text:
Gadarene
Album: Volume Two: Live in 2016
Website: http://www.gadarenemusic.com
Gadarene are a difficult band to categorise. They describe themselves as playing ultra-modern ancient tunes, so traditional music but in anything other than a traditional style. That's what makes them exciting. Tradition is used to find songs dating back to 1650, but it's the modern world that provides the musical inspiration, making the tunes sound fresh rather than museum pieces. This live album captures the immediacy of their work and is well recorded, coming from just one set played in Somerset. Each note is clear but retains that spontaneity that comes from having to get it right first time.
Gadarene are Nick Wyke (fiddle), Matt Norman (mandolin), Jon Dyer (flute), Laurel Swift (fiddle and double bass) and Si Paull (drums) but they can also add clog and step dance. In addition they have varying musical backgrounds, from folk to rock and blues to jazz, giving a wide range of styles to add to the mix.
The album opens with An Italian Rant which is known from 1600 and given its English title by Playford himself in 1651. Gadarene, through a combination of flute, fiddle and drums give it a North African feel that immediately gets the feet tapping.
The King's Head Hornpipe, expertly picked out on mandolin sounds Galician before evolving into something traditionally English as the fiddle takes over but even that gets given a swing treatment.
So it goes on. Lord Kelly's Reel was written sometime in the mid-1700s by Thomas Erskine and is described, in its original form, as a Strathspey but played here in a dubstep style with the melody being carried by a mandolin and a backing of syncopated percussive backing from Laurel Swifts's clogs.
The Oyster Wife's Rant includes a venture in techno but without any electronic keyboards although a melodica may have been involved, you wouldn't know from listening to it.
The differing styles could have produced an album that became a random series of experiments but the tightness and skill of this quintet gives a sound that carries across the varying styles, setting them apart as a unique unit who are definitely worth discovering.
The album is now available to pre-order, ahead of the release date of 28th October, but only from their website and tasters are available on Soundcloud. There's a Volume One available, too, covering the period 1694 - 2011.
Scott Matthews: Home Part 2 Chris While and Julie Matthews: Shoulder To Shoulder
Italian Rant


The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is moving.
The drag-racing associaton announced on Wednesday that it was ending its 15-year television run with ESPN and is moving to Fox Sports starting in 2016.
The new deal calls for Fox Sports 1 to provide coverage of Friday and Saturday qualifying and Sunday eliminations for each NHRA Mello Yello Series event, with a minimum of 16 Sunday eliminations shows to be presented live, and the remainder shown either in weekend afternoon or prime-time time slots. Four of those live elimination shows will air on the Fox national broadcast network.
ESPN is presenting just six live Sunday eliminations shows this season.
The Sunday elimination shows will consistently be presented in three-hour programs and the Friday/Saturday qualifying shows will be two-hours of coverage. In addition, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 will provide multiple re-airs for all of the events. FS1 also will provide coverage of select NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Sportsman Series events. In total, Fox national networks will feature more than 450 hours per year of NHRA programming.
The NHRA's deal with ESPN was scheduled to run through 2016. The two parties mutually agreed to end the partnership following the 2015 season.


Thank you so much for applying to the Brand Artistry Labs.
My team and I will look over your application carefully to assure we're a good fit.
I'll let you know within the next few days your application's status – so be sure you've white listed my email address – jeffrey@trackingwonder.com – and be sure to watch your inbox every day.


Audio Books - A large collection of current and popular fiction and nonfiction books is available on CD and Playaway.
Large Print Materials - A variety of current and popular fiction and nonfiction books are available in the Library's Large Type collection. The large print edition of Reader's Digest is available in the Periodicals area.
Motorized Carts - Use within the building. Call ahead or stop at the Circulation Desk to use a cart while you are here.
TTD Users - Please dial 711.
Home Delivery Service -Available to Woodridge patrons who are unable to visit the Library because of a disability, illness or special circumstance. Staff and volunteers will deliver library materials to your door. Request specific items or let us know your interests and we will make selections for you. Please fill out the home delivery application and return it to the Library.
Talking Book Program - Provides free library service for anyone unable to use regular print materials because of a disability. Specially recorded books, magazines and playback equipment are mailed directly to your home.
Illinois Talking Book Outreach Center is the regional provider for this free National Library Service. Applications and information are available online or by calling the Illinois Talking Book Outreach Center toll free at 1-800-426-0709.


text:
#include <stdexcept>
#include "unity.h"
#include "unity_test_utils.h"

/* Note: When first exception (in system) is thrown this test produces memory leaks report (~300 bytes):
   - 8 bytes are allocated by __cxa_get_globals() to keep __cxa_eh_globals
   - 16 bytes are allocated by pthread_setspecific() which is called by __cxa_get_globals() to init TLS var for __cxa_eh_globals
   - 88 bytes are allocated by pthread_setspecific() to init internal lock
   - some more memory...
   */
#if CONFIG_IDF_TARGET_ESP32
#define LEAKS (300)
#elif CONFIG_IDF_TARGET_ESP32S2
#define LEAKS (800)
#elif CONFIG_IDF_TARGET_ESP32C3
#define LEAKS (700)
#else
#error "unknown target in CXX tests, can't set leaks threshold"
#endif

extern "C" void setUp()
{
    unity_utils_record_free_mem();
}

extern "C" void tearDown()
{
    unity_utils_evaluate_leaks_direct(LEAKS);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ exceptions work", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    int thrown_value;
    try {
        throw 20;
    } catch (int e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(20, thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ bool exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    bool thrown_value = false;
    try {
        throw true;
    } catch (bool e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(true, thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ void exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    void* thrown_value = 0;
    try {
        throw (void*) 47;
    } catch (void* e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(47, thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ uint64_t exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    uint64_t thrown_value = 0;
    try {
        throw (uint64_t) 47;
    } catch (uint64_t e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(47, thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ char exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    char thrown_value = '0';
    try {
        throw '/';
    } catch (char e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL('/', thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ wchar exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    wchar_t thrown_value = 0;
    try {
        throw (wchar_t) 47;
    } catch (wchar_t e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL((wchar_t) 47, thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ float exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    float thrown_value = 0;
    try {
        throw 23.5f;
    } catch (float e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(23.5, thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ double exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    double thrown_value = 0;
    try {
        throw 23.5d;
    } catch (double e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(23.5d, thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ const char* exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    const char *thrown_value = 0;
    try {
        throw "Hi :)";
    } catch (const char *e) {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_STRING("Hi :)", thrown_value);
}

struct NonExcTypeThrowee {
    int value;
public:
    NonExcTypeThrowee(int value) : value(value) { }
};

TEST_CASE("c++ any class exception", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    int thrown_value = 0;
    try {
        throw NonExcTypeThrowee(47);
    } catch (NonExcTypeThrowee &e) {
        thrown_value = e.value;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(47, thrown_value);
}

struct ExcTypeThrowee : public std::exception {
    int value;
public:
    ExcTypeThrowee(int value) : value(value) { }
};

TEST_CASE("c++ std::exception child", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    int thrown_value = 0;
    try {
        throw ExcTypeThrowee(47);
    } catch (ExcTypeThrowee &e) {
        thrown_value = e.value;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(47, thrown_value);
}

TEST_CASE("c++ exceptions emergency pool", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
{
    void **p, **pprev = NULL;
    int thrown_value = 0;
    // throw first exception to ensure that all initial allocations are made
    try
    {
        throw 33;
    }
    catch (int e)
    {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(33, thrown_value);
    // consume all dynamic memory
    while ((p = (void **)malloc(sizeof(void *)))) {
        if (pprev) {
            *p = pprev;
        } else {
            *p = NULL;
        }
        pprev = p;
    }
    try
    {
        throw 20;
    }
    catch (int e)
    {
        thrown_value = e;
    }
#if CONFIG_COMPILER_CXX_EXCEPTIONS_EMG_POOL_SIZE > 0
    // free all memory
    while (pprev) {
        p = (void **)(*pprev);
        free(pprev);
        pprev = p;
    }
    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(20, thrown_value);
#else
    // if emergency pool is disabled we should never get here,
    // expect abort() due to lack of memory for new exception
    TEST_ASSERT_TRUE(0 == 1);
#endif
}

extern "C" void app_main(void)
{
    printf("CXX EXCEPTION TEST\n");
    unity_run_menu();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
22 Nov, 2011 09:58
Parties bring Kalashnikovs to election shoot-out
A world-famous weapons designer has accused the Russian Communist Party of illegally using his name in its election campaign.
Michail Kalashnikov (RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev) © RIA Novosti
Mikhail Kalashnikov has submitted an official complaint to the Central Elections Commission and to the Prosecutor-General's Office in which he said that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) was using his name in their campaign without his permission.The 92-year old inventor of the Kalashnikov rifle objected to billboards placed all over Russia in which he is pictured together with his namesake, Communist Party candidate Leonid Kalashnikov, with the slogan "Kalashnikov – the choice of millions" and "Vote for Kalashnikov." Other billboards featured Mikhail Kalashnikov with his assault rifle and with the Communist Party emblem.Kalashnikov wrote that he had never given permission for the Communist Party or its members to use his image or words for propaganda purposes.Moreover, Kalashnikov said that he supported the Communists' main rival, the United Russia party. "I am one of the founders of the United Russia political party. For this reason alone, I do not consider it right for myself to promote other political parties," reads Kalashnikov's complaint, as quoted by the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily.The Communist Party, however, insisted that they had Kalashnikov's permission before starting the campaign. In October, several party officials made a visit to the city of Izhevsk – the home of Kalashnikov's design bureau and one of Russia's largest gun factories. They handed Kalashnikov a souvenir medal and had a photo taken with him. Soon after the visit, the Communist media reported that the gun designer was calling for voters to support the KPRF. Candidate Leonid Kalashnikov said that he had the designer's signature on a written address to the KPRF that stated his support for the party. However, Mikhail Kalashnikov insisted he had never signed such a document and said he believed his signature had been forged.The Central Elections Committee must rule on the complaint within five days of its submission, ie: before the end of this week. Parliamentary elections are due in two weeks' time, on December 4.
Trends:Parliamentary Elections 2011
The pop culture of Kalashnikov
Russia's fortress of defense manufacturing

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Pseudoricia sibyllae är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Druce 1885. Pseudoricia sibyllae ingår i släktet Pseudoricia och familjen tandspinnare. Inga underarter finns listade.

