Population.

Almost 150,000 people inhabit Baix Camp. The population has risen gently since the middle of the twentieth century, with population growth averaging 1.5% annually during the last three decades. Growth is not evenly distributed, however, but is strongly focused on Reus, the industrial and commercial centre of the region. Around two third of the inhabitants of Baix Camp live in Reus, which from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries was the second most populous city in Catalonia, after Barcelona. Taking Catalonia as a whole, the place of Reus in the population rankings has now slipped to tenth. Within Baix Camp, the only other municipality with more than 10,000 inhabitants is Cambrils.

Economy.

In the agricultural sector almonds and hazelnuts are a major crops, together representing 30% of primary sector production. Viticulture has never regained the level of dominance that it enjoyed before the European Phylloxera epidemic that peaked in the 1870s. High dependency on almonds and hazelnuts nevertheless leaves the entire regional economy vulnerable to declining world market prices that have accompanied increased globalization of the agricultural sector. Some price protection is afforded to growers by protected designation for "Hazelnuts from Reus" which actually covers not just production from Reus but also that from neighboring Alt Camp, Tarragonès, Priorat, Conca de Barberà and Terra Alta.

Municipalities.

After the capital Reus, the major cities are Cambrils and Mont-roig del Camp; other significant towns are Riudoms and Selva del Camp.  Smaller municipalities:

Baix Camp is a comarca of Catalonia. It is one of the three comarques into which Camp de Tarragona was divided in the comarcal division of 1936.

Die Comarca Baix Camp (dt. „unteres Land“, ) liegt in der Provinz Tarragona der Autonomen Gemeinschaft von Katalonien (Spanien). Baix Camp entstand 1936, als die historische Region Camp de Tarragona in drei Comarcas aufgeteilt wurde. Der Gemeindeverband hat eine Fläche von 697,36 km2 und Einwohner ().


Early life.

Buttler was born as Ljiljana Petrović on 14 December 1944 in Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World War II. Her father was a Romani accordionist from Serbia, while her mother was a Croatian singer from Zagreb. Her father left the family shortly after the birth of his daughter. Petrović moved to the city of Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where her mother performed in pubs. As a teenager she began singing, she returned to Belgrade where she settled in the Skadarlija bohemian quarter of the city.

Career.

In the 1970s she broke through in Yugoslavia as a singer and she released several successful albums. During the 1980s her career slowed. In 1989, due to political unrest, she moved to Düsseldorf, Germany.  The Amsterdam-based Bosnian music producer Dragi Šestić started shortly after the 2000 millennium, a quest for the 'disappeared' singer and knew around 2001 to find her out. He convinced her to make a new album for his Snail Records in 2002 and brought with her and Mostar Sevdah Reunion, the Bosnian band - "The Mother Of Gypsy Soul". In 2005, "The Legends of Life" was released. This group gave from 2003 concert series, particularly in Europe. The music of the group is a mix of gypsy and Balkan music, jazz and sevdah. Her last album, "Frozen Roses", was released in 2009.

Personal life.

Buttler died of cancer on 26 April 2010, aged 65, in Düsseldorf where she lived since 1987.

Ljiljana Buttler (née Petrović; 14 December 1944 – 26 April 2010) was a Yugoslav-Romani singer. Her nickname was The Mother of Gypsy Soul.

Ljiljana Buttler (* 14. Dezember 1944 in Belgrad; † 26. April 2010 in Düsseldorf, eigentlich "Ljiljana Petrović") war eine jugoslawische Sängerin. Die Tochter einer kroatischen Sängerin und eines serbischen Roma-Akkordeonisten wuchs in der kleinen bosnischen Ortschaft Bijeljina auf. Anfangs sprang sie gelegentlich in Bars, Lokalen und Kneipen für ihre Mutter ein, was sie später nach folgenden Erfolgserlebnissen beruflich fortsetzte. Mit der Zeit stieg ihr Bekanntheitsgrad immer mehr an. Ihr Musikstil wurde als "Gypsy Soul" bezeichnet. Ljiljana zog sich 1987 aus der Musikszene zurück und emigrierte später wegen des Jugoslawienkrieges nach Deutschland. Erst 2002 kehrte sie in das ehemalige Jugoslawien zurück, wo sie mit der bosnischen Band „"Mostar Sevdah Reunion"“ ein Album aufnahm.


Origins.

The exact origin of the Caganer is unknown, but the tradition has existed since at least the 18th century. According to the society Amics del Caganer (Friends of the Caganer), it is believed to have entered the nativity scene by the late 17th or early 18th century, during the Baroque period. An Iberian votive deposit was found near Tornabous in the Urgell depicting a holy Iberian warrior defecating on his falcata. This led to a brief altercation between the Institut d'Estudis Catalans and the Departament d'Arqueologia in the Conselleria de Cultura of the Generalitat de Catalunya as to whether the find can be regarded as a proto-caganer (which would place the origin of this tradition far earlier than previously thought) or just a representation of a pre-combat ritual.

Tradition.

In Catalonia, as well as in the rest of Spain and in most of Italy and Southern France, traditional Christmas decorations often consist of a large model of the city of Bethlehem, similar to the Nativity scenes of the English-speaking world but encompassing the entire city rather than just the typical manger scene. This is often a reproduction of a pastoral scene—a traditional Catalan (farmhouse) as the central setting with the child in a manger, and outlying scenes including a washerwoman by a river, a woman spinning, shepherds herding their sheep or walking towards the manger with gifts, the Three Wise Men approaching on camel back, a scene with the angel and shepherds, the star pointing the way, etc. Commonly materials such as moss will be used to represent grass, with cork used to represent mountains or cliffs.  The caganer is a particular and highly popular feature of modern Catalan nativity scenes. It is believed to have entered the nativity scene by the late 17th or early 18th century, during the Baroque period. Eminent folklorist Joan Amades called it an essential piece and the most popular figure of the nativity scene. It can also be found in other parts of southwestern Europe, including Murcia, the region just south of the Valencia in Spain (where they are called ), Naples ( or ) and Portugal (). There is a sculpture of a person defecating hidden inside the cathedral of Ciudad Rodrigo, Province of Salamanca, though this is not part of a nativity scene. Accompanying Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the shepherds and company, the caganer is often tucked away in a corner of the model, typically nowhere near the manger scene. A tradition in Catalonia is to have children find the hidden figure.

Explanations.

Possible reasons for placing a figure representing a person in the act of emptying his bowels in a scene which is widely considered holy include:  Further opinions:

Local reactions.

The practice is tolerated by the Catholic church within the areas where the Caganer is popular. Although the tradition generally has popular support, opinion is divided as to whether it is wholly appropriate and not all nativity scenes in Catalonia include caganers.

Similar traditions.

The Caganer is not the only defecating character in the Catalan Christmas tradition—another is the "Tió de Nadal", which also makes extensive use of the image of fecal matter (it is a log, i.e. tió which, having been "fed" for several weeks, is told to defecate on Christmas Eve and "magically" produces candy for children, a candy that has supposedly come from its bowels). Other mentions of feces and defecation are common in Catalan folklore: indeed, a popular Catalan saying for use before a meal is ("Eat well, shit heartily, and don't be afraid of death!"). In his book "Barcelona", architecture critic and locale historian Robert Hughes gives a good introduction to this earthy tradition.  The Caganer can also be found in other European cultures, either as an import or a minor local tradition:  Possible translations of the caganer concept into other languages include:

Traditional vs. modern portrayals.

The traditional caganer is portrayed as a Catalan peasant man (i.e. a farmer or shepherd) wearing a typical hat called a Barretina — a red stocking hat with a black band. At least since the late 1970s, the figure of a traditional Catalan peasant woman was also added, wearing traditional garb including the long black hairnet.  The Catalans have modified this tradition a good deal since the 1940s. In addition to the traditional caganer design, one can easily find other characters assuming the Caganer position, such as nuns, devils, Santa Claus, celebrities, athletes, historical figures, politicians, Spanish royalty, British royalty, and other famous people past and present. Just days after his election as US president in 2008, a "pooper" of Barack Obama was made available.

At markets and exhibits.

Caganers are easiest to find before Christmas in holiday markets, like the one in front of the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, which has many tables of Caganers. Every year new figures are created, and some people collect them. Caganers are the focal point of at least one association (Els Amics del Caganer, i.e. Friends of the Caganer), which puts out a regular bulletin ("El Caganòfil"), and have even been featured in art exhibits.  In recent years a urinating statue, or Pixaner, has also appeared, but it has not taken root or gained any serious popularity.

Controversy surrounding Barcelona's civility ordinance.

