title: Bradley Skaught

text:
Bradley Skaught is the principal songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for The Bye Bye Blackbirds, an Oakland, California-based indie rock and power pop band. Skaught's vocals have been called "distinctive and lovely", "a unique drawl reminiscent of Tom Petty", and likened to John Lennon. The San Francisco Chronicle described his band's work as "British Invasion guitar-pop with a twinge of country and roots," in which "disparate rock influences – '60s rock, '70s power pop, '80s college radio and indie rock – come together for catchy, harmony-laden songs."

Musical career

Early years
Skaught is originally from Tacoma, Washington. He began taking drum lessons while in second grade, and took up guitar in sixth grade. Later, he moved to Oakland, California, where his musical career included a stint as drummer for Yuji Oniki.

Belle Da Gama
Skaught became better known as a guitarist and vocalist when he founded the Oakland-based band Belle Da Gama, which included Ian Robertson. The name Belle Da Gama was taken from the Salman Rushdie novel The Moor's Last Sigh. Belle Da Gama recorded one album, Garden Abstract, released in 2001 on 125 Records.

In 2005, Skaught and Robertson disbanded Belle Da Gama and formed The Bye Bye Blackbirds.

The Bye Bye Blackbirds

Skaught and Robertson, both guitarists, named the new group after the 1926 jazz standard Bye Bye Blackbird. They recruited drummer Lenny Gill and bass player William Duke online. In forming the new band, Skaught and Robertson decided on a "back-to-basics approach" based on "fundamental things we loved as listeners – songwriting, harmony, cool guitar parts and sounds."

The group's debut recording, an EP called Honeymoon, was released in 2006. Skaught later referred to Honeymoon as "a bit embarrassing to me, although I like a couple songs and I love the sound... It works to me as a kind of statement of intent, but it makes me squirm to hear it."

In 2008, the group released their first full-length album, Houses and Homes, on the American Dust label in 2008. Rock critic Richie Unterberger likened Houses and Homes to British Invasion bands, with "tunes and [Skaught's] upper-register vocals [that] often echo some of the poppier Beatlesque groups of yore," praising the album's sensitive lyrics and "upbeat guitar-oriented pop/rock with a tinge of the bittersweet."  Skaught called Houses and Homes "satisfyingly better than Honeymoon to me.... We experimented a lot – goofy stuff with tape echoes and lots of layers." The bluegrass-tinged song "The Ghosts Are All Right" was featured in the book Music: What Happened?, which named it as a favorite for that year, describing the song as "a Byrds-worthy meditation on history and responsibility in a local community."

Apology Accepted, a download-only EP released in 2008, included "Monster Eyes", a song that was co-written by Skaught with novelist Jonathan Lethem. Based upon "lyrical fragments" of Lethem's novel You Don't Love Me Yet, the song was performed by the band, with Lethem, at a reading from the book. The title track of Apology Accepted was a cover of a song by The Go-Betweens.

Before recording 2011's Fixed Hearts, bass player William Duke, who had previously shared songwriting responsibilities with Skaught, left the band. Skaught stated that writing all of the songs on Fixed Hearts was "liberating" and that the album benefited from his resulting confidence, and from the contributions of new bass player Aaron Rubin and producer Paul Tyler. The title was a reference to drummer Lenny Gill's then-recent heart surgery, as well as to the protagonists of the songs, who emerge from heartbreak with their own hearts repaired.

Reviewing Fixed Hearts, AllMusic's Jack Rabid wrote that the album had the "brightly ringing, polished/unthreatening, anodyne" 1960s pop vibe of a "groovy guitar pop party" where "nice guys finish first and get the girl in the finale." The review cited Skaught's "easy sincerity and the group's harmonic gifts," embracing a "Panglossian panoply of this period from when they were pups, cutting in country-pop, folk, and—heck yeah—a horns-laden opener with bits of Memphis soul." A review in The Aquarian Weekly cited the "general giddiness of the album", moving from a "nostalgic and swinging vibe" through songs with a "country-pop sound" and "pulsing drums", to the "peaceful" final tracks.

In 2013, the group released We Need the Rain, which was named one of the "Top 20 Releases of 2013" by Goldmine. Critic John M. Borack cited Skaught's contributions on guitar that "jangle, strum and get muscular when they need to."

Skaught dedicated We Need the Rain to Scott Miller, his "musical mentor". Miller was not involved with the album, but Skaught told the San Francisco Chronicle that Miller's death in April 2013 was "the most painful and devastating blow", leading Skaught to consider the album "a kind of anchor, something to channel all that chaos through ... It's the first record we've made that we couldn't take to him and get that final vote of confidence on."

The San Francisco Chronicle described the album as having "sweetly melancholy jingle-jangle and satisfyingly gutsy guitar and bass parts" with "soulful crunch". Reviewer Bill Kopp wrote in Musoscribe that "chiming guitars, ear candy hooks, punchy guitar riffage, tight vocal harmonies" provide the emotional and "visceral punch" of power pop. In Dirty Impound, Dennis Cook wrote, "Every tune practically shimmies out of the speakers, cool small details etched into ceaselessly ear-snagging melodies as sweet, gently yearning voices sing about love and the weather in ways that make both seem brand new."

According to Tris McCall of the Newark Star-Ledger, the album took a new and "more aggressive approach" in which "guitars still twinkle and shimmer, on occasion, but this time around, they growl, twist, stutter and snap, too." McCall wrote, "Although Skaught's essential optimism is always visible," this "isn't always a happy album", with songs "both more direct and more discontented" than Skaught's prior work. "Yet it is the deepest, gutsiest and most rewarding set in the band's discography, and it points the way forward for a project that once felt like a formal exercise in songcraft."

Other projects
Skaught received a production credit for his assistance on the Omnivore Recordings 2014 reissue of Game Theory's 1984 album Dead Center. He appeared as a featured artist on Big Cinnamon (2013) by the Agony Aunts, and played acoustic guitar on Alison Faith Levy's solo CD World of Wonder (2012).

Discography

With Belle Da Gama
 Garden Abstract (2001)

With The Bye Bye Blackbirds
Albums & EPs:
 Honeymoon (2006)
 Apology Accepted (EP, 2008)
 Houses and Homes (2008)
 Fixed Hearts (2011)
 We Need The Rain (2013)
 Take Out the Poison (2017)

Singles:
 "Let Your Hair Fall Down" b/w "These Blues" (2015)
 "Even Hitler Had A Girlfriend" b/w "Population: Us"  (7" single, 2014) (as Dr. Frank & The Bye Bye Blackbirds)

Various artist compilations:
 Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill (2009)

Notes

External links

 The Bye Bye Blackbirds (official site)

Musicians from Oakland, California
American pop guitarists
American indie rock musicians
American indie pop musicians
American male singer-songwriters
American male pop singers
Singer-songwriters from California
1976 births
Living people
Guitarists from California
American male guitarists
21st-century American singer-songwriters
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American male singers


title: Mangayarkkarasiyar

text:
Mangayarkkarasiyar (Tamil:மங்கையர்க்கரசியார்) was one of the 63 Nayanmars or holy Saivite saints who are revered in South India. She is one among the only three women who attained this distinction. Her devotion to Lord Shiva is recounted in the hagiographic poem Periyapuranam compiled by Sekkizhar as well as in the Tiruthondar Thogai written by the poet-saint Sundarar.

Birth and Life
Mangayarkkarasiyar was born as a Chola princess in Pazhayarai. Her real name was Maani. She married the Pandyan Dynasty King Koon Pandiyan who ruled Madurai. She came to be known as "Mangayarkkarasiyar" (meaning queen of the women in Tamil) on account of being an ideal Queen who commanded great respect and admiration among her subjects.

Devotion to Lord Shiva
She was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and remained a staunch Shaivite in her country which was becoming increasingly influenced by Jainism. Her husband, the Pandyan King had converted to Jainism and this worried her a lot. The King became a Jain fanatic and even forbade her to wear Thiruneeru on her forehead.
Hindus suffered persecution and  Having converted the king, the Jain monks started to wield greater power in the kingdom. She feared that if left unchecked, the spread of Jainism would wipe out Shaivism entirely from Madurai. Her only solace was the Prime Minister of the kingdom, Kulachirai Nayanar who still remained a staunch Shaivite. The Prime Minister sympathized with the Queen and they were both deeply concerned about the spread of Jainism and the atrocities committed by the Jain monks in Madurai.

The Queen and the Prime Minister were struggling to find a way to get rid of Jainism and bring Shaivism to its prior prominence in the kingdom. But their efforts were in vain because of the King's fanaticism. During this time, she heard news that Appar and Sambandar had committed a miracle in the Vedaranyeswarar Temple by opening and closing the temple doors with their devotional verses. Having failed in all her attempts, the Queen made up her mind to seek the help of Appar and Sambandar. She dispatched the Prime Minister to invite Appar and Sambandar to Madurai.

Appar and Sambandar accepted the Queen's request and came to Madurai. They faced a lot of obstacles from the Jain monks
on their way but successfully overcame them. King Koon Pandiyan had been ailing from incurable boils for a long time and also had a hunchback. He got the name Koon Pandiyan because of his hunchback. The Jain monks tried their best to cure the King with their medicines but to little avail. Sambandar cured the king of his boils by singing hymns and applying Thiruneeru on the king's body. The king was also cured of his hunchback and came to be known as Ninra Seer Nedumaara Nayanar(meaning 'one who stands tall and erect' in Tamil).

Sambandar had earned the King's devotion and the King immediately reconverted to Shaivism. With the King's reconversion, Jainism was wiped out completely and Shaivism regained its prior prominence in the kingdom. For their role in the spread of Shaivism, the Queen, the Prime Minister and the King were each individually included in the list of Nayanmars and their tales were rendered in the hagiographic poem Periyapuranam compiled by Sekkizhar as well as in the Tiruthhthondar Thogai written by the poet-saint Sundarar.

