images of Confucius should be replaced with spirit tablets in imperial temples in the capital and other bureaucratic locations; nevertheless many modern Confucian temples do feature statues. Statues also remained in temples operated by Confucius's family descendants, such as that in Qufu.
Worship
The worship of Confucius centred upon offering sacrifices to Confucius's spirit in the Confucian temple.
A dance known as the Eight-Row Dance (八佾舞), consisting of eight columns of eight dancers each, was also performed. Originally this was a Six-Row Dance, as performed for the lesser aristocracy, but in 1477 Confucius was allowed the imperial honour of the eight-row dance since he posthumously received the title of king. Musicians who accompanied this dance played a form of music termed yayue.
In addition to worshipping Confucius, Confucian temples also honour the "Four Correlates", the "Twelve Philosophers", and other disciples and Confucian scholars through history. The composition and number of figures worshipped changed and grew through time. Since temples were a statement of Confucian orthodoxy, the issue of which Confucians to enshrine was a controversial one.
By the Republican period (20th century), there were a total of 162 figures worshipped. The Four Correlates are Yan Hui, Zeng Shen, Kong Ji (Zisi), and Mencius. The Twelve Philosophers are Min Sun (Ziqian), Ran Geng (Boniu), Ran Yong (Zhonggong), Zai Yu (Ziwo), Zi-gong, Ran You, Zi-Lu, Zi-You, Zi-Xia, Zi-Zhang, You Ruo, and Zhu Xi. A list of disciples of Confucius and their place in the Confucian temple can be found at Disciples of Confucius.
Outside mainland China
With the spread of Confucian learning throughout East Asia, Confucian temples were also built in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. Starting in the 18th century, some were even built in Europe and the Americas. At their height, there are estimated to have been over 3,000 Confucian temples in existence.
Hong Kong
The bill allowing for the building of the very first Confucian Temple in Hong Kong, proposed by the Confucian Academy, passed in September 2013. The location of the temple was decided to be near the famous Taoist temple, Wong Tai Sin Temple, in Wong Tai Sin District.
Taiwan
The first Confucian temple in Taiwan to be constructed was the Taiwan Confucian Temple, which was built during the period of Tungning Kingdom in 1665 in Tainan. A more recent one, the Taipei Confucius Temple, was built on Wenwu Street in Taipei in 1879, torn down by Japanese in 1907 to make place for the Taipei First Girls' High School, and re-erected on Dalong Street from 1925 to 1939. The new temple was designed by Wang Yi-Shun, who also oversaw its construction. The design is an example of typical Fujian temple style. Every year on September the 28th, the birthday of Confucius, city authorities hold the Shidian (Chinese: 釋奠) Ceremony here. In addition, there is a Confucian temple located in Zuoying District of Kaohsiung that was completed in 1974 in the Northern Song architectural style. Other Confucian Temples are found in Chiayi City, Taipei, Taichung and Changhua County.
Vietnam
A Confucian Temple in Vietnam is called Văn Miếu. The earliest recorded Văn Miếu in Vietnam is the Văn Miếu, Hanoi, established in 1070 during the Lý dynasty. After 1397, with the construction of schools throughout Vietnam under the Tran, Confucian temples began to spread throughout the country. Another renowned Vietnamese Confucian temple is the Văn Miếu, Hưng Yên, located in Hưng Yên City. Well-known Confucian temples were built in Huế, Tam Kỳ, Hội An, Hưng Yên, Hải Dương, Biên Hòa, Vĩnh Long and Bắc Ninh.
Korea
Outside China, the largest number of Confucian temples is found in Korea. Temples were first built during the Goryeo period (918–1392). In the time of Yi Seonggye (r. 1392–1398), it was decreed that Confucian temples should be built in all areas of the nation. Although Chinese models were followed, variations in layout and construction were common, such as the building of schools in front of temples. Korea also added its own scholars (the eighteen scholars of the East) to the Confucian pantheon.
Historically, Korea had a total of 362 temples devoted to Confucianism. After World War II and the division of the country, those in the North were converted to use as a center of traditional culture (see Gukjagam). However, some of the 232 temples in the South continued their activities (see Munmyo). In addition to temples devoted to Confucianism the Republic of Korea also has twelve Confucian family temples, two temples in private schools, and three libraries.
Japan
Confucian temples (孔子廟, kōshi-byō) were also widely built in Japan, often in conjunction with Confucian schools. The most famous is the Yushima Seidō, built in 1630 during the Edo period as a private school connected with the Neo-Confucianist scholar Hayashi Razan. Originally built in Shinobi-ga-oka in Ueno, it was moved at the end of the 18th century near present-day Ochanomizu by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and a major state-sponsored school, Shoheikō, was opened on tis grounds..
