Drax Power Station is in which English county?

petition: End subsidies for Drax power station in the UK!, United Kingdom End subsidies for Drax power station in the UK! by:  Biofuelwatch target: Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Minister of State for Energy,  United Kingdom Drax power station in Yorkshire, England, burns more coal than any other power station in the UK, and more wood than any power station in the world. During 2015, Drax burned more wood than was produced in the whole of the UK that year. Most of the wood Drax burns comes from North America, and much of that is sourced from clearcut wetland hardwood forests in the southern US. These are North America’s most biodiverse forests and amongst the world’s most diverse aquatic ecosystems, home to the greatest concentration of salamander and carnivorous plant species. Most wetland hardwood forests in the US have already been destroyed, mainly for paper. Now the remaining fragments are being clearcut to burn in European power stations, primarily at Drax. Drax’s wood burning is also disastrous for the climate. Studies show that burning wood pellets for electricity can put more carbon into the atmosphere than burning coal, over a timescale of several decades. Alongside wood pellets, Drax still burns millions of tonnes of coal every year. A recent report showed that Drax is sourcing coal from Colombia and Russia, where indigenous communities have been forcefully evicted from their lands for coal mine expansion, to feed UK power stations. Burning wood pellets is allowing Drax to continue burning coal long into the future. The generous renewable energy subsidies it receives are a de-facto support for coal burning, was well as wood burning, as the power station can only stay open because of them. Last year, Drax’s subsidies amounted to £451.8 million – over £1.3 million every single day. Please call on the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Minister of State for Energy to withdraw Drax's renewable energy subsidies, and make a commitment that no more shall be awarded to the power station in future. Clean energy subsidies must be spent on genuinely renewable, low-carbon energy. read petition letter ▾ Dear Secretary of State for BEIS and Minister of State for Energy, We are deeply concerned that the UK government is continuing to award Drax power station with millions in renewable energy subsidies. Drax is now the largest biomass power station in the world, and still the biggest coal burning power station in the UK. Last year Drax Plc was awarded £451.8 million in renewable energy subsidies, a figure that far exceeds the company's gross profit for 2015, which was £409 million, and shows just how dependent the company is on subsidies to remain profitable. Drax's subsidies have shot up from the previous year, by almost half, and they're set to keep on growing. Once 50% of the power station has been converted to biomass, Drax can look forward to over £600 million every year. That's equivalent to over £1.6 million a day. But there's a huge amount of evidence that Drax's biomass is anything but low carbon, and on top of this, that its biomass sourcing is resulting in the destruction of some of the world's most biodiverse temperate forests, in the southern US. Biomass burning at Drax is also allowing the power station's remaining coal capacity to stay operational for longer, meaning that the renewable energy subsidies it receives are also, in effect, subsidising coal burning. Drax should not receive subsidies for burning biomass or coal. Renewable energy subsidies should be spent on truly sustainable forms of renewable energy, and investment should be directed towards energy efficiency and demand reduction, not dirty old power stations like Drax. Update #23 months ago Can you make it to our demo outside Drax on 22 October in Yorkshire? Or our demo in London on 19 October? . Bring your banners, costumes, placards and voices – and make it clear that Drax's greenwashing of biomass has to stop. Together we can #AxeDrax. All info here . Update #16 months ag


What is the name of the gallery from which members of the public can watch proceedings in the British House of Commons?

Visits to the Gallery of the House of Commons Weekly Information Bulletin: 9th December 2000 Visits to the Gallery of the House of Commons The Strangers' Gallery is open whilst the House sits - usually 14.30-22.30 or later on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11.30-7.30 on Thursdays, and 09.30-15.00 on most Fridays. You can check whether the House will be sitting by telephoning 020-7219 4272 or by listening to the recorded announcement of business (please note that this service has now ceased and the information can be found on the Parliamentary calendar) . . Attending on Monday - Thursday afternoons It is difficult to secure a place in the Gallery during the afternoon (Question Time takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 14.30 hours to 15.30 (with the Prime Minister answering from 15.00 to 15.30 on Wednesdays) and on Thursdays from 11.30 to 12.30. To attend at this time, United Kingdom residents should write as far in advance as possible (several weeks' notice may be necessary) to their local Member of Parliament (the House of Commons Information Office can advise who this is if there is doubt). Members have only a small allocation of tickets, and by no means for every day. It is therefore usually difficult for them to meet requests for tickets for specific days. Foreign and Commonwealth visitors can apply to their Embassy or High Commission in the UK for a card of introduction, which will normally permit entry during the early afternoon. Embassies and High Commissions may issue no more than four cards on any day, so visitors from certain countries may find cards are booked for several weeks ahead. Please note that such cards do not guarantee entry at 14.30. Quite often, it will not be possible to admit their bearers until after Question Time - that is, after 15.30. British embassies abroad do not issue such cards. Australian and Canadian visitors may apply to the London office of their province or state as an alternative to their High Commission. People from the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, British colonies, and Commonwealth territories unrepresented in London, may apply to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (020-7219 5378) for tickets. If none of these arrangements is made, one may join the public queue outside St Stephen's Entrance. But a wait of 1 or 2 hours is common during the afternoons. Attending on Wednesday mornings and Fridays It is usually fairly easy to get into the Gallery on these days. Advance bookings for Fridays, through Members of Parliament may be made; but it is normally possible to enter the Gallery, without queuing, at the commencement of the day's proceedings. Later in the day a queue tends to develop and some delay is inevitable. On Wednesdays the Gallery is cleared at 14.00 to allow people with tickets obtained from their MP to attend Question Time. On some of these days the Gallery is likely to be full. Attending in the evenings Monday to Thursday Generally speaking, after ticket holders have left the Gallery and the afternoon queue has been cleared, there is not, except during controversial debates, too much pressure on places in the Gallery. Visitors who wish to minimise waiting times should therefore arrive at about 18.00 or later. The House sits until 22.30 or after on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: the gallery remains open during this time. The Information Office can advise what is to be debated. NB For the remainder of this session the House will rise at 19.30 on Thursdays. Attending meetings of Committees Select and Standing Committees meet throughout the week, though not usually on Fridays. Places are limited and there is no system of tickets or advance booking. The Information Office can advise when and where meetings will take place. Only evidence-taking sessions of Select Committees are normally open to the public. In all cases visitors should go to St Stephen's Entrance, whence they will be shown by the Police to a queue, or directly up to the Gallery or Committee Room as the case may be. St Stephen's Entrance is at the centre of the Palace of


Which British football manager was known as ‘El Tel’?

When British football managers thrived in Spain | Football | The Guardian Guardian Sport Network When British football managers thrived in Spain Clubs in La Liga are not rushing to appoint another British manager after Real Sociedad’s failed experiment with David Moyes , but there was a time when clubs in the UK worried about their best young coaches migrating to jobs in Spain Monday 16 November 2015 07.20 EST Last modified on Monday 4 April 2016 07.47 EDT Share on Messenger Close There’s always something for British football to wring its hands about. Ten years ago it was foreign owners in “our” game. Before that, foreign players. In the 1980s, among other things, it was the “talent drain” of managers heading off to foreign lands was troubling the fretters of the nation. “I hope Spain has now had its fair share as far as Everton is concerned,” huffed then Toffees chairman Philip Carter in 1987. “It is a real problem for British football and there are moves afoot to liberalise the situation even further … it should be of great concern to those involved with our national game.” Carter was speaking after Howard Kendall, having just won his second league title with Everton, had left Goodison Park to take charge of Athletic Bilbao . Russell Thomas wrote in the Guardian that Kendall’s move “confirms the most depressing trend in British football: the drift of talent, player and managerial, to the continent,” while, in the Times, Stuart Jones said Kendall’s departure represented “another disturbing signpost. It points to the continuing decline of individual talent, whether it be on the pitch or on the periphery of it.” How Howard Kendall saved his job at Everton and won the FA Cup in 1984 Read more Of course, British and Irish managers moving to Spain was nothing new. The early history of many Spanish clubs is littered with names such as Patrick O’Connell, Arthur Johnson, Robert Firth and Frederick Pentland, the latter known as “The Bowler Hat” because of his favoured headgear. Indeed, the rough Spanish equivalent of “gaffer” is “mister”, which partly came about due to the early prevalence of British coaches in the country. However, 1987 seemed to be the peak of a minor exodus, inspired by the huge success of English teams in Europe, success that was then stymied by the five-year ban after Heysel. British coaches were tempted abroad with the promise of, among other things, continental competition, although the lifestyle and salaries probably helped too. Kendall’s move to Spain was at least partly inspired by the English ban from Europe. “Would I have stayed if we hadn’t been banned?” he said in an interview earlier this year. “Probably, yes. We would have been involved in Europe again. But when your top players are allowed to leave, as Trevor Steven and Gary Stevens did, it takes some rebuilding.” Kendall managed Bilbao for two seasons; Terry Venables won the league with Barcelona; Jock Wallace took charge of Sevilla for a while; and Ron Atkinson had a brief spell as Atlético Madrid boss. Colin Addison took Celta Vigo up from the second tier then served as Atkinson’s assistant, taking over upon his dismissal, while John Mortimore, Chelsea stalwart of the 50s and 60s who won the league twice in two spells with Benfica, had a year in charge of Real Betis. In the summer of 1987, seven of the 20 managers in the Spanish top flight were British. Of those who joined the exodus, John Toshack is the daddy of them all, spending a total of 17 seasons in Spain with Real Sociedad (three times), Real Madrid (twice), Deportivo la Coruna and Real Murcia. Toshack, once thought to be a shoo-in for the Liverpool job, left his homeland after life at Swansea soured, relegation to the Second Division starting the wilderness years that eventually left them in the fourth, where he had lifted them from in the first place. Toshack first went to Portugal and Sporting (turning down Aston Villa) and then to Sociedad, where he became their first ever non-Basque manager. Indeed, one of the problems he had to face was the club’s policy that all players had to


US President Ronald Reagan belonged to which political party from 1962?

