Who wrote the poetry collection 'The Whitsun Weddings'?

The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists This cost me a mere 50 cents!!!! And I know it will contain an absolute wealth of plain-speaking insight on the daily grind, done with irony, wit and empathy. Larkin' with Larkin!!!! POST-READ: Like ALL poetry books one knows one has never done with it, as the text and thought is usually so tightly packed with allusions, resonances and plain info as well as skills of style that it is a Continual Feast on so many levels.And so many returns (one just hopes one will have life and time!!) will hopefully b This cost me a mere 50 cents!!!! And I know it will contain an absolute wealth of plain-speaking insight on the daily grind, done with irony, wit and empathy. Larkin' with Larkin!!!! POST-READ: Like ALL poetry books one knows one has never done with it, as the text and thought is usually so tightly packed with allusions, resonances and plain info as well as skills of style that it is a Continual Feast on so many levels.And so many returns (one just hopes one will have life and time!!) will hopefully be in store. I didn't find these poems as easily decipherable as I had thought I would.So have already read each poem a few times,silently , out loud trying to discover, translate etc.etc. No Regrets though!!!! ...more Shelves: poetry-in-english , formal-poetry-in-english My first impression upon beginning to delve into Larkin's oeuvre was, "This seems like the kind of poetry Charles Bukowski would have written if Bukowski had been (a) British and (b) more talented." Strange as the comparison might seem, I believe the 20th-century American poet whose public persona most closely resembles Larkin's is Bukowski: both Larkin and Bukowski self-deprecatingly portrayed themselves as rather boorish, caddish, peevish, cynical, frequently bored, unattractive, graying white My first impression upon beginning to delve into Larkin's oeuvre was, "This seems like the kind of poetry Charles Bukowski would have written if Bukowski had been (a) British and (b) more talented." Strange as the comparison might seem, I believe the 20th-century American poet whose public persona most closely resembles Larkin's is Bukowski: both Larkin and Bukowski self-deprecatingly portrayed themselves as rather boorish, caddish, peevish, cynical, frequently bored, unattractive, graying white men who liked to toss back a few drinks and ogle "bosomy" young female bodies. There seems to be a lot of "pissing" and "fucking" going on in both men's poems. When Larkin ends one of his poems with the slangy anti-academic pronouncement "Books are a load of crap," the superficial resemblance between the two poets is particularly striking. The best of Larkin's poems, I believe, are those that prove that Larkin is actually more broad-minded and more large-hearted than the lesser artists to whom one is tempted to compare him. Larkin has certain poems that confront the bleak topic of mortality with a balanced mixture of cynicism and compassion, and yet the compassion ends up winning out, allowing Larkin to empathically apprehend such penetrating truths as: "In everyone,/there sleeps a sense of life lived according to love./To some, it means the difference they could make/by loving others, but across most it sweeps/as all they might have done had they been loved" ("Faith Healing"). Poems like these succeed because they allow a thin beam of light from some ethereal place to percolate into the tight spaces of the mundane. (This is a feat that requires especial skill to pull off in a decidedly post-theistic world like Larkin's.) Many of Larkin's poems are written within tight formal structures and follow straightforward-seeming, linear patterns of thought. On the occasions when he transcends these self-imposed limitations, the results are luminous. ...more Shelves: borrowed , poetry This week I read Philip Larkin's fifth collection of poems, 'The Whitsun Weddings' (1964). Usually when I say 'read' I mean read once, from cover to cover (apart from the books I abandon). And when I say 'read' a book of poems, us


Adelaide, South Australia lies on which river?

Adelaide - South Australia - Australia - Travel - smh.com.au South Australia Cafï¿½s Adelaide is so neat and regular. Spread out on either side of the Torrens River on the flat coastal plain between Gulf St Vincent and the Mount Lofty Ranges it lies, an overgrown country town, laid out in a series of neat, easy to follow, grids. Of course it was planned - even before it was settled. In 1829 Edward Gibbon Wakefield proposed a scheme for careful and systematic colonisation. The plan was to sell lots of Crown Land and to use the money to pay for the emigration of labourers. After two abortive attempts to activate the proposal it finally became a reality in 1834 when the South Australian Association was formed. It was soon after this that Wakefield quit the organisation arguing that the price of land was too low. At this stage things were looking rather unpromising for the new colony. Still, in spite of these problems, a fleet of eight ships captained by John Hindmarsh left England and arrived at Holdfast Bay (now Glenelg) on 28 December 1836. The settlers were forced to camp at Holdfast Bay while Colonel William Light, the colony's first Surveyor-General, chose a suitable site for the future settlement. Light and Hindmarsh disagreed over the location of the site. Light was accused of building the city away from the sea (to the maritime-minded British this was an unforgivable error) on an alluvial mud plain which was dusty in summer and muddy in winter. He also designed the city along a clearly defined grid pattern with the two major centres - Adelaide Central and North Adelaide - surrounded by parklands. The effect was to be a city which looked like a square figure eight. The result, still evident today, is that Adelaide is carefully planned and neatly geometric. He later replied to his critics: 'The reasons that led me to fix Adelaide where it is I do not expect to be generally understood or calmly judged of at the present. My enemies, however, by disputing their validity in every particular, have done me the good service of fixing the whole of the responsibility upon me. I am perfectly willing to bear it; and I leave it to posterity, and not to them, to decide whether I am entitled to praise or to blame.' Today few would dispute the verdict that Light is 'entitled to praise'. However some have seen Light's sharp-edged street plan as a symbol of the kinds of people who live in Adelaide. Randolph Bedford, a politician and regular contributor to The Bulletin, wrote in 1905: 'Adelaide is...rectangular in its streets, and therefore precise in its ways; its conduct a peculiar mixture of democratic progress and Cornish religiousness - its austerity modified by the climate. The next fifteen months saw the colony degenerate into near-chaos. The land near the site of modern-day Adelaide had been surveyed and sold by March 1837 but surveys of country areas were delayed and simple supply and demand meant that property speculation became the colony's main industry. Speculation meant that little land was used for agricultural purposes and so a black market in imported food and supplies flourished. By 1840, only three years after first settlement, the colony had a population of 14 000 free settlers but was totally bankrupt. It was in this year that the South Australia Company, determined that the city would succeed, developed the wharves and warehouses at Port Adelaide, and built a road between the port and the emerging city. Fortunately the city was saved from economic ruin in 1842 when huge copper deposits were found at Kapunda. Three years later more copper was discovered at Burra. Today there is no city in Australia quite like Adelaide. There are images of Adelaide with the slow-flowing River Torrens, the beautiful parks and, inevitably, the churches. Dubbed 'the city of churches' it is more the serenity of the city than the actual number of churches which conjures up this notion of religious commitment. It has a country town friendliness with an urbanity which gives it a distinctively European feel. It is a city which can still be


Ye Olde Fighting Cocks appears in the Guinness Book of Records as England's oldest pub, in which town or city is it?

Oldest Inn in Britain There is much debate over which is the oldest inn in Britain with the Guinness Book of World Records listing 'Ye Olde Fighting Cocks' in St. Albans as the oldest, however there are numerous inns which also claim the record. The Fat Badgers can't claim to know the answer to this one but we do know that the criteria differs dependent on your viewpoint. So, is it the oldest building or the longest serving which should be classed as the oldest ?  Well who knows if the longest serving had a period when it ceased trading and should the site of a former mud hut in a Saxon settlement which reopens as a pub in 1957 be included in the list ? Certainly, if age of the building structure is the sole qualifying fact then the oldest is without doubt, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem as the rock face which forms part of the inn is 143 million years old ! Well our favourite is the Old Ferryboat at St. Ives but you may think differently. There are about 20 inns which claim to be the oldest and we believe the Clachan Inn is the oldest in Scotland (although the Ship Inn in Perth claims to date back to 1665 - Thanks to John Symon for letting us know) with the Skirrid being the oldest in Wales. Those with probably the best claims are listed below.  THE SKIRRID MOUNTAIN INN Abergavenny, Monmouthshire First listed as a pub in legal chronicles in 1110, the Skirrids leaded windows look out over the Black Mountains. Once apparently used by the warrior prince Owen Glendower to saddle up before leading his men into battle against the English in the 1400s. Wall to wall flagstones, beams and a log fire all help to give a feeling of age which is complimented with good ales & food. The Skirrid was a courthouse many years ago where sheep rustlers were hanged for their crimes.  THE CLACHAN INN Drymen, Loch Lomond The Clachan sits on a corner of the pleasant village green and claims to have had Rob Roys sister as a former landlady. Fraoch, a heather-based brew made from a 4,000-year-old Pictish recipe is served. A plaque by the door states Licensed in 1734 but details of its time before remain a mystery. THE BINGLEY ARMS Bardsey, Leeds Typical Yorkshire stone inn dating back to 1780 but previously known as The Priest's Inn where like many UK inns, the pub was used as the local court. Set in a pretty village, the local church records first mention the pub in 905 and indeed the inn itself has records dating the central part of the building back to 953. Now, the Bingley Arms is popular for its excellent quality meals. YE OLDE TRIP TO JERUSALEM Nottingham Very well known inn built into the rock face under Nottingham Castle in the city centre. Documents exist that prove a castle brewhouse occupied the site before 1189, but further proof is not available. Trip originally meant resting place, and the pub purports to be a travel lodge where crusaders drew breath before heading off to slay Saracens. The year 1189 is mentioned the date Richard I became king. THE OLD FERRYBOAT INN Holywell, Cambridgeshire Located on the bank of the River Ouse, the Ferryboat boasts a thatched roof and a well-kept garden. Archeological digs have suggested that the Ferryboats foundations may date back to 460 and records show that liquor was served as early as 560. The upper storeys were however rebuilt after a fire. In the lounge lies the grave of Juliet Tewsley, a young woman who took her own life after being rejected by a local woodcutter, Thomas Roul. She apparently reappears every March 17.  YE OLDE FIGHTING COCKS St Albans, Hertfordshire Located alongside the River Ver, in the shadow of the wonderful St. Albans abbey, the Fighting Cocks has one of the strongest claims to be the oldest. Cockfighting was banned long ago, but the original pit is now one of the bars. Originally a medieval dovecote, but with documents that seem to prove that a pub stood here in 795.  Some believe its the oldest true pub, as opposed to a tavern or inn with accommodation. It's also believed that Oliver Cromwell kept his horse in the bar when he stayed here. THE EAGLE AND CHILD Stow-on-the-


Who won an Oscar for her role as 'Mammy' in 'Gone With The Wind'?

