Which transition metallic element, atomic number 40, is the last alphabetically in a list of naturally occurring elements?

List of the Chemical Elements Sodium is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive "alkali metal" element. 12 Magnesium 24 Magnesium is found naturally only combined with other elements as it is highly reactive. The free metal burns with a distinctive brilliant white light. 13 Aluminium 27 Aluminium is found naturally only combined with other elements as it is highly reactive. It is a soft, durable, lightweight, ductile and malleable metal whose appearance ranges from silvery to dull gray. It is non-magnetic, non-sparking and insoluble in alcohol. The free metal burns with a distinctive brilliant white light. 14 Silicon 28 Silicon rarely occurs in free element form in nature. It is found in dusts, sands, and forms of silicon dioxide (silica) or silicates. 15 Phosphorus 31 Phosphorus occurs in phosphate rocks. Elemental phosphorus exists in two forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus but - due to its high reactivity, phosphorus is never found as a free element in nature. 16 Sulphur 32 Sulphur is a bright yellow crystalline solid. In nature, it can be found as the pure element and as sulfide and sulfate minerals. 17 Vanadium is a soft, silvery gray, ductile transition metal. 24 Chromium 52 Chromium is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard metal with a high melting point. It is odourless, tasteless, and malleable. 25 Manganese 55 Manganese is a silvery-grey hard metal, very brittle and difficult to fuse but easy to oxidize. Manganese metal and its common ions are paramagnetic. 26 Iron 56 Iron and iron alloys (steels) are the most common metals and ferromagnetic materials in everyday use. 27 Cobalt 59 Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, grey metal that occurs in metallic-lustered ores, e.g. cobaltite (CoAsS). Cobalt-based colours and pigments have been used for jewellry and paints for 1000s years. 28 Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous, diamagnetic, hard, brittle, transition metal. 31 Gallium 70 Gallium is a soft silvery-coloured brittle solid at low temperatures. It is a poor metal and does not occur in elemental form in nature, but as the gallium(III) salt in very small amounts in bauxite and zinc ores. 32 Germanium 73 Germanium is a lustrous, hard, greyish-white metalloid that has five naturally occurring isotopes ranging in atomic mass number from 70 to 76. It is an important semiconductor material used in transistors, electronics,fiber-optic systems, infrared optics and solar cells. 33 Arsenic 75 Arsenic is a poisonous metalloid that has many forms incl. a yellow (molecular non-metallic) and several black and grey forms. 34 Selenium 79 Selenium occurs in various forms, the most stable of which is a dense purplish-grey semiconductor. Non-conductive forms of selenium include a black glass-like allotrope and several red crystalline forms. 35 Bromine 80 Bromine is a halogen that is a brown liquid at room temperature. Its vapour is toxic and corrosive. 36 Krypton 84 Krypton is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere. 37 Rubidium is a soft, silvery-white "alkali metal" element. 38 Strontium 88 Strontium is  a grey, silvery metal that is softer than calcium and highly reactive with water. It occurs naturally only in compounds with other elements, such as in the minerals strontianite and celestite . 39 Yttrium 89 Yttrium is a silvery-metallic transition metal that is nearly always found combined with the lanthanoids in rare earth minerals - as a free element. 40 Zirconium 91 Zirconium is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal. It is not found in nature as a free element but may be obtained from the mineral zircon. 41 Cadmium is a soft bluish-white toxic metal. 49 Indium 115 Indium is a rare and very soft, malleable post-transition metal. It is named for the indigo blue line in its spectrum that was the first indication of its existence as a new and unknown element (in metal ores). 50 Tin 119 Tin is a malleable, ductile, and highly crystalline silvery-white metal of low-toxicity. It was used widely during the "Bronze Age" to form bronze, an alloy of tin and copper. 51 Antimony


For what does the I stand in the organisation FBI?

Frequently Asked Questions — FBI Who is the head of the FBI? The FBI is led by a Director, who is appointed by the U.S. President and confirmed by the Senate for a term not to exceed 10 years. The current Director is James B. Comey . You can find information on all Directors who have served the FBI on our History website . How is the FBI organized? The FBI is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The offices and divisions at FBI Headquarters provide direction and support to 56 field offices in big cities, more than 350 smaller offices known as resident agencies, several specialized field installations, and more than 60 liaison offices in other countries known as legal attachés. Is the FBI a type of national police force? No. The FBI is a national security organization that works closely with many partners around the country and across the globe to address the most serious security threats facing the nation. We are one of many federal agencies with law enforcement responsibilities. How accurately is the FBI portrayed in books, television shows, and motion pictures? Any author, television script writer, or producer may consult with the FBI about closed cases or our operations, services, or history. However, there is no requirement that they do so, and the FBI does not edit or approve their work. Some authors, television programs, or motion picture producers offer reasonably accurate presentations of our responsibilities, investigations, and procedures in their story lines, while others present their own interpretations or introduce fictional events, persons, or places for dramatic effect.  What does the FBI do with information and evidence gathered during an investigation? If a possible violation of federal law under the jurisdiction of the FBI has occurred, the Bureau will conduct an investigation. The information and evidence gathered in the course of that investigation are then presented to the appropriate U.S. Attorney or Department of Justice official, who will determine whether or not prosecution or further action is warranted. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, evidence is either returned or retained for court. What does the FBI do with persons it arrests in the course of an investigation? A person arrested by the FBI is taken into custody, photographed, and fingerprinted. In addition, an attempt often is made to obtain a voluntary statement from the arrestee. The arrestee remains in FBI custody until the initial court appearance, which must take place without unnecessary delay. What authority do FBI special agents have to make arrests in the United States, its territories, or on foreign soil? In the U.S. and its territories, FBI special agents may make arrests for any federal offense committed in their presence or when they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed, or is committing, a felony violation of U.S. laws. On foreign soil, FBI special agents generally do not have authority to make arrests except in certain cases where, with the consent of the host country, Congress has granted the FBI extraterritorial jurisdiction. Are FBI special agents permitted to install wiretaps at their own discretion? No. Wiretapping is one of the FBI’s most sensitive techniques and is strictly controlled by federal statutes. It is used infrequently and only to combat terrorism and the most serious crimes. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 2516, contains the protocol requiring all law enforcement officers to establish probable cause that the wiretaps may provide evidence of a felony violation of federal law. After determining if a sufficient showing of probable cause has been made, impartial federal judges approve… What is the FBI’s policy on the use of deadly force by its special agents? FBI special agents may use deadly force only when necessary—when the agent has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the agent or another person. If feasible, a verbal warning to submit to the authority of the special agent is give


BBC - History -   Historic Figures: Nicholas II (1868-1918) Historic Figures z Nicholas II, 1914    © Nicholas II was the last tsar of Russia. He was deposed during the Russian Revolution and executed by the Bolsheviks. Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov was born near St Petersburg on 18 May 1868, the eldest son of Tsar Alexander III. When he succeeded his father in 1894, he had very little experience of government. In the same year, Nicholas married Princess Alexandra of Hesse-Darmstadt (a duchy in Germany). They had four daughters and a son, Alexis, who suffered from the disease haemophilia. Alexandra was the dominant personality in their relationship and encouraged the weaker Nicholas's autocratic tendencies. He mistrusted most of his ministers and yet was incapable of carrying out the task of ruling the vast Russian empire alone. Determined that Russia should not be left out in the scramble for colonial possessions, Nicholas encouraged Russian expansion in Manchuria. This provoked war with Japan in 1904. The resulting Russian defeat led to strikes and riots. In January 1905, on 'Bloody Sunday', the army in St Petersburg shot at a crowd demanding radical reforms. Opposition to the tsar grew and Nicholas was forced to grant a constitution and establish a parliament, the Duma. Nicholas's concessions were only limited. Changes were made in the voting laws to prevent the election of radicals and the secret police continued to crush opposition. However, the Duma did give many more people, especially the middle classes, a voice in government. The outbreak of World War One in 1914 temporarily strengthened the monarchy, with Russia allied to France and Britain against Austria-Hungary and Germany. In mid-1915 Nicholas made the disastrous decision to take direct command of the Russian armies. From then on, every military failure was directly associated with him. With Nicholas often away, Alexandra took a more active role in government. Russia was suffering heavy losses in the war, there was high inflation and severe food shortages at home, which compounded the grinding poverty most Russians already endured. German-born Alexandra soon became the focus of discontent, as did her confidante, the mystic, Rasputin, who had been at court since 1905 and had gained great influence through his apparent ability to treat the haemophilia of Alexis, the heir to the throne. In December 1916, Rasputin was murdered by a group of disaffected nobles. Then in February 1917, widespread popular demonstrations began in the capital Petrograd (as St Petersburg was renamed in 1914). Nicholas lost the support of the army and had no alternative but to abdicate. A shaky provisional government was established. The tsar and his family were held in various locations, eventually being imprisoned in Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. In October 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government. Following a harsh peace treaty with Germany in March 1918, Russia descended into civil war. On 17 July 1918, as anti-Bolsheviks approached Yekaterinburg, Nicholas and his family were executed. This was almost certainly on the orders of the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.


What is the capital of the French region of Aquitaine?

