What is the name of the 'rover' that landed on Mars in August 2012?

Mars landing went 'flawlessly,' scientists say - CNN.com Mars landing went 'flawlessly,' scientists say By Elizabeth Landau, CNN Updated 4:45 PM ET, Mon August 6, 2012 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: Mars rover Curiosity NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this January 19, 2016, selfie while sitting at "Namib Dune." The rover was scooping up sand from the dune to analyze. The photo combines 57 images taken during the rover's 1,228th Martian day, or Sol. The photos were taken at the end of the rover's robotic arm. Hide Caption 1 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity Curiosity has snapped a selfie , which is actually a series of selfies combined. The images show the spacecraft above the "Buckskin" rock target where it drilled and collected its seventh sample of the Martian soil. Dozens of images taken on August 5 were combined to create the photo. Hide Caption 2 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity The car-size NASA spacecraft landed on Mars at 1:32 a.m. EDT on August 6, 2012. Curiosity snapped the images used for this self-portrait on February 3, 2013. Hide Caption 3 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity Curiosity snapped the images used in this panorama of Mount Sharp on April 10 and April 11. The rover's mission is to investigate Mount Sharp for clues about the Martian environment and how it has changed over time. Hide Caption 4 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity The rover drilled this dime-sized hole to collect a sample from a rock called "Buckskin" on July 30. Hide Caption 5 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity Curiosity has temperature and humidity sensors mounted on its mast. New calculations based on Curiosity's measurements indicate that Mars could be dotted with tiny puddles of salty water at night. Hide Caption 6 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity This April 10 view from the navigation camera on Curiosity shows the terrain ahead of the rover as it makes its way west through a valley called "Artist's Drive." Hide Caption 7 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity The Mars rover Curiosity does a test drill on a rock dubbed "Bonanza King" to determine whether it would be a good place to dig deeper and take a sample. But after the rock shifted, the test was stopped. Hide Caption 8 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity Curiosity used the equivalent of a dust broom to sweep away reddish oxidized dust from the Bonanza King rock. The rover's team decided to ditch the site and drive Curiosity toward other destinations. Hide Caption 9 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity Wheel tracks from Curiosity are seen on the sandy floor of a lowland area dubbed "Hidden Valley" in this image taken August 4. Hide Caption 10 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity The rover recently encountered this iron meteorite, which NASA named Lebanon. This find is similar in shape and luster to iron meteorites found on Mars by the previous generation of rovers. Hide Caption 11 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity Curiosity took this nighttime photo of a hole it drilled May 5 to collect soil samples. NASA said this image combines eight exposures taken after dark on May 13. Hide Caption 12 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity An arm of Curiosity drills two holes into sandstone on May 5. The rock powder collected will be analyzed by the rover's onboard instruments. Hide Caption 13 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity NASA said the bright spot in this image taken in April could be merely a "glinting rock or cosmic-ray hit." Hide Caption 14 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity This view of the twilight sky and Martian horizon, taken by Curiosity, includes Earth as the brightest point of light in the night sky. Earth is a little left of center in the image, and our moon is just below Earth. A human observer with normal vision, if standing on Mars, could easily see Earth and the moon as two distinct, bright "evening stars." Hide Caption 15 of 97 Photos: Mars rover Curiosity This mosaic of images from the Navigation Camera on Curiosity shows the terrain to the west from the rover's position on the 528th Martian day, or sol, o


What TV detective was Pierce Brosnan contracted to play, which meant that he had to refuse the offer to play James Bond in 1986?

Pierce Brosnan Files: The Thomas Crown Affair: Articles (on site) The Thomas Crown Affair Thomas Crown Affair:  Production Notes Creating The World of Thomas Crown "In the original, Thomas Crown was supposed to be from a Boston Brahmin, old money background," notes McTiernan. "We changed the character to a man who'd made money himself. He came from nowhere, got himself to Oxford on a boxing scholarship and took that pugnacity to just pushing further. Now, it's 20 years later, he's in his mid-forties, he's got a fortune and he's kicked the hell out of just about everybody he's come up against. Basically, he's out of challenges." McTiernan found Crown's ideal territory amid the steel and concrete canyons of New York City. The corporate headquarters of Lucent Technologies, with panoramic views of the south harbor, Governor's Island, Staten Island and Brooklyn, stood in for Crown's suite of offices in Crown Towers. The entrance to Crown Towers was shot in an unoccupied office building near the Stock Exchange. Additional exterior filming was done throughout Manhattan's financial district.  Crown's Fifth Avenue mansion was not located on the Upper East Side but rather in a warehouse in Yonkers. McTiernan worked with production designer Bruno Rubeo to create just the right balance of nouveau aristocratic elegance and idiosyncratic art connoisseur that form the essence of the private man. "It is not just a rich man's house," says Rubeo, an Oscar nominee for his work on Driving Miss Daisy. "He's a very eccentric guy with particular tastes and a particular lifestyle. You try to come up with the right mood of colors to create that idea. He also has a place in the Caribbean which had to be the opposite of his place in Manhattan because that represents a different side of his character. It's a creative process you go through with the director and John McTiernan is a very interesting director. He's at times mysterious but he comes up with very surprising, brilliant ideas like nothing I have ever experienced before."  The India Club at Hanover Square served for the outside of the National Arts Club where Crown arranges his first date with Catherine. The interior of the National Arts Club was filmed outside the city, in Purchase, New York, at Manhattanville College, a private liberal arts school. Another important interior was the Pierre Ballroom where Catherine Banning's pursuit of Crown turns to seduction. These scenes were shot in a marble-walled building that housed the old library at Bronx College. The torrid dance sequence was choreographed by John Carrafa (At First Sight, The Last Days of Disco). The couples danced to the Latin rhythms of Chico O'Farrill's Afro-Cuban Orchestra. The tune for the big dance sequence may sound vaguely familiar to anyone who remembers the original The Thomas Crown Affair, as McTiernan selected it in affectionate tribute to the 1968 film's Oscar-winning theme song, "The Windmills of Your Mind." Crown's athletic pursuits - golf, gliding and catamaran racing - were filmed in Westchester County and Connecticut. The catamaran race required Brosnan to take a few lessons in handling that kind of specialized rig. The cast and crew then flew to the Caribbean Island of Martinique just before a Christmas hiatus to film the sequences in Crown's secret paradise. The French-speaking resort island presented its own unique set of challenges, including difficult-to-access locations and vacillating weather patterns. The greatest challenge, however, lay in the creation of the scene of the crime. "You probably can't get permission to film an art theft in any major museum in the world," McTiernan wryly relates. "They have huge security systems and they're very secretive about how those operate. They also can't insure valuable art works against potential damage from a film crew working around them with smoke-effects and sprinkler systems going off. Neither could we: one wrecked painting could be the budget of the entire movie. So, we had no choice but to make our own museum."  Amazing as it sounds, the filmmakers created t


According to Greek myth, whose eyes were placed in the peacock's tail?

ARGUS PANOPTES (Argos) - Hundred-Eyed Giant of Greek Mythology Hermes slaying Argus Panoptes, Athenian red-figure vase C5th B.C., Kunsthistorisches Museum ARGOS PANOPTES was a hundred-eyed giant of Argolis in the Peloponnese. Once when Zeus was consorting with the Argive Nymphe Io , his jealous wife Hera appeared on the scene. The god quickly transformed her into a white heifer but the goddess was not deceived and demanded the animal as a gift. She then appointed Argos Panoptes as its guard. Zeus sent Hermes to surreptitiously rescue his lover. The god lulled the giant to sleep with his music and slew him with his sword. From this conquest he earned the title Argeiphontes "Slayer of Argos". Hera rewarded Argos for his service by placing his hundred eyes on the tail of her sacred bird, the peacock. FAMILY OF ARGUS [1.1] GAIA (Acusilaus Frag, Aeschylus Suppliants 305 & Prometheus Bound 566, Apollodorus 2.4, Nonnus Dionysiaca 20.35) [2.1] ARGOS & ISMENE (Apollodorus 2.4) [3.1] EKBASOS (Apollodorus 2.4) [4.2] ARESTOR & MYKENE (Pausanias 2.16.4) ENCYCLOPEDIA ARGUS (Argos), surnamed Panoptes. His parentage is stated differently, and his father is called Agenor, Arestor, Inachus, or Argus, whereas some accounts described him as an Autochthon. (Apollod. ii. 1, 2, &c.; Ov. Met. i. 264.) He derived his surname, Panoptes, the all-seeing, from his possessing a hundred eyes, some of which were always awake. He was of superhuman strength, and after he had slain a fierce bull which ravaged Arcadia, a Satyr who robbed and violated persons, the serpent Echidna, which rendered the roads unsafe, and the murderers of Apis, who was according to some accounts his father, Hera appointed him guardian of the cow into which Io had been metamorphosed. (Comp. Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 1151, 1213.) Zeus commissioned Hermes to carry off the cow, and Hermes accomplished the task, according to some accounts, by stoning Argus to death, or according to others, by sending him to sleep by the sweetness of his play on the flute and then cutting off his head. Hera transplanted his eyes to the tail of the peacock, her favourite bird. (Aeschyl. Prom. ; Apollod. Ov. ll. cc.) Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES Hesiod or Cercops of Miletus, Aegimius Frag 6 (from Scholiast on Homer's Iliad 2. 24) (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) : "[Title of Hermes] Argeiphontes (Slayer of Argos). According to Hesiod's tale he [Hermes] slew [Argos] the herdsman of Io." Hesiod or Cercops of Miletus, Aegimius Frag 5 : "And [Hera] set a watcher upon her [Io], great and strong Argos, who with four eyes looks every way. And the goddess stirred in him unwearying strength: sleep never fell upon his eyes; but he kept sure watch always." Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 566 ff (trans. Weir Smyth) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) : "Io : Oh, oh! Aah! Aah! A gad-fly (oistros), phantom (eidôlon) of earth-born (gêgenês) Argos is stinging me again! Keep him away, O Earth! I am fearful when I behold that myriad-eyed herdsman. He travels onward with his crafty gaze upon me; not even in death does the earth conceal him, but passing from the shades he hounds me, the forlorn one, and drives me famished along the sands of the seashore.  The waxen pipe drones forth in accompaniment a clear-sounding slumberous strain. Alas, alas! Where is my far-roaming wandering course taking me? . . . I cannot discern how to escape my sufferings." Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 669 ff : "[Io tells her story :] Yielding obedience to such prophetic utterances of Loxias [Apollon], he [Io's father Inakhos (Inachus)] drove me away and barred me from his house, against his will and mine; but the constraint of Zeus forced him to act by necessity. Immediately my form and mind were distorted, and with horns, as you see, upon my forehead, stung by a sharp-fanged gadfly I rushed with frantic bounds to Kerkhnea's sweet stream and Lerna's spring. But Argos, the earth-born (gêgenês) herdsman, untempered in his rage, pursued me [as the gadfly], peering with his many eye


Which goddess in Greek myth helped to guide Odysseus on his way home from the Trojan War?

