Function.

Genetics.

Methylation, as well as other epigenetic modifications, affects transcription, gene stability, and parental imprinting. It directly impacts chromatin structure and can modulate gene transcription, or even completely silence or activate genes, without mutation to the gene itself. Though the mechanisms of this genetic control are complex, hypo- and hypermethylation of DNA is implicated in many diseases.

Protein regulation.

Methylation of proteins has a regulatory role in protein–protein interactions, protein–DNA interactions, and protein activation.  Examples: RCC1, an important mitotic protein, is methylated so that it can interact with centromeres of chromosomes. This is an example of regulation of protein-protein interaction, as methylation regulates the attachment of RCC1 to histone proteins H2A and H2B. The RCC1-chromatin interaction is also an example of a protein-DNA interaction, as another domain of RCC1 interacts directly with DNA when this protein is methylated. When RCC1 is not methylated, dividing cells have multiple spindle poles and usually cannot survive.  p53 methylated on lysine to regulate its activation and interaction with other proteins in the DNA damage response. This is an example of regulation of protein-protein interactions and protein activation. p53 is a known tumor suppressor that activates DNA repair pathways, initiates apoptosis, and pauses the cell cycle. Overall, it responds to mutations in DNA, signaling to the cell to fix them or to initiate cell death so that these mutations cannot contribute to cancer.  NF-κB (a protein involved in inflammation) is a known methylation target of the methyltransferase SETD6, which turns off NF-κB signaling by inhibiting of one of its subunits, RelA. This reduces the transcriptional activation and inflammatory response, making methylation of NF-κB a regulatory process by which cell signaling through this pathway is reduced.  Natural product methyltransferases provide a variety of inputs into metabolic pathways, including the availability of cofactors, signalling molecules, and metabolites. This regulates various cellular pathways by controlling protein activity.

Types.

Histone methyltransferases.

Histone methyltransferases are critical for genetic regulation at the epigenetic level. They modify mainly lysine on the ε-nitrogen and the arginine guanidinium group on histone tails. Lysine methyltransferases and Arginine methyltransferases are unique classes of enzymes, but both bind SAM as a methyl donor for their histone substrates. Lysine amino acids can be modified with one, two, or three methyl groups, while Arginine amino acids can be modified with one or two methyl groups. This increases the strength of the positive charge and residue hydrophobicity, allowing other proteins to recognize methyl marks. The effect of this modification depends on the location of the modification on the histone tail and the other histone modifications around it. The location of the modifications can be partially determined by DNA sequence, as well as small non-coding RNAs and the methylation of the DNA itself. Most commonly, it is histone H3 or H4 that is methylated in vertebrates. Either increased or decreased transcription of genes around the modification can occur. Increased transcription is a result of decreased chromatin condensation, while decreased transcription results from increased chromatin condensation. Methyl marks on the histones contribute to these changes by serving as sites for recruitment of other proteins that can further modify chromatin.

N-terminal methyltransferases.

N-alpha methyltransferases transfer a methyl group from SAM to the N-terminal nitrogen on protein targets. The N-terminal methionine is first cleaved by another enzyme and the X-Proline-Lysine consensus sequence is recognized by the methyltransferase. For all known substrates, the X amino acid is Alanine, Serine, or Proline. This reaction yields a methylated protein and SAH. Known targets of these methyltransferases in humans include RCC-1 (a regulator of nuclear transport proteins) and Retinoblastoma protein (a tumor suppressor protein that inhibits excessive cell division). RCC-1 methylation is especially important in mitosis as it coordinates the localization of some nuclear proteins in the absence of the nuclear envelope. When RCC-1 is not methylated, cell division is abnormal following the formation of extra spindle poles. The function of Retinoblastoma protein N-terminal methylation is not known.

DNA/RNA methyltransferases.

DNA methylation, a key component of genetic regulation, occurs primarily at the 5-carbon of the base cytosine, forming 5’methylcytosine (see left). Methylation is an epigenetic modification catalyzed by DNA methyltransferase enzymes, including DNMT1, DNMT2, and DNMT3. These enzymes use S-adenosylmethionine as a methyl donor and contain several highly conserved structural features between the three forms; these include the S-adenosylmethionine binding site, a vicinal proline-cysteine pair which forms a thiolate anion important for the reaction mechanism, and the cytosine substrate binding pocket. Many features of DNA methyltransferases are highly conserved throughout many classes of life, from bacteria to mammals. In addition to controlling the expression of certain genes, there are a variety of protein complexes, many with implications for human health, which only bind to methylated DNA recognition sites. Many of the early DNA methyltransferases have been thought to be derived from RNA methyltransferases that were supposed to be active in the RNA world to protect many species of primitive RNA. RNA methylation has been observed in different types of RNA species viz.mRNA, rRNA, tRNA, snoRNA, snRNA, miRNA, tmRNA as well as viral RNA species. Specific RNA methyltransferases are employed by cells to mark these on the RNA species according to the need and environment prevailing around the cells, which form a part of field called molecular epigenetics. 2'-O-methylation, m6A methylation, m1G methylation as well as m5C are most commonly methylation marks observed in different types of RNA.  6A is an enzyme that catalyzes chemical reaction as following:  S-adenosyl-L-methionine + DNA adenine S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine + DNA 6-methylaminopurine  m6A was primarily found in prokaryotes until 2015 when it was also identified in some eukaryotes. m6A methyltransferases methylate the amino group in DNA at C-6 position specifically to prevent the host system to digest own genome through restriction enzymes.  m5C plays a role to regulate gene transcription. m5C transferases are the enzymes that produce C5-methylcytosine in DNA at C-5 position of cytosine and are found in most plants and some eukaryotes.

Natural product methyltransferases.

Natural product methyltransferases (NPMTs) are a diverse group of enzymes that add methyl groups to naturally-produced small molecules. Like many methyltransferases, SAM is utilized as a methyl donor and SAH is produced. Methyl groups are added to S, N, O, or C atoms, and are classified by which of these atoms are modified, with O-methyltransferases representing the largest class. The methylated products of these reactions serve a variety of functions, including co-factors, pigments, signalling compounds, and metabolites. NPMTs can serve a regulatory role by modifying the reactivity and availability of these compounds. These enzymes are not highly conserved across different species, as they serve a more specific function in providing small molecules for specialized pathways in species or smaller groups of species. Reflective of this diversity is the variety of catalytic strategies, including general acid-base catalysis, metal-based catalysis, and proximity and desolvation effects not requiring catalytic amino acids. NPMTs are the most functionally diverse class of methyltransferases. Important examples of this enzyme class in humans include phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT), which converts norepinephrine to epinephrine, and histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT), which methylates histamine in the process of histamine metabolism. Catechol-"O"-methyltransferase (COMT) degrades a class of molecules known as catcholamines that includes dopamine, epinephrine, and norepenepherine.