Källor

Tandspinnare
sibyllae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


November 14, 2003 -- Serigraph Inc., one of the nation's leading suppliers of screen and offset-printed graphics, installed the first KBA 74 Karat digital offset press with a special plastics printing option in the U.S.in October 2003. "Our main objective is to satisfy our customers," says George Palmer, senior vice president of the specialty graphics group. "We added the Karat for both capacity and fast turnaround. It is our first digital offset press. We've been impressed with the Karat's high quality, quick turnaround, and size. It is bringing in more business to our company and we're excited about its many possibilities." The 74 Karat is the world's only waterless digital 29 offset press with a new special plastics package option. The 74 Karat's Gravuflow inking system yields constant results and produces vibrant and strong images to the end user. The 74 Karat's inline coating unit allows printers to easily switch between standard aqueous and white opaque coating for clear plastic and Lenticular printing. Serigraph caters to the quick service restaurant, tobacco, alcohol, soft drink/beverage, promotions,and retail markets. It operates five manufacturing facilities in the U.S.and two in Mexico with its corporate headquarters in West Bend, Wisconsin. It was started by an entrepreneur in his garage in 1949 and has grown to become one of the largest industrial printers in the world. The company employs over 800 people and ships products worldwide. "We are pleased to be supplying Serigraph with the first KBA 74 Karat digital press with plastic printing capabilities," says Ralf Sammeck, President and CEO of KBA North America. "Our new press will allow Serigraph to continue its growth in the plastic market." KBA North America is a leading supplier of sheetfed offset and digital presses located in Williston, VT. It is a member of the KBA Group, a leader in the manufacture of sheetfed offset, digital offset, web offset, rotogravure directory, security, and newspaper presses.


Acquired by the Bindaree Beef Group (BBG) in 2015, Myola is a modern feedlot situated in northwest NSW. Its location in the heart of the 'Golden Triangle' provides excellent access to a secure supply of grain and cattle. Myola is managed by a highly qualified, enthusiastic and dedicated staff, many of which have several years of specialist feedlot experience.
Built in 1993, Myola incorporates superior design of the yards and feed mill. Steam flaking facilities are used to process grain, a process widely recognised for facilitating superior cattle performance. Over 90% of the feedlot pens at Myola are covered with shade, this is a great comfort to customers especially with large bullocks and long term cattle.
Myola now plays an integral role in the BBG supply chain, ensuring the delivery of a consistent supply of cattle to the Bindaree grain fed brands whilst also continuing its operation as a custom feedlot. Myola's location, infrastructure and management provides excellent opportunities for cattle producers to retain ownership and add value to their cattle operations.
Provide a superior quality of service to customers by keeping them up to date with what is happening to their cattle.
Provide the one of the lowest cost of gain for grain fed cattle in northern NSW and southern QLD.
Be a safe, secure and satisfying place of employment.
Purchase as many consumables as possible from local producers and outlets.
Continually improve our service and systems to provide greater opportunities for customers.
For Myola Feedlot enquiries please refer to the Contact Us page.


LOOKING FOR a modelmaking project? Then you could find inspiration from this Lockheed Martin Skunk Works video, depicting Ares, a future-generation autonomous helicopter.
Drones are all the rage where military flying is concerned - cheaper to buy and fly, and with no human pilots to get killed, they tick the boxes for carrying out dangerous combat missions.
With the Ares (Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System) project, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works is leading a team with Piasecki Aircraft to develop a new generation of compact, high-speed VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing) craft.
Ares could be used for many different missions, hauling interchangeable payload pods. Cargo, medical, troop, armoured vehicle - you name it, L-M/Piasecki reckon it could be carried.
But why Ares, rather than a conventional helicopter? The design team reckons that the tilting ducted fans used on Ares provide three basics - they are safer than uncovered rotor blades, they need half the landing area to operate in, and fan-power will be faster, providing speeds of up to 230 mph (370 km/h).


