Style.

The swords of Masamune possess a reputation for superior beauty and quality, remarkable in a period where the steel necessary for swords was often impure. He is considered to have brought to perfection the art of.  Masamune studied under Shintōgo Kunimitsu and made blades in "suguha" (straight temper line) but he made "notare hamon", where the finish on the leading edge of blade slowly undulates where it was quenched. There are also some blades with "ko-midare" (small irregularities), a style which appears to have been copied from the Old Bizen and Hōki Province styles. His works are well-characterized by striking "chikei" (dark lines following the grain pattern in the steel above the hamon), "kinsuji" (lightning shaped lines of nie) and "nie" (crystals of martensite embedded in a pearlite matrix).  Swords created by Masamune often are referred to with the smith's name (as with other pieces of artwork), often with a name for the individual sword as well. The "Honjo Masamune", a symbol of the Tokugawa shogunate and passed down from shōgun to shōgun, is perhaps the best known Masamune sword.  Signed works of Masamune are rare. The examples "Fudo Masamune", "Kyōgoku Masamune", and "Daikoku Masamune" are accepted as his genuine works. Judging from his style, he was active from the late Kamakura period to the Nanboku-chō period.  His swords are the most frequently cited among those listed in the "Kyōho Meibutsu Cho", a catalogue of excellent swords in the collections of daimyō edited during the Kyōhō era by the Hon'ami family of sword appraisers and polishers. The catalogue was created on the orders of the Tokugawa Yoshimune of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1714 and consists of three books. The first book, known as the "Nihon Sansaku", is a list of the three greatest swordsmiths in the eyes of Toyotomi Hideyoshi including Etchu Matsukura Go Umanosuke Yoshihiro, Awataguchi Toshiro Yoshimitsu, and lists forty-one blades by Masamune. The three books together list sixty-one blades by Masamune. There are far more blades listed for Masamune than the next two swordsmiths combined. It is known that Hideyoshi had a passion for Soshu swordsmiths which may explain this. A third of all swords listed are Soshu blades by many of the greatest Soshu masters including Masamune's students.

Legends of Masamune and Muramasa.

A legend tells of a test where Muramasa challenged his master, Masamune, to see who could make a finer sword. They both worked tirelessly and eventually, when both swords were finished, they decided to test the results. The contest was for each to suspend the blades in a small creek with the cutting edge facing against the current. Muramasa's sword, the cut everything that passed its way; fish, leaves floating down the river, the very air which blew on it. Highly impressed with his pupil's work, Masamune lowered his sword, the, into the current and waited patiently. Only leaves were cut. However, the fish swam right up to it, and the air hissed as it gently blew by the blade. After a while, Muramasa began to scoff at his master for his apparent lack of skill in the making of his sword. Smiling to himself, Masamune pulled up his sword, dried it, and sheathed it. All the while, Muramasa was heckling him for his sword's inability to cut anything. A monk, who had been watching the whole ordeal, walked over and bowed low to the two sword masters. He then began to explain what he had seen.  In another account of the story, both blades cut the leaves that went down on the river's current equally well, but the leaves would stick to the blade of Muramasa whereas they would slip on past Masamune's after being sliced. Or alternatively both leaves were cut, but those cut by Masamune's blade would reform as it traveled down the stream. Yet another version has leaves being sliced by Muramasa's blade while the leaves were repelled by Masamune's, and another again has leaves being sliced by Muramasa's blade and healed by Masamune's.  In yet another story Muramasa and Masamune were summoned to make swords for the "shōgun" or Emperor and the finished swords were held in a waterfall. The result is the same as the other stories, and Masamune's swords are deemed holy swords. In one version of the story Muramasa is killed for creating evil swords.  While all known legends of the two ever having met are historically impossible, both smiths are widely regarded as symbols for their respective eras.

Students.

Masamune is believed to have trained a great number of sword smiths; 15 are known, 10 of whom are considered to be the "Juttetsu" or "Ten Famous Students" or "10 Great Disciples of Masamune".

Great Juttetsu.

Chogi.

Although probably not a direct student of Masamune due to the dates when he was forging, his works are greatly influenced by Masamune's work and the Soshu tradition as well as the work of the Soden Bizen swordsmiths. Though the kanji characters are pronounced in Japanese as 'Nagayoshi', by convention the Chinese pronunciation of 'Chogi' is used for this smith, and a handful of others (less commonly for his student Kanenaga, pronounced in Chinese as 'Kencho').

Kanemitsu.

Considered to have created some of the sharpest swords ever known, he is one of a handful of smiths rated at "Sai-jo O-wazamono" (grandmaster of great sharpness) with famous swords named "Kabutowari" (Helmet Cutter), "Ishikiri" (Stone Cutter), and "Teppokiri" (Gun Cutter) as relayed in Fujishiro's writings. Kanemitsu produced swords used by renowned men and generals. He likely wasn't taught directly by Masamune, however, but was influenced by the Soshu, crafting swords in addition to serving himself as a leader in the Soden Bizen revolution.

Shizu Saburo Kaneuji.

Lived in Yamato province before going to Mino to study under Masamune where his style radically changed. His swords are most like those of Masamune and quite often confused with his. The Mishina school can trace its history back to Kaneuji and through him back to Masamune.

Kinju.

(金重) Kinju, like Chogi, by convention is pronounced in Chinese. He is also known as Kaneshige using the Japanese pronunciation of his name. He and Kaneuji are founders of the Mino style. He was a monk at the Seisen-ji in Tsuruga, and led to the creation of Echizen swordmaking like Kuniyuki, moving to Mino around the time of Ryakuo (1338–1342) creating the Seki tradition.

Kunishige.

Created the Hasebe school producing swords in the style of the second period of Soshu and Yamashiro. His swords are considered by some to be equal to Akihiro and Hiromitsu. He created the "Heshikiri Hasebe" (The Forceful Cutter) listed in the Kyoho Meibutsu Cho, owned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and then by Oda Nobunaga. It bears a gold appraisal inlay of Honami Kotoku called a Kinzogan (金象嵌). Today the sword is a family heirloom of the Kuroda Daimyō Ke. The sword takes its name from the story of Oda Nobunaga drawing it to cut through a table to kill Kannai, a tea master who betrayed him.

Kunitsugu.

Also goes by the name Kamakura Rai as he is the grandson of Rai Kuniyuki. The influence of the Soshu and Yamashiro traditions can be observed in his works.

Saemonzaburo.

Believed to go by the name Yasuyoshi but signed his work using the first two letters of his given name. Considered by some to be one of the greatest of Masamune's students. As well as being a Soshu swordsmith he also created the Chikuzen tradition.

Saeki Norishige.

Historically considered one of the best of Masamune's students, he is numbered among the Juttetsu. However, current research indicates that he was a senior student to Masamune, junior to Yukimitsu, under the great teacher Shintōgo Kunimitsu. He, like Go, hails from Etchu province and is well known as the only smith to have mastered the style of matsukawa-hada (pine tree bark pattern steel), making his work unique.

Go Yoshihiro.

Very few works exist by this swordsmith due to his death at the young age of 27, No known signed works exist. He is believed to have gone by the names of Go Yoshihiro or simply Go, the name of the town from which he came. As well as being a Soshu swordsmith he is a member of the Etchu tradition. He is considered to have the highest skill in forging swords among the Masamune Juttetsu.

Naotsuna.

Many theories exist that he may in fact have been a student of Saemonzaburo among others. His work is considered by many to have been influenced by Soshu(相州) even if not taught by Masamune directly, he is also influenced by the Soden Bizen(備前) and Iwami province (石州) style.

Swords.

Honjō Masamune.

The "Honjō Masamune" represented the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period and was passed down from one "shōgun" to another. It is one of the best known of the swords created by Masamune, and is believed to be among the finest Japanese swords ever made. It was made a Japanese National Treasure ("Kokuhō") in 1939.  The name Honjō possibly came about due to this sword's connection to the general Honjō Shigenaga who gained the sword in battle. Honjō Shigenaga, general of Uesugi Kenshin in the 16th century, was attacked by Umanosuke who already possessed a number of trophy heads. Shigenaga was attacked with the Honjō Masamune which split his helmet, but he survived and took the sword as a prize. The blade had a number of chips from the great battle but was still usable. It was kept by Shigenaga until he was sent to Fushimi Castle, Bunroku around 1592–1595.  Shigenaga was later forced to sell the sword to Toyotomi Hidetsugu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew and retainer. It was bought for 13 Mai, 13 ōban, which was 13 large gold coins. The blade was later valued in the Kyoho Meibutsu Cho at 1,000 Mai. It then went to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Shimazu Yoshihiro, again to Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Yorinobu, and finally Tokugawa Ietsuna. It remained in the Kii (紀伊) branch of the Tokugawa family, the last known owner being Tokugawa Iemasa at the end of World War II.  Under the United States occupation at the end of World War II all production of nihontō with edges was banned except under police or government permit. Apparently, Tokugawa Iemasa gave the Honjō Masamune and 14 other swords to a police station at Mejiro in December 1945. Shortly thereafter in January 1946, the Mejiro police gave these swords to a man identified as "Sgt. Coldy Bimore" (possibly a garbled phonetic spelling of the man's name) of the Foreign Liquidations Commission of AFWESPAC (Army Forces, Western Pacific). In an episode of "Expedition Unknown", Josh Gates traveled to Japan in search of the Honjō Masamune, and learned that there were no records of a "Sgt. Coldy Bimore" listed to have received the sword. The Honjō Masamune is the most important of the missing Japanese swords and its current location remains unknown, but there are theories of who may possess the sword.

Fudo Masamune.

This is one of the few blades signed by Masamune that is not in question. It was bought by Toyotomi Hidetsugu in 1601 for 500 Kan and was passed to Shōgun Ieyasu and from him to Maeda Toshiie. Maeda Toshitsune presented it again to the Shōgun, possibly on his retirement. Later, the sword was handed down among the Owari Tokugawa. This blade is a tantō approximately 25 cm (8 sun 6.5 bun) with a carving of roots on the Omote (Front, outer edge) side. It also has chopstick-like grooves (Gomabashi 護摩箸) on the back and a Dragon at the ura part of blade (Kurikara 倶利伽羅). The blade features an engraving of Fudō Myō-ō, the buddhist deity which gives this blade its name..