Non-SAM dependent methyltransferases.

Methanol, methyl tetrahydrofolate, mono-, di-, and trimethylamine, methanethiol, methyltetrahydromethanopterin, and chloromethane are all methyl donors found in biology as methyl group donors, typically in enzymatic reactions using the cofactor vitamin B12. These substrates contribute to methyl transfer pathways including methionine biosynthesis, methanogenesis, and acetogenesis.

Radical SAM methyltransferases.

Based on different protein structures and mechanisms of catalysis, there are 3 different types of radical SAM (RS) methylases: Class A, B, and C. Class A RS methylases are the best characterized of the 4 enzymes and are related to both RlmN and Cfr. RlmN is ubiquitous in bacteria which enhances translational fidelity and RlmN catalyzes methylation of C2 of adenosine 2503 (A2503) in 23 S rRNA and C2 of adenosine (A37). Cfr, on the other hand, catalyzes methylation of C8 of A2503 as well and it also catalyzes C2 methylation. Class B is currently the largest class of radical SAM methylases which can mathylate both "sp"2-hybridized and "sp"3-hybridized carbon atoms in different sets of substrates unlike Class A which only catalyzes "sp"2-hybridized carbon atoms. The main difference that distinguishes Class B from others is the additional N-terminal cobalamin-binding domain that binds to the RS domain. Class C methylase has homologous sequence with the RS enzyme, coproporphyrinogen III oxidase (HemN), which also catalyzes the methylation of "sp"2-hybridized carbon centers yet it lacks the 2 cysteines required for methylation in mechanism of Class A.

Clinical significance.

As with any biological process which regulates gene expression and/or function, anomalous DNA methylation is associated with genetic disorders such as ICF, Rett syndrome, and Fragile X syndrome. Cancer cells typically exhibit less DNA methylation activity in general, though often hypermethylation at sites which are unmethylated in normal cells; this overmethylation often functions as a way to inactivate tumor-suppressor genes. Inhibition of overall DNA methyltransferase activity has been proposed as a treatment option, but DNMT inhibitors, analogs of their cytosine substrates, have been found to be highly toxic due to their similarity to cytosine (see right); this similarity to the nucleotide causes the inhibitor to be incorporated into DNA translation, causing non-functioning DNA to be synthesized.  A methylase which alters the ribosomal RNA binding site of the antibiotic linezolid causes cross-resistance to other antibiotics that act on the ribosomal RNA. Plasmid vectors capable of transmitting this gene are a cause of potentially dangerous cross resistance.  Examples of methyltransferase enzymes relevant to disease:

Applications in drug discovery and development.

Recent work has revealed the methyltransferases involved in methylation of naturally occurring anticancer agents to use S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM) analogs that carry alternative alkyl groups as a replacement for methyl. The development of the facile chemoenzymatic platform to generate and utilize differentially alkylated SAM analogs in the context of drug discovery and drug development is known as alkylrandomization.

Applications in cancer treatment.

In human cells, it was found that m5C was associated with abnormal tumor cells in cancer. The role and potential application of m5C includes to balance the impaired DNA in cancer both hypermethylation and hypomethylation. An epigenetic repair of DNA can be applied by changing the m5C amount in both types of cancer cells (hypermethylation/ hypomethylation) and as well as the environment of the cancers to reach an equivalent point to inhibit tumor cells.

Examples.

Examples include:

Methyltransferases are a large group of enzymes that all methylate their substrates but can be split into several subclasses based on their structural features. The most common class of methyltransferases is class I, all of which contain a Rossmann fold for binding "S"-Adenosyl methionine (SAM). Class II methyltransferases contain a SET domain, which are exemplified by SET domain histone methyltransferases, and class III methyltransferases, which are membrane associated. Methyltransferases can also be grouped as different types utilizing different substrates in methyl transfer reactions. These types include protein methyltransferases, DNA/RNA methyltransferases, natural product methyltransferases, and non-SAM dependent methyltransferases. SAM is the classical methyl donor for methyltrasferases, however, examples of other methyl donors are seen in nature. The general mechanism for methyl transfer is a S2-like nucleophilic attack where the methionine sulfur serves as the nucleophile that transfers the methyl group to the enzyme substrate. SAM is converted to "S"-Adenosyl homocysteine (SAH) during this process. The breaking of the SAM-methyl bond and the formation of the substrate-methyl bond happen nearly simultaneously. These enzymatic reactions are found in many pathways and are implicated in genetic diseases, cancer, and metabolic diseases. Another type of methyl transfer is the radical S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM) which is the methylation of unactivated carbon atoms in primary metabolites, proteins, lipids, and RNA.

Methyltransferasen oder Methylasen sind Enzyme in allen Lebewesen, die ihre Substrate methylieren, das heißt, sie übertragen eine Methylgruppe auf andere Biomoleküle. Diese Reaktion ist Teil ganz unterschiedlicher Stoffwechselwege, insbesondere bei der Biosynthese der Cobalamine, Menachinone, von Porphyrin, Methionin und dTTP. Neben diversen Synthesewegen helfen Methyltransferasen allgemein beim Prozessieren von genetischer Information, so beim Verarbeiten von ribosomaler RNA, bei der DNA-Methylierung und anderer Methoden der Regulation der Transkription, beim mRNA-Capping und der Modifizierung von tRNA. Es gibt N-Methyltransferasen, O-Methyltransferasen und die vergleichsweise selteneren C-Methyltransferasen.


Design and development.