text:
Archive for the 'Events and Society' Category
History I Never Knew: Saint Hildegarde, Sybil of the Rhine
Today's history-I-never-knew blog post is from the annals of religion. Or, maybe it's from the annals of medicine. You can decide.
It took almost a thousand years for the Catholic Church to get it right about Saint Hildegarde of Bingen (1098-1179.) She's known as "The Sybil of the Rhine" for her poetic prophecies. She was already canonized a saint, but it wasn't until 2012 that Pope Benedict XVI named the learned Hildegarde a Doctor of the Church. She's only the fourth woman to be so designated.
Hildegarde of Bingen
I'd say she deserves it. When it came to health care matters, she knew what was good for you.
According to "Drinking with the Saints: A Sinner's Guide to a Holy Happy Hour," Hildegarde was exceptionally wise, "with a keen insight into moral psychology and an avid interest in many subjects, including medicine. An important example of Hildegarde's wisdom is her high regard for wine and beer."
In her treatise "Causes and Cures," Hildegarde's prescription for treating a sick person is "Cerevisiam Bibat."
Translation: "Let him drink beer."
She explains why: "For beer fattens up man's flesh and bestows a beautiful color to his face on account of the strength and good vitality of the grain. But water debilitates man and, if he is sick, sometimes produces a bluish discoloration around the lungs. For water is weak and does not have a strong power."
Brilliant. Why didn't they think of that before? Holy and wise she was, indeed. But medicine was hardly her only subject. She wrote fifteen books and composed dozens of hymns; she is one of the most renowned composers of sacred monophony, which will be familiar to people of my generation as Gregorian Chant.
Hildegarde founded two abbeys in Germany. They were dissolved in a nineteenth-century wave of secularization, but Benedictine nuns later re-established one as Eibingen Abbey. It is also known as Abtei St. Hildegard, and it is a "Klosterweingut," a monastic winegrowing estate. They make their own Riesling wine, which is unfortunately not distributed beyond the borders of Germany.
The wine from that abbey has nothing to do with the Blue Nun brand. You may remember how popular Blue Nun used to be, and the radio ads for it by Stiller and Meara. It was called a "Liebfraumilch," or "Dear Lady's Milk," and the nuns in blue habits that are associated with it were garbed in that color as a display of devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Blue Nun was invented in the 1920s by the H. Sichel Schöne Company. The Blue Nun name and labeling was a branding maneuver to help boost exports. Up until that time, German wine labels were printed in a typeface called Fraktur, which was difficult to read. Blue Nun's simplified visuals and graphics were a welcome change. The first nuns depicted on the labels actually wore brown habits, not blue ones. But in the United States, even they couldn't be shown initially because the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms prohibited images of nuns.
There's a Hildegard wine put out by Au Bon Climat winery of Santa Barbara, California, but it has nothing to do with Hildegarde of Bingen. It's named for Empress Hildegard, the wife of Charlemagne. She lived a couple of hundred years before our admired friend from Bingen. According to the Au Bon Climat website,
"The name Hildegard is a salute to the history of Burgundy and to her husband the King of the Franks, Charlemagne. During his rule in the early 800s the importance of wine and viticulture exploded. The Catholic Church and Charlemagne ruled most of Europe and both were interested in wine and viticulture. The Church needed wine for the Eucharist and under Charlemagne more and more vineyards were planted in Burgundy. Charlemagne brought civilization and order back after the dark ages. Part of this rebirth was wine production."
You might have a little more luck obtaining one of two Réserve Hildegarde beers, a blonde and an ambree, from the Brewery St. Germain in Aix-Noulette, France. They make the beers as "a special tribute to Hildegarde of Bingen, who lived and loved hops more than 800 years ago."
So that's my story of Hildegarde of Bingen. Kudos to Pope Benedict for his better-late-than-never accolade to her.
And let's heed her excellent recommendation and raise a stein in her honor: "Cerevisiam Bibamus!"
Tags:German wine, Pope Benedict XVI, Saint Hildegarde
Posted in Books, Events and Society, history | Leave a Comment »
From the annals of plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
Coincidental, indeed, is the headline of this month's blog post. It is 171 years old, having been coined in 1849 by French journalist and critic Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in the January 1849 issue of his journal Les Guêpes ("The Wasps").
I had decided on that title after reading a passage from Alexander Herzen's memoir, My Past and Thoughts. Herzen, a Russian émigré nobleman who has been called "the father of Russian socialism," had made his way to Paris during the revolutionary year of 1848. You don't have to buy his entire outlook and philosophy to appreciate his literary skills and his powers of observation.
The following passage was written after Herzen attended an evening of drinking and scheming at the Café Lamblin. I quote it without further commentary, other than to opine that he could just as well have been writing about a sizable cohort of the denizens who prowl and streets and the Twitterverses of 2020.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. You bet.
"In the café the various habitués of the revolution were sitting at a dozen little tables, looking darkly and consequentially about them from under wide-brimmed felt hats and caps with tiny peaks. These were the perpetual suitors of the revolutionary Penelope, those inescapable actors who take part in every popular demonstration and form its tableau, its background, and are as menacing from afar as the paper dragons with which the Chinese wished to menace the English.
"In the troubled times of social storms and reconstructions in which states forsake their usual grooves for a long time, a new generation of people grow up who may be called the choristers of the revolution; grown on shifting, volcanic soil, nurtured in an atmosphere of alarm when work of every kind is suspended, they become inured from their earliest years to an environment of political ferment – they like the theatrical side of it, its brilliant, pompous mis en scène…
"Among them are good, valiant people, sincerely devoted and ready to face a bullet; but for the most part they are limited and extraordinarily pedantic. Immobile conservatives in everything revolutionary, they stop short at some programme and do not advance.
"Dealing all their lives with a small number of political ideas, they only know their rhetorical side, so to speak, their sacerdotal vestments, that is the commonplaces which successively cut the same figure, à tour de rôle, like the ducks in a well-known children's toy – in newspaper articles, in speeches at banquets and in parliamentary devices.
"In addition to naïve people and revolutionary doctrinaires, the unappreciated artists, literary men, students who did not complete their studies, briefless lawyers, actors without talent, persons of great vanity but small capability, with huge pretensions but no power of work, all naturally drift into this milieu.
"The external authority which guides and pastures the human herd in a lump in ordinary times is weakened in times of revolution; left to themselves people do not know what to do.
"The younger generation is struck by the ease, the apparent ease, with which celebrities float to the top in times or revolution, and rushes into futile agitation; this inures the young people to violent excitements and destroys the habit of work…One must not be left behind, there is no need to work: what is not done to-day may be done to-morrow, or may not even be done at all."
Tags:social commentary, social justice, socialism
Posted in Events and Society | Leave a Comment »
Sports History I Never Knew: The First Double Axel in the Olympic Games
Sonia Henie, the "Golden Girl"
It was the free-skating event, the final program of the competition at the 1936 Winter Olympics at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany. Sonja Henie knew that she was in trouble.
The "Golden Girl," Norwegian-born winner of the skating competitions in the previous two Olympics at Lake Placid and St. Moritz, was the big favorite for a three-peat. But in the previous program, the compulsories, a young upstart from England named Cecilia Colledge, nearly bested her. Henie threw a temper tantrum and ripped the judges' scoring sheet off the wall, claiming she had been cheated.
Colledge, at age 11 in Lake Placid, was the youngest woman ever to compete in the Olympics. She was the first woman to execute a double-rotation jump in competition, a salchow at the 1936 European championships in Berlin. She also invented the camel and the layback spins and the one-foot axel jump. Henie had never faced such a challenger.
Cecilia Colledge, 1937
The two were close on points going into the free-skating program. Colledge went first, and she was superb, using all the creative and exciting leaps and spins in her repertoire. Henie had to be better, or her gold-medal streak would end.
And that's what the Golden Girl did. She topped Colledge with a double "Axel Paulsen" jump. Invented in 1882, it was so risky that it had never been tried in the Olympics. Paulsen was world champion speed skater from 1882 to 1890. He also invented modern speed skate, with the blade fixed to the boot.
In the double Axel Paulsen jump, the skater takes off in a forward direction from one foot, rotates one and a half times in the air, and lands backwards on the opposite foot. Henie took the chance; she leapt, spun, landed on her skates, and ended with a split and a cover-girl smile. She kept her gold medal.
After Germany's propaganda triumph in the 1936 Olympic Games, the skaters went their separate ways. Henie went pro – officially, as she'd made a lot of money with "amateur" exhibitions in Europe already. She came to America in 1937, became a U.S. citizen in 1941, and made 47 million dollars in film and through skating exhibitions.
Axel Paulsen
Henie also acquired a massive collection of diamonds. She turned her back on her countrymen and refused to contribute to the resistance fighters who were battling Nazi occupation. She also became the biggest booster of a new-fangled ice-grooming machine invented by an American named Frank Zamboni. She ordered two for herself; if she was going to skate at your arena, you had to have your own Zamboni.
Colledge returned to England and continued to compete as an amateur. She drove a civilian ambulance in London during the blitz. Her brother Maule became a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. He never returned from a September 1943 mission over Berlin.
Colledge became a professional skater in the late 1940s, appearing in ice shows. She settled in the United States and coached elite athletes at the Skating Club of Boston from 1952 to 1977. She died, at the age of 87, in 2008 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Colledge never married and had no survivors.
And what of Axel Paulsen? He returned home and, after the death of his father, took over the family coffee shop until his death in 1936. The daring jump he invented is now known as the axel – just as all ice groomers are now Zambonis.
Now you know the rest of the story.
Sonia Henie's touring Zamboni
Henie and her Zamboni, in photo autographed for inventor Frank Zamboni.
The double axel jump
Sonia Henie and George "Superman" Reeves, 1954
Tags:Axel Paulsen, Cecilia Colledge, double axel, figure skating, Sonja Henie, Winter Olympics
Posted in Events and Society, The World of Sport | Leave a Comment »
Books, Music, and Divine Inspiration: A Reflection on Madeleine L'Engle
Author Madeleine L'Engle
One good thing about this infernal shutdown…you can find a little more time for the reading that you've always meant to do but somehow never got to.
That's what happened with me. I re-read A Severed Wasp by Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007). But before doing so, I wanted to read its prequel, The Small Rain, which was written 37 years previously.
I had intended that this blog post be just a review of those two books. But it's turned out to be a little more than just that. It morphed into a reflection on Madeleine, one of my favorite authors. And I've got to make full disclosure about Madeleine L'Engle. I start every day with her.
Glimpses of Grace: Daily Thoughts and Reflections is a fixture on my morning reading table. It has 366 entries, all of them excerpted from L'Engle's literary career that included 60 books along with poetry, journals, and speeches. She was a devout Anglican, so it's not surprising that Glimpses has both overtly theological musings as well as some less-direct but spirituality-filled thoughts for the day.
L'Engle was a woman of deep religious faith. But her writings communicate her messages without being the least bit preachy. And reading her every morning has been, I've found, is as good a morning prayer as any I've ever made.
Here's just one sample of religion in L'Engle's writing. I don't know about you, but I find things like this spiritually nourishing, and I don't feel like I'm being preached to. This is from her book Camilla:
"Listen, Camilla Dickinson, do you believe in God? Tell me about your God. What kind of God do you believe in?"
"Well," I said at last, "I don't think it's God's fault when people do anything wrong. And I don't think He plans it when people are good. But I think He makes it possible for people to be ever so much bigger and better than they are. That is, if they want to be. What I mean is, people have to do it for themselves. God isn't going to do it for them."
As part of my morning ritual, I also read a daily entry from The Book of Common Prayer and a page or two from one or more of the books of advice and meditations for those who've lost a loved one. These latter books were given to me by some kind friends after Mary Ellen, my wife of nearly 44 years, died in December of 2019.
When I told a friend that I'd just finished two books by Madeleine L'Engle, and that they'd given me a tremendous appreciation for the power of music and what it really takes to be a musician, he said that he thought L'Engle only wrote children's books. Not true, but understandable that he'd think this way.
The book that made her reputation was A Wrinkle in Time, published in 1962. It won the Newbery Medal, the highest award for children's literature. But L'Engle had a hard time finding a publisher, even though she'd already done some well-received books for young adults. The knee-jerk knock on "Wrinkle" was that it was too religious. Fortunately, her agent approached John Farrar of Farrar, Straus & Giroux. He was a churchgoer, so he published the book and it "paid for the rent in the offices" according to an article in the New Yorker.
One of the 26 publishers who rejected "Wrinkle" told L'Engle's agent that he might be turning down Alice in Wonderland. Indeed he was. The book has never been out of print and has sold more than six million copies.
L'Engle didn't want to be known as a writer of children's books. Whenever that label came up in conversation about her work, she'd say to just "write your story," and not try to target a young audience.
Newlyweds Madeleine L'Engle and Hugh Franklin, 1946. She became a renowned author and he a star of stage and screen.
In addition to knowing her music and her theology, L'Engle is well acquainted with both church politics and the world of show business, both concert music and the Broadway stage. She was librarian and writer-in-residence at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on New York's Upper West Side. The Cathedral is the site of A Severed Wasp. She was married to actor Hugh Franklin (1916-1986), who starred as Dr. Charles Tyler in the long-running TV soap opera All My Children.
Just an aside here…Religion is good business, in my humble opinion. People want it. They may not be official, practicing adherents to any of the major churches or confessional faiths, but they want it. They want to know that they're part of something much larger than they are. They want to know that their lives have meaning in the "whole vast configuration of things," as George Bailey put it.
The movie version of Wrinkle, a 2018 production that starred Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling, was a disaster. Don't bother with it. On "Rotten Tomatoes," 191 of 300 people rated it "rotten." The site's overall rating was 26%. The summary blurb concluded that the film was "wildly ambitious to a fault, and often less than the sum of its classic parts."
Duh. What do you expect when you cancel the core value, the religious sensibility?
But I've digressed. Too much, as usual. Now to the books that I've just finished.
The Small Rain – Lengle's first novel written in 1945, is about the youthful trials of Katherine Forrester. The title comes from this anonymous poem fragment that dates back to the Middle Ages:
"Western wind, when wilt thou blow,
The small rain down can rain?
Christ! That my love were in my arms
And I in my bed again!"
The book ends with her being sent to a boarding school in Europe to study piano with Justin Vigneras, the one teacher who inspired her during her boarding school days in America. Her father, divorced and remarried to a Broadway actress, is a composer. Her biological mother is a famous concert pianist.
Katherine aspires to be as good at the piano as was her mother. As most coming-of-age books seem to be, there's much autobiography here. It includes difficulties in being accepted by peers, youthful angst, boarding schools, living for a time in Greenwich Village, a less-than-idyllic home life. There are overbearing teachers, lecherous guys, and betrayal in an early love affair.
One of the poignant passages about love is this one. The speaker is another professional pianist who once fell madly in love with Katherine's mother:
"I believed in her right from the first night I met her, in May, in a small café under the chestnut trees. Beautiful and romantic. Only she never fell in love with me. I was desperately in love with her. It's a strange thing, how you can love somebody, how you can be all eaten up inside with needing them — and they simply don't need you. That's all there is to it, and neither of you can do anything about it. And they'll be the same way with someone else, and someone else will be the same way about you and it goes on and on – this desperate need — and only once in a rare million do the same two people need each other.
"Those are cheerful words, aren't they, child? But I'm afraid they're only too true."
When we come to A Severed Wasp, Katherine Forrester Vigneras has retired from a distinguished career as a concert pianist. She has returned home to her New York roots, and she's had a request to give a benefit concert for Saint John the Divine Cathedral. The requester is an old friend, Felix Bodeway, who has retired from his post as Episcopal bishop of New York.
Felix was a character in The Small Rain. It is hard to imagine him as a bishop in any church. He had been "that lightweight young man she had known a half century ago when they were both living in the Village." Still, she was open to his approach and wondered "if he would still awaken the long-ago pain which has been part of the past to which Felix belonged. But so much deeper pain had come in the intervening years that all she felt was a vague nostalgia for her youthful anguish."
The book gets its title from an excerpt from George Orwell: "[A wasp] was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half. He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam trickled out of his severed esophagus. Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him."
As the book progresses from that initial meeting between Katherine and Felix, we learn the stories of their lives in the intervening fifty years. She, now widowed, had married Justin Vigneras in France just before the war broke out. The Nazis captured them in Paris. Both survived, although Justin was maimed in Auschwitz. Unable to play piano or to father children, he became a composer. It's a mystery, not solved until the end, just who was the father of their two children, and just who was that severed wasp.
There is a wealth of detail about Katherine's preparations for the concert, which she'll give on the cathedral's Bösendorfer piano. Some person or persons does their best to sabotage things, attempting intimidate Katherine by sending horrible things to her in the mail and by breaking into her apartment and slashing an irreplaceable painting.
Felix's successor, Alwood Undercroft, the new bishop of the Episcopal diocese, bears a strong resemblance to the German army officer who was Katherine's captor during her imprisonment throughout the war. There's also a long-standing postwar friendship and counseling relationship with Wolfgang von Stromberg, a Catholic cardinal whom she and Justin knew as Wolfi.
All in all it's an entertaining and absorbing tale that succeeds in delivering its moral lessons while, as a blurb on the back cover states, it "weaves the world of music and the international concert stage, the claustrophobic life of a great cathedral close, and aspect of the threatening street life of New York."
I won't spoil everything by telling you how the mysteries and questions get answered. But because the title of the last chapter is "Music in the Cathedral," I guess it's okay to say that she does go forward with the benefit concert after all.
It's at the end of the book and at several points in the book that the author's love of music, and of its awesome power and beauty, shine through. I could appreciate this part even though I know nothing about the musical pieces she cites – or how, for instance, her getting up in the middle of the night and soothing herself by playing Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier must have sounded and felt.
At such places in the book, L'Engle's words call to mind many of her meditations that I read daily in Glimpses. She sees God's handiwork everywhere – clouds and galaxies up above, oceans and streams and sun-warmed rocks and insects here below. To inspirations like these, I can relate.
And though I have no artistic talent, I can also relate to the words of Bishop Undercroft, spoken to Katherine at a welcoming dinner:
"I am often awed by the artistic temperament. It sometimes seems to me to be a battleground, a dark angel of destruction and a bright angel of creativity wrestling, and the bright angel dominates, out comes a great work of art, a Michelangelo David or a Beethoven symphony."
As for the musical life of the book's protagonist, this is a memory of her husband that comes back to her when she's playing The Well-Tempered Clavier, followed by the Prelude and Fugue, before she can return to bed:
"Justin had turned to composing as well as nurturing Katherine's talent, maturing her, expanding her, never forcing or manipulating, but helping her serve the gift for which she had been born."
I'll close by quoting the last couple of paragraphs of the book. I suspect that this feeling of Katherine's is one that's felt by many performing artists as they take the stage. It's something that I've never felt and will never feel, but that's okay too. I did so vicariously as I put this book down.
"Katherine…glanced once more at all those people she'd known for only a few months. Between them all they held a great many secrets. Between them all they had worked out as much peace as the human being is likely to have.
"She turned her mind away from them and focused it on music. The rustlings in the stalls and throughout the crowded nave stopped, and there was anticipatory silence.
"For Katherine, as she held her hands over the keyboard, there was nothing but the piano, and she and the sensitive instrument were no more than living extensions of each other.
"When the music had fully entered into her, she began to play."
Tags:A Severed Wasp, concert music, Madeleine L'Engle, The Small Rain, Wrinkle in Time
Posted in Books, Events and Society | 2 Comments »
The Story of the Red Easter Egg, Why We Have Colored Eggs on Easter, and Who Should Have Been the First Pope
Mary Magdalene is my favorite woman of the Bible. She, courageous and steadfast, should have been the first pope instead of Peter. The legend of Magdalene and her visit to the Roman Emperor Tiberius is the source of the tradition of coloring Easter eggs. As it turns out, there may be at least a grain of historical truth to that story.
It is known that Mary of Migdal was a wealthy woman. That she had a title, unlike most women of her day, shows that she was an important person. I've been to her home town of Migdal, right near Capharnaum on the Sea of Galilee. Until the Romans obliterated it in the brutal war of revolt around 70 A.D., Migdal was a prosperous town renowned for its dried fish. The local fishing entrepreneurs sold dried fish to places as far away as Damascus. Mary was probably a fish-monger.
Migdal's recent archaeological excavations revealed a synagogue that quite probably was the place where Jesus launched his public career. Mary became one of his loyal followers. In all likelihood she contributed some of her considerable wealth in support of his preaching and ministry. And who knows? They may have traveled together and been extremely good friends.
The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, at the foot of the Mount of Olives.
When the Romans crucified Jesus, all of the apostles fled the scene. Not his mother Mary, and not Mary Magdalene either. Legend has it that Magdalene was the first person Christ appeared to after his Resurrection. She ran to tell the apostles that she had seen the Lord. They didn't believe her until they ran to the tomb themselves. She was a believer; they had to be convinced.
Though it is not officially chronicled anywhere, the story goes that Mary Magdalene stayed around and was a leader of the followers of Jesus in the dark and difficult early years after his death. And here's where some of the possible historical truth mixed with the legend comes in.
First, the legend. Because she was a wealthy woman, she was able to get an audience with the Roman emperor Tiberius. She supposedly went to him to denounce Pontius Pilate for being so cruel at the trial of Jesus. At that audience, she also said that Christ rose from the dead and that she had seen Him.
She held out an egg to the emperor and said "Christ is Risen!" To which Tiberius replied that there was as much chance of a human being returning to life from the dead as there was of the egg in her hand turning red. And the egg promptly turned red!
Interior of the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. The canvas with painting of Mary and Roman Emperor Tiberius hangs above the iconostasis.
That's a nice story, and that's why we have colored Easter eggs. But here's the grain or strand of potential truth. The Jews of Palestine did send word to Rome that Pontius Pilate was a thoroughly bad guy and that they would not put up with him as governor any more. They may have threatened to revolt. But whatever they said worked. Tiberius agreed that that trial was unlawfully conducted. Pilate was fired from his job and soon disappeared from history.
Somebody had to carry the message or lead the delegation. It could have been Mary of Migdal, the richest woman in town.