In 2005, the Barcelona city council provoked a public outcry by commissioning a nativity scene which did not include a caganer. The local government was reported to have countered these criticisms by claiming that the Caganer was not included because a civility ordinance had made public defecation and public urination illegal, meaning that the caganer was now setting a bad example. Many saw this as an attack on Catalan traditions. One writer of a letter to the editor asserted, "A nativity scene without a caganer is not a nativity scene." A second writer offered a win-win solution. He suggested including the caganer but also placing a figure of a police officer with a pen and clipboard next to him, writing a ticket for the infraction. The writer said this would achieve three objectives: respect tradition, comply with the ordinance and educate the public about how it is being reinforced, and finally, demonstrate how important it is to respect the law. Finally, the head of Parks and Gardens publicly denied prohibiting the caganer in the first place, saying that it was the artistic decision of the artist commissioned by the city to design and install the pessebre. Following a campaign against the caganer's absence called (Save the caganer), and widespread media criticism, the 2006 nativity restored the caganer, who appeared on the northern side of the nativity near a dry riverbed.

A Caganer () is a figurine depicted in the act of defecation appearing in nativity scenes in Catalonia and neighbouring areas with Catalan culture such as Andorra, Valencia, and Northern Catalonia (in southern France). It is most popular and widespread in these areas, but can also be found in other areas of Spain (Murcia), Portugal, and southern Italy (Naples).

Ein ([], katalanisch für "Scheißer") ist eine eigenwillige Krippenfigur aus dem katalanischen Kulturkreis. Sie stellt eine Person mit heruntergelassenen Hosen dar, die sich im Umfeld der Geburt Jesu erleichtert.


Plot.

Despite her pessimistic outlook on life, Rita Boyle, a liberal, free-spirited, aspiring graphic designer working part-time as a bartender, falls in love with Peter Hoskins, the conservative employee of a Chicago publishing house. At their wedding, they are approached by Julius, a lonely elderly man who requests permission to kiss Rita. When he does, their spirits somehow switch places, leaving Peter with the aged man's soul residing in his newlywed bride, and her soul in his cancer-riddled body. Peter eventually sees beyond the physical and embraces the beautiful soul he loves. Only after convincing both Rita and Julius why they switched (she was afraid of life and wanted to be an old person who had already gone through the fears life would throw at her, he was afraid of dying and wanted to be young again), and how they did not have these fears anymore, are they able to return to their rightful bodies.

Production.

The film's title is derived from the Duke Ellington/Irving Gordon/Irving Mills tune of the same name, which is heard performed by Deborah Harry during the opening credits. The soundtrack also includes the Cole Porter song "Every Time We Say Goodbye" performed by Annie Lennox, "The More I See You" and "I Had the Craziest Dream" by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, "A Certain Smile" by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, "The Very Thought of You" by Ray Noble, "Sweet Jane" by the Cowboy Junkies, and "Someone Like You" by Van Morrison. In the beginning, Rita dances to the song "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls.

Reception.

Box office.

The film grossed $20,006,730 in the US and $2,690,961 internationally for a total worldwide box office of $22,697,691.

Critical response.

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes compiled reviews retrospectively to give it a score of 63% based on 24 reviews.  In his review in "The New York Times", Vincent Canby said, "The sad news about this movie adaptation is that it functions as a cruel critique of the problems that, for whatever reason, did not seem important in the stage production. This "Prelude to a Kiss" is not only without charm and wit, but it's also clumsily set forth: many people seeing it may wonder what, in heaven's name, is going on. The opened-up film lumbers like someone on crutches. Against the literal surroundings of Chicago, the North Shore and Jamaica, Peter, Rita and Julius become perfunctory characters, interesting only for the bizarre situation in which they are caught. They lack any convincing particularity or idiosyncrasy. The same dialogue that served well enough on the stage now sounds arch and coy or metaphysically flat."  Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" said of the film, "[A]lthough it could probably do more with its story, what it does is gentle and moving. The film is fairly hard to categorize, which is one of its strengths. Of the dialogue, I'll say how unusual it is for Hollywood characters to talk longingly and thoughtfully about our search for happiness in this world where most assuredly we will die. "Prelude to a Kiss" is the kind of movie that can inspire long conversations about the only subject really worth talking about, the meaning of it all. The emotional heart of the movie belongs to the old guy, Walker, a New York stage actor who got his first starring role at 71. He is wonderful here. He begins as a block of human wood, an old man who looks as if he has not one single thing to say, and then he develops eloquently into a person of poetry and longing. He is, in many of his scenes, literally playing a woman in her 20s. How he does it – how he gets away with it – is through not just craft, but heart."  In "Rolling Stone", Peter Travers stated, "Craig Lucas's prince of a play has been turned into a toad of a movie. The disappointment is rending, since Lucas and director Norman René made magic onstage. The play challenges us to make an imaginative leap into the wild blue. The film, however much it flails, stays resolutely earthbound."  Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" graded the film C- and added, "Why is "Prelude to a Kiss" such a washout? I'm afraid it's because the play itself is a whimsically inept piece of high kitsch – a "Twilight Zone" for yuppie soft-heads. The characters aren't fleshed out as human beings; they seem like urban types concocted in screenwriting class. And so the ethereality of the premise never takes hold."  In "Variety", Todd McCarthy observed, "Thanks to a magnetic cast and intelligent adaptation, "Prelude to a Kiss" has made a solid transfer from stage to screen. Back in the 1930s or '40s, this sort of sophisticated, literary-oriented treatment of a simple romantic idea would have been the norm. Today's general audiences, however, may be put off by the quick-witted talk and mildly confused by the central device, despite its resemblance to "Ghost"... Baldwin and Ryan make such a winning pair. Looking great and playing a normal guy whose optimism has prevailed over his troubled past, Baldwin is a romantic lead both men and women can enjoy watching. Cuter-than-cute, almost too adorable for words, Ryan rambunctiously embodies the life force even when playing a basically aimless young woman, and the film suffers during her prolonged absence in the later stages."  Rita Kempley of "The Washington Post" said, "Packed with cheap sentiment and puerile romanticism, "Prelude to a Kiss" oozes sugarcoated comfort as might a drugstore valentine crushed enthusiastically to the recipient's heaving bosom. A faithful adaptation of Craig Lucas's popular play, it proves a feast for love gourmands, especially those with an appetite for body-swapping. The less starry-eyed viewers will remain starved for the comparative profundity of a leaky "Love Boat" rerun."

Accolades.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Prelude to a Kiss is a 1992 American romantic fantasy film directed by Norman René and starring Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan, and Sydney Walker. It is based on the 1988 play of the same title.

Zauberhafte Zeiten (Originaltitel: "Prelude to a Kiss"; Alternativtitel: "Body Switch – Verhexte Küsse") ist eine US-amerikanische Filmkomödie von Norman René aus dem Jahr 1992. Das Drehbuch schrieb Craig Lucas anhand des eigenen Theaterstücks.


Biography.

Early life.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Brown was a notable graduate of Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, California, where he played high school baseball with Darryl Strawberry. The 1979 Crenshaw High Cougars baseball team was the subject of Michael Sokolove's "The Ticket Out: Darryl Strawberry and the Boys of Crenshaw".  Brown was selected by the Giants in the second round (44th overall) during the 1979 amateur draft.

Professional baseball career.

San Francisco Giants.

After a steady climb through the Giants minor league system, Brown made his major league debut for them in 1984 as a September call-up. In his first full season in 1985, Brown batted.261 with 16 home runs and 61 runs batted in (RBIs) for the last-place Giants, made the All-Rookie team, and finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting; Brown also led the NL in times being hit by pitch (11). In 1986, Brown batted.317 and made the NL All-Star team after hitting nearly.350 in the season's first half. The same season, he was involved in an infamous brawl.  At the end of 1986 he complained of shoulder soreness. That offseason, an examination by Dr. Frank Jobe in Los Angeles discovered that there was indeed a serious problem, and surgery was performed that winter. The following season, with Brown hitting a paltry.242 after 38 games, the Giants sent him packing on July 5 along with Keith Comstock, Mark Davis, and Mark Grant in a midseason trade to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, and Craig Lefferts.

San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers.

Brown's play declined further as the year progressed, and he ended the year with a.237 average; the Giants went on to win the NL West division, and the Padres finished in last place. After dropping to a.235 average in 1988 for San Diego, Brown was dealt to the Detroit Tigers and was out of baseball by 1989 at the age of 28. In his career he batted.269 with 38 home runs, 184 RBIs, 164 runs, 410 hits and 21 stolen bases in 449 games.

Life after baseball.

After retirement, Brown lived in Houston, Texas with his wife Lisa and their two children, Paris Brown and Gordon Pickett. In 2004, Brown worked in Iraq driving an 18-wheel truck delivering diesel fuel for Halliburton. He took fire on numerous occasions, including in a convoy that was attacked on April 9, 2004, in which six Halliburton drivers and one soldier were killed and another driver kidnapped and later released. By 2006, Brown had returned to the United States.  Brown died at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston on December 26, 2006, nearly a month after he suffered burns in a fire at a vacant house he owned in Sugar Land, Texas. He was 45 years of age.