Messerschmitt designers had started working on an upgrade of the Bf 110 in 1937, before the production version of the Bf 110 had even flown. In late 1938, the Bf 110 was just entering service, and the RLM started looking ahead for its eventual replacement. Messerschmitt sent in their modified Bf 110 design as the Me 210, and Arado responded with their all-new Ar 240.  The Me 210 was a considerable departure from the 110, but used many of the same parts. The main differences were a modified nose area that was much shorter and located over the center of gravity, an internal bomb bay, an all-new wing designed for higher cruise speeds and a highly advanced remote-control defensive armament system that gave the gunner a far wider field of fire. On paper, the Me 210's performance was impressive: It could reach 620 km/h (390 mph) on two 1,350 PS (1,330 hp, 990 kW) Daimler-Benz DB 601F engines, making it about 80 km/h (50 mph) faster than the Bf 110, and nearly as fast as single-engine fighters of that era.  The Me 210's main landing gear followed some of the design philosophies that had resulted from the main change in the earlier Ju 88's main landing gear design, where each main gear had a single gear strut that twisted through 90° during retraction, to bring the main gear wheel resting atop the lower end of the main strut when retracted rearwards into the wing. Unlike the Ju 88, however, the Me 210's main gear wheels were inboard of the main gear struts when fully extended, whereas the Ju 88's were outboard of the struts.  The Bf 110 carried its ordnance externally beneath the wings and fuselage, but this created drag; the Me 210 avoided this problem by housing the bombs in an enclosed bomb bay, in the nose of the aircraft. The Me 210 could carry up to two 500 kg (1,100 lb) bombs. The Me 210 had dive brakes fitted on the tops of the wings, and a Stuvi 5B bombsight ("Stuvi"-"Sturzkampfvisier", dive-bombing sight) in the nose, for shallow-angle dive bombing. In the fighter role, the bomb bay was fitted with four 20 mm cannons. For defence, the Me 210's rear gunner was armed with two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns. Each of these was fitted into half-teardrop-shaped "Ferngerichtete Drehringseitenlafette" FDSL 131/1B turrets mounted on each side of the aircraft, and was remote-controlled from the gunner's position in the rear of the glazed cockpit area with a unique gun-aiming setup. This unit had a pivoting handgun-style grip, trigger and gunsight at its center, to aim the guns vertically—with both turrets elevating and depressing together when operated - and horizontally, in pivoting each gun separately, outward away from the fuselage side when aimed to one side or the other. The rear of the cockpit canopy's lower side glazing panels were bulged out to allow the gunner to see in almost any rearward-facing direction. The guns were electrically fired, and an electrical contact breaker acted as a form of "interrupter" as used on many forms of multi-engined, turret-armed WW II aircraft, preventing the gunner from shooting off the Me 210's tailplane.  An order for 1,000 Me 210s was placed before the prototype had flown. In time, this would prove to be a major error. The first prototype flew with DB 601B engines in September 1939, and was considered unsafe by test pilots. Stability was bad in turns, and it tended to oscillate, even while flying level. At first, the designers concentrated on the twin-rudder arrangement that had been taken from the 110, and replaced it with a new and much larger single vertical stabilizer. This had almost no effect, and the plane continued to "snake". The Me 210 also suffered from terrible stalls. With the nose up or in a turn, the stalls whipped into spins when the automatic leading-edge slats opened. The second prototype, Me 210 V2, was lost this way in September 1940, when the pilot could not get out of the resulting spin and had to abandon the aircraft. The chief test pilot commented that the Me 210 had "all the least desirable attributes an aeroplane could possess." It took 16 prototypes and 94 preproduction examples to try to resolve the many problems. Nevertheless, the RLM was desperate to replace the Bf 110s currently in service, and ordered full production in early 1941. The type exhibited grossly inadequate handling characteristics, and as a result, several elements of the airframe were redesigned, including lengthening the rear section of the fuselage by 92 cm (36-1/4 inches), designated as "lang" ("long"). The Me 210C was built with DB 605 engines, as well as incorporating the changes to the airframe. The Hungarian authorities were satisfied with the Me 210C in its current state, and purchased a production license for the type, to fill the role of the Varga RMI-1 X/H, designated Me 210Ca (a = "ausländisch" or 'foreign') as well as for its DB 605 engines. Several airframes were also purchased, to be completed in Hungarian factories for practice while the assembly lines were set up. Production started in the "Dunai Repülőgépgyár Rt." (Danubian Aircraft Plant) as the Me 210Ca with the DB 605B engine, under an agreement where the "Luftwaffe" received two of every three produced.  The Me 210 was eventually developed into the Messerschmitt Me 410, with DB 603 engines.

Operational history.

Deliveries to frontline units started in April 1942, and the plane proved to be even less popular with pilots. Production was stopped at the month's end, by which time only 90 had been delivered. Another 320 partially completed airframes were placed in storage. In its place, the Bf 110 was put back into production. Although the Bf 110 was now equipped with the newer DB 605B engines and greater firepower, it was still an outdated design.  The "Luftwaffe" started receiving their Hungarian-built planes in April 1943, and the Hungarians in 1944; when they entered service they were more than satisfied with them. Production ended in March 1944, when the factory switched over to produce the Bf 109G. By that time, a total of 267 Me 210C had been built, 108 of which had been given to the "Luftwaffe". They operated mostly in Tunisia and Sardinia, and were quickly replaced by the Me 410.

The Messerschmitt Me 210 was a German heavy fighter and ground-attack aircraft of World War II. Design started before the war, as a replacement for the Bf 110. The first examples were ready in 1939, but they proved to have unacceptably poor flight characteristics due to serious wing planform and fuselage design flaws. A large-scale operational testing program throughout 1941 and early 1942 did not cure the type's problems. The design entered limited service in 1943, but was almost immediately replaced by the Messerschmitt Me 410 "Hornisse" ("Hornet"). The Me 410 was a further development of the Me 210, renamed so as to avoid the 210's notoriety. The failure of the Me 210's development program meant the "Luftwaffe" was forced to continue operating the Bf 110 after it had become outdated, despite mounting losses.

Die Messerschmitt Me 210 war ein von der deutschen Luftwaffe im Zweiten Weltkrieg eingesetztes zweisitziges, zweimotoriges Kampfflugzeug der Klasse Zerstörer.


Early life.

The son of a French father and a Calabrian mother, Claude Antoine Marie François was born in Egypt, in the city of Ismaïlia, where his father, Aimé François (1908–1961), was working as a senior manager in the Anglo-French Suez canal company on the Suez Canal. In 1951, the job took the family to the city of Port Tewfik (now Suez Port). Claude had an older sister, Josette (born 1934), who wrote her memoirs in 2008.  François' mother, Lucia Mazzeï (1910–1992) was very musical and had her son take piano and violin lessons. On his own, the boy learned to play the drums. As a result of the 1956 Suez Crisis, the family returned to live in Monaco, The family's expulsion from Egypt was traumatic. They struggled financially after François' father fell ill and could not work. Claude found a job as a bank clerk and at night earned extra money playing drums with an orchestra at the luxury hotels along the French Riviera. With a good singing voice, he was offered a chance to sing at a hotel in the fashionable Mediterranean resort town of Juan-les-Pins. Claude's show was well-received and he began to perform at the glamorous night-clubs along the Côte d'Azur. While working in a club in 1959, he met Janet Woollacott; they wed in 1960. Claude's father turned his back on his son when he became a musician in Monte Carlo in 1957.