Other well-known Confucian temples are found in Nagasaki, Bizen, Okayama prefecture; Taku, Saga prefecture; and Naha, Okinawa prefecture.[citation needed]
Indonesia
Confucian temples are also found in Indonesia, where they are often known as "Churches of Confucius" as Confucianism is a recognised religion in that country. In Chinese, these establishments are known as litang (礼堂) or "halls of worship". The largest and oldest is the Boen Bio in Surabaya, originally built in the city's Chinatown in 1883 and moved to a new site in 1907. There are reportedly more than 100 Confucianist halls of worship throughout Indonesia.
Malaysia
The first Confucian temple in Malaysia was built within a primary school known as Chung Hwa Confucian School (which has since split into SJK(C) Chung Hwa Confucian A, B and SMJK Chung Hwa Confucian) in Penang, in the early 20th century. The building of the school was initiated by the Qing dynasty ambassador to the British Straits Settlement at that time. In those days parents in Penang brought their children to this temple for prayer before they began their schooling. The children prayed for excellence in their studies.
There are also two Confucian schools in Kuala Lumpur, namely SMJK Confucian and Confucian Private School, and a Confucian school in Malacca where ceremonies in honour of Confucius are held annually.
List of temples | abbec8ab-18a5-409f-a89f-44ab3e1202cc |
null | Larisa Sergukhina (born 16 September 1965) is a member of the Novgorod regional parliament for the United Russia party. She has been pictured with Vladimir Putin on several occasions. | 9a94a928-38f2-4511-a3f3-9fd6829268ee |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirikane"} | Kirikane (截金) is a Japanese decorative technique used for Buddhist statues and paintings, using gold leaf, silver leaf, or platinum leaf cut into lines, diamonds, and triangles.
History
Kirikane was imported from China during the Tang dynasty (618–907). The oldest example is Tamamushi Shrine at Hōryū-ji. Kirikane flourished primarily in the 11th century and continued until the 13th or 14th century. After that, however, kirikane almost disappeared, due to the overall decline of Buddhist art.
Technique
Two pieces of leaf (gold or silver, platinum) are heated over an ash-banked fire and bonded together. An additional bonding is then done to further strengthen the leaf and add thickness. Next, the bonded leaf is cut with a bamboo knife on a deer-skin-covered table, then affixed with glue (seaweed glue, funori and hide glue, nikawa, etc.) to the object to be decorated.
Bibliography | 39bc1787-3824-4eac-b806-6c6b8bc3d6e7 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhadohi"} | City in Uttar Pradesh, India
City in Uttar Pradesh, India
Bhadohi is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is home to the largest hand-knotted carpet weaving industry hub in South Asia. The city is 45 km west of Varanasi and 82 km east of Allahabad.
Demographics
As of 2011 Indian Census, Bhadohi had a total population of 94,620, of which 49,639 were males and 44,981 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 14,083. The total number of literates in Bhadohi was 58,470, which constituted 61.8% of the population with male literacy of 68.0% and female literacy of 54.9%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Bhadohi was 72.6%, of which male literacy rate was 79.8% and female literacy rate was 64.6%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 9,597 and 15 respectively. Bhadohi had 13274 households in 2011.
Commerce
The main business in Bhadohi is carpet manufacturing. Bhadohi employs 22 lakh artisans in its carpet industry.
Education
Indian Institute of Carpet Technology, the only institute of its kind in Asia, was established by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India in 2001. It has been recognized by All India Council for Technical Education and is affiliated with Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JOSAA).The institute offers a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Carpet and Textile Technology (CTT). The syllabus of the programmes covers both practical as well as theoretical understanding of the process of dyeing, textile fibres, carpet washing, and other industrial techniques. | 80f58072-3f81-402b-8b7f-25e43b537257 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania"} | Ghost town in Pennsylvania, United States
Borough in Pennsylvania, United States
Centralia is a borough and near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its population has declined from 1,000 in 1980 to five residents in 2020 because a coal mine fire has been burning beneath the borough since 1962. Centralia, part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick metropolitan area, is the least-populated municipality in Pennsylvania. It is completely surrounded by Conyngham Township.
All real estate in the borough was claimed under eminent domain in 1992 and condemned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Centralia's ZIP code was discontinued by the Postal Service in 2002. State and local officials reached an agreement with the seven remaining residents on October 29, 2013, allowing them to remain in Centralia until their deaths, after which the rights to their houses will be taken through eminent domain.
History
Early history
Many of the Native American tribes in what is now Columbia County sold the land that makes up Centralia to colonial agents in 1749 for £500. In 1770, during the construction of the Reading Road, which stretched from Reading to Fort Augusta (present-day Sunbury), settlers surveyed and explored the land. A large portion of the Reading Road was developed later as Route 61, the main highway east into and south out of Centralia.
In 1793, Robert Morris, a hero of the Revolutionary War and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, acquired a third of Centralia's valley land. When he declared bankruptcy in 1798, the land was surrendered to the Bank of the United States. A French sea captain named Stephen Girard purchased Morris' lands for $30,000, including 68 tracts east of Morris'. He had learned that there was anthracite coal in the region.