Many icons painted in the Byzantine Catholic style show Mary Magdalene holding a red egg. So too does the canvas above the iconostasis in the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, on the slope of the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane. The iconostasis, in Eastern Orthodox churches, separates the nave from the sanctuary. The canvas shows Magdalene in the court of Tiberius. In her hand she holds a red egg.
I've been to Jerusalem twice, and both times the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene was closed to the public. I'm sorry that I didn't have a chance to go inside. The church is unmistakably Russian, built in the Muscovite style with golden onion domes.
It was built as a memorial to Empress Maria Alexandrovna by her son, Czar Alexander III and his brothers. Grand-Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of Alexander III, and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth (Princess Elizabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt), grand-daughter of Queen Victoria and sister of the last Empress of Russia, presided at the consecration of the church in 1888 as representatives of the Emperor.
Grand Duchess Elizabeth and commissioned the Russian artist Sergei Ivanov (1864-1910) to paint large murals depicting the life of Mary Magdalene. They were brought to Jerusalem for the consecration and hang in the church today. The painting with Magdalene, Tiberius, and the red egg is just one of them.
The synagogue at Migdal, the archaeological site that is called "Israel's Pompeii."
And there you have it. Mary Magdalene, the courageous and wealthy woman who should have been the Catholic Church's first pope, gave us one of the best examples ever of steadfastness and loyalty. She also gave us the Easter egg.
Tags:Easter, Easter egg, Holy Land, Magdalene, Sergei Ivanov
Posted in Events and Society | 1 Comment »
The Last Holdout
One more evening of candles in the windows!
It's February 1, and my Christmas wreaths and candles are still up. Everybody else took their decorations down a month ago. I'm the last holdout, and there are several reasons for it. I'm waiting until tomorrow.
Tomorrow is Candlemas Day. It's a minor religious celebration, as far as Catholics are concerned. I think that's too bad.
Tomorrow also happens to be the day of the world's greatest pagan feast, the Super Bowl. And it's Groundhog Day in America, another tradition that we imported from elsewhere. More on that later.
As for Candlemas Day's religious significance, we should make a little more of it. Why? Because it marks yet another occasion that shows just how close we, Catholics and Christians, are to our Jewish brothers and sisters.
What Mary and Joseph did on this day, 40 days after Jesus was born, was to fulfill their religious obligations as devout and loyal Jews. The little baby they brought to the temple wasn't an Irish Catholic; he grew up Jewish. If more of us took that to heart, we'd be better equipped to combat the vile contagion of anti-Semitism that is awakening again.
The Gospel of Luke spins the Jewishness out of the event that Catholics call The Presentation of the Lord. How the story was told seems to me to be the first time that the essential difference between Christians and Jews was expressed. Is Jesus divine, and the Redeemer of all mankind? Catholics say yes, Jews say no.
That family disagreement has led to untold and utterly needless suffering down through history. It would be so much better if we could just wait until Judgment Day. Then when the Messiah comes, we just ask him "Hey, buddy, have you been here before? Or is this your first time?"
One of the many paintings of The Presentation of Christ. This one is by Simon Vouet. It was commissioned by France's Cardinal Richelieu around 1640 for the Church of Saint-Paul-Louis. It now hangs in the Louvre.
The Jewish Rite: Purification and Redemption
Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for the rites of purification and dedication as prescribed by the Torah. According to the Book of Leviticus (12:1-4), when a woman bore a male child, she was considered "unclean" for seven days. On the eighth day, the boy was circumcised.
By the way, Catholics used to call January 1 The Feast of the Circumcision. Now it's The Solemnity of Mary. Another needless distancing from our Jewish roots.
The Jewish mother continued to stay at home for 33 days for her blood to be purified. After the 40 days, the mother and the father came to the temple for the rite of purification, which included the offering of a sacrifice — a lamb for a holocaust (burnt offering) and a pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering. For a poor couple who could not afford a lamb, two pigeons or two turtledoves sufficed. That's what Joseph and Mary offered. (Lk 2:24).
Also, Joseph and Mary were obliged by the Torah to "redeem" their first born son: "The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 'Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among the Israelites, both of man and beast, for it belongs to me'" (Ex 13:1).
The price for such a redemption was five shekels, which the parents paid to the priest. This "redemption" was a kind of payment for the Passover sacrifice, by which the Jews had been freed from slavery.
The Catholic Rewording: Consecration to the Lord and Identification as the Messiah
St. Luke in the Gospel does not mention this redemption, but rather the presentation of Our Lord:
"When the day came to purify them according to the law of Moses, the couple brought Him up to Jerusalem, so that He could be presented to the Lord, for it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every first-born male shall be consecrated to the Lord'" (Lk 2:22-23). So the focus is on Jesus' consecration to God.
The verb "to present" (paristanai) also means to "offer," which evokes Jesus being presented as the priest who will offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice to free us from the slavery of sin, seal the new and eternal covenant with His blood, and open the gates to the true promised land of heaven.
Luke also tells of Simeon, a just and pious man, who awaited the Messiah and looked for the consolation of Israel. He was inspired to come to the temple, held baby Jesus in his arms and blessed God, saying, "Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace; you have fulfilled your word. For my eyes have witnessed your saving deed, displayed for all the peoples to see: A revealing light to the Gentiles, the glory of your people Israel" (Lk 2:29-32).
Simeon, thereby, announced that the Messiah has come not just for the Jew but the gentile; not just the righteous, but the sinner.
He then blessed the Holy Family, and said in turn to Mary: "This child is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed— and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword — so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare" (Lk 2:34-35).
So the Presentation is a proclamation of Christ — Messiah and Priest, Lord and Savior. He is the light who came into this world to dispel sin and darkness.
And this is the reason that, traditionally at least since the seventh century, candles that will be used throughout the year have been blessed at Mass this day. Hence the term "Candlemas."
To reiterate, I think it's sad that Catholics haven't been taught just how Jewish that "The Presentation" really is, and how much we owe our Jewish "elder brothers," as Pope John Paul II once put it.
The Christmas Season is Now Officially Over – and Winter's Halfway Done
In many countries of Europe, the feast of the Presentation officially closes the celebration of Christmas. That's logical, once again, when you consider what Mary and Joseph were doing at the temple in the first place. She was now ritually pure, and her son had been dedicated to the Lord and redeemed by their offerings. The business of living their family life here on earth could now proceed.
Pope John Paul agreed with this official ending of the Christmas season. He began the custom of keeping the Nativity scene in St. Peter's square until February 2. I'm doing likewise, keeping my wreaths up and my candles burning until then.
An old superstition held that any Christmas decorations not taken down by Twelfth Night (January 6, when I took down my tree) should be left up until Candlemas Day.
Remember also that the day is halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Light is returning to the world. We just don't need the candles as much as we did back in December.
And What About Groundhog Day?
Candlemas Day also was important in the lives of farmers. They thought that Candlemas Day predicted the weather for the rest of winter. Their beliefs and traditions led to our Groundhog Day.
An old English song went:
"If Candlemas be fair and bright, / Come, Winter, have another flight. / If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, / Go, Winter, and come not again."
So if the bright sun "overshadows" the brightness of Candlemas Day, there will be more winter. However, if the light of Candlemas Day radiates through the gloom and darkness of the day, the end of winter is near.
A German proverb states:
"The badger peeps out of his hole on Candlemas Day and if he finds snow, walks abroad; but if he sees the sun shining he draws back into his hole."
I guess our groundhog learned from their badger.
So Here's My February Wish for You
Now that the days are getting longer and light is returning to the world, we might need fewer of those candles and other artificial means of illumination. But I'm sure you agree with Ecclesiastes (2:13): "I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness."
So I urge you to keep blessing all of us with your special gifts, your own beautiful self, and share the light that you and no one else has. Heed Matthew (5: 15-16):
"Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works"
Remembering the Ace of Aces
And now for some history I never knew – and a little that I actually did know too.
Eddie Rickenbacker and his World War I fighter plane
Eddie Rickenbacker was "Ace of the Aces." A World War I fighter pilot, he shot down 26 enemy fighters. You're an ace if you have five kills. Rickenbacker didn't kill 80 enemies, like Manfred von Richtofen. But unlike the Red Baron he did survive the war. Much later, he became a millionaire and president of Eastern Airlines. I remembered Eddie's the nickname.
Back when I was in the banking business, I had to go to innumerable business organizational functions and networking activities. At one of them, a woman with the surname Rickenbacker traded business cards with me. I asked her "Are you related to the Ace of Aces?" The way her face lighted up made that dreary had-to-do-it meeting worthwhile.
I also remembered reading, somewhere along the way that in World War II Pacific Theater, things started off very badly for the Americans. The Japanese had been preparing for war for years, and they had much better stuff, much better weapons of war. Under the sea, the long-lance torpedo gave their submarines a frightening early advantage. (Aside – there is one on display on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy. The damn thing seems to stretch a city block).
In the air, the Zero fighter plane was far superior – faster, more maneuverable, better weapons — to anything that America first had to offer. It remained that way until the arrival of a revolutionary new American fighter plane: the speedy, twin-fuselaged, armed-to-the-teeth Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
Another aside. Please make a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's annex at Dulles Airport a bucket-list item. It's a fascinating place. One of the planes on display there is a P-38. I was astounded at how small this deadly weapon of war actually was. It's about the size of a luxury SUV.
When the P-38s arrived in late 1942, America's pilots needed a pep talk. Along came Eddie Rickenbacker. The man evidently knew the science of human motivation as well as he knew the science of air combat. He offered a case of Scotch to any fighter pilot who surpassed his record of 26 kills.
Within a year, the names of all the men who would surpass him became household words on the home front. The American press and radio networks eagerly followed and chronicled the exploits of Richard Bong, Gerald Johnson, Neel Kearby, Thomas Lynch, Charles MacDonald, and Tommy McGuire. They all surpassed Rickenbacker's total of 26 aerial victories. They all earned that case of Scotch.
Bong, a farm boy from Wisconsin, shot down 40 planes. He was the Pacific war's Ace of the Aces. McGuire, who dropped out of Georgia Tech to join the Air Corps, had 38 kills. But of the six who bested Rickenbacker, only MacDonald lived to return to civilian life after World War II.
Johnson died a month after the Japanese surrender after yet another heroic gesture. A plane that he was flying over Japan ran into bad weather and ran low on fuel. He and his co-pilot had parachutes; the two passengers with them did not. Johnson and the co-pilot gave the parachutes to the passengers, and they died trying to make an emergency landing.
Let's raise a glass in salute to all of them, and let's give a special shout-out to Eddie Rickenbacker. He was not only the original Ace of Aces. He was also a true champion, a man who did his utmost to see his own record broken.
And now you know the rest of the story.
History I Never Knew: The Charles Bridge, Prague
The Charles Bridge at Sunset
Today's history lesson is about a place on my bucket list.
I'd love to visit Prague some day. I'm told that it's a magnificent old city. Part of the reason for that is that somehow the physical ravages of modern war did not reach it. That's a good thing.
There's also a personal tug. Prague is the city where, in 1933, America's National Hockey Team won its first world championship. Our team, the Massachusetts Rangers, defeated the Toronto National Sea Fleas, 2-1 in overtime, to take the title. The overtime goal was scored by John Garrison, "The Ghost of Harvard Yard." The coach of the team was my uncle, Walter Brown. It was the first time ever that an American team defeated the Canadian team in international competition.
But back to today's lesson – it's about the city's most-photographed sight, the Charles Bridge over the Vltava River in the city's center. It's been known at the Charles Bridge only since 1870, in belated recognition of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. It was he who laid the first stone, back in 1357.
Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV
Charles was big into numerology. And so he insisted that the first stone be set in place at exactly 5:31 a.m. on July 9 of that year.
Why such precision? Because the date and time make for a palindrome: 135797531 (or 1357 9, 7 5:31). That number, which reads the same backward and forward, is carved onto the stones of the Old Town Bridge Tower at the east end of the bridge. Charles believed that it would bring a magical strength to the structure. All righty, then.
The bridge wasn't finished until 1402. Its length is 1,692 feet. For more than 400 years it was the only means of crossing the Vltava, and it was therefore the most important connection between Prague Castle and Prague's Old Town. The bridge helped to make Prague an important nexus for trade between Eastern and Western Europe.
There's more superstition beyond Charles IV's numerology. The bridge was also constructed in perfect alignment with the tomb of Saint Vitus and the setting sun on the equinox. More recently, people came to believe that rubbing the plaque at the base of the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk will grant you a wish.
Saint John of Nepomuk
John was murdered on the orders of King Wenceslas IV during the bitter conflict of church and state that plagued Bohemia in the latter 14th century. In 1390 he was made vicar general for the archbishop of Prague. In 1393 the archbishop, with John's support, excommunicated one of the favorites of the king and thwarted the king's ambition to make a new bishopric out of the province of Prague.
John was arrested as the archbishop's chief agent. Wenceslas personally tortured him with fire, after which he reconsidered and released him on an oath of secrecy regarding his treatment. John, however, was dying, and to conceal the evidence Wenceslas had him gagged, shoved into a goatskin, and cast into the Vltava. Bohemian Catholics came to regard John of Nepomuk as a martyr.
Saint John's statue is one of 32 points of interest (see map) on the bridge. Things also got interesting there around the time of the horrific Thirty Years War (1618-1648). The war began in May of 1618, touched off by the colorfully-named Defenestration of Prague. In that incident, three Catholic officials, emissaries from the Holy Roman Emperor, were tossed from an upper window of Prague Castle by an angry mob of Protestant Bohemian rebels.
Statues and Attractions on the Charles Bridge
Three years later, on June 21, 1621 after the Battle of White Mountain, the 27 leaders of the anti-Habsburg revolt were executed. Their severed heads were displayed for all to see on the Old Town Bridge Tower. Apparently, that grisly measure – quite common in those times – wasn't much of a deterrent.
Near the end of the war, the Swedes occupied the west bank of the Vltava. As they tried to advance into the Old Town the heaviest fighting took place right on the bridge. During the fighting, they severely damaged one side of the Old Town bridge tower, and the remnants of almost all gothic decorations had to be removed from it afterward.
It wasn't until the late 17th and early 18th centuries that the bridge became the attraction that it is today. That's when the alley of baroque statues was installed on the bridge's pillars.
Charles IV's numerology didn't spare the bridge from severe damage. In 1890, a huge flood hit Prague. Thousands of rafts, logs and other floating materials from upstream gradually formed a giant barrier against the bridge. Three arches were torn down by the pressure, and two pillars collapsed from being undermined by the water, while others were partly damaged.
Two statues, St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier, fell into the river. The Ignatius statue was replaced by statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius. For the St. Francis statue, they had a replacement cast.
1890 Flood Damage
It goes without saying that the Charles Bridge, also known as Karlův Most and Karlsbrücke, is one of the most visited and photographed sites in Prague.
No wonder, eh? It's a place I'd love to visit myself.
Tags:Charles Bridge, Prague, Saint John of Nepomuk, Thirty Years' War
History I Never Knew: The World's First Tweetstorm was 485 Years Ago
If you think things are impossibly difficult and polarized in the world of politics nowadays, you ain't seen nothin'. Washington, DC and America in 2019 are like Romper Room compared to Paris and France for 64 years spanning the latter half of the sixteenth century.
Proclamation of October 17, 1534, text of the world's first tweetstorm that launched the Wars of Religion.
Today, we have Twitter to set passions aboil. Back then, they had the printing press. But the effects of these technologies were pretty much the same. They could make the world mighty ugly, mighty fast. And that's what happened, almost 500 years ago, when hundreds of nasty, polemical printed posters were nailed up in several French cities by a group of conspirators.
It was history's first Tweetstorm; the conspirators sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind.
On the evening of October 17, 1534, the "Affair of the Placards" launched the Wars of Religion in France. Followers of John Calvin, known as Huguenots and led by a reform pastor named Antoine Marcourt, went around under the cover of darkness and nailed up copies of a screed titled "Trustworthy Articles on the Horrible, Great, & Unbearable Abuses of the Papal Mass." They even posted one on the door of the royal bedchamber of King Francois I.
Francois I
The poster's message was severely critical of Catholicism, the religion of the realm. To condemn the Catholic Mass and Catholic doctrine was a crime in itself. But Francois was rattled to the core at the almost unthinkable breach of security and the threat to his personal safety.
His reaction was swift and severe. He offered generous rewards – four years' worth of wages of ordinary folk – and many of the conspirators were caught and burned at the stake. Undeterred, they printed another "tweet," titled "A Very Useful and Salutary Short Treatise in the Holy Eucharist of Our Lord Jesus Christ." Huguenots made up no more than 15% of the French population, but they were well moneyed and educated, for the most part. They were decidedly influential in their push for reform and religious freedom.
Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henry II of France
More repression and retribution followed. Francois and his bishops responded by holding a sacred procession throughout the streets of Paris. Along the way they venerated the consecrated host, and they finished up with a Mass at Notre Dame. After the Mass they took six conspirators out and burned them at the stake.
On and on it went. Kings, queens, and royal regents came and went. Violence and atrocities by both sides flared up regularly. Treaties and truces were made and broken. After a failed assassination attempt of a Huguenot leader named Gaspard de Coligny in 1572, the Catholic establishment
under Catherine de Medici planned and executed the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Between 4,000 and 6,000 Huguenots were killed between August and October of that month.
Henry IV: "Paris is worth a Mass."
There followed the "War of the Three Henrys," who all vied for the throne. The eventual winner was Henry of Navarre, a Huguenot who became King Henry IV. But he wanted to calm things down, so he converted to Catholicism – for the fifth time – and justified it by his famous observation, "Paris is worth a Mass."
With Henry IV's 1598 conversion came the Edict of Nantes. It granted Huguenots many rights and freedoms, but Catholicism was still the dominant faith by far. Almost a century later, in 1685, King Louis XVI revoked the Edict. He set the stage for his own overthrow and trip to the guillotine. But that's another story for another time.
So ended the Wars of Religion and the repercussions of the first tweetstorm from 64 years before. So tell me now – is it really that bad nowadays? I'll take Twitter over printed posters any day.
Tags:Affair of the Placards, Catherine de Medici, Henry of Navarre, Huguenots, John Calvin, Wars of Religion
1492: What Really Happened
"In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."
Yes, he did. But in the long sweep of history, the Admiral of the Ocean Sea's "discovery" of America did not have anything approaching the impact – the tragic consequences – of other events of that year. Christoper Columbus wasn't all that important, or consequential. If he hadn't voyaged west and found new lands, someone else would have. History in the "New World" would have followed roughly the same course.
Not so the history of the Old World, had the rulers of Spain been enlightened and fair-minded.
Columbus himself points out the world-changing decree of Ferdinand and Isabella. His diary begins: "In the same month in which their Majesties issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of the kingdom and its territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake with sufficient men my expedition of discovery to the Indies."
Ferdinand and Isabella
In January of 1492, the forces of Castile and Aragon had conquered Granada, the last remaining Muslim caliphate in Spain. This restored all of Spain to Christian rule. The king and queen had resisted the demands of Tomas de Torquemada, head of the Spanish Inquisition, to expel the Jews until they had first subdued the Moors (not the Moops.) But with that military victory, they moved swiftly to get rid of Jews and impose religious uniformity.
It would take until 1614 for Spain's succeeding monarchs to banish the rest of the Moors. For a short while, Islam was allowed in Spain. But in 1502, all remaining Muslims were order to convert to Christianity or leave.
As for the Jews of Spain, about 200,000 of them were forced to leave as of July 30, 1492. They had to abandon all of their material possessions and settle in places like North Africa, Turkey, Italy and elsewhere. They became known as Sephardic Jews – "Sefarad" is Hebrew for "Spain."
Can you imagine how the history of the world might have evolved if Ferdinand and Isabella did not agree with people like Torquemada – had they allowed their Jews and Muslims to stay, to work out their differences, and to build their country into something else entirely?
Nor was it enough for F&I to "cleanse" Spain. They married off their daughter Isabella to King Manuel of Portugal in 1496. They made it a condition of the marriage that Portugal expel its Jews. Manuel reluctantly complied, although in the end only eight Jews were kicked out; according to the Jewish Virtual Library, tens of thousands of others had to convert to Christianity, on pain of death.
Tomas de Torquemada
I recall learning in school of the wonderful monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, who supported Columbus on his great adventure. What rot. And what profound negative consequences their religious hatred had, down through the centuries.
The Sultan of Turkey, Bazajet, welcomed Jews. He said, "How can you call Ferdinand of Aragon a wise king, the same Ferdinand who impoverished his own land and enriched ours?"
How indeed.
Spain, and Portugal for that matter, became inconsequential, minor-league powers in Europe. Much worse, though, was that their treatment of Jews would be imitated in various guises throughout the known world. It's still echoing loudly today. The decree of expulsion, known as the Alhambra Decree, was not officially overturned by the Spanish government until December 16, 1968.
This decision by the Spain, 476 years in the making, likely came about after the Catholic church itself admitted that it had been wrong about the Jews for almost two millennia. The following is from Nostra Aetate, an instrument formulated in 1965, at the Second Vatican Council, during the papacy of Paul VI:
"what happened … cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ."
Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, later Pope John XXIII
And that pronouncement may never have happened had "Vatican II" not taken place. The council was called by Pope John XXIII in 1959. It is sad that he died before the council, and before this pronouncement. He would have loved it. During World War II, as Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, he was the Vatican delegate to the Ottoman Empire. He was the highest-ranking Catholic cleric to use his authority on behalf of Jews. He had no use for the wimpish Pope Pius XII, his predecessor, who did nothing to resist Adolf Hitler.
But back to today, October 12. If you feel like ragging on Christopher Columbus for his misdeeds, go ahead. But he's not the villain. The real villains sat on the throne of the combined kingdom of Castile and Aragon, and at their right hands in the Office of the Spanish Inquisition.
Tags:Columbus, Discovery of America, Ferdinand and Isabella, Spanish Inquisition, Torquemada
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The Arizona Interscholastic Association is excited to recognize outstanding Arizona high school students, teachers, coaches, officials, administrators and schools for outstanding achievements, on and off the field, and exemplifying trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. The AIA will present awards in an array of categories. The date and location will be announced soon. Nominate an individual today!