Professional career and personal life.

François moved to Paris, where there were many more opportunities to pursue his career. At the time, American rock and roll was taking hold in France and he took a job as part of a singing group to make a living. With the goal of eventually making it as a solo act, he paid the cost to record a 45rpm. Trying to capitalise on the American dance craze "The Twist", he recorded a song titled "Nabout Twist" that proved a resounding failure. Undaunted, in 1962 he recorded a cover version in French of an Everly Brothers song, "Made to Love", aka "Girls Girls Girls", under the name "Belle Belle Belle".  François' career continued to blossom under a new manager. In 1963 he followed the first success with another French adaptation of an American song, this time recording "If I Had a Hammer" and "Walk Right In" in French as "Si j'avais un marteau" and "Marche Tout Droit". François met who was working for the well-known French magazine "Salut les Copains" ("Hi Buddies") and he asked him to draw his portrait.  On 5 April 1963, he headlined at the Paris Olympia, a sign that he had arrived. At the end of that year, François created original new dance steps, and drew them. For the first time, they brought up the idea of setting up a show with female dancers. In 1964, he began a relationship with a 17-year-old Eurovision-winning singer, France Gall, which lasted until 1967.  In 1967, he and Jacques Revaux wrote and composed a song in French called "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), which became a hit in Francophone countries. Canadian singing star Paul Anka reworked it for the English-speaking public into the now legendary hit most famously sung by Frank Sinatra as "My Way". He sang the original version of "Parce que je t'aime, mon enfant" ("Because I Love You My Child") in 1971; it remained relatively little-known in France but Elvis Presley covered it under the title "My Boy".  Although François continued his successful formula of adapting English and American rock and roll hits for the French market, by the 1970s the market had changed and the disco craze that swept North America took root in France. This was no problem for the versatile François; he simply re-invented himself as the king of French disco, recording "La plus belle chose du monde", a French version of the Bee Gees' hit record, "Massachusetts". Looking for new talent, he came across a singing family of two sisters and their cousins. These ladies became known as "Les Flêchettes" (named after "Flèche", the production label he owned) and then "Les Clodettes". He produced a couple of albums for them before his death, and the ladies went on to sing for some of the major stars in European music. He worked non-stop, touring across Europe, Africa and at major venues in Quebec in Canada.  However, in 1971, his workload caught up with him when he collapsed on stage from exhaustion. After a brief period off, he returned to the recording studios, releasing several best-selling hits throughout the early 1970s. He expanded from owning his own record company to acquiring a celebrity magazine and a modelling agency.

Philanthropy.

Although driven to achieve financial success, in 1974 he organised a concert to raise funds for a charity for handicapped children, and the following year he participated in a Paris concert to raise funds for medical research.

Personal life.

In March 1967 he was finally divorced from Janet Woollacott, who had left him in 1962. This failed marriage was one of the three big traumas that affected his whole life. The relationship with France Gall ended in July 1967. After this François had an affair with singer Annie Phillippe, who reportedly refused to marry him.  François soon got consolation when he arranged a date with model Isabelle Forêt, whom he had first met a few years before. Their relationship lasted from 1967 to 1972 and produced two sons, Claude Jr. in July 1968 and Marc in November 1969. He hid the existence of his second son for five years because he thought that being a father of two would destroy his boyish image as "a free man and seducer".  By 1972 he was single again, dating several well-known European stars. Finnish model Sofia Kiukkonen 1973–76 and American model Kathalyn (Kathleen) H. Jones-Mann 1976–78 were his most important relationships of this period. He also had an affair with his dresser Sylvie Mathurin from 1974–78.  He continued to perform while overseeing his numerous business interests. In 1975, while in London, he narrowly escaped death when an IRA bomb exploded in the lobby of the Hilton hotel and two years later a fan tried to shoot him while he drove his car.  In 1977-78, more than 15 years after his first hit record, he was still topping the musical charts with multi-million sales from hits such as "Alexandrie Alexandra" (which was released on the day of his burial) and performing to large audiences.

International career.

He performed an international career mostly in Belgium and Switzerland, but also in Italy, Spain, England and Canada. In 1976, his song "Le Telephone Pleure" ("Tears on the Telephone") reached No. 35 in the UK Singles Chart. On 16 January 1978, he performed, for the first time for a French singer, a gala at the Royal Albert Hall in London to an audience of 6000.

Death.

After working in Switzerland on 9 and 10 March and recording a television special for the BBC on Saturday, 11 March 1978, François returned to his Paris apartment, 46 Boulevard Exelmans, to appear, the next day, on "Les Rendez-vous du Dimanche" with TV host Michel Drucker. While taking a shower, he noticed that the light fixture was not straight on the wall; he tried to straighten it (or change the lightbulb) and was electrocuted. His body was buried in the village of Dannemois, in the Essonne department (about south of Paris), near which Claude François owned a house where he often spent time relaxing.

Legacy.

On 11 March 2000, the 22nd anniversary of his death, Place Claude-François in Paris was named in his memory; it is located right in front of the building where he died.  A biographical film called "Cloclo" ("My Way" internationally) was released in March 2012 to coincide with the anniversary of his death. It runs two and a half hours long and stars Jérémie Renier.  Claude François's sons, Claude Jr and Marc, have meticulously assumed the management of their father's artistic heritage over the years.

Controversies.

A woman named Julie Bocquet maintains that François is her father. Fabienne, her mother, was 15 when she got pregnant. Others have also recently come forward as well..  Bordeaux rosé – Auteurs compositeurs : Pumer – Daltrey

Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, music producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (composed by Jacques Revaux and himself), the original version of "My Way" and composed the music of "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant", the original version of "My Boy". Among his most famous songs are "Le Téléphone Pleure", "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever", "Alexandrie Alexandra" and "Cette année là".

Claude François (* 1. Februar 1939 in Ismaïlia, Ägypten; † 11. März 1978 in Paris), in Frankreich oft auch Cloclo genannt, war ein französischer Musiker, Komponist, Chansonnier und Musikproduzent. In den 1960er und 1970er Jahren zählt er zu den populärsten Künstlern seines Landes.


Founding of the museum.