Aquitaine regional information and tourist attractions. About-France.com Access     Aquitaine, capital city Bordeaux,   is one of the great historic regions of France; it is also one of the largest and most varied regions of France, stretching from the foothills of the Massif Central in the north, to the Spanish border in the south, a distance of over 300 km. In the Middle Ages, Aquitaine was allied with the Plantagenet kings of England, and the region has many historic connections with the British Isles, notably through the wine trade.     On account of its size, Aquitaine is a very varied region; the northwest part of Aquitaine, comprising the departments of the Dordogne (24) and the Lot et Garonne (47) is made up of gentle hill country, with large areas of vineyards in the lower lying areas, and woodland and mixed farming in the hillier north east. The Dordogne area (click for more details) is famous for its rurality, its gentle valleys and villages, which seem to outsiders to be lost in time, and have become very popular with second-home buyers from the UK and the Netherlands in particular. The area is also famous as one of the oldest centres of known human habitation in Europe, and many prehistoric sites can be found round the area of Lascaux (remarkable caves, a UNESCO world heritage site) and Les Eyzies. Within France, the Dordogne department is more famous for its gastronomic specialities, truffles, foie-gras, walnuts and other mouth-watering delicacies, and is often rerferred to as "le Pï¿½rigord", the area around the departmental capital of Pï¿½rigueux.         The middle band of the region, following the line of the Gironde estuary, is low-lying land, and one of the most famous wine-producing areas in France. Bordeaux, regional capital and capital of the Gironde (33) department, is amagnificent city lying at the lowest bridging point on the Garonne river. it is one of France's great seaports, and its historic wealth is reflected in the many fine buildings of the old city, such as the unique eighteenth-century theatre. North of Bordeaux, to the west of the Gironde estuary, lies the area of Mï¿½doc, the most prestigious of the region's wine-producing areas; other famous vineyard areas can be found all round Bordeaux, and notably along the valley of the Garonne and its tributaries. Sand dunes above the bay of Arcachon The area around the small historic city of St. Emilion is another famous vineyard area. Further inland, the area between Marmande and Agen supports a busy fruit and vegetable industry. On the coast, the resort of Arcachon is very popular, on account of its sheltered anchorage, favoured by yachtsmen, and the proximity of the Dune du Pilat, the highest sand dune in Europe.         The southern part of Aquitaine is made up of two distinct areas, the departments of les Landes (40) and the Pyrï¿½nï¿½es Atlantiques (64). Les Landes is the most heavily forested area of Europe; a low lying area with sandy soil, almost the whole department is covered with pine forests interspersed with small areas of heath and farmland. The forests are popular with nature lovers, ramblers and hunters, and support a major timber industry. Outside the few towns and seaside resorts, the department of les Landes, which until the nineteenth century was renowned as an inhospitable wasteland, is one of the least densely populated areas of France. It is also a department where almost a quarter of all dwellings are second homes. The coastline of les Landes is a long almost unbroken stretch of sandy beach, much of it virtually empty.  Les Landes is part of the historic area of Gascony .         The department of Pyrï¿½nï¿½es Atlantiques (64) is essentially composed of the former province of Bearn and the Basque country. It is a very attractive department, offering everything from  Atlantic surf on the beaches around St Jean de Luz and Biarritz, to good skiing on the slopes high up in the Pyrenees. The foothills of the Pyrenees are a delightful area, benefiting from a very mild climate, and sufficient rainfall to remain green and lusci


Which British Prime Minister died in office in 1827?

George Canning - British Prime Minister (1827) lived in Hinckley and Burbage Contact George Canning (1770-1827) George Canning’s life would see him fatherless when he was 1 year old, shooting a pistol in a duel, an affair with the King’s wife and becoming the British Prime Minister. George Canning (1770-1827) 11th April 1770 George Canning was born into an Anglo-Irish family at his parents’ home in Queen Anne Street, Marylebone, London. 11th April 1771 George’s farther George Sr died after abandoning the family and died in poverty due to his substantial debts as a failed wine merchant and lawyer. George’s mother Mary-Anne (nee Costello) took work as a stage actress, a profession that was not considered respectable at the time. George grew up with his cousins at the home of his uncle, who provided him with an income and an education at Hyde Abbey School and Eton College. 1787 He came out top of the school at Eton and left at the age of 17 years old, George would go on to Christ Church, Oxford University. 1789 George won a prize for his Latin poem ‘The Pilgrimage to Mecca’ which he recited in Oxford Theatre. 1791 George began practicing law after receiving his BA from Oxford University. George has an interest in British politics and joined the Whig party. His impoverished background and limited financial resources made unlikely a bright political future in the Whig party, whose political ranks were led mostly by members of the wealthy landed aristocracy in league with the newly rich industrialist classes. George would become considerably more Conservative after witnessing the excessive radicalism during the French Revolution. 1793 With the help of William Pitt, George became a member of parliament for Newtown on the Isle of Wight. 1796 George changed seats to Wendover in Buckinghamshire. George rose quickly in British politics, his speeches and essays in Parliament gave the followers of William Pitt a rhetorical power they had previously lacked. Over time George became a prominent public speaker and became one of the first politicians to campaign heavily in the country. Due to his charisma and promise, he gained a circle of supporters who would become known as the Canningites. 2nd November 1795 George got his first ministerial post as the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He would later resign this post at the Foreign Office on 1st April 1799. George got involved in the founding of the Anti-Jacobin, which was a newspaper that gave support to the government, much of the content was written by George. The Newspaper was short lived; it ran from 20th November 1797 to 9th July 1798. 1799 He become a Commissioner of the Board of Control for India. 1800 George was appointed Paymaster of the Forces and therefore to the Privy Council as well. 8th July 1800 George gets married to Joan Scott at St George's (Anglican church), Hanover Square in London. The witnesses were John Hookham Frere (English diplomat and author) and William Pitt the Younger (British Prime Minister 1783-1801). February 1801 Due to King George III’s opposition to Catholic Emancipation, William Pitt resigned as Prime Minister. Despite Pitt’s advice to stay in office, George loyally followed him into opposition. He would write ‘I resign because Pitt resigns and that is all’. 1801 George’s son ‘George Charles Canning’ was born. 27th May 1802 George requested in the House of Commons that all grants of land in Trinidad that was captured by Britain from Spain should be rejected until Parliament had decided what to do with the Island. There was a concern that the Island would be populated by slaves (like other West Indian islands). George suggested that it should be a military post and attract ex-soldiers. He also wanted to free the slaves and have better methods to cultivate the land. Henry Addington who was the new Prime Minister (he would be succeeded by William Pitt on 10th May 1804) acceded to Canning's demands, the Reverend William Leigh believed George had saved 750,000 lives. 1802 George’s 2nd son ‘William Pitt Canning’ was born (died from drowning i


Shropshire Walking Routes - with Walking maps Attingham Park 5 miles (8 km) A circular walk around this lovely deer park in Shrewsbury. The walk includes woodland sections, the beautiful Walled Garden and a riverside stretch along the River Tern which runs through the park. The garden boasts a 3 acre orchard, with over 150 apple trees with displays of bulbs and annual cut flowers also. The splendid 18th-century mansion has a picture Gallery and an elegant Dining Room. Bishop's Castle Ring 61 miles (98 km) This walk encircles the historic market town of Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire. The walk first heads to Clun with it’s Norman castle, church and interesting houses. You continue to Aston-on-Clun and then to the spectacular Long Mynd (video below). This heathland plateau forms part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is owned by the National Trust . The views are spectacular, making this section one of the walk highlights. The next section takes you to the rocky Stiperstones and The Bog lead mines, which are of great historical interest. The final section runs through Stapely Common to the ancient stones of Mitchell’s Fold before heading through Saddlers Little Wood and returning to Bishop’s Castle. The walk is waymarked with a green and yellow disc. Bishop Bennet Way 32 miles (52 km) The Bishop Bennet Way is a shared walking and cycling path running from Beeston in Cheshire to Wirswall on the Shropshire borders. The route starts at the 13th century Beeston Castle and proceeds through Milton Green, Churton and Shocklach where you will pass the Grade I listed Norman church. You continue to Grindley Brook where you cross the Shropshire Union Canal shortly before finishing at Wirswall near Whitchurch. For cyclists please note that a mountain bike is required for this route as there are some fairly rugged off road sections. Brown Moss Nature Reserve 1 miles (2 km) Enjoy a series of walking trails in this delightful nature reserve near Whitchurch. The site is 77 acres and includes marshes, pools, heathland and woodland. It's great for bird watching with woodpeckers, jays, Canada goose,�mallard�and�great crested grebe regular visitors. Look out for froglets, dragonflies�and great crested newts around the wetland areas. Caer Caradoc 9 miles (14 km) Climb to the 1500 ft (459 m) summit of this distinctive hill in the Shropshire Hills AONB. The walk starts at Church Stretton, near the train station, and takes you to the Caer Caradoc summit where you will find an ancient hill fort. There are fabulous views of The Wrekin , Long Mynd , Carding Mill Valley , Wenlock Edge , the hills of North Wales and the Brecon Beacons. The walk then descends towards Comley and continues to the pretty village of Cardington. From here you return to Church Stretton via Willstone Hill, passing Hope Bowdler Hill on the way. If you'd like to continue your walking in the area then the beautiful Carding Mill Valley and Long Mynd are nearby. Carding Mill Valley 3 miles (5 km) Visit a lovely reservoir and waterfall on this short walk in the Shropshire Hills AONB. The walk starts at the National Trust's Carding Mill Valley visitor centre and car park in Church Stretton. You begin by following a pretty stream uphill on a good stony path before bearing left on New Pool Hollow to visit the pretty reservoir. You'll pass mill pools and the 2500 year old Bodbury Ring hill fort on the way. The walk then continues uphill to Lightspot Hollow where you will find a waterfall in a beautiful V-shaped valley lined with�bilberry, bracken and heather. You can look out for trout in the pools and stonechats, buzzards and red kites�in the air. If you'd like to continue your walk you could head to the high point of the Long Mynd at Pole Bank. You could also climb the nearby Caer Caradoc for more fabulous views. The Shropshire Way and the Jack Mytton Way also pass through the area so you could pick these up easily too. �and Brown Clee Hill �on this challenging walk in the Shropshire Hills AONB. Titterstone Clee stands at a height of 1,749 feet (533�m)


What is the full first name of the detective character known as Harry Bosch in American author Michael Connelly’s crime novels set in Los Angeles?