Graduation and the prom are important rites of passage for high school seniors. Start preparing now to make sure your student's experience is a special one, without unexpected snags or disappointments. Above are some tips from your BBB to help make things run as smoothly as possible.


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Department Services
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Organisms & Environment
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The mission of the Division of Organisms & Environment is to advance and disseminate knowledge of organisms and their relationships to the environment through excellence in basic and applied research, undergraduate and graduate education, scholarly activities, and outreach. The division includes 25 faculty and 3 extension specialists who share the challenge and excitement of studying the ecology and evolutionary biology of organisms in terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Research focuses at the level of organisms and their populations to understand origins, functions, diversity, and sustainability, as well as to provide a basis for addressing existing and future environmental challenges, such as the loss and homogenization of biodiversity and the maintenance of functional ecosystems. The research falls broadly into the following categories:
Arthropod science
Environmental genomics
Ecosystem services including pollination and pest regulation
Faculty, extension specialists, their postdoctoral scholars and graduate students use a combination of ecological, molecular and modeling approaches to develop a strong scientific framework for advancing our knowledge of species, populations and communities of organisms and their interactions with the environment. Such knowledge allows us not only to recognize emerging threats to the environment and biosphere, but also to inform public policy with respect to response and mitigation.
Learn about our Graduate Program
Faculty & Specialists in OE
Connect with ESPM
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In October I will have my 30th crossing of the Atlantic to experience Northern New England in the United States. This means more stories from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and New Hampshire here on Enjoy Food & Travel.
My annual trip to the United States is a ritual. 30 times I have crossed the herring pond in order to visit my two cousins living by the beautiful coastline close to Boston. With all this years in mind, I regard this area as close to home for me as any place could be. I have learnt to know (and love) places, people, sights, food and culture through my visits.
I have, once more, chosen Icelandair to be my air carrier on this trip, even though service has declined and air fare has risen these last years. The relatively short travel time from Oslo through Reykjavik to Boston is still a great advantage, as the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is only a 5 hour and 30 minutes from Iceland. Besides this Reykjavik Airport provides easier transfer for trans-Atlantic travelers compared to larger European airports where you easily can miss your connecting flights due to long distances from one gate to another.
When there, I will enjoy the off-season tranquility of the quaint communities of Scituate and Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts. While Norwegians are preparing for fall, the temperature in Boston is pleasant in September and October, and you may even take a stroll along the beach and enjoy a gentle breeze, but I think I will skip a late swim in the ocean. Last year, however, I did take a swim at Minot Beach during a short heat wave in October, so who knows!!