In 1955 the Heimatforscher (somebody researching his homeland, home town or region) and owner of the Meierhof Walter Blankenburg (1901-1984) from Wandlitz opened the so-called “Heimatstube”. He and his wife Margot had been collecting various commonly used items from rural households with the help of other residents over the course of several years that could now be shown for the first time raising a lot of public interest. Over time and with public funding the “Heimatstube” was expanded into a museum by repurposing two barns, a stable, and a 5,381 square foot (500m) large auditorium gifted by the Free German Trade Union Federation was added to cope with the fast growing collection, now largely consisting of agricultural equipment and machinery. The museum staff was supported on an academic level by the Berlin State Museums.  In 1975 the museum was renamed to "Museum der agraren Produktivkräfte" (approximate translation: Museum of the Agricultural Workforce).  The sculpture, created by Walter Arnold, positioned in front of the multi-purpose building in the 1980s was a long-time loan to the museum from a museum in Berlin. The sculpture was given back to its original museum in Berlin in 2011.

Agricultural Museum Wandlitz (from 1990).

After the German reunification the museum would continue to exist with the financial support of the municipality Wandlitz and a newly founded booster club. In 1990 the state Brandenburg changed the museum’s name to “Agrarmuseum Wandlitz” (Agricultural Museum Wandlitz). Throughout the following years its collection has become the biggest, historic agricultural collection in Brandenburg. Until spring 2013 the total exhibition space was about 21,571 square foot (2000m) large. One of the most noticeable exhibits is the historic “Dampfpflug” (a plough working with a steam engine), which was situated outside the museum under a separate roof. Many functional tractors and other agricultural machinery from different eras can be seen at the museum. In other areas of the exhibition, traditional craft and the historic rural household are portrayed. The exhibits of the “Heimatstube” give special insight into the history of the village and its residents.  The museum once owned a farm in the village, where different kind of potatoes were grown.  The museum is financed only by the municipality Wandlitz.

New buildings and names.

The museum had planned a new building which would replace the run-down architecture of the old one, and for a long time the museum could not build it, but in 2011 those plans were realized. In close proximity to the old museum, the municipality Wandlitz started the construction of a new complex of buildings, known as the Barnim Panorama, which would house the “Agrarmuseum Wandlitz” (Agricultural Museum Wandlitz), as well as the visitor center of the Barnim Nature Park.  A foundation stone ceremony for the Barnim Panorama was held during the annual museum festival on May 15, 2011. The new complex of buildings has the same appearance as the rest of the villages’ stables, barns, and the main building, which is made from stone. The building also resembles a historic “Dreiseithof” (a square farm complex that has buildings on three of its sides). The neighboring landmarked school was integrated into the complex of buildings that form the Barnim Panorama, which is now the new headquarter of the Barnim Nature Park, and provides offices for the management of the museum.  The architects of "Reese Lubic Woehrlin" from Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg won the architectural design competition, and designed the new museum. In total the project cost an estimated 6.2 million €, including approximately 5 million € for the construction. The European Union and the state Brandenburg contributed with 3.7 million € in subsidies.  In 2012 local residents suggested naming the new museum after its founder Walter Blankenburg. The Cultural Affairs Director of the municipality then drafted a resolution to name the Barnim Panorama “Walter-Blankenburg-Hof” (Walter-Blankenburg-Farm), but the booster club of the museum denied the resolution because the lot was not owned by the Blankenburg family. Instead, the booster club wanted to name the whole plaza after Walter Blankenburg. Finally the municipality Wandlitz decided to name a street after Walter Blankenburg: the "Walter-Blankenburg-Weg".  The Barnim Panorama was officially opened on September 7, 2013. The Brandenburg Department of Construction awarded Stefan Woehrlin’s team of architects with the “Baukulturpreis” (an award from the state of Brandenburg for architects and civil engineers) on October 12, 2013. The reasons for giving the award to Stefan Woehrlin’s team especially underlined their predominant use of environmentally sustainable construction materials, and the design towards building a low-energy house with zero emissions. The awarded money of 2,500 € was gifted to the booster club and the Barnim Nature Park by the architects.  What is especially notable are the walk-on-able map of the local area, and the large outside area with a lot of space for children to play in. The tractor collection is inside an exhibit hall made mostly from glass. Other exhibit objects were rearranged in the new museum.  The whole new building complex provides universal access.

Exhibition.

The complete former museum now uses three stories of the new building, and the whole exposition is unified under the motto “Geformte und genutzte Landschaft” (Shaped and Formed Landscape). The foyer, a shop, as well as the exhibits “Wild Barnim” (a multimedia installation from fall 2014), “Moving Soil”, and the “Tractor herd” are situated on the bottom floor. Visitors will also find the exit to the garden and a depot containing various combine harvesters on the bottom floor. On the upper floor there are two major topics presented: “Stories from the Barnim,” and “Rural Life.” A portion of the available space is reserved only for special exhibits. Lastly there is a panoramic window that gives the visitors a view upon the Wandlitzer See (lake), and a walk-on-able map of the Barnim Nature Park which simulates a bird’s-eye view.  The Barnim Panorama is open every day (except Friday) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The admission fee for adults is 6 € with lower prices for children, families, and groups.

Exhibits (Selection).

Wild Barnim.

This modern media presentation was created after a limited competition held by the "“Bärlin Team Eventdesign”" corporation, and produced in cooperation with the filmmakers "“filmfritzen.tv”". An infinitely looped movie is projected onto a 45 x 10 foot (14 x 3 m) large, curved surface. It shows the shaping of the Barnim landscape in impressive images. Seven different scenes are shown without the use of a commentator but rather with the sounds of nature and other self-composed sound effects. It aims to teach visitors about the Ice Age and the following melting of the glaciers as well as the adjacent formation of lakes, forests, and swamps. The multimedia installation is rounded off by special coordinated light effects.

Special exhibitions.