Hattie McDaniel - Biography - IMDb Hattie McDaniel Biography Showing all 45 items Jump to: Overview  (4) | Mini Bio  (1) | Spouse  (4) | Trade Mark  (1) | Trivia  (30) | Personal Quotes  (3) | Salary  (2) Overview (4) 5' 2" (1.57 m) Mini Bio (1) After working as early as the 1910s as a band vocalist, Hattie McDaniel debuted as a maid in The Golden West (1932). Her maid-mammy characters became steadily more assertive, showing up first in Judge Priest (1934) and becoming pronounced in Alice Adams (1935). In this one, directed by George Stevens and aided and abetted by star Katharine Hepburn , she makes it clear she has little use for her employers' pretentious status seeking. By The Mad Miss Manton (1938) she actually tells off her socialite employer Barbara Stanwyck and her snooty friends. This path extends into the greatest role of her career, Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). Here she is, in a number of ways, superior to most of the white folk surrounding her. From that point here roles unfortunately descended, with her characters becoming more and more menial. She played on the "Amos and Andy" and Eddie Cantor radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s; the title in her own radio show "Beulah" (1947-51), and the same part on TV ( Beulah (1950)). Her part in Gone with the Wind (1939) won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, the first African American actress to win an Academy Award. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> Spouse (4) Frequently played "maid" characters Trivia (30) Arguably the first African-American woman to sing on radio (1915, with Professor George Morrison's Negro Orchestra, Denver, CO); first African-American to be buried in Los Angeles' Rosedale Cemetery The human "Mammy" character in the Tom+Jerry Cartoons was based on her. This human supporting character was best remembered for shouting "THOMAS" very loudly. Was the first African-American to win an Academy Award. She won as Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). She became the first African-American to attend the Academy Awards as a guest, not a servant. 47 years after her death, has been memorialized by a pink-and-gray granite monument at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Her wish to be buried in Hollywood at her death in 1952 was denied amid the racism of the era. [1999] Sister of actress Etta McDaniel . She willed her Oscar to Howard University, but the Oscar was lost during the race riots at Howard during the 1960s. It has never been found. Her father was a slave, who was eventually freed. When the date of the Atlanta premiere of Gone with the Wind (1939) approached, McDaniel told director Victor Fleming she would not be able to make it, when in actuality she did not want to cause trouble due to the virulent racism that was rampant in Atlanta at the time. Despite the fact Clark Gable played a joke on her during the filming of Gone with the Wind (1939) (he put real brandy in the decanter instead of iced tea during the Bonnie Blue birth celebration scene), McDaniel and Gable were actually good friends. Gable later threatened to boycott the premiere in Atlanta because McDaniel was not invited, but later relented when she convinced him to go. Is a honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated Lived in a middle class African American section of Los Angeles coined "Sugar Hill". Pictured on a USA 39¢ commemorative postage stamp in the Black Heritage series, issued 25 January 2006. Despite her substantial salaries for her various roles, her estate was valued at less than $10,000 when her will was made public. She left her last husband, Larry Williams, only $1. Her Academy Award was presented by Fay Bainter . McDaniel and Louise Beavers , both of whom played the title character Beulah (1950) in the 1950s TV series, died ten years apart on October 26th. Is one of 6 African-American actresses to receive the Academy Award. The others, in chronological order, are Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost (1990), Halle Berry for Monster's Ball (2001), Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006), Mo'Nique for


For what commodity is Keukenhof in Holland famous?

Tulips are up in Holland's Keukenhof: Look for Van Gogh in flowers - LA Times Tulips are up in Holland's Keukenhof: Look for Van Gogh in flowers Keukenhof gardens Keukenhof Willem van Gogh, a relative of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, opened the 2015 season at the Keukenhoff gardens on Friday. Willem van Gogh, a relative of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, opened the 2015 season at the Keukenhoff gardens on Friday. (Keukenhof) Mary Forgione Keukenhof gardens open with a season dedicated to the 125th anniversary of Vincent van Gogh's death The famed Keukenhof gardens near Amsterdam opened for its 66th season on Friday, the first day of spring. Visitors can expect to see a flowery likeness of Vincent van Gogh that was designed for the 125th anniversary of the Dutch artist's death. Willem van Gogh, the great-grandson of Vincent's brother Theo, appeared at the gardens' opening day. Vincent van Gogh died July 29, 1890, a few days after shooting himself in the chest, at the age of 37. In October, tulip bulbs were planted at the gardens in Lisse to create a flower mosaic based on one of van Gogh's self-portraits. It will measure more than 2,600 square feet, according to a garden statement. Keukenhof 2015 is where more than 7 million bulbs will bloom, its website says. Among them are 800 types of tulips but also hyacinth, daffodils and other flowers. The gardens this year will feature a  Tulpomania exhibition that tells the history of the 17th century craze for the Netherlands' most famous import. (They came from the northwestern Himalaya by way of Turkey, and became a hot trade commodity.) As for the grounds, Keukenhof will feature eight gardens this year, including a maze for children and a Selfie Garden (inspired by the "selfies" Van Gogh painted) just for folks who can't resist snapping a smartphone picture. Other garden areas include one filled with herbs, another to attract insects and another for romance -- described as "an idyllic garden containing bulb flowers in soft pastel shades, slowly transitioning into the surrounding woods." Keukenhof expects 800,000 visitors between now and May 17 when it closes. Tickets cost 16 euros ($17) for adults and 8 euros ($8.65) for children 4 to 11 years old.


In architecture what name is given to pillars carved to resemble female figures?

Column - Ancient History Encyclopedia Column by Mark Cartwright published on 30 October 2012 The column was an architectural invention which allowed for the support of ceilings without the use of solid walls, thereby increasing the space which could be spanned by a ceiling, allowing the entrance of light and offering an alternative aesthetic to building exteriors, particularly in the peristyles of temples and on colonnades along stoas. Columns could also be incorporated (engaged) within walls or be free-standing and carry sculpture to commemorate particular events or people. Early Columns The first use of columns was as a single central support for the roof of relatively small buildings but from the Bronze Age (3000-1000 BCE) more sophisticated columns with other functions beyond direct structural support appeared in the Egyptian, Assyrian and Minoan civilizations. Whilst the former civilizations employed stone for their columns, the Minoans used whole tree-trunks, usually turned upside down in order to prevent re-growth, stood on a base set in the stylobate (floor base) and topped by a simple round capital. These were then painted as in the most famous Minoan palace of Knossos . The Minoans employed columns to create large open-plan spaces, light-wells and as a focal point for religious rituals. These traditions were continued by the later Mycenaean civilization , particularly in the megaron or hall at the heart of their palaces. The importance of columns and their reference to palaces and therefore authority is evidenced in their use in heraldic motifs such as the famous lion-gate of Mycenae where two lions stand each side of a column. Being made of wood these early columns have not survived, but their stone bases have and through these we may see their use and arrangement in these palace buildings. Advertisement The First Stone Columns In Archaic Greece stone began to replace wood as the primary building material for large buildings. However, the transition was by no means clear-cut. Temples from the 8th to mid-7th centuries BCE at Isthmia , Ephesus and Corinth are believed to have employed wooden columns with stone bases alongside other structural elements in stone. Gradually though, and with the exception of roof beams, stone, with its superior strength and durability became the favoured material used in construction.  Whilst some stone columns were carved in one piece, as buildings became bigger, columns began to be constructed from separate drums. These were individually carved and fitted together using a wooden dowel or metal peg in the centre of the drum. Columns made from individual drums are remarkably resistant to seismic activity. The elasticity provided by the possibility of fractional movements between drums means that the collapse of such columns is almost always due to other destructive forces such as high winds or weakening of the building through the removal of stone elements for re-use elsewhere, rather than earthquakes. Despite this advantage though, the Romans preferred single monolithic shafts for their columns. The Romans also standardised column production from the 1st century BCE, preferring the ratio of 6:5. That is the height of the column shaft was five-sixths of the total height of the column with its base and capital. Celebrated examples of this type of column may be seen in the Pantheon of Rome .  The Architectural Orders The evolution of columns in the ancient world has been classified within architectural orders. The three principal orders are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. First though, we may place Egyptian columns which stood on a base and carried sculpted decoration of leaves on the column shaft and Persian columns which often had animal figures such as bulls as their capitals. In the Greek world the first order was Doric whose columns were wider at the bottom and had a simple capital but no base. Ionic columns stand on a base and have a capital in the form of a double scroll (volute). Corinthian columns are usually slimmer and taller, stand on a base and have a richly decorated capit