Michael Connelly (Creator) - TV Tropes Michael Connelly You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share YMMV Michael Connelly (born July 21, 1956, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. His books, which have been translated into 35 languages, have garnered him every major award in his genre, such as the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, etc. Connelly was the President of the Mystery Writers of America from 2003 to 2004. His style does not usually involve researching for his books; he says that he prefers to just write, focusing more on his characters than the surroundings. His books often reflect on events happening in the world, like the 9/11 bombings and the beating of Rodney King. Most of the events in Harry Bosch's life in his novels are loosely based on events he himself was witnessing or undergoing. Connelly's second most-used protagonist is ethically dubious defense lawyer Mickey Haller , who has appeared as the protagonist in five Connelly novels. Other POV characters besides Harry Bosch include Los Angeles Times crime reporter Jack McEvoy and FBI profiler Terry McCaleb. Characters in one series pop up in other series quite frequently, as shown below. All of his books are partly or wholly set in Los Angeles , to the extent that the series as a whole is a pretty good guided tour of the city. The films Blood Work and The Lincoln Lawyer are based on his novels. A series titled Bosch , based on the Harry Bosch character with Titus Welliver as Bosch, debuted on Amazon in 2014. Books published by Michael Connelly (in chronological order, arranged by main character): Echo Park - Also features Rachel Walling. A serial killer featured in this book was described as a former client of Mickey Haller. The Overlook - Also features Rachel Walling. The Crossing - Also features Mickey Haller. The Wrong Side of Goodbye - Also features Mickey Haller. The Gods of Guilt - With a cameo by Harry Bosch Other Novels Void Moon - Features Cassie Black. Chasing The Dime - Features Henry Pierce. The Scarecrow - Features Rachel Walling and Jack McEvoy. Suicide Run - Short story collection featuring Harry Bosch ("Suicide Run", "Cielo Azul", "One Dollar Jackpot") Angle of Investigation - Short story collection featuring Harry Bosch ("Christmas Even", "Father's Day", "Angle of Investigation") Mulholland Dive - Short story collection ("Cahoots", "Mulholland Dive", "Two Bagger") Miscellaneous short stories: "Switchblade", "Red Eye", "A Fine Mist of Blood" (all featuring Harry Bosch), "The Safe Man" This author's other novels include examples of: Call Forward : Short story "Cahoots", being set in 1932, included this exchange. ï¿½Where do you want to go?ï¿½ ï¿½Las Vegas.ï¿½ ï¿½Where the hell is that?ï¿½ ï¿½Nevada.ï¿½ ï¿½Thereï¿½s nothing there but sand.ï¿½ Continuity Nod : Chasing the Dime could have been a stand-alone novel, with its protagonist Henry Pierce being a computer software entrepreneur who does not pop up in any other Connelly book. But just to make clear that it was in the same universe, Connelly makes Pierce's dead sister a victim of The Dollmaker (a serial killer that Harry Bosch investigated and killed), and takes the prosecuting attorney from Angels Flight and makes her Pierce's lawyer. Hoist by His Own Petard : In short story "Mulholland Dive", a bad guy kills his target by letting loose a coyote that causes the target to veer right off Mullholland Drive. As he's driving away from the scene, the bad guy sees a coyote on Mulholland Drive and goes veering off the cliff. The Internet Is for Porn : Chasing the Dime, in which software designer Henry Pierce gets fixated on an Internet call girl and winds up in a lot of trouble. In the Style of... : Short story "The Safe Man" is a ghost story that deliberately invokes the style of Edgar Allan Poe . Intrepid Reporter : Jack McEvoy, who tends to get hunted by murderers due to his diligence


Who painted Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in 1907?

Culture Shock: Flashpoints: Visual Arts: Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon text version   Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso,1907, painting, oil on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New York City. Photo © CORBIS / Burstein Collection, Painting © 2000 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon 1907 With Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso offends the Paris art scene in 1907. Showing his eight-foot-square canvas to a group of painters, patrons, and art critics at his studio, Picasso meets with almost unanimous shock, distaste, and outrage. The painter Matisse is angered by the work, which he considers a hoax, an attempt to paint the fourth dimension. "It was the ugliness of the faces that froze with horror the half-converted," the critic Salmon writes later. The painter Derain comments wryly, "One day we shall find Pablo has hanged himself behind his great canvas." In the months leading up to the painting's creation, Picasso struggles with the subject -- five women in a brothel. He creates more than 100 sketches and preliminary paintings, wrestling with the problem of depicting three-dimensional space in a two-dimensional picture plane. The original composition includes two men -- a patron surrounded by the women, and a medical student holding a skull, perhaps symbolizing that "the wages of sin are death." In the final composition, the patron is gone and the medical student -- who has been called a stand-in for the painter himself -- has become a fifth woman with a primitive mask, holding back the crimson curtain to reveal her "sisters." The painting is described as a battleground, with the remains of the battle left on the canvas. The Iberian women in the center of the canvas clash with the hideously masked creatures standing and squatting on the right. In creating Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Picasso turns his back on middle-class society and the traditional values of the time, opting for the sexual freedom depicted in a brothel. He also rejects popular current movements in painting by choosing line drawing rather than the color- and light-defined forms of Impressionism and the Fauves. The painter's private demons take shape in the figures on the canvas. Picasso later calls Les Demoiselles d'Avignon "my first exorcism painting." He likens the act of painting to that of creating fetishes, or weapons: "If we give spirits a form, we become independent." The originality of Picasso's vision and execution in Les Demoiselles d'Avignon help plant the seeds for cubism, the widely acclaimed and revolutionary art movement that he and painter Georges Braque develop in years to come. After its initial showing, the painting remains largely unseen for 39 years. It is shown at the Galerie d'Antin in Paris in 1916, then lies rolled up in Picasso's studio until it is bought in the early 1920s by Jacques Doucet, sight unseen. It is reproduced in the publication La Revolution Surrealiste in 1925, but remains relatively unknown until 1937, when it is shown at the Petit Palais in Paris. The Museum of Modern Art in New York buys it soon afterwards, and in later years it becomes a prized part of the collection.


Tony Hadley was the lead singer with which UK chart-topping group in the 1980s?

Tony Hadley - Biography - IMDb Tony Hadley Biography Showing all 34 items Jump to: Overview  (3) | Mini Bio  (1) | Spouse  (2) | Trade Mark  (2) | Trivia  (13) | Personal Quotes  (13) Overview (3) 6' 4" (1.93 m) Mini Bio (1) Tony Hadley was born in Islington on 2nd June 1960. He went to school with his future bandmates Gary Kemp, John Keeble, Steve Norman, Richard Miller and Martin Kemp. In 1978 the Makers where formed. Hadley became the lead singer of that group. When Richard Miller left on bass he was replaced by Martin Kemp. Then in 1979 the Makers were renamed Spandau Ballet. Spandau Ballet achieved major success in the 1980's with hits such as To Cut A Long Story Short (1980), Chant No.1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) (1981), True (1983), Only When You Leave (1984) and Through The Barricades (1986). The band were together until 1990, when each member pursued acting careers and other musical directions. In 1992 Tony Hadley signed a solo deal, but unfortunately would never live up to the success he had achieved with Spandau in the '80's. In 1999 Tony, John Keeble and Steve Norman lost a £1,000,000 royalty battle with Gary Kemp. For many years Tony did not speak to Gary, but by 2008 they had made up their differences, and then in 2009 Spandau Ballet finally reformed, and went on a world tour. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Richard Baker Spouse (2) Powerful, smooth and soulful voice Trivia (13) Was the lead singer and synthesizer player of Spandau Ballet. Has 3 children with his ex-wife, Leonie Lawson: Sons, Thomas Hadley (born 1989) and MacKenzie Hadley (born 1992), and daughter, Toni Hadley (born 1996). Hadley's band, Spandau Ballet, had one UK number one single, 'True', which topped the chart for four weeks in 1983. He has performed with the SAS ( Spike Edney 's All Stars) Band. He was a member of Band Aid (1984). Winner of "Reborn in the USA", beating Michelle Gayle in the final in London, UK. [April 2003] His favorite albums are "A Night at the Opera" by Queen , "Give 'Em Enough Rope" by The Clash , "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John , "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" by David Bowie , "Abandoned Luncheonette" by Daryl Hall and John Oates and "Songs for Swingin' Lovers!" by Frank Sinatra . Has a daughter, Zara Katie Hadley (born December 21, 2006), with his wife, Alison Evers. He considers "Through the Barricades" to be Spandau Ballet's best song. DJ on the UK's Virgin Radio playing from 7pm to 10pm on a Friday night for the UK's Party Classics show. [November 2007] Competing in the TV talent contest "Reborn in the USA" [March 2003] Nickname Tony 'foghorn' Hadley. Is an active & devoted supporter of the conservative party. Personal Quotes (13) To be a pop star you've got to want it so badly that there will be nights where you'll just sob in bed over the disappointment. I always loved Duran Duran. Especially after what's happened with Spandau Ballet since, I wish I had joined them in the first place. For me, everything about being a singer was about rebellion. The idea was to shock the establishment - you didn't want your parents to like the same music as you. That would have been a nightmare! I don't really care what people think any more. I do whatever I want to do now and I have the freedom to do it. I have been shafted again and again and I have learned the hard way with a lot of heartache and a lot of financial cost, too. In the beginning, my grandad refused to sit on the same carriage as me on the train, and I quite liked that really. That was what it was all about. But even by 1983 it was all coming to an end. We wore nice clothes and people were hoping I would marry their daughters. I was touring Australia with Spandau Ballet and heard that Queen were playing at a big open-air festival in New Zealand. I flew over and got invited to the sound check. It was very Spinal Tap - a crazy entourage and different colored Smarties all separated out in dishes. Freddie Mercury asked if I wanted a drink. We ended up polishing off a bottle of Stolichnaya at the bar. Then he said he had a


Who played the character Andy Dufresne, a banker wrongly convicted of murdering his wife in the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption?