John Christopher Brown (August 15, 1961 – December 26, 2006) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball during the 1980s, most notably with the San Francisco Giants.

John Christopher Brown (* 15. August 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi; † 26. Dezember 2006 in Houston, Texas) war ein US-amerikanischer Baseballspieler. In den 1980er Jahren spielte er in der Major League für die San Francisco Giants.


History.

The village of Lonau goes back to a settlement that was established here as a consequence of the setting up of iron ore mines and iron smelting huts at the beginning of the 16th century.  Lonau was first mentioned in the records in ducal tax documents from 1615, although a smithy in Lonau had been named in 1525.

Geography.

Lonau lies in the South Harz, in the middle of the Harz National Park at a height of 355 to 430 m above sea level and has 350 inhabitants (as at 1 January 2011).  The village is divided into three areas: Unterdorf, Kirchtal and Mariental. The Church of St. Michael is roughly in the centre of the village at the junction of all three districts. The Kleine Lonau stream flows through Mariental and the Große Lonau through Kirchtal. After merging in the village centre the river Große Lonau flows down to Herzberg.  Surrounding hills include the Heuer to the southwest, the Braakberg to the west and north, the Kargeskopf to the north, the Franzosenkopf and the Großer Mittelberg to the northeast, the Langfast to the east, the Hirtenberg to the southeast and the Großer Teichtalskopf to the south.

Tourism and sights.

Lonau is mainly visited in summer by holiday walkers and in winter by cross country skiers. The main sights in and around Lonau are the capercaillie enclosure ("Auerhahngehege"), the mountain inn of Hanskühnenburg, the surrounding beech woods, the parish church and the Lonau Waterfall, which is actually in Herzberg. For holidaymakers there are several restaurants, a campsite, the spa park, a lido and a minigolf course. At least five checkpoints in the Harzer Wandernadel system are easily reached on foot from Lonau: "Kastanienplatz" (no. 149), "Köte am Schindelkopf" (no. 143), Hanskühnenburg (no. 144), "Waidmannsruhe" (no. 148) and the Großer Knollen (no. 150).  "References":

Lonau is a small village with a population of about 345 situated at an elevation of about 400m in the Harz Mountains of Northern Germany. Besides the clean air and lush forests, it is famous for the capercaillie. It belongs to the city of Herzberg am Harz which is about 4 km to the south. The rivers Große Lonau and Kleine Lonau join here.

Lonau ist ein Luftkurort im Oberharz und Ortsteil der Stadt Herzberg am Harz im Landkreis Göttingen (ehemals Osterode) in Niedersachsen. Er hat 295 Einwohner (1. Januar 2018).


Structural description.

Zennor Quoit is located on the West Penwith moors about a mile to the east of the village of Zennor (OS coordinate SW468380). It is accessed by the B3306 road about two miles from St. Ives. From the road, the site may be reached via a trail from a spot named "Eagle's Nest" (OS coordinate SW468387).  The quoit measures in total in diameter. Five stones support the roof, a massive slab measuring and weighing an estimated, which has slipped from its original position, with one end resting on the ground. The chamber itself consists of seven upright stones and was originally covered by a cairn. It had a small porch at its entrance for the purpose of entering the chamber and also had an antechamber with an even smaller entrance.

History.

The chamber dates to between 2500–1500 BC and is one of eight remaining quoits on the West Penwith moors. Archaeological evidence unearthed on the site has indicated that the chamber was used for the burial of bodies which at some point would be cremated and removed and replaced with others. The purpose of the exterior stones are believed to have been for resting the dead bodies against for the flesh to be devoured by birds before burial. Excavations at the site have revealed flint and Neolithic style pottery and cremated bones.  A local legend is associated with the chamber in that it is said that the quoit possesses mystical powers and that removed stones from the structure would soon mysteriously find their way back in the middle of the night. In 1754 and in 1769, before the roof had fallen, the quoit was analysed by the antiquary Dr. William Borlase (1695–1772), who described and provided detailed drawings of it and published some of his findings in his "Antiquities of Cornwall" (1769).  In 1861, a local farmer proposed to convert the monument into a cattle–shed by removing one of the upright pillars and drilling a hole in the sloping capstone. The vandalism soon reached the disapproving ears of the villagers of Zennor and the local vicar, William Borlase (a great grandson of Dr. William Borlase), intervened and successfully offered a financial incentive of five shillings to the farmer to build it elsewhere, although he had already built stone posts on the site to erect it. Traces of drill–holes can still be seen in the stone  In 1882, a member of the Borlase family came to the defence of the quoit again when the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society visited the site. The following account was reported:  Every year, the Old Cornwall Society meets behind the chamber on Midsummer's Eve and lights a ritual bonfire.

Literature.

Charles Taylor Stephens (d. 1863 in St Ives) was a shoemaker and the local postman from St Ives to Zennor who wrote a poem about the attempt to convert the quoit into a cattleshed. He was also employed by Robert Hunt to help in the collecting of folk tales from the Zennor area.

Zennor Quoit is a ruined megalithic burial chamber or dolmen, located on a moor about a mile (1.6 km) east of the village of Zennor, Cornwall, England, UK. It dates to 2500–1500 BC. Aside from the roof, which collapsed some time between 1770 and 1865, the chamber is in good condition.

Der Zennor Quoit ist ein etwa 5500 Jahre altes Portalgrab aus der Jungsteinzeit und liegt in der Nähe des Orts Zennor im ehemaligen District Penwith der Grafschaft Cornwall in England.


Family.

He was the son of the teacher Franz Xaver Fraundorfer and his wife Franziska, née Bauer. Fraundorfer married on October 14, 1893 Helene Fraundorfer-Mühlthaler. They had one son.

Career.

After his abitur in 1874 Frauendorfer studied Jurisprudence at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. After graduation, he joined the Royal Bavarian State Railways. Here he worked until August 1, 1899, most recently as General Council. Then Fraundorfer became an Oberregierungsrat in the Bavarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Transport Department. On August 1, 1900 he was promoted to Ministerialrat. Fraundorfer was awarded on October 21, 1901 the Knight's Cross of the Merit of the Bavarian Crown. This encumbered him in the German Aristocracy to personal nobility. After entry in the Matricula he therefore was allowed to be called "Ritter (knight) von Frauendorfer".  He officiated from January 1, 1904 until his retirement on February 12, 1912 as Minister of the newly established Ministry of Transport Affairs in Bavaria and was decisive involved in the electrification of the railways in Bavaria. For his merits Fraundorfer was meanwhile on 14 September 1908 raised by Prince Regent Luitpold to the hereditary peerage. Since 1905 he was also freeman of the town Landshut.  1916 Fraundorfer and Edgar Jaffé founded the "European political and economic newspaper "; it was published by a brother of Jaffé in Berlin From November 8, 1918 to March 17, 1919 as well from 16 March to 1 April 1920, he was again Bavarian Minister of Transport Affairs in the state governments. This was followed by his appointment as Secretary of State and head of the Department Bayern in the Ministry of Transportation.  Fraundorfer was a member of the Corps Makaria Munich 1874 and Teutonia Halle (1903). He became engaged to Alma Wild, the daughter of his corp brother Albert Wild. She died before the marriage. Introduced by Wild in the Numismatics, Fraundorfer was chairman of the Bavarian Numismatic Society. When he was accused of forgery of numerous ancient coins, he took 1921 his life.

Heinrich von Frauendorfer (born 1855 in Höll; died July 23, 1921 in Geiselgasteig) was a German politician and Transport Minister in the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Munich Soviet Republic.

Heinrich Frauendorfer, seit 1901 Ritter von Frauendorfer, (* 27. September 1855 in Höll; † 23. Juli 1921 in Geiselgasteig) war ein deutscher Ministerialbeamter, sowie Verkehrsminister im Königreich Bayern und in der Anfangszeit des Freistaats Bayern.


Early life, education, and early career.

Kempthorne was raised in San Bernardino, California. He attended and graduated from San Gorgonio High School in San Bernardino, attended San Bernardino Valley College, then transferred north to the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he graduated in 1975 with a degree in political science, and served a term as student body president. Upon graduation Kempthorne served as an assistant to the director of the Idaho Department of Lands and then as executive vice president of the Idaho Home Builders Association.  In 1982, Kempthorne managed the gubernatorial campaign for Lieutenant Governor Phil Batt, who lost to the incumbent Democrat, Governor John V. Evans. In 1983 Kempthorne became state public affairs manager for FMC Corporation.  Kempthorne and his wife, Patricia Kempthorne, also a UI graduate, have two adult children, Heather and Jeff.  Kempthorne is of Cornish ancestry.