Obit: J.G. Ballard, Wrote 'Empire of the Sun' Search Obit: J.G. Ballard, Wrote ‘Empire of the Sun’ British writer J.G. Ballard, a novelist whose work was turned into films by such directors as Steven Spielberg and David Cronenberg,  died Sunday, his agent said. He was 78. Ballard had been suffering from prostate cancer diagnosed in 2006. It was not immediately clear where he died. He was best known for the autobiographical novel […] Wrap Staff | April 19, 2009 @ 3:03 PM British writer J.G. Ballard , a novelist whose work was turned into films by such directors as Steven Spielberg and David Cronenberg ,  died Sunday, his agent said. He was 78. Ballard had been suffering from prostate cancer diagnosed in 2006. It was not immediately clear where he died. He was best known for the autobiographical novel "Empire of the Sun," which drew on his childhood detention in a Japanese prison camp in China, filmed by Spielberg in 1987; and his 1973 novel "Crash," which explored a subculture of people who get pleasure from car accidents; that was made into a film by Cronenberg in 1996. Ballard was born in Shanghai, China, and was interned there in a prison camp by Japanese troops in 1941. He moved to Britain in 1946, where he lived until his death. Ballard was a sometimes controversial author, exploring themes of death, pleasure-pain, dystopian futures and sex in a wide range of genres, primarily science fiction. "His acute and visionary observation of contemporary life was distilled into a number of brilliant, powerful novels which have been published all over the world and saw Ballard gain cult status," his agent Margaret Hanbury. Show Comments


From which musical does the song 'If My Friends Could See Me Now' come?

Sweet Charity: If they could see me now full version - YouTube Sweet Charity: If they could see me now full version Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Sep 4, 2011 My favorite part of the whole entire film. I love Shirley MacLaine so much. Category


Which runner, who died in 2011, broke the world marathon record by 2 minutes at her first attempt, she won the New York marathon nine times and London twice?

Marathon great Grete Waitz dies at 57 from cancer - Boston.com Other sports Marathon great Grete Waitz dies at 57 from cancer FILE -0- In a Nov. 3, 1994 file photo nine-time winner of the New York City Marathon Grete Waitz adjusts her wreath during a 25th anniversary reunion of past winners of the race in New York.  Waitz died Tuesday April 19, 2011 after a six-year battle with cancer, Norway's athletics federation said. She was 57. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler) By               Nils Myklebost Associated Press / April 19, 2011 E-mail this article Add a personal message:(80 character limit) Your E-mail: Print | Text size – + OSLO, Norway—Grete Waitz, the Norwegian runner who won nine New York City Marathons and the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, died Tuesday after a six-year battle with cancer. She was 57. Helle Aanesen, the manager of the Active Against Cancer Foundation in Norway, said Waitz died early Tuesday at the Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo. A former Oslo schoolteacher, Waitz won her first New York City Marathon in 1978, setting a world best in 2 hours, 32 minutes, 30 seconds in her first attempt at running the distance. She went on to win eight more times, with her last victory coming in 1988. She won the London Marathon twice, in 1983 and '86, the Stockholm Marathon in 1988 and earned five titles at the world cross-country championships from 1978-81 and 1983. Waitz also won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1983 world championships in Helsinki, Finland. A year later, she took second behind Joan Benoit in the first women's Olympic marathon. Waitz competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in the 1,500 meters, but missed the 1980 Moscow Games because of the American-led boycott. "Grete is in my eyes one of the greatest Norwegian athletes of all time," Norwegian Athletics Federation president Svein Arne Hansen said. "Not only through her performances in the sport, but also as a role model for women in sports." In a Twitter posting, marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe remembered Waitz as "an amazing champion and more amazing person." Retired cyclist Lance Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer to win the Tour de France seven times, called Waitz "a good friend and an incredible athlete" on his Twitter feed. New York Road Runner President and CEO Mary Wittenberg said her legacy will live on through Grete's Gallop and other running programs in the city. "We are sad to lose a dear friend and our most decorated champion," said Wittenberg, the NYC Marathon race director. "Her strength and grace throughout her fight with cancer were incredible. "She was deeply important in making the New York City Marathon what it is today, and she inspired generations of women." Aanesen said a private funeral ceremony is planned for next week, according to Waitz's wishes. Waitz is survived by her husband Jack Waitz and her two brothers, Jan and Arild. Waitz had never run a marathon when she started the New York City race in October 1978. Her husband had talked her into trying, but after about 18 miles she regretted it. "I was hurting. I was mad. I was angry. I told Jack: 'Never again," Waitz recalled in 2008. She broke the world record three more times: In New York in 1979 and '80 and in London in '83. "She will be remembered as one of the best marathon runners of her time," International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said. The International Track and Field Association called her "one of the brightest flames" of modern athletics. "The dedication, perseverance and fortitude with which Grete carved out her athletics career on the track, across the country and on the road is an example to us all, as is the positive way she tackled the illness that beset her life in recent years," IAAF President Lamine Diack said. Waitz started undergoing cancer treatment in 2005 but rarely discussed her condition in public. "That's not my personality," she said in November 2005. "I've always been a private person. ... I'll do that when I cross the finish line and win this race." At the time she was


Sephardic Jews were exiled from which country (Sepharad is the Hebrew name for that country)?

History of the Sephardic Jews History of the Sephardic Jews The Origins Jews settled in the land of Sepharad (or Sefarad), as Spain was called in Hebrew language, very early. It was often claimed that their arrival to Spain happened soon after the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 586 BC. There was a legend among the Sephardim (i.e. the Spanish Jews) that Toletum (Toledo), the capital city of Spain, was founded by Jewish refugees from Jerusalem. A popular etymology explained its name (pronounced by the Jews Tolaitola) to be derived from the Hebrew word "tolatola" exile, or, according to another explanation, from "toledoth" generations. The Sephardim considered this city a second Jerusalem and recreated a virtually new Palestine around it: the towns of Escaluna, Maqueda, Jopez and Azeque were erected in the adjacent lands in memory of the Palestinian Ashkalon, Makedda, Joppa (Yafo) and Azeka; the Ibn-Daud and Abrabanel (Abravanel) families were proud to claim their descendency from the house of king David, the Solomon's father. Jewish communities were founded also in Carthago Nova (Cartagena), Córdoba, Granada, Saragosse, Taragona and all over the Iberian peninsula. The Early Christian Period (till A.D. 711) The Sephardim prospered for centuries under the Roman empire, being preeminent in trade, especially with slaves, crafts and finances. The rise of Christianity in Roman Spain (3rd - 4th c. AD) put their positions at stake. They were blamed for having murdered the Messiah and practicing the mortal sin of usury. The Church Council of Iliberis (Elvira), held in 306, sanctionned for the first time a policy of segregating the Jews from the rest of society. For long time such measures had but a little effect. The situation, however, worsenned dramatically when the Ostrogothic kings of Spain embraced the Catholic faith in the late 6th century. Since then the Jews were put under permanent persecution for practicing their religion and had to face several times the dilemma of either converting to Christianity, or leaving Spain. In such circumstances it is understandable that when the Moors of North Africa crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and invaded the peninsula, the Jews met them like liberators and often opened the towns' gates to their victorious armies. Later the Christians used to accuse the Sephardim for calling the Moors, but this is to be an exageration. The Muslim Period (711-1492) In the first three centuries of the Muslim domination the Jews enjoyed great influence and prosperity. Jews frequently served the government in official capacities and plkayed  an active role in political and financial affairs. Hasdai ibn Shaprut (fl. 915-975) was counsellor to the caliphs of Córdoba, the Ibn Nagrelas were viziers of Granada, the Ibn Ezras, Ibn Megashs, and Ibn Albalias were high officials in Granada and Seville. The Sephardim were also engaged in considerable social and intellectual intercourse with influential circles of the Muslim population. Solomon ibn Gabirol, Moses ibn Ezra, and Judah ha-Levi were but the acknowledged supreme geniuses of a form of expression. The period 1000-1148 disserved to be named the Golden Age of Hebrew literature. The situation, however, deteriorated again when soon after 1008 the Caliphate of Córdoba disintegrated into a lot of petty statelets (taifas), whih were unable to oppose the pressure of the northern Christian kingdoms. When Toledo fell to the Castilians (1085), the taifa kings had to call the Almoravids, a militarist Moorish sect from Morocco. The Almoravids believed that Jews must accept Islam if 500 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad their Messiah had not come. A campaign to convert the Sephardim by force was launched in al-Andalus (the Muslim part of Spain), but the matters were arranged after a great ransom was paid. The Almoravids' intervention could stop only temporarily the Christians. In 1147 the Muslims of Spain had to appeal for help to the Almohads, Berber Muslim reformers of Northern Africa. Their arrival saved for


Wyatt's rebellion was raised to oppose a proposed marriage involving which monarch?