Ronald Reagan on economics and political parties, 1962 | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Ronald Reagan on economics and political parties, 1962 A primary source by Ronald Reagan View this item in the Collection. In May 1962, Ronald Reagan wrote this letter expressing his ideas about economic policy and the nation’s political parties. Reagan wrote as a supporter of the conservative Republican Senator Barry Goldwater. Reagan had spent much of his political career campaigning and voting for Democrats, but throughout the 1950s his increasingly conservative views turned him toward the Republican Party. In this letter, he writes, “I myself have been a life long Dem. but no longer.” Reagan had only recently switched parties—he refrained from officially becoming a Republican until after the 1960 presidential election so that he could campaign as a “Democrat for Nixon.” Reagan believed that the Democratic Party had become too liberal, especially concerning economic issues. Here, he writes of “turning to the Rep. party” and making it “the organ for Economic conservatism.” A full transcript is available.                                                                                May 26 Dear Mr. Ward             Thanks very much for your kind letter.  You ask if there is anything more to be done than writing to Cong. & Senators. At the moment with regard to the Herlong–Baker bill (H.R. 3000–3001) this writing is very important. Sen. Barry Goldwater says “only a flood of mail” will get this bill out of committee.  We should write the “House Ways & Means Committee” urging them to past the bill before Congress. We should also write our Rep. & Senators. Most important we should urge all our friends to do the same and if we belong to organizations get them to pass resolutions endorsing the bill and send these resolutions to Wash. As for a 3rd party I think we could save effort by turning to the Rep. party (I myself have been a life long Dem. but no longer) and by our very numbers force that party to be the organ for Economic conservatism. Again thanks –                                     Ronald Reagan Questions for Discussion You are seeing this page because you are not currently logged into our website. If you would like to access this page and you are not logged in, please  login  or  register  for a  gilderlehrman.org  account, and then visit the link that brought you to this notice. Thanks! Make Gilder Lehrman your Home for History Already have an account? Please click here to login and access this page. How to subscribe Click here to get a free subscription if you are a K-12 educator or student, and here for more information on the Affiliate School Program, which provides even more benefits. Otherwise, click here for information on a paid subscription for those who are not K-12 educators or students. Make Gilder Lehrman your Home for History Become an Affiliate School to have free access to the Gilder Lehrman site and all its features. Click here to start your Affiliate School application today! You will have free access while your application is being processed. Individual K-12 educators and students can also get a free subscription to the site by making a site account with a school-affiliated email address. Click here to do so now! Make Gilder Lehrman your Home for History Why Gilder Lehrman? Your subscription grants you access to archives of rare historical documents, lectures by top historians, and a wealth of original historical material, while also helping to support history education in schools nationwide. Click here to see the kinds of historical resources to which you'll have access and here to read more about the Institute's educational programs. Individual subscription: $25 Click here to sign up for an individual subscription to the Gilder Lehrman site. Make Gilder Lehrman your Home for History Upgrade your Account We're sorry, but it looks as though you do not have access to the full Gilder Lehrman site. All K-12 educators receive free subscriptions


Brothers Leon and Michael Spinks are associated with which sport?

Leon and Michael Spinks - The 25 Greatest Brothers in Sports History | Complex The 25 Greatest Brothers in Sports History 17. Leon and Michael Spinks Sport: Boxing Accomplishments: Leon: Beat Muhammad Ali for heavyweight championship; Michael: International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee The Spinks brothers both reached the pinnacle of the boxing ladder, with each winning the heavyweight title at different periods of their careers (Leon in 1978, Michael in 1983). Despite Leon's gold medal and defeat of Muhammad Ali and Michael's Hall of Fame induction, both are more famous for their unceremonious losses rather than their strong track records of success. Both Leon (Ali rematch) and Michael (a young Mike Tyson) suffered defeats at the hands of a couple of the sport's biggest legends, forever associating their family name with the type of humbling defeat usually reserved for lesser fighters. WatchNow


On the human body, exungulation is the trimming of what?

Human Physiology/Integumentary System - Wikibooks, open books for an open world Human Physiology/Integumentary System Introduction[ edit ] The integumentary system consists of the skin, hair, nails, the subcutaneous tissue below the skin,and assorted glands.The most obvious function of the integumentary system is the protection that the skin gives to underlying tissues. The skin not only keeps most harmful substances out, but also prevents the loss of fluids. A major function of the subcutaneous tissue is to connect the skin to underlying tissues such as muscles. Hair on the scalp provides insulation from cold for the head. The hair of eyelashes and eyebrows helps keep dust and perspiration out of the eyes, and the hair in our nostrils helps keep dust out of the nasal cavities. Any other hair on our bodies no longer serves a function, but is an evolutionary remnant. Nails protect the tips of fingers and toes from mechanical injury. Fingernails give the fingers greater ability to pick up small objects. There are four types of glands in the integumentary system: Sudoriferous glands, Sebaceous glands, Ceruminous glands, and Mammary glands. Sudoriferous glands are sweat producing glands. These are important to help maintain body temperature. Sebaceous glands are oil producing glands which help inhibit bacteria, keep us waterproof and prevent our hair and skin from drying out. Ceruminous glands produce earwax which keeps the outer surface of the eardrum pliable and prevents drying. Mammary glands produce milk. Skin[ edit ] In zoology and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system made up of a layer of tissues that guard underlying muscles and organs. As the interface with the surroundings, it plays the most important role in protecting against pathogens. Its other main functions are insulation and temperature regulation, sensation and vitamin D and B synthesis. Skin is considered one of the most important parts of the body. Skin has pigmentation, melanin, provided by melanocytes, which absorbs some of the potentially dangerous radiation in sunlight. It also contains DNA repair enzymes which reverse UV damage, and people who lack the genes for these enzymes suffer high rates of skin cancer. One form predominantly produced by UV light, malignant melanoma, is particularly invasive, causing it to spread quickly, and can often be deadly. Human skin pigmentation varies among populations in a striking manner. This has sometimes led to the classification of people(s) on the basis of skin color. Damaged skin will try to heal by forming scar tissue, often giving rise to discoloration and depigmentation of the skin. The skin is often known as "the largest organ in the human body". This applies to exterior surface, as it covers the body, appearing to have the largest surface area of all the organs. Moreover, it applies to weight, as it weighs more than any single internal organ, accounting for about 15 percent of body weight. For the average adult human, the skin has a surface area of between 1.5-2.0 square meters, most of it is between 2-3 mm thick. The average square inch of skin holds 650 sweat glands, 20 blood vessels, 60,000 melanocytes, and more than a thousand nerve endings. The use of natural or synthetic cosmetics to treat the appearance of the face and condition of the skin (such as pore control and black head cleansing) is common among many cultures. Layers[ edit ] The skin has two major layers which are made of different tissues and have very different functions. Diagram of the layers of human skin Skin is composed of the epidermis and the dermis. Below these layers lies the hypodermis or subcutaneous adipose layer, which is not usually classified as a layer of skin. The outermost epidermis consists of stratified squamous keratinizing epithelium with an underlying basement membrane. It contains no blood vessels, and is nourished by diffusion from the dermis. The main type of cells which make up the epidermis are keratinocytes, with melanocytes and Langerhans cells also present. The epidermis can be further subd


Lenny Small and George Milton are the main characters in which novel by John Steinbeck?

George Milton George Milton    Bookmark this page    Manage My Reading List George is described as physically small with very sharp features, an opposite to Lennie Small . Milton is the last name of the author of one of Steinbeck 's favorite works, Paradise Lost. In that epic poem, Adam and Eve fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. Because of their fall, mankind is doomed to be alone and walk the earth as a lonely being. Some critics believe George represents that doomed man who longs to return to Eden. His one chance to avoid that fate is his relationship with Lennie, which makes them different from the other lonely men. But despite this companionship, at the end of the book, George is fated to be once again alone. George's personality often reflects both anger and understanding. Of the two men, he is the one who thinks things through and considers how their goals can be reached. Once Candy makes the stake possible, George comes up with the details: where they will get the ranch, how long they must work to pay for it, and how they will have to keep a low profile in order to work for the next month. George also foresees possible complications and gives Lennie advice about what he must do in order to help their future. While George can be very rational and thoughtful, he also gets frustrated and angry with Lennie because the big man cannot control his strength or actions. George repeatedly gets angry, so much so that Lennie knows by heart what it means when George "gives him hell." But George's anger quickly fades when he remembers Lennie's innocence and his inability to remember or think clearly. George, unlike other men, has a companion and friend in Lennie. Because of this, Lennie makes George feel special. They are different from all the other guys, and George realizes only too well that they have a special bond. At the ranch, George often plays solitaire, a game for one. Without Lennie, George would be a loner. Even though George gets frustrated by Lennie's mental weakness, he also feels compassion for his friend. Lennie offers George the opportunity to lay plans, give advice, and, in general, be in charge. Without Lennie, George would be just like the other hands, but with Lennie, George has a strong sense of responsibility. In the end, he even takes responsibility for Lennie's death. George also understands that Lennie does not have an adult's sense of guilt and does not understand death or murder beyond it being a "bad thing." George makes it possible for Lennie — sometimes — to understand at least partial consequences of his actions. Unfortunately, George does not realize how dangerous Lennie can be, and this lack of foresight adds to the downfall of their dream. Their dream also sets George apart from the others because it means he and Lennie have a future and something to anticipate. Unlike Lennie, George does not see their dream in terms of rabbits; instead, he sees it in a practical way. Their farm will be one where they can be independent and safe and where he will not have to worry about keeping track of Lennie's mistakes. They can be secure and in charge of their own lives. However, Lennie is the one who adds the enthusiasm because George never really believed they could swing this farm of their own. He mostly uses the story to give Lennie something to believe in for their future. Only when Candy offers the stake does George actually begin to see that this dream could come true. But, realist that he is, George tells Candy over the lifeless body of Curley's wife , "I think I knowed from the very first. I think I know'd we'd never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would [be able to have the farm.]" In the end, George Milton is man alone once again.