References

External links
 Nayanmar temples map

Nayanars
Indian female royalty
People from Madurai
Pandyan dynasty
Hindu female religious leaders
Ancient Indian women


title: Yurina

text:
Yurina () is a feminine given name of Japanese origin. It may refer to:

Yurina Hase (born 1979), Japanese voice actress
Yurina Hiraka (born 1991), Japanese long jumper
Yurina Hirate (born 2001), Japanese idol singer (Keyakizaka46)
Yurina Kumai (born 1993), Japanese idol singer (Berryz Kobo)
Yurina Uchiyama (born 1998), Japanese voice actress
Yurina Yamada (born 1996), Japanese ski jumper
 Yurina Kawaguchi (born 1999), Japanese contestant on the South Korean survival show Girls Planet 999

See also
Ludmila Yurina (born 1962), Ukrainian pianist and composer

Japanese feminine given names
Feminine given names


title: Race to the Sky

text:
The Race to the Sky may refer to:

 Montana Race to the Sky, a dogsled race held in Montana, USA
 Highlands Race to the Sky, a motor sport hillclimb race in Queenstown, New Zealand


title: Enedina Lloris

text:
Enedina Lloris Camps (born 1957 in Alfara del Patriarca) is a Valencian soprano. Lloris retired early from the opera stage and teaches at ESMUC.

References

1957 births
Living people
20th-century Spanish women opera singers


title: Michal Krčmář

text:
Michal Krčmář (; born 23 January 1991) is a Czech biathlete and an Olympic silver medalist in the sprint at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

He was a part of the silver junior men's relay at Biathlon Junior World Championships 2012. Since 2013–14 season he has competed regularly at Biathlon World Cup and has amassed 300 World Cup Starts. He has competed at eight World Championships and three Olympic Games, including the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

His father, Daniel, represented Slovakia in biathlon at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.

Personal life
In April 2022, his long-time partner Ramona gave birth to their first child Viktor.

He is a follower of football, ice hockey and formula one. He  supports the football team AC Sparta Praha.

Career
The 2022-23 season brought the best season for Krčmář in his career. He finished 13th in the overall standings, 9th in the individual, sprint and mass start standings and 14th in the pursuit standings. This included notable results in Pokljuka (5th in the sprint), Ruhpolding (8th in the individual), Östersund (4th in the mass start), and Oslo (10th in the sprint and 9th in the pursuit). The Czech team had their best season for many years as well placing 6th in the nations cup (their best result since the 2015-16 season).

Biathlon results
All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games
1 medal (1 silver medal)

*The mixed relay was added as an event in 2014.

World Championships
1 medal (1 bronze)

*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
**The mixed relay was added as an event in 2005.

References

External links

1991 births
Living people
Czech male biathletes
Olympic biathletes for the Czech Republic
Biathletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Biathletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Biathletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Olympic medalists in biathlon
Olympic silver medalists for the Czech Republic
People from Vrchlabí
Biathlon World Championships medalists
Competitors at the 2015 Winter Universiade
Sportspeople from the Hradec Králové Region


title: Hymn board

text:
A hymn board is a board in a church building that lists the hymns that will be sung during the service. Normally, the hymns are indicated by the number under which the hymn appears in the church's hymnal. The display of hymn numbers in this way can allow the congregation to bookmark the relevant pages of the hymnal in advance, to make it easier to worship during the service. Hymn numbers may also be printed on a notice sheet distributed before the service.

History
Hymn boards originated in the sixteenth century. Originally, the usual practice was to write the opening lines of the hymns on the board, but in the early eighteenth century, it became more common to refer to the hymns' numbers in the church's hymnal.

References

Church architecture


title: Waste Services Inc.

text:
Waste Services Incorporated (Commonly known as WSI) was a company that provided waste services in Canada and the United States (Florida) founded in 2001, the company's headquarters are in Burlington, ON.

History

The WSI brand is a company dealing with solid waste collection in Canada. The company predecessor was Capital Waste Services it was slowly absorbed into WSI just after the foundation of the company in 2001. The company has an enormous fleet of trucks in Canada and the U.S., the trucks are mostly front loader with some rear loaders and side loaders (mostly Labrie Expert 2000's). Today the company's website is still up but the company is defunct after merging in 2010.

Merging

On June 30, 2010 the company agreed to merge into BFI Canada and about 3 weeks later the company began rebranding as BFI Canada, the company quickly dissipated within 2 to 3 months. However, In the U.S. the company was rebranded as Progressive Waste Solutions because of the BFI Canada brand name (which is still in use even after being bought by Progressive Waste Solutions in 2000) only being used in Canada.

References

Waste companies established in 2001
Business services companies disestablished in the 21st century
Waste management companies of Canada
Waste management companies of the United States
Canadian companies established in 2001
American companies established in 2001
Canadian companies disestablished in 2010
American companies disestablished in 2010


title: Burkhanov

text:
Burkhanov or Burkhanova (; also transliterated Burhonov/Burhonova) is a family name of Uzbek origin meaning "son/daughter of Burhan". It may refer to:

Shukur Burkhanov (1910–1987), Soviet theatre and film actor
Mutal Burhonov (1916–2002), Soviet-Uzbek composer
Sofiya Burkhanova (born 1989), Uzbekistani shot putter

Uzbek-language surnames


title: Kieran Evans

text:
Kieran John Evans (born 8 February 1969) is a Welsh film director and screenwriter whose work includes music videos, film and documentaries. His 2012 film Kelly + Victor, produced by Janine Marmot, saw Evans awarded the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 2014 BAFTAs.

Early life
Evans was born in St Davids, Pembrokeshire and attended Ysgol Dewi Sant. He later studied art in Carmarthen and Newport before moving to London. While in London he found work as a runner for Steven Spielberg's animation company before progressing through the industry until he found work making promotional music videos.

Career
In 1998 he directed the video for the single Breathe by Kylie Minogue. He continued to work within the music industry and became a regular collaborator for Heavenly Films, a sister project of British record label Heavenly Recordings. This led Evans to work with many of the label's artists. In 2002, while working for Heavenly Films, Evans collaborated with Paul Kelly on the film Finisterre, a documentary based on modern London that accompanied the album by the same name by the British indie band Saint Etienne.

In 2008 Evans released From Here to Before, a portrait of British folk singer Vashti Bunyan, which was nominated for the 2008 Grierson Award. Evans' connections within the music industry led him to chronicle the first of three documentaries based on the alternative music festival scene when he directed a television film of the 2008 Isle of Wight Festival. He followed this the following year when he, along with Matt Askem, filmed Bestival 2009. In 2010 he returned to the Isle of Wight, where he documented the 2010 Festival, co-directed with Askem and Chris Whiterod.

A producer who had seen Finisterre recommended that Evans direct a drama, possibly connected to Wales. This resulted in him approaching Aberystwyth-based writer Niall Griffiths whose literature he was familiar with. Griffiths sent him a copy of his novel Kelly + Victor and Evans was inspired to turn it into a feature. Griffiths allowed Evans free rein to adapt the script, which he changed from a dual story told separately from the perspective of the two protagonists to a more traditional merged narrative. The film received a limited release, but opened to mainly positive reviews. This, his first directorial feature, led to a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. He won the award in this category at the 2014 BAFTAs.

Evans continued working with the music industry, and the year after releasing Kelly + Victor he directed a documentary for Welsh alternative rock band the Manic Street Preachers entitled Culture, Alienation, Boredom and Despair. This was followed by a trilogy of music videos for the band from their 2013 album Rewind the Film. His video for the single Show Me the Wonder won the band the 2013 Q Awards for Best Video.

In 2014, Evans reunited with Paul Kelly for Heavenly Films, co-directing the Dexys documentary Nowhere Is Home, shot during the final nights of Dexys' residency at the Duke of York's Theatre in London.

Evans's next project is Be Pure Be Vigilant Behave, documenting the Manic Street Preachers' Holy Bible anniversary tour. It will premiere in Cardiff in October 2016.

References

External links

1969 births
Welsh film directors
British male screenwriters
English-language film directors
People from St Davids
British music video directors
Living people
People educated at Ysgol Dewi Sant
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer BAFTA Award winners


title: The Courier (Narrabri)

text:
The Courier is a tabloid newspaper published in Narrabri, New South Wales, Australia, since 1873. The Courier has also been published as The North Western Courier, The Narrabri Herald and Northern Districts' Advertiser and The Narrabri Age and Namoi District Newspaper.

History
The Narrabri Herald and Northern Districts' Advertiser was first published in 1873 and The Narrabri Age and Namoi District Newspaper was first published in 1894. Both of these newspapers ceased publication on 23 December 1912 and were incorporated into The North Western Courier which was first published on 7 January 1913. In its first issue The North Western Courier claimed it would support liberal politics.

The North Western Courier shortened its name to The Courier in 1967 but changed the name back to The North Western Courier in 1976. The name was shortened again to The Courier in 1982 and it is still published under that name.

Digitisation
The paper has been digitised as part of the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program project of the National Library of Australia.

See also
 List of newspapers in Australia
 List of newspapers in New South Wales

References

External links

 The Courier

Newspapers published in New South Wales
Newspapers on Trove


title: Charlotte Lewis (disambiguation)

text:
Charlotte Lewis (born 1967) is an English actress.

Charlotte Lewis may also refer to:
 Charlotte Lewis (basketball) (1955–2007), American basketball player
 Charlotte Lewis (Lost), character on the television series Lost


title: Hoagie Haven

text:
Hoagie Haven (also known as Haven or The Haven) is an eatery located in Princeton, New Jersey, founded in 1974. In 1976, Emily and George Roussos purchased the restaurant and retained the name Hoagie Haven. The store was repurchased from the Russos in 2005 and is currently owned by Mike, Niko, and Costa Maltabes.

History
The store was owned by Emily and George Roussos in 1976 after they purchased the eatery from relatives. They provided an informal dining location for students and residents looking for a quick meal.  In 1988, Hoagie Haven sold the restaurant to George Angeletopoulos and Konstantinos Liras under a 15-year contract. The Roussos founded the neighboring George's Roasters & Ribs in 1993, which they managed until 2005. Angeletopoulos's contract expired in 2003 and they returned to Greece. Emily and George Roussos returned as owners and brought back many features they took with them including a hand-crank cash register from the store's opening.