KS3 > The Reformation > For Reference > Short Overview - (Old version) | History of Parliament Online History of Parliament Online Introduction – Catholics and Protestants   At the start of the sixteenth century England was an entirely Christian country. There were no other religious groups and everyone followed the version of Christianity that is called Catholicism . The Catholic Church was led by the Pope who was based in Rome. All of the religious services were carried out in Latin.   Mural of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Hailes Church, Gloucestershire © Art History Images Most people in England attended church regularly and believed in Christianity. The Church was a central point in the community where people came together for births, marriages and funerals. In many areas the church provided support to the poor, access to basic medicine and guidance with problems. Many people could not read or write and what they were told in Church they believed.   However, for some people the Catholic Church was considered ‘old fashioned’ and out of date with what people wanted. Some thought that the Church did things that were corrupt, that misled people and took advantage of their belief in God.   The people who did not want the Catholic Church anymore still believed in Christianity but they wanted a version that more people could understand. They wanted services to be in English with an English bible . The people who wanted the changes to the Catholic Church were called Protestants .   Even though Catholics and Protestants were all Christians and believed in God, the Bible and that Jesus Christ was the son of God their disagreements made then enemies. The two different types of Christian were prepared to kill each other over their disagreements.   Henry VIII (after Holbein) © Victoria Art Gallery, Bath (via VADS) Henry VIII became King in 1509. He married Catherine of Aragon the same year. He was a committed Catholic and wriote an attack on a leading Protestant , Martin Luther. For attacking Protestantism he was given the title ‘Defender of the Faith’ by the Pope.   However, after 18 years of marriage Henry did not have a legitimate son or male heir to be king after he died. He did not want to have a daughter to follow him. He believed that his wife, Catherine, was now too old for any more children and he wanted to marry someone else.   In 1527 he asked the Pope for a divorce. At that time divorce was very rare and the Catholic Church did not allow them except in the most unusual cases. To get a divorce the Pope had to believe that there was a religious reason for it.   The Pope did not want to give Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine, despite lots of pressure from England. Henry VIII was desperate to marry someone else.   Thomas Cromwell by Jacobus Houbraken © Palace of Westminster WOA 521 Some of Henry’s advisors were secretly Protestants and they convinced him to ignore the Pope and that he had good reasons to divorce Catherine. They convinced him that if he broke with the Catholic Church he would be more powerful and could make his own decisions about marriage and about how the Church was run in England.   In 1529 the Reformation Parliament opened. It was not called that at the time but its purpose was to help Henry VII to get the divorce that he wanted.   Henry used the Parliament to attack the Catholic Church in England, claiming it was loyal to the Pope and not to the King of England. The Church was fined.   Many of the MPs in Parliament were loyal to the Catholic Church but they also did not want to upset the king or lose any of their power. Other key members of the Parliament were already Protestants and wanted the king to break England away from the Pope’s control and to change the church to their beliefs.   The Pope did not want to give Henry his divorce and in the end Henry appointed his own church leaders in England that would permit him to divorce and to marry someone else. The new church leaders in England were Protestants and with them and the support of Parliament Henry introduced a series of laws that changed t


Who resigned from the post of Home Secretary in 1972 because of his involvement with the architect John Poulson?

John Poulson | Architectuul About Change this John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson (April 14, 1910 – January 31, 1993) was a British architect and businessman who caused a major political scandal when his use of bribery was disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced out was Conservative Home Secretary Reginald Maudling. Poulson served a jail sentence, but continued to protest his innocence, claiming that he was "a man more sinned against than sinning". Family and early life Poulson came from a strict Methodist family and inherited a strong faith which stressed the importance of self-help. He did badly at school and at Leeds College of Art but nevertheless was articled to a Pontefract firm of architects, Garside and Pennington. He left to start his own Architecture practice with financial backing from his father. He never became a formally qualified architect, because as he later claimed "I was too busy to complete my examinations". Poulson soon began to cultivate contacts in the local borough council and officials at the larger West Riding county authority. Work soon began to arrive and Poulson told friends that he was "on his way". Poulson also became politically involved with the National Liberals, although never let political differences stop him from making friends who were in charge of commissioning public buildings. Post-war business Poulson obtained a medical exemption from wartime service in 1939. The same year he married Cynthis Sykes whose sister Lorna was married to Lord King of Wartnaby. He was thus well placed to expand his business throughout the wartime years. World War II He was a workaholic and demanded the same commitment from his staff, dismissing staff who would not work his way. He had his own firm build him a house called 'Manasseh' at a cost of £60,000, helped by building contractors donating services for free in the hope of getting contracts in the future. The house won the 'Ideal Homes' House of the Year competition in 1958. When Poulson's problems caught up with him in later life, he sold the house to a young couple for just over half the build cost. Poulson revolutionised the accepted architectural method of completing a design then handing it over for costing, planning and building. He developed a combined architecture and design practice, an all-in-one service which employed all the separate disciplines in integrated teams. This approach facilitated the development process and reduced costs. In the post war years Poulson's business boomed and by the sixties was one of the largest in Europe at the time. He was later to admit that the practice expanded "beyond my wildest dreams" and offices were opened in London, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh, Beirut and Lagos. Local authorities In 1958 the National Liberal MP Sir Herbert Butcher advised his friend Poulson to set up a servicing company to win business for his architect's practice. Poulson established Ropergate Services Ltd., named after the street in Pontefract where he was based. This company also had the advantage of reducing Poulson's tax liability considerably. The late 1950s saw a building boom as Britain had finally shaken off post-war austerity and many local authorities embarked on major building schemes. Notable among them was Newcastle upon Tyne where dynamic leader T. Dan Smith wanted to set his mark on the city. Smith's desire to redevelop Newcastle attracted the attention of the construction firm Bovis which had worked for Poulson. Bovis' managing director suggested formalising links and in February 1962 Smith was appointed as a consultant to the Poulson organisation. This connection was extremely valuable to Poulson as Smith had a network of contacts among other authorities in the north-east, many of which were also recruited as Poulson consultants. Smith's involvement with the Labour Party reassured many Labour councillors wary of dealing with someone involved in the Conservative-allied National Liberals. Poulson also found a useful contact in Andrew Cunningham, a senior figure in both the General and Mu


What was the alias used by Salman Rushdie during his period in hiding after his 1989 fatwa? It is also the title of his latest book.

Q. and A.: Salman Rushdie - The New York Times The New York Times Books |Life During Fatwa: Hiding in a World Newly Broken Search Continue reading the main story Salman Rushdie ’s “Joseph Anton” is a memoir of the roughly 10 years he spent in hiding, under police protection, after the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for his death in 1989 because his novel “The Satanic Verses” was deemed offensive to Islam. The memoir’s title, cobbled together from the first names of Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov, is the alias he used while under the fatwa. In the book, which is written in the third person, Anton emerges as a character Mr. Rushdie regards both fondly and critically. The book carefully documents his political struggles during this period and his efforts to get the fatwa lifted, but also describes his personal life in great detail, including the breakup of three marriages: to Marianne Wiggins, Elizabeth West and Padma Lakshmi. (A first marriage, to Clarissa Luard, ended in 1987.) The fatwa was officially lifted in 1998, and since settling in New York in early 2000, Mr. Rushdie has moved around freely. He has become a man about town and something of a party animal, in fact. Of the recent news that a religious foundation had renewed the fatwa, he wrote by e-mail: “I’m not inclined to magnify this ugly bit of headline grabbing by paying it much attention.” Last month, before embarking on a three-month publicity tour promoting both the new book and the coming film version of his 1981 novel, “Midnight’s Children,” he discussed “Joseph Anton” over lunch at a Midtown restaurant. What follows is an abridged version of that conversation. Q. This all happened a long time ago. What made you decide to write about it now, so many years later? Advertisement Continue reading the main story A. It was largely a matter of instinct. For a long time I did not want to write this book. I felt that it would be upsetting to have to emotionally re-enter that time and immerse myself in it. But I knew always that I would have to. You know how it is — if you have the disease of being a writer there’s a little bit of you, even in the worst moments of your life — there’s a little bit of you sitting on your shoulder and saying, “Good story!” That’s why I started keeping a journal through this time. I just thought that the weight of events, the speed of events, the complexity of what was happening was so great that even with the best memory in the world there was no way to remember it in detail. Q. Why the third person? A. I had always thought that I don’t want this to be a diary or a confessional or a rant. I don’t want it to be a revenge book, a getting-even book. I knew all sorts of things I didn’t want it to be, but I didn’t know what I did want it to be. Each time I tried, it didn’t work and so I put it aside. And then I realized that one of the things I was really disliking was the first person, this endless “I,” things happening to “me,” and “I felt” and “I did” and “people said about me” and “I worried.” It was just absurdly narcissistic. So at a certain point I thought, “Let me just see what happens if I write it novelistically, in the third person.” And the moment I started doing it was like the kind of “open sesame” that gave me the book. Photo Salman Rushdie Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times Q. This device makes the book read at times like a novel, or as you say yourself in the book, like a bad Rushdie novel, full of melodrama and stuff that’s slightly surreal. A. One of the ways I expressed it to myself was that my picture of the world got broken. We all have that — we all have a picture of the world we live in and we think we know what shape it has and where we are in it. Another word for that would be sanity. And then suddenly it was very difficult to know what shape the world was and where I stood in it and how to act. All these decisions we make and suddenly I didn’t know anything. Another name for that is insanity. I do think there was a period there when my sanity was under intense pressure and I didn’t know what to say or do


Minnesota borders which of the Great Lakes?

Which states border the Great Lakes? | Reference.com Which states border the Great Lakes? A: Quick Answer There are eight total U.S. states that border the Great Lakes, which are Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. There are also two Canadian provinces that border the Great Lakes, and these are Quebec and Ontario. Full Answer The St. Lawrence River, which is located on the Quebec border, is an important part of the Great Lakes' structure. The Great Lakes consist of six total bodies of water that are named Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the Georgian Bay. The states and provinces that border these bodies of water form a unique economic and historical region, which is often referred to as the Great Lakes Megalopolis.