Quadrillion | Define Quadrillion at Dictionary.com quadrillion noun, plural quadrillions (as after a numeral) quadrillion. 1. a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 15 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 24 zeros. adjective amounting to one quadrillion in number. Origin of quadrillion 1665-75; quadr- + -illion (as in million) Related forms Examples from the Web for quadrillion Expand Historical Examples They give off resonance waves, each one absolutely unique; there's about one chance in a quadrillion of a duplicate pattern. Starman's Quest Robert Silverberg At this rate of growth from a single cholera bacillus sixteen quadrillion might arise in a single day. Getting Married George Bernard Shaw quadrillion, kwod-ril′yun, n. a million raised to the fourth power, represented by a unit with twenty-four ciphers. The observatory on Pluto had reported a free planet passing within two hundred quadrillion miles of the solar system. Unthinkable Roger Phillips Graham "Three quadrillion times, my son," replied his father with perfect accuracy and a spirit of hourly freshness. The Kentucky Warbler James Lane Allen Their velocity was six hundred and sixty quadrillion miles per second! British Dictionary definitions for quadrillion Expand noun 1. (in Britain) the number represented as one followed by 24 zeros (1024) US and Canadian word septillion 2. (in the US and Canada) the number represented as one followed by 15 zeros (1015) determiner amounting to this number: a quadrillion atoms (as pronoun): a quadrillion C17: from French quadrillon, from quadri- + -illion, on the model of million Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for quadrillion Expand n. 1670s, from French quadrillion (16c.) from quadri- "four" (see quadri- ) + (m)illion. Cf. billion . In Great Britain, the fourth power of a million (1 followed by 24 zeroes); in the U.S., the fifth power of a thousand (1 followed by 15 zeroes). Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper


‘The Girl With a….’what’? Is a 17th Century painting by Johannes Vermeer?

Art and Artists | American Girls Art Club In Paris. . . and Beyond American Girls Art Club In Paris. . . and Beyond Exploring The World In The Footsteps of The Artists and Writers Who Came Before Search Category Archives: Art and Artists Post navigation Reply I’ve often thought about how my time in Paris, as short as it was, managed to change me. And it seems I can’t stop thinking about the change Paris may have had on other artists, other women, in other times. I’ve taken a look at some of their lives to see if I can spot the power of Paris. American portrait painter Cecilia Beaux (1855-1942), who lived and studied in Paris in 1888-89, makes a great example. Celia Beaux, Self Portrait (1894) Maybe you don’t know much about Cecilia Beaux, but she has some pretty amazing paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago ,  Metropolitan Museum of New York , or my favorite, Sita and Sarita at Musée d’Orsay . Most people know her, if they know her at all, because William Merritt Chase called her “the greatest woman artist who has ever lived.” I’ve previously written about her struggle to obtain an art education in Philadelphia during the Victorian era. But what interests me the most is her time in Paris. When Beaux took her shot to study in Paris, it seems like it changed her life. She only  spent a year and a half there, but when she returned home to the States in 1889 her career really took off. True, she was no slouch before Paris – she’d already studied for over a decade, worked as a professional and received numerous awards. She’d already had a painting accepted in the Paris Salon of 1887. So here is Beaux before Paris: Cecilia Beaux, Les Derniers Jours D’Enfance (1883-85), oil on canvas, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . This painting was awarded the PAFA Mary Smith Prize for best work by a local woman and was accepted into the 1887 Paris Salon. According to PAFA, Beaux considered this to be “a coup” that marked “a turning point in her career.”   And this is Beaux after Paris: Cecilia Beaux, New England Woman (1895), oil on canvas, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania     Isn’t the difference stunning? It’s as if she moved from one century to another. And the difference wasn’t just in the vibrant new light in her portraits. As successful as Beaux was before Paris, her output of high profile portraits soared upon her return. She completed over 40 portraits in five years, including some of the most remarkable of her career. By 1895, Beaux was hired to be the first full-time female faculty member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Arts, becoming the Head of Portraits. If Paris did indeed spark Beaux’s success in the 1890s, what was it? The training in the Paris ateliers? The exposure to and networking with other artists? The chance to study from the masters in the Louvre? The experience of freedom as a traveler, an outsider and an expatriate? Or maybe it’s just in the air in Paris. Before I set out to walk in Beaux’s footsteps through Paris I decided to read her autobiography, Background With Figures (1930). I wanted to hear her Paris stories in her own voice and her own words. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the time I spent reading her book – she had a wicked sense of humor and a masterful ability to walk the fine line between truth and discretion. Here was a woman who had seen and achieved a great deal at a time when women of her social background weren’t really supposed to. Beaux is at her best when she tells the story behind her first trip to France. She had long dreamed of studying art in Paris. All the serious American art students were going. But Beaux had an additional, more personal draw: she was half French and was ready to claim her father’s heritage as part of her own. Once her first painting (Les Derniers Jours D’Enfance) was accepted at the Paris Salon of 1887, it seemed as though she’d earned the right to go. But she couldn’t go alone. In spite of the fact that she was 33 years old and had been studying and practicing art for over 17 years, she still wouldn’t t


In human behaviour, rhinotillexomania is compulsive, obsessive what?

Rhinotillexomania: psychiatric disorder or habit? - PubMed - NCBI Rhinotillexomania: psychiatric disorder or habit? 1Dean Foundation for Health, Research and Education, Madison, WI 53717-1914. Abstract BACKGROUND: Conditions once considered bad habits are now recognized as psychiatric disorders (trichotillomania, onychopagia). We hypothesized that nose picking is another such "habit," a common benign practice in most adults but a time-consuming, socially compromising, or physically harmful condition (rhinotillexomania) in some. METHODS: We developed the Rhinotillexomania Questionnaire, mailed it to 1000 randomly selected adult residents of Dane County, Wisconsin, and requested anonymous responses. The returned questionnaires were analyzed according to age, sex, marital status, living arrangement, and educational level. Nose picking was characterized according to time involved, level of distress, location, attitudes toward self and others regarding the practice, technique, methods of disposal, reasons, complications, and associated habits and psychiatric disorders. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-four subjects responded. Ninety-one percent were current nose pickers although only 75% felt "almost everyone does it"; 1.2% picked at least every hour. For 2 subjects (0.8%), nose picking caused moderate to marked interferences with daily functioning. Two subjects spent between 15 and 30 minutes and 1 over 2 hours a day picking their nose. For 2 others, perforation of the nasal septum was a complication. Associated "habits" included picking cuticles (25%), picking at skin (20%), biting fingernails (18%), and pulling out hair (6%). CONCLUSION: This first population survey of nose picking suggests that it is an almost universal practice in adults but one that should not be considered pathologic for most. For some, however, the condition may meet criteria for a disorder-rhinotillexomania. PMID:


The 2000 Guineas Horse Race is run at which British race course?

2000 Guineas | Newmarket Racecourse St Leger 2000 Guineas History The 2000 Guineas is of course one of the classics of British flat Racing and it is one of the most exciting races of the season with the very best three year-olds battling over the straight course on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket. The race tends to take place at the start of May each season and it gives punters the chance to run the rule over the stars of the season as we see many of them for the first time as three-year-old horses. The list of winners of the 2000 Guineas really are the cream of the crop, and it opens the way to potential runs in the Epsom Derby as well as big races at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood so it really is a race to get involved with each season. The 2000 Guineas is the first leg of the Triple Crown along with the Derby and the St Leger so it can be the start of the a magic season for the winner of the race, the last horse to capture the Triple Crown was Nijinksy in 1970 and he will be remembered as a great 2000 Guineas winner. There have been a number since then as well with all of the top yards sending their big guns to Newmarket at the start of each season, with the likes of Saeed Bin Suroor, Sir Michael Stoute and Aidan O’Brien all having multiple winners of the race over the past 10 to 15 years. The Guineas is one of the most prestigious flat races in the world and connections are always eager to get their horses to the race fit and well to see how their star juveniles have progressed over the winter ahead of the all-important three-year-old season. Since the turn of the 21st Century we have seen some of the best winners of the race with household names like Rock Of Gibraltar in 2002, George Washington in 2006, Henrythenavigator in 2008 and of course the great Sea The Stars in 2009 winning the race in recent times. We all remember Sea the Stars going through a perfect season as a three-year-old but the 2000 Guineas was the race where he served notice of his brilliance, he followed the race win at Newmarket up with wins in the Epsom Derby, the Coral Eclipse and the Arc among others. The 2000 Guineas is always an exciting race with the runners taking on the straight mile and the draw can prove important to a horses chances, the course staff will always try to even out the draw bias but inevitably there is some advantages that show out over the two days of the Guineas meeting. Recent Winners of the 2000 Guineas ��� 2000 - King's Best


How many avenues start from the circle of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris?

Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France Tweet Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France Arc de Triomphe in Paris is one of the famous historical symbol of France. Located between Étoile Square, the location of the Arc de Triomphe end of the Champs-Elysées, the focus area of the city tourists. One of the most famous tourist destinations in Paris, the Arc de Triomphe was built in 1806 and was completed in 1836 to commemorate the victorious battle of Napoleon Bonaparte and honor the military. Arc de Triomphe stands the magnificent way Paris's most famous avenue, the Champs-Elysées is the 8th district of Paris. Arc de Triomphe with a height of 50 meters, width 45 meters and 22 meters thick. 8 feet deep foundations cast under a weight of 50,000 tons of Arc de Triomphe. Around 558 Arc de Triomphe is engraved statues of celebrities, generals through the reign of the last century. Below the arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the First World War. Sunrise on the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France From the Arc de Triomphe, 12 radiating avenues (linked by a circular ring around) is the "lifeblood" of Paris. After all 284 stairs up, you will discover Paris from atop the Arc de Triomphe to the odd look very nice at night, giving you a broad picture of Paris, in a thousand and one sparkle . Standing on the terrace overlooking the Arc de Triomphe, you will see 12 roads spread out as 12-pointed star, you're exposed to the experience of the soul trees. The route will leave an echo in your heart. First is the Champs-Elysées and ends with a circle Concorde place ancient Egyptian pyramid at the center. At the front, the two sides of the Arc de Triomphe, all four objects are carved sculpture subtly. Two subjects looked toward Paris: The first object represents the path of the volunteer army. The second object symbolizes the victory of Napoleon Bonaparte. Two subjects looked toward suburban Neuilly: A symbol of resistance, and a symbol for peace. Having to take place, a glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe see the imposing features of its mighty lively. Today, Arc de Triomphe is a symbol of victory in Paris, has contributed greatly to the beauty of this capital light. People often back and forth, up and down the boulevards, congregate, dating, because this is an easy place to get to know each other to walk around, to go listen to music, eat after the weekend afternoon and especially in the holidays. Arc de Triomphe is a historic monument of France The Arc de Triomphe is a scene of the official military parade: July 14 ceremony, especially the two streets carrying colorful red, white and blue. Eve is the most positive, tourists from neighboring countries gathered together in the same New Year's Eve, and the November 11 ceremony. It is also to welcome the champion cyclist wins back, after a round of France (champion of the Tour de France). The Arc de Triomphe stands 10th in the most attractive works of Paris. Arc de Triomphe Time Zone: UTC 1 Currency: Euro, CFP franc Weather: The climate in France is quite varied, but generally west European - on the whole a bit warmer than the UK, a bit cooler than Spain . Don't expect to find summer in winter in the South of France! Country Code: 33


In the British television series ‘Callan’ played by Edward Woodward, what is Callan’s first name?

Callan (TV Series 1967–1972) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error David Callan is the top agent/assassin for the Security Service (British counterintelligence), but he is an embittered man who performs his duties "for Queen and country" under duress. This... See full summary  » Creator: Captured by the KGB, Callan is drugged, brainwashed and released - with instructions to kill Hunter. He obeys - but who actually dies? Hunter? Meres? Or Callan? Who get shot in the process? 8.9 Callan is ordered to investigate Joan Mather, a government laboratory scientist who has expressed concerns that her work might be used for biological warfare. 8.8 Actor Ronald Radd returns as the first Hunter of the Section, blood-thirsty Col. Leslie. Callan is then sent to nail two minor Russian agents working from a pet shop. 8.7 a list of 826 titles created 29 Sep 2011 a list of 43 titles created 02 Jan 2012 a list of 197 titles created 05 Nov 2013 a list of 43 titles created 7 months ago a list of 25 titles created 5 months ago Search for " Callan " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 1 win & 3 nominations. See more awards  » Videos David Callan, top agent/assassin for the S.I.S., was forced to retire because he had lost his nerve. Now, Callan is called back into service to handle the assassination of Schneider, a ... See full summary  » Director: Don Sharp The missions of an elite British Intelligence covert operations unit. Stars: Roy Marsden, Ray Lonnen, Jerome Willis Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk are private detectives who specialize in divorce cases. Their long-running partnership seems to come to an abrupt end when Marty is killed by a hit-and-run, ... See full summary  » Stars: Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope, Annette Andre In the year 1980 the Earth is threatened by an alien race who kidnap and kill humans and use them for body parts. A highly secret military organization is set up in the hope of defending ... See full summary  » Stars: Ed Bishop, Dolores Mantez, Michael Billington John Steed and his new accomplices Purdey and Gambit find themselves facing new and deadly dangers in the bizarre world of espionage. Mixing fantasy with a darker edge, the trio face ... See full summary  » Stars: Patrick Macnee, Gareth Hunt, Joanna Lumley John Drake is a special operative for NATO, specializing in security assignments against any subversive element which threatened world peace. The series featured exotic locales from all ... See full summary  » Stars: Patrick McGoohan, Richard Wattis, Lionel Murton Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett were agents for Nemesis, an international intelligence organization based in Geneva. Their first mission as a team was to investigate ... See full summary  » Stars: Stuart Damon, Alexandra Bastedo, William Gaunt An elite department within Interpol, Department S inherited those cases which the other member groups had failed to solve. The brains of the group was Jason King, a hedonistic maverick who ... See full summary  » Stars: Peter Wyngarde, Joel Fabiani, Rosemary Nicols A group of convicts and outcasts fight a guerrilla war against the totalitarian Terran Federation from a highly advanced alien spaceship. Stars: Michael Keating, Paul Darrow, Peter Tuddenham Complex, involved science-fiction series about a special force of interdimensional operatives whose task is to protect the universe from evil forces trying to gain a foothold by disrupting ... See full summary  » Stars: David McCallum, Joanna Lumley, David Collings In this series, inspired by real events during World War II, the kind, intelligent and worrisome Albert Foiret runs both a café, which is the only notable public house in a small Belgian ... See full summary  » Stars: Bernard Hepton, Angela Richards,


Sockeye (Red) Salmon Identification & Information | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Other names: red salmon, blueback (Columbia and Quinault Rivers), kokanee  or "silver trout" (landlocked form) Average size: 5-8 lbs, up to 15  lbs Sockeye are the most flavorful Pacific salmon. In Washington, sockeye are  found in Lake Washington, Baker Lake, Ozette Lake, Quinault Lake, and Lake  Wenatchee. Spawning Sockeye are unique in that they require a lake to  rear in as fry, so the river they choose to spawn in must have a lake in the  system. This seems to be the most important criteria for choosing a spawning  ground, as sockeye adapt to a range of water velocities and substrates. Large rivers that supplied sufficient room for spawning and rearing  historically supported huge runs of sockeye, numbering into the millions. One  such run still exists today on the Adams River in British Columbia, a tributary  to the Fraser River. The Canadian government has built viewing platforms for  visitors, and annual runs of over a million sockeye are common. Rearing Juvenile sockeye rear for one or two years in a  lake, although they are also found in the inlet and outlet streams of the lake.  Sockeye fry are often preyed on by resident lake fish, and because they use  freshwater year-round, they are susceptible to low water quality. TERMS Alevin - The lifestage of a salmonid between egg and fry. An  alevin looks like a fish with a huge pot belly, which is the remaining egg sac.  Alevin remain protected in the gravel riverbed, obtaining nutrition from the egg  sac until they are large enough to fend for themselves in the stream. Anadromous - Fish that live part or the majority of their  lives in saltwater, but return to freshwater to spawn. Emergence - The act of salmon fry leaving the gravel nest. Fry - A juvenile salmonid that has absorbed its egg sac and  is rearing in the stream; the stage of development between an alevin and a parr. Kype - The hooked jaw many male salmon develop during  spawning. Parr - Also known as fingerling. A large juvenile salmonid,  one between a fry and a smolt. Smolt - A juvenile salmonid which has reared in-stream and  is preparing to enter the ocean. Smolts exchange the spotted camouflage of the  stream for the chrome of the ocean. Substrate - The material which comprises a stream bottom.


How many pips sound in the BBC radio time-signal?

The comforting tone of the hourly radio pips - BBC News BBC News The comforting tone of the hourly radio pips Magazine Monitor A collection of cultural artefacts 5 February 2014 LinkedIn Image copyright Thinkstock The "pips" - the hourly markers broadcast on Radio 4 and other BBC stations - have turned 90. Sam Judah looks back at a familiar sound. In a broadcasting landscape beset by rebrands and reshuffles, the pips have somehow persevered. Perhaps it's their reliability, their comforting monotony instilling a sense of momentary calm before the turmoil of the news, that has assured their survival. First heard on 5 February 1924, the six beeps were designed by John Reith, head of the BBC, and Frank Watson Dyson, the astronomer royal. They were controlled by two mechanical clocks at the Royal Greenwich Observatory - hence their official name, the Greenwich time signal. There was just one difference back then. The pips were all of uniform length - there was no elongated beep to round off the signal, which proved confusing for former BBC radio announcer Charles Lister. Media captionListen to the pips On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lister told presenter John Humphrys that he may even have triggered the historic change. "Which of the six pips is the important one?" Lister had asked his boss back in the 1960s. As today's listeners know, it's the final pip that matters most, but its elongation didn't materialise until years later - in 1972, according to David Rooney, former curator of timekeeping at the Greenwich observatory. To Lister's dismay, it may have been the introduction of an atomic clock, and the addition of a "leap second", that actually gave life to the idea. Today the pips are heard most often by BBC Radio 4 and World Service listeners, but they are also used on Chris Evans' breakfast show and Clare Balding's Sunday programme, among others on BBC Radio 2 - and they even turn up on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra on Saturday evenings. Television viewers can hear them too, mixed into the theme tune for many BBC news programmes. The sound is tightly regulated and can never be broadcast as a sound effect. Plays and comedies featuring fictional news programmes must find creative ways around the rule. On the Hour distorted the sound while it has been reported that an episode of The News Quiz played the pips individually, but not as a full set. The pips are not to be trifled with. After nearly a century, their place in the broadcasting schedule is firmly assured. Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook


Which board game includes a swinging boot, a bucket, a bath tub and a seesaw?