The Trojan War — Odysseus' Adventures The Trojan War — Odysseus' Adventures    Bookmark this page    Manage My Reading List Summary Of the Greeks who made it back to their homes Odysseus was fated to wander the longest — a full ten years — and he knew it. Among the Trojan women Hecuba fell to him, an old harridan now who could not forgive the way Odysseus had thrown her grandson Astyanax from the walls of Troy. Odysseus' ships were hit by the storm raised by Athena and were blown to Thrace. Sick of Hecuba's insults, he and his men stoned her to death. In Thrace Odysseus sacked the city of the Cicones, sparing only a priest of Apollo, who rewarded him with a skin of potent wine. The Cicones that neighbored the city then attacked, killing many of Odysseus' men and driving the rest back to their ships. Storms blew the ships to Libya and the land of the Lotus-eaters, where an exploring party accepted the Lotus fruit from the natives and lost all memories of home. Odysseus had to recover these sailors forcibly. Setting sail again they came to the island of the Cyclopes, a huge race of monsters with one eye in the middle of their foreheads. Unwittingly Odysseus and a scouting party feasted in the cave of Polyphemus, a son of Poseidon. The Cyclops returned, shut the Greeks in with a huge boulder, and ate two men apiece at each meal. Finally Odysseus devised a plan of escape. He and his remaining men blinded the giant in a drunken sleep with a sharpened pole. Then as Polyphemus was letting his sheep out of the cave to pasture, counting each one by touch, Odysseus and his men got out by clinging to the underbellies of the sheep. Returning to their ship, Odysseus jeered at Polyphemus, telling him that he, Odysseus, had blinded him. In a rage the giant hurled two great boulders at the ship that nearly swamped it. Then Polyphemus prayed to his father Poseidon to cause Odysseus as much trouble as possible. Odysseus and his men then came to the island of Aeolus, the keeper of the winds. Aeolus entertained them for a month and presented Odysseus with a skin containing all the winds but the west wind, which would blow him home. Odysseus arrived within sight of his home, Ithaca, but he fell asleep from exhaustion. His men opened the sack of winds, thinking it held wine, and all the ships were blown back to Aeolus, who refused them further help. Next Odysseus and his ships arrived at the land of the Laestrygonians, a savage race of cannibals. All but Odysseus put their vessels into the harbor lined with cliffs. The scouting party was attacked by the Laestrygonians, who bombarded the ships with boulders and sank them. Only Odysseus and his crew survived. The rest of the Greeks were eaten. With but one ship left Odysseus sailed east and arrived at the Island of Dawn, which was inhabited by Circe, the sorceress. The group of men sent to explore the place were feasted by Circe and then were turned into swine. Learning of this, Odysseus went after Circe, and on his way the god Hermes gave him the herb moly to resist her enchantment. Circe invited him to eat, but her spell was ineffective, and Odysseus compelled her to restore the swine to human shape. He remained with her long enough to father three sons on her. Homesick, Odysseus was advised by Circe to journey to the world's end, enter Hades, and consult the seer Teiresias about his future and how he might appease Poseidon. In Hades, Teiresias told Odysseus of the difficulties he faced and of what he must do to placate Poseidon. Odysseus saw many dead notables there, including many of his companions at Troy. With his new knowledge he returned to Circe, who showed him how to get safely past the Sirens. When Odysseus neared the island of the Sirens he had his men fill their ears with wax, for the singing of the Sirens lured sailors to their deaths on the rocks. He had himself tied to the mast so that he might hear their singing and still survive. Once that danger was over, the .ship had to pass between two cliffs in a strait that had the whirlpool of Charybdis. In trying to avoid the maelstrom


The American Bar in which famous London hotel introduced the Cocktail to the capital?

Savoy’s American Bar announces London-inspired cocktail menu Savoy’s American Bar announces London-inspired cocktail menu 6th January, 2016 by Annie Hayes The Savoy hotel’s famous American Bar in London is set to launch The London Menu, a new cocktail list that takes guests “on a journey” through London’s heritage. An illustration representing one of the new menu’s signature serves, Pickering Place Available from Monday January 18, the new menu will feature 24 drinks inspired by the six boroughs that surround The Savoy, referencing both iconic landmarks and lesser-known corners using a combination of theatre and storytelling. Designed as an interactive guide through the ages, the menu touches on both historic events and modern references and is intended to solidify the American Bar and The Savoy as an integral part of the capital’s landscape. Led by American Bar manager Declan McGurk, the new menu was crafted over many months by head bartender Erik Lorincz and his team. One of the signature serves will be Pickering Place, a sharing experience inspired by its namesake which was the last known London site for a duel. The cocktails are accompanied by a short silent film to reflect this. The London Menu also features the American Bar’s longest surviving cocktail, Green Park, and a cocktail dedicated to the Abbey Road studio, made famous in the 1960s. There will also be a 1980s-inspired cocktail, Punk Rock, and a drink based around the Olympic Park of 2012. Joe Wilson – the artist behind the pop-up menu at The Savoy’s Beaufort Bar – has created a series of hand-drawn illustrations to express the story behind each cocktail, of which there are four from each of the six boroughs. McGurk says of the new menu: “Essentially when coming up with the concept, we wanted to do a menu that very much celebrated London as a city. In doing so we felt it would fit perfectly with the American Bar’s tradition of storytelling through cocktails.” Related Posts


Tooheys New | Tooheys Brewing | BeerAdvocate Tooheys Brewing Alcohol by volume (ABV): 4.60% Availability: Year-round No notes at this time. Added by BeerAdvocate on 06-04-2002 BEER STATS 3.25/5  rDev +27.5% look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25 From can, pours Amber with thin white head which fades away very quickly. Aroma of grain, hops. Taste is some malts and a little hop bitterness. Not to bad.  157 characters look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25 Format: a mid-brown 375mL stubby with the age-old Tooheys New macro label. Appearance: a solid amber in colour with plenty of chunky macro lager carbonation. A finger of white head drops to a thick cap. Sporadic lacing. Aroma: an aroma of proper grain (rather than cheap grain and adjuncts). Better than most macro lagers. Taste: again a touch better with those same flavours - Tooheys New surprises me a little whenever I have it (which is rare). There is a reason why this and VB are two of the most-bought macro lagers in the country. Aftertaste: more grains and husk here with the slightest touch of hop bitterness. Some sweetness too from indistinct origins. Mouth feel: moderate in feel with a higher carbonation to bring through that fantastically refreshing crispness. Overall: Tooheys New continues to surprise me when I occasionally drink it. It is one of the standard Aussie macro lagers, but there is a reason it is one of the mainstays in Australian pubs. It is a definite cut above most standard cheap macro lagers, and decent at AU$45 for a case of 24 x 375mL stubbies. Most importantly, one of my favourite pub beers wouldn't be an option without New (a 50/50 - or Black n Tan for you Americans - with half Tooheys Old and half Tooheys New).  1,263 characters 2.15/5  rDev -15.7% look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2 Pretty grim. Looks a lot better than it tastes, but that's not saying much, believe me. Flavor a this beer is adjunct flavored grain with some generic sweet that wont go away. Not good. I feel a headache coming on. Weird body; almost feels like there's glycerin in it. Stay away from this beer. :You'll thank me  311 characters 2/5  rDev -21.6% look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2 As a young, uninitiated whipper-snapper, this was my go-to beer, with the airwaves and pub signs enjoying marketing saturation from the Tooheys behemoth. This beer is a macro beer, no excuses offered. It is structured to move great volume at the expense of flavor, smell and texture. At least it’s cheap as chips, but you get what you pay for. Not a bad throw-down if you’re in the mood. The beer of choice for proud New South Welshmen.  440 characters look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5 On tap on Magnetic Island. From notes. A - Poured bright and golden with decent carbonation. Good fluffy one finger white head, quite good lace and a half finger of retention. S - Very mild, grainy. T - Sweet grain, a little dusty, a little skunk as well. M - Sweet, grainy finish, with good carbonation, and a light to medium body. O/D - Faily inoffensive and forgettable. Not enough good flavour. Passable.  413 characters 2.56/5  rDev +0.4% look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5 Toohey's New served with a Gomez A New Tide 2009 beer cozy out of a 375ml bottle. This beer has and industrial smell about it but some hoppy scents are present. Tastes cool and crisp, it accomplishes its goals but does nothing out of the ordinary. It's not something I would ever drink on purpose but certainly wasn't offended by it.  335 characters look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5 330ml can poured into a pilsner glass... A- golden (*yawn*) standard foam (*yawn*) S- barley (*yawn*), maybe a hint of blah, blah, blah... T- just a notch better than your basic Miller product (*yawn*). basic lager (*yawn*) MF- (*yawn*) O- the charactor of this beer may be coma inducing (*yawn*). And, I am not referring to the alcohol content. Typical mass brewed pish (*yawn*).  385 characters 1.98


What more common name is given to the famous uprising of the Righteous Harmony Society Movement?