Farewell to Frost: The end of a detective story | The Independent Farewell to Frost: The end of a detective story David Jason's character joins a long line of retired sleuths Saturday 3 April 2010 23:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online When a famous detective bites the literary dust there is only ever one culprit: the author, in the study, with the pen. Tomorrow, a television era will draw to a close with the last ever episode of A Touch of Frost. The real mystery that will grip viewers, however, is exactly how the grumpy Detective Inspector Jack Frost, played by David Jason, make his exit after 17 years on our screen. The ending of the two-parter (the first episode is broadcast tonight) is a closely guarded secret. In fact, two endings have been filmed to prevent leaks. "Whether he just hangs up his hat or is carried out feet first remains to be seen," Jason said. To kill or not to kill your detective is one of the biggest dilemmas successful with which crime authors have to wrestle. Television crime writer and Alex Rider author Anthony Horowitz, who created Foyle's War, said he would never kill off his char- acters, but added that for an elderly author a death at least ensures no one else can come along and take the character on. "I'm very glad I didn't kill Foyle when ITV axed the series last year, because they've just decided they want to bring it back," he said. "I put a bullet in Alex Rider at the end of the fifth novel and I was inundated with letters from parents and children. I had no intention of killing him – it was a cliffhanger. I don't like killing off my characters. They are so much a part of me. Why should I kill them? I'd prefer them to go into gentle retirement." Ruth Rendell, who writes the best-selling Inspector Wexford novels, explained why she would never write out her creation. "I wouldn't want to kill Wexford because I wouldn't want to bring him back, and that's what people find they have to do," she said. "I think it was an awful mistake to kill Morse because he was so popular. I don't know if Colin Dexter regrets that at all. I don't know how Wexford will end. I've got a few ideas, but I can't tell you because I will be inundated with mail. I may do nothing. He may just go on." Colin Dexter, the creator of Inspector Morse, has no regrets about the death of his detective, however. "I didn't kill him off," he said. "He died of natural causes. He drank a bottle of Glenfiddich every day, tried every day to give up smoking, and took pride in never taking any exercise. It was always to be expected that the old boy wouldn't last too long. "We had done 33 episodes and he aged and grew less fit as we went. He was over 60 and we don't want a doddery old boy solving crimes. I also felt I'd said enough about him. Fans were only really bothered about the relationship between Morse and Lewis and I was getting a little bit cliché ridden." He added: "I won't bring him back. Resurrections haven't got a good record – and some bishops might argue not even the greatest Resurrection of all. "I've written a couple of short stories about him as a teenager at Oxford University, but it's a good idea to say 'that's enough'." Starsky and Hutch Starsky and Hutch were tough, cool but also sensitive in this pioneering buddy cop show renowned for its jazz-funk theme tune, red Gran Torino and hip snitch called Huggy Bear. Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul played the cops who policed the streets of fictional Bay City in California for 93 episodes between 1975 and 1979. Sherlock Holmes With his pipe, cocaine habit and sidekick Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes has provided the template for the brilliant but flawed detective. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 56 short stories and four novels between 1893 and 1927 and the character has been played by numerous actors, most recently Robert Downey Jr. Poirot, Hercule Poirot The famous Belgian was created by crime-writer supreme Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot appeared in 33 novels and 51 short stories between 1920 and 1975, often alongside his friend, Captain Arthur Hastings. Since 1989,


What is the name given to the part of Australia's Highway 1 which runs from Port Augusta, South Australia to Darwin? It is named after the first European to cross Australia from south to north.

° Guide: Darwin in Australia (Northern Territory) | Tripmondo Day: 29°C (84 °F) Night: 27°C (81 °F) Heavy intensity rain, moderate breeze, broken clouds. Webcam Collection Darwin: City lat/lng: -12.461 / 130.842 0 mi from city centre    The cam " Darwin: City " is located in Darwin and has been submitted by user bay.tv. This citycam has been viewed 4,350 times. Webcams provided by webcam.travel are under the copyright of their owners. Map of local sightseeing hints Distances are based on the centre of the city/town and sightseeing location.     This list contains brief abstracts about monuments, holiday activities, national parcs, museums, organisations and more from the area    as well as interesting facts about the region itself. Where available, you'll find the corresponding homepage. Otherwise the related wikipedia article. Parliament House, Darwin More reading: Wikipedia Article Parliament House in Darwin is Australia's newest Parliament Building, it has been the seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1994. Parliament House is located on State Square in the centre of Darwin, which is also the administrative centre of the Northern Territory law and government. It features Post modern features. Construction of Parliament House began in 1990, and the building was completed in 1994, and officially opened by the Governor-General of Australia, Bill Hayden on 18 August 1994. Before Parliament House the former Northern Territory Legislative Council established in 1948 was housed in various temporary buildings around Darwin. After 1974 the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly continued to occupy these buildings and the Government office blocks until 1990 when they were demolished to allow commencement of the construction of Parliament House. From 1990 to the end of 1994, the Assembly temporarily met in the Chan Building. Parliament House, Darwin Parliament House in Darwin is Australia's newest Parliament Building, it has been the seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1994. ... Read details This attraction is classified as: Buildings and structures in Darwin, Northern Territory Legislative buildings in Australia Parliament of the Northern Territory Visitor attractions in Darwin, Northern Territory Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Located at -12.46, 130.84 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 0 mi away. More reading: Supreme Court of the Northern Territory homepage The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory is the superior court for the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. It is around the middle of the Australian court hierarchy. Supreme Court of the Northern Territory The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory is the superior court for the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. It has unlimited jurisdictio... Read details This attraction is classified as: Australian appellate courts Buildings and structures in Darwin, Northern Territory Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Northern Territory Police More reading: Northern Territory Police homepage The Northern Territory Police (NTP) is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1302 gazetted police positions (as at 31 July 2011) made up of 55 Senior Sergeants, 200 Sergeants, 741 Constables, 159 Auxiliaries, and 84 Aboriginal Community Police Officers. The rest of the positions are members of Commissioned rank and 10 inoperative positions (as of 31 July 2011). It also has a civilian staff of 297 across 48 stations. Police in the Northern Territory are part of a "Tri-Service": the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Service with the Commissioner of Police, Mr John McRoberts, APM as the CEO of the "Tri Service". Sworn Police Officers can be required to serve anywhere where a police presence is required in the Northern Territory including remote Aboriginal communities in Arnhem Land and outback Northern Territory. Sworn


Who was the first man to drive a car at over 200mph; he set his final land speed record in Golden Arrow in 1929. He died on Lake Windermere in 1930 in an attempt to break the water speed record?

HENRY SEGRAVE SUNBEAM GOLDEN ARROW SEAGRAVE Henry    Segrave's photo portrait and at Brooklands     Sir Henry O'Neil de Hane Segrave    was born on the 22 September 1896. He passed away dramatically on the 13th    of June 1930, attempting to top 100 miles per hour on water. Sir Henry was    also famous for setting three land speed records and before his tragic    accident, a water speed record. He was the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously. He was the first person to travel at over 200 mph (320 km/h) in a land vehicle. The Segrave Trophy was established in 1930 to commemorate his life. WWI Segrave was born on 22 September 1896 in Baltimore, Maryland of an American mother and an Irish    father - he was a British national. He was raised in Ireland and attended Eton College in England. He was commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1914 and served as a fighter pilot with the Royal Flying Corps from January 1916 (although he retained his commission in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment). He was wounded twice, in 1915 and 1916. In July 1916 he became a flight commander as a temporary captain. In 1919 he transferred to the Royal Air Force Administrative Branch, but soon resigned his commission due to his wounds. Segrave bragged that he would drive a car at over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h).    There is nothing wrong with a little ambition, that drives us to excell. AIRCRAFT DESIGN When Segrave's interest in flying returned in the late 1920s he designed an aircraft for luxury touring. The aircraft was a wooden twin-engined monoplane built as the Saro Segrave Meteor, three metal versions being built as the Blackburn    Segrave. MOTOR RACING In 1921 the 200-Mile Race at Brooklands was organised by the Junior Car Club, the first long-distance race to be run in Britain. The race, a contest for 1,500 c.c. light cars, was won by Segrave in a    Talbot-Darracq. He was the first Briton to win a Grand Prix in a British car. He won the 1923 French Grand Prix and the 1924 San Sebastian Grand Prix at Circuito Lasarte (Spain) in a Sunbeam automobile. After a further win at Miramas in France, he retired from racing to concentrate on speed records. LAND SPEED RECORDS On 21 March 1926, he set his first land speed record in his 4-litre Sunbeam Tiger Ladybird on the sands at Southport, England at 152.33 mph (245.149 km/h). This record lasted for just over a month, until broken by J.G. Parry-Thomas driving Babs He regained the land speed record in 29 March 1927 in his 1000 HP Sunbeam Mystery (also known as 'the Slug') at the Daytona Beach Road Course at 203.79 mph (327.97 km/h), becoming the first person to travel over 200 mph (320 km/h). Segrave set his final land speed record at 231.45 mph (372.46 km/h) in his new car, the beautiful Golden Arrow, at Daytona Beach on 11 March 1929. This car had only 18.74 miles (30.16 km) on    it, which is the least used car to set the record. After being the first person on the scene of Lee Bible's death, Segrave began concentrating on the water speed record. Golden Arrow has never been used since. The Golden Arrow is on display along with the Sunbeam 350HP and the Sunbeam 1000HP at the National Motor    Museum , Beaulieu. WATER SPEED RECORDS Segrave was also an avid motorboat racer. After his 1929 land speed record, he immediately went to Miami for a motorboat race against Garfield Wood, multiple water speed record holder and the first man to travel over 100 miles per hour on water. Segrave won, causing Wood's first defeat in nine years. After Segrave returned to Great Britain, he was knighted for his many accomplishments. A few months after receiving his knighthood, on Friday 13 June 1930, Sir Henry Segrave unknowingly captured the water speed record driving Miss England II on England's largest natural lake, Windermere. In a follow-up run the boat presumably hit a log and capsized, killing Miss England's mechanic, Victor Halliwell. Segrave's unconscious body was recovered, and taken to a hospital. He regained consciousness fo


What kind of arcade machine might have flippers, bumpers and stand-up targets and be stopped by a 'tilt'?