Musashi Masamune.

A peculiar work of Masamune, once in the possession of the Tokugawa Shogunate through the Kii Domain and gifted to the main Tokugawa family line in Edo in its prime. Upon the end of the Tokugawa Era marked by the Bakumatsu, the Musashi Masamune was presented as a gift by Tokugawa Iesato in honor of Yamaoka Tesshū's efforts to facilitate peaceful negotiation with Katsu Kaishū to Saigō Takamori, sparing Edo from war and needless destruction; however, Yamaoka was humbled upon being given such a masterpiece, and had passed it down to statesman Iwakura Tomomi. Soon after seeing it passed from hand to hand throughout the 20th Century, the Musashi Masamune finally made its way to the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai in the year 2000 by Motoo Otsuyasu. The Musashi Masamune is a tachi, measuring 74 cm (2 korai-shaku, 1 sun, 4.2 bun), and noted to have nearly all of the characteristics of Masamune's signature features; though it is debated that its o-kissaki is not that of his style, it is compared to blades made in his later career, which shows the transition of the Kamakura styles into the Nanbokucho era. It is of rumor that, while the blade is named after Musashi Province, where Edo and current day Tokyo stands, its origins stems from being once in the possession of Miyamoto Musashi, who is considered Japan's most famous swordsman. The sword is classified as a meibutsu National Treasure of Japan.

Hōchō Masamune.

The "Hōchō" Masamune refers to any one of three particular and unusual tantō attributed to Masamune. These tantō have a wide body, unlike his normal slim and elegant work, making them appear quite similar to a Japanese cooking knife. One of the three blades has a Gomabashi in cutout (Sukashi). It was restored around 1919 and sold for approximately 10 "hiki" (a certain number of "mon"); this was worth roughly 14¢ US at the time, meaning that the price was remarkably low. It is presently on display in the Tokugawa Art Museum.

Kotegiri Masamune.

Kotegiri means "Kote cutter". In this case Kote is contracted word of Yugote (弓籠手), items of samurai that is equipped with his finger for using a bow. This name comes from an episode that Asakura Ujikage cut an opposing samurai's yugote in the battle of Toji in Kyôto. Oda Nobunaga gained possession of this sword and had it shortened to its present length. In 1615 it eventually passed down to the Maeda clan who in 1882 presented it as a gift to Emperor Meiji, a known sword collector.

Masamune in Harry S. Truman Library.

A Masamune was given to President Harry S. Truman shortly after World War II. It is housed in the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.

References.

Nuttall, Zelia. "The Earliest Historical Relations between Mexico and Japan, from original documents preserved in Spain and Japan". (1906) https://archive.org/details/earliesthistoric00nuttrich

, also known as, is widely recognized as Japan's greatest swordsmith. He created swords and daggers, known in Japanese as tachi and tantō respectively, in the "Soshu" tradition. No exact dates are known for Masamune's life. It is generally agreed that he made most of his swords in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, 1288–1328. Some stories list his family name as Okazakii, but some experts believe this is a fabrication to enhance the standing of the Tokugawa family.

Okazaki Masamune (jap. ), auch bekannt unter dem Namen Okazaki Gorō (), Gorō Nyūdō Masamune (, dt. „Priester Gorō Masamune“), war einer der berühmtesten Schwertschmiede Japans. Die genauen Lebensdaten sind unbekannt. Es wird heute aber allgemein davon ausgegangen, dass er die meisten seiner Schwerter, im Wesentlichen Katana- und Tantōklingen im Stile der Sōshū-Tradition, zwischen 1288 und 1328 in der Provinz Sagami angefertigt hat.


Novels.

Novels for readers of all ages:  Researcher Hannah Peter makes a strange discovery: a Medusa sculpture, with snakelike extremities and a cyclops eye, indicates that there is a cave deep in the mountains, where a fantastically beautiful and incredibly dangerous object is located. A team from the National Geographic Society is assigned to search for this treasure. Along with Chris, the climatologist of the group, Hannah discovers the origin and at the same time the end of an age-old culture.  The young geneticist David Astbury is asked by a wealthy friend of his father's for help, as her daughter Emily has disappeared while on an expedition in the Congo. She was on a hunt for the legendary monster Mokèlé-mbèmbé, the sole survivor of the age of dinosaurs. Thus, David prepares to go into the depths of the jungle of the Congo. He is accompanied by a Congolese biologist and two foreign game hunters. When they seek out the ancient reptile at Lake Tele, strange events begin to unfold. The reptile holds a genetic secret, which could forever change the way of life on earth.  Seismologist Dr. Ella Jordan gets the news that strange signals are being received in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They are, however, much too regular to be caused by anything natural and seem to originate from the 10,000 meter deep Mariana Trench. Ella drops everything to join a team of researchers heading over there in the most advanced submarine in the world. Along with a Japanese crew, an attractive U.S. Marine officer, and a somewhat shady Swiss professor, Konrad Martin, Ella and her team descent to the deepest spot on earth and barely escape disaster: They find a gigantic, perfectly round stone that reacts to their probing with a deadly heat ray. What hardly anyone knows is that hidden away in the mountains of Switzerland, there is an underground lab, where scientists are working on a similar, though smaller ball of stone, found decades earlier next to the corpse of a geologist. Suddenly new signals are detected: first from the North Pole, then from Russia, Australia, and the Antarctic. Ella and Konrad Martin find these same inexplicable stone shapes everywhere. When the stones’ signals start to be sent in unison, the resulting seismic waves are so strong that they cause earthquakes and volcanoes, but that is just the beginning. A countdown to disaster begins, and Ella recognizes the terrible truth. The threat does not come from this world. Around the Brocken in the Harz Mountains, towns and hotels are preparing for the Walpurgis Night, and archaeologist Hannah Peters is on her way. Her job is to explore the mysterious Nebra sky disk, a spectacular Bronze Age find. What she doesn't know: The disc is the object of desire of a dark cult, lurking in the caves of the Harz mountains, having waited for a long time to celebrate an all-destructive ritual. Hannah is drawn deeper and deeper into the force of the cult - and soon strange celestial phenomena announce a Walpurgis Night, that will never end.  Amy Walker, a biologist specializing on gorillas, has nightmares ever since a member of her team has mysteriously disappeared. Ironically, an ex-con is to join the team. Nobody - except the gorillas - trusts him. Despite threatening solar activity and strange weather phenomena, the team travels to the East African Rwenzori Mountains to locate the missing persons, and an adventure starts that takes Amy to the limits of her mind.  Novels for young readers:

Thomas Thiemeyer (born 22 March 1963) is a German illustrator and author of fantasy novels. Since 2018, he also has published crime stories set in Corsica under the pen name "Vitu Falconi".

Thomas Thiemeyer (* 22. März 1963 in Köln) ist ein deutscher Illustrator und Schriftsteller. Seit 2018 schreibt er auch Kriminalromane unter dem Pseudonym "Vitu Falconi".


Career.

Aston Villa.

Gardner came through Aston Villa's youth system and turned professional on 31 January 2005. Gardner made his Premier League debut on 26 December 2005, when he came on as a substitute for Steven Davis against Everton at Villa Park. He scored his first professional goal for Villa in the 3–1 away win on 14 April against Middlesbrough. He also netted a contender for goal of the month on the last day of the season away to Bolton Wanderers. After a series of appearances Villa Manager Martin O'Neill entered contract talks with Gardner.  In August 2007, Gardner signed a new four-year deal, which ran until June 2011. On 1 October 2007 he scored twice in two games with two free kicks. First he scored away to Tottenham Hotspur in a 4–4 draw and then the winner against West Ham United five days later with a deflected attempt.  On 1 December 2007, Gardner scored the opener in a home match against Arsenal. Villa went on to lose the match 2–1. Gardner has often played in the right-back slot, and impressed both his manager, Martin O'Neill, and captain, Gareth Barry, who said that Gardner could be a key player for years to come.  Gardner was a member of the England under-21 team that played at the 2009 European Championships. He appeared in two group matches and was a second-half substitute in the final, which England lost 4–0 to Germany.  Gardner made just one appearance for Villa in the 2009–10 season because of a groin injury. On 4 January 2010 it was announced that Birmingham City were preparing a £3.5 million bid. However it was revealed that Aston Villa had turned down the bid for the player. However, the club later offered a second deal including add-ons that was accepted by Aston Villa. He made exactly 80 appearances for Villa in all competitions.

Birmingham City.

Gardner signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Birmingham City on 26 January 2010 for a fee reported as £3m plus £500,000 in add-ons. He made his debut on 7 February as a 68th-minute substitute, and set up the first of Kevin Phillips' goals as Birmingham came back to beat Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1. He scored his first goal for the club against Everton on 13 March. Towards the end of the season Gardner was preferred to Sebastian Larsson on the right of midfield. Restored to his favoured central position, he scored twice in the first home game of the 2010–11 season as Birmingham came from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers 2–1, and scored again in the next game away at Bolton Wanderers. Gardner's winning goal in extra time against West Ham United took Birmingham City through to the 2011 Football League Cup Final, and he was in the starting eleven as Birmingham won their first major trophy since 1963. He was the team's top scorer in the 2010–11 season with eight League goals, ten in all competitions, as Birmingham were relegated to the Championship.

Sunderland.