Andy Dufresne | Stephen King Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Share Dufresne in the film adaptation. Andrew "Andy" Dufresne is a wrongfully accused prisoner and the main protagonist in Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption , as well as its film adaptation, where he was played by Tim Robbins. Andy is portrayed as intelligent, quiet and very honest, although very witty and personable when he wants to be. This is a great contrast to the other inmates, who are hardened criminals.  Character Biography Andy was a young, successful banker who was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover  based on circumstantial evidence. Andy was incarcerated at Shawshank Prison in 1948, where he wore the prisoner number 81433-SHNK. Like almost everyone else in Shawshank, Dufresne insists on his innocence, and nobody believes him. As a free man, Andy had been a rock-hound, and now he has immense amounts of free time on his hands, so he asks a fellow inmate who can smuggle contraband into the prison named Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding to get him a rock hammer, a tool he uses to shape the rocks he finds in the exercise yard into small sculptures like chess pieces. The next item he orders from Red is a large poster of Rita Hayworth. When taking the order, Red reflects that Andy is, quite uncharacteristically, excited like a teenager about the poster, but does not think more of it at the time. One spring day, Andy and Red and some other prisoners are tarring the roof of the prison license plate factory when Andy overhears a particularly nasty and sadistic guard named Byron Hadley griping over the amount of tax he will have to pay inheritance from his estranged brother. Andy approaches Byron, almost getting thrown off the roof in the process, and tells him that he can legally shelter the money from taxation by giving it to his wife. Andy offers to help the guard to prepare the necessary paperwork for the transaction, in exchange for some beer for the other prisoners on the roof. Hadley agrees and Andy later begins doing taxes at no charge for the entire prison staff, later being moved out of the laundry by the warden himself . Andy would later be forced by the warden to handle his money laundering from cash illegally skimmed off the top of community service projects. Andy created a false identity for the money to be traced back to and was involved in a number of projects at the prison, including making the Brooks Hatlen Memorial Library. Andy became friends with most of the inmates, although Red always remained his closest friend. Andy would later take a pupil named Tommy Williams under his wing so he could get his GED. However, when Tommy revealed that he knew who really murdered Andy's wife, he tried to testify on Andy's behalf, only to be murdered by the warden's head guard, Byron Hadley, so Andy wouldn't tell about the corruption the warden was involved with. Andy then decided to make a daring escape he was planning, where he escaped in a small hole he had been digging over the course of twenty years with his small rock hammer. He exposed the warden's corruption, and shortly afterward, the warden committed suicide to avoid being locked up in the prison with a bunch of angry convicts. Andy escaped to a small town in Mexico called Zihuatenejo, where he started a hotel business and began the process of fixing up an old boat. As soon as Red was paroled, he gave Red instructions and money on how to get to him, and the two lifelong friends embraced. Andy's work assignment is shifted from the laundry to the prison's small library, then under the stewardship of Brooks Hatlen . When Brooks is paroled, Andy takes charge of the library and starts to send applications to the Maine state Senate for money for books. For a long time he gets no response to his weekly letters until the Senate finally relents, thinking Andy will stop requesting funds. Instead of ceasing his letter writing, he starts writing twice as often. His diligent work results in a major expansion of the library's collection, and he also helps a number of prisoners earn equivalence di


Who in 1807 & 1808 was the first to discover and isolate the metals sodium, potassium and calcium?

Calcium, Chemical Element - structure, reaction, water, uses, elements, examples, metal, gas CAL-cee-um Discovery and naming It is impossible to say when humans first knew about or used compounds of    calcium. Whenever they used limestone to build a structure, they were    using a compound of calcium. Limestone is     the common name for calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ). Whenever humans built a statue or monument out of marble, they were    using calcium carbonate in another form. Ancient Egyptians and early    Greeks used mortar, a cement-like material that holds stones and bricks    together. Early mortar was made by roasting or heating limestone for long    periods of time. Water was then mixed with the powder, which would then    dry to form a strong bond. Humphry Davy | English chemist H umphry Davy (1788-1829) was a major contributor to the field of     electrochemistry. This is the science involving the relation of     electricity to chemical changes. He is best known for discovering     calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, strontium, and barium. He also     discovered nitrous oxide and two types of lamps. Davy grew up in Cornwall, England, in a poor family. His father, who     died when Davy was a boy, had lost money in unwise investments, so Davy     helped his mother pay off the debts. He disliked being a student, though     he liked reading about science. In later life, he said he was happy he     did not study too hard because he had more time to think on his own. With no money for further education, the 17-year-old Davy began to work     for a surgeon-pharmacist. He also started learning on his own about     other subjects that interested him, such as geography, languages, and     philosophy. He even wrote poems that later earned him the respect and     friendship of William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, and other leading     English poets of his time! At 19, Davy read a chemistry book by the famous French scientist     Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-94). That book convinced him to     concentrate on chemistry. For the rest of his life, Davy's career     was marked by brilliant scientific explorations in chemistry and     electrochemistry. Davy discovered nitrous oxide after testing the effects of hydrogen and     carbon dioxide on himself. (He liked to use himself as a human guinea     pig!) Nitrous oxide is a gas consisting of nitrogen and oxygen. While     studying nitrous oxide gas, he discovered that its effects often made     him feel very happy or very sad. The feeling of happiness eventually     gave nitrous oxide another name: laughing gas. Most importantly, though,     Davy recognized that it could be used as an anesthetic. An anesthetic is     a chemical used to dull pain during minor surgery. In 1808, Davy invented the carbon arc lamp. He had proposed using carbon     as the electrode material instead of metal. (Electrodes are conductors     used to establish electrical contact with a nonmetallic part of a     circuit.) With carbon electrodes, he made a strong electric current leap     from one electrode to the other. This created an intense white light.     Davy's invention marked the beginning of the era of electric     light. Arc lamps are still used today. Using his knowledge of electricity, Davy built a large battery which he     used to break down substances most scientists thought were pure     elements. In 1807, he discovered the element potassium. He created this     by using electrolysis. Electrolysis produces chemical changes by passage     of an electric current through an electrolyte. An electrolyte is a     nonmetallic electric conductor. Within a week he isolated sodium in a     similar way. Then in 1808, he used a slightly modified method to isolate     calcium, magnesium, barium, and strontium. Davy was only 29 by the time     he had discovered all of these elements! Davy later invented the miner's lamp (n


Who is Secretary of State for International Development – she was previously Secretary of State for Transport?

Reshuffle: New ministers for international development - News stories - GOV.UK Reshuffle: New ministers for international development From: Overseas aid effectiveness This news article was published under    the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government Rt Hon Justine Greening MP and Lynne Featherstone MP have been appointed as new ministers for international development The Prime Minister has appointed Rt Hon Justine Greening MP as Secretary of State for International Development and Lynne Featherstone MP as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. Alan Duncan remains in his post as Minister of State. The Rt Hon Justine Greening MP was appointed by the Prime Minister as Secretary of State for International Development yesterday. On arriving at DFID Greening said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed International Development Secretary to lead the Government’s work to promote development around the world. This Government has radically overhauled the way in which British taxpayers’ money is spent helping the world’s poorest people, making it more transparent, focused and better value for money. But there is no doubt more we can do.  Britain is playing a leading role in shaping the international agenda beyond the Millennium Development Goals. I am proud to have the opportunity to play a key part in this vital work and I look forward to continuing the strong working relationships that my predecessor Andrew Mitchell established with DFID’s partners in the international development community.” The Rt Hon Justine Greening is MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields. Born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Justine attended her local comprehensive school before studying economics at Southampton University. She has an MBA from the London Business School and was a Finance Manager at Centrica plc before being elected as the Member of Parliament in May 2005. Following her election Justine was appointed as a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, with responsibility for youth. As well as previously being a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, in 2007 Justine became a Shadow Treasury Minister and in January 2009 became the Shadow Minister for London. Justine was Economic Secretary to the Treasury from May 2010 to October 2011 and most recently was the Secretary of State for Transport. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - Lynne Featherstone MP Lynne Featherstone is MP for Hornsey and Wood Green. Today she was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development. Previously, she served as Home Office Minister for Equalities and Criminal Information. Featherstone served as the Liberal Democrat’s international development spokesperson in 2006, before moving on to be their youth and equalities spokesperson in 2007.  Prior to that, she was elected to Haringey Council in 1998 (a position she held until 2006), and in 2000, she was elected to the London Assembly, where she chaired the transport committee and served on the health and standards committees and the Metropolitan Police Authority. Before becoming involved in politics, Lynne ran her own design company, and was a strategic design consultant. In her spare time, she has volunteered in the Royal Free Hospital. Share this page


Who led the British forces at the Battle of Assaye in 1803 in the 2nd Anglo-Maratha War in India?