Fixing EM pinballs Fixing EM pinballs General This quick guide is meant to give general information on EM games and fixing their typical problems. There are hundreds of different machines, so it is not possible here to concentrate on game specific problems. Tips on fixing modern solid state games are here or on APZ's pages (in Finnish only) . What is an EM pinball? Every pinball game found today in a bar or an arcade is a solid state machine. This means that all game features are controlled electronically by a microcomputer. Electronic control makes complex sounds, flashing lights and graphics displays possible, along with an interesting game strategy. Before 1978 the games worked without any computers. In these EM, or electromechanical games sound came from clicking relays and solenoid operated chimes. Score was displayed on rotating reels, and the lights didn't flash much. Gameplay was quite simple, compared to games today. Anyway these mechanical machines sucked coins from players pockets and offered thrills and joy as much as todays games. Even if they do not appear on location anymore, there are still plenty of EM games around, and also many hobbyists keeping up the tradition. Most notable manufacturers were Gottlieb, Williams, Bally and Chicago Coin. The Gottlieb games are highly valued by collectors, but my opinion is that many Williams and Bally games were more interesting to play. The golden age of Bally was the early 1970's, and so Ballys of that age are very desired. Chicago Coin is a little less known and not so popular manufacturer, and its games are harder to find. EM pinball components General An EM pinball works completely without electronics, just by relays, motors and solenoids. Faults are quite easy to troubleshoot and fix, even without a schematic diagram. If you are completely unfamiliar with EM technology, here is a short description of various parts found in an EM machine: Switch A switch is made of two metal leafs, that have a contact point on one end and a solder lug on the other. The leafs are separated by bakelite spacers. One leaf remains stationary while the other moves and may or may not contact the other, which then controls whether current flows through the switch. This kind of switches are used practically everywhere in a pinball. Rollover lanes on playfield, behind rubber rings, flipper buttons etc. Also on relays and score motors. Lamp A lamp is a component that... OK, you probably know. EM pinballs used almost exclusively #44 type lamps, or 6.3 V / 0.25 A / BA9s bayonet socket. It may be wise to replace those with #47 lamps, that generate less heat, at least in backboxes where the heat may make backglass paint to flake or fade. Also in bumpers and near plastics, the cooler bulbs prevent plastic warping. They also help you save energy! Relay A relay is a small device with an electromagnet, that makes an armature move. The armature in turn moves one or more switch leafs. There may be both normally open and normally closed switches on a relay. Sometimes even both types of switch may be combined to a changeover type of switch. Nearly every function in an EM pinball has its own relay. The relays have labels beside them, that tell the relays name, for example "10 POINT RELAY", "TILT RELAY", "EXTRA BALL RELAY". Some Gottlieb games label the relays only with an identification letter, and you need a schematic diagram to explain those letters. Fortunately the same letters were used in many games, so they became quickly memorized. Some relays have two coils. Electric pulse to the other coil moves the relay permanently to one position, while pulse to the other coil moves the relay to another position. These latching relays can sometimes be quite difficult to adjust, especially the small Gottlieb model. Relay bank isa a series of latching relays, that are all reset at the same time with a large solenoid. Nearly all EM machines have one or more relay banks. The bank can reset at the start of game, and thus have relays like "Start", "Game Over", "2 can play" etc. For features that reset at start of


Which UK singer has had albums 'Spirit', 'Echo' and 'Glassheart'

Leona Lewis | Genius @LeonaLewis About Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter who burst onto the scene after winning the third series of The X Factor in 2006. A multi-platinum selling artist and three-time Grammy Award nominee, Lewis is most known for her single “Bleeding Love” which was the best-selling single worldwide in 2008. She has released three albums, Spirit, Echo, and Glassheart. The first two which have sold over 10 million records worldwide and have topped the charts in numerous countries. Popular Leona Lewis songs


What is the name of the Lagoon that lies between Chesil Beach and the mainland?

Chesil Beach home Chesil beach home Chesil Beach is located on the South coast of England in the county of Dorset. It is a pebble beach 18 miles long and stretches north-west from Portland to West Bay. For much of its length it is separated from the mainland by an area of saline water called the Fleet Lagoon. The Fleet Lagoon is a shallow area of saline water between Chesil Beach and the mainland. It is 13 km long. Its width varies from 900 metres at Littlesea down to just 65 metres in the Narrows. The deepest part is 4-5 metres deep, but all of the mid and upper Fleet is less than 2 metres deep. Hamm Beach is on the eastern side of Chesil Beach facing into Portland Harbour. It is formed from material from the east side of Portland moving north to form the Mere barrier and then Hamm Beach. It is an area of shallow sand dunes overlaying shingle. This website provides information on Chesil and Hamm Beachs and the Fleet Lagoon. Chesil beach and the Fleet looking north from Portland The underwater camera is operational and pictures are displayed in the Visitors Centre. Both of the beachs and the lagoon are important areas for wildlife with a number of national and international designations to help protect this important area. The area lies at the centre of the Jurassic Coast , a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site. The picture gallery contains many pictures of Chesil Beach and the Fleet Lagoon from its southern limit at Portland to its northern limit at West Bay. It also includes a selection of old postcards to illustrate the changes that have taken place over the last 120 years. Live weather data from Chesil Beach is not currently available following a failure of the weather sensors Walking Chesil If you are planning to walk along Chesil Beach there are two important documents you must read. Please go to the Access page to download them Details of access arrangements to Chesil Beach and the Fleet Lagoon can be found by clicking here . There are a number of organisations concerned with the conservation and interpretation of Chesil Beach and the Fleet. Click any of the links below to find out about them.


At the end of October 2012, New York and the east coast of America were battered by which hurricane?

Storm Barrels Through Region, Leaving Destructive Path - The New York Times The New York Times U.S. |Storm Barrels Through Region, Leaving Destructive Path Search Continue reading the main story Hurricane Sandy battered the mid-Atlantic region on Monday, its powerful gusts and storm surges causing once-in-a-generation flooding in coastal communities, knocking down trees and power lines and leaving more than five million people — including a large swath of Manhattan — in the rain-soaked dark. At least seven deaths in the New York region were tied to the storm. The mammoth and merciless storm made landfall near Atlantic City around 8 p.m., with maximum sustained winds of about 80 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. That was shortly after the center had reclassified the storm as a post-tropical cyclone, a scientific renaming that had no bearing on the powerful winds, driving rains and life-threatening storm surge expected to accompany its push onto land. The storm had unexpectedly picked up speed as it roared over the Atlantic Ocean on a slate-gray day and went on to paralyze life for millions of people in more than a half-dozen states, with extensive evacuations that turned shorefront neighborhoods into ghost towns. Even the superintendent of the Statue of Liberty left to ride out the storm at his mother’s house in New Jersey; he said the statue itself was “high and dry,” but his house in the shadow of the torch was not. The wind-driven rain lashed sea walls and protective barriers in places like Atlantic City, where the Boardwalk was damaged as water forced its way inland. Foam was spitting, and the sand gave in to the waves along the beach at Sandy Hook, N.J., at the entrance to New York Harbor. Water was thigh-high on the streets in Sea Bright, N.J., a three-mile sand-sliver of a town where the ocean joined the Shrewsbury River. “It’s the worst I’ve seen,” said David Arnold, watching the storm from his longtime home in Long Branch, N.J. “The ocean is in the road, there are trees down everywhere. I’ve never seen it this bad.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office said late Monday night that at least five deaths in the state were attributable to the storm. At least three of those involved falling trees. About 7 p.m., a tree fell on a house in Queens, killing a 30-year-old man, the city police said. About the same time, two boys, ages 11 and 13, were killed in North Salem in Westchester County, when a tree fell on the house they were in, according to the State Police. In Morris County, N.J., a man and a woman were killed when a tree fell on their car Monday evening, The Associated Press reported. In Manhattan, NYU Langone Medical Center’s backup power system failed Monday evening, forcing the evacuation of patients to other facilities. In a Queens beach community, nearly 200 firefighters were battling a huge blaze early on Tuesday morning that tore through more than 50 tightly-packed homes in an area where heavy flooding slowed responders. Earlier, a construction crane atop one of the tallest buildings in the city came loose and dangled 80 stories over West 57th Street, across the street from Carnegie Hall. Soon power was going out and water was rushing in. Waves topped the sea wall in the financial district in Manhattan, sending cars floating downstream. West Street, along the western edge of Lower Manhattan, looked like a river. The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, known officially as the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel in memory of a former governor, flooded “from end to end,” the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said, hours after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York ordered it closed to traffic.Officials said water also seeped into seven subway tunnels under the East River. Joseph J. Lhota, the transit authority chairman, called the storm the most devastating disaster in the 108-year history of the subway system. “We could be fishing out our windows tomorrow,” said Garnett Wilcher, a barber who lives in the Hammells Houses, a block from the ocean in the Rockaways in Quee


Liberace performs "Warsaw Concerto" - YouTube Liberace performs "Warsaw Concerto" Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jan 17, 2010 Liberace performs the Warsaw Concerto, a single-movement piano concerto written for the 1941 film, Dangerous Moonlight (also known under the later title Suicide Squadron). It was composed by British composer Richard Addinsell (1904-1977). The orchestration was by another Briton, Roy Douglas, whose contribution is rarely acknowledged. The film's love-story plot revolves around the fictional composer of the piece, a piano virtuoso and "shell-shocked" combat pilot, who is a refugee in England from the World War II occupation of Poland and considers returning to Poland to rejoin the war. The actor, Anton Walbrook, was an accomplished amateur pianist, so his hands are seen playing in the film, but in fact the music on the soundtrack is played by an uncredited pianist, Louis Kentner. Category


Name the only boxer to have held world titles in eight different weight divisions?