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American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition: A Novel
Newly updated and expanded with the author's preferred text. A modern masterpiece from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman.First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic, lauded for its brilliant synthesis of "mystery, satire, sex, horror, and poetic prose" (Washington Post) and as a modern phantasmagoria that "distills the essence of America" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). It is the story of Shadow—released from prison just days after his wife and best friend are killed in an accident—who gets recruited to be bodyguard, driver, and errand boy for the enigmatic trickster, Mr. Wednesday. So begins Shadow's dark and strange road trip, one that introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. For, beneath the placid surface of everyday life, a storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—and Shadow is standing squarely in its path."Pointed, occasionally comic, often scary, consistently moving and provocative….American Gods is strewn with secrets and magical visions."—USA Today"Original, engrossing, and endlessly inventive."—George R. R. Martin
@wood204
An American Giant
***½ stars
Sometimes the best journeys are the longest. When it comes to reading longer books I usually try to avoid them. I begin reading a book and eventually I become bored but I refuse to give up. I tell myself that I just need to keep reading, and eventually, it'll get better. When it came to reading American Gods I never had that issue. All 742 pages of the book flew by. Each page smoothly transferred to the next. I never found myself becoming bored with the story and having to tell myself that I need to read. I just picked up the book and read it. At times it did feel like the story was never going to end, but I was fine with this. Now, I'm the type of reader that can just sit down and read for an hour, and I enjoy that. But if you're the type of reader that prefers a quick story, then this isn't the book.
When American Gods first begins, you're introduced to the main character Shadow. Shadow is a quiet guy that is just trying to serve his time in prison who has already served three years. Shadow receives the terrible news that his wife has passed away from a car crash. But in turn, he learns that he is released early from prison. As Shadow makes his way home so that he can mourn his wife's death, and try to return to a normal life, Shadow comes across a not so normal man that goes by the name of Mr. Wednesday. Mr. Wednesday makes Shadow an offer to work for him and he refuses to take no as an answer. Eventually, Shadow takes the job, and that's when things start to roll. We learn that Mr. Wednesday, along with most of the other characters that we meet along the journey, happen to be some sort of god, and Shadow has a special role in an upcoming war, that I'm not going to spoil. The way that Gaiman is able to make such a long story but leaves you wanting to turn the page and keep on reading surprises me. I'm not going to lie, it took me a good while to finish reading American Gods. Yet when I finished reading the book, it felt as if time flew. I also felt whole. I never found myself questioning the ending or asking for more. I'm impressed with how Gaiman handled the long story. I ended up looking more into Neil Gaiman and his work, and it turns out that he has many more successes. I intend to read more of his work, and if this is your first Gaiman book, I highly recommend that you read it as well. Jacob Perdigon '19
@cfallsgamer8mo 18d
@cfallsgamer completed #americangodsthet... on 2021-04-02
@cfallsgamer began #americangodsthet... on 2021-03-30
@adamcarlson1y 11mo
@adamcarlson completed #americangodsthet... on 2019-12-26
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@usagininja19194y 0mo
@usagininja1919 completed #americangodsthet... on 2017-12-17
@jetvellinga4y 5mo
@jetvellinga began #americangodsthet... on 2017-08-14