Gardner signed a three-year deal with Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, believed by BBC Sport to be about £6 million, on 30 June 2011. Gardner made his debut as a substitute in the home defeat to Newcastle United on 20 August, and scored his first competitive goal on 18 September 2011 with a deflected shot that looped over Stoke Citys goalkeeper Asmir Begović as Sunderland beat Stoke City 4–0 at home to secure their first win of the season. Gardner fell out of favour at Sunderland, and was linked with a departure in the January transfer window. However, he was re-united with former boss O'Neill when he replaced Steve Bruce as Sunderland manager in December 2011, and this prompted a change in fortune for Gardner and the Black Cats. Gardner was deployed at right back against Manchester City on New Year's Day 2012 due to an injury crisis, and helped Sunderland to a shock 1–0 win against the league leaders. Two days later Gardner, again playing at right back, scored his second goal for Sunderland, direct from a free kick 30 yards away from goal in their 4–1 away win at Wigan. Gardner was rumoured to be homesick at Sunderland in the press, and was linked with a move back to the Midlands. Sunderland rejected a loan bid for Gardner from former club Birmingham City on 19 January. Gardner scored a stunning volley from 25 yards late on in Sunderland's 2–0 win over Swansea City on 21 January.  Gardner remained at Sunderland for the 2012–13 season, dismissing rumours that he was unsettled on Wearside. He was deployed as a right-back by O'Neill for much of the season. His first goal of the season came from a direct free kick against MK Dons in a 2–0 Capital One Cup victory on 25 September. Gardner scored again from a free kick in a 2–4 home defeat against West Bromwich Albion, and scored the Black Cats' consolation goal in a 2–1 loss at Norwich in December. On 5 January, Gardner scored a late equaliser in their FA Cup 3rd Round tie away at Bolton Wanderers with a powerful strike from the edge of the box, earning Sunderland a replay. He scored a penalty as Sunderland lost 2–1 at Reading in January. In March, Gardner conceded a penalty by bringing down Ashkan Dejagah in the box, but made amends by scoring another penalty to help Sunderland draw 2–2. Gardner scored yet another penalty as Sunderland drew at home to Norwich later that month, bringing his tally for the season to eight. Despite Gardner's goals, Sunderland were on a run of eight games without a win, and following a home defeat to Manchester United, O'Neill was sacked and replaced with Paolo Di Canio. Gardner started Di Canio's first game in charge, a 2–1 loss at Chelsea, and picked up his tenth yellow card of the season. As a result, Gardner missed the Tyne-Wear derby at Newcastle through suspension. However, Di Canio allowed Gardner to travel to the game with Sunderland supporters and watch the game with the fans in the away end. Gardner was seen singing with Sunderland fans on the Metro journey to Tyneside, and celebrating as Sunderland thrashed their rivals 3–0. Gardner returned to the team following his suspension, but against Stoke was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Charlie Adam, ending his season prematurely.  Gardner scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season from the penalty spot in a 3–1 home defeat to Arsenal. He also opened the scoring against Manchester United a few weeks later, although Sunderland went on to lose 2–1. Gardner scored the only goal of the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Southampton when he "unleashed a 20-yard shot which arced imperiously before brushing the underside of the bar as it dipped en route to the top corner".

West Bromwich Albion.

On 20 May 2014, Gardner signed a three-year deal with West Bromwich Albion, to begin when his Sunderland contract expired at the end of the 2013–14 season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 victory against his former club Aston Villa.

Return to Birmingham City.

On 11 January 2017, Gardner returned to Birmingham City on loan until the end of the season, after which the transfer would become a three-year permanent deal with an option for a fourth year. The fee was undisclosed, but the "Birmingham Mail" believed it to be in excess of £1 million. The deal was made permanent on 11 May 2017.

Personal life.

Gardner was born in Solihull and raised in the Yardley district of Birmingham, where he attended Cockshut Hill School. After transferring to Birmingham City in 2010, he said he was a lifelong Birmingham City supporter. His younger brother Gary Gardner also played for England at youth level and turned professional with Aston Villa. In June 2012, Gardner donated £500 to the family of a disabled toddler after a chance meeting in a department store; this was only revealed after the Stoke-on-Trent family told a local newspaper.

Honours.

Birmingham City

Craig Gardner (born 25 November 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Birmingham City. A versatile midfielder, Gardner can play in many different positions, although central midfield is his preferred position. Gardner began his career at Aston Villa before spending the 2010–11 season with city rivals Birmingham City. After three seasons with Sunderland, he joined West Bromwich Albion in 2014 before rejoining Birmingham City in 2017.

Craig Gardner (* 25. November 1986 in Solihull) ist ein englischer Fußballspieler, der seit 2017 bei Birmingham City unter Vertrag steht.


Controversy.

Patrick Michaels, a climatologist and prominent global warming skeptic, created a controversy over the history of Warming Island in a post on his website, World Climate Report, in which he argued that the island had been previously uncovered in the 1950s toward the end of a brief warm period in Greenland.  Despite a general lack of suitably detailed maps, Michaels found a map published by Ernst Hofer, a photographer who did aerial surveys of the area in the early 1950s, which showed the Warming Island landmass unconnected to Greenland. Michaels concluded therefore that Warming Island was also a separate island when observed by Hofer in the 1950s, and more broadly that Warming Island is an example of unjustified concern about the future outcomes of global warming.  Dennis Schmitt countered Michaels' theory in an article by New York Times reporter Andy Revkin, contending that Hofer's map is inaccurate. Citing discrepancies such as the absence on Hofer's map of nearby Reynolds Island, he suggested that the discrepant features are consistent with an aerial view of the area when covered with fog, which has often obscured low-lying areas like Reynold's Island and the ice-bridge connecting Warming Island to the Greenlandic mainland. He further observed, "I see by the markings of the 1957 document that it is to be construed as indeed only schematic, that it is explicitly incomplete."  Michaels explained that Hofer included the map in his book "so as to place his pictures and stories in context."  No photographic evidence is available that would resolve the issue.  The island was also part of a 2011 controversy when it was included in the "Times Atlas of the World", along with a revised depiction of the Greenland ice sheet that showed a 15% reduction. After being alerted through the media, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that the atlas editors must have used a 2001 map showing only the thickest segment of the ice sheet.

Uunartoq Qeqertaq (Greenlandic), "Warming Island" in English, is an island off the east central coast of Greenland, north of the Arctic Circle. It became recognised as an island only in September 2005, by US explorer Dennis Schmitt. It was attached to the mainland of Liverpool Land by glacial ice even in 2002, when the ice shelves began retreating rapidly in this area, so that by 2005 it was no longer attached to the mainland. Members of the scientific community believe this newly discovered island is a direct result of global warming.

Uunartoq Qeqertaq (, ) ist eine unbewohnte Insel östlich von Grönland. Sie liegt etwa 550 km nördlich des arktischen Polarkreises.


History.

The dynasty's founder, Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, migrated to Delhi from Iran, with his uncle, Allah-Quli, some of his relatives and friends in the beginning of the 16th century. Later he migrated south, to the Deccan and served the Bahmani sultan, Mohammad Shah. He conquered Golconda, after the disintegration of the Bahmani Kingdom into the five Deccan sultanates. Soon after, he declared independence from the Bahmani Sultanate, took the title "Qutub Shah", and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. He was later assassinated in 1543 by his son, Jamsheed, who assumed the sultanate. Jamsheed died in 1550 from cancer. Jamsheed's young son reigned for a year, at which time the nobility brought back and installed Ibrahim Quli as sultan. During the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, relations between Hindus and Muslims were strengthened, even to the point of Hindus resuming their religious festivals like Diwali and Holi. Some Hindus rose to prominence in the Qutb Shahi state, the most important example being the ministers Madanna and Akkanna.  Golconda, and with the construction of the Char Minar, later Hyderabad, served as capitals of the sultanate, and both cities were embellished by the Qutb Shahi sultans. The dynasty ruled Golconda for 171 years, until the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Deccan in 1687.

Economy.

During the early seventeenth century a strong cotton-weaving industry existed in the Deccan region. Large quantities of cotton cloth were produced for domestic and exports consumption. High quality plain and patterned cloth made of muslin and calico was produced. Plain cloth was available as white or brown colour, in bleached or dyed variety. Exports of this cloth was to Persia and European countries. Patterned cloth was made of prints which were made indigenously with indigo for blue, chay-root for red coloured prints and vegetable yellow. Patterned cloth exports were mainly to Java, Sumatra and other eastern countries.

Culture.

The Qutub Shahi rulers were great builders, whose structures included the Char Minar, as well as patrons of learning. Quli Qutb Mulk's court became a haven for Persian culture and literature. Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1612) wrote poems in Dakhini Urdu, Persian and Telugu and left a huge poetry collection. Subsequent poets and writers, however wrote in Urdu, while using vocabulary from Persian, Hindi and Telugu languages. By 1535, the Qutb Shahis were using Telugu for their revenue and judicial areas within the sultanate.  Initially, the Qutub Shahi rulers patronized Turkish culture, but eventually adopted the regional culture of the Deccan, symbolized by the Telugu language and the newly developed Deccani idiom and Urdu became prominent. Although Telugu was not their mother tongue, the Golconda rulers spoke and wrote Telugu, and patronized Telugu so exclusively they were termed the ""Telugu Sultans"". In 1543, fearing for his life, Prince Ibrahim Quli fled to the Vijayanagar court, which lavishly patronized the Telugu language. Upon his enthronement as sultan in 1550, Ibrahim Quli was thoroughly acquainted with Telugu aesthetics.  The Qutb Shahi rulers were much more liberal than their other Muslim counterparts. During the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah in 1634 CE, the ancient Indian sex manual Koka Shastra was translated into Persian named "Lazzat-un-Nisa" (Flavors of the Woman).

Architecture.

The Qutb Shahi architecture was Indo-Islamic, a culmination of Indian and Persian architectural styles. Their style was very similar to that of the other Deccan Sultanates.  Some examples of Qutb Shahi Indo-Islamic architecture are the Golconda Fort, tombs of the Qutb Shahis, Char Minar and the Char Kaman, Mecca Masjid, Khairtabad Mosque, Hayat Bakshi Mosque, Taramati Baradari and the Toli Mosque.

Administration.

The Qutb Shahi Kingdom was like the other Deccan kingdoms, a highly centralized state. The sultan enjoyed absolute executive judicial and military powers. When expediency demanded, the post of regent was created to carry on the administration on behalf of the king.  The "Peshwa" (Prime Minister) was the highest official of the sultanate. He was assisted by a number of ministers, including "Mir Jumla" (finance minister), "Kotwal" (police commissioner), and "Khazanadar" (treasurer).  In the Qutb Shahi kingdom, all the muslims were paid allowances from the treasury. The Persian origin muslims had the highest respect and were paid the highest, then the other Indian muslims. The Persian origin muslims became rich by lending money on high interest (usury) of 4-5% per "mensem" much to the despair of Hindus.  The Sultanate had 66 forts, and each fort was administered by "Nayak". The Qutb Shahis hired many Hindu Nayaks belonging mainly to the Kamma, Velama, Kapu, and Raju communities. These groups mainly were the regional aristocracy, served as revenue officers and military commanders, but many of them fell into obscurity following the fall of the Qutb Shahis in 1687.  Tax collection was through auction farms, the highest bidder used to get the Governorship. While the Governors enjoyed luxurious life style, they had to bear the brunt of severe punishments for default, consequently they were harsh on the people. People were in distress as the complaints of the poor never reached the sultans.