Mouse Trap (board game) | Board game manuals Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Board game manuals Wiki Mouse Trap (originally titled Mouse Trap Game) is a board game first published by Ideal in 1963 for two or more players. Contents Edit The basic premise of the game has been consistent throughout the game's history. However, the turn-based gameplay has changed somewhat over the years. The original version, designed by Hank Kramer of Ideal Toy Company , allowed the players almost no decision-making, in keeping with other games for very young children such as Candyland , or Chutes and Ladders . In the 1970s, the board game surrounding the Mouse Trap was redesigned by Sid Sackson , adding the cheese pieces and allowing the player to maneuver opponents onto the trap space. Current Rules Edit Each player is represented by a mouse -shaped game piece which travels along a non-continuous, roughly square-shaped path around the game board from the start to a continuous loop at the end. The path is segmented into spaces, some of which are marked with instructions, and "build" spaces that are marked simply with numbers ("2", "2-3" and "2-3-4"). The object of the game is to trap all of one's opponent's mice using the game's Rube Goldberg -style mouse trap , which is built upon the board during the course of the game. The trap begins with a crank which turns a set of gears. This begins a series of stages which ends in a cage being lowered over the " cheese wheel" space on the board, which is one of six spaces in the ending loop of the game path. Players roll the six-sided die in turn-based play, and move their mouse the number of spaces rolled. If a player lands on a "build" space that corresponds with the number of players in the game (e.g. only "2-3-4" spaces for a four-player game), they must build the next unbuilt piece of the mouse trap, and take a piece of cheese, represented by cheese-shaped tokens. If the players reach the final loop of the board, they continue around it until the game ends; each "build" space in the loop requires a player to build two pieces of the mouse trap, and take two pieces of cheese. Another space on the board is the "turn crank" space. Once the mouse trap is built, a player landing on one of these spaces while there is an opposing mouse on the "cheese wheel" space must turn the crank to start the mouse trap. If the mouse trap successfully runs its course (there are several stages in which the mouse trap may fail if not properly set), the cage will fall on any opposing mice on the space, and they are out of the game. If there are no opposing mice on the "cheese wheel" space, the player may trade one piece of cheese, for the opportunity to choose an opponent who is not on a "safe" space and roll the die to move their mouse. One may repeat this trade as many times in a turn as they have pieces of cheese; when an opposing mouse is on the "cheese wheel" space, the crank can then be turned. Once there is only one mouse left in the game, that player wins. Others spaces require the player to move their mouse in a prescribed manner. The Mouse Trap Edit The mouse trap in the game has never changed in operation, though the color and shape of some pieces has been slightly modified over the years. There are several stages which form the mouse trap, and most stages are composed of multiple pieces. A 1990s ad campaign for the game involved a song which listed most of the stages of the mouse trap. In a proper operation, the player turns the crank , which rotates a vertical gear , connected to a horizontal gear. As that gear turns, it pushes an elastic-loaded lever until it snaps back in place, hitting a swinging boot . This causes the boot to kick over a bucket , sending a marble down a zig-zagging incline which feeds into a chute . This leads the marble to hit a vertical pole, at the top of which is an open hand, palm-up, which is supporting a larger ball(changed later on to a marble just like the starter one). The movement of the pole knocks the ball free to fall through a hole in its platform into a bathtub , and th


What is the eagle on the Great Seal of the US holding in its right talon?

American Bald Eagle on Great Seal of the United States American Bald Eagle on the Great Seal of the United States When Charles Thomson put together the final design for the Great Seal in June 1782, he made its centerpiece an "American Eagle on the wing and rising." His preliminary sketch (below) is very important, because it's our only direct graphic link to the imagery he envisioned. That's because the Great Seal adopted by Congress is a written description only. No artwork was submitted nor approved. In the eagle's right talon, Thomson placed the olive branch suggested by the second committee whose designs had female figures representing Peace and Liberty holding the olive branch. The Eagle faces toward this ancient symbol that Thomson called " the power of peace ." In its left talon, the eagle holds the power of war symbolized by the bundle of 13 arrows . On a scroll in the eagle's beak, Thomson put the motto E Pluribus Unum suggested by the first committee. For the final Great Seal, the stance of "the American bald Eagle" was changed from "on the wing and rising" to the more traditional "displayed" position (with its wing tips up): (Escutcheon is the shield, and proper means in its natural color.) Also, the shield's stripes were changed to vertical ones. Here is the first die of the Great Seal (September 1782). Note that the image is reversed, so it will be correct when impressed on a document. Although not specifically mentioned, clearly the American Eagle on the Great Seal represents liberty and freedom , a theme central to all three preliminary designs. Thomson underscored how the imagery symbolizes "Independence" by explaining that the shield is "born on the breast of an American Eagle without any other supporters, to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on their own Virtue." The first committee included an imperial eagle as a minor element on its shield, and the third committee had a small white eagle (right) in the crest at the top of their design for the Great Seal. But both these eagles were old-world Germanic versions. (In the first committee's sketch, it is a two-headed imperial eagle.) The eagle on the Great Seal has always faced the olive branch, but not the eagle on the Seal of the President . Ben Franklin muses about the wild turkey as a symbol of "the temper and conduct of America." The eagle has landed  on the moon Top illustration: detail of Cy Hundley's realization of Charles Thomson's design (with new shield and motto in English) commissioned by GreatSeal.com in 2004. Historical content is based on the official history of the Great Seal.


Who wrote the 2004 play ‘The History Boys’?

The truth behind the History Boys - Telegraph The truth behind the History Boys   Making history: Alan Bennett and Nicholas Hytner    Sentimental education: a scene from The History Boys  12:01AM BST 21 Jun 2004 Alan Bennett's new play The History Boys has received rave reviews – and caused a meltdown at the box office. As it continues in repertory at the National Theatre, the playwright and his director Nicholas Hytner held a platform discussion. Here, in this edited version of their conversation, they reveal the highs and lows of taking a play from a supermarket aisle to the stage Nicholas Hytner It would be fair to say that when he is writing a new play Alan Bennett doesn't just keep his cards close to his chest – they're glued there. We live quite close to each other so I see him often in the food aisles at Marks & Spencer and have nagged him relentlessly, ever since I came back to the National, for a new play. And about six months ago I ran into him cycling along to the shops and he said he might have something for me in a couple of weeks. I had no idea what he was going to write about. Never do. So the first question is, why did you write it? Alan Bennett I think I started writing it about 18 months ago and I can see that, of the three teachers in the play, I've had experience of two of them. I'd been taught at my own school in Leeds by somebody like Mrs Lintott, in a very straightforward, factual way. And then the way I got a scholarship to Oxford and how I got my degree really was via the method the character called Irwin uses in the play. So in a sense, I am Irwin. The person I have had no experience of at all is Hector, the charismatic teacher; I only knew about teachers like that from talking to other people, and also from reading. Related Articles 24 January 2003: The National's new adventurer [interview with Nicholas Hytner] 21 Jun 2004 Temperamentally I cleave to that kind of teacher and that kind of teaching – while at the same time not thinking it practical. I suppose that the three teachers came out of trying to reconcile that. I think plays do tend to come out of things that you can't actually resolve other than by writing a play about them. Though I'm nervous about going too much into how these things work because I'm frightened they might not work the next time. NH I think the play has generally been taken to be an unequivocal endorsement of Hector and his approach. It never felt like that to me. I think most parents would be, to a certain degree, dubious about a teacher who had absolutely no regard for results. You'd be more likely to support the headmaster's obsession with getting your children into university. The play is intellectually even-handed. There is nothing in it that says Hector right, Irwin wrong, Mrs Lintott wrong – and yet emotionally, it veers the other way. AB I think, of the three teachers, Stephen Campbell Moore, who plays Irwin, has the hardest job because he doesn't have the audience's sympathy until two thirds of the way through the second act. Both Hector and Mrs Lintott have the audience on their side whereas he – who is teaching and getting results, which, in the ordinary way, parents would approve of – is not thought to be sympathetic until he reveals himself as quite vulnerable. That came as a surprise to me when I saw it rehearsed. In a sense, it takes the actors to show you what you've written. NH For those who haven't seen the play, Hector is the teacher who has no programme, who believes, to quote Housman, "all knowledge is precious whether or not it serves the slightest human use". Mrs Lintott believes that what the boys require is a firm foundation of fact. Irwin is the teacher brought in to get the boys into Oxbridge. He considers the truth to be something that can be manipulated to impress examiners and regards culture, poetry, art to be commodities that you can buy into to spice things up. That is essentially the ideological battleground of the play. So, do you think there is such a thing as absolute historical truth? AB I don't know. That's one of the reasons why


What was the name of the last concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band in November 1976?