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Østfyns Museer
Front page About the Museum News The sword from the burial mound is now reassembled
The Museum's history
The sword from the burial mound is now reassembled
04. February 2016 | The Viking Museum Ladby
In 2014, pieces of a longsword from the Bronze Age were found in a burial mound on Hindsholm. The sword has now been conserved and reassembled.
The bronze sword, which is now 36 cm. long and 4 cm. wide, was found in Lars Jens' burial mound on Hindsholm. An impressive Bronze Age mound, lying near the coast on an 11 m. high cliff, is unfortunately about to be eaten up by the sea. An attentive passer-by discovered that pieces of bronze lay beneath the mound. This sparked a spectacular rescue mission, with the museum's archaeologist rappelling down from the top of the mound to investigate and document the final remains of the burial that the mound was originally raised over.
Created in Denmark between 1500 and 1300 BC
The bits of the sword have now been put together. The tip is missing, but the rest tells the story of a valuable and clearly appreciated weapon worn by a chieftain from Hindsholm who had wide-reaching contacts. It is called a longsword because both the grip and the sword were moulded in costly bronze imported to Denmark from Central Europe, perhaps in trade for amber and skins. The sword was fashioned here in Denmark, and since bronze swords are subject to the quirks of fashion, we are able to date it by the shape of the sword bead and by decorations on the sword to relatively precisely between 1500 - 1300 BC. The sword grip is decorated with a zigzag pattern, inlaid with amber pieces, which in all likelihood come from the Baltic area.
The owner was one of society's elite
In addition to the sword, a bronze shaving knife was also found in the burial mound. This combination of sword and shaving knife is well known from other rich burial finds, and several things point to the uppermost echelon of society. Maybe the chieftain who owned these fine things voyaged up the European rivers and across the Baltic Sea to make the contacts and obtain the materials needed to make the sword. When he died, he was buried in an oak coffin with his most important possessions and in an enormous burial mound that was placed so it could be seen from afar, both from sea and from land. This assured that posterity would not soon forget him.
The longsword was not only a clear sign of the owner's high status in society, but also a splendid weapon. Finds of more well-preserved swords with signs of wear from battle, and experiments with copies of the swords, show that they were especially used for stabbing.
When the sword was found in 2014, it was in such bad condition that it had to be sent to a skilled conservator before it could be exhibited.
Bronze Age Finds at Ullerslev
Spectacular Detector Finds from the Bronze Age Indicate the Outlines of a Sacred Landscape at Ullerslev.
Hall Even Older Than First Assumed
What we believed was a large Viking hall on Munkebo Hill turns out to be the biggest building on Funen from the Late Germanic Iron Age.
Almost 12.000 people saw the ghost ship
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The Ghost Ship attracted 12,000 visitors
Viking Games in Summer Heat
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With the Premier League season now into April, top-flight players are running the risk of being banned in the final few matches of the campaign.
An accumulation of 10 yellow cards will result in that player having to complete a two-match suspension, a penalty that often causes major headaches for managers.
Southampton's Oriol Romeu lead the way last season with 11 cautions while Burnley's Ashley Barnes, Abdoulaye Doucoure of Watford and Arsenal star Granit Xhaka all picked up 10.
Several stars are edging towards the suspension mark this term and could face a stint on the sidelines in the final few weeks.