Political career.

Mayor.

Kempthorne's first major political victory came at age 34, when he was elected mayor of Boise in 1985. As mayor, Kempthorne became very popular and was unopposed for reelection in 1989.

U.S. Senate.

In 1992, U.S. Senator Steve Symms decided not to seek a third term and Kempthorne pursued the Republican nomination for the seat. In the general election, Kempthorne defeated Democratic Congressman Richard H. Stallings.  In the Senate, Kempthorne sponsored and helped pass the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, a bill meant to prohibit Congress from imposing unfunded federal mandates on states. The bill aimed to:  [C]urb the practice of imposing unfunded Federal mandates on States and local governments; to strengthen the partnership between the Federal Government and State, local and tribal governments; to end the imposition, in the absence of full consideration by Congress, of Federal mandates on State, local, and tribal governments without adequate funding, in a manner that may displace other essential governmental priorities; and to ensure that the Federal Government pays the costs incurred by those governments in complying with certain requirements under Federal statutes and regulations, and for other purposes.  Also in 1995, Senator Kempthorne introduced amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. This bill was signed into law by President Clinton on August 6, 1996.  During his six years in the Senate, Kempthorne scored a "0" on the League of Conservation Voters' legislative scorecards every year except 1993, when he scored 6 percent on the basis of one vote against funding a rocket booster for the space program that environmentalists judged harmful to the environment. His overall LCV score for that period was less than 1%. Source:

Governor.

Kempthorne was expected to run for reelection in 1998, but instead decided to run for the open seat for governor. The incumbent, Phil Batt, shocked the state by announcing his retirement after only one term in office, citing his age (71) as the prime factor in his decision. Kempthorne's Senate seat would be won by Republican congressman Mike Crapo of Idaho Falls.  Kempthorne won the gubernatorial election in a landslide, receiving 68 percent of the vote while his Democratic opponent, Robert C. Huntley, received only 29 percent. He was reelected in 2002 with 56 percent of the vote, compared to his Democratic opponent, Jerry Brady, who polled 42 percent. Kempthorne's campaign spent nearly $200,000 more than it had received in contributions prior to the election; he spent the next two years raising funds to pay off the campaign debt.

Secretary of the Interior.

On March 16, 2006, Kempthorne was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Gale Norton as the 49th Secretary of the Interior. On May 10, 2006, Kempthorne's nomination was approved by voice vote by the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He was confirmed by the full Senate on May 26, and resigned as governor to accept the position the same day. Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch succeeded Kempthorne as governor, filling out the remaining months of his term. Kempthorne is the second Idahoan to hold the Cabinet post. Former Governor Cecil Andrus was the Secretary of the Interior under President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1977 to 1981.  Upon Kempthorne's appointment as Secretary of the Interior, environmental groups characterized him as someone who has "almost always favored changing laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to make them more favorable to commercial interests."  As Secretary of the Interior, Kempthorne was criticized for not placing any plants or animals on the federal endangered species list since his confirmation on May 26, 2006. As of September 2007, Kempthorne held the record for protecting fewer species over his tenure than any Interior Secretary in United States history, a record previously held by James G. Watt for over 20 years.  In December 2007, as a result of a long-term investigation and resignation of former Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald, Inspector General Earl Devaney found "abrupt and abrasive, if not abusive" management at the department under Kempthorne's supervision. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, attributed the "untold waste of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars" to MacDonald's actions. Of the department, Representative Nick J. Rahall II, chairman of the House Natural Resources said "The results of this investigation paint a picture of something akin to a secret society residing within the Interior Department that was colluding to undermine the protection of endangered wildlife and covering for one another's misdeeds."  In September 2008, Devaney reported wrongdoing by current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, an agency under Kempthorne's administration that collects about $10 billion in oil and gas royalties annually, and one of the government's largest sources of revenue other than taxes. According to "The New York Times", "Eight officials in the royalty program accepted gifts from energy companies whose value exceeded limits set by ethics rules—including golf, ski and paintball outings; meals and drinks; and tickets to a Toby Keith concert, a Houston Texans football game and a Colorado Rockies baseball game... The investigation also concluded that several of the officials "frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives." The New York Times reports a whistleblower had officially complained about the wrongdoings in the spring of 2006, prior to Kempthorne's being sworn into the office. On December 16, 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity announced intent to sue the Interior Department under Kempthorne for introducing "regulations... that would eviscerate our nation's most successful wildlife law by exempting thousands of federal activities, including those that generate greenhouse gases, from review under the Endangered Species Act." The lawsuit, which is critical of policy advocated by Kempthorne and President George W. Bush, was filed in the Northern District of California by the CBD, Greenpeace and Defenders of Wildlife. According to the CBD, "The lawsuit argues that the regulations violate the Endangered Species Act and did not go through the required public review process. The regulations, first proposed on August 11th, were rushed by the Bush administration through an abbreviated process in which more than 300,000 comments from the public were reviewed in 2-3 weeks, and environmental impacts were analyzed in a short and cursory environmental assessment, rather than a fuller environmental impact statement."  Kempthorne's appointment was contentious from the beginning because of his history of receiving large campaign contributions from corporations based in Boise, many of whom were natural resource extractive industries such as Boise-Cascade (timber), or companies with a long history of EPA violations, J.R. Simplot Corporation. Among his many other previous, large campaign contributors were Hecla mining, ASARCO, and FMC Gold. When confronted with the issue of his close connections to environmentally damaging industries by his Idaho constituents and lobbyists seeking measures of environmental preservation and protection, Kempthorne was known to simply walk out of the room without saying a word, leaving members of the public to be ushered out by his pages. Kempthorne gained a reputation as a man known for fostering intimate coziness, and open door policies, with corporations irresponsibly handling natural resources, particularly in the western states, and as one who would simply ignore the very individuals affected by and knowledgeable of the corresponding environmental degradation.  In 2009, CNN correspondent Campbell Brown criticized Kempthorne for using "$235,000 of [taxpayer] money to renovate his office bathroom at the Department of Interior." According to Brown, the costs included a shower, a refrigerator, and a freezer hidden behind lavish wood paneling, as well as "DK" monogrammed towels. Donald Swain, Chief of the Interior Department's National Business Center said the towels do not exist. He further says the project came in $10,000 under budget and was approved by the General Services Administration.

Dirk Arthur Kempthorne (born October 29, 1951) is an American politician who was the United States Secretary of the Interior from 2006 to 2009, serving under President George W. Bush. A Republican, Kempthorne previously served as a United States Senator from Idaho from 1993 to 1999 and as the 30th Governor of Idaho from 1999 to 2006. He is known for his conservative views, particularly on economic issues.

Dirk Arthur Kempthorne (* 29. Oktober 1951 in San Diego, Kalifornien) ist ein US-amerikanischer Politiker (Republikanische Partei). Er war vom 26. Mai 2006 bis zum 20. Januar 2009 Innenminister der Vereinigten Staaten unter Präsident George W. Bush.


History.

The line was planned from 1869 by the "Bavarian Eastern Railway" () as a short cut between Nuremberg and Regensburg, over 40 km shorter than the line via Hersbruck, Amberg and Schwandorf opened in 1859, which is now the Nuremberg–Schwandorf line and part of the Regensburg–Hof line.  The line was originally built as a single track and was duplicated between 1894 and 1896. It was electrified in 1950. On 15 June 1988 construction began on the second line of the Nuremberg S-Bahn. The Nuremberg–Feucht section has been modified so that S-Bahn trains run on their own tracks next to the mainline tracks; these were opened on 21 November 1992. The Felstor tunnel in the Naab valley, with a length of 16 metres (according to other sources: 10 metres) was the shortest railway tunnel in Germany until 31 May 2010, when its roof was removed with explosives because its renovation was considered too expensive.

Opening dates.

The line was opened in three stages: The reason for the different opening dates was a delay in completing the Laber viaduct between Neumarkt and Seubersdorf.

Route.