Boxer Rebellion - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google Boxer Rebellion: Background By the end of the 19th century, the Western powers and Japan had forced China’s ruling Qing dynasty to accept wide foreign control over the country’s economic affairs. In the Opium Wars (1839-42, 1856-60), popular rebellions and the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95), China had fought to resist the foreigners, but it lacked a modernized military and suffered millions of casualties. Did You Know? America returned the money it received from China after the Boxer Rebellion, on the condition it be used to fund the creation of a university in Beijing. Other nations involved later remitted their shares of the Boxer indemnity as well. By the late 1890s, a Chinese secret group, the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (“I-ho-ch’uan” or “Yihequan”), had begun carrying out regular attacks on foreigners and Chinese Christians. (The rebels performed calisthenics rituals and martial arts that they believed would give them the ability to withstand bullets and other forms of attack. Westerners referred to these rituals as shadow boxing, leading to the Boxers nickname.) Although the Boxers came from various parts of society, many were peasants, particularly from Shandong province, which had been struck by natural disasters such as famine and flooding. In the 1890s, China had given territorial and commercial concessions in this area to several European nations, and the Boxers blamed their poor standard of living on foreigners who were colonizing their country. Boxer Rebellion: 1900 In 1900, the Boxer movement spread to the Beijing area, where the Boxers killed Chinese Christians and Christian missionaries and destroyed churches and railroad stations and other property. On June 20, 1900, the Boxers began a siege of Beijing’s foreign legation district (where the official quarters of foreign diplomats were located.) The following day, Qing Empress Dowager Tzu’u Hzi (or Cixi, 1835-1908) declared a war on all foreign nations with diplomatic ties in China. As the Western powers and Japan organized a multinational force to crush the rebellion, the siege stretched into weeks, and the diplomats, their families and guards suffered through hunger and degrading conditions as they fought to keep the Boxers at bay. By some estimates, several hundred foreigners and several thousand Chinese Christians were killed during this time. On August 14, after fighting its way through northern China, an international force of approximately 20,000 troops from eight nations (Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) arrived to take Beijing and rescue the foreigners and Chinese Christians. Boxer Rebellion: Aftermath The Boxer Rebellion formally ended with the signing of the Boxer Protocol on September 7, 1901. By terms of the agreement, forts protecting Beijing were to be destroyed, Boxer and Chinese government officials involved in the uprising were to be punished, foreign legations were permitted to station troops in Beijing for their defense, China was prohibited from importing arms for two years and it agreed to pay more than $330 million in reparations to the foreign nations involved. The Qing dynasty, established in 1644, was weakened by the Boxer Rebellion. Following an uprising in 1911, the dynasty came to an end and China became a republic in 1912. Tags


What name is usually given to the giant red star Alpha Orion?

Rigel in Orion is blue-white | Brightest Stars | EarthSky Rigel in Orion is blue-white By Larry Sessions in Brightest Stars | January 7, 2017 Blue-white Rigel, in the constellation Orion, is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It’s about twice as hot, and 40,000 times brighter, than our sun. Image via Fred Espenak/astropixels.com The beautiful blue-white star Rigel is in the constellation Orion the Hunter. This constellation is one of the easiest-to-spot of all star patterns, and Rigel is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Follow the links below to learn more about the star Rigel. Rigel in history and mythology. Rigel in Orion How to see star Rigel in constellation Orion. The star Rigel is easy to spot, in part because it’s so bright and also because of its distinctive blue-white color. Plus this star graces a lower corner of one of the sky’s most distinctive constellations, Orion the Hunter. You can catch Orion in the east before dawn in late summer, but on January evenings Orion is riding at its highest in the mid-evening sky. Look for Orion high in the south on these Northern Hemisphere winter evenings. By early March, Orion – with blue-white Rigel in its midst – is high in the south as soon as the sun sets. By early May, it is setting before the sky has a chance to get really dark. To find Rigel, look first for its constellation Orion. You’ll look first for three stars in a short, straight line. These stars mark Orion’s Belt. A line drawn downward at a right or 90-degree angle from Orion’s Belt takes you to Rigel. For comparison, draw the line upward and you come to Betelgeuse , with a distinctive orangish tinge. Do not confuse Rigel with Sirius , which is farther to the east and farther south. Sirius is similar in appearance, but significantly brighter than Rigel. Blue-white Rigel via Clark Planetarium Science of star Rigel. We could not live as close to Rigel as we do to our sun, because its surface temperature is much hotter, about 19,000 degrees F (11,000K) in contrast to about 10,000 degrees F for the sun. Overall, Rigel about 40,000 times brighter than our local star. Earth would need to be about 200 times farther away, or about 5 times as far as Pluto, to bear life in orbit around Rigel. Even then the light would not be the same, as much would be at higher, bluer, wavelengths. Counting all its radiation (not just visible light, but infrared, ultraviolet and so on), Rigel is 66,000 times more powerful than the sun. With such enormous energy, you might be surprised to find that it has only 17 times more mass, and 70 times the width, of our sun. Yet Rigel is not one of the galaxy’s largest stars, as the great video above, by Jon S. on YouTube , shows. At magnitude 0.18, Rigel is the seventh brightest star in the heavens, the fifth as viewed from North America. It is a blue supergiant star, designated as type B8Ia, some 773 light-years from Earth (by Hipparcos data). In other words, the light you may see from Rigel some spring or winter night, started on its journey a least 250 years before Columbus stumbled upon the outskirts of the already populated North America in his failed attempt to sail to the Orient. Star atlases depict Rigel as the left foot of Orion the Hunter. Via the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Rigel in history and mythology. Historically, the brightest star in a constellation receives the designation Alpha, the second-brightest is Beta, and so on. This system isn’t used for Orion’s star, however. Instead, the red star Betelgeuse is Alpha Orionis, and Rigel is Beta. But Rigel is the brighter star. Go figure. This deviation from standard stellar designations might be because Betelgeuse is a variable star and has been known to at least approach Rigel in brilliance. Rigel received the designation Beta Orionis from the German astronomer Johann Bayer in the early 1600s, who sought to systematize the naming conventions. It’s possible Betelgeuse actually was brighter around this time. Nowadays, Rigel outshines Betelgeuse, though. By the way, Rigel is also intrinsically


Which was the only EU country to reject the Lisbon Treaty after holding a referendum?

Ireland could reject EU treaty - Telegraph Europe Ireland 'could reject EU treaty' European leaders are bracing themselves for a constitutional crisis after a  poll indicated that Irish voters are to reject the Lisbon Treaty in a  referendum. By Toby Helm, Public Policy Editor 6:49PM BST 06 Jun 2008 The results of TNS/mrbi poll published in The Irish Times showed opponents of the Treaty had doubled their support in the last three weeks, overtaking the "Yes" camp for the first time, as opposition to Brussels among working class voters has grown. A "No" vote on the Lisbon Treaty, which gives EU institutions more power, abolishes dozens of national vetoes and creates a new post of EU president, would stop it coming into force across the 27-nation community. It would be another blow to the EU project, which has struggled to recover from the rejection in 2005 of the predecessor to the Lisbon document, the Constitutional Treaty, by voters in France and the Netherlands. Rejection of Lisbon by the only country holding a referendum on it would put pressure on British MPs to halt the as-yet imcomplete UK ratification process. Last night there were signs that Brussels officials would try to convene an emergency summit of EU leaders in the event of a "No" vote to find a way to satisfy Irish voters, before calling for a repeat referendum. Related Articles Tony Blair "to win Silvio Berlusconi's backing for EU presidency" 06 Jun 2008 The survey of 1,000 voters showed 35 per cent intended to vote "No", up from 17 per cent in the last TNS/mrbi poll three weeks ago. The "Yes" camp stood at 30 per cent, down from 35 per cent in the previous poll. In Ireland the surge in the "No" vote was being attributed in part to the unpopularity of Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner. Irish farmers and No campaigners have claimed that world trade negotiations, in which he represents the EU, would slash farm incomes and lead to mass rural unemployment. Mr Mandelson's image has appeared on "No" campaign posters across the country. Irish voters fear that the Treaty will erode public services by opening them up to private competition, reduce national sovereignty and trigger higher taxes. The UNITE trade union, which has broken with other workers' groups by campaigning against the treaty, said it would intensify its campaign in the coming days. A "No" vote could also encourage integration-minded member states to press ahead with plans for more power sharing, in a "two speed" EU, in which "laggards" such as the UK and Ireland were left behind. In Ireland there is deep scepticism about whether voters would reverse their decision in a second referendum, as they did in 2003 when Ireland approved the Treaty of Nice – but only at the second time of asking.


Who was Tony Blair's first Foreign Secretary?

BBC NEWS | Special Reports | 629 | 629 | Blair's Cabinet of '97 - where are they now? Printable version Blair's Cabinet of '97 - where are they now? Looking keen and proud, the 24 members of Tony Blair's first Cabinet line up in May 1997. Find out what lay in store for them, by clicking on the name labels below. TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER IN 1997, STILL IN POST The invasion of Iraq split public opinion and divided the party In May 1997, Tony Blair became the youngest prime minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812. He was swept into Downing Street on a tide of optimism following a landslide victory, promising to breathe new life into Britain's tired institutions and restore trust in politics. His decade in power has seen one of the longest periods of economic growth in Britain's history and big increases in spending on schools and hospitals. Other landmark policies include a minimum wage, tuition fees for higher education, constitutional reform such as devolution in Scotland and Wales and progress in the Northern Ireland peace process. Mr Blair is the only the Labour prime minister to have won three successive general elections and to have served more than one full consecutive term. But his foreign policy in the aftermath of the 11 September - including military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan - split public opinion and divided his own party. And his final months in office have been overshadowed by a police investigation into the alleged sale of honours. GORDON BROWN, CHANCELLOR IN 1997, STILL IN POST After ten years, the top job is within reach Gordon Brown is the longest-serving chancellor of modern times and looks almost certain to take over as prime minister when Tony Blair stands down. His first, and now widely applauded, move as chancellor in 1997 was to hand control of interest rates to the Bank of England. But another bold move in his first few weeks - a tax change which hit pension funds - has been the subject of recent criticism and been partly blamed for the closure of many final salary pension schemes. He initially gained a reputation for fiscal prudence, sticking to Conservative spending plans for the first two years in government in the teeth of left wing opposition. This later became "prudence with a purpose", as he described it, and he put up taxes and increased spending on things such as schools and hospitals. His time in charge of the economy has seen low interest rates, the introduction of tax credits for low-income families and a sustained period of economic growth and stability. Unemployment fell sharply in the early years of his stewardship but has started to creep up again recently. JOHN PRESCOTT, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER IN 1997, STILL IN POST Scandal forced Prescott to give up some of the perks of the job John Prescott was initially given a mammoth fiefdom, with responsibility for environment, transport and the regions rolled into a single department. Transport policy proved difficult with backbench rebellions over privatisation of air traffic control and problems with the rail system, but under his watch Britain took a lead in implementing the Kyoto treaty designed to reduce global emissions of CO2. After a series of scandals in the lead-up to the May 2006 local elections - not least revelations of an affair with diary secretary Tracey Temple - his power and privileges were cut. He kept his salary, an apartment at London's Admiralty House and other perks, but gave up his grace-and-favour country pile Dorneywood after being pictured on its lawns playing croquet with his staff. He apologised for the embarrassment he had cause at the party conference in September 2006 and said he would stand down once Tony Blair goes. Return to top MARGARET BECKETT, TRADE AND INDUSTRY SECRETARY IN 1997, STILL IN CABINET Margaret Beckett is one of the five remaining members from the original 1997 Cabinet, and one of the longest-serving Labour frontbenchers. She came into the government as trade secretary but her tenure at a spending department only lasted until the prime minister's first reshuffle in 1998. She lost her p


The Department of Constitutional Affairs combined with some functions of The Home Office to form which present government department?