Religion.

The Qutb Shahi dynasty has been considered a "composite" of Hindu-Muslim religio-social culture. For instance, the Qutb Shahis began the sacred tradition of sending pearls to the Bhadrachalam Temple of Rama on Rama Navami.

Rulers.

The eight sultans in the dynasty were:

Tombs.

The tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans lie about one kilometer north of Golkonda's outer wall. These structures are made of beautifully carved stonework, and surrounded by landscaped gardens. They are open to the public and receive many visitors.

References.

For FURTHER READING:  Chopra, R. M., The Rise, Growth And Decline of Indo-Persian Literature, 2012, Iran Culture House, New Delhi.

The Qutb Shahi dynasty ruled the Golconda Sultanate in south India. It was initially a highly Persianate Muslim Turkmen dynasty established in the 16th century that eventually adopted the regional culture of the Deccan (Telugu culture, language and the newly developed Deccani dialect of Urdu). The Qutb Shahis were known for their secular rule.

Das Qutb-Schāhī-Sultanat () war eines der fünf Dekkan-Sultanate, die aus dem indischen Bahmani-Sultanat hervorgingen. Es wurde 1512 gegründet und bestand bis zur Unterwerfung durch das Mogulreich im Jahre 1687. Hauptstadt war zunächst Golkonda, ab 1590 dann Hyderabad.


Features.

NTFS-3G supports all operations for writing files: files of any size can be created, modified, renamed, moved, or deleted on NTFS partitions. Transparent compression is supported, as well as system-level encryption. Support to modify access control lists and permissions is available. NTFS partitions are mounted using the Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) interface. NTFS-3G supports hard links, symbolic links, and junctions. With the help of NTFS reparse point plugins, it can be made to read chunk-deduplicated files, system-compressed files, and OneDrive files. NTFS-3G provides complete support and translation of NTFS access control list (ACL) to POSIX ACL permissions. A "usermap" utility is included to record the mapping from UIDs to Windows NT SIDs.  NTFS-3G supports partial NTFS journaling, so if an unexpected computer failure leaves the file system in an inconsistent state, the volume can be repaired. As of 2009, a volume having an unclean journal file is recovered and mounted by default. The ‘norecover’ mount option can be used to disable this behavior.

Performance.

Benchmarks show that the driver's performance via FUSE is comparable to that of other filesystems' drivers in-kernel, provided that the CPU is powerful enough. On embedded or old systems, the high processor usage can severely limit performance. Tuxera sells optimized versions of the driver that claims to have improved CPU utilization for embedded systems and MacOS.  The slowness of NTFS-3G (and FUSE in general) on embedded systems is attributed to the frequent context switching associated with FUSE calls. Some open-source methods provided to reduce this overhead include:

NTFS-3G is an open-source cross-platform implementation of the Microsoft Windows NTFS file system with read/write support. NTFS-3G often uses the FUSE file system interface, so it can run unmodified on many different operating systems. It is runnable on Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenSolaris, illumos, BeOS, QNX, WinCE, Nucleus, VxWorks, Haiku, MorphOS, Minix, macOS and OpenBSD. It is licensed under the GNU General Public License. It is a partial fork of ntfsprogs and is under active maintenance and development.

NTFS-3G ist ein auf FUSE aufsetzender Treiber für das NTFS-Dateisystem für Linux und andere Betriebssysteme, auf denen FUSE verfügbar ist. Entwickelt und vertrieben wird NTFS-3G heute von Tuxera, deren CTO Szabolcs Szakacsits einen großen Teil zur Entwicklung des Treibers beigetragen hat. Das finnische Unternehmen bietet den Dateisystemtreiber in einem dualen Lizenzsystem neben der freien Version auch unter einer proprietären Lizenz für Unternehmen an.


Geography.

Clio is located in southwestern Barbour County at (31.709922, -85.606708).  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, or 0.09%, is water.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,399 people, 514 households, and 321 families residing in the town. The population density was 139 people per square mile (53.7/km). There were 634 housing units at an average density of 62.7 per square mile (24.3/km). The racial makeup of the town was 36.5% Black or African American, 32.0% White, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 30.2% from other races, and.4% from two or more races. 36.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.  There were 514 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.4% were married couples living together, 19.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.37.  In the town the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.  The median income for a household in the town was $21,806, and the median income for a family was $33,438. Males had a median income of $32,908 versus $25,625 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,722. About 28.3% of families and 28.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.1% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.

Clio is a city in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. The population was 1,399 at the 2010 census, down from 2,206 in 2000, at which time it was a town. It is the birthplace of former Alabama governor George C. Wallace, as well as Baseball Hall of Famer and current Atlanta Braves broadcaster Don Sutton.

Clio ist ein Ort im Barbour County, Alabama, USA. Clio ist der Geburtsort des früheren Gouverneurs von Alabama, George C. Wallace sowie von Don Sutton, einem Mitglied der "Baseball Hall of Fame". Die Gesamtfläche von Clio beträgt 26,1 km2. Nach einer Schätzung aus dem Jahr 2005 hatte Clio 2216 Einwohner.


Plot.

The book takes place on a fictional planet resembling late-Middle Ages Europe. A large empire broke up in the decade or so preceding the action, apparently from meteor or asteroid strikes that severely affected farming across much of the globe. The remnants of the empire still war with one another.  The narrative alternates chapter-by-chapter between two concurrent story-lines, with alternating chapter headings of The Doctor and The Bodyguard.

"The Doctor".

The first storyline is presented as a written account from Oelph, publicly a doctor's assistant, but privately a spy for an individual identified only as "Master", to whom much of the account is addressed. Oelph is the assistant to Vosill, the personal doctor to King Quience of Haspidus – and a woman. The latter is unheard of in the patriarchal kingdom, and is tolerated only because Vosill claims citizenship in the far-off country of Drezen. The King himself is appreciative of her and her talents, but nonetheless her elevated position in defiance of the kingdom's social mores inspires hostility among others of the court.  Oelph's account follows Vosill as she attends to the King regularly, as well as more charitable ministrations to the impoverished and those in need. Her methods are unconventional by kingdom standards, for example forgoing the use of leeches and instead using alcohol to "kill the ill humours which can infect a wound," but are more often than not successful. This only serves to inspire more distrust amongst her detractors, notably including a number of Dukes as well as the King's Guard Commander, Adlain. On this topic, Oelph includes a transcript he claims to have found in Vosill's journal, purported to be an exchange between Duke Walen and Adlain in which they make an agreement, "should it become necessary", to covertly kidnap the lady doctor and have Nolieti, the King's chief torturer, "put her to the question." Oelph notes that while the transcript appears to have been obtained under impossible circumstances, he somehow does not doubt its veracity.  While Vosill attends to the King, Nolieti is murdered, nearly decapitated, presumably by his assistant Unoure. Vosill examines the body and determines that Unoure could not have killed his master, but her explanation is disregarded. Unoure is captured, but before he can be questioned he is found in his cell dead from a cut throat, apparently self-inflicted. Following this account Oelph includes another found transcript, this time between Walen and Duke Quettil, though Walen is unable to obtain Quettil's agreement for the use of Ralinge, his own chief torturer, in Walen's kidnapping plan. Some days later at a masked ball Walen is found murdered, this time by a stab to the heart. The Duke's murder disquiets much of the royal house, as it occurred in a room no one entered or left.  Resentment towards Vosill continues to build, particularly after King Quience begins implementing somewhat radical reforms, such as permitting commoners to own farmland without the oversight of a noble and the creation of city councils, reforms which Vosill has discussed with the King publicly and at length. Following these reforms Vosill confesses to the King that she loves him, a sentiment he rebuffs, and further informs her that he prefers "pretty, dainty, delicate women who [have] no brains." Oelph finds her after this, drunk, and hints at his own feelings of love towards her; she rebuffs him as well, in what might be considered a more gentle way.  Some days later Vosill receives a note from Adlain, asking her to meet him and two other Dukes elsewhere in the castle. She leaves alone, but Oelph opts to follow her in secret; after catching a glimpse of someone fleeing, he arrives in time to be arrested by the guard, who proceed to discover Vosill standing over the body of a murdered Duke, stabbed with one of her scalpels. Vosill and Oelph are almost immediately delivered to Ralinge, who binds the two separately and then strips, intending to rape, Vosill. The woman issues what sounds to Oelph like commands, albeit in a language he does not recognize even partially. Oelph's eyes are closed at this point, and in his narrative he is unable to adequately describe what he hears next, other than an impression of wind and metal. When he opens his eyes he finds Ralinge and his assistants dead, dispatched bloodily, and Vosill free and in the process of removing her bindings, no indication of how she was freed. Later, she claims that Oelph fell unconscious and the three men fought over who would rape her first, though she indicates to him that this is what he "should" remember.  The two are taken from the torturer's chamber shortly thereafter, as the King has abruptly taken ill and appears to be dying. Vosill is able to cure King Quience's condition, and is there to witness as the conspiracy against her is revealed to the King, inadvertently, when news of Ralinge's death reaches the conspirators: Commander Adlain and Dukes Quettil and Ulresile. Ultimately the blame is publicly taken by Ulresile, who escapes with being exiled for several months; the King makes it clear that further plots against the doctor will not be tolerated. Because Oelph is not present for these events, his account comes second-hand from servants present; during this scene he reveals his master to be Guard Commander Adlain.  Vosill requests the King release her from her duties, which he does. She leaves just a few days later on a ship for Drezen, and is seen off at the dock by Oelph. Oelph tries to suppress the urge to ask to accompany Vosill, since he knows that her answer will be in the negative, but in the end he does so anyway. The ship leaves sometime later, and Vosill vanishes some days later.

"The Bodyguard".