The Centralia coal deposits were largely overlooked before the construction of the Mine Run Railroad in 1854. In 1832, Johnathan Faust opened the Bull's Head Tavern in what was called Roaring Creek Township; this gave the town its first name, Bull's Head. In 1842, Centralia's land was bought by the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company. Alexander Rae, a mining engineer, moved his family in and began planning a village, laying out streets and lots for development. Rae named the town Centreville, but in 1865 changed it to Centralia because the U.S. Post Office already had a Centreville in Schuylkill County. The Mine Run Railroad was built in 1854 to transport coal out of the valley.
Mining begins
The first two mines in Centralia opened in 1856, the Locust Run Mine and the Coal Ridge Mine. Afterward came the Hazeldell Colliery Mine in 1860, the Centralia Mine in 1862, and the Continental Mine in 1863. The Continental was located on Stephen Girard's former estate. Branching from the Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad was constructed to Centralia in 1865; it enabled transport and expansion of Centralia's coal sales to markets in eastern Pennsylvania.
Centralia was incorporated as a borough in 1866. Its principal employer was the anthracite coal industry. Alexander Rae, the town's founder, was murdered in his buggy by members of the Molly Maguires on October 17, 1868, during a trip between Centralia and Mount Carmel. Three men were eventually convicted of his death and were hanged in the county seat of Bloomsburg, on March 25, 1878.
Several other murders and incidents of arson also took place during the violence, as Centralia was a hotbed of Molly Maguires activity during the 1860s to organize a mineworkers union in order to improve wages and working conditions. A legend among locals in Centralia tells that Father Daniel Ignatius McDermott, the first Roman Catholic priest to call Centralia home, cursed the land in retaliation for being assaulted by three members of the Maguires in 1869. McDermott said that there would be a day when St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church would be the only structure remaining in Centralia. Many of the Molly Maguires' leaders were hanged in 1877, ending their crimes. Legends say that a number of descendants of the Molly Maguires still lived in Centralia up until the 1980s.
According to numbers of Federal census records, the town of Centralia reached its maximum population of 2,761 in 1890. At its peak, the town had seven churches, five hotels, 27 saloons, two theaters, a bank, a post office, and 14 general and grocery stores. Thirty-seven years later the production of anthracite coal had reached its peak in Pennsylvania. In the following years, production declined, as many young miners from Centralia enlisted in the military when the US entered World War I.
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 resulted in the Lehigh Valley Coal Company closing five of its Centralia-local mines. Bootleg miners continued mining in several idle mines, using techniques such as what was called "pillar-robbing," where miners would extract coal from coal pillars left in mines to support their roofs. This caused the collapse of many idle mines, further complicating the prevention of the mine fire in 1962. Efforts to seal off the abandoned mines ran into the collapsed areas.
In 1950, Centralia Council acquired the rights to all anthracite coal beneath Centralia through a state law passed in 1949 that enabled the transaction. That year, the federal census counted 1,986 residents in Centralia.
Coal mining continued in Centralia until the 1960s, when most of the companies shut down. Bootleg mining continued until 1982, and strip and open-pit mining are still active in the area. An underground mine about three miles to the west employs about 40 people.
Rail service ended in 1966. Centralia operated its own school district, including elementary schools and a high school. There were also two Catholic parochial schools. By 1980, it had 1,012 residents. Another 500 or 600 lived nearby.
Mine fire
Triggers
Analysts disagree about the specific cause of the Centralia fire. David Dekok, author of Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire, concluded that it started with an attempt to clean up the town landfill. In May 1962, the Centralia Borough Council hired five members of the volunteer fire company to clean up the town landfill, located in an abandoned strip-mine pit next to the Odd Fellows Cemetery just outside the borough limits. This had been done prior to Memorial Day in previous years, when the landfill was in a different location.
On May 27, 1962, the firefighters, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire and let it burn for some time. Unlike in previous years, however, the fire was not fully extinguished. An unsealed opening in the pit allowed the fire to enter the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia.[page needed]
By contrast, other sources claim that the fire had started the previous day, when a trash hauler dumped hot ash or coal discarded from coal burners into the open trash pit. The author of The Day the Earth Caved In noted that borough council minutes from June 4, 1962, referred to two fires at the dump and that five firefighters had submitted bills for "fighting the fire at the landfill area." The borough, by law, was responsible for installing a fire-resistant clay barrier between each layer of the landfill, but fell behind schedule, leaving the barrier incomplete. This allowed the hot coals to penetrate the coal seam underneath the pit and start the subsequent subterranean fire.
Another theory proposes that the Bast Colliery fire of 1932 was never fully extinguished, and that fire reached the landfill area by 1962; however, a miner named Frank Jurgill Sr. disputes that theory. Jurgill claims he operated a bootleg mine with his brother near the landfill from 1960 to 1962. If the Bast Colliery fire had not been extinguished, the brothers would likely have been overcome or killed by the noxious gases via many interconnected tunnels in the area.