In 2005, Mike, Niko, and Costa Maltabes, relatives of George Angeletopoulos, purchased Hoagie Haven and George's Roasters & Ribs from the Russos. In 2012, the Maltabes opened the pizzeria, Slice Between, located between the two eateries and currently own all three dining establishments. Subway opened a store on 252 Nassau St. to compete with the Haven.  In 2015, the Subway franchise closed, having proved unprofitable.  Local news sources cited the Haven's strong customer loyalty and quoted residents who considered the Haven to provide better food at a better price.

Menu
The menu features a variety of items, most of which include hot and cold hoagies, cheesesteaks, hamburgers, fries, gyros, sandwiches, and soups. Haven offers some specialty sandwiches including the Body Bag, Heart Stop, The Bloch, and the Sanchez.  Haven also added several Fat Sandwiches in 2003 inspired by the Grease Trucks stationed at Rutgers University. Among the most popular with locals is the Phat Lady, a cheesesteak topped with french fries and mozzarella sticks in the bun.

Popular culture
Hoagie Haven is a hot spot in Princeton. Many residents and students from Princeton University and neighboring high schools regularly eat at the Haven and it remains popular throughout the night. Hoagie Haven serves between 300 and 500 hoagie orders per day and is supplied by Italian Peoples Bakery.  Hoagie Haven was referred to on The Daily Show as one of Jon Stewart's favorite restaurants during an interview with John Popper. Hoagie Haven was featured in the horror webseries EverymanHYBRID.  Among locals, it is sometimes jokingly called "Hoggie Heaven". Hoagie Haven figures prominently in the novel The Too-Brief Chronicle of Judah Lowe by Christopher Carter Sanderson. The novel is sent in Princeton circa 1980. The High School students
who are its protagonists often eat there and praise its food.

References

External links

Buildings and structures in Princeton, New Jersey
Restaurants in Princeton, New Jersey
Restaurants established in 1974
1974 establishments in New Jersey


title: Élizabeth Vidal

text:
Elizabeth Vidal (born 10 June 1960) is a French operatic coloratura soprano born in Nice to a Spanish father and a British mother. She was appointed teacher of singing at the Conservatory of Nice in 2009.

She appeared on the French show, On n'est pas couché on 19 April 2014 to present her CD album La Cantadora with classic/modern crossover music.

She was appointed Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

References

External links

"Elizabeth Vidal : Soprano aux mille couleurs", L'Express (Mauritius), 18 March 2013.

1960 births
Living people
Musicians from Nice
French operatic sopranos
20th-century French women opera singers
21st-century French women  opera singers
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres


title: Qingling

text:
Qingling is a transliteration of multiple Chinese given names that may refer to:

Soong Ching-ling (宋庆龄, 1893–1981), Chinese politician
Song Qingling (field hockey) (宋清龄, born 1986), Chinese field hockey player
Wang Qingling (王庆铃, born 1993), Chinese heptathlete

Places
 Qinling (秦岭), another name for the Qin Mountains of central China, running from Gansu to Hubei

See also
Qingling Motors (庆铃汽车), Chinese automotive and commercial vehicle manufacturer

Chinese feminine given names
Feminine given names


title: Into the Blues

text:
Into the Blues is the sixteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 1 May 2007. The album was recorded by Armatrading at Bumpkin Studios, her own purpose-built studios. It was released on the 429 label (17625) and on the Hypertension label (HYP 7255). The album was released in 2008 as a deluxe edition, with a DVD.

Background

Into the Blues was the first of a trilogy of albums by Armatrading each concerned with a specific genre of music. She wrote and produced three albums focused on blues, rock and jazz music, respectively. She described Into the Blues as "the CD I've been promising myself to write for a long time". Writing a whole album in one genre was a departure for Armatrading, as all her previous albums had an eclectic mix of influences from many genres. Blues-inspired music features on many Armatrading albums, as far back as her 1976 album Joan Armatrading, though Into the Blues is her first album to concentrate solely on the blues genre. Armatrading wrote and arranged all the songs on the album and plays all the instruments except for drums and percussion. She also produced and co-engineered the album.

The track "D.N.A." was released as an extended play single, also in 2007. It comprised the album version of "D.N.A." plus a radio edit version, and also a live version of "A Woman In Love" and an unreleased bonus track entitled "Can't Push Me Down".

Reception

Into the Blues debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Blues chart, remaining at that position for 12 consecutive weeks and was nominated at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album. The album also reached number 2 on the iTunes Blues Chart.

Armatrading is the first female UK artist to debut at number 1 on the Billboards Blues chart and the first female UK artist to be nominated for a Grammy in the Blues category.

Record Collector magazine called the album "the most complete portrait yet of an often underrated singer-songwriter", noted that "half the album drips with barroom sleaze and blistering guitar breaks" and praised the album's "subtlety".

Gary Graff, writing in Billboard magazine, said: "Armatrading's take is wide and distinctive and stretches the parameters of what we consider the blues".

David Bauder of Associated Press said that Armatrading "has never played better guitar on record".

The Aspen Times drew attention to the album's "yearning, grit and pain" and praised the "smooth and sultry" feel of the songs.

Dave Gil de Rubio, writing in the East Bay Express in California stated that Armatrading "puts a fresh stamp on a classic American genre" and that her guitar playing "rings with a Mark Knopfler-like resonance", praising her "rich and burnished voice".

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Joan Armatrading.

 "A Woman in Love" – 3:54
 "Play the Blues" – 4:32
 "Into the Blues" – 4:22
 "Liza" – 4:07
 "Secular Songs" – 4:11
 "My Baby's Gone" – 3:35
 "D.N.A." – 4:02
 "Baby Blue Eyes" – 3:55
 "Deep Down" – 3:58
 "There Ain't a Little Girl Alive" – 4:25
 "Empty Highway" – 5:25
 "Mama Papa" – 4:00
 "Something's Gotta Blow" – 8:02

Personnel

Musicians

Joan Armatrading – vocals, guitar, mandolin, bass, harp, keyboards, harmonica
Miles Bould – drums, percussion

Production

Producer: Joan Armatrading
Arranger: Joan Armatrading
Engineer: Graham Dickson
Co-engineer: Joan Armatrading
Mixed by: Graham Dickson & Joan Armatrading
Photography: Andrew Catlin
Art direction: David Alan Kogut

References

Sleeve notes: Into the Blues, 2007, 429/Hypertension

2007 albums
Joan Armatrading albums
429 Records albums
Albums recorded in a home studio


title: Tony Luke's

text:
Tony Luke's is an American-based cheesesteak restaurant that was founded in 1992 by Tony Lucidonio and his sons, Tony Luke Jr. and Nicky Lucidonio at its original location at 39 East Oregon Avenue in South Philadelphia. The franchise has since expanded, with 16 locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, one location each in Washington, DC, Maryland & Texas as well as one in Bahrain.

History
In the early 1990s Luke, Jr., his father and his brother, Nicky, bought a property near the expressway in South Philadelphia. The restaurant opened on February 3, 1992. The restaurant did not initially serve cheesesteaks until six months after opening due to popular demand. To avoid competition with other local businesses, the original Tony Luke's stand offered a more diversified menu, offering hoagies and other fare, along with cheesesteaks. Luke Jr. soon took over the store's marketing.

Eventually, the business grew to include several locations in the Philadelphia area and a line of frozen sandwiches. Through a partnership with Rastelli Foods Group, the business now has several franchised locations in Bahrain. On January 21, 2019, the restaurant announced that they will be opening 7 locations in New York City.  The first location opened on April 3, 2019 in Brooklyn, New York on Flatbush Avenue.

In July 2020, the owner Anthony Lucidonio Sr. and his son Nicholas were indicted on federal tax fraud charges. They are accused of failing to report over $8 million of income from 2006 to 2016. They are also accused of paying employees in cash to avoid payroll taxes. The Lucidonios dispute the criminal charges.

Business ventures
In 2008 Tony Luke expanded his franchise to frozen cheesesteaks and pork products known as Tony Luke's Pronto.

In mass media
Tony Luke was selected as Bobby Flay's adversary for an episode of the cooking show Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, with Luke winning the cheesesteak battle.

Tony Luke's was featured on the Travel Channel's Man v. Food with Adam Richman attempting the "Ultimate Cheesesteak Challenge", which consisted of 42 oz. of beef, 18 oz. of cheese, and 8 oz. of fried onions on a 20-inch hoagie roll. Richman chose American cheese for his cheesesteak while Luke, who also took on the challenge, opted for the more traditional Cheez Whiz on his. Richman succeeded in the challenge while Luke failed.

The restaurant was also featured on Food Wars (hosted by Camille Ford), going head-to-head with Pat's King of Steaks in a battle for best cheesesteak in Philadelphia, with Pat's beating out Tony Luke's in the competition.

Tony Luke played host to former World's Strongest Man Eddie Hall on his visit to Philadelphia filming his 2019 series Eddie Eats America for UKTV.  Luke said Eddie was the fastest eater of the "Ultimate Cheesesteak Challenge".

See also
 List of submarine sandwich restaurants

References

External links

Restaurants established in 1992
Submarine sandwich restaurants
Restaurants in Philadelphia
1992 establishments in Pennsylvania
South Philadelphia


title: Emelyanov KIM-3 Stakanovets

text:
The Emelyanov KIM-3 Stakanovets () was a record breaking two seat glider, one of the first high performance sailplanes to use forward swept wings.  It repeatedly set new international distance records in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Design and development

The Stakhanvetz was both innovative and highly efficient. Named in honour Alexey Stakhanov, a Soviet miner internationally celebrated for his work rate, it was a tandem two seat, wood and fabric sailplane with a shoulder wing distinguished by strong forward sweep.  This then novel arrangement enabled the rear seat to be at the centre of gravity but forward of the wing, giving its occupant a clear downwards view. It also helped to prevent tip stalling, the precursor to a spin, without the disadvantage of washout at high speeds.  The CAGI RII airfoil, a flat bottomed section, decreased in thickness to chord ratio along the span.  Built around a single spar, the wing  was also strongly straight tapered in plan, with a taper ratio of 0.18. Near the roots the wing was plywood covered forward of a diagonal sub-spar; further out the ply covering ran around the leading edge from the main spar forming a D shaped torsion box. The rest of the wing was fabric covered, including the half span, tapered ailerons.  The wing tips were fine, elliptical and down-turned to protect the wing on the ground.

