Who founded the London Philharmonic Orchestra?

London Philharmonic Orchestra - MusicBrainz London Philharmonic Orchestra Edit Annotation The London Philharmonic Orchestra, was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham and is distinct from the Philharmonia Orchestra (sometimes called the London Philharmonia Orchestra) founded in 1945 by Walter Legge. Sub-Optimal Credits


Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss's publisher, wagered $50 that Seuss could not write a book using only fifty different words. Seuss won by writing which book?

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists Mar 30, 2012 Nataliya rated it it was ok Recommends it for: Horror afficionados This "kids' book" is, in my opinion, a nightmare-quality horror story. Why, you ask? What's scary about a funny-looking cat? *shudder* Well, what's so scary about these cute things? (Well, there actually is nothing scary about that last one. That still doesn't make it any less of a nightmare.) Sometimes I have nightmares where everything goes wrong, but I am helpless to do anything about it. What's worse, the voice of reason is gone. Well, that pretty much sums up the plot of this book. As a hor This "kids' book" is, in my opinion, a nightmare-quality horror story. Why, you ask? What's scary about a funny-looking cat? *shudder* Well, what's so scary about these cute things? (Well, there actually is nothing scary about that last one. That still doesn't make it any less of a nightmare.) Sometimes I have nightmares where everything goes wrong, but I am helpless to do anything about it. What's worse, the voice of reason is gone. Well, that pretty much sums up the plot of this book. As a horror story, it gets solid 3 stars. Quick, somebody call Stephen King! Two kids are left alone on a dreary rainy day - which by the way is a perfect setting for a horror story. (Sidenote: I am not that outraged with the mother leaving the kids unsupervised. In Eastern Europe parents do it all the time. And we survived ). Suddenly a stranger barges in and insists that the kids join him in his games (*cue ominous music here*). And he refuses to leave. Yeah, if this creature barged into my house, I'd be curled up in a ball in a corner, wailing and wetting myself. DUN DUN DUN!!!!!...... ....HELLO THERE, KIDS! The sentient fish, who appears to supervise the kids and is the sole voice of sanity here, sensibly protests (He should not be here. He should not be about. He should not be here When your mother is out!) - and immediately gets physically threatened and abused. Terrified, it demands the abuse to stop - "This is no fun at all! Put me down! [...] I do NOT wish to fall!" - and narrowly avoids death. Hilarious, right? Not to mention that, for a fish, seeing a cat is like you answering the doorbell just to greet a Grim Reaper. Next, the terrifying delinquent Cat unleashes Things (perfect name for horror creatures) who wreck havoc on the house. Then the Cat cleans up and vanishes. Basically there is zero evidence left of this horrific intrusion even if the kids tried to tell. But likely the poor little victims will keep quiet. And who knows what will happen the next time the Cat shows up, knowing there are no consequences... *shudder* / *ominous music* / *Nataliya keeps her light on at night to avoid nightmares* "Should we tell her The things that went on there that day?" YES. YOU SHOULD, KIDS. ALWAYS. PLEASE DO TELL YOUR PARENTS! ---------------------- Ok, enough about the story. 1 star rating for lazy writing and lazy rhyming. Apparently, the author spent months coming up with a long poem that is almost fully monosyllabic. Here is the issue. If children is old enough to read this long poem by themselves, they should be able to read more than a syllable at the time. I know I did. Let's not be condescending to kids - they are capable of a lot if we give them the benefit of the doubt. Now, rhyming. I guess you run out of words quickly if you are limited to single syllables but still need to maintain the poetry rhythm. Still, it's not a justification for pathetic excuse of lines that go "Cold, cold wet day", "Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!", "We sat there we two", "The sun is not sunny", "Fun that is funny", "So so so..." That is just lazy. Just because the story is for kids does not mean it's okay for the writing to be subpar. The story has enough exclamation points to drive you mad. "And then something went BUMP! How that bump made us jump! We looked! Then we saw him step in on the mat! We looked! And we saw him! The Cat in the Hat!" To quote (and take slightly out of context) the great Terry Pratchett, "Mul


"Which bandleader was at the top of the Billboard ""Best Sellers in Stores"" chart from 29 November 1941 to 2 May 1942 (except for one week) with four different tunes?"

Glenn Miller discography - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki More info on Glenn Miller discography   Wikis       Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics Major Glenn Miller Releases In addition to leading bands and playing the trombone, Glenn Miller composed music or lyrics to a number of songs. These and others were recorded by Miller with his pre-war civilian bands and his Army Air Force band. Contents Advertisements Moonlight Serenade Glenn Miller composed the music to Moonlight Serenade in 1935, with official lyrics added later by Mitchell Parish after two other sets of lyrics were written. [1] "Moonlight Serenade" was Glenn Miller's theme for his radio programs between 1939 and 1942 (except for a brief period in 1941). [2] This song has been covered from artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra to Barry Manilow . Also include folk rock singer Carly Simon [3] jazz musician and Quartet West leader Charlie Haden , [4] television and Broadway performer Carol Burnett (see the Artie Malvin reference at the end of the article), the doo-wop group The Rivieras , [5] Toots Thielemans, Kurt Elling, jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli , Bobby Vinton [9] , Deodato [10] , Count Basie and his Orchestra, Gene Krupa and his Orchestra [11] , the Boston Pops with Arthur Fiedler [12] , John Williams [13] and Keith Lockhart [14] , each conducting during their tenures with the orchestra. Ray Conniff [15] , Paul Mauriat [16] , and the rock group Chicago [17] also have their own versions of "Moonlight Serenade". "Moonlight Serenade" appears in the films Rumor Has It (2005) and The Aviator [6] (2004). [7] Initially it was released as a B side to the song bandleader Frankie Carle composed [18] and the Miller band covered called "Sunrise Serenade" in May, 1939 by Bluebird. The record eventually made the Top Ten charts and was the number five record of 1939 in the year-end chart by Billboard . Room 1411 (Goin' to Town) Room 1411 was composed with Benny Goodman [8] in 1928 when Glenn Miller was part of "Benny Goodman's Boys", the instrumental was recorded on June 23, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois and was released as a 78, as Brunswick 4013 with "Jungle Blues". "Benny Goodman's Boys" consisted of an all-star ensemble that featured Glenn Miller on trombone, Tommy Dorsey on trombone, who is not on the "Room 1411" recording, Dick "Icky" Morgan on guitar, Bud Freeman on tenor saxophone, Harry Goodman on bass and tuba, Fud Livingston on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Wingy Manone on trumpet, Jimmy McPartland on cornet, Ben Pollack on drums, and Benny Goodman on clarinet, saxophone, and cornet. On the January, 1928 recording sessions, the band was referred to as "Benny Goodman's Boys with Jim and Glenn". The band continued to record in 1928 and 1929. Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman lived in the same suite at the time in an apartment in Whitby whose number was 1411. The title of the composition derives from the apartment number. Goodman played baritone saxophone "on the more straight-ahead Chicago-style 'Room 1411'" [9] . "Room 1411 (Goin' to Town)" is Glenn Miller's first known composition. The recording is available on the Red Hot Jazz website: http://www.redhotjazz.com/bgb.html . [10] Sold American Sold American was composed in 1938 by Glenn Miller and John Chalmers "Chummy" MacGregor, the pianist in the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The title was recorded on May 23, 1938 on Brunswick and again on June 27, 1939 for RCA Victor. A 78 was released in 1938 as Brunswick 8173 with "Dipper Mouth Blues". [11] In 1939, a new recording was released as a Bluebird 78, 10352A, with "Pagan Love Song". The title is based on a radio ad jingle for Lucky Strike which ended with the phrase, "Sold, American". The song was performed live by Glenn Miller on March 8, 1939 and broadcast on the radio from a remote at the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. [12] "Sold American" was released as a single in the UK


The liver of a goose or duck, when made into food, is called what?

Foie Gras...Diseased Goose Liver Foie Gras...See How It's  Made. Still Want to Eat it? Foie gras, from the French, means fat liver and pate is a "paste" made of a fat liver, specifically goose or duck liver.  As good as it may be, is it worth the cruelty that goes into its production?   To fatten up a goose liver, the bird is confined in such a way that its head protrudes through the bars of a restraining pen and it is force fed a mixture of corn mash several times a day.   Obviously it is an unnatural, painful and stressful experience for the bird and often results in heroic efforts by the bird to regurgitate the fluid that has been forced down its throat.   Gavage, the French word for forced feeding, produces a liver six to ten times normal size and typically presses on the lungs, making normal breathing more difficult. The Videos Tell the Story There is no shortage of videos, most of them taken undercover by animal welfare groups, and four have been selected to share below.   The one immediately below is from PETA, narrated by Kate Winslet, and is one of the best at showing what a duck or goose is put through to bring a diseased liver to the elites dining table.  If anyone should order goose liver, just know what it is that is being eaten and remember the scenes in these videos. Regarding the health issues of consuming an extremely fatty liver, there is a growing belief that it could be a cause of amyloidosis or the deposition of amyloid protein in various organs however it has yet to be confirmed. Due to the cruelty of force feeding, the production and sale of pate has been banned in many countries.  To date the production of force-fed goose liver is only allowed in five European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Spain and Hungary). Turkey and Israel have also banned the force feeding of animals. In the U.S., banning the force feeding of animals is a decision of each state.  California led the way by banning the force feeding of animals for the purpose of enlarging the liver as well as selling products that are produced by that method.  Unfortunately, politics and lobbyists succeeded in buying off enough legislators and judges that California has reversed the ban and some restaurants resumed selling it.  According to the Huffington Post, we can thank U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson of the Central District of California. Chicago banned the sale of foie gras beut later reversed the ban since they could not or would not enforce the ban.  Mayor Richard Daley reportedly called the ban the silliest law the city council has ever passed.  Oh well, if there's a wrong side of any issue, Daley will be there; it's the Chicago way. The book, Foie Gras Wars, shown above is a good read on the culinary wars that erupted in Chicago when they tried to ban the cruel delicacy.  Click on the book's image to review it or buy it. Custom Search The first video below is from Farm Sanctuary and documents production in Canada, the same lovely country that still allows the clubbing death of baby harp seals.  It can be found on the web at URL http://www.farmsanctuary.org/mediacenter/videos.html . The second video is from the Animal Protection and Rescue League and documents their investigative findings at the Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm.  This operation is not an anomaly; it is representative of the entire industry.  Watch "Foie Gras: A Decade of Cruelty Exposed" and then make your voice heard to stop this horrible practice. There used to be a video in this spot produced by Farm Sanctuary protesting Amazon.com selling foie Gras and urging everyone to call and ask them to stop selling the product.  Youtube took the video down and Amazon is still selling livers from tortured geese.  So much for free speech and public protest. Now after watching those videos, it’s time to be uplifted, filled with hope and see that there is a better way.  See, foie gras in itself isn't bad, it's the cruelty of the gavage and confinement that are bad.  Watch Don Barber, a well known chef and scholar who is passionate about sustainable, humane food sources, in


"What is the setting for the musical ""Oliver!""?"