House of Lords - The office of Lord Chancellor - Constitution Committee The office of Lord Chancellor - Constitution Committee Contents The Office of Lord Chancellor CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.  The office of Lord Chancellor has existed for over 900 years and evolved substantially throughout the 19th and 20th centuries,[ 1 ] but the most radical modern reforms came in 2003-05. Nearly 10 years on from those reforms, controversies surrounding Government policy on judicial review, legal aid and the European Court of Human Rights have focused attention on the role of the post-reform Lord Chancellor, and the combination in 2007 of the office with that of the Secretary of State for Justice with its added responsibilities for politically contentious areas of public policy.[ 2 ] 2.  In response to these concerns, and in accordance with our role of keeping the operation of the constitution under review, we decided to undertake an inquiry into the office of Lord Chancellor. Our inquiry did not seek to assess the performance of holders of the officepast or presentbut rather to understand the constitutional position of modern Lord Chancellors, how they perform their functions, and whether any changes were needed to enable the officeholder to fulfil their duties. This work continues previous scrutiny of the office by this Committee in a 2007 report on relations between the executive, the judiciary and Parliament, and a follow-up report in 2008.[ 3 ] 3.  We received a wide range of evidence, including from academics, former permanent secretaries, former Lord Chancellors, former senior members of the judiciary, former Attorneys General, and the current Lord Chancellor. We are grateful to all those who gave evidence. The Lord Chancellor in the twenty-first century THE PRE-REFORM OFFICE OF LORD CHANCELLOR 4.  The office of Lord Chancellor (more formally the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain) is an ancient one. It developed from a role as secretary to the King of England to one that spanned Parliament, government and the judiciary. It is a sign of the age and prestige of the office that the Lord Chancellor ranks higher than the Prime Minister as an officer of state in the order of precedence.[ 4 ] 5.  During the 20th century, the Lord Chancellor's role expanded significantly. By 2003 the Lord Chancellor was an important parliamentarian, Cabinet minister, and judge. He was entitled to preside as Chairman of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (the Law Lords)[ 5 ] and of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. As head of the judiciary,[ 6 ] he was responsible, directly or by making recommendations, for a large number of judicial appointments, and for judicial discipline. 6.  In Government, the Lord Chancellor was a member of the Cabinet and the head of a department with a wide range of responsibilities, including for criminal legal aid and the administration of certain tribunals, over constitutional affairs and for the Crown Dependencies. In addition, the Lord Chancellor was Speaker of the House of Lords, as well as speaking and voting in the House as a member of the Government. As a figure spanning Parliament, the executive and the judiciary, the Lord Chancellor had a vital role in upholding the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. 7.  The Lord Chancellor was also responsible for the Great Seal of the Realm,[ 7 ] as well as for the Land Registry, the Official Receiver and Public Records. The office also included considerable ecclesiastical patronage.[ 8 ] 8.  Post-reform Lord Chancellor the Rt Hon. Kenneth Clarke QC MP described the pre-2003 office as a "bizarre combination of roles" that "worked well  because of the personal qualities of the people who had held the post" but "it was something you could not defend to the outside world."[ 9 ] CHANGES TO THE OFFICE SINCE 2003 9.  In June 2003, the Government announced its intention to abolish the office of Lord Chancellor. The then Permanent Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's Department Sir Hayden Phillips told us that "little detailed work had been done on


Greg Heffley is which eponymous character in the Jeff Kinney novels for children?

Wimpy Kid | The official website for Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOUBLE DOWN Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down is on sale now!   THE WIMPY KID GLOBAL TOUR CONTINUES Follow Jeff Kinney as he meets fans from around the world on his DOUBLE DOWN book tour.   Replay the Live Cover Reveal of Double Down! Replay Wimpy Kid Virtually Live over and over again! Watch Jeff Kinney unveil the cover for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down!   Wimpy Kid Wins Its 6th Blimp! Diary of a Wimpy Kid took home another Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Book. A big THANK YOU to all the fans who cast their votes!   Diary of a Wimpy Kid Mad Libs! Create wacky and wonderful stories with the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid Mad Libs book and app! Available now!   Wimpy Kid YouTube Fans around the world have watched the videos on Wimpy Kid’s YouTube channel more than THREE MILLION times. Subscribe for the latest Wimpy Kid news, How-To-Draw videos, questions with Jeff Kinney and sneak peeks from the latest book!   Geocaching with Wimpy Kid Check out the Wimpy Kid Geocaching page to watch the Heffleys’ luggage move around the world. Is there a geocache near you? Help their luggage find its way home by moving it to another cache!


At which bay in East Sussex did William of Normandy land to start his invasion of England?

BBC - History -   British History in depth: 1066 Print this page Claims to the throne It all began with the death of Edward the Confessor, in January 1066. The Bayeux tapestry depicts Edward on his deathbed, offering the English crown to Harold, and this event is reflected in most of the chronicles of the time. Edward's corpse was eventually borne in state to his own new cathedral church at Westminster, and the tapestry shows Harold there, being offered the crown by the magnates of England, among whom must have been Edwin and Morcar. Harold was crowned at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury and Archbishop Ealdred of York. It is significant that only the former is depicted (and actually named) on the Bayeux tapestry, as his appointment had never been recognised by the Pope, allowing the Norman propaganda machine to portray Harold's coronation as illegal. On the tapestry, the members of the congregation shown as witnessing the event are facing Harold, but their eyes are turned towards Halley's Comet, which is depicted in the sky as a portent of the doom to come. Harold is seen receiving news of the Comet with fear in his eyes. William decided on invasion... These bad omens for Harold were important to William of Normandy, who was set on claiming the English crown for himself - omens as important as the 'promise' of 1051 and the 'oath' of 1064. This was because, despite his pre-eminent position, he required the active co-operation of his nobles for the great venture he was planning - the venture to invade England and become the English king. William could not just demand support from his nobles, he had to convince them of his case. He needed to show his followers that his claim was a lawful one, and that he had God on his side. So when he decided on invasion, he took elaborate measures to ensure he had strong support, and even sent an envoy to the Pope asking for his blessing. William did not move immediately. He only began plans for an invasion after Tostig arrived in neighbouring Flanders, looking for support against Harold in a projected invasion of Northumbria. This was the lever that William needed: with Harold occupied in the north, William could invade in the south. Whether or not he thought God was on his side, William's preparations were very down to earth. Top Harold becomes king Westminster Abbey, the site of Harold's coronation    © On top of anything else, William must have been painfully aware that his claim to England's throne was actually the least legitimate of all the putative contenders. It rested entirely on a spurious promise, made over 15 years previously, and on the fact that William's great-grandfather was Edward's maternal grandfather. Harold had an equally weak blood claim, through the brother-in-law of King Cnut, although it was he who was Edward's last nominated heir. There were others with much stronger blood claims, among them Swegn Estrithson, King of Denmark, who was the nephew of King Cnut; and Edgar the Aetheling, grandson of Edmund Ironside, from whom Cnut had wrested the kingdom in 1016. Aetheling actually means 'throneworthy' and was the title given to the most legitimate heir; but a legitimate blood claim was only part of the issue. The crown would go to the claimant who could muster most support amongst the 'great and the good' of England. In January 1066, Edgar Aetheling was a minor, and with the wolves breathing at the door, the English magnates could not afford to risk the kingdom in such inexperienced hands. So they turned to Harold, the obvious power behind the throne, who, as we have seen, had prepared his ground well. Instead, William watched, and he waited... Immediately after Edward's death, the cards were flying and everyone was gambling madly. Tostig enlisted the help of a powerful Joker in the pack, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada, an adventurer who had fought for the Byzantines in the Varangian Guard and was now trying to recreate the Viking kingdom of Northumbria. William had the other Joker, the Pope, in his pocket, and was drawing his Aces aroun


Which South African city is the judicial centre of the country?

South Africa's geography Tweet on Twitter South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa, its long coastline stretching more than 2 500km from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic coast, southwards around the tip of Africa, then north to the border with subtropical Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. The low-lying coastal zone is narrow for much of that distance, soon giving way to a mountainous escarpment that separates it from the high inland plateau. In some places, notably the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east, a greater distance separates the coast from the escarpment. Size and provinces South Africa is a medium-sized country, with a total land area of slightly more than 1.2-million square kilometres, making it roughly the same size as Niger, Angola, Mali, and Colombia. It is one-eighth the size of the US, twice the size of France, and over three times the size of Germany. South Africa measures about 1 600km from north to south, and roughly the same from east to west. The country has nine provinces, which vary considerably in size. The smallest is tiny and crowded Gauteng, a highly urbanised region, and the largest the vast, arid and empty Northern Cape, which takes up almost a third of South Africa’s total land area. See The nine provinces of South Africa Borders Going from west to east, South Africa shares long northern borders with Namibia and Botswana, touches Zimbabwe, has a strip of border with Mozambique, and finally curves in around Swaziland before rejoining Mozambique’s southern border. In the interior, nestled in the curve of the bean-shaped Free State, is the small mountainous country of Lesotho, completely surrounded by South African territory. Cities South Africa has three capitals: Cape Town , in the Western Cape, is the legislative capital and is where the country’s Parliament is found. Bloemfontein , in the Free State, is the judicial capital, and home to the Supreme Court of Appeal. Pretoria , in Gauteng, is the administrative capital, and the ultimate capital of the country. It is home to the Union Buildings and a large proportion of the public service.   The largest and most important city is Johannesburg, the economic heartland of the country. Other important centres include Durban and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu- Natal, and Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Climate and topography Although the country is classified as semi-arid, South Africa has considerable variation in climate as well as topography. The great inland Karoo plateau, where rocky hills and mountains rise from sparsely populated scrubland, is very dry, and gets more so as it shades in the north-west towards the Kalahari desert. Extremely hot in summer, it can be icy in winter. In contrast, the eastern coastline is lush and well watered, a stranger to frost. The southern coast, part of which is known as the Garden Route, is rather less tropical but also green, as is the Cape of Good Hope – the latter especially in winter. This south-western corner of the country has a Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and hot, dry summers. Its most famous climatic characteristic is its wind, which blows intermittently virtually all year round, either from the south-east or the north- west. The eastern section of the Karoo does not extend as far north as the western part, giving way to the flat landscape of the Free State, which though still semi-arid receives somewhat more rain. North of the Vaal River, the Highveld is better watered, and saved by its altitude (Johannesburg lies at 1 740m; its average annual rainfall is 760mm) from subtropical extremes of heat. Winters are cold, though snow is rare. Further north and to the east, especially where a drop in altitude beyond the escarpment gives the Lowveld its name, temperatures rise: the Tropic of Capricorn slices through the extreme north. This is also where one finds the typical South African bushveld. Those looking for an opportunity to ski in winter head for the high Drakensberg mountains that form South Africa’s eastern escarpment. But one of the coldest places in the country


David Walliams is to appear in a TV adaptation of which of his books, playing the Prime Minister?