The second, interleaved storyline is told by an initially unnamed narrator, remaining unnamed so as to provide a neutral context for the narrative. The story focuses on DeWar, bodyguard to General UrLeyn, the Prime Protector of the Protectorate of Tassasen. Protector UrLeyn is the leader of Tassasen, having killed the previous monarch in a revolt; subsequently he eliminated official terms such as "King" and "Empire" within Tassasen. At the beginning of the story the Protectorate is fast approaching a war with the neighbouring land of Ladenscion, led by barons who initially supported UrLeyn's revolution but now intend to establish themselves as independent.  DeWar is the sometimes-confidant of UrLeyn, but the bodyguard also maintains a friendly, conversational relationship with Perrund, a member of the Tassasen harem. Perrund was once the Protector's prized concubine, which changed following an assassination attempt on UrLeyn; Perrund shielded the Protector with her body, saving his life at the cost of crippling her left arm. Though no longer as prized as a concubine, Perrund is highly regarded by UrLeyn, DeWar, and most of Tassasen society. DeWar in particular finds her easy to confide in, and spends much of his off-time playing board games with her while the two tell each other stories.  DeWar is on high alert as the conflict with Ladenscion approaches, believing that someone within the court may be a traitor. An attempt is made on UrLeyn's life by an assassin disguised as an ambassador, though DeWar anticipates the threat and kills the man before he can succeed. Nonetheless, this act only reinforces DeWar's fears of a traitor.  A surprising, unwelcome turn comes when UrLeyn's young son, Lattens, has a seizure and subsequently falls ill. While the boy slowly recovers, DeWar tells him stories of a "magical land" called Lavishia, a place where "every man was a king, every woman a queen". Eventually the boy recovers, and UrLeyn and his bodyguard depart for the front lines, where the war with Ladenscion is flagging. However, no sooner are they there than word arrives that Lattens has fallen ill again, prompting a distraught UrLeyn to rush back to the castle.  While DeWar is gone, Perrund tells Lattens a story about a girl named Dawn, who spent most of her life locked in a basement by her cruel family and was eventually rescued by a travelling circus. When he returns, Perrund tells DeWar about the story, then tells him it was a shadow of the real story: her story. Rather than her parents locking her in the basement to be cruel, they locked her in to hide her from Imperial soldiers—high-ranking men of the former King's regime. Rather than being rescued, the soldiers found her, raped her, her mother and her sisters, and then forced her to watch as they murdered her father and brothers. The soldiers were eventually killed, but Perrund still feels she is now dead inside. DeWar attempts to in some way comfort her, but she quickly demands he return her to the harem.  Lattens' condition continues to worsen, causing UrLeyn to act more and more erratically, spending less time focusing on the war and more time at his son's bedside. The Protector goes so far as to bar all visitors to his chambers, and even prohibits DeWar from speaking to him unless he is spoken to. His only real contact is with Perrund, who spends most nights holding UrLeyn as he cries himself to sleep. DeWar enlists Perrund's help in focusing UrLeyn on the war, but to no success.  An epiphany strikes DeWar when he finds he has drooled on his pillow in his sleep, and he proceeds to Lattens' room. A guard restrains the boy's nurse while DeWar examines his comforter, finding it has been soaked in an unknown fluid, presumably poison. Under threat of death the nurse reveals who has been orchestrating the poisoning: Perrund. DeWar storms into the harem chambers, intent on revealing the conspiracy to UrLeyn, but arrives too late; Perrund has already killed the Protector, and calmly waits for the bodyguard. Holding her at sword-point, DeWar tearfully demands to know why she conspired against the Protector. Perrund replies that she did it for revenge, for killing her and her family. The soldiers who raped her were not the former King's men at all, not even men allied to UrLeyn, but the man himself, as well as his current, closest advisers. Afterwards she was taken in by men from Haspidus, and recruited as a spy by King Quience directly. Saving UrLeyn from the assassin was simply to prevent him from dying while he was a strong leader; instead, her orders were to ensure he died in "utter ruin".  After her confession, Perrund demands DeWar kill her. He silently refuses, lowering his sword. Perrund grabs his knife and brings it to her own throat, but it is quickly knocked away by DeWar's blade, which he lowers once more.

Epilogue.

Oelph gives a brief, personal epilogue for both stories. The three conspirators who attempted to kill Vosill died of various diseases, only Adlain lasting longer than a few years. King Quience reigned for forty years before his death, and was succeeded by one of his many daughters, giving the kingdom its first ruling Queen. Vosill disappeared from the ship she departed on; her disappearance was only discovered after a sudden burst of wind and chain-fire struck the ship, then vanished as quickly. Attempts to notify Vosill's family in Drezen were unsuccessful: nobody in the island country could be found who had ever met her. Oelph himself became a doctor, eventually taking Vosill's post as the royal physician. Tassasen endured a civil war after the death of Protector UrLeyn; eventually King Lattens took control of the Empire, ruling it quietly.  Oelph explains that he stopped DeWar's story as he did because that is where versions of the story differ dramatically. The more popular version has DeWar personally execute Perrund, followed by a return to the Half-Hidden Kingdoms where he reclaims his hidden title as Prince, and eventually King. A second version, supposedly written by Perrund herself, instead has DeWar telling the waiting guards and staff that UrLeyn is fine but sleeping, this and other distractions providing enough time for him and the former concubine to flee Tassasen before the Protector's body is discovered. The two elude capture and arrive in the Half-Hidden Kingdoms, eventually marry, have several children, and die many years later in an avalanche in the mountains.  Finally, Oelph ends his epilogue by revealing that he expects his wife, whom he loves dearly, to return soon, quite possibly with his grandchildren accompanying her.

References to the Culture.

The initial hardback printing of the book contained the following "Note on the Text", which was omitted from subsequent paperback editions:  Some reviewers noted the joking reference to "Culture" in this.  DeWar's tales of Lavishia clearly parallel The Culture as it is described in Banks' other novels. He also tells of a pair of close friends who disagree about how their advanced society should manage contact with more primitive cultures:  It is evident that Vosill and DeWar are these two alien friends, now no longer in contact with each other, who have both come to the medieval planet and are independently attempting to do the "right thing" in their own differing ways, with Vosill being active and DeWar reactive.  Doctor Vosill also habitually carried with her a dagger that came to be peripherally involved in circumstances suggestive of a disguised Culture knife missile, to which dagger she referred as having been useful in "uncultured places". This dagger is also described as being encrusted with small gems, the number of which decreases over time—each gem probably one of the many different kinds of ammunition drone missiles are seen to be capable of firing throughout the Culture series.  The Epilogue contains this passage:  Special Circumstances is the euphemistic name given to the "black ops" division of the Culture's Contact unit.

Reception.

"Kirkus Reviews" described it as "Atmospheric, ironic, resourceful, and all the parts add up—yet something sets the teeth on edge."

Inversions is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1998. Banks has said ""Inversions" was an attempt to write a Culture novel that wasn't."

Inversionen (englischer Originaltitel: "Inversions", erschienen 1998) ist der fünfte Science-Fiction-Roman aus dem Kultur-Zyklus von Iain M. Banks. In dem Buch wird eine Intervention in einer vorindustriellen Zivilisation durch die "Kultur" aus dem Blickwinkel der von ihr manipulierten Gesellschaft dargestellt.


History.

The band was founded by Philipp Burger (vocals, guitar) and Jonas Notdurfter (guitar) in September 2001. Jochen Gargitter (bass) and Christian Fohrer (drums) joined the band shortly after. In the beginning the band tried to imitate other German-speaking bands like Böhse Onkelz and Rammstein. In 2002 their first album "Eines Tages" was released, followed by "Wo die Sonne wieder lacht" in 2003. Their third album "Mensch oder Gott" was released in 2004 and their fourth "Mitten ins Herz" after the band changed the label in 2006. In 2007 the live DVD "Von Nah und Fern" was released, followed by the studio album "Gegen alles, gegen nichts" in 2008. The album "Hart am Wind" was released in 2009 via the newly founded label Rookies & Kings. In 2010 the album "Gegengift" appeared, which reached number two in the German album charts and earned the band a nomination as Best National Rock/Alternative Group at the 2011 Echo Awards. The 2012 album "Feinde deiner Feinde" again made number two of the German album charts and was nominated for the 2013 Echo Awards. The nomination was withdrawn later on. In May 2013 the gold edition of "Feinde deiner Feinde" reached number one in the German album charts. Their ninth studio album "Still" contains acoustic songs and entered the German album charts at number one in December 2013.

Criticism.

The band is often associated with right-wing politics, despite the fact that its members have distanced themselves from all forms of political extremism in songs and interviews several times. Philipp Burger, Frei.Wild's singer, was part of the neo-Nazi band Kaiserjäger ("Emperor's riflemen") before founding Frei.Wild. Burger explained his engagement with Kaiserjäger as a youth folly, in a time where he was seeking rebellion. In 2008 he was associated with the right-wing party Die Freiheitlichen for several months. He denies that he officially became a member.  Their songs "Südtirol" (South Tyrol) and "Wahre Werte" (True Values) are often criticised as promoting nationalism. "Südtirol" contains the lines ""Kurz gesagt, ich dulde keine Kritik an diesem heiligen Land, das unsre Heimat ist, (...) Südtirol, du bist noch nicht verlorn, in der Hölle sollen deine Feinde schmorn."" ("To make it short: I don't tolerate any criticism on this holy country, that is our home, (...) South Tyrol, you aren't lost yet, in hell your enemies shall burn."). The chorus of "Wahre Werte" includes the lines ""Wann hört ihr auf, eure Heimat zu hassen? Wenn ihr euch Ihrer schämt, dann könnt ihr sie doch verlassen, (...) Sprache, Brauchtum und Glaube sind Werte der Heimat, ohne sie gehen wir unter, stirbt unser kleines Volk"" ("When are you going to stop to hate your home country? If you are ashamed of it, you can leave it, (...) Language, tradition and belief are values of the home country, without them we will perish, our small nation will die."). The band often defends this lines by pointing out to the history of the German population in South Tyrol, explaining that the lines must be understood in the context of italianization.  Frei.Wild were nominated for the 2013 Echo Awards as Best National Rock/Alternative Group for their album "Feinde deiner Feinde", based on the number of records they had sold. Kraftklub and MIA., who were nominated in the same category, protested in response and asked to be removed from the nomination list. In reaction Frei.Wild were excluded from the awards in order to avoid that the event would be overshadowed by a political debate. <br>In February 2014 Frei.Wild were nominated as Best National Rock/Alternative Group for the 2014 Echo Awards again due to the commercial success of the album "Still". An ethical review committee, which had been created by the Echo's organizers in response to the public criticism to Frei.Wild's nomination in 2013, approved the band.