Oliver! (1968) - Plot Summary - IMDb Oliver! (1968) Plot Summary Showing all 5 plot summaries Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens 's classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the orphanage and hooks up with a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor. - Written by Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au> In Victorian England, Oliver Twist is the name given by a workhouse warden to a boy born in the workhouse orphanage, Oliver's mother who died in childbirth and whose identity is unknown. Now an adolescent, Oliver, who has never felt loved or accepted, manages to escape from both the harsh workhouse and his equally harsh placements "for sale". Managing to make his way to London, Oliver, feeling accepted for the first time in his life, is welcomed into a group of other young boys, headed by the Artful Dodger, who "make wallets" under the direction of Fagin. What Oliver is initially unaware of is that they are really a band of pickpockets, Fagin who hides away whatever riches he is able to obtain for his own personal benefit. One of Fagin's associates is the violent Bill Sikes, whose girlfriend, Nancy, is devoted to him despite his abuse of her. Oliver looks to Nancy as his one true friend, especially needed when he discovers what Fagin and the boys actually do. Oliver also comes to the attention of the wealthy Mr. Brownlow. Out of circumstance, Bill sees Oliver as both an asset and a liability, but one that needs to be kept enslaved under his direction. Nancy has to decide whether to be loyal to Bill to help him keep Oliver, or do what is best for Oliver by helping him escape, especially as she knows that Brownlow is looking for Oliver when he learns of Oliver's true heritage. - Written by Huggo 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist falls in with a group of street-urchin pickpockets led by the Artful Dodger and masterminded by the criminal Fagin. When Oliver's intended mark, Mr. Brownlow, takes pity on the lad and offers him a home, Fagin's henchman Bill Sikes plots to kidnap the boy to keep him from talking. - Written by Jwelch5742 Oliver Twist is sold to a Dunstable undertaker after asking for more dinner at the orphanage. Escaping to London he is taken in by Fagin to join his gang of child pickpockets. Wrongly accused of a theft he meets a more kindly gentleman who takes him in, to the concern of one of Fagin's old pupils, the violent Bill Sykes. In the middle is Nancy, Sykes' girl whom Oliver has come to trust.


Who created the character of Horatio Hornblower?

Horatio Hornblower | Hornblower | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Hornblower, the son of a doctor, was born on July 4 , 1776 (the date of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence ) in Hythe , Kent . He was given a classical education, and by the time he joined the Royal Navy at age seventeen, he was well-versed in Greek and Latin . He was tutored in French by a penniless French emigré and had an aptitude for mathematics, which served him well as a navigator . Early career Edit Hornblower's early exploits were many and varied. Joining the Royal Navy as a midshipman , he fended off fire ships which interrupted his first (disastrous) examination for promotion to lieutenant . Still only an acting lieutenant, he was given command of the sloop Le Rêve , which blundered into a Spanish fleet in the fog, resulting in Hornblower's capture and imprisonment in Ferrol . He was finally confirmed as a commissioned lieutenant while still a prisoner of war . His daring rescue of some sailors from a shipwreck, and his honourable adherence to the parole he had given, was rewarded by his Spanish captors by his release. His captivity left him with a fluent knowledge of Spanish , which proved highly useful in several further adventures. As a junior lieutenant, he served under Captain James Sawyer , who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia on a trip to the Caribbean , during which he began his long friendship with William Bush . Returning to England , Hornblower was demobilised during the Peace of Amiens , causing him great financial distress -- he resorted to making a living as a professional gambler. He was employed for the Long Rooms , playing whist for a modest income. During this time, Hornblower took up residence in Portsmouth , in Mrs. Mason 's boarding house. In 1803 , he was reactivated and given command of a sloop of war. Mrs. Mason's daughter, was incredibly distraught at this development. Out of pity, Hornblower proposed marriage. Maria happily accepted. He had been confirmed as Commander of HMS Hotspur when hostilities resumed against Napoleon . After gruelling service during the Blockade of Brest , he finally was promoted to captain and recalled to England. Once there, he met the secretary of the Admirality and post rank is conferred immediately when Hornblower agreed to take part in a clandestine operation that eventually lead to the resounding English victory at the Battle of Trafalgar that cost Horatio Nelson his life. Hornblower then organised Nelson's funeral procession along the River Thames and had to deal with the near-sinking of the barge conveying the hero's coffin. Later, he secretly recovered sunken gold and silver from a sunken ship on the bottom of Marmorice Bay within the Ottoman Empire with the aid of pearl divers from Ceylon , narrowly escaping a Turkish warship at the end. Upon unloading the treasure and refitting, his ship was taken away from him to be given to the King of the Two Sicilies for diplomatic reasons. On his return to England, he found his two young children dying of smallpox . He later made a long, difficult voyage in command of the frigate HMS Lydia , round the Horn to the Pacific, where he supported a madman, El Supremo , in his rebellion against the Spanish. He captured the Natividad , a much more powerful Spanish ship of the line, then had to reluctantly cede it to El Supremo to placate him. When he found that the Spanish had switched sides in the interim, he was forced to find and sink the ship he had captured. On his return voyage, he and his well-connected passenger, Lady Barbara Wellesley , the younger sister of Arthur Wellesley (later to become the Duke of Wellington ) became dangerously attracted to each other. Later career Edit After these exploits, he was given command of HMS Sutherland, a seventy four gun ship of the line . While waiting at his Mediterranean rendezvous point for the rest of his squadron - and its commander, Admiral Leighton - to arrive, he carried out a series of raids against the French along the south coast of Spain. He learned that a French squadro


"Who wrote ""Farewell To Arms"" (published 1929), ""For Whom The Bell Tolls"" (1940), and received a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize for Literature for ""The Old Man And The Sea"" (1952)?"

A Farewell to Arms — страница 2 | Referat.ru Реферат / Рефераты /category/by/type/referaty Иностранные языки /category/by/type/referaty/inostrannye-yazyki A Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms — страница 2 Скачать  is about a Caribbean desperado and is set against a background of lower-class violence and upper-class decadence in Key West during the Great Depression.By now Spain was in the midst of civil war. Still deeply attached to that country, Hemingway made four trips there, once more a correspondent. He raised money for the Republicans in their struggle against the Nationalists under General Francisco Franco, and he wrote a play called The Fifth Column (1938), which is set in besieged Madrid. As in many of his books, the protagonist of the play is based on the author. Following his last visit to the Spanish war he purchased Finca Vigia ("Lookout Farm"), an unpretentious estate outside Havana, Cuba, and went to cover another war--the Japanese invasion of China. The harvest of Hemingway's considerable experience of Spain in war and peace was the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), a substantial and impressive work that some critics consider his finest novel, in preference to A Farewell to Arms. It was also the most successful of all his books as measured in sales. Set during the Spanish Civil War, it tells of Robert Jordan, an American volunteer who is sent to join a guerrilla band behind the Nationalist lines in the Guadarrama Mountains. Most of the novel concerns Jordan's relations with the varied personalities of the band, including the girl Maria, with whom he falls in love. Through dialogue, flashbacks, and stories, Hemingway offers telling and vivid profiles of the Spanish character and unsparingly depicts the cruelty and inhumanity stirred up by the civil war. Jordan's mission is to blow up a strategic bridge near Segovia in order to aid a coming Republican attack, which he realizes is doomed to fail. In an atmosphere of impending disaster, he blows up the bridge but is wounded and makes his retreating comrades leave him behind, where he prepares a last-minute resistance to his Nationalist pursuers.All of his life Hemingway was fascinated by war--in A Farewell to Arms he focused on its pointlessness, in For Whom the Bell Tolls on the comradeship it creates--and as World War II progressed he made his way to London as a journalist. He flew several missions with the Royal Air Force and crossed the English Channel with American troops on D-Day (June 6, 1944). Attaching himself to the 22nd Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division, he saw a good deal of action in Normandy and in the Battle of the Bulge. He also participated in the liberation of Paris and, although ostensibly a journalist, he impressed professional soldiers not only as a man of courage in battle but also as a real expert in military matters, guerrilla activities, and intelligence collection.Following the war in Europe, Hemingway returned to his home in Cuba and began to work seriously again. He also traveled widely, and on a trip to Africa he was injured in a plane crash. Soon after (in 1953), he received the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for The Old Man and the Sea (1952), a short, heroic novel about an old Cuban fisherman who, after an extended struggle, hooks and boats a giant marlin only to have it eaten by voracious sharks during the long voyage home. This book, which played a role in gaining for Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, was as enthusiastically praised as his previous novel, Across the River and into the Trees (1950), the story of a professional army officer who dies while on leave in Venice, had been damned.By 1960 Fidel Castro's revolution had driven Hemingway from Cuba. He settled in Ketchum, Idaho, and tried to lead his life and do his work as before. For a while he succeeded, but, anxiety-ridden and depressed, he was twice hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he received electroshock treatments. Two days after his return to the house in Ketchum, he took his life with a shotgun. Hemingway had mar


"Who wrote the music for the song ""Smile"", a hit for Nat King Cole in 1954 that was recorded by Michael Jackson for his 1995 double album ""HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I""?"