Starting at Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof, the line turns southeast and passes through the Nuremberg districts of Gleißhammer, Zerzabelshof and Langwasser and past the Lorenzer Reichwald (national forest) to Feucht, where the route to Altdorf branches off. From there it runs almost directly to Schwarzenbruck and crosses the Schwarzach river just past Ochenbruck station. The route now crosses the first ridge of the Franconian Alb, eventually reaching Postbauer-Heng. There, the route bends to the east, runs through a gap between the Grünberg and Tyrolberg mountains and enters the Neumarkt basin. It runs across the basin in a straight line to the southeast partly on embankments through Pölling to Neumarkt station, from where the former Sulz Valley Railway branched off to the south. Passing the Neumarkt district of Hasenheide, the line swings south and above Sengenthal the line begins to climb the Franconian Alb. Only remnants are left of the former George Behringer KG (HeidelbergCement) siding.  Shortly after Sengenthal the line turns east and runs to Deining station. The line crosses a valley on an embankment and gains height and shortly afterwards reaches the European Watershed at a height of about 510 m above sea level. After about two kilometres, the route crosses the impressive Laber Viaduct over the valley of the Weiße Laber. The line now runs roughly south-east through the furrowed valleys of the Franconian Alb, some of which are crossed on bridges and some partly on embankments. There are deep cuttings through major ranges, including near Kleinalfalterbach and Seubersdorf. Nearby is Seubersdorf station, where a junction to a branch line to Velburg was planned. The line continue through cuttings and embankments to Parsberg station, which also serves as the unloading station for the transfer of military vehicles to the nearby Hohenfels Military training camp.  Above Mausheim the line reaches the high plateau of the Franconian Alb and runs to Beratzhausen station, which is located on the southern slopes of the valley of the Schwarze Laber above the village of Beratzhausen. The line soon crosses the valley and reaches Laaber station on the northern slope of the valley. The line runs further to the southeast above the valley of the Schwarze Laber, reaching Undorf station, and turns to the east towards the Naab. It passes through Etterzhausen and then runs east on the slope above the valley of the Naab.  The line crosses the Danube at the confluence of the Naab and the Danube Valley Railway from Ingolstadt and runs directly to the east. It runs through the Regensburg district of Prüfening and the Regensburg freight yard and finally reaches Regensburg Hauptbahnhof.

Upgrading.

The line is completely double track and electrified. In 2007 the route was upgraded for active tilting, including work on overhead lines, signalling and bridges at a cost of € 6.7 million.  Between Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof and Feucht the S-Bahn line between Nuremberg and Feucht runs parallel as one or two tracks. Between Reichwald junction (near Feucht) and Nuremberg Hbf the tracks are shared with the Nuremberg–Munich high-speed line. The line-speed is 160 km/h.

Transport associations.

The Nuremberg–Parsberg section of the line is served by Regionalbahn line R5 of the "Greater Nuremberg Transport Association" ("Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg", VGN). Between Neumarkt and Regensburg the line is integrated in the "Regensburg Transport Association" ("Regensburger Verkehrsverbund", RVV).

Operations.

Long-distance services consist of InterCity Express (ICE-T) services, operated with class 411 and 415 rolling stock, and a pair InterCity services hauled by Class 101 locomotives. Austrian Federal Railways locomotives are no longer used for passenger transport on the line.  Regional transport includes Regional-Express (RE) trains on the Nuremberg–Neumarkt–Parsberg–Beratzhausen–Regensburg route, continuing to Munich, normally composed of class 111 electric locomotives and double deck carriages. Regionalbahn (RB) trains are operated between Nuremberg and Neumarkt and between Neumarkt and Regensburg. Some trains run continuously from Nuremberg to Regensburg. The trains are composed of n-coach sets, hauled by class 143 electric locomotives on the Nuremberg–Neumarkt section or class 111 locomotives between Neumarkt and Regensburg.  The Nuremberg–Neumarkt section is operated as line S4 of the Nuremberg S-Bahn with class 143 electric locomotives and sets of “x” carriages, while awaiting an approval for class 442 (Talent 2) electric multiple units to operate in Nuremberg.

The Nuremberg–Regensburg railway is a 100 km-long mainline railway in the German state of Bavaria that runs from Nuremberg via Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz and Parsberg to Regensburg. It is one of the main routes to Austria for passengers and a link for regional transport between the Nuremberg region and the major centre of Regensburg. It is also one of the major routes for freight traffic to Eastern Europe. The line was opened by the Bavarian Eastern Railway Company between 1871 and 1873.

Die Bahnstrecke Regensburg–Nürnberg ist eine zweigleisige, elektrifizierte Hauptbahn in Bayern. Sie führt von Regensburg über Parsberg und Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz nach Nürnberg. Die Strecke ist Teil einer überregionalen Fernverbindung zwischen Wien und Frankfurt am Main.


Transportation.

Road.

Mtwara has reasonable transport links considering its remoteness in southern Tanzania. It is linked by paved roads with Dar es Salaam and Lindi to the north and Masasi inland and by partially paved roads to Newala in-land to the west. Beyond Masasi the road is newly paved for some 60 km towards Tunduru and the Unity Bridge which provides a crossing point to Mozambique.

Airport.

The A19 links it with Mbamba Bay on Lake Malawi in the west. It features an airport with a paved runway that can accommodate medium size passenger jets. Precision Air runs a daily morning flight between Mtwara Airport and Dar es Salaam and Air Tanzania offers a flight in the afternoon. The flight time is around an hour. Facilities for landing do not allow for planes to use the airport when it is hidden in mist.

Bus.

Mtwara serves as the access point for a small but growing tourism industry based in nearby Mikindani. New roads of a good standard were being built in 2013 within the city. Most of the roads have never been sealed. There is a choice of bus companies which provide daily services between Mtwara and Dar es Salaam. Also regular buses connect with Masasi, the biggest town inland from Mtwara.

Port.

The port is the third largest ocean port in the country and was built as part of the failed Tanganyika groundnut scheme. The port was neglected for many years, however with the recent economic boom in the region, the government has spent funds for the upgrade of the port. Recently the port has seen added activity due to the construction of the Dangote cement factory and increased gas exploration activities. The port in the future is planned to facilitate exports such as Cashew nuts, Iron, Coal and Gas. The port also has an Export Processing zone to facilitate the manufacturing industry in the area.

Economy.

Iron ore and coal.

Mtwara might be the port for the export of iron ore and coal. There are plans to build a railway linking Mtwara with Lindi and mines at Mchuchuma and Liganga via Songea.  In the year 2003, there were proposals for transporting coal from the Ludewa and Njombe regions respectively by rail to the port of Mtwara in Southern Tanzania as part of the Mtwara Development Corridor project.

Cement.

Mtwara host a branch of the Dangote Cement Public Limited Company.

Geography.

Climate.

Due to close proximity to the equator and the warm Indian Ocean, the city experiences tropical climatic conditions similar to all Tanzanian coastal cities. The city experiences hot and humid weather throughout much of the year and has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen: Aw). Annual rainfall is approximately, and in a normal year there are two rainy seasons: "the long rains" in April and May and "the short rains" in November and December.

Sports.

Football (Soccer).

Mtwara is the hometown of Bandari F.C.. Large production of cashewnut in mtwara region (CDJKL) changed to the appellation of W180-200 in 1998 and NDANDA F. C.

Mtwara (Portuguese: "Montewara") is the capital city of Mtwara Region in southeastern Tanzania. In the 1940s, it was planned and constructed as the export facility for the disastrous Tanganyika groundnut scheme, but was somewhat neglected when the scheme was abandoned in 1951. The city is spread out over a large area planned to accommodate up to 200,000 people. The present population is around 80,000. As part of the development associated with the failed Tanganyika groundnut scheme, Mtwara features a deep-water port that can accommodate ocean-going vessels, and a range of large municipal buildings, including a post office. Recent improvements in the port made it possible for big container ships to berth there.

Mtwara (portugiesisch "Montewara") ist eine Hafenstadt am Indischen Ozean und die Hauptstadt des Distrikts Mtwara, der an der Grenze zu Mosambik im Süden Tansanias liegt.


History.