The Stakhanovetz had an elliptical cross section, ply covered fuselage. Both cockpits were ahead of the wing, with separate multi-transparency canopies under a continuous roof line. Aft, the fuselage became progressively more slender towards the tail.  The ply covered tailplane, mounted on top of the fuselage was very narrow and straight edged but the broad, fabric covered elevators were semi-elliptical, ending in rounded tips.  The ply covered fin was broader than the tailplane and had a curved leading edge, mounting a semi-circular, fabric covered rudder which extended down to a small tail bumper.  The Stakanovetz landed on a very shallow unsprung skid beginning just behind the nose and reaching past the rear cockpit.

Operational history
The Stakhanovetz first flew in 1936. Its strongly forward swept wing has since become common on two seat gliders. Though its handling characteristics are not recorded, its continuous resetting of International distance records suggest it was the outstanding two seater of its day. In 1938 Kartachev and Savtov flew . It also set goal records: in 1939 Kartachev and Gorokhova reached  and in 1940 Kartachev and Petretschenkova extended this to .  Women's two-seat records were also set by Klepikova and Bordina with a goal flight of  in 1939 and a distance flight of  in 1940. One was on display at the 1936 Paris Aero Show.

Specifications

References

1930s Soviet sailplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1936


title: Pannaxiakos V.C.

text:
Pannaxiakos V.C. is the volleyball team of the Greek sports club Pannaxiakos A.O.N. It was founded in 2006. The club is based in Naxos. Over the years they have been one of the greatest teams in Cyclades.

The club's finest hour came when the women's team won the A2 League, the second tier of Greek Volleyball taking promotion for the first time in their history for the A1, the top league of Greek Volleyball. The most historical achievement is going to be the teams participation to the Final 4 of the Greek Cup.

In the past, was department of Pannaxiakos A.O., when merged in 2006 with A.O. Naxos 2004.

Women's volleyball team squad
Season 2016–2017, as of January 2017.

|}

Honours

Domestic competitions
 A2
 Winners (1): 2012
 Greek Women's Volleyball Cup
 Finalists (2): 2014, 2017

European competitions
 Women's Challenge Cup:
 Quarter-finals (1): 2011–12

References

External links

ΕΣΚ Κυκλάδων
Ε.Ο.ΠΕ.
sportcyclades.gr

Volleyball clubs in Greece
Naxos


title: Valeria Esposito

text:
Valeria Esposito (born 1961 in Naples) is an Italian operatic soprano. She won the Singer of the World prize in the 1987 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

References

External links

1961 births
Living people
Musicians from Naples
Italian operatic sopranos


title: Charles Harris (Royal Navy officer)

text:
Rear Admiral Charles Frederick Harris CB (2 January 1887 – 2 March 1957) was Flag Officer commanding the Reserve Fleet.

Naval career
Harris joined the Royal Navy in 1902, and was promoted to the rank of sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy on 30 August 1906. He served as a lieutenant-commander in World War I. He became Director, Naval Air Division in 1934 and then served in World War II, initially as Flag Officer in command of the shore establishment Badger and then as Flag Officer commanding the Reserve Fleet from 1944 before retiring in 1945. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 1 January 1945.

References

1887 births
1957 deaths
Companions of the Order of the Bath
Royal Navy admirals of World War II
Military personnel from Kent


title: Montana Race to the Sky

text:
The Race to the Sky is a long-distance sled dog race held annually in Montana.  There are several divisions offered at different distances. The longest race was originally a  race but is currently .  It is a qualifying race for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and is sometimes called "The Iditarod of the Lower 48."

History
The race was first held in 1986 and was a 500 mile competition called the Governor's Cup Sled Dog Race. From the outset, it was a qualifying race for the Iditarod.  In 1989, the race organizers incorporated as Montana Sled Dog, LLC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.  That year, the race was temporarily renamed the Montana Centennial Sled Dog Race, honoring the centennial of Montana statehood. After that, it was called the Race to the Sky and other races with shorter distances were added to the program.  The 500 mile format was the longest United States sled dog race outside of Alaska. A  race was added in 1991, raised to 300 miles from 1993 to 1996. In 1997, the 500-mile race became a 350-mile race.  The shorter race became  for a time, and then a  race for adult competitors and a 100-mile race for youth competitors were offered.

The race commemorates the World War II sled dog training camp that operated about 15 miles west of Helena, Montana, the Camp Rimini War Dog Reception and Training Center.  The facility trained as many as 800 sled dogs as war dogs for a potential invasion of Norway, a plan that ultimately did not materialize. Instead, the sled dogs were assigned to search and rescue missions in Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Pack dogs were also trained at the facility and about 125 soldiers were taught mushing skills to become drivers.

Structure and route
The first leg of the 300-mile race begins with an official start at the site of former Camp Rimini, near Rimini, Montana and ends near Exit 138 of Interstate 15 at Elk Park near Butte, Montana.  The following day, the mushers and dogs are transported to Lincoln, Montana and the race restarts at that location. The 100-mile race also begins in Lincoln and finishes at Seeley Lake, Montana.  The 300-mile race competitors continue past Seeley Lake to a turn-around point at Owl Creek, where they return to Seeley Lake and then to Lincoln to finish.

There are a number of checkpoints along the way where the dog teams stop for examination and spectators can view the progress of the race. The specialized veterinary care for the competition dogs is provided by veterinarians who are part of the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association. The 2014 race raised funds to support the United States War Dog Association

Participants in the Race to the Sky qualify to compete in the Iditarod.

Winners
Race to the Sky winners of 300, 350 or 500 mile race. Hometown and location information given for the year of their win.

See also

List of sled dog races
Dog sled
Sled dog
Devil's Brigade

References

External links

Dog sledding races


title: Puppet Heap

text:
Puppet Heap, LLC is a puppet design, fabrication and production company based in Hoboken, New Jersey.  The company was founded by artist and designer Paul Andrejco, who previously worked for The Jim Henson Company from 1992 to 2001 and designed the characters for Bear in the Big Blue House that aired on the Disney Channel.  In 2004, Andrejco opened Puppet Heap at its current location in Hoboken. The company's studio has a workshop, woodshop, casting facilities, and a production and photography studio.

Puppet Heap has worked on multiple productions, including several series of short films based on original characters. From 2011, Heap produced a commercial line of puppets based on original characters, Puppet Heap Playthings, considered the best new toy of 2011 by the Washington Post. Since 2006, Puppet Heap has been under contract with The Walt Disney Company, entrusted with the care, maintenance, and creative support of the  Muppet characters for its Muppets Studio division, including the character of Walter for The Muppets.

References

External links

Puppet designers
Puppetry in the United States
2004 establishments in New Jersey
Companies based in Hudson County, New Jersey


title: Yang Guang (mezzo-soprano)

text:
Yang Guang (杨光), often referred to in western order as Guang Yang, is a Chinese mezzo-soprano. She won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 1997, and the 2001 Operalia Competition. She attended the summer conservatory program of the Music Academy of the West in 2001. She studied at The Juilliard School with Cynthia Hoffmann.

References

Further reading
Murray, William (2010). Fortissimo: Backstage at the Opera with Sacred Monsters and Young Singers, pp. 144–147. Random House.

Living people
Chinese mezzo-sopranos
Operalia, The World Opera Competition prize-winners
Year of birth missing (living people)
20th-century Chinese women opera singers
21st-century Chinese women opera singers
Juilliard School alumni
Music Academy of the West alumni


title: Crush (2NE1 album)

text:
Crush (stylized as CRUSH) is the second and final studio album overall by South Korean girl group 2NE1. It was released at midnight local time on February 27, 2014, through YG Entertainment. The album marked the group's first Korean album release since 2NE1 2nd Mini Album (2011) and the first studio album following To Anyone in four years. Crush was produced by Teddy Park, Choice 37, Dee.P, Masta Wu, Choi Pil-kang and Peejay, as well as group leader CL. Stylistically, the album incorporates a broad range of musical influences from R&B, hip hop, dance, electronic, and reggae.

Crush was positively received by music critics, who highlighted its modern electronic innovation and was listed as one of the best albums of the year worldwide by Rolling Stone and Fuse. Crush sold over 5,000 copies within four days in the United States and debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200—simultaneously becoming the best-selling and the highest charting Korean album in the country, at the time of its release. The Japanese edition of Crush was made available on June 25, 2014, and peaked at number four on the Oricon Albums Chart.

The first single from the album, "Come Back Home", peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart for two consecutive weeks, becoming the group's ninth number-one hit in South Korea. The second single, "Gotta Be You", was promoted on music program Inkigayo and peaked at number three on the Gaon Digital Chart. Shortly after the release of Crush, the group commenced their third concert tour titled the All or Nothing World Tour, which visited multiple countries in East and Southeast Asia.

Background
On January 15, 2014, a poster for the group's upcoming All or Nothing World Tour was revealed on their agency's website, with hints about a new album. On February 19, it was revealed the album would contain of a total of 10 songs. All of the songs are new, except two; "Scream", which was previously featured on their 2012 Japanese language album Collection and an Acoustic Version of the album's title track. It was further revealed that the group's leader CL co-composed and wrote lyrics for three and five songs respectively, a first for the group.

Promotion and release
The digital download of the album was originally slated for release on midnight local time on February 24, 2014, but was pushed back to midnight local time on February 27, 2014, to coincide with CL's birthday on February 26.  Two music videos for its lead single "Come Back Home" were planned for release on February 28: a regular version and an unplugged version, although they were not formally released until March 2. The album in physical format was released on March 7. The music video for "Happy" was released on March 2.

Prior to the release of the album, 2NE1 held a private listening party for a group of 21 people selected from fans and music experts. It was revealed the new songs would be showcased for the first time at the opening dates of the group's All or Nothing World Tour in Seoul, South Korea on March 1 and 2. On May 20, 2NE1 released the music video for "Gotta Be You".