David Walliams' book Mr Stink to be made into BBC One comedy drama - Telegraph TV and Radio David Walliams' book Mr Stink to be made into BBC One comedy drama David Walliams to play prime minister in the BBC One adaptation of his  children's book, Mr Stink, about schoolgirl who hides homeless man in her  family's garden shed. David Walliams will host a new comedy series on Channel 4 called Awfully Good Photo: Rex 6:30PM GMT 21 Feb 2012 David Walliams will star in an adaptation of his bestselling children's book about a girl who hides a smelly tramp in her garden shed. The Little Britain star will play the Prime Minister in BBC One's Mr Stink later this year. The book, which will be adapted by Walliams into an hour-long film, has already been turned into a stage show. Walliams, currently as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, said: "I am beyond thrilled that BBC One is adapting my children's book Mr Stink into a family film. I have written the script, and can't wait to see actors bring it to life." The comic and actor has written four books for children since making his debut in 2008 with The Boy In The Dress. Related Articles


What collective name is given to the stars Dubhe and Merak in Ursa Major?

Dubhe from p.437 of Star Names , Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889. Alpha (α) Ursa Major , Dubhe, is a yellow star on the back of the Greater Bear. Dubb, more generally Dubhe, the Bear, is the abbreviation of the Arabians' Thahr al Dubb al Akbar, the Back of the Greater Bear, Dubb being first found in the Alfonsine Tables . The Persian astronomer Al Biruni (973-1048 A.D.) said that it was the Hindu Kratu (born from Brahma's hand), one of the seven Rishis or Sages [identifying Kratu with the star α Dubhe; Pulaha with β Merak ; Pulastya with γ Phecda ; Atri with δ Megrez ; Angiras with ε Alioth ; Vasishtha with ζ Mizar ; Bhrigu with η Alkaid . [ 2 ]] Lockyer asserts that it was Ak, the Eye, i.e. the prominent one of the constellation, utilized in the alignment of the walls of the temple of Hathor at Denderah in Egypt, and the orientation point of that structure perhaps before 5000 B.C.; at all events, before the Thigh became circumpolar, about 4000 B.C. This was in the times of the Hor-she-shu, the worshipers of Horus, before the reign of Mena [Mena, Menes , or Min was the first historic king of Egypt, around 3100 B.C.] when the star had a declination of over 64°,— now about 62° 24'. And he finds two other temples also so oriented. As typifying a goddess of Egypt, it was Bast Isis and Taurt Isis. The Chinese know it as Tien Choo, Heaven's Pivot, and as Kow Ching. This star alpha (α Dubhe) is 5° from beta (β Merak ) and 10° from delta (δ Megrez ), and, being always visible, these stars afford a ready means of accurate eye measurement of others adjacent. {p.438} The Keepers was Arago's name for them (the Pointers; α and β; Dubhe and Merak ); while, as the Pointers, they indicate to beginners in astronomy the pole-star ( Polaris ), 28¾° distant from alpha (α Dubhe), and Regulus , 45° away towards the south; and they have been called the Two Stars. They are circumpolar north of about 32° 45'; and, with Polaris , received much attention in the first almanac that was printed in London, in 1473. [ Star Names , Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889].   This star alpha (α, Dubhe) is one of the "The Plough", also called "the Big Dipper" stars, a bucket shaped figure or asterism in the back of the Bear, outlined by the stars; Merak (beta), Dubhe (this star alpha), Phecda (gamma) and Megrez (delta) on the body of the Bear, along with the three star of the tail; epsilon ( Alioth ), zeta ( Mizar ), and eta ( Alkaid ). The asterism was also seen as a Dipper or Ladle with the three stars in the tail forming the handle. In early Arabic astronomy the four plough stars on the body of the bear constituted the coffin or bier surrounded by mourners (the three stars in the tail) of Al Na'ash, who was murdered by Al Jadi, the pole-star ( Polaris ), and this constellation was seen as a funeral procession, attributing this title to the slow and solemn motion of the figure around the pole. The Big Dipper has been seen by various cultures as a plough, an ox cart, a wagon, it was known as Charlie's Wain in northern Europe. To the Hindus the four stars of the plough and the three stars in the tail was Sapta Rishi "The seven Wise Men." These seven stars (septentriones, from the phrase septem triones, meaning "seven plough oxen") are the origin of the Latin word septentriones meaning "north".   The astrological influences of the constellation Ursa Major Legend: Callisto, daughter of Lycaon, king of Arcadia, of whom Jupiter was enamored, became a follower of Diana on account of her love of hunting. Jupiter sought Callisto by assuming the form of Diana, and Juno (Jupiter's wife) who discovered the intrigue turned Callisto into a bear. Angry that the bear was placed in heaven, Juno requested her brother Neptune never to let those stars set within his kingdom, and for this reason they are always above the horizon in Europe [never disappear below the horizon, it is always visible in the night sky, all night, every night, throughout the year]. To account for the length of the bear's tail [because in reality


Which US city was known as Yerba Buena until 1847?

Yerba Buena Cove - FoundSF FoundSF Yerba Buena Cove Primary Source View north from Rincon Hill across the urbanizing Yerba Buena Cove, mostly filled but still some areas of water visible in this 1860 image. Photo: J. Paul Getty Museum Open Content Program The village of Yerba Buena in 1846, three years before the Gold Rush and the name change to San Francisco. Montgomery St. between Clay & Washington is the shoreline . Yerba Buena Cove in 1849. Image: California Historical Society, San Francisco, CA Yerba Buena Cove in 1850, looking towards Telegraph Hill from Rincon Hill. Image: California Historical Society, San Francisco, CA DESCRIPTION OF YERBA BUENA COVE IN 1833 W. Davis, an East Coast captain, describes Yerba Buena Cove in 1833: "We anchored in a cove known as Yerba Buena. Telegraph Hill was then called Loma Alto. At that time there were some half dozen barks from Atlantic ports trading along the California coast, Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands. All that time, Captain Mariano G. Vallejo, later General Vallejo, was in command of the Presidio. The population of the post was about two hundred and fifty men, women and children. The soldiers were Spanish, and all vaqueros. At that time Captain Vallejo had recently married Donna Francisca Benicia Carrillo. Fort Point was then garrisoned and known as Punta de Castillo, or Castle Point. A small number of foreigners were living near the post, among them Captain William A. Richardson , who owned the Sausalito ranch, and who was married to the daughter of the late Captain Ygnacio Martinez, who had been in charge of the Presidio post preceding Captain Vallejo, John Read of Ireland, owner of the Read ranch adjoining the Sausalito ranch, Tim Murphy and James Black, the latter of Scotland." "Yerba Buena" is a local herb similar to spearmint. Yerba buena (Satureja douglasii) Until 1847, San Francisco was known as Yerba Buena, after the fragrant plant that was so abundant here. Still found on the Presidio and elsewhere in the city, yerba buena ("good herb") has been used medicinally for centuries by Ohlone Indians. {{#ev:archive|ssf30CVBRST|480}}


The War of Jenkins' Ear occurred during the reign of which English King?

War of Jenkins' Ear War of Jenkins' Ear War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Top Surnames William Mears (1710 - 1739) William Mears was born in England in 1710. He came to America with Mr. Olethorp in 1735. He was lost at sea and left his widow, Elizabeth Gilbert and their son, John. The widow married Benjamin Tyudall... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Jenkins%27_Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, relates to Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship, who exhibited his severed ear in Parliament following the boarding of his vessel by Spanish coast guards in 1731. This affair and a number of similar incidents sparked a war against the Spanish Empire, ostensibly to encourage the Spanish not to renege on the lucrative asiento contract (permission to sell slaves in Spanish America). After 1742 the war was subsumed by the wider War of the Austrian Succession involving most of the powers of Europe. Peace arrived with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. Background At the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 gave Britain a thirty-year asiento, or contract-right, to supply an unlimited number of slaves to the Spanish colonies, and 500 tons of goods per year. This provided British traders and smugglers potential inroads into the (traditionally) closed markets in Spanish America. However, Britain and Spain were often at war during this period, fighting one another in the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–20), the Blockade of Porto Bello (1726) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1727–1729). In the Treaty of Seville (1729), following the Anglo-Spanish War, Britain had accorded Spanish warships the right to stop British traders and verify if the asiento right was respected. Over time the Spanish became suspicious that British traders were abusing the contract and began to board ships and confiscate their cargoes. After very strained relations between 1727 and 1732, the situation improved between 1732 and 1737, when Sir Robert Walpole supported Spain during the War of Polish Succession. But the causes of the problems remained and when the opposition against Walpole grew, so did the anti-Spanish sentiment amongst the British public. Walpole gave in to the pressure and approved the sending of troops to the West Indies and a squadron to Gibraltar under Admiral Haddock, causing an immediate Spanish reaction. Spain asked for financial compensation, which led to the British demand to annul the "Visitation Right" agreed to in the Treaty of Seville (1729). In reaction, King Philip V of Spain annulled the "Asiento Right" and had all British ships in Spanish harbours confiscated. The Convention of Pardo, an attempt to mediate the dispute, broke down. On 14 August, Britain recalled its ambassador to Spain and officially declared war on 23 October 1739. Despite the Pacte de Famille, France remained neutral. Walpole was deeply reluctant to declare war and reportedly remarked of the jubilation in Britain "they are ringing their bells, soon they will be wringing their hands". Nomenclature Further information: Robert Jenkins (master mariner) The incident that gave its name to the war had occurred in 1731 when the British brig Rebecca was boarded by the Spanish coast guard La Isabela, commanded by Julio León Fandiño. After boarding, Fandiño cut off the left ear of the Rebecca's captain, Robert Jenkins, who had been accused of piracy. Fandiño told Jenkins, "Go, and tell your King that I will do the same, if he dares to do the same." In March 1738, Jenkins was ordered to attend Parliament, presumably to repeat his story before a committee of the House of Commons. According to some accounts, he produced the severed ear when he attended, although no detailed record of the hearing exists. The incident was considered alongside various other cases of "Spanish Depredations upon the British Subjects", and was perceived as an insult to the h


How is singer Francesco Castelluccio, born in Newark, New Jersey in 1934 better known?