Immediate effects
In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner, then-mayor John Coddington, inserted a dipstick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot. He lowered a thermometer into the tank on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 172 °F (77.8 °C).
Statewide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating on February 14, 1981, when a 12-year-old resident named Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole, 4 feet (1.2 m) wide by 150 feet (46 m) deep, that suddenly opened beneath his feet in a backyard. His cousin, 14-year-old Eric Wolfgang, pulled Domboski out of the hole and saved his life. The plume of hot steam billowing from the hole was tested and found to contain a lethal level of carbon monoxide. At the time of the sinkhole collapse, then-incumbent Rep. James Nelligan and Governor Dick Thornburgh were visiting the town to assess the area. Domboski died in 2022.
Although there was physical, visible evidence of the fire, residents of Centralia were bitterly divided over the question of whether or not the fire posed a direct threat to the town. In The Real Disaster is Above Ground, Steve Kroll-Smith and Steve Couch identified at least six community groups, each organized around varying interpretations of the amount and kind of risk posed by the fire. In 1983, the U.S. Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Nearly all of the residents accepted the government's buyout offers. More than 1,000 people moved out of the town and 500 structures were demolished. By 1990, the census recorded 63 remaining residents.
In 1992, Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey invoked eminent domain on all property in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to overturn the action failed. In 2002, the U.S. Postal Service discontinued Centralia's ZIP code, 17927. Only 16 homes were still standing by 2006, which was reduced to eleven by 2009 when Governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of the remaining Centralia residents. Only five homes remained by 2010.
The Centralia mine fire extended beneath the village of Byrnesville, a short distance to the south, and required it also to be abandoned.
Condemnation and abandonment
Separated duplex houses: brick buttresses were added to support the shared wall after removal of the attached house; an unbuttressed side of a similar house on an otherwise deserted street
Few homes remain standing in Centralia. Most of the abandoned buildings have been demolished by the Columbia County Redevelopment Authority or reclaimed by nature. At a casual glance, the area now appears to be a field with many paved streets running through it. Some areas are being filled with new-growth forest. The remaining church in the borough, St. Mary's, holds weekly services on Sunday. It has not yet been directly affected by the fire. The town's four cemeteries—including one on the hilltop that has smoke rising around and out of it—are maintained in good condition.[citation needed]
The only indications of the fire, which underlies some 400 acres (160 ha) spreading along four fronts, are low round metal steam vents in the south of the borough. Several signs warn of underground fire, unstable ground, and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. Additional smoke and steam can be seen coming from an abandoned portion of Pennsylvania Route 61, the area just behind the hilltop cemetery, and other cracks in the ground scattered about the area. Route 61 was repaired several times until it was closed.
The current route was formerly a detour around the damaged portion during the repairs and became a permanent route in 1993; mounds of dirt were placed at both ends of the former route, effectively blocking the road. Pedestrian traffic is still possible due to a small opening about two feet wide at the north side of the road. The underground fire is still burning and may continue to do so for 250 years. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not renew the relocation contract at the end of 2005.
The last remaining house on Locust Avenue was demolished in September 2007. It was notable for a period for the five chimney-like support buttresses along each of two opposite sides of the house. The house had formerly been supported by a row of adjacent buildings. Another house with similar buttresses was visible from the northern side of the cemetery, just north of the burning, partially subsumed hillside.
Residents John Comarnisky and John Lokitis, Jr. were evicted in May and July 2009, respectively. In May 2009, the remaining residents mounted another legal effort to reverse the 1992 eminent domain claim. In 2010, only five homes remained as state officials tried to vacate the remaining residents and demolish what was left of the town. In March 2011, a federal judge refused to issue an injunction that would have stopped the condemnation.
The Borough Council still had regular meetings as of 2011[update]. It was reported that the town's highest bill at the meeting reported on came from PPL Corporation, a power utility, at $92 and the town's budget was "in the black."
In February 2012, the Commonwealth Court ruled that a declaration of taking could not be re-opened or set aside on the basis that the purpose for the condemnation no longer exists; seven people, including the Borough Council president, had filed suit claiming the condemnation was no longer needed because the underground fire had moved and the air quality in the borough was the same as that in Lancaster. In October 2013, the remaining residents settled their lawsuit, receiving $218,000 in compensation for the value of their homes, along with $131,500 to settle additional claims, and the right to stay in their homes for the rest of their lives.
In April 2020, amidst the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the property's current owners made the decision to cover over the graffiti highway section of old Route 61. Several mounds of dirt were laid over the area, thus ending a decades-long fascination with the desolate stretch of road.
Time capsule
The town's residents and former residents decided to open a time capsule buried in 1966 a couple of years earlier than planned after someone had attempted to unearth and steal the capsule in May 2014. The capsule was not scheduled to be opened until 2016 (50 years after it was buried). Items found in the footlocker-sized capsule, which had been inundated with about 12 inches (30 cm) of water, included a miner's helmet, a miner's lamp, some coal, a Bible, local souvenirs, and a pair of bloomers signed by the men of Centralia in 1966.