Reception

Critical reception

Crush was subject to positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone named it the sixth best pop album of 2014—the only appearance from an Asian artist on the list, with Charles Aaron writing "Almost two years after K-pop first giddily barged into America's imagination, the genre hasn't sustained a post-"Gangnam Style" wave, but the Seoul machine [2NE1] keeps humming." He further highlighted the diversity of all its tracks, and identified "MTBD" as the album's centerpiece. Fuse noted the group's "knack for genre-melding" and wrote that "After fans waited nearly four years for their second full-length album, the K-pop phenoms did not disappoint with a slew of forward-thinking, wholly-accessible tracks". They selected "Come Back Home", "Baby I Miss You" and "Gotta Be You" as the album standouts. The publication further included Crush in their year-end ranking of best 40 worldwide albums of 2014.

Billboard ranked it the number one best K-pop album of the year, where they felt that it "proved more than worth the nearly-four-year wait" and highlighted the record's venture into new sonic territory with the fusion of different genres. August Brown of Los Angeles Times stated that "'Crush' has one foot in each country's pop music: K-pop's neon melodies, with sounds from America's trap and bass-music scenes. It's the most coherent LP to come out of this generation of K-pop." Writing for Pitchfork, Corban Goble commented that "The brash all-female Korean pop supergroup 2NE1's new album, Crush, bottles up contemporary trends as well as their usual EDM/reggae/hip-hop/R&B stylemash. But it represents a sleeker, more refined vision for the group." Conversely, Jeon Min-seok of webzine IZM had a more critical stance, feeling that the songs from the record were not as great as those found in the group's earlier albums.

Crush was chosen as the Favorite Girl Group Album on the "Girl Group Week Readers' Poll" hosted by Billboard in May 2014, beating albums by Girls Aloud, Little Mix, Destiny's Child and the Spice Girls. Billboard named it the 18th greatest K-pop album of the 2010s decade while Paste named it the 20th greatest K-pop album of all time, with the latter calling it a worthwhile last album "to one of K-pop's most important girl groups."

Commercial performance
Following its release, Crush sold over 5,000 copies within four days in the United States and debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200. In doing so, the album broke two records: the best selling K-pop album in the country (the record has since been beaten by Exo's Exodus which sold 6,000 copies) and the highest-charting album by a Korean artist on the Billboard 200, which would hold the record for two and a half years. In the group's native country South Korea, the album debuted and peaked at number two on the Gaon Album Chart in the chart issue dated March 2–8, 2014. According to Gaon's mid-year charts, the tracks from Crush have been downloaded over 5.2 million times; however, it underperformed it terms of physical sales compared to the group's previous records. Due to its successful digital performance, it landed their fourth nomination for Album of the Year at the 2014 Melon Music Awards.

Controversy

Listeners accused the sixth track, "MTBD 멘붕(Mental Breakdown)" of having an audio sample of a young boy reciting Quran verses. This struck social media by storm amongst 2NE1's Muslim listeners, with even death threats being posted on both the group's and CL's social media pages. Because of this controversy, YG Entertainment released an alternate version of "MTBD" which omits the sample.

Japanese edition
The Japanese edition of Crush was released on June 25, 2014. The Limited Edition (Type A) contains the both Japanese and Korean versions of the album on 2 CD's, as well as a bonus DVD with music video clips and "making of Crush". The Special Edition (Type B) contains the DVD and Japanese version of the album while the Standard Edition (Type C) contains only the Japanese version of the album, without the DVD. The Fan Club Special Edition (Type D) has DVD footage of a fan club event from 2013. The Music Cards also contain information from the group's 2014 All or Nothing World Tour. All editions have alternate covers.

Accolades

Track listing

Korean edition

Japanese edition

Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crush.

2NE1
Bom – vocals
CL – vocals
Dara – vocals
Minzy – vocals

Design
Kim Hae-young – art direction, artwork and design
Lee Hae-rin – artwork and design
Jang Ye-ji – artwork and design
Kim Young-joon – photography

Production
Jason Robert – mixing
Lee Kyung-joon – producer, recording
Shing Sung-kwan – recording
Lee Ji-hoon – recording
Tom Coyne – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City
Yang Hyun-suk – executive producer
Seo Won-jin – guitar
Teddy Park – producer

Management
Kim Nam-gook – management
Kim Se-ho – management
Park Heon-pyo – management
Son Ji-hoon – management
Kim Ji-yeon – assistant and promotion design
Park Hyun-ah – assistant and promotion design
Jung Ye-eun – assistant and promotion design
Choi Hae-ryung – assistant and promotion design
Kim Byung-goo – production strategy
Kim Sun-young – production strategy
Kim Jae-yeon – production strategy
Kim Ju-ran – production strategy
Shin Sung-jin – project director

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

Release history

Korean version

Japanese version

References
Discography

Other references

External links
 2NE1 official site

YG Entertainment albums
Genie Music albums
2NE1 albums
Korean-language albums
Albums produced by Teddy Park


title: Pietari

text:
Pietari is a Finnish male name and an interpretation of the names Petrus and Peter. It may refer to:

 Pietari, Finnish and Karelian exonym for Saint Petersburg, Russia
 Pietari Inkinen (born 1980), Finnish violinist and conductor
 Pietari Jääskeläinen (born 1947), Finnish politician
 Pietari Holopainen (born 1982), Finnish professional football player
 Pietari Päivärinta (1827–1913), Finnish writer and Diet member
 Pietari Särkilahti, Finnish disciple of Martin Luther
 Pietari Kalm, Swedish-Finnish explorer, botanist, naturalist


title: Elmstein valley

text:
The Elmstein valley () runs through the central Palatine Forest region between the villages of Frankeneck and Johanniskreuz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Speyerbach stream, a left tributary of the Rhine, flows through the valley.

Geography

Location
Most of the Elmstein valley lies within the county of Bad Dürkheim; two smaller segments belong to Neustadt an der Weinstraße and the county of Südliche Weinstraße. The valley is 24 kilometres long and descends from west to east from about 470 to 170 metres above sea level.

Waterbodies
The Speyerbach stream flows through the Elmstein valley. Together with its tributary streams, the biggest of which are the Helmbach and the Breitenbach, the Speyerbach drains the winding valley and the heights surrounding it.

Hills
The hills on the left-hand or northern side of the valley reach a maximum height above sea level of 514 metres in the Mückenberg and are clearly lower than those opposite. On the right hand, southern, side the Bloskülb (570 m) and the Brogberg (567 m) are the highest peaks. The highest point in the west, also the start of the valley, lies on the watershed between the Rhine and Moselle rivers, separating here the catchment areas of the Speyerbach and Schwarzbach. In the east the valley ends at the confluence of the Hochspeyerbach with the Speyerbach.

Sights

Structures

The four medieval castles above the valley, namely Elmstein, Breitenstein, Erfenstein and Spangenberg, guarded the sovereignty of the local territorial lords here for centuries. Today their ruins are visited by tourists, not least because of the legend of the Leather Bridge that is supposed to have existed between Erfenstein and Spangenberg. The best known of the remaining structures in the valley is the ruined tower of the 1488 church in Appenthal.

Museums and themed walk
Three museums inform visitors to Elmstein about forestry; two of them are located in the same historic building.  The Forestry Museum (Waldarbeitsmuseum) in the upper storey is concerned with comprehensively covering all activities relevant to the forest. The Armoury (Wappenschmiede) on the ground floor is an iron hammer mill, that once used the waters of the  Speyerbach for power for the smith's trade; today it produces electrical power that is fed into the public network. Die Alte Samenklenge hat speziell die Geschichte der Forstwirtschaft zum Thema und gibt Auskunft über Nutzung der Wälder, Samengewinnung und Aufforstung.

The information board of the Trift Way (Triftwanderweg) along the Speyerbach explains the technology associated with timber rafting. Die Touristinformation der Gemeinde Elmstein bietet geführte Wanderungen an.

Economy and infrastructure

Economy
From the Middle Ages to the Modern Period, forestry was the main source of income in the whole region. Numerous log driving facilities were used to transport sawn timber on the streams, whose water power was also used to drive water mills and hammer mills.

Settlement
The valley is very sparsely populated; its population is under 3,000. Its most important parish is Elmstein, from which the valley derives its name. With the decline of forestry, more and more locals commute out of the valley to work.

Transport

The valley is served by the Landesstraße 499 state road, which runs from Frankeneck to Johanniskreuz, linking the B 39 (Frankenstein–Neustadt an der Weinstraße) and B 48 federal highways (Hochspeyer–Bad Bergzabern). In addition there is a bus service, number 517 (Neustadt an der Weinstraße–Iggelbach), which has a journey time of about an hour.

To reduce motorcycle accidents, the very winding road through the valley is closed to motorcycle traffic in the summer half-year (April to October); only residents, not visitors, may use motorcycles on the road during the out of bounds period.

The Cuckoo Railway (Kuckucksbähnel) runs along the Speyerbach from Frankeneck to Elmstein. This line was opened in 1909 and ran passenger services until 1960. In 1984 the line was reactivated and has since been run as a heritage railway for tourists.

References

External links

Palatinate Forest
Valleys of Rhineland-Palatinate


title: Abraham Ragueneau

text:
Abraham Ragueneau (1623 – after 1681), was a French painter.

Biography
He was born in London to French parents, but became a portrait painter and worked in the Hague as curator of the painting cabinet of William III of England from 1640 to 1669. He also worked in Leiden, Den Bosch, and Zierikzee.

He died after 1681.

References

Abraham Ragueneau on Artnet

1623 births
1681 deaths
French painters
Painters from London
Court painters


title: Māori loan affair

text:
The Māori loan affair (or Hawaiian loans affair) of 1986 and 1987 in New Zealand was an unauthorised attempt by the Department of Māori Affairs (today called Te Puni Kōkiri) to raise money overseas for Māori development. The affair was first raised in Parliament on 16 December 1986 with a question from opposition National MP Winston Peters about loan negotiations; the revelations dumbfounded ministers; and the House adjourned on 18 December. Peters was reluctant to share all his information with the State Services Commission chairman Roderick Deane or Peters' National Party leader Jim Bolger, and Bolger then downplayed the affair. Peters was getting information from an informant in Koro Wētere's office and from Rotorua businessman Rocky Cribb. Peters was first advised of the affair by Edwin Perry an associate of  Cribb and like Cribb a National Party member. The affair helped Peters' promotion to the frontbench after the 1987 election.