the Band | Canadian-American rock group | Britannica.com Canadian-American rock group Levon Helm The Band, Canadian-American band that began as the backing group for both Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan and branched out on its own in 1968. The Band’s pioneering blend of traditional country , folk, old-time string band, blues , and rock music brought them critical acclaim in the late 1960s and ’70s and served as a template for Americana, the movement of hybrid, roots-oriented music that emerged in the late 1990s. The members were Jaime (“Robbie”) Robertson (b. July 5, 1944, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Levon Helm (b. May 26, 1940, Elaine, Arkansas, U.S.—d. April 19, 2012, New York, New York), Rick Danko (b. December 29, 1942, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada—d. December 10, 1999, Marbletown, New York, U.S.), Richard Manuel, Stratford, Ontario, Canada—d. March 4, 1986, Winter Park, Florida, U.S.), and Garth Hudson (b. August 2, 1937, London, Ontario, Canada). The Band (left to right): Garth Hudson, Jaime (“Robbie”) Robertson, Levon Helm, Richard … © G. Hannekroot—Sunshine/Retna Ltd. Robertson, Helm, Danko, Manuel, and Hudson were five self-effacing sidemen pushed into becoming a self-contained group by Dylan, the star in whose shadow they grew. Robertson was the group’s principal writer and guitarist. Drummer Helm was a “good old boy” from Arkansas , the sole American in a lineup of displaced Canadians. Danko was the amiable hayseed on bass and occasional fiddle. Pianist Manuel sang blues ballads in a wrenching Ray Charles baritone. And Hudson’s otherworldly keyboard doodles were the glue that held the whole operation together. At their peak, from 1968 to 1973, the quintet embodied better than any other group the sense of the American past that came to haunt pop culture after the hippie ideals of the 1960s had crashed to the ground. The real midwife to the Band’s birth was Hawkins, a rockabilly diehard from Arkansas who ventured up to Canada in the spring of 1958. As Hawkins’s lieutenant, Helm, still a teenager, helped recruit the young Ontarians—Robertson, Danko, Manuel, and Hudson—who replaced the original members of Hawkins’s backing band, the Hawks. At a point when Fabian ruled the pop airwaves, the razorback rock and roll of the new Hawks was welcome only in the scuzziest roadhouses. During these years on the road, Robertson absorbed much of the flavour of life below the Mason and Dixon Line that would permeate Band songs like “ The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down ” (1969). Similar Topics Black Sabbath In 1964 the Hawks figured they could make it without Hawkins. During their summer residency on the New Jersey seaboard, Dylan got wind of their reputation and, after playing with Robertson, hired the group to back him on his first electric tour—a tour so controversial among folk purists that Helm could not take the pressure and quit. For the Hawks it was a baptism by fire, and it all but burned them out. In 1967, in an effort to recuperate, the group (minus Helm) followed Dylan to Woodstock , New York . In nearby West Saugerties they gathered daily in the basement of “Big Pink,” a secluded ranch house. Here the five men put together a rambling repertoire of old country, folk, and blues songs that later leaked out as a series of “basement tape” bootlegs and then as the double album The Basement Tapes (1975). When Helm returned to the fold, Dylan began urging “the Band”—as they were now known locally—to go it alone. The immediate result of this separation was Music from Big Pink (1968), a wholly original fusion of country, gospel , rock, and rhythm and blues that, more than any other album of the period, signaled rock’s retreat from psychedelic excess and blues bombast into something more soulful, rural, and reflective. Yet it was The Band (1969) that really defined the group’s grainy character. Recorded in a makeshift studio in Los Angeles in early 1969, the album was a timeless distillation of American experience from the Civil War to the 1960s. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent After the many years spent backing Hawki


Who was the longest, continuously-serving British prime Minister of the 20th Century?

Britain Magazine | The official magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family,Travel and Culture - British prime ministers of the 20th century Latest issue British prime ministers of the 20th century Do you know who presided over the setting up of the National Health Service, or who served the shortest time as leader? Read our timeline of British prime ministers of the 20th century for all the answers. Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Conservative 1895 to 1902 Salisbury was the last peer to serve as PM (this was his third tenure), with the brief exception of Douglas Home (below) who renounced his peerage within a few days of being appointed. Arthur James Balfour Conservative 1902 to 1905 Balfour was the nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury but his cabinet was divided on the issue of free trade and without the support of Edward VII he was forced to resign in December 1905. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Liberal 1905 to 1908 Following Arthur James Balfour’s resignation, Edward VII invited the leader of the next largest party, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, to form a government. He was the first leader to officially use the title of ‘Prime Minister’. Herbert Henry Asquith Liberal 1908 to 1916 Asquith is the only Prime Minister to have taken office on foreign soil. At the time that he succeeded Campbell-Bannerman, Edward VII was in Biarritz so Asquith travelled there for the official ‘kissing-hands’ ceremony. David Lloyd George in 1916 David Lloyd George Liberal 1916 to 1922 One of the 20th centuries most radical thinkers, Lloyd George was the first and only Welshman to hold the position of prime minister, introducing state pensions and waging a war on poverty. Andrew Bonar Law Conservative 1922 to 1923 Law was prime minister for just 209 days. He retired due to ill health in May 1923 and died of throat cancer six months later. Stanley Baldwin Conservative 1923 to 1924 Baldwin took over as prime minister after Bonar Law retired but he was soon ousted from his first term, albeit temporarily. James Ramsey MacDonald Labour 1924 to 1924 In 1924 Ramsey MacDonald was asked by King George V to form a government when Stanley Baldwin’s Conservative majority proved ungovernable, and his was the first Labour government. Stanley Baldwin Conservative 1924 to 1929 In his second tenure as prime minister Baldwin extended the right to vote to women over 21. James Ramsey MacDonald Labour 1929 to 1935 In his second minority government in 1929, MacDonald appointed Margaret Bondfield as the first female cabinet minister, but forming a cross-party government proved his downfall. Stanley Baldwin Conservative 1935 to 1937 By taking office as prime minister for the third time Baldwin remarkably served under three monarchs. Neville Chamberlain Conservative 1937 to 1940 Chamberlain famously declared “I believe it is peace for our time” following a meeting in 1938 with Adolf Hitler. Sir Winston Churchill Conservative 1940 to 1945 Following Chamberlain’s resignation in 1940, Churchill succeeded him as prime minister of an all-party coalition government. Clement Attlee Labour 1945 to 1951 Taking over from Churchill at the end of the war, Attlee is perhaps best remembered for setting up the National Health Service. Winston Churchill gives his infamous V sign on 20 May 1940 Sir Winston Churchill Conservative 1951 to 1955 While serving his second term as prime minister Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his many published works. Sir Anthony Eden Conservative 1955 to 1957 Eden is best remembered for his controversial handling of the Suez Crisis, which led to his resignation. Harold Macmillan Conservative 1957 to 1963 Macmillian took over as leader following Eden’s resignation and led the nation through the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was made Earl of Stockton in 1984 and died in 1986. Sir Alex Douglas-Home Conservative 1963 to 1964 The aristocratic Douglas-Home took on the trade unions but only served as prime minister for 363 days , the second shortest p


Who was the second husband of singer Madonna?

Madonna - Film Actress, Singer - Biography.com » quotes “My mother was a religious zealot. There were always priests and nuns in my house growing up.” “I think the biggest reason I was able to express myself and not be intimidated was by not having a mother.” “I really saw myself as the quintessential Cinderella.” “For some reason, I feel like I never left high school, because I still feel that if you don't fit in, you're going to get your ass kicked.” “I believe sometimes we aren't always in charge of everything that we do creatively. We submit to things as we're going on our own journey.” “We like to put people on a pedestal, give them one character trait, and if they step outside of that shrinelike area that we blocked out for them, then we will punish them.” “One of my father's famous quotes—and I love him dearly, but he's very, very old-fashioned—was, 'If there were more virgins, the world would be a better place.'” “Every year it's a different me.” “If you want to affect change in the world, you do have to have a platform to stand on. And in order to have a platform to stand on, you have to keep doing your job.” “I think it's kind of a waste of time to provoke just for the sake of provocation. I think you have to have a lesson or something that you want to share.” “I sometimes think I was born to live up to my name. How could I be anything else but what I am having been named Madonna? I would either have ended up a nun or this.” “I want to be like Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, and John Lennon... but I want to stay alive.” Madonna Madonna - Mini Biography (TV-14; 4:34) A short biography of Madonna who redefined music with hits like "Like a Virgin" and "Vogue." Constantly stirring up controversy in her career, she also made headlines in her relationships with Sean Penn, Warren Beatty, and Guy Ritchie. Synopsis Pop music singer Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958. In 1981, she went solo as a pop singer and became a sensation on the then male-dominated '80s music scene. By 1991, she had achieved 21 Top 10 hits in the United States and sold more than 70 million albums internationally. In January 2008, she was named the world's wealthiest female musician by Forbes magazine. Early Life Singer, performer and actress Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958, to parents Silvio "Tony" Ciccone and Madonna Fortin. Tony, the son of Italian immigrants, was the first of his family to go to college, where he earned a degree in engineering. Madonna's mother, an x-ray technician and former dancer, was of French Canadian descent. After their marriage in 1955, the couple moved to Pontiac, Michigan, to be close to Tony's job as a defense engineer. Madonna was born three years later, during a visit with family in Bay City. The third of six children, Madonna learned early on how to handle her role as the middle child, admitting that she was "the sissy of the family" who often used her feminine wiles to get her way. Her parents' strict observation of the Catholic faith played a large role in Madonna's childhood. "My mother was a religious zealot," Madonna explains. "There were always priests and nuns in my house growing up." Many elements of Catholic iconography—including her mother's statues of the Sacred Heart, the habits of the nuns at her Catholic elementary school, and the Catholic altar at which she and her family prayed daily—later became the subject of Madonna's most controversial works. Family Tragedy Another heavy influence on Madonna's early life was her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer during her pregnancy with Madonna's youngest sister. Treatment had to be delayed until the baby reached full term, but by then the disease had grown too strong. On December 1, 1963, at the age of 30, Madonna's mother passed away. Madonna was only 5 years old at the time of her mother's death. The loss of her mother significantly affected Madonna's adolescence. Haunted by the memories of her mother's frailty and passive demeanor during her final days, Madonna was deter


The Reverend Flasher is a fictional character in which 1974 ‘Carry On’ film?

1000+ images about Carry on films!!! on Pinterest | Feature film, Jim dale and James d'arcy Sid James as the Reverend Flasher aka 'Big' Dick Turpin in Carry On Dick (1974) - it was Sid's final appearance in a Carry On film. See More


What is the name of the densely forested moon inhabited by the Na’vi in the 2009 film ‘Avatar’?