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ACCEPTED

#### According to
World Register of Marine Species

#### Published in
Arch. Zool. exp. gén. Paris, (5) 10, fasc. 3, lvii, lviii.

#### Original name
null

### Remarks
null


Blackacre is a 500-acre farm. Most of Blackacre's property is used to grow crops and to provide pasture for cattle. There is also a house on Blackacre, as well as a stable for horses. O, the owner of Blackacre, agrees to sell Blackacre to B. The sales contract is executed on Day 1. The contract provides that the purchase price is $900,000, identifies O as the seller and B as the buyer, and properly describes Blackacre as the property being sold. The closing is set for Day 60. There are no contingencies in the contract. Further, there are no mortgages, liens, or other encumbrances on Blackacre. B has adequate financing to close the sale, and there are no defects in O's title or on the property that would interfere with closing.
The sales contract is governed by the common law of property. The contract contains no provisions about risk of loss or insurance. Nevertheless, O maintains casualty insurance on the house and the stable in the amount of $100,000.
B intends to live in the house on Blackacre and to keep horses in Blackacre's stable upon closing on Blackacre. On Day 30, lightning strikes the stable, which burns to the ground. The cost to rebuild the stable is $200,000, and the stable cannot be rebuilt before the Day 60 closing date. B immediately seeks to rescind the sales contract. B tells O that the lease on B's current residence is about to expire, and without the stable on Blackacre, B will have nowhere to put his horses. B therefore wants to rescind the sale in order to buy a different property. O refuses to agree to rescission, and seeks to hold B to the original closing date and sales price. At the same time, O tells B that the insurance company has paid O $100,000 toward the cost of rebuilding the stable.
On Day 45, O dies. O's will leaves all of O's real property to X, and all of O's personal property to Y. On the original closing date, both X and Y tender the Blackacre deed to B, in exchange for $900,000, minus the $100,000 insurance payout, for a total of $800,000. B refuses the tender, and asserts that the contract is now completely void due to the loss of the stable and the death of O.
Upon O's death, what legal interests do B, X and Y each hold in Blackacre? Explain.
Can either X or Y force B to complete the purchase of Blackacre? Explain.
Assuming that B must purchase Blackacre before the stable is rebuilt, what would be the correct purchase price? Explain.


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Non-slip stair treads are great for protecting steps that are made of sensitive materials like wood. Physical abrasions can come from sources like furniture and foot traffic. Heavy furniture can chip, mark, or otherwise disfigure unprotected sensitive steps.
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This project was awarded through a Design-Build Competition offered by the City of Palm Desert RDA. The team of MMA and Simon Construction won the competition and this is the premier golf course facility in the Desert at the time of its construction. The project consists of two buildings. One 11,620 sq. ft. mixed occupancy facility containing maintenance / repair garage, his and her locker areas, employee lounge, warehouse and administration office functions. The other facility is approximately 2600 sq. ft. and contains fertilizer / chemical storage uses.
The construction of the facility consist of masonry block, steel frame and wood construction. Numerous site amenities where included from wash down facilities, material storage and above ground fuel dispensers. The Site Design of this project separates public areas and plant functions while maintaining logical circulation patterns and security. This interaction between Site Design and Circulation / Use is identified as a key element in the Design solution.


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Со́нЦе — український рок-гурт, створений 2006 року. Засновниками та незмінними учасниками гурту є вокалістка Наталія та гітарист Вадим. Гурт виступає у клубах, на фестивалях, також виступали на сцені Євромайдану. Окрім стилю рок в піснях СонЦя присутній фолк, джаз, блюз, хард. На їх рахунку три альбоми («ЛюбиДВА», «Говерла» та «Zакони»), демо-диск «Жди ня Єво», сингл «Стрілець», міні-альбоми «Весняний» та «ПЛАЧ».

Історія гурту
Гурт «СонЦе» було створено восени 2006 року вокалісткою Наталією Богутою та гітаристом Вадимом Пенюком. В першому складі гурту були також перкусія та скрипка. Незабаром з гурту йдуть ударник та скрипалька, а до команди приєднуються перкусіоніст Андрій Щудло та кларнетист Микола Шостов. Дебютний концерт гурту відбувся навесні 2007 року в Києві. З різних причин гурт впродовж двох років не займався активною діяльністю, доки на початку червня 2009 р. не взяв участь у фестивалі «ВертиФест-2009», отримавши звання лауреатів конкурсу.

Влітку 2009 р. гурт працював у студії над створенням першої платівки, робота над якою завершилася на початку вересня. Потім музики грали на концертах. А вже влітку 2010-го гурт розпочав роботу над синглом «Стрілець». У липні 2010 року гурт взяв участь у фестивалі «Підкамінь-2010», у серпні відіграв на фестивалі «Меджибіж-2010». Сингл було презентовано восени 2010 року. На той час у складі гурту були бас-гітарист Олександр Годован, ударник Євген Казначеєв та альтист Едуард Данилов.

На початку 2011 року гурт розпочав роботу над диском «ЛюбиДВА», яку було завершено влітку 2011 року. Того ж року гурт виступив на фестивалі «Рурисько-2011» та «Шлях Вовка-2011». Презентація нового альбому відбулася в листопаді у клубі «Портер» (Київ). Наприкінці 2011 року гурт змінює склад — до команди приєднуються флейтист Сергій Робулець та ударник Андрій Рогозинський. Взимку 2012 року гурт відіграв два сольних концерти — у рок-клубі «Прайм» та арт-ресторані «Шляпа». Навесні 2012 року йшла робота в студії над міні-диском, який з'явився у червні 2012 року і отримав назву «Весняний». На той час до гурту прийшов ударник Станіслав Синько, перший концерт з яким відбувся в червні — на фестивалі «Трипільське коло». Восени 2012 року до гурту приєднався басист Сергій Масло. В такому складі гурт відіграв чотири осінніх концерти.

У грудні 2012 року гурт «СонЦе» розпочав роботу над новим диском і у 2013 була випущена повноформатна платівка «Говерла» (13 композицій), презентація якої відбулася в листопаді 2013 у рок-клубі «Бочка на Подолі». Взимку 2013-2014 років гурт створив диск «ПЛАЧ» — чотири пісні на вірші Тараса Шевченка та пісня «На кордоні зла» (кавер-версія пісні польського гурту СОМА). Учасники гурту розповідали, що платівка з'явилася під враженням від Революції Гідності. Наразі концертна програма гурту складається з понад 25 композицій. Восени 2014 року гурт записав пісню «Хто я?» на студії «Комора» (Київ). За словами учасників гурту, в 2015 році буде випущена нова платівка, до якої увійдуть понад 10 пісень.

Склад гурту на 2014 р.
 Наталія Богута — вокал, автор пісень
 Вадим Пенюк — гітари, співавтор музики
 Влад Бутенко або Олександр Годован — бас
 Богдан Керичок або Євген Казначеєв — барабани

Дискографія
 2009 — Демо-альбом «Жди ня Єво»
 2010 — Сингл «Стрілець»
 2011 — Альбом «ЛюбиДВА»
 2012 — Міні-альбом «Весняний»
 2013 — Альбом «Говерла»
 2014 — Міні-альбом «ПЛАЧ»
 2016 — Альбом «Zакони»

Примітки

Посилання

 Офіційна сторінка на ВКонтакті

Українські рок-гурти
Музичні виконавці з Києва
Музичні колективи, що з'явились 2006
Гурти з жіночим вокалом
Засновані в Україні 2006


text:
Buchnera cambodiana är en snyltrotsväxtart som beskrevs av Bonati. Buchnera cambodiana ingår i släktet Buchnera och familjen snyltrotsväxter. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Snyltrotsväxter
cambodiana


""That does not look good" Irma managed to say before a blinding white light made her squint. Just ahead of them the darkness was torn apart by a circular opening, and out of the circle came a puff of wind that sent both her and the others tumbling to the ground. It was like finding themselves in the middle of a hurricane. It crackled in the pine trees along the path, and Irma had to hold her hands up to protect her face from the small stone, earth and branches that suddenly filled the air around her.
But what does the mighty Weather Maker want with her magical powers? And why do the rest of W.I.T.C.H. not just come and bring her back?