Members of the Fourth Labour Government were divided on the action to be taken, with Prime Minister David Lange, Lange's staff, and his deputy Geoffrey Palmer wanting the resignation of Wētere as Minister of Māori Affairs and from his seat in Parliament (Wētere would have had to face a by-election in an election year), though Cabinet decided against this on 9 February. Hence as Bassett later wrote, "Several ministers would agree in later years, however that it was about the time of the Māori loans affair that cabinet solidarity began to fall apart." Finance Minister Roger Douglas later recounted that the "hostilities" within the Cabinet began with the Māori loans affair.

At the beginning of 1987 a Television New Zealand report from Hawaii claimed a link with the CIA and suggested an American attempt to destabilise the Labour government because of its anti-nuclear policy, although Palmer thought the matter involved incompetence in the department.

The loan
The loan, supposedly of NZ$600 million of Middle Eastern petrodollars (including a "finder's fee" of NZ$20 million), was to be used to set up a Māori Resource Development Corporation, which would use Māori labour to prefabricate houses for export. The Secretary of Māori Affairs, Tamati Reedy, was negotiating as Māori Trustee, but had been counselled against the proposed loan by Graham Scott of Treasury in November. Senior departmental officials had attended a series of meetings in Hawaii, and been introduced to the participants by Rocky Cribb, a businessman from Rotorua.

Roderick Deane, the Chairman of the State Services Commission, was asked to investigate, and when he uncovered evidence of departmental incompetence, produced a fuller report on Christmas Eve. Sometimes working through the night, he found that "some ministers" had known about the negotiations but failed to stop it, and Reedy's signing of a document headed "Unconditional and Irrevocable Fee Agreement" was unauthorised and contrary to Treasury advice.

The terms of 4% interest over 25 years were not believable; the money according to a telex from the embassy in Washington was probably laundered, fraudulent or non-existent; and the supposed source of the loan, one Achmed Omar of the Kuwaiti royal family, did not exist. The loan was for US$300 million, and papers released suggested that the proposal would use Māori land as collateral, and that as well as the 3.5% fee to Gicondi there would also be a 2.5% fee for Raepelle, totalling 6%. Trevor de Cleene suggested that the money source might be Ferdinand Marcos, who was then living in Hawaii.

The first interest payment would have been $24 million; David Lange, who was in his element, told a hui, "You tell me the kids are out in the streets .... the next minute you tell me you can finance $24 million". Activist Titewhai Harawira told Lange that "the Māori people needed far more than $600 million, and the government should let them borrow it".

The principals
The principal was Max Raepple a "self-styled German financier" with a friend Michael Gisondi. Raepple had arrived in New Zealand in January, and on 21 January Lange took a swipe at "some of the Māori whingers and activists (with) something of a cargo cult mentality which is an utter betrayal of what Māori enterprise is about" and "self-appointed activists in international finance ranging from undischarged bankrupts to lapsed priests and all sorts of people who accept the bona fides of (Raepelle) who will not allow his credentials to even be read by a newspaper". Bassett commented that "the likes of Eva Rickard, Sonny Waru, Ken Mair and Eru Potaka Dewes who were strutting about, knew little about business".

Journalists investigated (Rocky) Cribb, the supposed Hawaiian bankers, the shadowy Europeans Max Raepple and Michael Gisondi, and their Māori connections. Deane discovered through his international bank contacts that "Both the Europeans, it transpired, were specialists in phoney money schemes, and at Cabinet on 20 January 1987, Lange entertained ministers with lurid accounts of Gisondi's activities". Lange wrote that the story "had the lot: con artists, Hawaiian middlemen and shady Middle Eastern financiers".

Gerald Hensley, the head of the Prime Minister's Department, wrote that a small group from the Reserve Bank, Police, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and intelligence agencies helped by the FBI and Washington's currency protection office investigated the people involved and uncovered "a convoluted rat-run of money-launderers, criminals, and snake-oil salesman who had descended on the Pacific and our own Māori Affairs Department in the wake of the petrodollar boom". They were variants of the "brokered loan confidence game". The Arab connection was said to be a former Kuwaiti finance minister, plus other rogues like a retired Air Force general who was a "playboy and drunk", someone hinting of links to the CIA, a fashionable interior decorator and other "convicted fraudsters, bankrupts and promoters of collapsed companies".

Raepple "was regarded by overseas currency and fraud protection services with a marked distaste increased by the fact that in a series of dubious operations no one had been able to fasten a criminal conviction on him". He operated in the Pacific; in July 1986 in the Cooks as a "Californian philanthropist with an interest in low-cost housing", then in Vanuatu offering to raise funds from Middle East sources for a new airport, then a fiasco in Tonga over an unbuilt "Crown Prince Hotel", and talk of setting up an “International Bank of the South Pacific”.
Lange suggested in Parliament that Raepple was the same man as one Werner Rohrich, who did have a police record.

The minister

Koro Wētere the Minister of Māori Affairs "appeared to give the go-ahead" to the Secretary (Reedy) as Māori Trustee to negotiate with an "American (sic) financier"; and although Wētere claimed that the loan had been cleared with the Minister of Finance Roger Douglas, Douglas had no recollection of any agreement. Wētere "denied all knowledge of the plan" to Palmer according to Lange and to Pope, but Geoffrey Palmer wrote that the Minister "did not consent to the raising of any loan" and "knocked the idea on the head when he learned the full import of what was going on". There were suggestions that Wētere had known of the proposal as long ago as 21 October 1986, and that a trip he was to make to Hawaii in December was to discuss the proposal as well as to attend the new Hawaiian Governor's inauguration.

Deane had found evidence of "considerable chaos" in the department, and discussed with Lange whether to remove Reedy and restructure the department; however, as this would involve firing Wētere as well, Lange baulked. Reedy and his deputy, Neville Baker were suspended for a time, but restructuring of the Māori Affairs Department was put on hold. In January when a large group claiming that Māori were not being treated fairly by Deane and demanded to see the Minister (Wētere), Deane, at the urging of his deputy Don Hunn, arranged a full day of discussion with food and cups of tea at the State Services Commission building. Eventually feelings were calmer and relations more friendly.

Lange flew to Napier and Wanganui on the weekend of 7 & 8 February to consult Māori leaders; supposedly on a secret flight, he was greeted at Wanganui Airport by a guard of honour from territorials exercising there. On his trip he was given the message from Māori leaders outside parliament that what had happened was deplorable but Wetere should be supported, so he "started 1987 by inventing defences for the minister". Lange publicly declared that the minister had acted "unwisely" (in writing a note of support for Cribb). At a meeting of Māori leaders Lange had convened at Palmer's request, something close to a fist fight broke out in front of him; Palmer handed him a note which said "I am not of this planet" and left the room.

Lange told Wētere on his return that the Māori leaders he had consulted favoured his resignation and a by-election, and Wētere offered to resign. Lange's own account says that Wetere's future was in the balance, but does not mention that he wanted Wētere to resign as minister (to be replaced by Peter Tapsell) and also to resign his seat and fight a by-election. Prebble and Douglas got wind of this strategy on the evening of 8 February. So Cabinet on 9 February held a lengthy discussion and the resignation proposal was rejected, with only four ministers in favour (Lange and Palmer plus Russell Marshall and Margaret Shields). Douglas told Wētere at the Cabinet meeting that "I don’t want to see you on television every night for the next four weeks of a by-election campaign talking about Māori loans that weren’t raised when there are ever so many more important matters before us in election year". Prebble said "Better to talk about the $7 billion that was borrowed (by Muldoon for Think Big) than about the $600 million that wasn't". After the cabinet meeting Lange (at the urging of his staff) defended Wētere at a press conference, saying " ... it was odd that he should be pilloried over loans that weren't raised, when the media seemed not interested in the $7 billion that had been raised and squandered by National".

The department
The Ministry of Māori Affairs was headed by the Secretary of Māori Affairs Tamati Reedy and his deputy Neville Baker. Reedy was negotiating as Māori Trustee, but had been counselled against the proposed loan by Graham Scott of Treasury in November. Senior departmental officials had attended a series of meetings in Hawaii. The local middleman was a businessman Rocky Cribb from Rotorua, who Wētere had given a letter of support to, and who went bankrupt. Cribb was the principal informant for Winston Peters. There were proposals to transfer Tamati Reedy to the new Māori Language Commission, but Reedy regarded it as a promotion warranting higher pay.

Palmer stated that the department was incompetent and "spent much of its time and energy in administering financial assistance programmes of various sorts". The saga ended before anything happened, but negative media coverage intensified. Jim Callaghan, the recently retired Secretary for Justice was brought in to bring some order to the department. Palmer noted that it was no longer possible for Cabinet's decisions safely to be communicated to Māori Affairs because the minutes went straight to the press.

Lange and Douglas had seen the need for a competently run Māori business development arm, and also for a reorganisation of the "shambles" in the Māori Affairs Department. Departmental reorganisation was postponed, but on 10 February 1987, the government resolved in principle to establish a Māori Development Corporation, and this was done in the 1987 budget. Later Bassett said that ministers adopted a double standards of expectation where Māori were concerned, and standards of accountability for the expenditure public money by many Māori groups remained foreign. Problems included MANA Enterprise established by the department in 1985 which was "mired in accusations of mismanagement".

See also

Loans affair in Australia, 1975
List of political scandals in New Zealand

References

Further reading

Report in Australia: Sydney Morning Herald

Political scandals in New Zealand
1986 in New Zealand
1987 in New Zealand
Financial scandals
Māori politics
Political history of New Zealand


title: Aliaksandr Darozhka

text:
Aliaksandr Darozhka (born 19 August 1991) is a Belarusian biathlete. He made his World Cup debut for Belarus in Oberhof in 2014. He competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, in the individual contest.

References

External links

1991 births
Living people
Biathletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Belarusian male biathletes
Olympic biathletes for Belarus
Sportspeople from Minsk


title: Ed Burr

text:
Edward E. Burr (born October 25, 1956) is the founder, president and chief executive officer of GreenPointe Holdings, LLC, a diversified holding company that brings together the necessary disciplines to create residential and multi-use communities throughout the Southeastern United States.