Frankie Valli: Italian of the Week | Sons of Italy Blog Sons of Italy Blog THE Blog for the Italian American Community! Menu Entertainer Italian American Italian of the Week Music Musician Francesco Stephen Castelluccio, better known as Frankie Valli, was born on May 3, 1934, in Newark, New Jersey. He was the youngest of three children born to barber and model train designer Anthony Castelluccio and homemaker Mary Rinaldi. When he was seven his mother took him into New York City to see up-and-coming artist Frank Sinatra. The show changed Frankie’s life: “I saw Sinatra coming out on stage and the way he was lit up, it was like he had an aura around him. I decided then and there that’s what I was going to do—be a successful singer.” When he was just 19, Frankie signed his first record contract. He quickly became known as having the “voice of an angel.” In the late 1950s, Frankie and his band – the Four Lovers – saw moderate success. The group had a few minor hits and even appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. In 1959, Frankie’s friend and future actor Joe Pesci introduced the band to songwriter Bob Gaudio. This addition changed the course of the band’s success. With Bob writing the songs, the band changed its name to the Four Seasons, released “Sherry,” and became an overnight sensation. Frankie decided to go solo in 1965 while staying with the Four Seasons. Bob wrote his solo songs and made sure they didn’t rely on Frankie’s falsetto. His first major solo hit came in 1967 with the classic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Things slowed down for the musician in the early 1970s, but between 1975 & 1979 he and his band had a slew of hits: “My Eyes Adored You,” “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” and “Grease.” Over his career, Frankie has had over 70 hits chart on Billboard’s Top 100 and has sold well over 100 million records. In 1990, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. His life and music were reintroduced to a whole new generation when he and Bob teamed up again in the mid-2000s – this time to write the musical Jersey Boys, which dramatized Frankie’s life with and without the Four Seasons. It opened on Broadway November 6, 2005, and became an instant hit. The jukebox musical won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Clint Eastwood later adapted the story into a film of the same name. Today Frankie continues to tour, record music, and release new albums.


Paul Pond, pop and blues singer and radio presenter is better known by which stage name?

Singer Q10800557 Paul Jones (born Paul Pond, 24 February 1942) [2] is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, radio personality and television presenter. Career Paul Jones was born as Paul Pond in Portsmouth , Hampshire . As "P.P. Jones" he performed duets with Elmo Lewis (better known as future founder member of the Rolling Stones , Brian Jones ) at the Ealing Club, home of Alexis Korner 's Blues Incorporated , whose singers included Long John Baldry and Mick Jagger . He was asked by Keith Richards and Brian Jones to be the lead singer of a group they were forming, but he turned them down. He went on to be the vocalist and harmonica player of the successful 1960s group Manfred Mann . [2] Paul Jones had several Top Ten hits with Manfred Mann before going solo in July 1966. [2] He remained with His Master's Voice . He was less successful without the band than they were with his replacement, Mike d'Abo , but did have a few hits, notably with "High Time" (1966) (UK No 4), "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" (1967) (UK No 5) and "Thinkin' Ain't for Me" (1967) (UK No 32) before branching into acting. [2] While his solo career in the UK was mildly successful, [2] he sold few records in the US. He had enough hits in Sweden to have a greatest hits album released there on EMI. Subsequent single releases in Britain in the late 1960s on the Columbia label, as a result of EMI transferring their remaining pop acts from His Master's Voice, included "Aquarius", from the musical "Hair", and a cover version of a Bee Gees song, " And the Sun Will Shine ". From 1966 he also worked as an actor, first in films and television and then on stage, including West End shows such as Conduct Unbecoming (also on Broadway), plus the musicals Guys And Dolls and The Beggar's Opera (Royal National Theatre) Kiss me Kate (at The Old Vic for the RSC ), Cats and Pump Boys and Dinettes . His performance opposite model Jean Shrimpton in the 1967 film Privilege , [2] directed by Peter Watkins , did not bring the hoped-for stardom , although the film later became a cult classic. Jones was cast as a pop singer in the film, and sang the songs "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" and "Set Me Free", which Patti Smith covered in the 1970s. [2] In 1971 Jones recorded Crucifix in a Horseshoe with White Cloud, a New York-based session group featuring Teddy Wender on keyboards and Kenny Kosek on fiddle . [3] In 1973 he played the title role in Bob Fosse 's production of Pippin at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. In 1975 he guest starred in a TV episode of The Sweeney ("Chalk & Cheese") as a boxer turned gangster named "Tommy Garret". In 1976 he performed the role of Peron on the original concept album of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical Evita alongside Julie Covington as Eva, Colm Wilkinson as Che and Barbara Dickson as the Mistress. Jones had previously worked with Covington in the BBC's 1975 Christmas production Great Big Groovy Horse, a rock opera based on the story of the Trojan Horse shown on BBC2. [4] It was later repeated on BBC1 in 1977 [5] His gold albums include one for Evita. In 1978 he released a single on the RSO label, orchestrated versions of the Sex Pistols ' Pretty Vacant and the Ramones ' Sheena is a Punk Rocker , both produced by Rice. Four years later he appeared as one of the guest vocalists on the British Electric Foundation 's Music of Quality and Distinction, on a new version of There's a Ghost In My House . In 1985, he became the host of the children's TV quiz Beat the Teacher , and stayed for the next series the following year. In 1990 he appeared in the children's series Uncle Jack . In the meantime he enjoyed a parallel career as presenter of radio programmes focusing mainly on rhythm and blues , notably a long-running weekly show on BBC Radio 2 , which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011. He founded The Blues Band and is a member of the Manfreds, a group reuniting several original members of Manfred Mann, [2] and has also played harmonica as a session musician on recordings by such artists as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gerry Rafferty , Dave Edmunds


What is the name of Nicholas Nickleby's rascally uncle in the eponymous novel by Dickens?

Self-Presentation and Self-Realisation in Dickens's "Nicholas Nickleby" [ Victorian Web Home —> Authors —> Charles Dickens —> Nicholas Nickleby Introduction ntil quite recently, most critics have had little time for Nicholas Nickleby, finding the characters one-dimensional and the plot too episodic — too full of "detachable 'bits'" (Chittick 118). Far from being the springs of the action, characters like the Yorkshire schoolmaster Wackford Squeers, and the wicked uncle/usurer Ralph Nickleby, have struck such critics as cardboard figures. The actress Dame Sybil Thorndyke saw the latter as the very "Incarnation of Sin" (vii). Like Squeers, the kindly philanthropic Cheerybles were based on real people, but these too have failed to convince: "we cannot help reflecting on the position of the mass of workmen whose labours have accumulated their capital," groused one early cynic (Collins 152). Worst of all, the eponymous hero himself struck even some of the earliest reviewers as having "no character at all" (unsigned notice, Collins 90). Leaping into the sensational encounters that punctuate his loosely connected adventures, he has generally seemed little more than "a somewhat chivalrous young donkey" (Chesterton 32). Yet Dickens's third novel has always been a favourite with the general public. Indeed, it was this book's huge sales that enabled Dickens to give up his parliamentary reporting and become a full-time writer (see Slater, Composition, 1). Years later, when Dickens was much less fashionable, the children's book illustrator Kate Greenaway would still write to Ruskin , "I am very fond of Nicholas Nickleby" (216). One reason for its popularity outside academe has been its theatricality, notable even among the works of this "most theatrical of Victorian novelists" (Glavin 189). Dedicated to Dickens's good friend, the actor William Macready, it not only has a dashing young hero who hangs on to panicked horses, beats up villains, and rescues damsels in distress, but includes episodes with the actor-manager Vincent Crummles, his family, and his troupe of itinerant actors. Desperate for a means of subsistence after decamping from Dotheboys Hall in Yorkshire with the pathetically ill-used Smike, Nicholas allows himself to be recruited by Crummles. He is given a French play to turn into English, takes to the boards himself, and, with infinite patience, coaches Smike to make a very brief appearance as the apothecarey to his own Romeo. For all Smike's difficulties with learning his lines, both seem made for the stage. When Crummles first talks Nicholas into joining him, he says, "There's a genteel comedy in your walk and manner, juvenile tragedy in your eye, and touch-and-go farce in your laugh" (283). As for Smike, the lad strikes Crummles as the ideal actor for the "starved business," so much so that he adds, "I never saw a young fellow so regularly cut out for that line, since I've been in the profession" (281). No wonder there have been so many successful stage and screen versions of the novel, dating from 1838 when the novel was still coming out in instalments, and the ending had to be invented (see Fawcett 236), right up to the present. Dickens himself responded favourably to its first adaptation, and found that it provided excellent material for his theatrical readings in the 1860s (see Bolton 154; Slater, Composition, 40). Since then over 250 productions have been identified (see Ford 15-16). In the second half of the twentieth century, academe finally caught up with the general readership and the popular audience. The theatricality of the novel attracted new and more appreciative critical attention. Nicholas Nickleby demonstrates, according to one critic, the "inextricable link between the public and private stage. Macready helped Dickens fashion for the novel the popular technique of pantomimic expression" (Hecimovich 16). In this reading, the plot's larger than life characters and its fairytale and theatrical elements make good sense. So too do its melodramatic highlights, right from when Nicholas rains blow


What is the common name of plants of the genus Galanthus, which is Greek for 'milk flower'?

Galanthus (snowdrop; Greek gála "milk", ánthos "flower") is a small genus of about 20 species of b | Photo/Image by Szilu | Fliiby Sign in Galanthus (snowdrop; Greek gála "milk", ánthos "flower") is a small genus of about 20 species of b Galanthus (snowdrop; Greek gála "milk", ánthos "flower") is a small genus of about 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. Most flower in winter, before the vernal equinox (20 or 21 March in the Northern Hemisphere), but certain species flower in early spring and late autumn. Snowdrops are sometimes confused with the two related genera within Galantheae, snowflakes Leucojum and Acis. Uploaded: Jan 30, 2016


Where did the equestrian events take place during the 2012 London Olympics?