Mineral rights
Several current and former Centralia residents believe the state's eminent domain claim was a plot to gain the mineral rights to the anthracite coal beneath the borough. Residents have asserted its value to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, although the exact amount of coal is not known.
This theory is based on the municipality laws of the state. According to state law, when the municipality can no longer form a functioning municipal government, i.e., when there are no longer any residents, the borough legally ceases to exist.[citation needed] At that point, the mineral rights, which are owned by the Borough of Centralia (they are not privately held) would revert to the ownership of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[citation needed]
Demographics
A sizeable minority of the population historically have been of Ukrainian or Russian descent, with the town once having both a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church (built 1911, still standing) and a Russian Orthodox church (built 1916, demolished 1986).
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 21 people, ten households, and seven families residing in the borough. The population density was 87.5 inhabitants per square mile (33.8/km2). There were 16 housing units at an average density of 66.7 inhabitants per square mile (25.8/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 100% white.
There were ten households, out of which one (10%) had children under the age of 18 living with them, five (50%) were married couples living together, one had a female householder with no partner present, and three (30%) were non-families. Three of the households were made up of individuals, and one had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10, and the average family size was 2.57.
In the borough the population was spread out, with one resident under the age of 18, one from 18 to 24, four from 25 to 44, seven from 45 to 64, and eight who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 62 years. There were ten females and 11 males with one male under the age of 18.
The median income for a household in the borough was $23,750, and the median income for a family was $28,750. The per capita income for the borough was $16,083. All of the population was below the poverty line.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010 there were ten people (down 52% since 2000), five households (down 50%), and three families (down 57%) residing in the borough. The population density was 42 inhabitants per square mile (16/km2) (down 52%). There were six housing units (down 62.5%) at an average density of 0.4 units per square mile (.015 units/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 100% white.
Of the five households, none had children under the age of 18. Two (40%) were married couples living together, one (20%) had a female householder with no spouse present, and two (40%) were non-families. One of those non-family households was an individual, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.0 persons, and the average family size was 2.33 persons.
There were no residents under the age of 18, one aged 25–29, one aged 50–54, one aged 55–59, four aged 60–64, two aged 70–74, and one aged 80–84. The median age was 62.5 years, and there were five females and five males in total.
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were five people residing in the borough. The racial makeup of the borough was 80% white, and 20% Asian.
One resident (20%) was under the age of 18.
Public services
The borough is served by a small group of volunteer firefighters operating one fire engine that is more than 30 years old. The fire company ambulance was given to the nearby Wilburton Fire Company in Conyngham Township in 2012.[citation needed]
The Centralia Municipal Building still stands, along with its attached fire station garage. By the early 2010s, the building had fallen into disrepair, but new siding was installed in 2012. The building hosts the annual Centralia Cleanup Day, when volunteers collect illegally dumped trash in the area. Although past cleanup days avoided fire-impacted areas, the 2018 cleanup included areas around the landfill and the abandoned section of PA Route 61, since nicknamed Graffiti Highway. In April 2021, volunteers planted 250 apple trees around Centralia to restore the town's ecosystem and wildlife habitats.
The town's Ukrainian Catholic church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, remains in use and attracts worshippers from surrounding towns including people who were once residents of the town. A geological survey found there was solid rock, not coal, under the church so it is not in danger of collapse due to the fire. An Eastern Orthodox cemetery, the Saints Peter & Paul Church and Cemetery, still stands on the south-west outskirts of Centralia.
In popular culture
Centralia has been used as a model for many different fictional ghost towns and manifestations of Hell. Prominent examples include Dean Koontz's Strange Highways and David Wellington's Vampire Zero.
Screenwriter Roger Avary researched Centralia while working on the screenplay for the Silent Hill film adaptation.
The 1982 PBS documentary Centralia Mine Fire contains interviews with residents and relates the story of the mine fire.
The 1987 film Made in U.S.A. opens in Centralia and the surrounding coal region of Pennsylvania.
Author Bill Bryson described Centralia as "the strangest, saddest town I believe I have ever seen" in his 1998 travel book A Walk in the Woods.
The 2007 documentary The Town That Was is about the history of the town and its current and former residents.
Centralia had a segment entitled "City on Fire" on the Travel Channel television series America Declassified which aired in 2013.
The Centralia story was explored in the documentary segment "Dying Embers" from public radio station WNYC's Radiolab.
The American history comedy podcast The Dollop featured an episode in 2015 discussing Centralia.
The setting of the 1991 film Nothing but Trouble starring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd was set in a fictional town "Valkenvania" based on Centralia.
The song "Perpetual Flame of Centralia", featured on the 2021 album Sinner Get Ready by Lingua Ignota, derives both its title and lyrical themes from the town and its mine fire. | a1d22558-729c-4941-8001-e5c62d0d5895 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weyerhaeuser"} | American timberland company
The Weyerhaeuser Company (/ˈwɛərhaʊzər/) is an American timberland company which owns nearly 12,400,000 acres (19,400 sq mi; 50,000 km2) of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional 14,000,000 acres (22,000 sq mi; 57,000 km2) of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a century. It operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT).