Frei.Wild (pronounced FRY-vilt, the word "Freiwild" translates to "outlaw" ) is an Italian rock band from Brixen, South Tyrol. Its members belong to the German-speaking population of South Tyrol and their songs are mostly in German.

Frei.Wild ist eine Deutschrock-Band aus der Gemeinde Brixen in Südtirol (Italien). Mit mehreren Gold- und Platin-Auszeichnungen in Deutschland und Österreich zählt die Gruppe zu den erfolgreichsten Vertretern des Genres. Sie steht beim Label Rookies & Kings unter Vertrag.


Plot.

Fictional television station WIDB-TV (channel 8) experiences problems with its late-night airing of science-fiction classic "Amazon Women on the Moon", a 1950s B movie in which Queen Lara (Sybil Danning) and Captain Nelson (Steve Forrest) battle exploding volcanoes and man-eating spiders on the Moon. Waiting for the film to resume, an unseen viewer begins channel surfing—simulated by bursts of white noise—through late night cable, with the various segments and sketches of the film representing the programming found on different channels. The viewer intermittently returns to channel 8, where "Amazon Women" continues airing before faltering once more.  These segments feature:

Alternative versions.

An alternate version of the "Pethouse Video" sketch was filmed for the television broadcast of the film, with Monique Gabrielle in lingerie instead of appearing naked throughout the segment. However, most European television broadcasts of the film retained the original theatrical version. "Bullshit or Not?" was retitled "Baloney or Not?" for the television version.  The American television edit, in addition to the alternative "Pethouse Video" sketch, features an additional bridging sequence between the death of Harvey Pitnik and his subsequent celebrity roast. In it, the mortician successfully cons Pitnik's widow into having the celebrity roast as part of the funeral, and her performance gets such strong positive feedback, it becomes a continuing performance series lasting for weeks.  The DVD release features an unreleased sketch titled "The Unknown Soldier", starring Robert Loggia with Ronny Cox, Bernie Casey, and Wallace Langham. Some television broadcasts of the film featured the sketches "Peter Pan Theater" and "The French Ventriloquist's Dummy", which were not present in the theatrical version.

Cast.

"Mondo Condo" (directed by John Landis): "Pethouse Video" (directed by Carl Gottlieb): "Murray in Videoland" (directed by Robert K. Weiss): "Hospital" (directed by Landis): "Hairlooming" (directed by Joe Dante): "Amazon Women on the Moon" (directed by Weiss): "Blacks Without Soul" (directed by Landis): "Two I.D.s" (directed by Peter Horton): "Bullshit or Not" (directed by Dante): "Critics' Corner" (directed by Dante): "Silly Pâté" (directed by Weiss):  "Roast Your Loved One" (directed by Dante): "Video Pirates" (directed by Weiss): "Son of the Invisible Man" (directed by Gottlieb): "French Ventriloquist's Dummy" (directed by Dante): "Art Sale" (directed by Gottlieb): "First Lady of the Evening" (directed by Weiss): "Titan Man" (directed by Weiss): "Video Date" (directed by Landis): "Reckless Youth" (directed by Dante):

Reception.

The majority of critics agreed that the quality was inconsistent throughout the film. "Variety" called it "irreverent, vulgar and silly... [with] some hilarious moments and some real groaners too." Roger Ebert in the "Chicago Sun-Times" felt that the exercise was somewhat unnecessary: "Satirists are in trouble when their subjects are funnier than they are."  Janet Maslin of "The New York Times", in a largely positive review, described the film as "an anarchic, often hilarious adventure in dial-spinning, a collection of brief skits and wacko parodies that are sometimes quite clever, though they're just as often happily sophomoric, too."  Certain portions of the film were singled out for praise. "The funniest episode probably is 'Son of the Invisible Man', directed by Carl Gottlieb, in which Ed Begley Jr. plays a man who thinks he is invisible but is not", wrote the "Chicago Sun-Times". "The film's best sight gags come from Robert K. Weiss, who deserves kudos for the inspired idiocy of his "Amazon Women" segments", was the opinion of "The New York Times".  In a retrospective article for "Entertainment Weekly", Chris Nashawaty called this film "the beginning of the end of Landis' career". He cited the episodes featuring Monique Gabrielle, Archie Hahn, Ed Begley Jr. and David Alan Grier as "inspired", but criticized others for their failure: "You'll never see Michelle Pfeiffer look as trapped as she does in her skit with "thirtysomething"s Peter Horton, or Joe Pantoliano and Arsenio Hall as unfunny as they are in their skits."  "Amazon Women on the Moon" has a rating of 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 5.55/10.

Amazon Women on the Moon is a 1987 American satirical sci-fi comedy film that parodies the experience of watching low-budget movies on late-night television. The film, featuring a large ensemble cast, was written by Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland, and takes the form of a compilation of 21 comedy skits directed by five different directors: Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss.

Amazonen auf dem Mond oder Warum die Amis den Kanal voll haben (Alternativtitel: "Amazonen auf dem Mond", Originaltitel: "Amazon Women on the Moon") ist eine US-amerikanische Filmkomödie aus dem Jahr 1987. Sie besteht aus 22 Episoden (in einer anderen Fassung 21 Episoden), bei denen Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, John Landis und Robert K. Weiss Regie führten. Die deutsche Premiere fand am 22. Dezember 1988 statt.


History.

The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was founded on December 4, 1914, when 21 delegates from across Canada met at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. The organization was made to oversee the amateur level of the sport at the national level. The Allan Cup, originally donated in 1908 by Sir H. Montagu Allan, was selected as the championship of amateur hockey in Canada. William Northey, the trustee of the Allan Cup, was named the first ever chairman, while Dr. W. F. Taylor was named the inaugural president. The Memorial Cup was the junior amateur championship of Canada.  In 1920, after the Winnipeg Falcons won the Allan Cup over the University of Toronto, they represented Canada at the 1920 Summer Olympic Games. Canada would go 3-0-0 to win the sport's first ever Olympic gold medal.  The Ottawa and District Amateur Hockey Association joined in 1920, followed by the Maritime Amateur Hockey Association in 1928.  On June 30, 1947, the CAHA, the National Hockey League and the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States makes an agreement that no player under the age of 18 can be signed as a professional player without the permission of their amateur club. That same year, the International Ice Hockey Federation changes the rules on amateur status. The rule change means the 1948 Allan Cup champion Royal Montreal Hockey Club were not eligible for the 1948 Winter Olympics, so the CAHA sent the RCAF Flyers instead and were victorious.  At the 1952 Winter Olympics, the Edmonton Mercuries won their nation's last Olympic gold until 2002.  In 1961, the Trail Smoke Eaters won Canada's 19th and last world championship for 33 years at the 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships. In 1964, Father David Bauer formed the Canada's national team in response to the success of the programs set up by the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden. Three years later, the CAHA opened its first ever national office, located in Winnipeg.  The Newfoundland Amateur Hockey Association, led by association president Don Johnson, entered the CAHA in 1966. Johnson would become CAHA president in 1975. The New Brunswick Amateur Hockey Association left the Maritime AHA brand in 1968 and entered the CAHA as a member.  In 1968, the Hockey Canada organization was founded to oversee Canada's national teams.  In 1970, the CAHA's 13 Junior A league were divided into two tiers. Tier I, the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey Association, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, were eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup. The ten leagues of Tier II, would compete for the Manitoba Centennial Cup, donated by the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (See: Canadian Junior Hockey League).  Also in 1970, Canada pulled out of IIHF competition and would not return to the fold until 1977 in protest of the IIHF's soft stance on Soviet and Czechoslovakian teams using "professional amateurs" in international competition but not allowing professional players to compete for Canada.  In 1972, Canada and the Soviet Union competed in the 1972 Summit Series. Canada's team was composed of NHL stars, while the Soviet players were from the Red Army. The NHLers won the series 4-3-1. Two years later, the World Hockey Association represented Canada and lost the series 4-1-3. In 1976, the Canada Cup was formed as a best-on-best championship.  In 1974, the Nova Scotia Amateur Hockey Association and Prince Edward Island Amateur Hockey Association are formed out of the dissolution of the Maritime AHA.  The World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was held for the first time. Canada, who sent Memorial Cup champion teams in early years, eventually set up a national team and won their first gold medal at the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.  In 1975, the QMJHL, WCJHL, and the renamed Ontario Major Junior Hockey League form an umbrella organization known as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League. With the creation of the CMJHL, the three league began initiating compensation talks with the NHL and WHA without CAHA input. In 1980, the CMJHL separated from the CAHA, only staying loosely affiliated with the national body. With the separation of the CMJHL, Tier II was promoted to simply Junior A, although the Tier II title still persists in hockey vernacular. To this day, the CMJHL (now Canadian Hockey League) releases its players to Hockey Canada to play at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.  In 1983, the first Abby Hoffman Cup was awarded to the Burlington Ladies as the Canadian national senior champions of women's hockey.  In 1990, the forerunner to the Canadian Junior Hockey League was created as an umbrella organization, within the CAHA, to oversee Junior A hockey.  The Canada women's national ice hockey team was formed in 1987 and won the first (unofficial) world championship that year. The 1990 IIHF Women's World Championship was the first official event, also won by Canada.  In 1994, Team Canada would end a 33-year drought by winning the 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.  In 1996, Hockey Canada replaces the Manitoba Centennial Cup with the Royal Bank Cup as the championship of Junior A hockey.  In 1998, Hockey Canada and the CAHA merge into one organization. Also, the International Olympic Committee elected to allow professional players to compete at the Olympics and creates a women's event at the games. That same year, Hockey North became the 13th branch of Hockey Canada.  In 2002, the Canadian men and women win gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The Canadian men win their first gold medal in fifty years, while the women win their first in two tries.  In 2004, the Canada men's national ice sledge hockey team is welcomed into the Hockey Canada fold, and Mark Aubry was named the Chief Medical Officer of Hockey Canada.  In 2006, the Canadian women would win gold at the 2006 Olympics and the sledge team conquered gold at the 2006 Winter Paralympics.  The Clarkson Cup, donated by the Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson, was created in 2006, and was first awarded in 2009 to the Canadian national senior champions of women's hockey. The Clarkson Cup replaced the Abby Hoffman Cup.  The IOC and COC informed Hockey Canada that its logo would no longer be allowed on Team Canada jerseys as of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Without the Hockey Canada logo jersey, Team Canada's men and women would win gold in both 2010 and 2014.