Battle of Assaye | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Bharatpur The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company. It occurred on 23 September 1803 near Assaye in western India where an outnumbered Indian and British force under the command of Major General Arthur Wellesley (who later became the Duke of Wellington) defeated a combined Confederacy army of Daulat Scindia and the Raja of Berar . The battle was the Duke of Wellington's first major victory and one he later described as his finest accomplishment on the battlefield. From August 1803, Wellesley's army and a separate force under the command of his subordinate Colonel James Stevenson had been pursuing the Maratha cavalry -based army which threatened to raid south into Hyderabad. After several weeks of pursuit and countermarching, Scindia reinforced the combined Maratha army with his Europeanised infantry and artillery as the British forces closed in on his position. Wellesley received intelligence indicating the location of the Maratha encampment on 21 September and devised a plan whereby his two armies would converge on the Maratha position three days later. Wellesley's force, however, encountered the Maratha army – which was under the command of Colonel Anthony Pohlmann , a German formerly in British service – Script error farther south than he anticipated. Although outnumbered, Wellesley resolved to attack at once, believing that the Maratha army would soon move off. Both sides suffered heavily in the ensuing battle; Maratha artillery caused large numbers of casualties among Wellesley's troops but the vast numbers of Maratha cavalry proved largely ineffective. A combination of bayonet and cavalry charges eventually forced the Maratha army to retreat with the loss of most of their guns, but Wellesley's army was too battered and exhausted to pursue. Wellesley's victory at Assaye, preceded by the capture of Ahmednagar and followed by victories at Argaon and Gawilghur , resulted in the defeat of Scindia and Berar's armies in the Deccan. Wellesley's progress in the Deccan was matched by Lieutenant General Gerard Lake 's successful campaigns in Northern India and led to the British becoming the dominant power in the heartlands of India. Contents Main article: Second Anglo-Maratha War Lord Mornington , the Governor-General of British India between 1798 and 1805, oversaw a rapid expansion of British territory in India. Feuding between the two dominant powers within the Maratha Confederacy , Yashwant Rao Holkar and Daulat Rao Scindia , led to civil war at the turn of the 19th century. [1] The hostilities culminated in the Battle of Poona in October 1802 where Holkar defeated a combined army of Scindia and Baji Rao II – the Peshwa and nominal overlord of the Confederacy. Scindia retreated into his dominions to the north, but Baji Rao was driven from his territory and sought refuge with the East India Company at Bassein . He appealed to the Company for assistance, offering to accept its authority if he were restored to his principality at Poona. [2] Lord Mornington , the ambitious Governor-General of British India, seized on the opportunity to extend Company influence into the Confederacy which he perceived as the final obstacle to British paramountcy over the Indian subcontinent. [3] The Treaty of Bassein was signed in December 1802 whereby the Company agreed to restore Baji Rao in return for control over his foreign affairs and a garrison of 6,000 Company troops permanently stationed in Poona. [4] The restoration was commanded by Lord Mornington’s younger brother, Major General Arthur Wellesley , who in March 1803 marched on Poona from Mysore with 15,000 Company troops and 9,000 Hyderabad allies. [4] Wellesley entered Poona without opposition on 20 April, and Baji Rao was formally restored to his throne on 13 May. [5] [6] The treaty gave offence to the other Maratha leaders, who deemed that the system of subsidiary alliances with the British was an unwarranted interferen


Which river rises in south Poland and empties into the Baltic Sea at Gdansk?

Poland - Geography Geography Poland Table of Contents Generally speaking, Poland is an unbroken plain reaching from the     Baltic Sea in the north to the Carpathian Mountains in the south. Within     that plain, terrain variations generally run in bands from east to west.     The Baltic coast lacks natural harbors except for the Gdansk-Gdynia     region and Szczecin in the far northwest. The northeastern region,     called the Lake District, is sparsely populated and lacks agricultural     and industrial resources. To the south and west of the lake district, a     vast region of plains extends to the Sudeten (Sidetu) Mountains on the     Czech and Slovak borders to the southwest and to the Carpathians on the     Czech, Slovak, and Ukrainian borders to the southeast. The country     extends 649 kilometers from north to south and 689 kilometers from east     to west. Poland's total area is 312,683 square kilometers, including     inland waters--a slightly smaller area than that of New Mexico. The     neighboring countries are Germany to the west, the Czech and Slovak     Federative Republic the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and     Lithuania and the Russian province of Kaliningrad to the northeast. The average elevation of Poland is 173 meters, and only 3 percent of     Polish territory, along the southern border, is higher than 500 meters.     The highest elevation is Mount Rysy, which rises 2,499 meters in the     Tatra Range of the Carpathians, 95 kilometers south of Krak�w. About 60     square kilometers along the Gulf of Gdansk are below sea level. Poland     is traditionally divided into five topographic zones from north to     south. The largest, the central lowlands, is narrow in the west, then     expands to the north and south as it extends eastward. Along the eastern     border, this zone reaches from the far northeast to within 200     kilometers of the southern border. The terrain in the central lowlands     is quite flat, and earlier glacial lakes have been filled by sediment.     The region is cut by several major rivers, including the Oder (Odra),     which defines the Silesian Lowlands in the southwest, and the Vistula     (Wisla), which defines the lowland areas of east-central Poland. To the south of the lowlands are the lesser Poland uplands, a belt     varying in width from ninety to 200 kilometers, formed by the gently     sloping foothills of the Sudeten and Carpathian mountain ranges and the     uplands that connect the ranges in southcentral Poland. The topography     of this region is divided transversely into higher and lower elevations,     reflecting its underlying geological structure. In the western section,     the Silesia-Krak�w Upthrust contains rich coal deposits. The third topographic area is located on either side of Poland's     southern border and is formed by the Sudeten and Carpathian ranges.     Within Poland, neither of these ranges is forbidding enough to prevent     substantial habitation; the Carpathians are especially densely     populated. The rugged form of the Sudeten range derives from the     geological shifts that formed the later Carpathian uplift. The highest     elevation in the Sudeten is 1,602 meters, in the Karkonosze Mountains.     The Carpathians in Poland, formed as a discrete topographical unit in     the relatively recent Tertiary Era, are the highest and most picturesque     mountains in the country. They are the northernmost edge of a much     larger range that extends into Czechsolvakia, Ukraine, Hungary, and     Romania. Within Poland the range includes two major basins, the Oswiecim     (Auschwitz) and Sandomierz, which are rich in several minerals and     natural gas. To the north of the central lowlands, the lake region includes the     only primeval forests remaining in Europe and much of Poland's shrinking     unspoiled natural habitat. Glacial act


John Proctor and Abigail Williams are characters in which play by Arthur Miller?

SparkNotes: The Crucible: Analysis of Major Characters Analysis of Major Characters Themes, Motifs & Symbols John Proctor In a sense, The Crucible has the structure of a classical tragedy, with John Proctor as the play’s tragic hero. Honest, upright, and blunt-spoken, Proctor is a good man, but one with a secret, fatal flaw. His lust for Abigail Williams led to their affair (which occurs before the play begins), and created Abigail’s jealousy of his wife, Elizabeth, which sets the entire witch hysteria in motion. Once the trials begin, Proctor realizes that he can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem but only if he confesses to his adultery. Such an admission would ruin his good name, and Proctor is, above all, a proud man who places great emphasis on his reputation. He eventually makes an attempt, through Mary Warren’s testimony, to name Abigail as a fraud without revealing the crucial information. When this attempt fails, he finally bursts out with a confession, calling Abigail a “whore” and proclaiming his guilt publicly. Only then does he realize that it is too late, that matters have gone too far, and that not even the truth can break the powerful frenzy that he has allowed Abigail to whip up. Proctor’s confession succeeds only in leading to his arrest and conviction as a witch, and though he lambastes the court and its proceedings, he is also aware of his terrible role in allowing this fervor to grow unchecked. Proctor redeems himself and provides a final denunciation of the witch trials in his final act. Offered the opportunity to make a public confession of his guilt and live, he almost succumbs, even signing a written confession. His immense pride and fear of public opinion compelled him to withhold his adultery from the court, but by the end of the play he is more concerned with his personal integrity than his public reputation. He still wants to save his name, but for personal and religious, rather than public, reasons. Proctor’s refusal to provide a false confession is a true religious and personal stand. Such a confession would dishonor his fellow prisoners, who are brave enough to die as testimony to the truth. Perhaps more relevantly, a false admission would also dishonor him, staining not just his public reputation, but also his soul. By refusing to give up his personal integrity Proctor implicitly proclaims his conviction that such integrity will bring him to heaven. He goes to the gallows redeemed for his earlier sins. As Elizabeth says to end the play, responding to Hale’s plea that she convince Proctor to publicly confess: “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” Abigail Williams Of the major characters, Abigail is the least complex. She is clearly the villain of the play, more so than Parris or Danforth: she tells lies, manipulates her friends and the entire town, and eventually sends nineteen innocent people to their deaths. Throughout the hysteria, Abigail’s motivations never seem more complex than simple jealousy and a desire to have revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. The language of the play is almost biblical, and Abigail seems like a biblical character—a Jezebel figure, driven only by sexual desire and a lust for power. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out a few background details that, though they don’t mitigate Abigail’s guilt, make her actions more understandable. Abigail is an orphan and an unmarried girl; she thus occupies a low rung on the Puritan Salem social ladder (the only people below her are the slaves, like Tituba, and social outcasts). For young girls in Salem, the minister and the other male adults are God’s earthly representatives, their authority derived from on high. The trials, then, in which the girls are allowed to act as though they have a direct connection to God, empower the previously powerless Abigail. Once shunned and scorned by the respectable townsfolk who had heard rumors of her affair with John Proctor, Abigail now finds that she has clout, and she takes full advantage of it. A mere accusation from one of Abigail’s troop is enough to incarcerate and


Which Swiss sculptor appears with his creation L’Homme Qui Marche I on the 100 Swiss Franc note?