History
In 1904, after years of successful Mississippi River-based lumber and mill operations with Frederick Denkmann and others, Frederick Weyerhäuser moved west to fresh timber areas and founded the Weyerhäuser Timber Company. Fifteen partners and 900,000 acres (1,400 sq mi; 3,600 km2) of Washington timberland were involved in the founding, and the land was purchased from James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway. In 1929, the company built what was then the world's largest sawmill in Longview, Washington. Weyerhaeuser's pulp mill in Longview, which began production in 1931, sustained the company financially during the Great Depression. In 1959, the company eliminated the word "Timber" from its name to better reflect its operations. In 1965, Weyerhaeuser built its first bleached kraft pulp mill in Canada. Weyerhaeuser implemented its High Yield Forestry Plan in 1967 which drew upon 30 years of forestry research and field experience. It called for the planting of seedlings within one year of a harvest, soil fertilization, thinning, rehabilitation of brushlands, and, eventually, genetic improvement of trees. In 1975 the company bought the 3,200 acres of land of the Northwest Landing and developed the town of DuPont, Washington using a New Urbanism model.
Weyerhaeuser consolidated its core businesses in the late 1990s and ended its services in mortgage banking, personal care products, financial services, and information systems consulting. Weyerhaeuser also expanded into South America, Australia, and Asia. In 1999, Weyerhaeuser purchased MacMillan Bloedel Limited, a large Canadian forestry company. Then in 2002 after a protracted hostile buyout, the company acquired Willamette Industries, Inc. of Portland, Oregon. On August 23, 2006, Weyerhaeuser announced a deal which spun off its fine paper business to be combined with Domtar, a $3.3 billion cash and stock deal leaving Weyerhaeuser stockholders with 55 percent ownership of the new Domtar company.
In March 2008, Weyerhaeuser Company announced the sale of its containerboard packaging and recycling business to International Paper for $6 billion in cash, subject to post closing adjustments. The transaction included nine containerboard mills, 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty packaging plants, four craft bag and sack locations and 19 recycling facilities. The transaction affected approximately 14,300 employees. The deal closed on August 4, 2008.
Weyerhaeuser converted into a REIT when it filed its 2010 tax return.
In 2013, Weyerhaeuser purchased Longview Timber for $2.65 billion including debt from Brookfield Asset Management. The acquisition added 645,000 acres (1,008 sq mi; 2,610 km2) of timberland to Weyerhaeuser's holdings in Oregon and Washington.
In 2014, Weyerhaeuser spun off its home building unit to TRI Pointe Homes in a $2.8 billion transaction. The company also announced its intention to sell its Federal Way headquarters and relocate to Seattle's Pioneer Square in 2016. The sale and move were completed in 2016.
On November 8, 2015, it was announced that Weyerhaeuser would buy Plum Creek Timber for $8.4 billion, forming the largest private owner of timberland in the United States. The transaction closed on February 19, 2016. At the time of the merger the combined companies own about 13,000,000 acres (20,000 sq mi; 53,000 km2) of timberlands.[citation needed]
In 2018, it won the Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service case in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding whether private land can be classified as critical habitat if the land is not currently suitable as habitat for the protected species.
Operations
The company's operations are divided into three major business segments:
Corporate governance
Devin Stockfish is the CEO and president of Weyerhaeuser Company. The Weyerhaeuser board of directors consists of: Mark Emmert, Sara Grootwassink Lewis, Rick Holley, Deidra "Dee" Merriwether, Al Monaco, Nicole Piasecki, Marc Racicot, Lawrence Selzer, D. Michael Steuert, Devin Stockfish, Kim Williams and Charles Williamson. | 305d4e08-acab-44c8-87a8-d593aa22d5ff |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfsegg_Iron"} | The Wolfsegg Iron, also known as the Salzburg Cube, is a small cuboid mass of iron that was found buried in Tertiary lignite in Wolfsegg am Hausruck, Austria, in 1885. It weighs 785 grams (1 lb 12 oz) and measures 67 mm × 67 mm × 47 mm (2¾" x 2¾" x 1¾"). Four of its sides are roughly flat, while the two remaining sides (opposite each other) are convex. A fairly deep groove is incised all the way around the object, about mid-way up its height.
The Wolfsegg Iron became notable when it was claimed to be an out-of-place artifact: a worked iron cube found buried in a 20-million-year-old coal seam. It was originally identified by scientists as being of meteoric origin, a suggestion later ruled out by analysis.[citation needed] It seems most likely that it is a piece of cast iron used as ballast in mining machinery, deposited during mining efforts before it was found apparently within the seam.[citation needed]
History
Early descriptions of the object appeared in contemporary editions of the scientific journals Nature and L'Astronomie, the object identified by scientists as being a fossil meteorite. It was reported that the object was discovered when a workman at the Braun iron foundry in Schöndorf, Austria, was breaking up a block of lignite that had been mined at Wolfsegg. In 1886, mining engineer Adolf Gurlt reported on the object to the Natural History Society of Bonn, noting that the object was coated with a thin layer of rust, was made of iron, and had a specific gravity of 7.75.