The earliest known example of a clockwork mechanism is the Antikythera mechanism, a first-century BC geared analogue computer, somewhat astrolabe-like, for calculating astronomical positions and eclipses, recovered from a Greek shipwreck. There are many other accounts of clockwork devices in ancient Greece, even in its mythology, and the mechanism itself is sophisticated enough to indicate a significant history of lesser devices leading up to its creation.  At some point, this level of sophistication in clockwork technology was lost or forgotten in Europe, and only returned when brought from the Islamic world after the Crusades, along with other knowledge leading to the Renaissance. Clockwork finally recovered the equivalent of pre-Roman technological levels in the 14th century.  As in Greek mythology, there are ambitious automation claims in the legends of other cultures. For example, in Jewish legend, Solomon used his wisdom to design a throne with mechanical animals which hailed him as king when he ascended it; upon sitting down an eagle would place a crown upon his head, and a dove would bring him a Torah scroll. It's also said that when King Solomon stepped upon the throne, a mechanism was set in motion. As soon as he stepped upon the first step, a golden ox and a golden lion each stretched out one foot to support him and help him rise to the next step. On each side, the animals helped the King up until he was comfortably seated upon his throne.  In ancient China, a curious account of automation is found in the Lie Zi text, written in the 3rd century BC. Within it there is a description of a much earlier encounter between King Mu of Zhou (1023-957 BC) and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an 'artificer'. The latter proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical handiwork (Wade-Giles spelling): The king stared at the figure in astonishment. It walked with rapid strides, moving its head up and down, so that anyone would have taken it for a live human being. The artificer touched its chin, and it began singing, perfectly in tune. He touched its hand, and it began posturing, keeping perfect time...As the performance was drawing to an end, the robot winked its eye and made advances to the ladies in attendance, whereupon the king became incensed and would have had Yen Shih [Yan Shi] executed on the spot had not the latter, in mortal fear, instantly taken the robot to pieces to let him see what it really was. And, indeed, it turned out to be only a construction of leather, wood, glue and lacquer, variously coloured white, black, red and blue. Examining it closely, the king found all the internal organs complete—liver, gall, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, stomach and intestines; and over these again, muscles, bones and limbs with their joints, skin, teeth and hair, all of them artificial...The king tried the effect of taking away the heart, and found that the mouth could no longer speak; he took away the liver and the eyes could no longer see; he took away the kidneys and the legs lost their power of locomotion. The king was delighted. Other notable examples include Archytas's dove, mentioned by Aulus Gellius. Similar Chinese accounts of flying automata are written of the 5th century BC Mohist philosopher Mozi and his contemporary Lu Ban, who made artificial wooden birds ("ma yuan") that could successfully fly, according to the "Han Fei Zi" and other texts.  By the 11th century, clockwork was used for both timepieces and to track astronomical events, in Europe. The clocks did not keep time very accurately by modern standards, but the astronomical devices were carefully used to predict the positions of planets and other movement. The same timeline seems to apply in Europe, where mechanical escapements were used in clocks by that time.  Up to the 15th century, clockwork was driven by water, weights, or other roundabout, relatively primitive means, but in 1430 a clock was presented to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, that was driven by a spring. This became a standard technology along with weight-driven movements. In the mid-16th century, Christiaan Huygens took an idea from Galileo Galilei and developed it into the first modern pendulum mechanism. However, whereas the spring or the weight provided the motive power, the pendulum merely controlled the rate of release of that power via some escape mechanism (an escapement) at a regulated rate.  The Smithsonian Institution has in its collection a clockwork monk, about high, possibly dating as early as 1560. The monk is driven by a key-wound spring and walks the path of a square, striking his chest with his right arm, while raising and lowering a small wooden cross and rosary in his left hand, turning and nodding his head, rolling his eyes, and mouthing silent obsequies. From time to time, he brings the cross to his lips and kisses it. It is believed that the monk was manufactured by Juanelo Turriano, mechanician to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

Overview.

Often power for the device is stored within it, via a winding device that applies mechanical stress to an energy-storage mechanism such as a mainspring, thus involving some form of escapement; in other cases, hand power may be utilized. The use of wheels, whether linked by friction or gear teeth, to redirect motion or gain speed or torque, is typical; many clockwork mechanisms have been constructed primarily to serve as visible or implicit "tours de force" of mechanical ingenuity in this area. Sometimes clocks and timing mechanisms are used to set off explosives, timers, alarms and many other devices.

Examples.

The most common examples are mechanical clocks and watches. Others include:

Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical machines called clocks (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a complex series of gears.

Ein Federwerk ist ein mechanischer Antrieb, bestehend aus einer Feder und einem Getriebe mit Regler bzw. Hemmung. Die Feder ist meist spiralförmig gewunden und speichert Energie, die dann gegebenenfalls über ein Getriebe in eine anhaltende Drehbewegung umgesetzt wird.


The Parish church of Santa Maria.

Placed at the foothills of the castle hillock, the church of Santa Maria was first mentioned in 1217. There are no remains of the original church, which was enlarged at the end of the 14th and the middle of the 15th centuries. The present building, which retains a gothic air, was built between the end of the 16th century and the first quarter of the 17th century. It consists on one nave and polygonal chancel, chapels between buttresses and groin vault. On the outside, the standing features are the renaissance and baroque decoration of the facade and the bell tower, with square floor-plan, constructed around 1620 by Master Bernat N. de Mataró. The church was plundered and burned down in 1809, during the Independence War and in 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

The Castle of Hostalric.

The castle is built on a basalt hill and records of it date back to the twelfth century. Its importance grew because of its strategic position, controlling the Royal Way (Cami Ral) between Barcelona and Girona, and the fact that Hostalric became the administrative capital of the viscountcy of Cabrera. It was the scene of numerous battles in mediaeval times and the old castle virtually disappeared as a result. The original design for the modern fortress was the work of Francisco de Santa Cruz, a military engineer in the service of the Archduke Charles. Work on the construction of the fortress we see today was completed between 1794 and 1795 and it became an important point of resistance against Napoleon's army during the Peninsular War (1810-1814). In 1929 the castle's garrison was transferred and Hostalric ceased to be of military significance. In 1963 the castle and the town's walls and towers were declared a Cultural Site of National Interest.

Hostalric is a village in the province of Girona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The municipality covers an area of and the population in 2014 was 4,010.

Hostalric ist ein katalanisches Dorf im Landesinneren, und gehört zu La Selva in der Provinz Girona. Nach Girona sind es etwa 40, nach Barcelona rund 60 Kilometer.


Example.

A simple example is fitting a line in two dimensions to a set of observations. Assuming that this set contains both inliers, i.e., points which approximately can be fitted to a line, and outliers, points which cannot be fitted to this line, a simple least squares method for line fitting will generally produce a line with a bad fit to the data including inliers and outliers. The reason is that it is optimally fitted to all points, including the outliers. RANSAC, on the other hand, attempts to exclude the outliers and find a linear model that only uses the inliers in its calculation. This is done by fitting linear models to several random samplings of the data and returning the model that has the best fit to a subset of the data. Since the inliers tend to be more linearly related than a random mixture of inliers and outliers, a random subset that consists entirely of inliers will have the best model fit. In practice, there is no guarantee that a subset of inliers will be randomly sampled, and the probability of the algorithm succeeding depends on the proportion of inliers in the data as well as the choice of several algorithm parameters.

Overview.

The RANSAC algorithm is a learning technique to estimate parameters of a model by random sampling of observed data. Given a dataset whose data elements contain both inliers and outliers, RANSAC uses the voting scheme to find the optimal fitting result. Data elements in the dataset are used to vote for one or multiple models. The implementation of this voting scheme is based on two assumptions: that the noisy features will not vote consistently for any single model (few outliers) and there are enough features to agree on a good model (few missing data). The RANSAC algorithm is essentially composed of two steps that are iteratively repeated: The set of inliers obtained for the fitting model is called the consensus set. The RANSAC algorithm will iteratively repeat the above two steps until the obtained consensus set in certain iteration has enough inliers.  The input to the RANSAC algorithm is a set of observed data values, a way of fitting some kind of model to the observations, and some confidence parameters. RANSAC achieves its goal by repeating the following steps:  This procedure is repeated a fixed number of times, each time producing either a model which is rejected because too few points are part of the consensus set, or a refined model together with a corresponding consensus set size. In the latter case, we keep the refined model if its consensus set is larger than the previously saved model.

Algorithm.

The generic RANSAC algorithm works as follows:

Matlab implementation.

A Matlab implementation of 2D line fitting using the RANSAC algorithm:  function [bestParameter1,bestParameter2] = ransac_demo(data,num,iter,threshDist,inlierRatio) end %% Generate random data for test data = 150*(2*rand(2,100)-1); data = data.*rand(2,100); ransac_demo(data,2,100,10,0.1);

Parameters.

The threshold value to determine when a data point fits a model, and the number of close data points required to assert that a model fits well to data are determined based on specific requirements of the application and the dataset, and possibly based on experimental evaluation. The number of iterations, however, can be determined as a function of the desired probability of success using a theoretical result. Let be the desired probability that the RANSAC algorithm provides a useful result after running. RANSAC returns a successful result if in some iteration it selects only inliers from the input data set when it chooses the points from which the model parameters are estimated. Let formula_1 be the probability of choosing an inlier each time a single point is selected, that is,  A common case is that formula_1 is not well known beforehand, but some rough value can be given. Assuming that the points needed for estimating a model are selected independently, formula_4 is the probability that all "n" points are inliers and formula_5 is the probability that at least one of the points is an outlier, a case which implies that a bad model will be estimated from this point set. That probability to the power of is the probability that the algorithm never selects a set of points which all are inliers and this must be the same as formula_6. Consequently,  which, after taking the logarithm of both sides, leads to  This result assumes that the data points are selected independently, that is, a point which has been selected once is replaced and can be selected again in the same iteration. This is often not a reasonable approach and the derived value for should be taken as an upper limit in the case that the points are selected without replacement. For example, in the case of finding a line which fits the data set illustrated in the above figure, the RANSAC algorithm typically chooses two points in each iteration and computes codice_1 as the line between the points and it is then critical that the two points are distinct.  To gain additional confidence, the standard deviation or multiples thereof can be added to. The standard deviation of is defined as

Advantages and disadvantages.