Alberto Giacometti Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline Painters Alberto Giacometti Biography Alberto Giacometti was a prominent painter and sculptor of Swiss origin. This biography of Alberto Giacometti provides detailed information about his childhood, achievements, life & timeline. Quick Facts Annette Arm Image Credit http://theredlist.com/wiki-2-24-525-970-1070-view-1950s-6-profile-alberto-giacometti.html Alberto Giacometti was a popular Swiss artist and surrealist sculptor. He was son of a non-impressionist painter - it is no wonder Giacometti came up with many groundbreaking concepts in arts and sculpture. He experimented with cubism and surrealism as a student of Antoine Bourdelle. His name was associated with the Existentialist movement. His creation of Slaughtered Woman is considered as a violent surrealist work. Through âThe Palace at 4 a. mâ, he created an open cage like structure. His art is renowned for comprising mainly of human forms that are stretched out with elongated limps. His creation of haunting and anguished images serves as ideal expressions of existentialist pessimism. The themes of his later works were of three types - the seated portrait, the walking man and the standing female nude. He enriched the field of modern sculpture with his creation of imagery and his innovative plastic technique. For his outstanding contribution in the field of sculpture, he received the grand prize for sculpture at the Venice Biennale. âParis sans finâ is a sequence of 150 lithographs in the form of a book, which is his last work. It contains his valuable memories of all the places where he had lived. Childhood & Early Life Born in Borgonovo, which is presently a part of the Swiss municipality of Stampa, near the Italian border, Alberto Giacometti was the son of neo-impressionist painter Giovanni Giacometti. He attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts for art studies. In 1919, he took admission at the Ecole des Arts Industriels in Geneva. After three years, he went to Paris to attend sculpting class of Antoine Bourdelle at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere Career In 1925, he started his first studio with his brother in Paris. His sculpting style was lavish and spacious. During this period of time, he developed an interest towards the surrealist movement. In 1927, he displayed his first surrealist sculptures at the Salon des Tuileries. At that time, he came in contact with artists like Picasso, Arp, Miro and Ernst. He also met with renowned writers like Prevert, Aragon and Queneau. From 1935 to 1940, he remained busy on the study of human head for which he used to focus on the sitterâs gaze. For this purpose, he used his sister and the artist Isabel Rawsthorne as his models. In some of his sculptures, his statues of Isabel are stretched out as her limbs are elongated. Sometimes, he used to create statues as thin as nails. The figures that he drew during this time were smaller. Sometimes, their size was not bigger than just a few centimeters. Along with his brother, he used to earn by making designs for lamps and furniture for the Parisian interior architect Jean-Michel Frank. In 1948, the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York organized his first one-man show. In this exhibition, he presented the skinny figures that he created. The show received huge success. From 1958 to 1965, he created a series of 150 lithographs titled Paris sans fin. His painting works consisted of a number of portraits of his brother, his wife and friends, some still lives, landscapes and studio pictures. In 1958, he was entrusted with the responsibility to create a monumental sculpture for the Chase Manhattan Bank building in New York. For this project, he created four figures of standing women and he named this creation âGrande femme debout I through IVâ. In 1959, British arts review âX magazineâ published his article âThe Dream, the Sphinx, and the Death of Tâ. The magazine also published some of his drawings. Later, he exhibited his works through a number of exhibitions across Europe. In 1965, he went to the US for


The Resurrection is a symphony by which composer?

Read More > Close > Notes On the Piece Gustav Mahler was one of 14 children born in an abusive, loveless household. Some biographers suggest that he suffered from a traumatic upbringing; all of them note that in 1910, he had a session with psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who suggested that the strange, almost grotesque references to popular songs and dances in Mahler’s symphonies might have something to do with his upbringing. We definitively know, however, that Mahler broke from the norms of conventional four-movement symphonic composition by including folksong borrowings, unusual instruments, radically dissonant harmonies, and solo as well as choral singing. He opened up the boundaries of sonata form—the three-part structure that had dominated symphonic first movements since the early 18th century—and expanded it to enormous, encyclopedic lengths. Like Beethoven before him, Mahler dispensed with the notion that a symphony should comprise instruments alone. No fewer than half of his symphonies are scored with voices in different combinations. The logic of the genre is subverted, sometimes made senseless, as if the composer were trying to tell us that there was no way for him to express himself without making his music incomprehensible. Philosopher Theodor Adorno thought that it was all too much, and argued, in a devastating indictment, that Mahler’s symphonies were at once profoundly nostalgic and deeply nihilistic. We can, however, look at works like his Second Symphony as a meditation on broader, universal matters of life and death—what Richard Taruskin terms an “eschatological” consideration of “human fate.” The “Resurrection” Symphony has points in common with a Requiem, and it brings together numerous quotations from composers of the 19th century, Beethoven included. The first movement derives from an abandoned single-movement composition called Todtenfeier (Funeral Rite). Of its re-conception, Mahler commented: “I have named the first movement ‘Funeral Rite,’ and, if you are curious, it is the hero of my First Symphony that I am burying here and whose life I am gathering up in a clear mirror, from a higher vantage point. At the same time it is the great question: Why have you lived? Why have you suffered? Is all this merely a great, horrible jest? We must resolve these questions somehow or other, if we are to go on living—indeed, even if we are only to go on dying!” Answering these questions required Mahler to compose the largest symphony ever made in terms of forces, length, and harmonic boldness. Earsplitting chords of seven different notes are not uncommon, used to astonishing effect in the transition from the middle to the final section of the first movement and throughout the third movement—a musical adaptation of the 13th-century parable of Saint Anthony of Padua preaching to the fish. In Mahler’s setting, Padua’s sermon takes on transcendental force, but the fish, rather than being moved, swim away uncomprehending. The fourth movement is a setting of a text from a German folklore collection (adored by Mahler) called Das Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn), where the alto soloist seeks release from the burdens of life. The fifth movement is blessedly brighter and proposes renewal—the “Resurrection” promised by the title.


Who in 2014 scored the highest innings by an England number 11 batsman in Test cricket when he scored 81 versus India?

Stats: Most deliveries faced by a No.11 batsman in fourth innings of a Test match England vs Sri Lanka 2014 Stats: Most deliveries faced by a No.11 batsman in fourth innings of a Test match Highest number of balls faced by a number 11 batsmen in a fourth innings of a Test match by Pradeep Kalamegam @PradeepK_tweets Stats 25 Jun 2014, 11:24 IST England No.11 James Anderson in action in the 4th innings of the 2nd Test match against Sri Lanka at Leeds The second Test match between England and Sri Lanka ended in a dramatic fashion after a brave James Anderson hung on with Moeen Ali for more than an hour, only to fail on the penultimate ball of the match to send Sri Lankan players in jubiliation, having completed their first series win in England consisting of two or more matches. The Headingly crowd was entertained richly by the two teams yet again after an equally sensational match that ended in a draw at Lord’s. The England No.11 Anderson, walked out when his team was at 228-9 in the 97th over of their innings and gave solid support to Ali that saw him make his way into the top-10 of an interesting list. His 55-ball innings that stretched over 81 minutes puts him on the seventh place for the maximum number of balls faced by a No. 11 batsman in the fourth innings of a Test match. Ewen Chatfield of New Zealand tops the list as he faced 84 deliveries and remained not out for his 21 runs against Sri Lanka in 2006 at Dunedin. Ashish Nehra of India finds his name in the list for his innings against England at Lord’s 2002 and is one of the only two Asians in the list that is filled with 5 Australians who seem to be the ‘Masters of survival’. When considering the amount of time a No.11 survived in the 4th innings, Anderson’s effort is ranked No.6, while Jeff Thomson who batted for 129 minutes against England at Melbourne, 1982, holds the record at the top. #


Gavin Maxwell’s book Ring of Bright Water is about which creatures?

Ring of Bright Water: gavin maxwell: Amazon.com: Books Ring of Bright Water Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. Next Special Offers and Product Promotions Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here , or download a FREE Kindle Reading App . New York Times best sellers Browse the New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Books and more. See more Product Details Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches Shipping Weight: 4 ounces on February 19, 2012 Format: Paperback Verified Purchase I read this book many years ago and felt I needed to read it again; I think this book has become a classic. This is the story of a man's love for his two otters, Mijbil and Edal plus all else in nature. I enjoyed the beginning descriptions of northwest Scotland. Mr Maxwell's land was located on the mainland but Gavin could view Skye and the Hebrides from his home. Camusfearna was the name he gave his house (not it's real name) and a little eden it was. It was surrounded by beautiful hills. In this place Gavin could live in nature which was his desire. He was wealthy so did not need to work. He could pursue his interests plus write. He was lucky that he could follow his dreams. This book is his most popular and his word pictures show readers much about this beautiful section of Scotland. His writings about the surrounding ocean and its occupants are good. Plus he also writes about seeing the northern lights and how he was affected by seeing the lights. When Gavin Maxwell was very young he enjoyed hunting, a sport I do not like because I like animals. He found a young wildcat and shot birds to feed this animal though he states he didn't like killing birds. He wanted to keep the cat alive. Possibly the cat could eat something different than birds. Dog feed perhaps. At one time Maxwell went with another man to kill foxes that were killing the other man's new born lambs. The two, plus the dogs, killed a whole fox family. Foxes, plus other preditors, also like to kill fawns. Mr. Maxwell lived in the cottage with his dog Jonny. Jonny was getting old, became sick, died. Gavin was lost without an animal. For some reason, he felt he should adopt an otter. He never wanted another dog. Jonny was special.


Which American poet wrote Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening?