2014 - 2015: Out into Nature (from the German: "“Raus ins Grüne”") deals with the early tourism in the region at the beginning of the 20th century. It especially highlights the influence of the rail road “Heidekrautbahn”, the Liepnitzsee (lake), and the Wandlitzer See (lake) as catalysts for the tourism boom that is still noticeable today.  2015 - 2016: Wolf and Human – Searching for Traces in Brandenburg (from the German "“Wolf und Mensch – auf Spurensuche in Brandenburg”") The once very dense wolf population in Brandenburg was for the last 200 years almost nonexistent. But as the wolf population is starting to grow again and the animals are returning to their historic habitat, many questions arise about how humans and wolves can live together peacefully. The exhibition shows both historic and current aspects of their relationship and aims to provide a platform for the current public discussion.  2016: Waldsiedlung Wandlitz - A Landscape of Power (from the German "“Waldsiedlung Wandlitz - Eine Landschaft der Macht”") aims to give an historical-critical overview of the SED history of the housing-complex used by the political leadership of the German Democratic Republic from 1958 to 1990.  Visitors are getting insight into the day-to-day life of the SED officials, their families, and their security staff living inside the locked off complex. The exhibition asks about the impact of the housing-complex on the region and provides a geographical overview on its large walk-on-able map. It also highlights the connections between the growing media coverage of the housing-complex in the last years of the German Democratic Republic to the Peaceful Revolution of 1989. The exhibition is accompanied by multiple informative installations on the area of the former housing complex.  It was funded by the state Brandenburg and the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship.

Events.

The first museum festival took place in 1979. It was celebrated with live music and a parade of all the exhibits that were still intact. The festival became an annual event that takes place in May and offers insight into traditional craft and presentations of special items from the museum’s collection to up to 2,500 visitors in the historic center of the quarter Wandlitz. Many small artisans, craftsmen, and artists, as well as voluntary associations, participate in the festival.  Since approximately 1983, annual summer concerts invite visitors to experience the museum in a different way. Musicians play at the museum on four different dates between June and September inside a scenic installation in the museum. In July 2009, for example, melodies from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven could be heard by the visitors.

The Barnim Panorama, owned by the municipality Wandlitz, was created in September 2013 by combining the Agrarmuseum Wandlitz and the visitor center of the Barnim Nature Park. It has the largest agricultural collection in Brandenburg and offers six themed rooms to give visitors an insight into the 200-year-old history of agriculture in Brandenburg. The museum in the quarter Wandlitz was built in 1955 and could only use provisional arrangements until 2013. Because of the growing demand for more exhibition space and better opportunities to present its collection, the quarter decided to construct a new building across the street from the original museum.

Das BarnimPanorama (Eigenschreibweise "Barnim Panorama") ist ein Landwirtschaftsmuseum und Besucherzentrum des Naturparks Barnim. Es war im September 2013 aus dem Agrarmuseum Wandlitz und dem Naturparkzentrum Barnim hervorgegangen. Die Einrichtung gehört der Gemeinde Wandlitz und erhielt den vollständigen Namen BARNIM PANORAMA Besucherinformationszentrum • Agrarmuseum Wandlitz. Sie beherbergt die größte agrarhistorische Sammlung in Brandenburg und bietet in sechs Themenräumen einen Einblick in die zweihundertjährige Geschichte der Landwirtschaft Brandenburgs. Das Museum in der Breitscheidstraße 8–9 im Ortsteil Wandlitz entstand 1955 und konnte bis 2013 nur Provisorien nutzen. Wegen des wachsenden Platzbedarfs und einer verbesserten Präsentationsmöglichkeit ließ die Gemeinde gegenüber dem ursprünglichen Standort einen Neubau errichten.


Chronography of 354.

One of his most noteworthy works is the "Chronography of 354", also known as the "Calendar of 354", of which the original has been lost. It is the oldest known Christian calendar, with the first known reference to the celebration of the Christmas, although it also incorporates Roman festivities. The most complete copy conserved today is a manuscript of the 17th century which is kept in the Barberini collection. This is the reproduction of a "Codex Luxemburgensis" of the Carolingian dynasty, which was lost in the seventeenth century.  The "chronography" was commissioned by a wealthy Roman Christian, known as Valentinus, to whom it was dedicated. The original manuscript miniatures were also probably the work of Filocalus.

The pope's official engraver.

Filocalus was the official engraver of Pope Damasus (304 - 384), and described himself as "Damasi pappae cultor atque amator" ("admirer and personal friend of Pope Damasus"). The archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi suggests that his inscriptions were reserved for the cult of the martyrs. It is not known for certain whether these inscriptions were drawn and engraved by Filocalus, or only drawn by him, but the first hypothesis seems to be correct. The precision of the cut of the stone and the organic regularity between the letters suggest the work of a master who works based on a sketch, rather than a craftsman copying an elaborate drawing.  For these inscriptions, called the "Epigrammata Damasiana", Filocalus created an original letterform that is known as filocalian letter or "philocalian script". Its main features are its thin and wavy ornamental serifs. It also has a strong contrast, with thin horizontal strokes and with vertical strokes which are thick in the downward direction and thin in the ascendant. It also presents vertically squashed forms; especially in the letters C, D, G, H, M, N, O, Q, R and T, which are wider than they are tall. The rounded letters (D, G, O, Q) all have an oblique axis.  Three fourth-century fragments of the filocalian letter engraved in stone are known, which seem to have been signed in the same way, with the inscription "Furius Dionysius Filocalus scribsit". These fragments were part of the transcription of a series of poems that Pope Damasus I had written in honor of the martyrs, and which were employed to decorate their tombs. This typeface had a great influence on the engravers of the time, who copied its style extensively, and of which a great number of examples are known.

Legacy.

The first "Tuscan-style" metal sorts appeared around 1987. They were created by British type designer Vincent Figgins, who named his typeface "4-lines Pica Ornamented no. 2". His letters were inspired by the ornamental designs of Fournier, but the oldest ancestor for his ornamental serfis is the filocalian letter. Tuscan style was widely popular during the Victorian Times, and it's still used nowadays.

Furius Dionysius Filocalus or Filocalus was a Roman calligrapher and stone engraver, specialized in epigraphic texts, who was active in the second half of the fourth century.

Furius Dionysius Filocalus (auch "Philocalus") war ein römischer Kalligraph. Er lebte im 4. Jahrhundert. Ihm wird von einigen Forschern die Erfindung des monumentalen Majuskelalphabets der spätlateinischen Inschriften zugeschrieben. Im Auftrag von Papst Damasus I. gestaltete er die als "Epigrammata Damasiana" bekannten, von Damasus verfassten Grabinschriften der römischen Märtyrer und Päpste. Auf dem Epitaph für den Märtyrer Eusebius bezeichnete er sich als Bewunderer und Freund von Damasus. Daraus wird geschlossen, dass er eine bedeutende Person, wenn nicht gar christlicher Aristokrat war. Sein frühestes und aus heutiger Sicht bedeutendstes Werk ist der "Chronograph von 354", den er für den reichen christlichen Aristokraten Valentinus anfertigte. In diesem Werk sind die frühesten ganzseitigen Illustrationen der westlichen Kunstgeschichte zu finden. Es ist der einzige erhaltene vollständige römische Kalender aus dem 4. Jahrhundert.