A plaster cast was made of the object shortly before the end of the 19th century, as the original had suffered from being handled, and had had samples cut from it by researchers.[citation needed]
Analysis
The object was analysed in 1966–1967 by the Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum using electron beam micro-analysis,[citation needed] which found no traces of nickel, chromium or cobalt in the iron, suggesting that it was not of meteoric origin, while the lack of sulfur indicated that it is not a pyrite.[citation needed] Because of its low magnesium content, Dr. Gero Kurat of the museum and Dr. Rudolf Grill of the Federal Geological Office in Vienna thought that it might be cast iron, Grill suggesting that similar rough lumps had been used as ballast in early mining machinery.[citation needed]
The cast is currently kept in the Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen in Linz, Austria, where the original object was also exhibited from 1950 to 1958,[citation needed] while the original cuboid is held by the Heimathaus Museum of Vöcklabruck, Austria.[citation needed]
Out-of-place artifact
The Wolfsegg Iron is claimed by some as an out-of-place artifact (OOPArt), and it is often stated as a fact in paranormal literature that it disappeared without trace in 1910, from the Salzburg Museum. In fact, as mentioned, it is at the Heimathaus Museum in Vöcklabruck, Austria, which is where the photo was taken. It has also erroneously been described as "a perfectly machined steel cube". | 2d514cb5-2443-4146-a19f-b3ea99d11776 |
null | Fredericksburg Historic District may refer to:
Topics referred to by the same term | 0eead3dc-f291-4e73-b448-257bab787f1b |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_of_Clubs_House"} | Historic house museum in Texarkana, Texas, United States
The Ace of Clubs House (also known as the Draughon–Moore House) is a historic house museum in Texarkana, Texas. The house is distinctively shaped like a club, from a deck of playing cards, with three octagon-shaped wings and a fourth rectangular wing adjoining at a central octagon-shaped stair hall. The structure was built in 1885 as a private residence, in an Italianate Victorian architectural style. The design resulted in the house having 22 sides. The two-story house also features a 20-foot (6.1 m) tower and a spiral staircase.
According to local lore, it was shaped as a club because its builder and original owner, Confederate veteran, lumberman, and early Texarkana mayor James Draughon, built it with $10,000 that he won in a game of poker with an ace of clubs. Three families have lived in the house. In 1887, William Lowndes Whitaker, Sr., acquired the building. Whitaker lived in it until 1894, when he sold it to an attorney named Henry Moore, Sr. Henry Moore, Jr., and Tyler native Olivia Smith, his wife, moved into the house in 1920. After Moore, Jr., died in 1942, his widow remained in the house until her own death in 1985, at which point it was deeded to the Texarkana Museum System in her will. The house was refurbished in 1987, and it began operating as a museum in 1988. Each room was restored to represent a different time period in the history of the house, spanning from 1880 to 1940.
The Ace of Clubs House caters to business and club meetings, lawn parties, portrait photography, receptions, and weddings. In 2016, the house's lawn hosted the Texarkana Museums System's Moonlight & Movies classic film series. The house has also hosted a Victorian Christmas celebration.
The Ace of Clubs House has been featured on the HGTV television program Christmas Castles. It is both a property on the National Register of Historic Places and a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
Gallery | 57afe2d2-5864-47fb-8472-d5ba80fab834 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochlockonee_moccasinshell"} | Species of bivalve
The Ochlockonee moccasinshell (Medionidus simpsonianus) is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
This species is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitat is rivers.
Original description
Medionidus simpsonianus was described as a species by Bryant Walker in 1905 in The Nautilus journal:
Medionidus simpsonianus n. sp. PI. ix. figs. 4 and 5.
Shell small, rather thin, somewhat inflated, elliptical, inequilateral, strongly plicate on the posterior slope. Epidermis dark yellow, smooth, polished, covered with dark green pencilled rays which tend to break into a net-work of angular lines covering the entire surface. Anterior end compressed, rounded, and slightly elevated above the line of the hinge superiorly; posterior extremity obtusely rounded, the tip being nearly on the median line of the shell; posterior ridge somewhat angled; dorsal slope covered with strong sub-concentric, somewhat irregular ridges extending from the posterior ridge to the margin; basal margin regularly curved; hinge margin nearly straight, slightly angled between the cardinal and lateral teeth. Cardinal teeth crenulate, erect, rather compressed, those in left valve nearly on the same line ; lateral teeth slender, straight and nearly smooth. Anterior cicatrices well impressed, posterior cicatrices distinct, dorsal cicatrices under the plate behind the cardinal teeth. Beak cavity rather shallow, cavity of the shell deep and uniform. Nacre bluish-white, rather thicker anteriorly.