Smile - Nat King Cole version - YouTube Smile - Nat King Cole version Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Oct 1, 2009 Aaron Jordon performing the Nat King Cole version of "Smile" live on stage at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, in the CLJ Academy's hit show "One Night Only". "Smile" is a pop song, originally used as an instrumental theme in the soundtrack for the 1936 Charlie Chaplin movie Modern Times. Chaplin composed the music, while the words were written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons. In the lyrics, the singer is telling the listener to cheer up and that there is always a bright tomorrow, just as long as they smile. "Smile" has become a popular standard since its original use in Chaplin's film. The best known version, sung by Nat King Cole, charted in 1954. It was also covered by Cole's daughter, Natalie on her 1991 album, Unforgettable...With Love. Singer Michael Jackson recorded the song for his 1995 double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It was planned to be released as the eighth single from the album in 1997 but was canceled days before its release date. Only a few copies from the Netherlands, Germany and South Africa (where the record distribution was started previous to the withdrawal) were saved as the other copies were withdrawn. Other cover versions Johnny Mathis, Natalie Cole, Michael Bolton, Barbra Streisand, Skeeter Davis, Judy Garland, Diana Ross, The Lettermen, Eric Clapton, Betty Everett and Jerry Butler, Holly Cole, Elvis Costello, Lyle Lovett, Julia Migenes, Steve Howe & Martin Taylor, Dalida, Michael Jackson, Michael Bublé, Maria Friedman, Petula Clark, Djavan, Sun Ra, Robert Downey Jr.,Ray Quinn, Tony Bennett, Janelle Monae, Russell Watson, Josh Groban, Jimmy Durante, Barbi Benton, David Whitfield, Westlife and Nydia Rojas Category


Peter Mayle (Author of A Year in Provence) edit data Peter Mayle (born June 14, 1939 in Brighton) is a British author famous for his series of books detailing life in Provence, France. He spent fifteen years in advertising before leaving the business in 1975 to write educational books, including a series on sex education for children and young people. In 1989, A Year in Provence was published and became an international bestseller. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages, and he is a contributing writer to magazines and newspapers. Indeed, his seventh book A Year in Provence, chronicles a year in the life of a British expatriate who settled in the village of Ménerbes. His book A Good Year was the basis for the eponymous 2006 film directed by Ridley Scott and starring ac Peter Mayle (born June 14, 1939 in Brighton) is a British author famous for his series of books detailing life in Provence, France. He spent fifteen years in advertising before leaving the business in 1975 to write educational books, including a series on sex education for children and young people. In 1989, A Year in Provence was published and became an international bestseller. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages, and he is a contributing writer to magazines and newspapers. Indeed, his seventh book A Year in Provence, chronicles a year in the life of a British expatriate who settled in the village of Ménerbes. His book A Good Year was the basis for the eponymous 2006 film directed by Ridley Scott and starring actor Russell Crowe. Peter Mayle currently lives in Lourmarin, situated in Luberon, in Provence, France.


Who made the longest Oscar acceptance speech, at five minutes and 30 seconds, when collecting her Oscar for Best Actress in 1942 for her role as Mrs. Miniver?

The Longest Oscar Acceptance Speech Does anyone keep track of the longest acceptance speech at the     Oscars? The Answer: The folks at Guinness World     Records do. According to them, Greer Garson spoke for five     minutes and 30 seconds after accepting the award for Best Actress for     her role in Mrs. Miniver in 1942. Here's some more information about the 1942 Academy Awards . As an aside, while she didn't take as much time, Olivia de     Havilland thanked a record 27 people in her 1947 acceptance     speech. —The Editors


What device did French inventor douard-Lon Scott de Martinville patent in 1857?

Leon Scott Leon Scott Leon Scott and the Phonautograph Scott phonautograph from Smithsonian Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville was born in France in 1817. As a printer by trade, he was able to read accounts of the latest scientific discoveries and became an inventor. On March 25, 1857, he received French patent #17,897/31,470 for the phonautograph. This device made a visual image of sound waves on a cylinder, but did not play or reproduce any sounds. Scott used a horn to collect sound, a diaphragm at the end of the horn that vibrated from the sound, a stiff brush bristle attached to the diaphragm, and a rotating cylinder covered with lampblack or blackened paper that recorded the wavy lines from the vibrating diaphragm and bristle. He also used flat discs to trace the lateral motions of his bristle, as Emile Berliner would later do with his gramophone. One of Scott's cylinder machines (pictured at left) has been preserved in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, although it is incorrectly labeled as the "first machine to record sound." Scott, with the help of Rudolph Koenig who made musical instruments at 27 Quai d'Anjou in Paris, constructed some machines for scientific purposes, but he was not able to profit from his invention and spent the remainder of his life as a librarian and bookseller at 9 rue Vivienne in Paris. He died April 26, 1879, two years after Edison's invention. Despite his claims that he was the true inventor of the phonograph, Scott was never able to do what Edison did, to make indentations on a cylinder that could vibrate a diaphragm as did the original sound waves. In 1877, another French inventor, Charles M. Cros , described a device called the paleophone that was similar to Scott's phonautograph. Although Scott's phonautograph only made images of sound, it was a valuable tool used by later scientists such as Helmholtz, Bell , and Edison . References: Helmholtz, Hermann. On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music. Translated by Alexander J. Ellis. London: Longmans, Green, 1875, p. 20.


Where are the sheer cliffs of the Drakensberg?

SA, Lesotho to upgrade Sani Pass SA, Lesotho to upgrade Sani Pass SA, Lesotho to upgrade Sani Pass 19 Jul 2006 Tweet on Twitter 20 July 2006 The road through Sani Pass, one of southern Africa’s most spectacular mountain passes, is to be upgraded, opening up the corridor from Thaba Tseka in Lesotho to Pietermaritzburg in South Africa and providing easier access to the Maloti-Drakensberg transfrontier area. South Africa’s and Lesotho’s transport ministers, Jeff Radebe and Neo Masithela, launched the R160-million upgrade project at the SA-Lesotho border near Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday. The 33-kilometre gravel road traverses the sheer cliffs of the Drakensberg escarpment in a series of tight zig-zag curves – given names such as “Ice Corner”, “Big Wind Corner” and “Suicide Bend” – climbing more than a kilometre from the Sani Pass Hotel (altitude 1 566m) past the South African border post (1 900m) to the Sani Pass Summit at 2 873m. Originally used to bring goods on pack animals from South Africa to Mokhotlong in the “Mountain Kingdom”, the pass was only opened to vehicle traffic in 1955 and, despite improvements since then, remains extremely steep and rough. Though offroad vehicle enthusiasts may mourn the old Sani’s passing, the road is set to be upgraded into a smooth, tarred surface accessible to normal cars and public transport vehicles. The project is expected to boost development on both sides of the border, opening up the corridor linking Thaba Tseka and Mokhotlong in Lesotho and Himvelle, Underberg and Pietermaritzburg in South Africa. The upgraded road will extend as far as Pietermaritzburg, a centre capable of providing a variety of economic services to Lesotho. Speaking at the launch, Radebe said the project would also provide easier tourist access to the Maloti-Drakensberg transfrontier area that includes the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, a World Heritage site. He said the project would contribute to black economic empowerment by linking an established and emerging consultant via a joint venture agreement. It will also create employment, both during and after construction, through the Zibambele Road Maintenance and Vukuzakhe Contractor Development programmes, both part of the goverment’s Expanded Public Works Programme. The former targets poorer households, especially women-headed households, contracting them for 12 months to perform tasks such as clearing side drains and maintaining road surfaces. The latter involves labour-intensive road upgrade construction. In July 2005, South Africa and Lesotho signed agreements on transport, infrastructure development and co-operation in search and rescue operations. SouthAfrica.info reporter and BuaNews


Which book about a castaway was written by Daniel Defoe?