List of boxing octuple champions* | Knowledge Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia List of boxing octuple champions* 37pages on An octuple champion in boxing refers to a boxer who has won world titles in eight different categories of weight . Contents World Boxing Organization (WBO) - founded in 1988 The Ring Edit The Ring , boxing's most respected magazine that was founded in 1922, has its own version of lineal championship and began awarding championship belts in 1922. The Lineal Champion is also known as the true champion of the division. The Ring Champion holds the linear reign to the throne, the man who beat the man. The Ring stopped giving belts to world champions in the 1990s but began again in 2002. In 2002, The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy. It echoed many critics' arguments that the sanctioning bodies in charge of boxing championships had undermined the sport by pitting undeserving contenders against undeserving "champions", and forcing the boxing public to see mismatches for so-called "world championships". The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy that is "intended to reward fighters who, by satisfying rigid criteria, can justify a claim as the true and only world champion in a given weight class." The Ring claims to be more authoritative and open than the sanctioning bodies' rankings, with a page devoted to full explanations for ranking changes. A fighter pays no sanctioning fees to defend or fight for the title at stake, contrary to practices of the sanctioning bodies. Furthermore, a fighter cannot be stripped of the title unless he loses, decides to move to a different weight division, or retires. There are currently only two ways that a boxer can win The Ring's title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between the magazine's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). A vacant Ring championship is filled when the number-one contender in a weight-division battles the number-two contender or the number-three contender (in cases where The Ring determines that the number-two and number-three contenders are close in abilities and records). The Ring's championship policy has gained the acceptance of television outlets in North America such as ESPN and, to an extent, HBO; it has also been mentioned by the BBC in the United Kingdom. Minor sanctioning bodies The minor sanctioning bodies are sometimes included. They are: International Boxing Organization (IBO), International Boxing Association (IBA), International Boxing Council (IBC), International Boxing Board (IBB), International Boxing League (IBL), International Boxing Union (IBU), Global Boxing Association (GBA), Global Boxing Council (GBC), Global Boxing Federation GBF, Global Boxing Organization (GBO), Global Boxing Union (GBU), National Boxing Association (NBA), Transcontinental World Boxing Association (TWBA), Universal Boxing Association (UBA), Universal Boxing Council (UBC), Universal Boxing Federation (UBF), Universal Boxing Organization (UBO), UNIBOX UNIBOX, United States Boxing Council (USBC), World Athletic Association (WAA), World Boxing Board (WBB), World Boxing Championship Committee (WBCC), World Boxing Empire (WBE), World Boxing Foundation (WBF), World Boxing Institute (WBI), World Boxing League (WBL), World Boxing Network (WBN), World Boxing Union (WBU), World Cup of Boxing (WCOB), World Junior Boxing Federation (WJBF), World Tournament Boxing Federation (WTBF) and the World United Boxing Association (WUBA). Note: The International Boxing Association (IBA) is not to be confused with the International Boxing Association (AIBA), a French acronym for Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur, which sanctions amateur matches. The National Boxing Association (NBA) was established in 1984 and is not to be confused with the original National Boxing Association that was established in 1921 and changed its name to World Boxing Association (WBA) in 1962. Group of O


Who created the Yorkshire detectives 'Dalziel and Pascoe'?

Dalziel and Pascoe creator Reginald Hill dies | Books | The Guardian Dalziel and Pascoe creator Reginald Hill dies Ian Rankin leads tributes to prolific crime writer from County Durham Reginald Hill at the Edinburgh international book festival. Photograph: Murdo Macleod Close This article is 5 years old The writer Reginald Hill, who created the Yorkshire detective duo Andrew Dalziel and Peter Pascoe, has died aged 75. Hill charted the ups and downs of his two contrasting sleuths in more than 20 novels published over four decades after his debut, A Clubbable Woman (1970) alongside a substantial body of other crime fiction and thrillers. He won the Crime Writers Association's Golden Dagger in 1990 for Bones and Silence , and the Diamond Dagger for the series as a whole in 1995. Writer Ian Rankin, who won the Diamond Dagger himself in 2005, paid tribute to Hill's great good humour, the intelligence of his writing and the generous advice he gave to young authors. "I didn't read crime fiction until I was in my 20s," Rankin said. "Hill was one of the first British writers I read. His plotting was elegant and his characters were larger than life – once you read about Andy Dalziel he's never forgotten. I daresay there are shadings of him in my Inspector Rebus – they're both bolshie and maverick and they don't look after themselves." According to Rankin, Hill was seen as a "traditional crime writer, but with a modern sensibility". "He had a lot of fun with his characters," he added, "there was even a story where he sent Dalziel into space. But he allowed the real world to be part of his stories, letting his characters age in real time." For the crime writer Mark Billingham, news of Hill's death was "tragic, not only because he was an amazing writer, still working at the height of his powers, but also because he was one of the most lovely men you could ever meet. He was someone I looked up to enormously as a writer and a man." Born in West Hartlepool in 1936, Hill wrote "for fun" from an early age, ending up with "a bottom drawer of first chapters". It was at the age of 30 when he began taking his writing a little more seriously – the first Dalziel and Pascoe novel was published four years later. Fuelled by the success of the BBC television adaptations , with Warren Clarke playing the curmedgeonly Dalziel and Colin Buchanan his university-educated assistant Pascoe, Hill went on to find a worldwide audience. A series of five books set in Luton featuring a black private investigator called Joe Sixsmith followed, with a host of other novels published under other names, including a series of thrillers as Patrick Ruell.


Who was known as 'The Million Dollar Mermaid'?

Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Biopic of Australian swimming champ and entertainer Annette Kellerman. After overcoming polio, Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent. Director: Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence. a list of 35 titles created 07 Aug 2012 a list of 42 titles created 14 Feb 2014 a list of 46 titles created 02 Jun 2014 a list of 31 titles created 11 months ago a list of 43 titles created 4 months ago Title: Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) 6.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for     1     Oscar. Another    1 nomination. See more awards  » Photos A swimsuit fashion designer is determined to protect her scatterbrained sister from a South American heart-breaker, but a case of mistaken identity complicates matters. Director: Edward Buzzell A contrived misunderstanding leads to the breakup of a songwriter and his fiancée. She returns to work as a gym teacher at an all-girls school, but a legal loophole allows the man to enroll as one of her students. Director: George Sidney A swim teacher and a wealthy businessman are married after a brief courtship. A charming war hero falls in love with this newly-married woman, after her husband abandons her on their honeymoon for the sake of a business meeting. Director: Richard Thorpe An Aquatic performer tries to attract the man she loves. Director: Charles Walters While shooting on location in the South Pacific, a movie star is pursued by a handsome Naval officer who is convinced she is the girl for him. Director: Richard Thorpe A young woman enters a contest to be the first to swim the English Channel. Director: Charles Walters A man from Ohio inherits a coconut plantation and falls in love with a half-American, half-Tahitian beauty. Song-and-swim musical ensues in the tropical paradise. Director: Robert Alton The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins, a suspected "fathead" who intends to take an active interest in running the team. But K.C. ... See full summary  » Director: Busby Berkeley When a matador leaves town to focus on his music, his twin sister takes on his identity in the bullfighting ring. Director: Richard Thorpe A Scottish knight in France to facilitate a marriage between a rich and beautiful countess and his aging uncle becomes involved in court intrigue. Director: Richard Thorpe A multimillionaire decides to boycott "filthy" forms of entertainment such as Broadway shows. Directors: Ray Enright, Busby Berkeley Stars: Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler Screwball comedy has wealthy mystery writer Paula Bradford using her doctor ex-husband's non-payment of alimony to coerce him into a reconciliation. Director: Stephen Roberts Edit Storyline Million Dollar Mermaid tells the story of Australian swimming sensation Annette Kellerman, who overcame childhood polio to go on and achieve fame as a professional swimmer and film star in the early decades of the 20th century. At the same time, she scandalized the world by wearing a one-piece bathing suit on public beaches long before the style was accepted in polite company, and made waves in other ways as well. The story was a perfect vehicle decades later to showcase the star quality of Esther Williams in the 1950s, and Kellerman's moniker was picked up by Life Magazine when it named Ms. Williams the "Million Dollar Mermaid" herself. Written by Tedosan Inspired by th


The car company Auto Union was formed in 1932 by the amalgamation of four manufacturers, by what name is it now known?