Equestrian Events at the 2012 London Summer Olympics - dummies Equestrian Events at the 2012 London Summer Olympics Equestrian Events at the 2012 London Summer Olympics Equestrian Events at the 2012 London Summer Olympics The Equestrian (fancy name for horses) competition at the London 2012 Summer Olympics consists of three disciplines: dressage, eventing, and jumping. Each of these discipline provides an opportunity for team and individual medals. Eventing competitions will take place July 28 through 31; dressage competitions will take place August 2 through 9; and jumping competitions will take place august 4 through 8. All events will be held at Greenwich Park. About 200 Olympians will vie for the medals, and unlike many of the other sports, men and women will compete together and against one another. Equestrian eventing during the Olympic games Although dressage is its own category of competition, it is included as part of what’s called the eventing competition and actually takes about half of the four days allotted to the competition. During the dressage portion, the rider and horse combinations perform for a panel of judges, who award them points that are converted to penalty points and carried forward to the cross-country competition. The cross-country competition is a long course containing up to 45 jumps. Penalty points are awarded for time penalties and jumping errors. These points are added to the dressage penalty points to yield a total score for each horse and rider combination. The last portion of the eventing competition is jumping. In the United Kingdom, the Brits refer to this portion of the competition as showjumping. Two jumping tests make up this portion of the eventing competition. The first test determines the team place medals. Penalty points are awarded for errors in jumping and time violations, which are added to the competitors’ previous totals. Although the teams might include as many as five rider and horse combinations, only the best three cumulative scores count toward the team’s score. The best 25 rider and horse combinations go through to the second jumping test to determine individual medal winners. If there are multiple rider/horse combinations tied for 25th place, they all go through to the second jumping test and compete for individual medals. Individual medals are awarded based on the cumulative scores of the dressage, cross-country, and both jumping competitions. Dressage equestrian events at the Summer Olympics Dressage events, much as the name implies, are all about how the horse and rider look and move together. They perform a dressage test before a panel of seven judges. This test involves a series of various movements. The judges award scores for the overall routines as well as for individual movements. The team event consists of three horse and rider combinations, including the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special rounds. The individual event uses the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special as qualifiers for a freestyle competition (Grand Prix Freestyle). Grand Prix is a fancy name for the first phase of the competition. The Grand Prix Special is the second phase of the competition. The best seven teams and the best 11 individual athletes, who are not qualified as team members, after the Grand Prix go on to the Grand Prix Special. If there are multiple rider/horse combinations tied for 11th place or multiple teams tied for 7th place, they all go through to the next phase of the competition. Team medals are awarded based on the combined scores during the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. The best 18 rider and horse combinations, based solely on performance during the Grand Prix Special, go on to the freestyle competition. Performance in the freestyle event determines individual medals. Equestrian jumping competition during the Summer Olympics The most exciting of the equestrian events, the jumping competition is all about timing and speed as the athletes take their horses (sometimes referred to as mounts in competition) through an obstacle course containing everything from fake stone wa


What is the popular name for the flower Strelitzia?

Strelitzia reginae Strelitzia reginae Family : Strelitziaceae Common names : crane flower, bird of paradise, orange strelitzia (Eng.); isigude (Nguni); kraanvoëlblom (Afr.) Strelitzia reginae is one the most popular horticultural perennial around the world. It flowers for long periods with its vivid orange and bright purple/blue inflorences and is an ideal pot plant and cut flower subject. Description The crane flower is a tufted, evergreen, acaulescent (stemless) perennial herb up to 1,5 m tall and 2 m in diameter. The roots are fleshy and finger-like and ± 25 mm in diameter. The leaves are distichous (opposite and arranged fan-like in one plane), banana-like with the leaf blade 500 x 100 mm, and the margins can sometimes be red-edged. The inflorescence stalk is 700 mm tall with 4-6 flowers that emerge in succession in a boat-shaped spathe ± 200 mm long, producing a mucilaginous substance when in bloom. The flowers have orange sepals and blue/purple petals (May to December). The fruit is a hard woody capsule that splits from the apex in summer (August to February). The seeds are round, black to brown in colour with a yellow aril (a tuft of hairs). S. reginae is one of five Strelitzia species in southern Africa: S. alba , S. juncea , S. nicolai and S. caudata . Conservation status Strelitzia reginae is not threatened. Distribution and habitat Strelitzia reginae occurs naturally only in South Africa: eastern coast, from Humansdorp to northern KwaZulu-Natal in coastal bush and thicket. It grows along river banks in full sun, however sometimes it occurs and flowers on margins of forest in shade. Derivation of name and historical aspects Stelitzia is named in honour of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, from the house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The specific name reginae is Latin and means 'of the queen'.  Ecology Bees are common visitors when the spathe is in flower. Sunbirds may be the pollinator, but this has still to be proven. The role of sunbirds in Strelitzia pollination needs to be investigated, as they have been observed "robbing" the flowers by taking nectar but by-passing the pollination mechanism. Birds eat and disperse the seed. In nature, where its distribution overlaps with that of S. juncea, in the Humansdorp District, they hybridise easily. In the late 90's Mr John Winter, former Curator of Kirstenbosch, started a programme of selecting plants with desirable characteristics. The programme has continued under the author and has produced the following selections: F3 dwarf orange, F2 dwarf broad leaf Mandela's Gold, F3 thin & long flower stock for cut flowers and the deep red spathe selection. The plant will be released to the general public in due course as was previously done with Mandela's Gold. Uses and cultural aspects It has been reported that the abakwaMthethwa clan in KwaZulu-Natal use the strained decoctions from the inflorence to treat inflamed glands and venereal diseases. The seeds are also used in the Cape to sour milk. Delphinidin-3-rutinoside (used for colour) has been isolated from the petals and proanthoncyanidin polymers (flavonoids, antioxidants) from the leaves. Strelitzia reginae is widely used in landscaping as an architectural plant and focal point. Growing Strelitzia reginae Strelitiza reginae can be propagated from seed and divisions. Hand pollination can be carried out as described by Notten (2002). Seed propagation is discussed in an article by Winter & Xaba (2011). Once seed has germinated, it is important to pot seedlings in a well drained fertile medium and to see that they are eventually adapted to a position in full sun. We have had great success with the following potting medium for strelitzias: 2 parts loam, 2 parts sand, 3 parts 12 cm bark, 3 parts compost and 1/2 part bone meal, and 1 part Bounce back® or 1 part 3.1.5 fertiliser. We feed our plants alternatively in May and November with a mixture of (a) 1 part superphosphates, 1 part 3.1.5, 2 parts Bounce back® and 2 parts bone meal or (b) compost. Compost or the mixture is generously scattered around the root area and watered


Which sport in the 2012 London Olympics took place at Lord's Cricket Ground?

2012 London Olympics archery to be staged at Lord's - BBC News BBC News 2012 London Olympics archery to be staged at Lord's 6 September 2010 Close share panel Image caption More than 100 competitors will take part in the archery event Plans to hold the 2012 Olympics archery event at the Lord's cricket ground have won planning permission. Archers will shoot over "the square" against the backdrop of the pavilion at Lord's, which is often dubbed the home of cricket. Temporary seating will be built allowing up to 5,000 spectators to attend, with organisers promising that they will be close to the action. London Olympics chairman Lord Coe said he was delighted with the outcome. London 2012 - Begin your journey here Sport, news and more 2012 information BBC London 2012 Lord Coe said: "I am delighted that we have obtained permission to stage the Olympic archery at Lord's in 2012 and would like to thank Westminster City Council for its support. "Lord's will be a spectacular venue for hosting the Games in 2012 and the Olympic Archery will be an exciting competition for both spectators and athletes." Councillor Alastair Moss, Westminster City Council's planning committee chairman, said: "Lord's is a word-class sporting venue and will be ideal for hosting the archery event in 2012." The event will run from 27 July to 3 August, with 128 competitors involved.


Which, once successful hosiery company was set up by Asil Nadir?

Mammon: Fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir | Business | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close 'The best thing about England is the countryside. The ordinary British way of life, not London's hustle and bustle,' says Asil Nadir wistfully. 'I love the British countryside... Have you ever seen anywhere as green as that?' Gazing over the scorched Cypriot landscape from his mountain villa, Nadir looks almost out of place. The fugitive tycoon still wears blazers and still carries a silk handkerchief in his breast-pocket. He excuses his rusty English - 'I don't get many opportunities to practise it' - but his speech is peppered with phrases like 'goodness gracious' and 'good old chaps'. It is 10 years since Nadir, accused of fraud and embezzlement, fled Britain. Polly Peck, the fruit-to-electronics conglomerate he built almost from nothing, had collapsed with more than £1 billion of previously undisclosed debts. His 'escape' to northern Cyprus - safe from Britain's extradition laws - was a blow to the Serious Fraud Office. It also embarrassed the many august City institutions he had charmed, as well as the governing Conservative Party, to whom he had donated generously. So Nadir's announcement that he is about to return to these shores has come as a shock. Many seasoned Asil-watchers insist he can't be serious. But he wouldn't be the first to give up a life in the sun for the possibility of jail in old Blighty. Ronnie Knight, the Security Express robber and long-term resident of the 'Costa del Crime', did just that. Knight said he missed the pie and mash. Nadir is apparently going back 'to put the record straight and be useful again'. 'You know, there are five High Court judges who believe I did not even jump bail,' he says. 'I was a victim of injustice and I don't believe that injustice of this nature should be repeated.' Nadir has been claiming for years that he was stitched up by the authorities. But now there is speculation that he is negotiating a deal with UK prosecutors. In particular, Nadir wants the SFO to refrain from asking a court to remand him in custody ahead of his trial. The prospect of getting Nadir into the dock at last must make such a suggestion tempting, but the SFO is reluctant. 'Remember, the last time this bloke was let out on to the street, he buggered off for 10 years. Besides, it would send out completely the wrong message,' a source close to the SFO said yesterday. Robert Wardle, who led the Polly Peck investigation and is now director of the SFO, might be especially unwilling to do his old nemesis any favours. In any case, there is still the daunting matter of the trial itself. At the last count, Nadir faced 66 separate charges of theft. Some of those might now be dropped because of the time that has elapsed; but not enough to leave Nadir facing anything less than several years in prison if found guilty. He is also likely to face civil lawsuits from Polly Peck creditors seeking an estimated £500 million. Nadir insists he is not afraid of a trial. In fact, he has spent the last seven years preparing his legal defence and gathering 'rooms and rooms' of documents. The SFO have tampered with evidence and perverted the course of justice, he claims, likening his experience to 'being gang-raped'. Nadir plans to file an 'abuse of process' case that he hopes will nix all the claims against him. In the meantime, he claims Polly Peck was 'annihilated unnecessarily by the British authorities. That cost the lives of so many people. Polly Peck International employed 40,000 people worldwide. I regret that a knife was put to the exciting and very necessary bridging role that the company played between the developing and developed world'. By July 1990, one month before his empire began to crumble, Nadir was ranked Britain's 36th richest man, with an estimated fortune of £200m. Originally a Turkish-Cypriot immigrant, he was modestly successful in the rag trade in the Seventies, before becoming one of the biggest success stories of the Eighties, as Polly Peck grew in 10 years into a FTSE-100 conglomerate with a market value o