The 100 best novels: No 2 – Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719) | Books | The Guardian The 100 best novels The 100 best novels: No 2 – Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719) Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe comes second in our list of the best novels written in English. Robert McCrum explains the genius of this complex, irresistible novel Sunday 22 September 2013 20.00 EDT Last modified on Thursday 1 December 2016 11.07 EST Share on Messenger Close English fiction began with The Pilgrim’s Progress , but nearly 50 turbulent years, including the Glorious Revolution, passed before it made its great leap forward. The author of this literary milestone is a strangely appealing literary hustler of nearly 60 years old originally named Daniel Foe (he added “De” to improve his social standing), a one-time journalist, pamphleteer, jack of all trades and spy . Like Bunyan, he had suffered at the hands of the state (the pillory, followed by prison in 1703). Unlike Bunyan, he was not religious. His world-famous novel is a complex literary confection. It purports to be a history, written by Crusoe himself, and edited by Daniel Defoe who, in the preface , teasingly writes that he “believes the thing to be a just History of Fact; neither is there any Appearance of Fiction in it”. So what do we find in this “History” ? Robinson Crusoe has three elements that make it irresistible. First, the narrative voice of the castaway is Defoe’s stroke of genius. It’s exciting, unhurried, conversational and capable of high and low sentiments. It’s also often quasi-journalistic, which suits Defoe’s style. This harmonious mix of tone puts the reader deep into the mind of the castaway and his predicament. His adventures become our adventures and we experience them inside out, viscerally, for ourselves. Readers often become especially entranced by Crusoe’s great journal, the central passage of his enforced sequestration. And here is Defoe’s second great inspiration. He comes up with a tale, often said to be modelled on the story of the castaway Alexander Selkirk , that, like Bunyan’s, follows an almost biblical pattern of transgression (youthful rebellion), retribution (successive shipwrecks), repentance (the painful lessons of isolation) and finally redemption (Crusoe’s return home). In storytelling terms, this is pure gold. And third, how can we forget Defoe’s characters? The pioneer novelist understood the importance of attaching memorably concrete images to his narrative and its characters. Friday and his famous footstep in the sand, one of the four great moments in English fiction, according to Robert Louis Stevenson; Crusoe with his parrot and his umbrella: these have become part of English myth. Defoe, like Cervantes, also opts to give his protagonist a sidekick. Friday is to Crusoe what Sancho Panza is to Quixote. Doubles in English literature will regularly recur in this list: Jekyll and Hyde, Holmes and Watson, Jeeves and Wooster. Which brings me to Defoe’s final quality as a writer. He was the complete professional, dipped in ink. Throughout his life, he produced pamphlets, squibs, narrative verse and ghosted ephemera (he is said to have used almost 200 pen names). He was a man who liked to be paid for what he wrote, lived well and was almost always in debt. He was not a “literary novelist”, and would not have understood the term, but his classic novel is English literature at its finest, and he hit the jackpot with Robinson Crusoe. By the end of the 19th century, no book in English literary history had enjoyed more editions, spin-offs and translations than Robinson Crusoe, with more than 700 alternative versions, including illustrated children’s versions. The now-forgotten term “Robinsonade” was coined to describe the Crusoe genre, which still flourishes and was recently revived by Hollywood in the Tom Hanks film, Castaway (2000). Note on the text: The text was first published in London by W Taylor on 25 April 1719. This first edition credited the work’s fictional protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, and its title was The Life and Stran


What date was the US Transcontinental Railroad completed?

Significant Dates - Transcontinental Railroad Completions © 2014 CPRR.org. Use of this Web   site constitutes acceptance of the User Agreement which   permits personal use web viewing only; no copying; arbitration; no warranty. Significant Dates California State Railroad Museum   Dec. 15, 1854              Union Wharf and Plank Walk Company incorporated.  Built a horse-powered railroad from the town of Union (later called Arcata) to the end of a wharf in Humboldt Bay.  Generally considered the first railroad in California.  Converted to steam in 1875.  Reorganized in 1881 as the Arcata & Mad River RR. Jan 1855                      Panama Railroad completed.  1st railroad to connect the Atlantic (Caribbean) and the Pacific (Gulf of Panama).  US built and owned.  From the Atlantic port it traveled southeast to reach the Pacific port, just as the Panama Canal does today. Feb 1855                     Grading of the Sacramento Valley RR started. Feb. 16, 1855              Panama Railroad officially opened. Feb 22, 1856               Sacramento Valley Railroad completed from Sacramento to Folsom. June 28, 1861              Central Pacific organized , and formally incorporated in California July 1, 1861.  To be the western link in the Transcontinental Railroad.  Union Pacific chartered by the act of Congress authorizing land grants and support for the Transcontinental Railroad. July 1, 1862                Pacific Railroad Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln and becomes law.  Officially recognized the Central Pacific as the Western part of the Transcontinental Railroad. Jan 9, 1863                  Central Pacific broke ground at Front Street near K Street in Sacramento. Oct 26, 1863               First rail of the Central Pacific laid, without ceremony. June 6, 1864                San Francisco & San Jose completed between the two cities of those name. Sept 10, 1865              California Pacific incorporated.  Initially conceived as a western link for the transcontinental railroad, connecting Sacramento with San Francisco via Vallejo, it later developed transcontinental aspirations of its own. 1867                            Western Pacific acquired by CP owners from its owners.  The WP was organized by the interests controlling the San Francisco & San Jose.  (Not to be confused with the 20th century Western Pacific, a completely different company.) March 1868                 Control of San Francisco & San Jose acquired by the Southern Pacific, organized by the same owners as the SF&SJ.  Control of SP acquired by the Big Four later that same year. May 10, 1869              Central Pacific and Union Pacific joined at Promontory, Utah, in Golden Spike ceremony .  1st transcontinental railroad in US. May 13, 1869              Regular service inaugurated between Sacramento and Omaha.  Connecting railroads provided service from the Atlantic. Sept 6, 1869                Western Pacific completed and opened for service between Sacramento and Alameda.  A branch line from Niles connected in San Jose with the Southern Pacific (SF&SJ). Nov 8, 1869                Central Pacific overland passenger terminus transferred from Alameda to Oakland, Cal . Nov 17, 1869              Opening of the Suez Canal diverted most of the Oriental traffic that had been expected to pass over the Central and Union Pacific line.  High value, high speed tea and silk traffic continued to use the American transcontinental route to Europe into the 20th century. May 31, 1870              Boston Board of Trade train arrived in San Francisco (running up the Southern Pacific - formerly the San Francisco & San Jose -  into the City).  1st true transcontinental train to run from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast of the US. Apr 13, 1871               Peter Donahue sold the San Francisco & North Pacific to the California Pacific, who planed to move their terminal from Vallejo to Marin County, closer to San Francisco. Aug 1, 1871                Control of the California Pacific acquired by Big Four, eliminating potential transcontinental competitor.  Transco


What 2002 film, an adaptation of stage musical that explores the themes of 'celebrity' and 'scandal', starred Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rene Zellweger, and Richard Gere?

Film-Film Based on True Story - Page5 | KASKUS 07-08-2008 01:47 Kandahar Kandahar (originally titled Safar-e Ghandehar ("Journey to Kandahar") and, alternatively, The Sun Behind the Moon) is a 2001 film by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, set in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. The film is based on a story (partly true, partly fictionalized) of a successful Afghan-Canadian (played by Nelofer Pazira) who returns to Afghanistan after receiving a letter from her sister, who was left behind when the family escaped, that she plans on committing suicide on the last solar eclipse of the millennium. Kandahar was filmed mostly in Iran, but also secretly in Afghanistan itself[citation needed]. Most people, including Nelofer Pazira, played themselves. The film premiered at the Cannes film festival of 2001, but didn't get much attention at first. After 9/11, however, it was widely shown. Kandahar won Makhmalbaf the Federico Fellini Prize from Unesco in 2001. source : wikipedia 07-08-2008 01:55 chicago Chicago is a 2002 musical film released by Miramax Films. First released in limited cities on December 27, 2002, Chicago opened in wide release on January 24, 2003. An adaptation of the satirical stage musical Chicago, the film explores the themes of celebrity and scandal in Jazz age Chicago. Directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall, and adapted for film by screenwriter Bill Condon, Chicago won six Academy Awards in 2003, including Best Picture. The film was the first musical film to win the Best Picture Oscar since Oliver! (1968). Chicago centers around Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, two murderesses who find themselves on death row together in 1920s Chicago. Velma, a professional vaudevillian, and Roxie, a housewife with aspirations of being a star, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows. The film stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, and Richard Gere, also featuring Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Christine Baranski, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Colm Feore, and Mýa Harrison. The movie is based on the Kander and Ebb Broadway musical, Chicago, which was based on the Maurine Watkins play, Chicago, which was in turn based on the stories of two Jazz-era killers, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. 07-08-2008 01:57 Monster Monster is a 2003 biographical-crime-drama-thriller about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in 2002 for killing seven men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Aileen Wuornos was played by Charlize Theron, and her lover Selby Wall was played by Christina Ricci (Wuornos' lover's name was actually Tyria Moore, but her character's name, age, and appearance in the film were changed for legal reasons). The film was written and directed by Patty Jenkins. Much of Theron's preparation for the role is credited to Nick Broomfield's 1992 documentary, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, of which Theron reportedly watched clips between takes.[citation needed] Theron won several Best Actress awards for her performance. source : wikipedia 07-08-2008 02:06 Raging Bull Raging Bull is a 1980 film directed by Martin Scorsese, adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from the memoir Raging Bull: My Story. It stars Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta, a temperamental and paranoid but tenacious boxer who alienates himself from his friends and family. Also featured in the film are Joe Pesci as Joey, La Motta's brother and manager, and Cathy Moriarty as his abused wife. The film features supporting roles from Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana, and Frank Vincent, who has starred in many films directed by Martin Scorsese. After receiving mixed initial reviews, it went on to garner a high critical reputation and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made, along with the pair's other famed collaboration from that era, Taxi Driver (1976). It is one of three films that has been named to the National Film Registry in its first year of eligibility. Quote:Original Posted By La Grande Inter ► wah, info yang bagus om tiger... btw ini truestory juga yah ?? Om tiger, thre


Where is the White Desert National Park situated?

Egyptian Tourism Authority HOME > Adventure The White Desert The White Desert is justifiably the most well-known desert destination in Egypt – and for a good reason. The quantity of unearthly and beautiful wind-carved rock formations shaped in the form of giant mushrooms or pebbles is unequalled in any desert in the world. Farafra is nearer than Bahariya to this 300 kilometres protectorate, yet it offers a more limited choice of tours and safaris. However, it is still the perfect starting point for an overnight journey into the infinite whiteness.


What is the name of a construction toy made of interlocking plastic blocks?