Auto Union | Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki evolved into present day Audi Predecessor June 29, 1932 (original Auto Union) September 3, 1949 (new Auto Union) Defunct ... and Wanderer Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz , Saxony , during the Great Depression . The company has evolved into present day Audi , as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group . Auto Union is widely known for its racing team (Auto Union Rennabteilung, based at Horch works in Zwickau / Saxony ). The Silver Arrows of these two German teams ( Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union) dominated not only GP car racing from 1934 onwards, but set records that would take decades to beat.[ citation needed ] Contents Edit Auto Union was formed in Germany in 1932, [1] merging: Audi - having fallen out with family member, August Horch founded Audi in Zwickau 1909, which built inline-four -, six - and eight -cylinder-engined cars. DKW - steam equipment company founded by Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen in 1916, it branched out into motorcycles, and then front-drive two-stroke cars built at Audi works in Zwickau since 1931. Horch - founded by August Horch in Zwickau 1904, it built cars starting from straight-two engines to luxury models with V8- and V12 engines . [2] Wanderer - founded in 1911, with small four-cylinder cars and later a more luxurious V6 built in Siegmar (now Chemnitz ) In August 1928, Rasmussen, the owner of DKW, acquired a majority ownership of Audiwerke AG. [3] In the same year, Rasmussen bought the remains of the US automobile manufacturer Rickenbacker , including the manufacturing equipment for eight-cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau, Audi Imperator and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the same time, six-cylinder and four-cylinder (licensed from Peugeot ) models were manufactured. In 1932, with all companies still losing money, Audi/DKW, Horch and Wanderer were brought together under the umbrella of communal shareholder company Auto Union. Although all four brands continued to build cars under their own names and brands, the technological development became more centralized, with some Audi models employing engines by Horch or Wanderer. The Auto Union racing cars Auto Union Chairman, Klaus, Baron von Oertzen , wanted a showpiece project to announce the new brand. At the 1933 Berlin Motor Show, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler announced two new programs: [4] The people's car: a project that became the KdF car A state-sponsored motor racing programme: to develop a "high speed German automotive industry," the foundation of which would be an annual sum of 500,000 Reichsmark s to Mercedes-Benz At fellow director's Adolf Rosenberger insistence, von Oertzen met with Dr. Ferdinand Porsche , who had done work for him before, and developed his own P-Wagen project racing car based on the new 750 kg (1,700 lb) formula. [4] German racing driver Hans Stuck Sr. had met Hitler before he became Chancellor, and not being able to gain a seat at Mercedes, accepted the invitation of Rosenberger to join him, von Oertzen, and Porsche in approaching the Chancellor. In a meeting in the Reich Chancellory , Hitler agreed with Porsche that for the glory of Germany, it would be better for two companies to develop the project, resulting in Hitler agreeing to pay ₤ 40,000 for the country's best racing car of 1934, as well as an annual stipend of 250,000 Reichsmarks [4] (₤20,000) [5] each for Mercedes and Auto Union. (In time, this would climb to ₤250,000.) [6] This highly annoyed Mercedes, who had already developed their Mercedes-Benz W25 , which nevertheless was gratified, its racing program having financial difficulties since 1931. [6] It resulted in a heated exchange both on and off the racing track between the two companies until World War II. Having garnered state funds, Auto Union bought Hochleistungs Motor GmbH and hence the P-Wagen Project for 75,000 Reichsmarks, relocating the company to C


"Private Lives": Themes and Characters Finale of "Private Lives" by Noel Coward Themes and Characters Plays/Drama Expert By Wade Bradford The following plot summary covers the events during the last part of Act Three of Noel Coward's comedy, Private Lives. The play, written in 1930, details the humorous encounter between two ex-spouses who decide to run away together and give their relationship another shot, much to the shock of the newlyweds they leave behind. Read the plot summary of Act One and Act Two. Act Three Continues: Outraged by Elyot's insults at Amanda, Victor challenges Elyot to a fight. Amanda and Sybil leave the room, and Elyot decides not to fight because it's what the women want. Victor plans to divorce Amanda, and he expects that Elyot will remarry her. But Elyot claims that he has no intention of marriage and he sulks back into the bedroom, and is soon followed by the eager-to-please Sybil. Alone with Amanda, Victor asks what he should do now. She suggests that he divorce her. For her sake (and perhaps to spare his own dignity) he offers to stay married (in name only) for a year and then divorce. continue reading below our video 10 Best Universities in the United States Sybil and Elyot return from the bedroom, pleased with their new found arrangement. They also plan to divorce in one year's time. Now that they know their plans, this seems to ease the tension between them, and they decide to sit down for coffee. Elyot tries to converse with Amanda, but she ignores him. She won't even serve him coffee. During the conversation, Sybil begins to tease Victor about his serious nature, and when he becomes defensive , criticizing her in return, their argument escalates. In fact, Victor and Sybil's heated bickering seems very similar to the antics of Elyot and Amanda. The older couple notices this, and they quietly decide to leave together, allowing the blossoming love/hate romance of Victor and Sybil to develop unabated. The play does not end with Victor and Sybil kissing (as I had guessed it would when I first read Act One). Instead, it ends with shouting and fighting, as the grinning Elyot and Amanda shut the door behind them. Domestic Violence in "Private Lives": Back in the 1930s, it may have been common in romantic stories for women being violently grabbed and tossed around. (Think of the famous scene in Gone with the Wind in which Scarlet fights Rhett as he takes her upstairs to the bedroom, against her will.) Noel Coward was not trying to endorse domestic violence, but it's hard not to read the script of Private Lives without applying our 21st Century views regarding spousal abuse. How hard does Amanda strike Elyot with the gramophone record? How much strength does Elyot use to slap Amanda's face? How violent is their ensuing struggle. These actions can be played for slapstick (Three Stooges), dark comedy (War of the Roses), or - if the director so chooses - this is where things can suddenly become quite serious. Most productions (both modern and from the 20th century) keep the physical aspects of the play light-hearted. However, in Amanda's own words she feels that it is "beyond a pale" to strike a woman (though it should be noted that in Act Two she is the first to use violence; therefore she seems to think it fine for men to be victims). Her words during that scene, as well other during other moments in Act One when she recounts her tumultuous first marriage, reveal that, despite Amanda's infatuation with Elyot, she is unwilling to be submissive; she will fight back. Biography of Noel Coward: Born in 1899, Noel Coward led a fascinating and surprisingly adventurous life. He acted, directed, and wrote plays. He was also a movie producer and a song-writer. He began his theatrical career at a very young age. In fact, he played one of the Lost Boys in the 1913 production of Peter Pan. He was also drawn into lascivious circles. At the age of fourteen he was lured into a relationship by Philip Streatfield, a man twenty years his elder. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s Noel Coward's plays became smashing succe


What is the title of Hilary Mantel's book that won her a second Man Booker Prize?

Hilary Mantel First Woman To Win Booker Prize Twice : NPR Hilary Mantel First Woman To Win Booker Prize Twice Embed Embed Hilary Mantel First Woman To Win Booker Prize Twice Hilary Mantel First Woman To Win Booker Prize Twice Embed Embed Writer Hilary Mantel has won her second Man Booker prize. She was recognized for her book, Bring Up The Bodies. Mantel is the first British writer and woman to win the award more than once. MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: Finally this hour, a first from the prestigious Man Booker Prize. This year's winner is Hilary Mantel for her novel "Bring Up the Bodies." She's the first woman to win the award twice. Each year, the literary prize is given to a citizen of the United Kingdom, the British Commonwealth countries or the Republic of Ireland. Here's NPR's Elizabeth Blair. ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: Hilary Mantel also becomes the first writer to win the Man Booker with a sequel. "Bring Up the Bodies" follows "Wolf Hall," which won the prize in 2009. Set in the 16th century, the novels tell the story of Thomas Cromwell who was chief minister to King Henry VIII. Hilary Mantel once said she's always been fascinated with Cromwell, calling him ruthless but no more so than other contemporary politicians. Here she is reading from "Bring Up the Bodies" on NPR earlier this year. HILARY MANTEL: (Reading) He never spares himself in the king's service, he knows his worth and merits and makes sure of his reward; offices, perquisites and title deeds, manor houses and farms. BLAIR: Judges for this year's Man Booker Prize say "Bring Up the Bodies" was chosen from 145 different novels. They call it one of the great achievements of modern literature. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News. Copyright © 2012 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc. , an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


Which astronomer coined the term 'Big Bang'?

BBC News | SCI/TECH | 'Big bang' astronomer dies Wednesday, 22 August, 2001, 07:43 GMT 08:43 UK 'Big bang' astronomer dies Sir Fred challenged the belief the cosmos was caused by an explosion The English astronomer who coined the term "Big Bang" to describe an academic theory on the creation of the cosmos, has died at the age of 86. Despite popularising the theory by giving it a name, Professor Sir Fred Hoyle challenged the belief that the cosmos was caused by a huge explosion 12,000 million years ago. He advocated the "steady state" theory - that the cosmos had no beginning but new galaxies were formed as others moved apart. Sir Fred also rejected Darwin's theory of evolution, putting forward the so-called Panspermia Theory, which suggests that life, or the building blocks of life, could be carried to planets by comets or drifting interstellar dust particles. Sir Fred wrote A For Andromeda, which became a BBC-TV series He believed it had all been arranged by a super-intelligent civilisation who wished to seed our planet. Sir Fred used this theory as the inspiration for one of his many science-fiction novels, The Black Cloud. Published in 1957, it described an intelligent cloud of cosmic dust sapping the Sun of solar energy to create a second Ice Age on Earth. In 1962, Sir Fred wrote A For Andromeda, which became a BBC-TV series, and his play for children, Rockets In Ursa Major, opened in the West End. Star gazing Born at Bingley in the West Riding of Yorkshire to wool merchant parents, he could navigate by the stars at the age of 10 and often stayed up all night gazing through his telescope. Sir Fred was educated at Bingley grammar school and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics. In 1939, he was elected a fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, and married Barbara Clark. They had a son and a daughter. Conducted research