Education
Burr is a native to Jacksonville, and graduated from Fletcher High School in 1974. He earned a B.S in accounting from the Florida State University School of Business in 1979.

Early career
Prior to leading GreenPointe Holdings, Burr founded the LandMar Group LLC in 1987 and led the company's creation of master-planned, award-winning communities in Florida and coastal Georgia. Burr's career started as a CPA with Coopers & Lybrand working in Miami and New York City. Burr also founded Hampton Golf & Lifestyles Management with former PGA of America President M.G. Orender in 1998 to develop and manage golf courses and community recreational facilities across the country.

Civic involvement & awards
Burr serves on the Board of the Florida Council of 100 and has served as Chairman of The board of trustees for Florida State University since 2014. In 2021 the university honored Burr with the Bernard F. Sliger Award, the highest honor given by the FSU Alumni Association, as well as the George Langford Award, presented by the Seminole Boosters in recognition of serving FSU's best interests.

He has served as Chairman of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Jacksonville Civic Council and Jacksonville Country Day School. In 2021 Burr received the Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award from the Hearthstone Foundation, a California-based national organization that recognizes home builders who demonstrate a lifetime commitment to public service. In 2022, Burr was one of twelve Ultimate CEO honorees recognized by the Jacksonville Business Journal.

He is also a past board member of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, a full member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and a founding member of the ULI Center for Leadership. Burr is the 2021 recipient of the prestigious ULI North Florida Visionary Leader Award.

Burr founded The Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. (MBF) in 1997 to continue the work of his late wife, Monique Burr, a child advocate. MBF is a nonprofit organization based in Jacksonville, Florida dedicated to providing prevention of abuse, bullying, human trafficking, and digital safety education programs to protect children and teens from victimization. MBF Programs are implemented in 27 states, Washington DC and 3 additional countries.

References

American real estate businesspeople
Businesspeople from Jacksonville, Florida
Florida State University alumni
Florida Republicans
1957 births
Living people


title: Bi (surname)

text:
Bi () is a Chinese surname. It is listed 76th in the Song dynasty classic text, the Hundred Family Surnames.

Origin

 Deriving from the surname Ji, King Wen of Zhou's fifteenth son Bi Gonggao was given the title of Bi, his descendants then used the surname Bi.
 Originating from Ethnic minorities.

Notable people
Bi Chunfang (1927–2016), Yue opera singer
Bi Feiyu (born 1964), fiction writer
Bi Fujian (born 1959), professor and television presenter
Bi Gui (died 249), official during the Three Kingdoms period
Bi Hongyong (born 1974), high jumper
Bi Jingquan (born 1955), economist and trade official
Bi Jinhao (born 1991), football player
Bi Sheng (990–1051), inventor of printing technology
Bi Shiduo (died 888), Tang dynasty army officer
Bi Wenjing (born 1981), gymnast
Bi Wenjun (born 1997), singer and actor, member of NEXT
Bi Xian (802–864), Tang dynasty official
Bi Xiaoliang (born 1992), high jumper
Bi Yan (born 1984), women's soccer player
Bi Hansheng, Chinese name adopted by Irish comedian Des Bishop (born 1975)
Kenneth Bi, Hong Kong-Canadian actor

References

Chinese-language surnames
Individual Chinese surnames


title: Carol Ross Barney

text:
Carol Ross Barney  (born 1949) is an American architect and the founder and Design Principal of Ross Barney Architects. She is the 2023 winner of the AIA Gold Medal. She became the first woman to design a federal building when commissioned as architect for the Oklahoma City Federal Building, which replaced the bombed Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.  Ross Barney's other projects include the JRC Synagogue (LEED Platinum), James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building, (LEED Gold) the CTA Morgan Street Station, and the Chicago Riverwalk.

Biography
Carol Ross Barney was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 12, 1949. She began her education in the Chicago Public Schools. In 1958, her father, an accountant and management consultant, was relocated to Düsseldorf in the British sector of West Germany. Returning to the Chicago area for high school, Carol was educated at the all-girls Catholic school, Regina Dominican, in Wilmette.  She enrolled in the Architecture program at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1971. She returned and completed her Master's of Architecture in 1984.

Barney enlisted in the U.S. Peace Corps immediately after graduation and was assigned to Costa Rica where she worked for the fledgling Costa Rican National Park Service. Her projects included a master plan for coral reef protection and interpretation at Parque Nacional Cahuita, restoration of the historic hacienda at Parque Nacional Santa Rosa and worker housing at Parque Nacional Volcan Poas.

Following Peace Corps service, Barney joined Holabird and Root in Chicago and met her mentor, John A. Holabird, FAIA. The work there ranged from the 1979 AIA Institute Honor Award-winning restoration of the Chicago Public Library and Cultural Center to improvements for the Chicago Main Post Office.

In 1973, Carol was a founding member of Chicago Women in Architecture (CWA) and served as CWA's first president.  In 1988, while serving in the national AIA Women in Architecture Committee, she was advisor for two related AIA Exhibitions “That Exceptional One” and “Many More”, ground breaking explorations about women architects. CWA brought Barney together with Natalie deBlois, FAIA of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, who remained a close friend until Natalie's death in 2013.

In 1981, Barney started a solo practice in Chicago. Her college classmate, James Jankowski, FAIA, joined her from 1982-2005 and from 1984-2006 the firm was Ross Barney + Jankowski. Barney was awarded the 1983 Francis J. Plym Traveling Fellowship from the University of Illinois. The fellowship funded travel for research and allowed her to study the post war planning and rebuilding of European cities during 1983–84.

In 2001, construction began for the new Oklahoma City Federal Building, with Barney chosen as the lead designer for the replacement building for the Oklahoma City Federal Building following the terrorist bombing in 1995. The new Oklahoma City Federal Building had the design objective to create a space that was secure but open to reflect the United States democracy.

Barney has combined her own teaching with practice in 1976, when she taught at the University of Illinois Chicago.  Since 1994, she has been adjunct Professor of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology where she teaches a popular advanced design studio and serves on the College of Architecture Board of Overseers.

Through her firm Ross Barney Architects, Carol has designed numerous projects for which she has received several accolades. In 2005, Carol was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award from the AIA for her distinguished portfolio of public buildings.  One of her most recent projects, the expansion of the Chicago Riverwalk, received over seven different awards, including the 2017 Blue Ribbon Award – Friends of the Chicago River. For this project, along with her extensive accomplishments, Carol was awarded the AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

Carol continues to oversee design projects through her firm, Ross Barney Architects. The scope of her work spans locally, regionally, and internationally with her buildings continued recognized for their dedication to innovation, sustainability, and overall improvement of the quality of life for those who live where her projects are located.

Awards and honors
 2023 AIA Gold Medal
 2021 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum National Design Award for Architecture and Interior Design
 2021 Lincoln Academy of Illinois Order of Lincoln Award
 2019 Fast Company Magazine The World's Most Innovative Companies; Architecture
 2019 Illinois Green Alliance Emerald Award for the McDonald's Chicago Flagship
 2019 Award for Excellence in Design, Leadership, and Service, Society of Architectural Historians
 2018 Honorary ASLA Member
2018 Metropolis (architecture magazine) Game Changer
 2017 AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award
 2017 Chicago Magazine's Chicagoans of the Year
 2015 Vision Award; Smart Transit Solutions and Neighborhood Impact, Urban Land Institute Chicago,
 2013 AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project Award for Swenson Civil Engineering Building
 2013 AIA Divine Detail Award, Citation of Merit for Chicago Riverwalk - Underbridge Canopy Detail
 2012 Chicago AIA Distinguished Building Award, Citation of Merit for CTA Morgan Station
 2012 Evergreen Award for James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building at the University of Minnesota, Duluth
2012 American Architecture Awards for James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building at the University of Minnesota, Duluth
 2011 AIA Distinguished Building Award, Honor Award for James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building
 2011 AIA Distinguished Building Award, Citation of Merit for Fullerton and Belmont Stations Reconstruction
 2009 AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project Award for Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation
 2009 World Architecture Festival - Category Commendation for Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue
 2002 AIA Institute Honor Award for Architecture for the Little Village Academy
 1999 AIA Institute Honor Award for Interior Architecture for the Little Village Academy
 1994 AIA Institute Honor Award for Architecture for the Cesar Chavez Elementary School
 1992 Federal Design Achievement Award through the Presidential Design Awards program, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts for the Glendale Heights Post Office
 1991 AIA Institute Honor Award Achievement for the Glendale Heights Post Office

Carol is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Her drawings have also been exhibited and collected by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Historical Society, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the National Building Museum. In addition, her oral history has been collected by the Art Institute of Chicago.

Selected works
O'Hare International Airport Multi-modal Terminal, Chicago, Illinois, 2019
Lincoln Park Zoo Visitor's Center, Chicago, Illinois, 2018
McDonald's Chicago Flaghship, Chicago, Illinois, 2018
Chicago Riverwalk, Chicago, Illinois, 2016
Cermak-McCormick Place station, Chicago, Illinois, 2015
Fermilab, Office Technical and Education Building, Batavia, Illinois, 2014
Highland Park Elementary, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2014
Will Rogers Elementary, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2014
Ohio State University South Campus Central Chiller Plant, Columbus, Ohio, 2013
University of Chicago Child Development Center Drexel, Chicago, Illinois, 2013
CTA Morgan station, In conjunction with TranSystems, Chicago, Illinois, 2012
CTA Grand/State station, Chicago, Illinois, 2012
CTA Fullerton and Belmont Stations, Chicago, Illinois, 2012
James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, 2010
Washington University Childcare Facility, St. Louis, Missouri, 2010
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue, Evanston, Illinois, 2008
Commodore John Barry Elementary School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2008
Champaign Public Library, Champaign, Illinois, 2008
Mitzi Freidheim Child Family Center, Chicago, Illinois, 2007
College of Dupage Early Childhood Education and Care Facility, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, 2007
Oakton Community College Art, Science, and Technology Building, Skokie, Illinois, 2006
New Oklahoma City Federal Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 2005
Glenside Public Library, Glenside Heights, Illinois, 2003
Governors State University Family Development Center, University Park, Illinois, 2003
Governors State University Faculty Office Building, University Park, Illinois, 2003
Levy Senior Center, Evanston, Illinois, 2002
Little Village Academic Resource Center, Chicago, Illinois, 2001
Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Chicago, Illinois, 2002
Little Village Academy, Chicago, Illinois, 1996
Cesar Chavez Multicultural Academic Center, Chicago, Illinois, 1993

Gallery

References

External links
Ross Barney Architects - Official Website
Carol Ross Barney Biography
Ross Barney, Carol and Stephen Killion. "Dialogues: Carol Ross Barney." MAS Context.
Convocation Speaker at 2007 UIUC School of Architecture Convocation Ceremony on May 13
Regina Dominican's Distinguished Alumnae

1949 births
Living people
Architects from Chicago
American women architects
Fellows of the American Institute of Architects
20th-century American architects
21st-century American architects
University of Illinois School of Architecture alumni
20th-century American women
21st-century American women


title: HMS Buffalo (1797)

text:
HMS Buffalo was a storeship under construction as the merchant vessel Fremantle when the Royal Navy purchased her on the stocks. She was launched in 1797, and sold in 1817.