Length 36; height 19, width 13 mm.
Habitat, Calvary, Ga.
Only three specimens of this little species were received, and these, unfortunately, without any information as to the stream where they were found.
This species belongs to the "conradicus" group of Medionidus as defined by Simpson, and is most nearly related to M. penicillatus. But it differs decidedly from all the described species in the compression of the anterior end, the elevation of the superior-anterior margin and the regularly rounded posterior margin, which is equally curved above and below, the tip being nearly on the median line and not depressed toward the basal margin as in all the allied species. The ridges on the posterior slope are quite as strong, but not so numerous as in M. kinyii.
It is named in honor of Mr. Charles Torrey Simpson.... | 9f9e2d30-2a37-4908-9328-1d5d6a2e4670 |
{"document_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncoelicotyloides"} | Genus of flatworms
Syncoelicotyloides is a genus of monogenean. Species of Syncoelicotyloides are ectoparasites that affect their host by attaching themselves as larvae on the gills of the fish and grow into adult stage. This larval stage is called oncomiracidium, and is characterized as free swimming and ciliated.
Description
Members of Syncoelicotyloides are characterised by a broad leaf-shaped body, a muscular copulative organ armed with numerous hook-shaped spines and two dorsolateral vaginae with large slit-like openings.
Species
Currently two species are recognized: | 200ab7a8-3b71-42ad-a391-1b99f2d01a61 |
null | Mocquerysia may refer to: | fdb5075c-523a-4850-9c3e-b3279666fdfa |
null | The Sơn Thắng massacre (/sənˈtæŋ/ sən-TANG, Vietnamese: [ʂəːŋ˧˧ tʰaŋ˦˧˥]) was a massacre conducted by the United States Marine Corps during Operation Imperial Lake on 19 February 1970, in which seven women and nine children were killed. The Marines reported the civilians killed as being Vietcong (VC) killed in a firefight. These incidents were reported by civilians and charges were brought against the Marines. Four Marines were court-martialed and one was sentenced to five years in prison and the other to life, but Major General Charles F. Widdecke reduced each sentence to less than year.
Background
On 12 February, a VC ambush had killed nine Marines from Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.
A five-man Marine "hunter-killer" patrol led by Lance Corporal Randell D. Herrod, who had been in the country for seven months, alongside Private Thomas R. Boyd Jr., PFC Samuel G. Green, PFC Michael A. Schwarz and Lance Corporal Michael S. Krichten had been in Vietnam for only a month, was sent out from Firebase Ross. The company commander, first lieutenant Lewis Ambort, had ordered the team to avenge the company's casualties and "get some gooks tonight."
The Sơn Thắng hamlet was located 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Firebase Ross. They villagers had previously been told to move to a "safe-zone" in the region, but they declined.
Massacre
Upon arriving at Sơn Thắng, the team had encountered three small huts in the area. They had ordered the inhabitants, all women and young children out. Herrod had then ordered the team to fire upon the group, killing them all. The team then proceeded to a second hut and did the same there. Following this, the team had come upon a third hut and proceeded to also kill all of the inhabitants. Overall, seven women and nine children were killed.
Upon returning to the base, the team "reported a fire-fight with 15-20 Việt Cộng" and that six enemies were killed.
The following morning, after advice from Vietnamese civilians, another Marine patrol entered Sơn Thắng and found the dead. Marines Battalion headquarters challenged first lieutenant Ambort's after action report and he eventually admitted to having falsified it. On 20 February, 1st Marine Division commander MG Edwin B. Wheeler reported to III Marine Amphibious Force that a "possible serious incident" had occurred at Sơn Thắng.
Aftermath
On 23 February, Ambort was removed from command and the next day a pre-trial investigation commenced which charged the five Marines on the patrol with murder. Ambort received a letter of reprimand and fine for making a false report. On 15, May four members of the patrol were court-martialed, while the other member, Krichten agreed to assist the prosecution. The trial began in June. Schwarz was found guilty of 12 counts of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor and dishonorably discharged. Green was found guilty of 15 counts of unpremeditated murder. He was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor and dishonorably discharged. Green was surprised by the leniency of the sentence, remarking "Five years for that?"
Herrod and Boyd were both acquitted. Extremely favorable testimony as character witness was given by Herrod's friend Oliver North, whose life was saved by him a few months earlier. On 15 December 1970, Major General Charles F. Widdecke reduced each of Schwartz and Green's sentences to one year. They were both released from prison in 1971.
The massacre and its legal implications were written about by Professor Gary D. Solis, a Marine Corps veteran and law professor at Georgetown University in the book Son Thang: An American War Crime.
In 1977, at the urging of Future Secretary of the Navy James Webb, the Marine Corps platoon commander and company commander in the Son Thang area, Green's dishonorable discharge was upgraded to a general discharge. However this was a moot point since Green shot himself in July 1975. | f85c90b3-6f14-4457-9faa-0d8670311395 |
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