Who Invented LEGO® Blocks? | Wonderopolis Wonder of the Day #639 Who Invented LEGO® Blocks? When was the modern design of the LEGO® block patented? What are LEGO® blocks made of? Tags: Listen If you're like most kids, you probably love to play and build things with those colorful little blocks we all know as LEGO® blocks . Let's learn a little more about the history of these fun toys. LEGO® blocks are just part of the overall line of construction toys made by the Lego Group, a company from Denmark. In addition to the colorful interlocking plastic blocks we're all familiar with, other LEGO® toys include gears, figurines, wheels and various other parts that allow kids to construct all sorts of buildings, machines, vehicles and even robots . The great thing about LEGO® toys is that they can be taken apart and reused over and over again to make new creations. LEGO® toys have become so popular all over the world that they have expanded from just toys to include movies, games, competitions and even LEGO®-themed amusement parks! The Lego Group got its start in the carpentry workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen. He started making wooden toys in 1932. He began calling his company “Lego" in 1934, based upon the Danish phrase leg godt, which means “play well." The Lego Group began making its famous plastic interlocking blocks in 1949. At first, they were not very popular, because customers still preferred wooden toys. Over time, though, they became very popular as the company made them part of an overall system of toys that kids could use to build an unlimited variety of things. The LEGO® block design still in use today was patented on January 28, 1958. Blocks from that year are still compatible with blocks made today. The Lego Group takes great pride in manufacturing precise pieces that fit firmly together, yet can be easily taken apart. Since 1963, LEGO® blocks have been made from a special plastic called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS. Over the last 50 years, the Lego Group has produced over 400 billion LEGO® blocks. That's enough LEGO® blocks for every person in the world to have over 60 LEGO® blocks! Today, the Lego Group also makes LEGO® robotic sets that help young students learn how to build and program robots in competitions, such as the Junior FIRST LEGO® League and the FIRST LEGO® League. Some children may also be familiar with the video game series that have developed from the popularity of LEGO® toys. Some of these popular video games include Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Batman and Lego Rock Band. The popularity of LEGO® blocks has grown so much over the years that these toys can be found in all parts of popular culture and even in schools as educational toys. In 1998, LEGO® blocks were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Wonder Contributors


Where does the Republic of Djibouti have a coastline or coastlines?

Djibouti Map Djibouti Map Disclaimer Close Disclaimer : All efforts have been made to make this image accurate. However Compare Infobase Limited,its directors and employees do not own any responsibility for the correctness or authenticity of the same. More Maps of Djibouti Djibouti city Map History of Djibouti Djibouti is a small nation located on the Horn of Africa. The country has a very long history, with human habitation dating back to at least the 25th century BC. The region, including Djibouti and neighboring Somalia, Eritrea, and parts of Sudan were historically part of the Land of Punt. Punt, which had ties to ancient Egypt, was a kingdom ruled by King Parahu and Queen Ati. The area later became a Muslim territory, and part of the Ifat Sultanate in medieval times. It was ruled by various sultans over this period of its history. In the 19th century, treaties with France led to the formation of French Somaliland, which had its capital in Djibouti, and lasted from 1896 to 1967. When Somalia fought for independence (eventually winning in 1960), Djibouti voted to remain under French administration, separating from Somaliland. Another vote took place in 1967, which lessened France's hold over Djibouti, but remained in control. The name of the territory was then changed to Territory of the Afars and the Issas. Finally, with the third vote, the people of Djibouti voted overwhelmingly for independence in 1977, becoming the Republic of Djibouti. Since Djibouti has been a sovereign nation it has dealt with internal struggles and conflict, but after talks between opposing sides, the country has remained fairly stable. Neighboring Countries Djibouti borders the African nations of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, with coastlines along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Major Cities Tadjourah Geography Djibouti is a small country of just 23,200 square kilometers (8,958 square miles), with coastline along the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The territory of Djibouti is positioned on the Horn of Africa, the peninsula protruding from northeastern Africa, which resembles a horn. The land of Djibouti is mostly arid, with coastal deserts and part of Africa's Grand Bara desert. There are several mountain ranges in Djubouti, however, including Mousa Ali, Goda, Arrei, Mabla, Dagouein, and Boura ranges. Djibouti also has a fissure vent volcano, called Ardoukoba, which is located near the salty Lake Assal. Points of Interest Djibouti's territory also includes two main islands, Maskali Island and Moucha Island, located in the Gulf of Tadjoura. These islands, along with the smaller islands that surround them, are not far from the coast and offer many recreational activities. Djibouti does not have any rivers but has several dry riverbeds or wadis. Djibouti also has two lakes of interest: Lake Abhe and Lake Assal. Lake Assal is one of the saltiest lakes in the world and the third lowest point on Earth. The beaches of Djibouti are another popular attraction, especially Khor Ambado Beach in Tadjoura Bay. Within the city of Djibouti, there is a historic city center, Place Menelik, and a mosque, called Hamoudi. Transportation Air transportation enters Djibouti at Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport, which offers direct flights to regional destinations in Africa and the Middle East. Djibouti is also accessible via its major port in the capital, which offers service across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. Transport can be managed using the bus services between towns in Djibouti. Within major cities and towns, taxis, cars and bicycles offer ways to get around, though the road conditions can be risky. ACOD~20130829


Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa won which major prize in 2010?

Mario Vargas Llosa Wins Nobel Prize for Literature - The New York Times The New York Times Books |Vargas Llosa Takes Nobel in Literature Search Continue reading the main story The Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, whose deeply political work vividly examines the perils of power and corruption in Latin America, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. Announcing the award in Stockholm, the Swedish Academy praised Mr. Vargas Llosa “for his cartography of the structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt and defeat.” Mr. Vargas Llosa, 74, is one of the most celebrated writers of the Spanish-speaking world, an anti-totalitarian intellectual whose work covers the range of human experience, whether it is ideology or eros. He is frequently mentioned with his contemporary Gabriel García Márquez, who won the literature Nobel in 1982, the last South American to do so. Mr. Vargas Llosa has written more than 30 works of nonfiction, plays and novels, including “The Feast of the Goat” and “The War of the End of the World.” The prize is the first for a writer in the Spanish language in two decades, after Octavio Paz of Mexico won in 1990. It renews attention on the Latin American writers who gained renown in the 1960s, like Julio Cortázar of Argentina and Carlos Fuentes of Mexico, who formed the region’s “boom generation.” Continue reading the main story During a news conference at the Instituto Cervantes in Manhattan on Thursday, Mr. Vargas Llosa, an elegant, dashing figure with silvery hair, appeared in front of a crowd of giddy journalists, mostly Spanish-speaking, and Alejandro Toledo, the former president of Peru, who sat in the front row. Mr. Vargas Llosa is currently spending the semester in the United States, teaching Latin American studies at Princeton. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Answering questions in English, Spanish and a bit of French, Mr. Vargas Llosa called the Nobel a recognition of the importance of Latin American literature and of the Spanish language, which has acquired “a sort of citizenship in the world,” he said. When Mr. Vargas Llosa was young and went to Europe for the first time, he said, “Latin America seemed to be a land where there were only dictators, revolutionaries, catastrophes. Now we know that Latin America can produce also artists, musicians, painters, thinkers and novelists.” The announcement of the prize was greeted largely with enthusiasm in Latin America, where Mr. Vargas Llosa is widely admired for his literary greatness but is a divisive figure because of his conservative politics. He has frequently criticized leftist governments in the region, including those of Cuba and Venezuela. In Peru, members of Congress took to the floor to praise him. People celebrated in Arequipa, the provincial city where he was born, with Peruvian television showing a band playing the national anthem in the streets. Felipe Calderón, Mexico’s president, wrote in a Twitter message that the prize was cause for “Latin American pride.” But illustrating the mixed sentiment that Mr. Vargas Llosa’s views elicit among some in the region, the Mexican writer Paco Ignacio Taibo II said that while the prize was “absolutely deserved,” Mr. Vargas Llosa himself was “deplorable as a citizen and as a person.” In selecting Mr. Vargas Llosa, the Swedish Academy has once again made a literary choice tinged with politics, though this time from the right instead of the left. Recent winners of the literature Nobel include Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German novelist; Orhan Pamuk of Turkey; and Harold Pinter of Britain. Advertisement “It’s very difficult for a Latin American writer to avoid politics,” Mr. Vargas Llosa said on Thursday. “Literature is an expression of life, and you cannot eradicate politics from life.” Photo Mario Vargas Llosa Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times In the days leading up to the announcement, the reliably unreliable speculation over who would win focused on the Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong’o; Cormac McCarthy; the Syrian poet Adonis; P


Mozart wrote an opera about what kind of flute?

Examining Mozart's Operas - dummies Examining Mozart’s Operas Examining Mozart’s Operas Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) lived at the height of the Classical period in music history — a time of elegance, beauty, refinement, and grace. He wrote 22 operas — 10 of them as a teenager. Although many operas written by other composers during that time seem out-of-date and stilted, Mozart’s still appear remarkably fresh to today’s audiences. Austrian-born Mozart was one of the best opera composers who ever lived — and many consider him to be the greatest composer, period. From the very beginning of his short life, Mozart mastered music with a natural grace and facility that blew people away. He was the Tiger Woods of composers. With his dad’s nurturing, young Wolfgang was composing piano concertos by age 4. Shortly thereafter, he wrote his first symphony. And he wrote the opera Bastien and Bastienne when he was 11. Young Mozart goes abroad Wolfgang probably would have been happy to stay at home and compose operas for fun. But Leopold Mozart, Wolfie’s father, had other ideas. To show off his genius son, he packed up young Wolfgang and his older sister Nannerl and toted them all over Europe. Everywhere they went, Leopold touted his son as a scientific phenomenon. One of his posters in England said: “To all lovers of sciences: The greatest prodigy that Europe, or that even Human Nature has to boast of is, without contradiction, the little German boy Wolfgang Mozart.” (No pressure, Wolfie.) By age 13, Wolfgang found a job as concertmaster of the orchestra and organist of the court of the archbishop of Salzburg, where he worked for 12 years. But his constant traveling and angling for better jobs irked the archbishop. Finally, with absolutely no clue how politically incorrect he’d look to future generations, the archbishop fired Mozart. When he grew up, Mozart moved to Vienna to seek his fortune. Vienna was a center of musical activity, and he had been successful on tour there as a child prodigy. But Mozart wasn’t a child prodigy anymore — and he had a hard time finding steady work. Without a steady job, Mozart sustained himself in Vienna by writing operas. During this time, Mozart married a young woman named Constanze Weber (daughter of another well-known composer, Carl Maria von Weber). Perhaps to commemorate this happy occasion, he used the name Constanze for the heroine in his exotic, comic-rescue opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio. This opera had everything: great tunes with trendy Turkish-sounding effects, a wacky story, harems and other exotic attractions, and great escape scenes. It had something else, too: It was in German — the language of the people for whom it was written — rather than in Italian, like most operas. Mozart believed in communicating directly to the people, and he was supported by the emperor of Austria-Hungary, Joseph II. To Mozart, it came naturally Mozart was especially good at opera. His melodies were simple, graceful, and full of feeling. He loved writing parts for several characters to sing simultaneously — and managed to make all the words clear. He also mastered the orchestra’s colors, using cleverly chosen groups of instruments to create special effects and sounds. Furthermore, Mozart had a knack for picking the right plays to turn into operas. One of his best picks was a play by Pierre de Beaumarchais called The Marriage of Figaro, a hilarious (and very controversial) send-up of contemporary society and politics. This opera offers great examples of the kind of realistic motivations that drive Mozart’s characters. One year after the premiere of Figaro, the city of Prague commissioned Mozart to write an opera to celebrate the marriage of the emperor’s niece. And what solemn story did he choose to musicalize for this sacred union? The tale of Don Juan, the sleaziest sex maniac of them all. The opera was Don Giovanni, and it was a smash hit. Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart’s lecherous librettist Of course, Mozart doesn’t deserve all the credit for his sensational operas; after all, he only composed the