How To Make Tahini — Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn | The Kitchn Open Slideshow Tahini, or sesame seed paste, is a staple of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. It's perhaps most notable for its essential role in making hummus , although its uses go far beyond that iconic dip. But tahini can get pricey at the grocery store, and it's sometimes bitter or rancid after its long wait on the shelf. The good news is you can make this pantry staple at home for a fraction of the cost — and chances are it will taste better, too! You only need two ingredients: sesame seeds and oil. (Image credit: Emily Han ) The Sesame Seeds You can make homemade tahini from any sesame seeds : unhulled or natural, hulled, raw, sprouted, or toasted. Each variety lends a different flavor, color, and texture to the tahini. Commercial tahini is typically made from white hulled sesame seeds, or seeds where the hull has been removed. This gives the tahini a lighter color and smoother texture. Tahini made from unhulled or natural sesame seeds is not quite as smooth, but it has a richer (albeit sometimes more bitter) flavor and potentially more nutrients. Using raw, sprouted, or toasted sesame seeds is up to personal preference. Toasting the sesame seeds enhances the nutty flavor and can also reduce bitterness. Tahini can even be made from black sesame seeds, creating an Asian-style black sesame paste . → Shopping Tip: Look for sesame seeds in bulk bins or at Asian and Middle Eastern markets for the best deals. (Image credit: Emily Han ) The Oil Like other nut and seed butters, tahini can be made without any added oils. However, it takes longer to grind and the result is not as creamy as it is when using oil. Start with a couple of tablespoons of oil and increase as desired for a thinner consistency. For the best flavor use a mild olive oil, a neutral oil such as grapeseed oil, and/or a small amount of sesame oil. The Method Many tahini recipes call for grinding the sesame seeds and oil together all at once. I have found that grinding the seeds before adding the oil produces a smoother result. Tahini made with 2 tablespoons of oil (left) and 1/4 cup of oil (right)


Who took the role of W C Fields in the 1976 film 'W C Fields and Me'?

Movie Review -  - The Screen:'W .C. Fields and Me' Can Be All Bad - NYTimes.com The Screen:'W .C. Fields and Me' Can Be All Bad By VINCENT CANBY Published: April   1, 1976 In his 1937 review of W.C. Fields in "Poppy," Graham Greene wrote "To watch Mr. Fields, as Dickensian as anything Dickens ever wrote, is a form of escape for poor human creatures . . . who are haunted by pity, by fear, by our sense of right and wrong . . . by conscience. . ." This prize of escape is the major thing missing from the dreadful new film "W. C. Fields and Me." It holds up a wax dummy of a character intended to represent the great misanthropic comedian and expects us to feel compassion but only traps us in embarrassment. "W. C. Fields and Me," which opened yesterday at three theaters, is based on the memoir written by Carlotta Monti, Fields's mistress for the last 14 years of his life. The book, written with Cy Rice, is gushy, foolish and self-serving, which is probably understandable. To expect it to be anything else, I suppose, would be to look for the definitive analysis of the Cuban missile crisis in a memoir by a White House cook. Yet the movie needn't have been quite as brainless as it is. That took work. First off, Bob Merrill, who has written either the lyrics or music (sometimes both) for some good Broadway shows, including "New Girl in Town," has supplied a screenplay that originally may have been meant as the outline for a musical. It exhibits a tell-tale disregard for facts and the compulsion to make a dramatically shapeless life fit into a two-act form. The mind that attends to this sort of hack business would cast Raquel Welsh in the title role of "The Life and Loves of Bliss Carman." Then there's Arthur Hiller, a director who makes intelligent films when the material is right ("Hospital," "The Americanization of Emily") and terrible ones when the writers fail. Most prominent in the mess is Rod Steiger, who has been got up in a false nose and dyed hair in a way meant to make him look like Fields, which he does (sort of though he reminds me much more of the way Fields's one-time co-star, Mae West, looked in "Myra Breckinridge." The exterior is pure plastic, though occasionally one sees a sign of individual life deep inside the two holes that have been cut out for the eyes. The film opens in the 1920's in New York, when Fields was already a big Ziegfeld star, and closes with his death in California in 1946, at the age of 67, when he had become one of Hollywood's most celebrated stars. In between these dates "W.C. Fields and Me" attempts to dramatize—with no conviction—the complex, witty actor-writer as if he were one of his own ill-tempered, suspicious heroes with a suddenly discovered heart of gold. Mr. Steiger reads all of his lines with the monotonous sing-song manner used by third-rate nightclub comics doing Fields imitations. He also speaks most of them out of the corner of his mouth as if he'd had a stroke. Valerie Perrine, a spectacularly beautiful woman who may also be a good actress, plays Miss Monti, who, in this film anyway, is an unconvincing combination of intelligence, patience, fidelity, sportsmanship and masochism. Perhaps because the visual style of the entire film is more or less mortuous, Jack Cassidy, who plays a flyweight John Barrymore, wears the kind of makeup that makes him look dead several reels before he actually dies. The movie contains two halfway funny moments: a scene in which we see Fields taking a broom to a swan that has trespassed his Hollywood lawn, and the sight of Baby Harold (based on Baby Leroy, one of Fields's toughest costars) staggering out of his set-side dressing room after Fields has spiked the kid's orange juice with gin. W.C. FIELDS AND ME, directed by Arthur Hiller; screenplay by Bob Merrill, based on the book by Carlotta Monti with Cy Rice; produced by Jay Weston; director of photography, David M. Walsh; editor, John C. Howard; music, Henry Mancini; distributed by Universal Pictures. Running time: 110 minutes. At the Criterion Theater, Broadway at 45th Street, Baronet Theater,


Which was the first Gilbert and Sullivan opera to have its premiere at the new Savoy Theatre?

Savoy Theatre London history Savoy Theatre History and Timeline The Savoy Theatre opens 1881-10-10 After a long period of planning, the theatre was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte, designed by C. J Phipps. The building was the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity, and featured over 1,200 Swan lightbulbs. Decorated inside in the style of the Italian Renaissance, it seated 1,292 people on four levels. The Savoy Operas 1882-09-01 The first performance at the venue was Gilbert and Sullivan's opera 'Patience', beginning the trend for the theatre to premiere and host the works of G&S. The final 8 operas written by the pair premiered at the Savoy between 1881 and 1901 coining the phrase 'Savoy Operas' to describe their work. The venue also hosted operas by other companies such as the Carl Rosa Opera Company.   Rupert D'Oyly Carte becomes manager 1915-01-01 After the death of Richard, his son Rupert took over as theatre manager after returning from serving in the navy in World War I. He brought updated versions of operas to audiences, as well as the popular adaptation of 'Treasure Island' which starred Arthur Bourchier as Long John Silver and was revived every Christmas until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. The theatre reopens 1929-10-21 The theatre was closed in Jun 1929 and the interior was restored to designs by Frank A Tugwell by Basil Ionides. The boxes were removed from the auditorium, and the seating reduced to just three levels, bringing the capacity back up to 1,200 seats. The first performance was 'The Gondoliers' which was attended by Lady Gilbert, the widow of the librettist. Gilbert and Sullivan seasons continued until 2003. Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit premieres 1941-01-01 Noel Coward's play 'Blithe Spirit' had its premiere at the Savoy Theatre, where it went on to become one of the longest running plays of its time, with 1, 997 consecutive performances. A Musical version of the play starring Denis Quilley and Cicely Courtneidge played at the theatre in 1964. Titled 'High Spirits', it was supervised by Coward, but didn't acheive the same level of success, playing for only 94 performances. The theatre reopens after fire and refurbishment 1993-07-19 During scheduled restoration of the theatre, a fire gutted the auditorium and front of house areas. Whilst the stage and backstage areas remained untouched, the rest of the theatre had to be fully restored. Sir William Whitfeld became the architect for the new building, restoring the three levels and seating capacity of 1,158 people. The restored venue quickly became an attractive West End theatre for a wide range of new productions. She Loves Me is Revived 1994-07-12 Jerry Bock's musical 'She Loves Me' was revived at the Savoy, following a sell out season on Broadway. Ruthie Henshall played Amalia Ballash, with John Gordon Sinclair as George Novak. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company reform at the theatre 2000-01-01 The opera company reformed briefly to pay homage to the Savoy's original purpose as an opera house. Productions included 'H.M.S Pinafore', 'The Pirates of Penzance', 'Iolanthe' and 'The Mikado'. The Savoy becomes an Ambassador's Theatre 2005-01-01 The Savoy Hotel group was sold to Quinlan Private, who then sold the theatre to the Ambassadors Theatre Group in 2005. Trevor Nunn's Porgy and Bess opens 2006-11-09 The Gershwin's masterpiece opera was reborn as a musical by director Trevor Nunn. Clarke Peters and Nicola Hughes starred in the title roles, which failed to win the attention of either critics or audiences. Fiddler on the Roof is revived at the Savoy 2007-05-29 Lindsay Posner's revival of the classic Jerry Bock musical 'Fiddler on the Roof' transferred to the Savoy after a successful regional run in Sheffield. Henry Goodman starred as Tevye the milkman, alongside Julie Legrand as Yente and Alexandra Silber as Hodel. The production was successful and ran for a year. Carousel London Revival opens 2008-12-02 Lindsay Posner returned to the Savoy with the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical 'Carousel'. Adam Cooper pr