An advantage of RANSAC is its ability to do robust estimation of the model parameters, i.e., it can estimate the parameters with a high degree of accuracy even when a significant number of outliers are present in the data set. A disadvantage of RANSAC is that there is no upper bound on the time it takes to compute these parameters (except exhaustion). When the number of iterations computed is limited the solution obtained may not be optimal, and it may not even be one that fits the data in a good way. In this way RANSAC offers a trade-off; by computing a greater number of iterations the probability of a reasonable model being produced is increased. Moreover, RANSAC is not always able to find the optimal set even for moderately contaminated sets and it usually performs badly when the number of inliers is less than 50%. Optimal RANSAC was proposed to handle both these problems and is capable of finding the optimal set for heavily contaminated sets, even for an inlier ratio under 5%. Another disadvantage of RANSAC is that it requires the setting of problem-specific thresholds.  RANSAC can only estimate one model for a particular data set. As for any one-model approach when two (or more) model instances exist, RANSAC may fail to find either one. The Hough transform is one alternative robust estimation technique that may be useful when more than one model instance is present. Another approach for multi model fitting is known as PEARL, which combines model sampling from data points as in RANSAC with iterative re-estimation of inliers and the multi-model fitting being formulated as an optimization problem with a global energy function describing the quality of the overall solution.

Applications.

The RANSAC algorithm is often used in computer vision, e.g., to simultaneously solve the correspondence problem and estimate the fundamental matrix related to a pair of stereo cameras.

Development and improvements.

Since 1981 RANSAC has become a fundamental tool in the computer vision and image processing community. In 2006, for the 25th anniversary of the algorithm, a workshop was organized at the International Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) to summarize the most recent contributions and variations to the original algorithm, mostly meant to improve the speed of the algorithm, the robustness and accuracy of the estimated solution and to decrease the dependency from user defined constants.  RANSAC can be sensitive to the choice of the correct noise threshold that defines which data points fit a model instantiated with a certain set of parameters. If such threshold is too large, then all the hypotheses tend to be ranked equally (good). On the other hand, when the noise threshold is too small, the estimated parameters tend to be unstable ( i.e. by simply adding or removing a datum to the set of inliers, the estimate of the parameters may fluctuate). To partially compensate for this undesirable effect, Torr et al. proposed two modification of RANSAC called MSAC (M-estimator SAmple and Consensus) and MLESAC (Maximum Likelihood Estimation SAmple and Consensus). The main idea is to evaluate the quality of the consensus set ( i.e. the data that fit a model and a certain set of parameters) calculating its likelihood (whereas in the original formulation by Fischler and Bolles the rank was the cardinality of such set). An extension to MLESAC which takes into account the prior probabilities associated to the input dataset is proposed by Tordoff. The resulting algorithm is dubbed Guided-MLESAC. Along similar lines, Chum proposed to guide the sampling procedure if some a priori information regarding the input data is known, i.e. whether a datum is likely to be an inlier or an outlier. The proposed approach is called PROSAC, PROgressive SAmple Consensus.  Chum et al. also proposed a randomized version of RANSAC called R-RANSAC to reduce the computational burden to identify a good consensus set. The basic idea is to initially evaluate the goodness of the currently instantiated model using only a reduced set of points instead of the entire dataset. A sound strategy will tell with high confidence when it is the case to evaluate the fitting of the entire dataset or when the model can be readily discarded. It is reasonable to think that the impact of this approach is more relevant in cases where the percentage of inliers is large. The type of strategy proposed by Chum et al. is called preemption scheme. Nistér proposed a paradigm called Preemptive RANSAC that allows real time robust estimation of the structure of a scene and of the motion of the camera. The core idea of the approach consists in generating a fixed number of hypothesis so that the comparison happens with respect to the quality of the generated hypothesis rather than against some absolute quality metric.  Other researchers tried to cope with difficult situations where the noise scale is not known and/or multiple model instances are present. The first problem has been tackled in the work by Wang and Suter. Toldo et al. represent each datum with the characteristic function of the set of random models that fit the point. Then multiple models are revealed as clusters which group the points supporting the same model. The clustering algorithm, called J-linkage, does not require prior specification of the number of models, nor does it necessitate manual parameters tuning.  RANSAC has also been tailored for recursive state estimation applications, where the input measurements are corrupted by outliers and Kalman filter approaches, which rely on a Gaussian distribution of the measurement error, are doomed to fail. Such an approach is dubbed KALMANSAC.

Random sample consensus (RANSAC) is an iterative method to estimate parameters of a mathematical model from a set of observed data that contains outliers, when outliers are to be accorded no influence on the values of the estimates. Therefore, it also can be interpreted as an outlier detection method. It is a non-deterministic algorithm in the sense that it produces a reasonable result only with a certain probability, with this probability increasing as more iterations are allowed. The algorithm was first published by Fischler and Bolles at SRI International in 1981. They used RANSAC to solve the Location Determination Problem (LDP), where the goal is to determine the points in the space that project onto an image into a set of landmarks with known locations.

RANSAC (, deutsch etwa „Übereinstimmung mit einer zufälligen Stichprobe“) ist ein Resampling-Algorithmus zur Schätzung eines Modells innerhalb einer Reihe von Messwerten mit Ausreißern und groben Fehlern. Wegen seiner Robustheit gegenüber Ausreißern wird er vor allem bei der Auswertung automatischer Messungen vornehmlich im Bereich des maschinellen Sehens eingesetzt. Hier unterstützt RANSAC – durch Berechnung einer um Ausreißer bereinigten Datenmenge, des sogenannten "Consensus Sets" – Ausgleichsverfahren wie die Methode der kleinsten Quadrate, die bei einer größeren Anzahl von Ausreißern meist versagen.


Early life, education, and family.

Ugo Mifsud Bonnici was born in Cospicua as the son of Professor Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, and his wife, Maria (née Ross). He was educated at the Lyceum and the Royal University of Malta. He graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in 1952 and as a Doctor of Laws in 1955. As a lawyer, he has practised in all the Law Courts of Malta. On 3 May 1959, he married Gemma (née Bianco); the couple has three childrenː Carmelo, Anton and Jeanne-Pia.

Entry to politics.

Following in his father's footsteps, he contested the General Elections in the interests of the Nationalist Party in 1966. He was elected from the 2nd District which comprised Cospicua, Vittoriosa, Senglea, Kalkara and Fgura. He was re-elected in all subsequent General Elections that he contested. For fifteen years (1972–1987) he was the Nationalist Party's spokesman for Education. In 1977 he was also elected President of the Party's General and Administrative Councils.

Cabinet Member.

In 1987 the Nationalist Party was elected to Government and Bonnici was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Education. His portfolio included Education, Environment, Broadcasting, Culture, Youth, Museums and Sport. In 1990 he became Minister of Education and the Interior. Following the 1992 elections Mifsud Bonnici was appointed Minister of Education and Human Resources.  As a Member of Parliament, he took an active interest in the updating of Malta's legislation. He was a member of numerous Select Committees including the Committee set up to draft the Constitutional changes that declared Malta a Republic. As a Minister, he worked on the drafting of important legislation such as the "Education Act", the "Environment Act", the "National Archives Act" and the "Occupational Health and Safety Promotion Act". He made a strong effort to improve the standards at public schools.

Presidency.

He was inaugurated as President of Malta on 4 April 1994, and served his term in full, ending five years later to the day. He was succeeded by Guido de Marco in 1999.

Writings.

Dr. Mifsud Bonnici is a prolific writer. His articles have appeared in various newspapers; some were published in two books: "Il-Linja t-Tajba - L-Aħjar Artikli ta' Dottor Ugo Mifsud Bonnici" and "Biex il-Futur Reġa' Beda". He also spent some years as editor of a literary magazine "Malta Letterarja".

Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, (born 8 November 1932) is a Maltese politician and was the fifth President of Malta from 4 April 1994 until the same day in 1999.

Ugo Mifsud Bonniċi (* 8. November 1932 in Cospicua, Malta) ist ein maltesischer Politiker und war von 1994 bis 1999 Präsident von Malta.


Life and career.