Which city is in the Chao Phraya River delta?

Delta Research And Global Observation Network (DRAGON) Delta Research And Global Observation Network (DRAGON)   Related Links Chao Phraya River The headwaters of the Chao Phraya River originate in the northern part of Thailand and consist of four large tributaries, the Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan rivers. The Ping and Wang join just below the Bhumibol Dam to form the Ping River. The Yom and Nan join about 30 km (18 mi) north of Nakhon Sawan to form the Nan River. The Chao Phraya River begins at the confluence of the Ping and Nan rivers at Nakhon Sawan in central Thailand. It then flows from north to south for approximately 370 km (230 mi) from the central plains to Bangkok, eventually emptying into the Gulf of Thailand. In Chainat, the river splits into the main river and the Tha Chin River, which flows parallel to the main river until they both enter the Gulf about 35 km (22 mi) west of Bangkok in Samut Sakhon. The expanse of the Chao Phraya and Tha Chin rivers and their distributaries, starting at the point at which the distributaries diverge, together with the land between the triangle formed by the outermost and innermost distributaries, form the Chao Phraya Delta. The many distributaries of the Chao Phraya Delta are interconnected by canals that are used for both irrigation and transportation.


The Tiger Quoll, Dibbler and Phascogale are native to which country?

Quolls - Dasyurus - Details - Encyclopedia of Life Taxonomy[ edit ] The name Dasyurus (from Greek δασύουρος, dasyouros) means "hairy-tail", [2] and was coined by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1796. In 1770, Captain Cook collected quolls on his exploration of the east coast of Australia, adopting the Aboriginal name for the animals. [3] Although the origin of Cook's specimens are unclear, the word and its variants je-quoll, jaquol or taquol are derived from the language of the Guugu Yimithirr people of far north Queensland. No evidence indicates the local indigenous people used the word in the Sydney area. [4] They were likened in appearance to a polecat or marten in the earliest reports, the tiger quoll being called "spotted marten " and eastern quoll "spotted opossum ", but by 1804, the names "native cat" and "tiger cat" had been adopted by early settlers. In the 1960s, noted naturalist David Fleay pushed for the revival of the term "quoll", as he felt the then current vernacular names were misleading. [5] They are very well known animals in Australia. Skeleton of a tiger quoll Four species have been recovered from Pleistocene cave deposits from Mount Etna Caves National Park near Rockhampton in central Queensland. Remains of the tiger quoll and the northern quoll , and a species either identical or very similar to the eastern quoll, as well as a prehistoric species as yet undescribed, all lived in what was a rainforest climate. The northern quoll is still found in the region. [6] The fossil species D. dunmalli, described by Bartholomai in 1971, is the oldest species recovered to date. Its remains were found in Pliocene deposits near Chinchilla in southeastern Queensland. Known only from a lower jaw and some teeth, it was a relative of the tiger quoll. [7] The first species described, the eastern quoll, was originally placed in the American opossum genus Didelphis by an anonymous author, and named Didelphis maculata. This name is no longer considered valid, and the second part of the name is now given to a different species, the tiger quoll, Dasyurus maculatus, while the eastern quoll was re-named Dasyurus viverrinus by George Shaw in 1800. [8] The tribe Dasyurini , to which quolls belong, also includes the Tasmanian devil , the antechinus , the kowari , and the mulgara . [9] Genetic analysis of cytochrome b DNA and 12S rRNA of the mitochondria indicates the quolls evolved and diversified in the late Miocene between 15 and 5 million years ago, a time of great diversification in marsupials. The ancestors of all current species had diverged by the early Pliocene, around 4 million years ago. [1] The genus Dasyurus consists of six species of quoll: [9] The bronze quoll (D. spartacus) is the only mammal found in the Trans Fly ecoregion , but not in northern Australia. It is found in the southern part of New Guinea south of the Fly River . [10] Rising sea levels due to an increase in global temperature caused a land bridge that once connected Australia and New guinea to be covered up with water. A 2007 study conducted by the University of New South Wales suggests the bronze quoll is closely related to the western quoll, their ancestors diverging with the separation of land masses. [11] The western quoll or chuditch (D. geoffroii) is restricted to the Jarrah Forest and the central and southern Australian Wheatbelt . The western quoll is believed to have once occupied 70% of Australia, but because of cane toads, predators, habitat destruction, and poison baiting, it is now less abundant. [12] The New Guinean quoll (D. albopunctatus) is found throughout most of New Guinea . It tends to live at an elevation of about 1,000 m (3,300 ft), and is not found in the south-western lowlands, although it can found on Yapen Island . [13] The eastern quoll (D. viverrinus) is now considered extinct on mainland Australia; the last sighting there was in the 1960s. But it does inhabit much of nearby Tasmania, where it can be found in rainforests, heathland, alpine areas, and scrubs. It can be found near farms, as it eats pasture food. The ea


Who was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952?

Offering the Presidency of Israel to Albert Einstein | Jewish Virtual Library Offering the Presidency of Israel to Albert Einstein (November 17, 1952) Letter Offering Albert Einstein the Presidency of Israel: Embassy of Israel Dear Professor [Albert] Einstein : The bearer of this letter                    is Mr. David Goitein of Jerusalem who is                    now serving as Minister at our Embassy in                    Washington. He is bringing you the question which Prime Minister Ben                     Gurion asked me                    to convey to you, namely, whether you would                    accept the Presidency of Israel if it were                    offered you by a vote of the Knesset. Acceptance                    would entail moving to Israel and taking                    its citizenship. The Prime Minister assures                    me that in such circumstances complete                    facility and freedom to pursue your great                    scientific work would be afforded by a                    government and people who are fully conscious                    of the supreme significance of your labors. Mr. Goitein will be able                    to give you any information that you may                    desire on the implications of the Prime Minister's                    question. Whatever your inclination                    or decision may be, I should be deeply grateful                    for an opportunity to speak with you again                    within the next day or two at any place convenient                    for you. I understand the anxieties and                    doubts which you expressed to me this evening.                    On the other hand, whatever your answer,                    I am anxious for you to feel that the Prime                    Minister's question embodies the deepest respect which the Jewish people can repose                    in any of its sons. To this element of                    personal regard, we add the sentiment that                    Israel is a small State in its physical                    dimensions, but can rise to the level of                    greatness in the measure that it exemplifies                    the most elevated spiritual and intellectual                    traditions which the Jewish people has                    established through its best minds and                    hearts both in antiquity and in modern                    times. Our first President, as you know,                    taught us to see our destiny in these great                    perspectives, as you yourself have often                    exhorted us to do. Therefore, whatever your                    response to this question, I hope that you                    will think generously of those who have asked                    it, and will commend the high purposes and                    motives which prompted them to think of you                    at this solemn hour in our people's history. With cordial wishes,


What is likely to be found in the Pantanal?