List of presidents.

List of Canadian Amateur Hockey Association presidents (1914–1994), and Hockey Canada presidents (1994–present). Prior to the merger of the two organizations in 1994, Hockey Canada leadership included Max Bell, Charles Hay, Doug Fisher, Lou Lefaive, Bill Hay, and Derek Holmes.

Affiliated organizations.

Organizations in cooperation with Hockey Canada  On-ice officials  Non-member partners

Independent leagues.

Some junior leagues, like the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League and formerly the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League operate outside the jurisdiction of Hockey Canada. These leagues usually appear for a variety of reasons, ranging from disagreeing with the new Canadian Development Model implemented in 2005 to disagreeing with various zoning restrictions or anger over player raiding by other leagues. In the summer of 2009, Hockey Canada told players that they would have to choose to play within Hockey Canada or outside of Hockey Canada by September 30 of each playing year. At the end of each playing year the player has the right to apply to reenter Hockey Canada if they played in an independent league.  Summer hockey and recreational senior hockey are not under the auspices of Hockey Canada. To date, summer hockey is a massive market and is untouched by Hockey Canada. Also, in summer hockey tournaments, the Hockey Canada rulebook is not always followed, often replaced by professional league rules.  A result of the slow decline of senior hockey in Ontario is the growth of another independent league, the WOAA Senior AA Hockey League. In existence independent since 1943, the WOAA now has 18 senior hockey teams. The WOAA uses the Hockey Canada rule book, but with stricter import rules. The WOAA is very popular in the northern portions of Southwestern Ontario. Most WOAA teams have deep community roots including the sponsorship of minor hockey tournaments.  Less senior hockey has led to widespread growth in recreational adult hockey. Although Hockey Canada has attempted to make moves into recreational hockey and does offer insurance policies to participants, they have failed to make a dent in a nationwide practice.

Hockey Canada, which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994, is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada controls a majority of ice hockey in Canada. There are some notable exceptions, such as the Canadian Hockey League and U Sports (formerly known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport) who are partnered with Hockey Canada, but are not members, as well as any of Canada's professional hockey clubs. Hockey Canada is based in Calgary, with a secondary office in Ottawa, Ontario and regional centres in Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal.

Hockey Canada (früher Canadian Hockey Association) ist der Dachverband des kanadischen Eishockeys und Mitglied der Internationalen Eishockey-Föderation IIHF. Die moderne Organisation, die ihren Hauptsitz in Calgary sowie eine Zweigstelle in Ottawa besitzt, wurde mit dem Zusammenschluss der damaligen "Canadian Hockey Association" und der Canadian Amateur Hockey Association im Juli 1994 gegründet. Umgangssprachlich wird der Verband vielerorts immer noch "Canadian Hockey Association" genannt, auch weil er unter diesem Namen offiziell eingetragen ist.


Geography.

The line runs from Heide station as a continuation of the Neumünster–Heide railway parallel to the Marsh Railway and then running under it and passing through shallow marsh land to Büsum. The most important stop along the way is in the small town of Wesselburen. Büsum station is on the North Sea and is mainly used by tourists.

History.

The Weddinghusen–Wesselburen section was opened on 1 November 1878 by the "Wesselburen–Heider Eisenbahngesellschaft" (Wesselburen–Heide Railway Company) as a branch line of the existing Heide–Karolinenkoog railway, opened in 1877. The extension of this branch line to Büsum was opened for freight on 1 November 1883. Passenger services commenced on 15 November 1883. From the outset operations were carried out by the West Holstein Railway Company ("Westholsteinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft"), which bought the Wesselburen–Heide Railway Company on 1 April 1881. The Western Holstein railway company was taken over by the Prussian state railways on 1 July 1890.  An extensive network of 750 mm gauge railways (the "Wesselburener Spurbahnen") ran to Wesselburen for the carriage of agricultural produce, which was then transported towards Heide.  In the late 1950s, passenger services included, in addition to stopping trains, a pair of express services on the route from Büsum via Heide and Neumünster to Eutin. In the 1980s, the use of uneconomic train sets (a class V 100 locomotive hauling Silberling carriages with a control car) led to a temporary decline of the line.  All sidings on the Heide–Büsum line have been removed and stations have been downgraded to halts (that is all sets of points at the stations have been removed).  From 5 November 2000, operations on the line were won at tender by "Schleswig-Holstein-Bahn GmbH", a subsidiary of AKN Eisenbahn AG (operator of the Hamburg-Altona–Neumünster railway). Osterhof and Haferwisch stations were closed as part of the launch of the associated regular interval timetable between Heide and Büsum.  Since the AKN won the tender for operations on the Neumünster–Heide railway in 2003, the two have been operated under a common timetable number. Most trains coming from Neumünster continue to Büsum. Services are operated with LINT 41 railcars.  Since the timetable change in December 2011, the line has been operated by "NBE Nordbahn Eisenbahngesellschaft mbh & Co. KG", a joint subsidiary of "AKN Eisenbahn AG" and BeNEX GmbH. These trains mostly run to Neumünster.  Freight traffic officially ended on 28 February 1994. However, the Büsum port railway is maintained for possible future use.

The Heide–Büsum railway is a line in the Dithmarschen district in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, connecting the district seat of Heide with the North Sea resort of Büsum.

Die Bahnstrecke Heide–Büsum ist eine Eisenbahnstrecke im Kreis Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein, die die Kreisstadt Heide mit dem Nordseebad Büsum verbindet.


Definition.

Suppose that object "i" is given the rank "r" by judge number "j", where there are in total "n" objects and "m" judges. Then the total rank given to object "i" is and the mean value of these total ranks is The sum of squared deviations, "S", is defined as and then Kendall's "W" is defined as  If the test statistic "W" is 1, then all the judges or survey respondents have been unanimous, and each judge or respondent has assigned the same order to the list of objects or concerns. If "W" is 0, then there is no overall trend of agreement among the respondents, and their responses may be regarded as essentially random. Intermediate values of "W" indicate a greater or lesser degree of unanimity among the various judges or respondents.  Kendall and Gibbons (1990) also show "W" is linearly related to the mean value of the Spearman's rank correlation coefficients between all formula_5 possible pairs of rankings between judges

Incomplete Blocks.

When the judges evaluate only some subset of the "n" objects, and when the correspondent block design is a (n, m, r, p, λ)-design (note the different notation). In other words, when  Then Kendall's "W" is defined as  If formula_10 and formula_11 so that each judge ranks all "n" objects, the formula above is equivalent to the original one.

Correction for Ties.

When tied values occur, they are each given the average of the ranks that would have been given had no ties occurred. For example, the data set {80,76,34,80,73,80} has values of 80 tied for 4th, 5th, and 6th place; since the mean of {4,5,6} = 5, ranks would be assigned to the raw data values as follows: {5,3,1,5,2,5}.  The effect of ties is to reduce the value of "W"; however, this effect is small unless there are a large number of ties. To correct for ties, assign ranks to tied values as above and compute the correction factors where "t" is the number of tied ranks in the "i"th group of tied ranks, (where a group is a set of values having constant (tied) rank,) and "g" is the number of groups of ties in the set of ranks (ranging from 1 to "n") for judge "j". Thus, "T" is the correction factor required for the set of ranks for judge "j", i.e. the "j"th set of ranks. Note that if there are no tied ranks for judge "j", "T" equals 0.  With the correction for ties, the formula for "W" becomes where "R" is the sum of the ranks for object "i", and formula_14 is the sum of the values of "T" over all "m" sets of ranks.

Significance Tests.

In the case of complete ranks, a commonly used significance test for "W" against a null hypothesis of no agreement (i.e. random rankings) is given by Kendall and Gibbons (1990)  Where the test statistic takes a chi-squared distribution with formula_16 degrees of freedom.  In the case of incomplete rankings (see above), this becomes  Where again, there are formula_16 degrees of freedom.  Legendre compared via simulation the power of the chi-square and permutation testing approaches to determining significance for Kendall's "W". Results indicated the chi-square method was overly conservative compared to a permutation test when formula_19. Marozzi extended this by also considering the "F" test, as proposed in the original publication introducing the "W" statistic by Kendall & Babington Smith (1939):  Where the test statistic follows an F distribution with formula_21 and formula_22 degrees of freedom. Marozzi found the "F" test performs approximately as well as the permutation test method, and may be preferred to when formula_23 is small, as it is computationally simpler.

Kendall's "W" (also known as Kendall's coefficient of concordance) is a non-parametric statistic. It is a normalization of the statistic of the Friedman test, and can be used for assessing agreement among raters. Kendall's "W" ranges from 0 (no agreement) to 1 (complete agreement).

Die Kendall’sche Konkordanzanalyse (nach Maurice George Kendall) ist ein nichtparametrisches statistisches Verfahren zur Quantifizierung der Übereinstimmung zwischen mehreren Beurteilern (Ratern). Damit stellt der Kendall’sche Konkordanzkoeffizient W eine Alternative zu


History.

A small creek named Big Nance Creek runs through the town. The creek was named for a Cherokee chief who lived in the area upon arrival of the first European settlers. The current town is reportedly located on the site of the Native American village.  Courtland began as a small settlement known as Ebenezer in the early 1800s. In 1818, a group known as the Courtland Land Company bought the land on which the town is now situated and subdivided it into lots. The town was incorporated on December 13, 1819, by the Alabama territorial legislature. The town was named for having a federal courthouse and land office in the early 19th century. Its early settlers were wealthy planters mostly from Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Georgia.  The early roads Gaines Trace and Byler Road went through town and connected to other places.  One of the South's earliest railroads, the Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad, was organized at Courtland in 1831, and chartered the following year. The railroad's organizers utilized the railroad to bypass the dangerous shoals along the Tennessee River to the north. The railroad was absorbed by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad in the 1850s, and later became part of the Southern Railway.  In 1835, Courtland physician Jack Shackelford organized a volunteer military unit to fight in the Texas Revolution. Known as the "Red Rovers" for the color of their uniforms, the company was captured by Mexican forces at Coleto in March 1836, and most of its men were among those killed in what became known as the Goliad massacre. Shackelford was among the few survivors.  In 1944 and 1945, during World War II, Courtland was home to the Courtland Army Airfield (Courtland AAF). It was dismantled following the war and given to the city of Courtland to use as an airport. Today, it is Courtland Airport.