Avatar (2009 film) - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia I am Smart, Intelligent and Hard Working who Loves to help :) Avatar (2009 film) Budget  237 million USD (2009) Duration   Release date  December 18, 2009 (India) Film series  Avatar Series Writer  James Cameron Language  English Release date  December 10, 2009 (2009-12-10) (London premiere) December 17, 2009 (2009-12-17) (United Kingdom) December 18, 2009 (2009-12-18) (United States) Featured song  I See You (Theme from Avatar) Cast  Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Zoe Saldana (Neytiri), Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine), Stephen Lang (Col. Quaritch), Michelle Rodriguez (Trudy Chacon), Giovanni Ribisi (Selfridge) Similar movies  Edge of Tomorrow, Star Trek Into Darkness, John Carter, Independence Day, Lockout, Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning Tagline  Enter the World of Pandora. Avatar official trailer hd 20th century fox Sponsored Links On the lush alien world of Pandora live the Navi, beings who appear primitive but are highly evolved. Because the planets environment is poisonous, human/Navi hybrids, called Avatars, must link to human minds to allow for free movement on Pandora. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralyzed former Marine, becomes mobile again through one such Avatar and falls in love with a Navi woman (Zoe Saldana). As a bond with her grows, he is drawn into a battle for the survival of her world. Avatar (marketed as James Camerons Avatar) is a 2009 American epic science fiction film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver. The film is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are colonizing Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine the mineral unobtanium, a room-temperature superconductor. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Navi – a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The films title refers to a genetically engineered Navi body with the mind of a remotely located human that is used to interact with the natives of Pandora. Development of Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Camerons 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999, but according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film. Work on the language of the films extraterrestrial beings began in 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006. Avatar was officially budgeted at $237 million. Other estimates put the cost between $280 million and $310 million for production and at $150 million for promotion. The film made extensive use of new motion capture filming techniques, and was released for traditional viewing, 3D viewing (using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats), and for "4D" experiences in select South Korean theaters. The stereoscopic filmmaking was touted as a breakthrough in cinematic technology. Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was internationally released on December 16 and in the United States and Canada on December 18, to positive critical reviews, with critics highly praising its groundbreaking visual effects. During its theatrical run, the film broke several box office records and became the highest-grossing film of all time, as well as in the United States and Canada, surpassing Titanic, which had held those records for twelve years (and was also directed by Cameron). It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion and the best-selling film of 2010 in the United States. Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. Following the films success, Cameron signed with 20th Century Fox to produce three sequels, making Avatar the first of a planned tetralogy. The three sequels, all directed a


The ruins of Troy are in which modern-day country?

Troy | ancient city, Turkey | Britannica.com ancient city, Turkey Alternative Titles: Ilion, Ilios, Ilium, Troia, Troja Related Topics Carl Blegen Troy, Greek Troia, also called Ilios or Ilion, Latin Troia, Troja, or Ilium, ancient city in northwestern Anatolia that holds an enduring place in both literature and archaeology . The legend of the Trojan War is the most notable theme from ancient Greek literature and forms the basis of Homer ’s Iliad . Although the actual nature and size of the historical settlement remain matters of scholarly debate, the ruins of Troy at Hisarlık , Turkey , are a key archaeological site whose many layers illustrate the gradual development of civilization in northwestern Asia Minor. Overview of Troy. Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz Geography Ancient Troy commanded a strategic point at the southern entrance to the Dardanelles (Hellespont), a narrow strait linking the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea via the Sea of Marmara . The city also commanded a land route that ran north along the west Anatolian coast and crossed the narrowest point of the Dardanelles to the European shore. In theory, Troy would have been able to use its site astride these two lines of communication to exact tolls from trading vessels and other travelers using them; the actual extent to which this took place, however, remains unclear. The Troad (Greek Troias; “Land of Troy”) is the district formed by the northwestern projection of Asia Minor into the Aegean Sea. The present-day ruins of Troy itself occupy the western end of a low descending ridge in the extreme northwest corner of the Troad. Less than 4 miles (6 km) to the west, across the plain of the Scamander (Küçük Menderes) River, is the Aegean Sea, and toward the north are the narrows of the Dardanelles. Archaeology The search for Troy at Hisarlık The approximate location of Troy was well known from references in works by ancient Greek and Latin authors, including Homer , Herodotus , and Strabo . But the exact site of the city remained unidentified until modern times. A large mound, known locally as Hisarlık , had long been understood to hold the ruins of a city named Ilion or Ilium that had flourished in Hellenistic and Roman times. In 1822 Charles Maclaren suggested that this was the site of Homeric Troy, but for the next 50 years his suggestion received little attention from Classical scholars, most of whom regarded the Trojan legend as a mere fictional creation based on myth , not history. Those who did believe in the existence of a real Troy thought it to be at Bunarbashi (Pınarbaşı), a short distance south of Hisarlık. It took Frank Calvert, a scholarly amateur archaeologist, until 1860 to begin exploratory work on Hisarlık. It was he who persuaded the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann to work at Hisarlık, though Schliemann soon took full credit for adopting Maclaren’s identification and demonstrating to the world that it was correct. (Not until the late 20th century was the full extent of Calvert’s role widely known.) In seven major and two minor campaigns between 1870 and 1890, Schliemann conducted excavations on a large scale mainly in the central area of the Hisarlık mound, where he exposed the remains of a walled citadel. After Schliemann’s death in 1890, the excavations were continued (1893–94) by his colleague Wilhelm Dörpfeld and later (1932–38) by an expedition from the University of Cincinnati headed by Carl W. Blegen . After a lapse of some 50 years, excavations resumed (1988–2005) under the leadership of University of Tübingen archaeologist Manfred Korfmann and continued after his death. Similar Topics Bethel Questions of Troy’s physical size, population, and stature as a trade entrepôt and regional power became subjects of intense scholarly dispute following the resumption of excavations at Hisarlık in the late 1980s. Although Homeric Troy was described as a wealthy and populous city, by this time some scholars had come to accept the probability of a lesser Troy—a relatively minor settlement, perhaps a princely seat. Beginning in 1988


What is the title of the 1956 film, starring Kirk Douglas, which is a biography about the life of painter Vincent van Gogh?

Lust for Life (1956) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The life of brilliant but tortured artist Vincent van Gogh. Directors: Norman Corwin (screen play), Irving Stone (based on the novel by) Stars: From $2.00 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC ‘T2: Trainspotting’ Soundtrack Includes Iggy Pop, Wolf Alice, Underworld, And More 10 January 2017 6:37 AM, -08:00 | The Playlist a list of 30 titles created 04 Sep 2011 a list of 37 titles created 16 Oct 2012 a list of 45 titles created 28 Feb 2013 a list of 25 titles created 01 May 2013 a list of 33 titles created 14 May 2013 Title: Lust for Life (1956) 7.4/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won     1     Oscar. Another    3 wins & 6 nominations. See more awards  » Photos An unscrupulous movie producer uses an actress, a director and a writer to achieve success. Director: Vincente Minnelli Boxer Midge Kelly rises to fame...mainly by stepping on other people. Director: Mark Robson A slave and a Viking prince fight for the love of a captive princess. Director: Richard Fleischer A fiercely independent cowboy arranges to have himself locked up in jail in order to then escape with an old friend who has been sentenced to the penitentiary. Director: David Miller A movie adaptation of Homer's second epic, that talks about Ulysses' efforts to return to his home after the end of ten years of war. Director: Mario Camerini On one day in the 21st Precinct squad room, assorted characters form a backdrop for the troubles of hard-nosed Detective Jim McLeod. Director: William Wyler A frustrated former big-city journalist now stuck working for an Albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to re-jump start his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an out-of-control circus. Director: Billy Wilder The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic. Director: Stanley Kubrick Edit Storyline Vincent Van Gogh is the archetypical tortured artistic genius. His obsession with painting, combined with mental illness, propels him through an unhappy life full of failures and unrewarding relationships. He fails at being a preacher to coal miners. He fails in his relationships with women. He earns some respect among his fellow painters, especially Paul Gauguin, but he does not get along with them. He only manages to sell one painting in his lifetime. The one constant good in his life is his brother Theo, who is unwavering in his moral and financial support. Written by John Oswalt <jao@jao.com> Magnificent in CinemaScope and Color See more  » Genres: 15 September 1956 (USA) See more  » Also Known As: La vie passionnée de Vincent van Gogh See more  » Filming Locations: 122 min Sound Mix: Mono (Perspecta Sound® encoding) (35 mm optical prints) (Westrex Recording System)| 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System) Color: Average Shot Length (ASL) = 15 seconds See more » Goofs Camera shadow falls across Ducrucq as Van Gogh finds him dead. See more » Quotes Vincent Van Gogh : If I'm to be anything as a painter I've got to break through that iron wall between what I feel and what I express. my best chance of doing it is here, where my roots are... the people I know, the earth I know. (Denmark) – See all my reviews When I hear the name Vincente Minnelli certain scenes pop up on my inner screeningroom: A tracking shot at the fair (Some came running), the low tracking zoom towards Douglas and Turner at the pool (Bad and the Beautiful), snowmen (Meet me in St Louis) and the agony in Douglas's face in "Lust for life"; in fact as soon as his redbearded agonized face pops up, all the other movies fade away and "Lust for life" takes over my inner screening room. But apart from being my favorite Minnelli movie, its a movie that more than any other


Which English author said ‘Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play……..it is war minus the shooting’?