Pantanal travel guide - Wikitravel 11 Get out The Pantanal is a region in South America lying mostly in Western Brazil but extending into Bolivia as well. It is considered one of the world's largest and most diverse freshwater wetland ecosystems. The Pantanal is also one of Brazil's major tourist draws, for its wildlife. Some of the large cattle farms offer accommodations and organized tours. World's largest and most diverse freshwater wetland ecosystems Regions[ edit ] Impressive Victoria Water Lilies in Mato Grosso The Pantanal is accessible through four major gateways: Campo Grande , Mato Grosso do Sul in the south, Cuiaba, Mato Grosso in the north, Coxim, Mato Grosso do Sul in the east and Corumbá , Mato Grosso do Sul in the west. Cuiaba and Campo Grande are the capitols of the their respective states and have major international airports. From Campo Grande you can access Bonito and from Cuiabá Chapada dos Guimarães . Corumbá can be reached by plane, or by train from Bolivia, through the border crossing at Puerto Suarez. The southern Pantanal is more strongly influenced by the Chaco and the Atlantic Rainforest fauna and flora and the northern part of the Pantanal by Amazonia. But this doesn't make one area better than the other. Get in[ edit ] There are daily flights and buses to Campo Grande and Cuiabá which are considered gateway cities for the Pantanal. Campo Grande for the southern Pantanal and Cuiabá for the north. Buses from Rio de Janeiro to Cuiabá take 30 hours, while the journey to Campo Grande is 22hrs from Rio de Janeiro and serviced by the Andorinha company. From Sao Paulo you can also use Andorinha to travel 16hrs to Campo Grande, and from Foz do Iguacu the trip is 10hrs traveling with the Novo Integração company. To book buses online you need a CPF (Brazilian Tax File Number) to reserve direct with the companies. For those heading into the Southern Pantanal from Campo Grande you can take a taxi from the airport to the rodoviaria (bus terminal). From the bus terminal you take the Andorinha or Expresso Mato Grosso bus to the gateway city of Miranda (Mato Grosso do Sul) . From here almost all ranches, fazendas and lodges will organise a pick-up service to bring you to your accommodation. The journey is approximately 3 hours and prices are in the range of R$ 37 to R$ 43. Beware of unscrupulous operators targeting tourists arriving at the Campo Grande rodoviaria (bus terminal) or airport. Their prices will fluctuate and these operators will tell you what you want to hear in order to get commission on the tour that they sell. They will also show you photographs that may not match where you will end up staying. Your best option is to use the recommendation websites such as trip advisor, search for Pantanal or Miranda and book directly with a ranch or fazenda as they will assist you directly and you can review their website to ensure that you know who you are booking with. It is also possible to get into the Pantanal from the Bolivian side. You can take the train from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz to Puerto Suarez, cross the border here and use taxi or bus to reach the city of Corumbá - from the cities of Puerto Suarez and Puerto Qujarro there are no organised visits due to nature protection, politics or incapability of infrastructure. From Corumba, you can take a bus directly to Miranda. Prices range from R$ 40 to R$ 50 and it takes approximately 3 hours. Get around[ edit ] From Campo Grande you can catch a bus to go to lodges or fazendas in the Pantanal. Depending on where you plan to go it may take between 4 to 5 hours to get to your accommodation. See[ edit ][ add listing ] Not an uncommon view in Pantanal Depending on the time of year and the guide you hire, you can expect to see a variety of different animals. Unlike many other biologically intense areas, in the Pantanal you are virtually guaranteed to actually SEE the wildlife. There are close to 10 million Yacare Caiman present within the Pantanal and during the Dry Season every bridge crossing on the Transpantaneira is surrounded by hundreds or ev


The uninhabited Malgas Island, or Bird Island, off the Western Cape of South Africa, is the largest breeding colony in the world of what?

Occurrence of blood parasites in seabirds admitted for rehabilitation in the Western Cape, South Africa, 2001-2013 "Although infrequently reported in sub-Saharan birds (Bennett et al., 1992) or in seabirds (Quillfeldt et al., 2011), it was the most common blood parasite in our study. In the case of Cape cormorants and Cape gannets, although infections did have a markedly seasonal distribution, upon closer inspection this seasonal pattern was found to match the time of the year when most juveniles are admitted to the centre, corresponding to the end of their breeding cycles (Berry, 1976; Makhado et al., 2006). B. ugwidiensis was found in all five cormorant species studied, corroborating that this parasite is widespread in cormorants admitted to rehabilitation at SANCCOB (Peirce and Parsons, 2012). " [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Blood parasites are generally uncommon in seabirds, and knowledge on their epidemiology is further limited by the fact that they often inhabit remote locations that are logistically difficult or expensive to study. We present a long term data set of blood smear examinations of 1909 seabirds belonging to 27 species that were admitted to a rehabilitation centre in Cape Town (Western Cape, South Africa) between 2001 and 2013. Blood parasites were detected in 59% of species (16/27) and 29% of individuals examined (551/1909). The following blood parasites were recorded: Babesia ugwidiensis, Babesia peircei, Babesia sp., Plasmodium sp., Leucocytozoon ugwidi, Hepatozoon albatrossi, Haemoproteus skuae and Spirochaetales. Several of the records are novel host-parasite associations, demonstrating the potential of rehabilitation centres for parasite and disease surveillance, particularly for species infrequently sampled from which no host-specific parasites have been described. Full-text · Article · Dec 2016 · Waterbirds Recent Trends of the Kelp Gull ( Larus dominicanus ) in South Africa "population, including individuals that specialize in predation of penguins, gannets and cormorants (Marks et al. 1997; Makhado et al. 2006 Makhado et al. , 2013 ), provides additional feeding opportunities for Kelp Gulls, which often scavenge scraps at seal kills (du Toit 2001). Kelp Gulls on the west coast also feed on the introduced snail (Theba pisana; P. G. Ryan, pers. " [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: South Africa's population of Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus vetula) numbered about 10,000 pairs during 1976/1977–1980/1981, increased to 21,000 pairs from 2000/2001–2004/2005 and then decreased to 17,500 pairs from 2009/2010–2013/2014. The increase in the late 20th century and the decrease in the early 21st century were mainly attributable to large increases and decreases in numbers breeding at islands off the west coast of South Africa. The increases followed cessation of controls on Kelp Gulls at the islands in the 1970s and were associated with supplementary food provided by fisheries and landfill sites, whereas the decreases were influenced by substantial predation of chicks by Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus). The decreases of Kelp Gulls at islands off the west coast of South Africa in the early 21st century were offset to some extent by an increase in numbers breeding on mainland sites, especially around greater Cape Town and along the south coast. The proportion of Kelp Gulls breeding on the south coast increased from 15% in 2000/2001–2004/2005 to 44% in 2009/2010–2013/2014. As there are fewer islands off the south coast than the west coast of South Africa, the proportion of Kelp Gulls breeding at mainland sites as opposed to island localities increased from 12% in 2000 to 31% in 2014. Mainland colonies are more susceptible to disturbance by humans and predation by mainland carnivores, but, in spite of this, the generalist Kelp Gull has performed better in recent years than several specialist, endemic seabirds. At Dyer Island and Bird Island (Algoa Bay), where Kelp Gull numbers increased, predation by Kelp Gulls on eggs and chicks of threatened seabirds is thought to have contribut


What is the name of the official list of books prohibited to be read by the Catholic Church?

Index of Prohibited Books - Encyclopedia Volume - Catholic Encyclopedia - Catholic Online Index of Prohibited Books Encyclopedia Volume Index of Prohibited Books The Index of Prohibited Books, or simply "Index", is used in a restricted sense to signify the exact list or catalogue of books, the reading of which was once forbidden to Catholics by the highest ecclesiastical authority. This list formed the second and larger part of the codex entitled "Index librorum prohibitorum", which contained the entire ecclesiastical legislation relating to books. (The "Index librorum prohibitorum", as an integrant part of the prohibition of books, has already been dealt with in the article C ENSORSHIP OF B OOKS .) A book was prohibited or put on the Index by decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Roman Inquisition, of the Sacred Office, or of the Index, which decree though approved by the pope ( in formâ communi ), always remained a purely congregational decree. It need scarcely be mentioned that the pope alone, without having recourse to any of the congregations, could put a book on the Index, either by issuing a Bull or a Brief, or in any other way. Formerly it was the rule that a book was examined by one of the Roman Congregations only after complaint had been made to Rome. With regard to the Congregation of the Index, however, Pius X, when reorganizing the Roman Curia by the Constitution "Sapienti consilio" (29 June, 1908), decreed as follows: Henceforth it will be the task of this Sacred Congregation not only to examine carefully the books denounced to it, to prohibit them ifnecessary, and to grant permission for reading forbidden books, but also to supervise, ex officio , books that are being published, and to pass sentence on such as deserve to be prohibited. Its further task is to remind the bishops of their sacred duty to combat the publication of pernicious writings and give information about them to the Apostolic See, in accordance with the Constitution Officiorum ad munerum of 25 January, 1897 (Acta S. Sedis, XLI, 432). In the reorganization of the Roman Congregations , Pius X did not change the constitution or methods of the Congregation of the Index, but rather confirmed anew Leo XIII'sBull "Officiorum", together with Benedict XIV's "Sollicitae provida" sanctioned therein. This Bull of Benedict XIV, published on 8 July, 1753, regulated in detail the procedure of the Roman Congregations in the examination of pernicious books. It strictly commanded that the examination of a book be entrusted only to revisors well versed in the particular language and branch of learning. They were to be free from all partisanship and prejudice, and had to pass judgment not according to their private predilections or the tenets of any school but simply and solely according to the general Catholic teaching and the dogmas of Holy Church. Especially when examining books of Catholic authors of merit, they were to allow them free circulation, if at all possible, in a spirit of fairness and leniency. In no case was the book of a Catholic author to be condemned on the strength of the verdict of  one revisor, not even when all the consultors agreed with him. Together with the report of the first revisor — who remained anonymous — the book was given to another for a second revision, and only when the second revisor's verdict was in agreement with that of the first were both reports referred to the cardinals for final decision. If, however, the second revisor thought that the book ought not to be prohibited, a third would examine both verdicts as well as the book itself, but without knowing the names of the other revisors. If the opinion of the third coincided with that of the first and with the general vote of the consultors, the case could be passed on to the cardinals. Otherwise the consultors were again to give their votes, whereupon the matter would be put before the cardinals for final decision. In the case of writings which, according to the decision of