On "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" On "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" John T. Ogilvie The visible sign of the poet's preoccupation--the word is not too strong--is the recurrent image, particularly in his earlier work, of dark woods and trees, Often, as in the lyric with which we have begun, the world of the woods..., a world offering perfect quiet and solitude, exists side by side with the realization that there is also another world, a world of people and social obligations. Both worlds have claims on the poet. He stops by woods on this "darkest evening of the year" to watch them "fill up with snow," and lingers so long that his "little horse" shakes his harness bells "to ask if there is some mistake." The poet is put in mind of the "promises" he has to keep, of the miles he still must travel. We are not told, however, that the call of social responsibility proves stronger than the attraction of the woods, which are "lovely" as well as "dark and deep"; the poet and his horse have not moved on at the poem's end. The dichotomy of the poet's obligations both to the woods and to a world of "promises"--the latter filtering like a barely heard echo through the almost hypnotic state induced by the woods and falling snow-is what gives this poem its singular interest.... The artfulness of "Stopping by Woods" consists in the way the two worlds are established and balanced. The poet is aware that the woods by which he is stopping belong to someone in the village; they are owned by the world of men. But at the same time they are his, the poet's woods, too, by virtue of what they mean to him in terms of emotion and private signification. . . . . What appears to be "simple" is shown to be not really simple, what appears to be innocent not really innocent.... The poet is fascinated and lulled by the empty wastes of white and black. The repetition of "sleep" in the final two lines suggests that he may succumb to the influences that are at work. There is no reason to suppose that these influences are benignant. It is, after all, "the darkest evening of the year," and the poet is alone "between the woods and frozen lake." His one bond with the security and warmth of the "outer" world, the "little horse" who wants to be about his errand, is an unsure one. The ascription of "lovely" to this scene of desolate woods, effacing snow, and black night complicates rather than alleviates the mood when we consider how pervasive are the connotations of dangerous isolation and menacing death. From "From Woods to Stars: A Pattern of Imagery in Robert Frosts  Poetry." South Atlantic Quarterly. Winter 1959. Reuben A. Brower Throughout the poembrief in actual time, but with the deceptive length of dreamwe are being drawn into silence and sleep, yet always with the slightest contrary pull of having to go on. The very tentative tone of the opening line lets us into the mood without our quite sensing where it will lead, just as the ordinariness of 'though' at the end of the second line assures us that we are in this world. But by repeating the o sound, 'though' also starts the series of rhymes that will soon get the better of traveler and reader. The impression of aloneness in the first two lines prepares for concentration on seeing the strange process not of snow falling, but of woods 'filling up.' The intimacy of My little horse must think it queer reminds us again of the everyday man and his life back home, but 'queer' leads to an even lonelier scene, a kind of northern nowhere connected with the strangeness of the winter solstice, The darkest evening of the year. In this second stanza the unbroken curve of rhythm adds to the sense of moving imperceptibly into a spell-world, as we dimly note the linking of the rhymes with the first stanza. The pattern is catching on to the reader, pulling him into its drowsy current. The lone spaciousness and quiet of the third stanza is heightened by the 'shake' of bells, but 'to ask,' humorously taking the horse's point of view, tells us that the driver is awake and sane. The sounds he now attends t


Côte d’Azur Airport serves which French city?

Cote d'Azur Airport (NCE) on Orbitz.com Europe/Paris Fly to Nice Cote d'Azur International Airport Fly to Nice Cote d'Azur International Airport (NCE) for a perfect romantic getaway or some serious escapism. This South city is affluent, stunningly located in the French Riviera, and bursting with charm and atmosphere. Nice Cote d'Azur International Airport (NCE) is just over 3 miles from the city center and is very accessible by public transportation. There are regular Airport Express bus services running to and from downtown between 6am and midnight, and there is also a train station close to the airport accessible via underpasses, that visitors can use for train services to Monaco, Cannes and the Italian border. Taxis and car rentals are available too. The views along the city's waterfront are second to none, in fact, the whole area of coastline is particularly beautiful, and well worth a drive along to explore. A daytrip to nearby Monaco to look at the super yachts and mansions is a fun experience too. Weather The balmy Mediterranean climate is pleasant and warm most of the year and tourists young and old are present year round. Public beaches are made from flat pebbles, so bringing a blanket, mat or chair for a day on the beach is worthwhile! Dine You will never go hungry in Nice. Streetside cafes and restaurants line the main downtown areas, with everything from fine French dining to creperies available. There are plenty of seafood options available, and the Soupe de Poisson and Salade Nicoise are local specialities. Airports near Cote d'Azur Airport


Which opera by Rossini has the alternative title The Useless Precaution?

The Barber of Seville or The Useless Precaution – Homage to John Reichard | Stumbling on melons Mozart in the City » The Barber of Seville or The Useless Precaution – Homage to John Reichard The impending Opera Australia production of The Barber of Seville has reminded me of when, in 1992, I was one of three musicians in a production of the original play by Beaumarchais at the Marian Street Theatre at Killara on Sydney’s North Shore.  The above picture is of me camping it up backstage.  I had graduated in law that morning, so I donned both costumes at once for the photo-opp. The translation was abridged to allow for a cut-down cast (Marian Street, which subsequently went broke, was not a large theatre). The cast was a strong one. It included: Don Basilio: John Dicks Other characters were written out, some of them in the course of rehearsals as the director, Peter Kingston, realised that we musicians were not up to the job.  Two of us had a walk-on role for the denouement: I played the notary who solemnizes the wedding at the end of the play (and is hence indispensible). Until we slipped around to the back of the set for the final scene, we musicians sat at the side of the stage for the entire performance, wigged and stockinged in period garb (as you can see above):  Sally, the flautist; John Reichard, cellist; and me, pretending to pay harpsichord on an electric keyboard (the most unsatisfactory part of the arrangement). There were musicians because the play includes a number of songs. The Count, disguised as Lindoro, serenades Rosina and later insinuates himself into the house of her jealous guardian on the pretext of giving singing lessons.  The music was specially composed by Stephen Rae . In addition, in a kind of backwards tribute to the opera, I had to improvise Rossini-esque quasi-recitative accompaniments under the numerous soliloquies and occasional pieces of action. It was a pretty amazing experience, working with a bunch of very interesting and funny people.  Amongst this crowd Jacqui McKenzie was the most subdued.  She might just have been tired: for most of the run she was also filming Romper Stomper.  We did 8 performances a week from Tuesday to Sunday with two shows on Saturday and Wednesday.  The Wednesday matinee was at 11 am and was always the hardest.  At the time I was attending College of Law 9.30 to 3.30 daily at St Leonards and also had some music teaching work at the school where I had been teaching part-time when I did my law degree.  I don’t think I would have the strength or stamina to do so much today. I had to wag class to do the Wednesday matinee (“wag” is the appropriate word because College of Law was very much like school), except for one unavoidable assessment task where the Stephen Rae (who is also an actor) took my place.  I was a little miffed to be told how much funnier he was than I. But it shouldn’t have been surprising that he was. One of the most instructive aspects of this experience was the moments when, at the end of the play, I was centre-stage with the actors, and could experience up close their quivering with larger-than-life comic charisma. We musicians were inevitably pallid by comparison. The play was not a runaway success.  Eighteenth century-comedies, even if abridged, tend to be wordy, and the comic plot is, to modern tastes, fairly trivial. This inevitably had an effect. At one point midway through the run our stage manager, Libby, gathered the cast together and delivered a little “get your act together” speech about how things were slipping and that she felt it had reached a point where people might notice it out front. I wondered if she had been taught this this as part of the stage managers’ course at NIDA. Towards the end of the play there is a storm scene.  This is a famous instrumental interlude in Rossini’s operatic adaptation. We had a backstage wind machine, and also had to improvise suitably manic music. To add to the wildness I had prerecorded (as you can on an electric keyboard) part of the music to which I would then further add in real time. Imagine my


Who is the only man to have trained three consecutive Epsom Derby winners?

Epsom Derby 2014 - the runners and riders - Get Surrey Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now Geoffrey Chaucer Bidding to give trainer Aidan O'Brien a record three consecutive Derby wins after Ruler of the World last year and Camelot in 2012. Geoffrey Chaucer finished an unlucky third in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial after being checked in the home straight. Ridden by Ryan Moore, who won in 2013 and spectacularly in 2010 on Workforce, the colt has had strong betting support. Some observers believe the son of the remarkable Monteju, which has produced three Derby winners, is the pick of the Aidan O'Brien contingent. True Story Its jockey Kieren Fallon says True Story has a "better turn of foot" than his three previous winners. The convincing seven-length winner of the Fielden Stakes in April is trained by Saeed bin Suroor. True Story also finished third in the York Dante Stakes behind French Derby winner The Grey Gatsby. Western Hymn The John Gosden-trained colt is unbeaten in three starts and should get the mile and four furlongs judging by its pedigree. Western Hymn is the son of High Chaparral which won the 2002 Derby after a nail-biting finish with Hawk Wing. In its last race, Western Hymn won the bet365 Classic Trial at Sandown in April. Fascinating Rock The Dermot Weld-trained colt won the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial following a stewards' enquiry after finishing second with Geoffrey Chaucer back in third. The trainer is convinced Fascinating Rock is an "Epsom horse" with "stamina in his pedigree". Fascinating Rock is the son of champion Australian racehorse Fastnet Rock. Ebanoran Described as a "progressive horse with stamina on the dam side of its pedigree". The light raced colt is aiming to give its owner Aga Khan, most famous for owning Shergar, a fifth Derby win. Ebanoran was stripped of its victory and demoted to second in the Derrinstown Derby Trial for interference with second-placed Fascinating Rock. Video Loading Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now Kingston Hill The Roger Varian-trained colt was unbeaten in three starts as a two-year-old which culminated with victory in the Group One Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster. He was eighth in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas after being beaten by five lengths. Despite the setback, the colt has been tipped to have the required stamina and is an outsider for the Derby. Orchestra Another son of Galileo, which has produced more than 30 Group One winners. Orchestra has already proved its stamina through a narrow victory in the mile and a half Chester Vase. Investec Derby - Coral bet: Evens Australia; 7/1 Geoffrey Chaucer; 10/1 True Story, Kingston Hill; 12/1 Fascinating Rock; 14/1 Western Hymn; 16/1 Arod, Ebanoran, Romsdal, Orchestra; 20/1 Snow Sky; 50/1 Kingfisher, Pinzolo; 66/1 Our Channel, Sudden Wonder; 100/1 Impulsive Moment; 125/1 Red Galileo More stories:


The stars Rigel and Bellatrix are in which constellation?