George Orwell: The Sporting Spirit George Orwell The Sporting Spirit Now that the brief visit of the Dynamo football team has come to an end, it is possible to say publicly what many thinking people were saying privately before the Dynamos ever arrived. That is, that sport is an unfailing cause of ill-will, and that if such a visit as this had any effect at all on Anglo-Soviet relations, it could only be to make them slightly worse than before. Even the newspapers have been unable to conceal the fact that at least two of the four matches played led to much bad feeling. At the Arsenal match, I am told by someone who was there, a British and a Russian player came to blows and the crowd booed the referee. The Glasgow match, someone else informs me, was simply a free-for-all from the start. And then there was the controversy, typical of our nationalistic age, about the composition of the Arsenal team. Was it really an all-England team, as claimed by the Russians, or merely a league team, as claimed by the British? And did the Dynamos end their tour abruptly in order to avoid playing an all-England team? As usual, everyone answers these questions according to his political predilections. Not quite everyone, however. I noted with interest, as an instance of the vicious passions that football provokes, that the sporting correspondent of the russophile News Chronicle took the anti-Russian line and maintained that Arsenal was not an all-England team. No doubt the controversy will continue to echo for years in the footnotes of history books. Meanwhile the result of the Dynamos' tour, in so far as it has had any result, will have been to create fresh animosity on both sides. And how could it be otherwise? I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill between the nations, and that if only the common peoples of the world could meet one another at football or cricket, they would have no inclination to meet on the battlefield. Even if one didn't know from concrete examples (the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance) that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred, one could deduce it from general principles. Nearly all the sports practised nowadays are competitive. You play to win, and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to win. On the village green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotism is involved. it is possible to play simply for the fun and exercise: but as soon as the question of prestige arises, as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this. At the international level sport is frankly mimic warfare. But the significant thing is not the behaviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators: and, behind the spectators, of the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests, and seriously believe — at any rate for short periods — that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue. Even a leisurely game like cricket, demanding grace rather than strength, can cause much ill-will, as we saw in the controversy over body-line bowling and over the rough tactics of the Australian team that visited England in 1921. Football, a game in which everyone gets hurt and every nation has its own style of play which seems unfair to foreigners, is far worse. Worst of all is boxing. One of the most horrible sights in the world is a fight between white and coloured boxers before a mixed audience. But a boxing audience is always disgusting, and the behaviour of the women, in particular, is such that the army, I believe, does not allow them to attend its contests. At any rate, two or three years ago, when Home Guards and regular troops were holding a boxing tournament, I was placed on guard at the door of the hall, with orders to keep the women out. In England, the obsession with sport is bad enough, but even fiercer passions are aroused in young countries where games playing and nationalis


Historical figure Robin Hood is associated with which shade of green?

Unravelling the Identity of the Real Robin Hood | Ancient Origins 28 December, 2014 - 12:25 dhwty Unravelling the Identity of the Real Robin Hood (Read the article on one page) Robin Hood is perhaps one of the most iconic English heroes. His ethos of ‘robbing from the rich and giving to the poor’ has endeared him to many, as he is seen as a figure who fought for the downtrodden. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether Robin Hood did actually exist, or whether he was just a fictional character. If he did exist, then who was he? Such questions have never been satisfactorily answered, and various versions of Robin Hood have been produced due to this ambiguity. Some have argued that Robin Hood was a fictional character, since the earliest records of this character are found in traditional ballads, i.e. narratives set to music. These ballads may not be taken as historical evidence for the existence of Robin Hood, and were probably not written at the time when Robin Hood was first alluded to. The stories of Robin Hood can thus be said to have been initially transmitted orally and could have been told by the ‘common folk’. Robin Hood is the subject of many stories and legends. But how many, if any, are real? Robin Hood with Sir Guy "Bold Robin Hood and His Outlaw Band: Their Famous Exploits in Sherwood Forest", Louis Rhead. ( Wikimedia Commons ) Some have even argued that Robin Hood may have been a mythological character, and that the stories about him are filled with symbolic meaning. For instance, some have claimed that the traditional color of Robin Hood’s outfit, Lincoln green, was meant to represent the traditional color of fairies. The color green may also be associated with spring, which is featured prominently in the ballads, hence symbolically connecting Robin Hood with life and growth. Another argument is that Robin Hood was a medieval trickster character. For instance, Robin Hood has been associated with the Teutonic elf Hodekin, Woden (the Germanic form of Odin) and the hobgoblin known as Robin Goodfellow, known also as Puck. All three figures are supernatural characters, and it has been argued that Robin Hood should also be seen as one of them. Robin Goodfellow-Puck by Henry Fuseli ( Wikimedia Commons ) Despite these theories, others have claimed that Robin Hood was indeed a real historical figure.  Indeed, the early ballads linked Robin Hood with identifiable real places, such as Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.  The biggest problem with this claim, however, is the fact that Robin Hood is a rather common name in medieval England. ‘Robert’ was a very common given name, as was its diminutive, ‘Robin’, especially during the 13 th century. ‘Hood’ was also a relatively frequent surname, as it referred to either a maker of hoods, or a person who wore a hood. Thus, it is entirely possible that there were several Robin Hoods roaming around medieval England, some of whom may even match the description of the legends. Statue of Robin Hood in Nottingham. Photo source: BigStockPhoto This scenario of multiple Robin Hoods has led to various claims about who the real Robin Hood was. For instance, one writer claimed that Robin Hood was the Earl of Huntington, and was buried in the grounds of Kirklees Priory in West Yorkshire. This is supported by an alleged grave with an inscription indicating that that was Robin Hood’s resting place. Another claim is that Robin Hood was not, as the stories go, from Nottingham, but from York. For instance, instead of Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood is said to have his base in Barnsdale Forest, which is on the border between South and West Yorkshire. This claim can be found in one of the earliest written ballads of Robin Hood, the 15 th century A Gest of Robyn Hode . Additionally, the ballad mentions a church, thought to be St. Mary Magdalene, Campsall, in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, where Robin Hood married Maid Marian. Moreover, only a few of the early ballads mentions Robin Hood’s arch-nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and only one early ballad, Robin Hood and the Monk , mentions Nottingham.


Which animal is the symbol of the US Democratic Political Party?

The Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant The Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant Ever wondered what the story was behind these two famous party animals? The now-famous Democratic donkey was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous. Nast invented another famous symbol—the Republican elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled “The Republican Vote.” That's all it took for the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party. Democrats today say the donkey is smart and brave, while Republicans say the elephant is strong and dignified.


What is the real name of fictional character Shaggy from the animated television series ‘Scooby Doo’?

Shaggy Rogers | Scooby-Doo Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Matthew Lillard (2005, 2007, 2010 to Present) Age 16 Norville Chastain "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character and the main human protagonist of the American animated television series Scooby-Doo , about the adventures of four crime-solving teenagers and Shaggy's pet great dane, Scooby-Doo . Shaggy is a cowardly slacker more interested in eating than solving mysteries. He is the only Scooby-Doocharacter (besides Scooby) to appear in all iterations of the franchise. Shaggy's distinct personality is evident in his speech pattern—punctuating his sentences with the word "like", and his appearance—he is lanky, with shaggy brown hair and a rough goatee (no mustache, though), typically sporting a green t-shirt and red bell bottoms. In The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School, and Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, he wore a red T-shirt and blue bell bottoms. Both Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are readily bribed with Scooby Snacks due to their nearly insatiable appetites, and have tendencies toward goofing off and cowardice. They justify their constant hunger by saying, "Being in a constant state of terror makes us constantly hungry!". Both his and Scooby's cowardice (as well as their appetites) have become so ingrained in their characters that they are often portrayed as being expert cowards. Both Shaggy and Scooby are adept runners, have become skilled contortionists due to learning to hide in small places, experts at building barricades from various kinds of furniture and other household objects (even designing one to be collapsible just in case they need to use the barricaded door/entrance as an escape route from the monster/villain). They are also experts in what is scary (both Shaggy and Scooby have been shown to use each other's fears in their competitions in stealing one another's food) due to their being craven cowards (In the episode " Camp Comeoniwannascareya " they use this knowledge to help a fellow camp counselor and the campers scare off the camp's greedy owner who wishes to turn the summer camp into a resort for adults and children) Shaggy and Scooby have shown to be capable of great physical feats of athletic ability (ability to run at time bordering on superhuman) just through fear alone. He was once able to run on water. He also used his feet to move a boat carrying Scooby, the rest of the gang, plus Velma's sister Madelyn, across a lake while being chased by a flying monster; however, these abilities are mainly comical in nature and Shaggy (along with Scooby) only appear to be capable of said feats when in a state of fear or panic. However, in the most recent DTV 'Scooby Doo: Camp Scare', he shakes the iron bars of an old-fashioned jail cell so hard they collapse out of frustration of being trapped. [2] Matthew Lillard as Shaggy in the Sooby-Doo film. Shaggy was originally voiced by Casey Kasem , who continued in the role for twenty-eight years. Billy West and Scott Innes (who also voiced Scooby for a time) briefly took over the role in several of the direct-to-video films produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002, Kasem returned to the role for The WB's new Scooby series What's New, Scooby-Doo? . In the live-action films Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed , along with the rebooted animated series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated , Shaggy is portrayed by Matthew Lillard ; in the live-action prequel Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins , he is portrayed by Nick Palatas . Scott Menville assumed the role of Shaggy in 2005 for Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue's temporary replacement. [ edit ] Relatives Relatives of Shaggy shown during the series include: Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Chastain "Mom and Pops" Rogers: Shaggy's parents. Shaggy's father is a police officer in most incarnations, save for Mystery Incorporated (in which his first name is Colton not Samuel). At one point, Shaggy's parents lived in Plymouth, Massachusetts . Casey Kasem voiced "Pops" from The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Sho