What's a Spurtle? And How to Use a Spurtle | Epicurious.com Stirring the Pot Like a Scot This would be so much easier with a spurtle. Lara Ferroni There are two kinds of spurtles: the rod-shaped, single-use Scottish version and the American version, which is a cross between a spoon and spatula. The Scottish version, which is shaped like a dowel, is used exclusively for stirring porridge. Before rolled oats existed, porridge had to cook for a long time , and the spurtle helped in curtailing lumps. No, these aren't chair legs. Photo by John Brock In Scotland, devotion to the spurtle runs so thick that there’s an annual Golden Spurtle competition . There, cooks from across Scotland compete under Olympic-level restrictions , creating 1.5 pints of porridge for three judges to taste. There’s no pre-cooking allowed (and no quick oats, either), which makes it very difficult to cook a silky porridge within the contest's time limits. Difficult, that is, until the spurtle slides in. Due to the dowel-like shape, cooks are able to use the tool like a whisk while constantly stirring—not scraping—their porridge. This is what spurtle modernity looks like. Photo by Harry Clarke The New Spurtle in Town English television star Graham Kerr burned things and laughed it off —all with his tie undone. He may have appeared to know nothing about cooking, but he did love his spurtle. But the tool he called a spurtle looked more like a wooden spoon with the contour of a spatula. With the different shape, Kerr employed the tool for far more uses than just porridge . Don't lend your spurtle to anyone. If you do, the person who borrowed it will fall in love with it and will never return it. Perhaps inspired by Kerr’s spurtle usage, former Martha Stewart Living food director Lucinda Scala Quinn found multi-use inspiration in her own heirloom spurtles. Her current show and blog, Mad Hungry , shows off the spurtle performing basically every cooking task . Quinn’s model looks like a cross between a spoon and a spatula, with a design that harks back to the earliest spurtles. Quinn uses it for stirring eggs, folding chives into mashed potatoes, making tuna salad, and yes, even for oatmeal. You can order Spurtle 2.0 online from places like Kitchen Carvers , which mashes up a number of other tools with the spurtle. Use them to stir chili more evenly. Folding a batter? Get more control and fluidity with a spurtle. In an age of too many kitchen appliances with too few uses , it’s sort of liberating to see something that can do a lot. But according to Kitchen Carvers' founder Harry Clarke, there's one thing you shouldn't do with the spurtle. "Don't lend your spurtle to anyone," he warns. "If you do, the person who borrowed it will fall in love with it and will never return it." CONTINUE READING


Who will be the defending champions in the FIP World Polo Championships in 2015?

News News World Polo Championships Media Release 2017 Dates 23 May 2016 XI FIP WORLD POLO CHAMPIONSHIP Sydney, Australia 17-30 October 2017 FIP are pleased to announce the dates for the 11th FIP World Polo Championship, to be held next year in Sydney, Australia. The Federation of International Polo, together with organiser and host venue Sydney Polo Club and their strategic partner, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, today confirmed that the 2017 tournament will take place from Tuesday 17th October to Monday 30th October 2017. Six days of world-class polo will commence on Saturday 21st October, with the final to take place on Sunday 29th October. Eight international teams will compete in Sydney for the World Champion title, including a team from host nation Australia, and the current World Champions Chile. Further information will be announced in the near future. For further information please contact: Alex Taylor, CEO World Cup Polo Pty Ltd Tel: +61 477 775 592 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 December 2015 Our congratulations go to Peter and Rebecca Higgins of Sydney Polo Club for their successful bid to host the 2017 XI FIP Polo World Cup. Their professional & heartfelt presentation won the hearts and votes of the members at the FIP General Assembly in Buenos Aires yesterday. Congratulations to Sydney Polo Club and we are sure they will do a great job. Destination NSW Press Release ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The APF is proud to announce that Sydney Polo Club will bid to host the 2018 Finals of the World Cup Polo. Peter and Rebecca Higgins of Sydney Polo Club will fly to Argentina this month along with APF Director Ian McDuie to make their presentation to FIP (Federation of International Polo). The APF would be thrilled to see Sydney Polo Club and Peter and Rebecca Higgins achieve their goals to win the bid, put on the best FIP finals and for Australia to win the competition.  Latest News


"Which four-time Grammy Award-winning artist's hit singles included ""Fast Car"", ""Talkin' 'bout a Revolution"", ""Baby Can I Hold You"", ""Give Me One Reason"", ""The Promise"" and ""Telling Stories""?"

Tracy Chapman – Give me one reason Utube Amazon Store Tracy Chapman – Give me one reason Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles “Fast Car”, “Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution”, “Baby Can I Hold You”, “Give Me One Reason” and “Telling Stories”. She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.   Your browser does not support the video tag.   Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where she was raised by her mother. Despite not having much money, her mother recognized Tracy’s love of music and bought her a ukulele when Tracy was just three. Tracy Chapman began playing guitar and writing songs at the age of eight. She says that she may have been first inspired to play the guitar by the television show Hee Haw. Chapman was raised Baptist and went to an Episcopal high school. She was accepted into the program “A Better Chance”, which helps minority students attend private schools. She graduated from Wooster School in Connecticut and subsequently attended Tufts University. She graduated with a B.A. degree in anthropology and African studies. In the mid-1990s Chapman dated author Alice Walker. Chapman maintains a strong separation between her personal and professional lives. “I have a public life that’s my work life and I have my personal life,” she said. “In some ways, the decision to keep the two things separate relates to the work I do.” Chapman often performs at and attends charity events such as Make Poverty History, amfAR and AIDS/LifeCycle, to support social causes. She currently lives in San Francisco. She says she enjoys going to the beach, going to the woods, a really good meal with friends, and fresh organic food. Honors In May 2004, Tufts awarded her with an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, for her contributions as a socially conscious and artistically accomplished musician. Career During college, Chapman began busking in Harvard Square and playing guitar in Club Passim and within other coffeehouses in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[citation needed] Another Tufts student, Brian Koppelman, heard Chapman playing and brought her to the attention of his father, Charles Koppelman. Koppelman, who ran SBK Publishing, signed Chapman in 1986. After Chapman graduated from Tufts in 1987, he helped her to sign a contract with Elektra Records. At Elektra, she released Tracy Chapman (1988). The album was critically acclaimed, and she began touring and building a fanbase. Soon after she performed it at the televised Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in June 1988, Chapman’s “Fast Car” began its rise on the US charts; it became a Number 6 pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 27, 1988. “Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution”, the follow-up, charted at Number 75 and was followed by “Baby Can I Hold You”, which peaked at Number 48. The album sold well, going multi-platinum and winning three Grammy Awards, including an honor for Chapman as Best New Artist. Later in 1988, Chapman was a featured performer on the worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour. According to the VH1 website, “her album helped usher in the era of political correctness — along with 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M., Chapman’s liberal politics proved enormously influential on American college campuses in the late ’80s”. Her follow-up album Crossroads (1989) was less commercially successful, but still achieved platinum status. By 1992’s Matters of the Heart, Chapman was playing to a small and devoted audience. Her fourth album, New Beginning (1995) proved successful, selling over three million copies in the U.S. The album included the hit single “Give Me One Reason”, which won the 1997 Grammy for Best Rock Song and became Chapman’s most successful single to date, peaking at Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her Telling Stories (2000) featured more of a rock sound than folk. Its hit single, “Telling Stories”, received heavy airplay on European radio stations and on Adult Alternative and Hot AC stations in the United States. Chapman toured Europe and the US in 2003 in


"The musical ""The Music Man"" is set in what city?"

Broadway Musical Home - The Music Man Broadway Musical Home Who starred in the original cast? Where can I buy the music? What’s the buzz on Broadway? Find out at Broadway Musical Home The Music Man by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey Playing at a Theatre Near You The popular Tony-Award-winning best musical that is one of the most produced American musicals. Story: With his fast-talking style, "Professor" Harold Hill convinces the parents of River City to buy instruments and uniforms for their youngsters in order to save them, but chaos ensues as Hill's credentials are questioned and he is called upon to prove himself to the citizens of River City.


What name is given to a man's cotton or silk cloak buttoned down the front, with full sleeves, reaching to the ankles and worn with a sash?

Kaftans - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki Kaftans: Wikis Advertisements Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A man wearing a kaftan. A kaftan (sometimes spelled caftan from Persian خفتان) is a man's cotton or silk cloak buttoned down the front, with full sleeves, reaching to the ankles and worn with a sash . The kaftans worn by the Ottoman sultans constitute one of the most splendid collections of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. Some of them were so precious that they were given as rewards to important dignitaries and victorious generals during elaborate religious festivals (see the " khalat " article). Kaftans [1] were often embroidered on the front and on the sleeves, but like everything else under the Ottomans, there was a strict hierarchical order in the colours, patterns, ribbons and buttons, which were chosen according to the rank of the person to whom they were presented. While in the 14th century large patterns and subdued colours were used, these became both smaller and brighter in the next century. By the second half of the 17th century, the most precious fabrics were those with 'yollu': vertical stripes with various embroideries and small patterns, the so-called "Selimiye" fabrics. Most fabrics were manufactured in Istanbul and Bursa , but some came from as far as Venice , Genoa , Persia , India and even China . Each had very specific characteristics and was named accordingly: there was velvet, aba, bürümcük, canfes, gatma, gezi, diba (Persian ديبا), hatayi, kutnu, kemha, seraser (Persian سراسر), serenk, zerbaft (Persian زربفت), tafta (Persian تافته), and many others; the most often used colours were 'China blue', 'Turkish red', violet, "pişmis ayva" or cooked quince, and saffron yellow. The Topkapı Museum , Istanbul , possesses a large collection of Turkish kaftans and textiles. [2] Contents Russian kaftans of tsar Peter the Great , 1680-90 In Russia the word "kaftan" is used for another type of clothing: a kind of a man's long suit with tight sleeves. By 19th century Russian kaftans were the most widely spread type of outer clothing among peasants and merchants. Currently they are used as a ritual religious clothing by the most conservative sect of Old Believers . Moroccan kaftan In Morocco kaftans are only worn by women, and are substantially different from their Turkish counterpart, see Takchita . The kaftan is the original Moroccan dress. It can be dressy casual to extremely formal (similar to a western dress) depending on the materials used. They can be worn at dinner parties, baby showers, engagement parties and weddings. Batik kaftan In South East Asia , batik kaftans are produced for cool floaty feeling in hot sweltering heat of the tropical weather. While batik is very acid fast, numerous kind of fabrics are used ranging from silk to viscose . Florals and abstract designs heavily influence the kaftans from this region. West African kaftans In West Africa , a kaftan is a pullover robe. In French, this robe is called a boubou, pronounced boo-boo. Kaftans are worn by both men and women. [3] In West Africa, the female robe is called a Kaftan or a boubou, and the male robe is the Senegalese kaftan . See also