Early life.

Richeza was a daughter of Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophia of Minsk. She received her first name, originally a Lotharingian-Burgundian female name, in honor of her maternal grandmother, the late Richeza of Poland. In c. 1210 the new king Eric X of Sweden, who had deposed his predecessor Sverker II, desired to build cordial and peaceful relations with Denmark, which had traditionally supported the House of Sverker, against the Norwegian-supported dynasty of Eric. That was why Richeza, sister of the then reigning Valdemar II of Denmark, was married to Eric.

Queenship.

When she arrived at the Swedish coast, according to a later folk song, she expressed her surprise that she was expected to ride and not travel by carriage, as she had been used to in her birth country, and the Swedish noblewomen and ladies-in-waiting had encouraged her to adapt the customs of her new home country instead of trying to establish her own "Jutian" customs.  Queen Richeza bore exclusively daughters as long as her spouse was alive. King Eric died in 1216. Dowager Queen Richeza was pregnant at the time and then gave birth to her only surviving son, the future Eric XI of Sweden, after the death of her spouse. The family of King Eric X, however, was driven to exile from Sweden as the House of Sverker heir, John I of Sweden, was elected king there, to succeed Richeza's husband. It was in Denmark that Richeza herself died, without seeing her son's accession to the throne (in 1222), nor her daughters' marriages. She was buried in Ringsted. While nothing is concretely known about her person, the occurrence of the name Rikissa (Richeza) among her descendants may indicate that she was well-liked.

Richeza of Denmark (Swedish: "Rikissa Valdemarsdotter"; c. 1180–8 May 1220) was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Eric X, and the mother of King Eric XI.

Rikissa von Dänemark (* 1174; † 8. Mai 1220 in Ringsted in Dänemark), auch Rikiza, war die Ehefrau des schwedischen Königs Erik X. und damit Königin von Schweden.


Signs and symptoms.

Loss of pancreatic enzymes leads to maldigestion and malabsorption, which may in turn lead to:

Causes and pathogenesis.

In humans, the most common causes of EPI are chronic pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis, the former a longstanding inflammation of the pancreas altering the organ's normal structure and function that can arise as a result of malnutrition, heredity, or (in the Western world especially), behaviour (alcohol use, smoking), and the latter a recessive hereditary disease most common in Europeans and Ashkenazi Jews where the molecular culprit is an altered, "CFTR"-encoded chloride channel. According to WebMD, "Crohn's disease and celiac disease can also lead to EPI in some people". In children, another common cause is Shwachman-Bodian-Diamond syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder resulting from mutation in the SBDS gene.

Diagnosis.

The three main tests used in considering a diagnosis of EPI are: fecal elastase test, fecal fat test, and a direct pancreatic function test. The latter is a limitedly used test that assesses exocrine function in the pancreas by inserting a tube into the small intestine to collect pancreatic secretions.

Treatment.

EPI is often treated with pancreatic enzyme replacement products (PERPs) such as pancrelipase, that are used to break down fats (via a lipase), proteins (via a protease), and carbohydrates (via amylase) into units that can be digested. Pancrelipase is typically porcine derived and requires large doses.

Other animals.

Causes and pathogenesis.

Chronic pancreatitis is the most common cause of EPI in cats. In dogs, where the condition has been deemed common, the usual cause is by "pancreatic acinar atrophy", arising as a result of genetic conditions, a blocked pancreatic duct, or prior infection.  In dogs, EPI is most common in young German Shepherds, and in Finland Rough Collies, and is inherited. In German Shepherds, the method of inheritance is through an autosomal recessive gene. In these two breeds, at least, the cause appears to be immune-mediated as a sequela to lymphocytic pancreatitis. The German Shepherd makes up about two-thirds of cases seen with EPI. Other breeds reported to be predisposed to EPI include terrier breeds, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Chow Chows, and Picardy Shepherds.

Symptoms.

In animals, signs of EPI are not present until 85 to 90 percent of the pancreas is unable to secrete its enzymes. In dogs, symptoms include weight loss, poor hair coat, flatulence, increased appetite, coprophagia, and diarrhea. Feces are often yellow-gray in color with an oily texture. There are many concurrent diseases that mimic EPI, and severe pancreatitis is one that if allowed to continue unabated can lead to EPI.

Diagnosis and treatment.

The most reliable test for EPI in dogs and cats is serum trypsin-like immunoreactivity (TLI); a low value indicates EPI. Fecal elastase levels may also be used for diagnosis in dogs.  In dogs, the best treatment is to supplement the animals' food with dried pancreatic extracts. There are commercial preparations available, but chopped bovine pancreas from the butcher can also be used. (Pork pancreas should not be used because of the rare transmission of pseudorabies). Symptoms usually improve within a few days, but lifelong treatment is required to manage the condition. A rare side-effect of use of dried pancreatic extracts is oral ulceration and bleeding.  Because of malabsorption, serum levels of cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12) and tocopherol (vitamin E) may be low. These may be supplemented, although since cyanocobalamin contains the toxic chemical cyanide, dogs that have serious cobalamin issues should instead be treated with hydroxocobalamin or methylcobalamin.  Cyanocobalamin deficiency is very common in cats with EPI because about 99 percent of intrinsic factor (which is required for cyanocobalamin absorption from the intestine) is secreted by the pancreas. In dogs, this figure is about 90 percent, and only about 50 percent of dogs have this deficiency.  Cats may suffer from Vitamin K deficiencies. If there is bacterial overgrowth in the intestine, antibiotics should be used, especially if treatment is not working.  In dogs failing to gain weight or continuing to show symptoms, modifying the diet to make it low-fiber and highly digestible may help. Despite previous belief that low-fat diets are beneficial in dogs with EPI, more recent studies have shown that a high-fat diet may increase absorption of nutrients and better manage the disease. However, it has been shown that different dogs respond to different dietary modifications, so the best diet must be determined on a case-by-case basis.  One possible sequela, volvulus (mesenteric torsion), is a rare consequence of EPI in dogs.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is the inability to properly digest food due to a lack of digestive enzymes made by the pancreas. EPI is found in humans afflicted with cystic fibrosis and Shwachman–Diamond syndrome, and is common in dogs. EPI is caused by a progressive loss of the pancreatic cells that make digestive enzymes; loss of digestive enzymes leads to maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients from normal digestive processes.