Courtland Historic District.

In the early 1990s, over 100 buildings in Courtland were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Courtland Historic District. Most of the buildings in the district date from the 1830s through the 1930s, and architectural styles include Federal, Italianate, Victorian, Colonial Revival, and Neoclassical. The Town Square was part of the town's original 1818-1819 plan. Many of the commercial buildings facing the square, especially along College Street and Tennessee Street, were built in the 1890s and early 1900s. The train depot on the south side of the square, now a community center, was built in the late 1880s. The Old Sherrod Hotel, located at the northwest corner of Tennessee Street and Alabama Street, was built around 1930, and provided housing for early Tennessee Valley Authority employees.  The John McMahon House, a Federal-style home built around 1830, is listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places. Rocky Hill Castle was an architecturally renowned plantation on the outskirts of Courtland, though it was demolished in 1961.

Geography.

Courtland is located at (34.668457, -87.310821). The town is concentrated in area along Big Nance Creek, a tributary of the Tennessee River, west of Decatur and southeast of Muscle Shoals. The town's municipal boundaries extend northeastward to U.S. Route 72. The town of North Courtland borders Courtland to the north.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and 0.43% is water.

Demographics.

From 1880 until 1910, Courtland was the largest town in Lawrence County, losing the distinction in 1920 to the county seat of Moulton, which has held it to date (as of 2010).  As of the census of 2000, there were 769 people, 316 households, and 210 families residing in the town. The population density was 331.2 people per square mile (128.0/km). There were 363 housing units at an average density of 156.4 per square mile (60.4/km). The racial makeup of the town was 54.23% White, 40.44% Black or African American, 2.08% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, and 2.86% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.  There were 316 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 20.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.06.  In the town, the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males.  The median income for a household in the town was $27,500, and the median income for a family was $36,000. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $17,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,456. About 18.1% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 32.9% of those age 65 or over.

Courtland is a town in Lawrence County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, as well as the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The population was 609 at the 2010 census, down from 769 in 2000.

Courtland (auch Ebenezer) ist ein Ort im Lawrence County, Alabama, Vereinigte Staaten. Der Ort hat eine Gesamtfläche von 6,0 km2. In früheren Tagen hatte Courtville ein Bundesgericht, daher erhielt der Ort seinen Namen. Nach einer Schätzung aus dem Jahr 2007 hatte Courtland 763 Einwohner.


The Unbearable Lightness of Being (film)

Die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit des Seins (Film)

Plot.

Tomas, a successful brain surgeon in communist Czechoslovakia, is pursuing an affair with Sabina, an equally carefree artist in Prague. Tomas takes a trip to a spa town to conduct a specialized surgery. There he encounters dissatisfied waitress Tereza, who desires intellectual stimulation. She later tracks him down in Prague and moves in with him, complicating Tomas's affairs.  Tomas asks Sabina to help Tereza find work as a photographer. Tereza is both fascinated and jealous when she grasps that Sabina and Tomas are lovers, but nevertheless still develops an affectionate friendship with Sabina. Tomas marries Tereza in a simple ceremony, with both perpetually laughing. She continues to be distressed by Tomas's promiscuity, and though she considers leaving him, she becomes more attached when the Soviet Army invades Czechoslovakia. Amid the confusion, Tereza photographs demonstrations against the Soviet forces, then hands the rolls of film to foreigners to smuggle to the West. Unwilling to face the stultifying reality that is replacing the Prague Spring, Tomas, Sabina, and Tereza flee Czechoslovakia for Switzerland; Sabina leaves first, later followed by the hesitant Tomas and Tereza.  In Geneva, Sabina meets Franz, a married university professor; they begin a love affair. He eventually decides to abandon his wife and family for her. After hearing his plans, Sabina abandons him, feeling he would emotionally weigh her down. Meanwhile, Tereza and Tomas attempt to adapt to Switzerland, but Tereza finds the people inhospitable. When she discovers that Tomas continues to womanize, she leaves him and returns to Czechoslovakia. Upset by her leaving, Tomas follows Tereza to Czechoslovakia, where his passport is confiscated, preventing him from leaving again; his return elates Tereza, and they are reunited.  Tomas attempts to resume his practice; however, a scathing article he wrote before the invasion, criticizing the Soviet-backed Czech régime, has rendered him a political dissident. The régime demands his signature to a letter repudiating the article, claiming that Tomas's article fueled anti-communist sentiment. Tomas refuses and is apparently blacklisted from practicing medicine. He finds work as a window washer and continues to womanize, seducing the daughter of a high-ranking official.  As a waitress, Tereza meets an engineer who propositions her. Aware of Tomas's infidelities, she engages in a single, passionless sexual liaison with the engineer. Remorseful, she fears the engineer might have been a secret agent for the régime, who might denounce her and Tomas. She contemplates suicide at a canal bank; by chance, Tomas passes by Tereza and woos her back.  Stressed by city life, Tereza convinces Tomas to leave Prague for the country; they go to a village where an old patient of Tomas's welcomes them. In the village, they live an idyllic life, far from the political intrigues of Prague. In contrast, Sabina has gone to the US, where she continues her detached bohemian lifestyle. Later, Sabina is shocked by a letter that informs her Tereza and Tomas have been in a fatal automobile accident.  The movie ends with a short scene of Tomas and Tereza driving down the country road in the rain just before their accident, and Tomas peacefully expresses to Tereza how happy he is.

Production.

The film was an American production with American director, Philip Kaufman, but it features a largely European cast. It was filmed in France; in the scenes depicting the Soviet invasion, archival footage is combined with new material shot in Lyon. The scene in which Tomas has sex with a woman while cleaning windows was shot in the then unrestored Hôtel de Beauvais in the 4th arrondissement of Paris (now the Administrative Appeal Court).

Adaptation.

Kundera served as an active consultant during the making of the film. Kundera wrote the poem that Tomas whispers into Tereza's ear as she is falling asleep specifically for the film.  However, in a note to the Czech edition of the book, Kundera remarks that the movie had very little to do with the spirit either of the novel or the characters in it. In the same note Kundera goes on to say that after this experience he no longer allows any adaptations of his work. Many critics have focused on how much of the book was successfully captured, or could be captured, on film; however, some commentators, such as Cattrysse Patrick, have argued that the film must be viewed in a different light, with the book as only one source of inspiration.

Reception.

The film garnered high praise from critics. It holds a rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes from 26 reviews.  Jean-Claude Carrière and Philip Kaufman were nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film was listed 87th by the American Film Institute in its 2002 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions.

Home media.

A digitally restored version of the film was released on DVD by The Criterion Collection in November 1999. The release includes audio commentary by director Philip Kaufman, co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière, editor Walter Murch and actress Lena Olin. It was re-released on DVD by Warner Home Video as a 2-disc special edition on February 28, 2006.

Soundtrack.

The film makes extensive use of classical pieces by Czech composer Leoš Janáček, especially his "On the Overgrown Path" piano compositions. It also features a performance of the Beatles' song "Hey Jude" by Marta Kubišová in Czech as well as the traditional Czechoslovakian folk song "Joj, Joj, Joj", performed by Jarmila Šuláková and Vojtěch Jochec.

Preservation.

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2019.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a 1988 American drama film, an adaptation of the 1984 novel of the same name by Milan Kundera. It was directed by Philip Kaufman, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jean-Claude Carrière, and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin. The film portrays Czechoslovak artistic and intellectual life during the Prague Spring, and the effect on the main characters of the communist repression that resulted from the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit des Seins ist ein US-amerikanisches Filmdrama von Philip Kaufman aus dem Jahr 1988. Das Drehbuch schrieben Jean-Claude Carrière und Philip Kaufman nach dem gleichnamigen Roman von Milan Kundera.


Writing career.

Kurland's early career was devoted to works of science fiction. His first published novel was "Ten Years to Doomsday" (written with Chester Anderson) in 1964. Other notable works include "Tomorrow Knight", "Pluribus", "Perchance", and "The Unicorn Girl". "The Unicorn Girl" was the middle volume of the Greenwich Village Trilogy by three different authors, the other two being Chester Anderson and T.A. Waters. (Anderson's book, "The Butterfly Kid", was nominated for a Hugo Award). Kurland has also written two novels, "Ten Little Wizards" and "A Study in Sorcery", set in the world of Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy, prefiguring his later success as a mystery writer.  Following the success of "The Infernal Device", which was nominated for an Edgar Award (as was his earlier "A Plague of Spies"), Kurland turned his attention to detective fiction. Several of his subsequent novels have been sequels to "The Infernal Device", and feature Sherlock Holmes's nemesis, Professor Moriarty. In this series, Professor Moriarty is an antihero (and sometimes a real hero) who resignedly tolerates Holmes's obsessively exaggerated opinion of his criminal empire, and is often brought into reluctant alliance with his nemesis in order to counter menaces ranging from threats to their associates to threats to the nation.  He has edited three themed anthologies of Sherlock Holmes short stories, "My Sherlock Holmes" (stories narrated by characters other than Watson or Holmes), "Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years" (stories set during the period in which Holmes was supposed to be dead) and "Sherlock Holmes: the American Years" (stories set in the time between Holmes' graduation from university and his meeting Dr. Watson).  He is also the author of numerous non-fiction works, including "How to Solve a Murder: the Forensic Handbook" and "How to Try a Murder: the Handbook for Armchair Lawyers".

Michael Joseph Kurland (born March 1, 1938) is an American author, best known for his works of science fiction and detective fiction. Kurland lives in San Luis Obispo, California.

Michael Joseph Kurland (* 1938 in New York) ist ein US-amerikanischer Autor, der hauptsächlich durch seine Science-Fiction- und Kriminalromane bekannt ist.