Career
In December 1797 William Raven was appointed commander for a voyage from England to New South Wales. Between 1792 and 1797 he had visited New South Wales and sailed between Australia and the Cape, Bengal, and Java as captain of the merchant ship Britannia.

Buffalo arrived at Port Jackson on 25 April 1799, having brought cattle from the Cape of Good Hope. She left for the Cape on 13 September 1799. She returned on 15 April 1800 with more cattle from the Cape.

On 21 October 1800, she sailed for England under the command of William Kent. (Earlier, in 1795) he had brought out  to the colony and commanded her there for some years.)

Buffalo left Port Jackson carrying Captain John Hunter, the former governor of New South Wales, Eliza Kent who had been his First Lady and William and Eliza's three children. She also carried two black swans and three emus, all five of which survived to reach England. From St Helena she escorted a small convoy of vessels from the East Indies, one of which was carrying Colonel Robert Brooke, the former governor of St Helena.

Under Kent Buffalo sailed from England to return to Australia, arriving with stores on 16 October 1802. She left on 21 April 1803, bound for Bengal. Kent and Buffalo returned from Bengal with cattle, arriving on 12 June 1804, or 13 June.

In 1803/4 they were in New Caledonia and in 1804 Buffalo was involved in establishing the settlement at George Town, Tasmania by William Paterson. Eliza Kent's journeys on board the Buffalo was later reported in a British magazine.

In 1805 she was commanded by John Oxley. On 10 February 1807 Buffalo left Port Jackson for England.

On 26 October 1807, Tsar Alexander I of Russia declared war on Great Britain. The official news did not arrive there until 2 December, at which time the British declared an embargo on all Russian vessels in British ports. Buffalo was one of some 70 vessels that shared in the proceeds of the seizure of the 44-gun Russian frigate Speshnoy (Speshnyy), and the Russian storeship Wilhelmina (or Vilghemina) then in Portsmouth harbour. The Russian vessels were carrying the payroll for Vice-Admiral Dmitry Senyavin’s squadron in the Mediterranean.

Fate
Buffalo was hulked in 1814. The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" first offered the "Buffalo sloop, of 463 tons", lying at Cowes, for sale on 3 April 1817. She sold on 30 April 1817 for £810 to Mr. Spartly.

See also
John Lewin, who intended to sail to Sydney on Buffalo in 1798 but missed the departure although his wife was aboard.
Garnham Blaxcell, who was serving as acting purser on 16 October 1802 when Buffalo arrived in Sydney.
Charles Robbins, who served on Buffalo as a midshipman in 1802

Notes

Citations

References

1797 ships
Ships built in Deptford
Storeships of the Royal Navy
1788–1850 ships of Australia
Maritime history of Australia


title: Xingguang Dadao

text:
Xīngguāng Dàdào (星光大道 "Star Boulevard", "Avenue of Stars") is a Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) talent show from 2004 onwards. Named after the Chinese name for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it was CCTV's more “healthy” rival to Hunan Satellite Television's blockbuster Super Girl (TV series) (超级女声) talent show. Th format is similar to other singing competition shows around the world like American Idol, Pop Idol, and The Voice. There is a similar show with a similar name produced in Taiwan called ChaoJi Xingguang Dadao.

The host are Zhu Xun and Nëghmet Rakhman.

Regular Celebrity Guest

Foreign Celebrity Guests
Although the competitors typically come from various regions and backgrounds within China, there are have been a few foreign competitors who have competited on the show. Some have continued on to appear in numerous other shows including singing competion shows, game shows etc. A few have used the platform to launch their own TV shows. Some of these contestants include Daniela Anahi Bessia, Meilanie Neilan, Marie Smurthwaite. David Jameson Harris, Paul Just, and Chloe Hurst.

The foreign talent has a special place on TV in China. Some shows focus specifically on foreign guests (e.g. Informal talks, Beijing Guest) and some of those guests make a life long career out of it (e.g. DaShan a.k.a. Mark Rowswell).

References

Talent shows


title: David Giddings

text:
David R. Giddings (July 24, 1806October 26, 1900) was an American surveyor, civil engineer, and Wisconsin pioneer.  He served in the 2nd Wisconsin Territorial Assembly, representing the northeast quadrant of the Wisconsin Territory, and was a delegate to the first Wisconsin constitutional convention.  He was responsible for the initial surveys of dozens of Wisconsin towns in Brown, Dodge,  Kenosha, Racine, Sheboygan, and Winnebago counties.

Early life

David Giddings was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  He received a liberal education in Ipswich and studied civil engineering.  At age 19, he started work as a merchant in the city.  He sold liquor for some time, but after seeing the effect of alcohol on his customers, he discontinued the sale.

Pioneer years and surveying career
In the Spring of 1835, he determined to move to the west.  He sold out his merchandise stock and traveled over land to Buffalo, then took a ship to Chicago.  Initially, he planned to go south to Peoria, but instead teamed with a carpenter to rig a makeshift skiff and sail north on Lake Michigan to Milwaukee.  A storm forced them to go ashore early at Waukegan, and they subsequently walked to the site of Racine, Wisconsin, towing their skiff.  After a brief stop with the sole inhabitant at Racine, they continued north to the Milwaukee River and finally met Solomon Juneau residing there.

Juneau attempted to persuade them to remain at Milwaukee, but Giddings determined to continue north to Green Bay.  He arrived at Green Bay on July 4, just over two months since his departure from Massachusetts.

At Green Bay, he was hired to build fences for Albert Gallatin Ellis for $20 per month.  Ellis had been appointed to survey the nearby town of Astor, as well as several towns in the southeast corner of the state (now Racine and Kenosha counties).  Due to his civil engineering education, Ellis contracted out much of the work to Giddings.  The next year, Giddings was contracted for twelve more surveys at the headwaters of the Rock River, in what is now northern Dodge County and western Fond du Lac County.  He then surveyed all the land between Lake Winnebago and the Wolf River, comprising much of present-day Winnebago County.

After surveying in Sheboygan County, Giddings decided to set his permanent residence in the area of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1837.  He quickly built a store in the settlement.  When Sheboygan County was formally organized for judicial purposes, Giddings was elected the first county judge, and also had jurisdiction for Manitowoc County, which was not yet organized.  He served two years.

He purchased a sawmill west of Sheboygan in 1838, along with about 500 acres of forested land around the mill, which would ultimately become much of the village of Sheboygan Falls.  He built the first shingle mill in the state of Wisconsin and subsequently built or purchased several other mills.  He worked to build up a settlement at Sheboygan Falls by selling off parcels of land for homes.  Through his mills, he employed the new settlers and sold lumber to them to build their homes.  He worked diligently to improve the prospects of Sheboygan Falls and Sheboygan County, and surveyed a railroad route for free to ensure a new road from Chicago to Green Bay would pass through Sheboygan Falls.

Political career
In the Fall of 1840, while he was working on a survey of lands west of Green Bay, he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territory to represent the northeast quadrant of the state.  He served at both sessions of the 2nd Wisconsin Territorial Assembly.  In 1846, as Wisconsin was preparing for statehood, he was elected to the convention to draft a state constitution.

Politically, Giddings began as a member of the Whig Party and moved into the new Republican Party when it was organized in 1854.  He was a candidate for Wisconsin State Senate in 1856, running on the Republican ticket, but was not successful.  He was then a candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly in 1859, but lost to another Republican, Oran Rogers, in a three-way contest.

When the Greenback Party was organized in the 1870s, Giddings became a member of that party.  He was a Greenback nominee for United States Congress in 1878, and for lieutenant governor of Wisconsin in 1881.

Later years
In 1863, he purchased a large farm in the town of Empire, Wisconsin, in Fond du Lac County—previously known as the "Macy farm".  Giddings initially gave the farm to his son, Harvard, to manage, but made it his own permanent residence in 1874.

Giddings ultimately lived into his nineties on his farm in Empire.  When his health began to fail, he moved back to his Sheboygan Falls homestead, which was then managed by his son, Harvard. He died there on October 26, 1900.

Personal life and family
David Giddings was a son of Joshua Giddings of Ipswich, Massachusetts.  Joshua Giddings was a third cousin of Joshua Reed Giddings.  The Giddings were descendants of George Giddings, who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635.

David Giddings married Dorothy Trowbridge on June 7, 1842, in Sheboygan County.  Dorothy Trowbridge was also a pioneer settler of Sheboygan County; she was born in Worcester County, Massachusetts, and emigrated to Wisconsin with her parents in the 1830s.  David and Dorothy Giddings had three children, Harvard, Clara, and George.  Clara died at age 22, but the sons survived their parents.  Harvard Giddings (sometimes erroneously referred to as "Howard") took over the family estate in Sheboygan Falls.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1859)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 8, 1859

U.S. House of Representatives (1878)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 5, 1878

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor (1881)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 8, 1881

References

External links

1806 births
1900 deaths
People from Ipswich, Massachusetts
People from Empire, Wisconsin
People from Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin
Businesspeople from Wisconsin
Engineers from Wisconsin
Wisconsin Greenbacks
Wisconsin Whigs
Wisconsin state court judges
Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American businesspeople
19th-century American judges