Bellatrix from p.313 of Star Names , Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889. Gamma (γ) Orion , Bellatrix, is a pale yellow star marking the left shoulder of the Hunter. Bellatrix, the Female Warrior, the Amazon Star, is from the translation, rather freely made in the Alfonsine Tables , of its Arabic title, Al Najid, the Conqueror. The 13th century Persian astronomical writer Al Kazwini had this last, but the 15th century Tartar astronomer Ulug Beg said Al Murzim al Najid, the Roaring Conqueror, or, according to the 17th century English orientalist Thomas Hyde, the Conquering Lion heralding his presence by his roar, as if this star were announcing the immediate rising of the still more brilliant Rigel (β, the largest star in Orion ), or of the whole constellation of Orion . This Murzim occasionally appears in our day as Mirzam, which is also applied to both of the stars beta (β) in the two Dogs ( Canis Major and Canis Minor - Mirzam and Gomeisa ) as heralds of Sirius and Procyon . The 10th century Persian astronomical writer Al Sufi had Al Ruzam, which the 17th century English orientalist Thomas Hyde said was another of the very many Arabic words for the lion, but Beigel thought it also a reference to the camel, another roarer. Still it is well to remember in this connection the German astronomer Ideler (1766-1846)'s remark that "etymology has full play with a word which has not traveled beyond astronomical language,"—a statement equally applicable to very many other star-names. The 17th century Dutch astronomer Caesius cited Algauza from the name for the whole constellation of Orion . This star gamma (γ Bellatrix) marks the left shoulder of Orion, and naturally shared the Arabs' Mankib, and the Hindus' Bahu, titles of the star alpha (α Betelgeuse ) on the right shoulder of Orion and forearm of the Stag. In Amazon River myth Bellatrix is a Young Boy in a Canoe with an old man {p.314}, the star Betelgeuse , chasing the Peixie Boi, a dark spot in the sky near Orion . Alpha ( Betelgeuse ) with this star gamma (Bellatrix) and lambda ( Meissa ) were the Euphratean Kakkab Sar, the "Constellation of the King", or Ungal - which portended fortune, martial honors, wealth, and other kingly attributes. In astrology it was the natal star of all destined to great civil or military honors, and rendered all women born under its influence lucky and loquacious; or, as old Thomas Hood said, "women born under this constellation shall have mighty tongues." [ Star Names , Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889]. The astrological influences of the constellation Orion Legend: The giant Orion was created out of an ox-hide by the Gods, Jupiter, Neptune and Mercury, at the request of Hyreus who had entertained them. He was blinded by Oenopion (the name means "wine-faced") for having raped Merope, Oenopion's daughter, but recovered his sight by exposing his eyes to the rising sun. In consequence of his boast that he could slay any beast bred upon the earth the scorpion ( Scorpius ) was brought forth and Orion died from its sting. [Robson * , p.55.] Influences: According to Ptolemy the bright stars with the exception of Betelgeuze and Bellatrix are like Jupiter and Saturn. It is said to give a strong and dignified nature, self-confidence, inconstancy, arrogance, violence, impiety, prosperity in trade and particularly by voyages or abroad, but danger of treachery and poison. It was thought by the Romans to be very harmful to cattle and productive of storms. By the Kabalists it is associated with the Hebrew letter Aleph and the 1st Tarot Trump "The Juggler." [Robson * , p.55.] The astrological influences of the constellation Orion given by Manilius: "Near neighbor to the Twins ( Gemini ), Orion may be seen stretching his arms over a vast expanse of sky and rising to the stars with no less huge a stride. A single light marks each of his shining shoulders, and three aslant trace the downward line of his sword: but three mark Orion's head, which is imbedded in high heaven with his countenance remote. It i


Bert Weedon wrote a book entitled Play In a Day which gave advice on how to play which musical instrument?

Bert Weedon: Musician whose 'Play in a Day' manuals inspired generations of guitarists | The Independent Obituaries Bert Weedon: Musician whose 'Play in a Day' manuals inspired generations of guitarists He persuaded his father to buy him his first guitar, for 15 shillings in London’s Petticoat Lane market Friday 20 April 2012 23:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online Weedon performs at a BBC concert in 1965; he was on the Light Programme almost daily for years Rex Features Bert Weedon could only claim one Top 10 hit in his career but his influence could be heard on countless No 1s, not least through his best-selling guitar manuals. Already an established star when rock'n'roll arrived in the UK, he was named as an inspiration by many of the biggest names in British rock and pop music. He made regular appearances on television, and a string of solo singles made him the most famous guitarist in the country; he was perfectly placed to take advantage of the birth of rock'n'roll. He regularly played on hits by such luminaries of the time as Tommy Steele, Adam Faith, Billy Fury, Alma Cogan, Dickie Valentine and Frankie Vaughan, as well as backing big names from the US, including Frank Sinatra,Judy Garland, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett and Nat "King" Cole. He published his first Play In A Day book in 1957; they went on to sell in their millions, with musicians of the calibre of Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Brian May among the guitarists who learned to play guitar from them. May once referred to Weedon as the "Guitar Wizard" and "a legend", while in a 1970s interview Clapton said: "I wouldn't have felt the urge to press on without the tips and encouragement that Bert's book Play in a Day gives you. I've never met a player of any consequence who doesn't say the same thing." In an interview he gave the Independent in 1997, Weedon concurred. "Hardly a day goes by without someone telling me they've bought the book or had someone buy it for them," he said. "People come up to me after shows and at social functions – even in supermarkets and petrol stations." The introduction to Play in a Day claims that "this book will enable the reader to play the guitar up to a standard suitable for playing in a jazz, skiffle, or dance combination". It ends with some advice to new performers about the perils of playing too loudly, and in 1997 Weedon said he had been horrified by the guitar-destroying antics of the likes of Jimi Hendrix and the Who's Pete Townshend. "I can't understand why anyone should want to smash a cup and saucer, let alone a guitar," he told Russell Newmark. Along with tips on proper care for your guitar, Play in a Day also carried a final warning about the importance of regular practice: "Nature did not fashion our fingers for guitar-playing specifically, but nature has given us a mind to think with, willpower, patience and determination." Herbert Maurice William Weedon was born in East London in 1920, the son of a Tube driver, an amateur singer with a collection of hillbilly records. He picked up his first – battered – guitar at the age of 12, which he convinced his father to buy for him in London's Petticoat Lane market for 15 shillings (75p). Initially he learned classical guitar, a grounding he said had equipped him to adapt to a range of musical styles, from jazz to dance music. He formed his first bands in the 1940s – the Blue Cumberland Rhythm Boys and Bert Weedon and His Harlem Hotshots – although, as he recalled, the guitar was hardly the ubiquitous instrument it is now: "The only time you saw a guitar was in the hands of a cowboy in a western film singing 'Home on the Range'." He graduated to a semi-professional Dixieland jazz group, Harry Gold's Pieces of Eight, and performed with the violinist Stephane Grappelli and pianist George Shearing in the early '40s, and went on to work with Ted Heath, Mantovani and The Squadronnaires, before becoming a featured soloist for four years with the BBC Show Band programme. He could be heard almost every day on the BBC Light Programme. He became the first British guita


In 2002 Johnny Vegas sold his wedding pictures to which comic magazine for £1?

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Comic's wedding photos upset in-laws Sunday, 5 January, 2003, 14:32 GMT Comic's wedding photos upset in-laws Johnny Vegas sold his wedding photos for just �1 Comic Johnny Vegas said he upset his in-laws by selling his wedding photos to the adult comic Viz. The star sold pictures of his San Francisco wedding to designer Kitty Donnelly for �1, in an attempt to be "anti-celebrity". Vegas, who achieved fame by starring with a puppet monkey in adverts for ITV Digital, had reportedly wanted �5 but was haggled down. But his efforts did not amuse his wife's grandmother who bought the comic and thought it was "filth". 'Ten steps back' Vegas, from St Helens, Merseyside, said: "She told me 'Your wedding photos are next to a comic strip of a lad with unfeasibly large testicles. "It put me 10 steps back with my in-laws," he told the Sunday Express magazine S:2. He said he sold the photos to Viz as an attack on celebrity culture which sees stars selling their wedding photos for six or seven-figure sums. He added: "I don't like jumping onto the moral high ground, but I find our obsession with celebs pretty crass. Infamous characters "We knew someone would get hold of the pictures somehow, so we thought 'let's release them in an anti-celebrity way'." The comic is infamous for its risqu� strips featuring characters such as Sid the Sexist and The Fat Slags. It featured a spread of pictures showing the couple walking, sitting on a bench and kissing. Vegas returns to television screens on 14 January in the second series of BBC2's Happiness. See also:


Chris Leslie holds which position in the Labour Shadow Cabinet?

Labour announces new shadow cabinet following big name departures Labour announces new shadow cabinet following big name departures May 11, 2015 14:59 BST Chris Leslie (L) has been appointed shadow chancellor with Hilary Benn been promoted to shadow foreign secretaryGetty Labour has announced its new shadow cabinet following the loss of several high-profile names in the wake of the general election. Harriet Harman, acting leader of the party following Ed Miliband's resignation, has appointed Chris Leslie to replace Ed Balls as the shadow chancellor of the exchequer after Balls lost his seat in the general election , while Hilary Benn has been promoted to shadow foreign secretary to replace Douglas Alexander. Leadership contenders Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham, Chuka Umunna and Tristram Hunt remain in their posts of shadow home secretary, shadow health secretary, shadow business secretary and shadow education secretary respectively. Ian Murray, the party's only Scottish MP left following an SNP landslide in the election, becomes shadow Scottish secretary. Elsewhere, Lord Falconer – who was Labour's Lord chancellor under Tony Blair – looks set to reprise his role he as becomes shadow lord chancellor as well as shadow secretary of state for justice. Falconer replaces Sadiq Kahn, who has left the shadow cabinet in what is believed to be an indication of his intention to be the Labour candidate for mayor of London. Rachel Reeves holds on to her role as shadow work and pensions secretary, with both Vernon Coaker and Caroline Flint keeping their role as shadow defence secretary and shadow energy secretary. Harman will be replaced by Chris Bryant as the party's deputy leader following her announce she will step down when a new leader gets announced. Labour peer Lord Sugar also announced he is quitting the party because of its "negative business policies" as the new shadow cabinet was getting announced. Labour's new shadow cabinet