Liston was born in Kansas City, Missouri. At the age of seven, Melba's mother purchased her a trombone. Her family encouraged her musical pursuits, as they were all music lovers. Liston was primarily self-taught, but she was "encouraged by her guitar-playing grandfather" who she spent significant time with learning to play spirituals and folk songs. At the age of eight, she was good enough to be a solo act on a local radio station. At the age of ten, she moved to Los Angeles, California. She was classmates with Dexter Gordon, and friends with Eric Dolphy. After playing in youth bands and studying with Alma Hightower, she joined the big band led by Gerald Wilson in 1944.  She recorded with saxophonist Dexter Gordon in 1947 and joined Dizzy Gillespie's big band, which included saxophonists John Coltrane, Paul Gonsalves, and pianist John Lewis) in New York for a time when Wilson disbanded his orchestra in 1948. Liston performed in a supporting role and was nervous when asked to take solos, but with encouragement she became more comfortable as a featured voice in bands. She toured with Count Basie, then with Billie Holiday (1949) but was so profoundly affected by the indifference of the audiences and the rigors of the road that she gave up playing and turned to education. Liston taught for about three years.  She took a clerical job for some years and supplemented her income by taking work as an extra in Hollywood, appearing in "The Prodigal" (1955) and "The Ten Commandments" (1956). She returned to Gillespie for tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department in 1956 and 1957, recorded with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1957), and formed an all-women quintet in 1958. In 1959, she visited Europe with the show "Free and Easy", for which Quincy Jones was music director. She accompanied Billy Eckstine with the Quincy Jones Orchestra on "At Basin Street East", released on October 1, 1961, by Verve.  In the 1960s she began collaborating with pianist Randy Weston, arranging compositions (primarily his own) for mid-size to large ensembles. This association, especially strong in the 1960s, would be rekindled in the late 1980s and 1990s until her death. In addition, she worked with Milt Jackson, Clark Terry, and Johnny Griffin, as well as working as an arranger for Motown, appearing on albums by Ray Charles. In 1964, she helped establish the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra. In 1971 she was chosen as musical arranger for a Stax recording artist Calvin Scott whose album was being produced by Stevie Wonder's first producer, Clarence Paul. On this album she worked with Joe Sample and Wilton Felder of the Jazz Crusaders, blues guitarist Arthur Adams, and jazz drummer Paul Humphrey. In 1973, she moved to Jamaica to teach at the Jamaica School of Music for six years before returning to the U.S. to lead her own bands.  During her time in Jamaica, she composed and arranged music for the 1975 comedy film "Smile Orange" starring Carl Bradshaw, who three years earlier starred in the first Jamaican film, "The Harder They Come".  She was forced to give up playing in 1985 after a stroke left her partially paralyzed, but she continued to arrange music with Randy Weston. In 1987, she was awarded the Jazz Masters Fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts. After suffering repeated strokes, she died in Los Angeles, California in 1999 a few days after a tribute to her and Randy Weston's music at Harvard University. Her funeral at St. Peter's in Manhattan featured performances by Weston with Jann Parker as well as by Chico O'Farrill's Afro-Cuban ensemble and by Lorenzo Shihab (vocals).

Composing and arranging.

Her early work with the high-profile bands of Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie shows a strong command of the big-band and bop idioms. However, perhaps her most important work was written for Randy Weston, with whom she worked for four decades from the early 1960s.  Liston worked as a "ghost writer" during her career. According to one writer, "Many of the arrangements found in the Gillespie, Jones, and Weston repertoires were accomplished by Liston."

Social meaning.

Liston was a female in a profession of mostly males. Although some consider her an unsung hero, she is highly regarded in the jazz community. Liston was a trailblazer as a trombonist and a woman. She articulated difficulties of being a woman on the road.  "There's those natural problems on the road, the female problems, the lodging problems, the laundry, and all those kinda things to try to keep yourself together, problems that somehow or other the guys don't seem to have to go through."  She goes on to recount the struggles she experienced as an African American woman, which affected her musical career. However, she generally spoke positively about the camaraderie with and support from male musicians. Liston also dealt with larger issues of inequity in the music industry. One writer has said, "It was clear that she had to continually prove her credentials in order to gain suitable employment as a musician, composer, and arranger. She was not paid equitable scale and was often denied access to the larger opportunities as a composer and arranger."

Musical style.

Liston's musical style reflects bebop and post-bop sensibilities learned from Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey. Her earliest recorded work—such as Gordon's "Mischievous Lady" a tribute to her—her solos show a blend of motivic and linear improvisation, though they seem to make less use of extended harmonies and alterations.  Her arrangements, especially those with Weston, show a flexibility that transcends her musical upbringing in the bebop 1940s, whether working in the styles of swing, post-bop, African musics, or Motown. Her command of rhythmic gestures, grooves, and polyrhythms is particularly notable (as illustrated in "Uhuru Afrika" and "Highlife"). Her instrumental parts demonstrate an active use of harmonic possibilities; although her arrangements suggest relatively subdued interest in the explorations of free jazz ensembles, they use an extended tonal vocabulary, rich with altered harmonic voicings, thick layering, and dissonance. Her work throughout her career has been well received by both critics and audiences alike.

Discography.

As sidewoman or guest.

With Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers  With Betty Carter  With Ray Charles  With Dizzy Gillespie  With Quincy Jones  With Jimmy Smith  With Dinah Washington  With Randy Weston  With others

Melba Doretta Liston (January 13, 1926 – April 23, 1999) was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. She was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, but as her career progressed she became better known as an arranger particularly in partnership with pianist Randy Weston.

Melba Doretta Liston (* 13. Januar 1926 in Kansas City, Missouri; † 23. April 1999 in Inglewood) war eine US-amerikanische Jazzmusikerin (Posaune, Komposition, Arrangement).


Politics and inheritance.

Lowry-Corry was the only surviving son of Armar Lowry-Corry, 1st Earl Belmore, and his first wife Lady Margaret Butler. In 1798, he was elected to the Irish House of Commons for Tyrone and represented the constituency until the Act of Union in 1801. Thereafter he was returned to the British House of Commons for County Tyrone, a seat he held until 1802, when he succeeded his father as earl.  In 1819 Lord Belmore was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Tyrone and elected as a Representative Peer for Ireland. He served as Governor of Jamaica from 1828 to 1832 and was also a colonel in the Tyrone Militia.  He inherited from his father the house at Castle Coole in County Fermanagh, along with considerable debts. Nonetheless he furnished the house and its classical interiors designed by James Wyatt in an exuberant Regency fashion between 1802 and 1825. Elaborate curtains and pelmets, pier glasses, "Grecian" couches and a magnificent state bed designed to accommodate King George IV on his state visit to Ireland in 1821 (although the king did not make it as far as Castle Coole, much to the disappointment of the earl) were all supplied by the Dublin upholsterer John Preston at a total cost of around £35,000. Lord Belmore also commissioned Sir Richard Morrison to build a new stable block in 1817.

Lord Belmore's yacht.

Lord Belmore bought the captured "James Madison" and had her converted from schooner to brig rig. He also renamed her "Osprey", of Killybegs in Donegal, armed her with fourteen 9-pounder carronades, and arranged for her to have a letter of marque.  Around 1817, Lord Belmore used "Osprey" for a family cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean. Her captain was Lord Belmore's brother, Captain Armar Lowry-Corry, RN. The party included Belmore's wife, the Countess Juliana, their two sons, their lapdog Rosa, the family doctor, Dr. Robert Richardson, M.D. (Edinburgh), and the vicar, Mr. Holt. They visited Malta, Sicily, Italy, the Ionian Islands, Greece, Rome, and Alexandria. They also sailed up the Nile as far as Luxor in three local boats.  Lord Belmore apparently had two hobbies in Egypt. One was collecting antiquities. To that end he sponsored some of Giovanni Battista Belzoni's excavations in Egypt with the result that tomb KV30, in the Valley of the Kings, is known as Lord Belmore's tomb. These excavations were the source of some of Lord Belmore's collection of Egyptian antiquities, such as the sarcophagus that is now in the British Museum.  Lord Belmore's other hobby was carving his name on Egyptian antiquities. In his desire to commemorate his travels, Belmore carved his name into a stone at the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Ramesseum (the mortuary temple of Ramses II), and on the side of the Temple of Dendur, which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Corry also carved his name on a pillar of the temple of Medinet Habu at Luxor. After Egypt, the family traveled to Palestine and visited Jerusalem.  In 1819 when the family was done with their cruise, Belmore sold "Osprey" to the King of Naples and the family returned home.

Family.

On 20 October 1800 Somerset married his first cousin Lady Juliana Butler (20 September 1783 –22 July 1861), second daughter of Henry Butler, 2nd Earl of Carrick by his wife Sarah Taylor, second daughter and co-heiress of Edward Taylor, of Askeaton, County Limerick, and had issue:  Lord Belmore died at Leamington Spa, Warwickshire on 18 April 1841 aged sixty-six and was succeeded by his eldest son.

Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl Belmore (11 July 1774 – 18 April 1841), styled The Honourable from 1781 to 1797 and then known as Viscount Corry to 1802, was an Irish nobleman and politician.

Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2. Earl Belmore (* 11. Juli 1774 in Dublin; † 18. April 1841 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire) war ein irischer Adliger und Gouverneur von Jamaika.