Als exokrine Pankreasinsuffizienz (kurz: EPI) wird eine Erkrankung der Bauchspeicheldrüse bezeichnet, die mit einer ungenügenden Produktion von Verdauungsenzymen einhergeht. Die Folge ist eine ausgeprägte Verdauungsstörung mit Gewichtsverlust oder mangelnder Gewichtszunahme. Die Diagnose kann durch Bestimmung der Aktivität der Verdauungsenzyme im Stuhl gestellt werden. Zur Behandlung ist ein Ersatz mit der Nahrung möglich.


Terminology.

Origin and evolution of the term "two-spirit".

The term "two spirit" was adopted in English, and created in Ojibwe, in 1990 at the third annual Native American/First Nations gay and lesbian conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, as a replacement for "berdache". The decision to adopt this new, pan-Indian term was deliberate, with a clear intention to distance themselves from non-Native gays and lesbians, as well as from non-Native terminology like "berdache", "gay", "lesbian", and "trans".  Cameron writes, "The term two-spirit is thus an Aboriginal-specific term of resistance to colonization and non-transferable to other cultures. There are several underlying reasons for two spirited Aboriginals' desire to distance themselves from the mainstream queer community." Lang explains that for Aboriginal people, their sexual orientation or gender identity is secondary to their ethnic identity. She states, "at the core of contemporary two-spirit identities is ethnicity, an awareness of being Native American as opposed to being white or being a member of any other ethnic group".  While the words "niizh manidoowag" (from Ojibwe) were also proposed at the same time in this discussion (to honor the language of the Peoples in whose territory the conference was being held), this term had not been previously used, in either Ojibwe or English, until this conference in 1990, nor was this term ever intended to replace the traditional terms or concepts already in use in Native ceremonial cultures.  While it has gained far more mainstream recognition and popularity than any of the traditional terms in Indigenous languages, the term has never met with universal acceptance. The primary purpose of coining a new term was to encourage the replacement of the outdated, and offensive, anthropological term "berdache," which means "passive partner in sodomy, boy prostitute."  While use of the term to replace "berdache" proceeded, the word also began to replace tribally-specific terms and cultural teachings, leading to criticism, largely from more traditional members of Indian Country, Nations and tribes used various words to describe various genders, sexes and sexualities. Many had separate words for the Western constructs of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, intersex individuals, cross-dressers, transgenders, gender-variant individuals, or "changing ones," third genders (men who live as women), and fourth genders (women who live as men) Even these categories are limiting, because they are based on Western language and ideas rooted in a dichotomous relationship between gender, sex, and sexuality. This language barrier limits our understanding of the traditional roles within Native American/First Nations cultures.  Other concerns about this pan-Indian, English-language term have centered around the binary nature of "two-spirit", a sense not found in the traditional names for these individuals or their roles in traditional cultures, It implies that the individual is both male and female and that these aspects are intertwined within them. The term moves away from traditional Native American/First Nations cultural identities and meanings of sexuality and gender variance. It does not take into account the terms and meanings from individual nations and tribes.... Although "two-spirit" implies to some a spiritual nature, that one holds the spirit of two, both male and female, traditional Native Americans/First Nations peoples view this as a Western concept.  It is unclear who first coined the term "two-spirit" in English. Pember notes the involvement of non-Native Will Roscoe who, like his also non-Native mentor Harry Hay, is involved in the hippie/counterculture gay men's group, the Radical Faeries, a "non-Native community that emulates Native spirituality" and engages in other forms of cultural appropriation. Even at the series of conferences where the term was gradually adopted (1990 being the third of five), concern was expressed by a number of the Native attendees that traditional Natives back in the reservation communities would never agree to this newly-coined concept, or adopt the neologism being used to describe it. Some who enthusiastically took up the term and used it in the media said that this new, English-language term carried on the full meaning and implications of the Indigenous-language terms used in-community for the specific traditional, ceremonial roles that the anthropologists had referred to - emphasizing the role of the Elders in recognizing a two-spirit person, stressing that "Two Spirit" is not interchangeable with "LGBT Native American" or "Gay Indian"; and that the title differs from most western, mainstream definitions of sexuality and gender identity in that it is not a modern, self-chosen term of personal sexual or gender "identity", but is a sacred, spiritual and ceremonial role that is recognized and confirmed by the Elders of the Two Spirit's ceremonial community. Talking to The New York Times in 2006, Joey Criddle said, At the same time, others saw it as a capitulation to urbanization and loss of culture that, while initially intended to help people reconnect with the spiritual dimension of these roles, was not working out the way it had been intended. In 2009, writing for the "Encyclopedia of Gender and Society", Kylan Mattias de Vries wrote,  With the urbanization and assimilation of Native peoples, individuals began utilizing Western terms, concepts, and identities, such as gay, lesbian, transgender, and intersex. These terms separated Native cultural identity from sexuality and gender identity, furthering a disconnect felt by many Native American/First Nations peoples in negotiating the boundaries of life between two worlds (Native and non-Native/Western). The term "two-spirited" was created to reconnect one's gender or sexual identity with her or his Native identity and culture... Some Native Americans/First Nations people that hold to more traditional religious and cultural values view "two-spirit" as a cultural and social term, rather than one with any religious or spiritual meaning.... Since historically, many "berdache/two-spirit" individuals held religious or spiritual roles, the term "two spirit" creates a disconnection from the past. The terms used by other tribes currently and historically do not translate directly into the English form of "two spirit" or the Ojibwe form of "niizh manidoowag".  While some have found the term a useful tool for intertribal organizing, "the concept and word "two-spirit" has no traditional cultural significance". Not all tribes have ceremonial roles for these people, and the tribes who do usually use names in their own languages.

Traditional Indigenous terms.

With over 500 surviving Native American cultures, attitudes about sex and gender can be diverse. Even with the modern adoption of pan-Indian terms like two-spirit, and the creation of a modern pan-Indian community around this naming, not all cultures will perceive two-spirits the same way, or welcome a pan-Indian term to replace the terms already in use by their cultures. Additionally, not all contemporary Indigenous communities are supportive of their gender-variant and non-heterosexual people now. In these communities, those looking for two-spirit community have sometimes faced oppression and rejection. While existing terminology in many nations shows historical acknowledgement of differing sexual orientations and gender expressions, members of some these nations have also said that while variance was accepted, they never had separate or defined roles for these members of the community. Among the Indigenous communities that traditionally have roles for two-spirit people, specific terms in their own languages are used for the social and spiritual roles these individuals fulfill. The following list is not comprehensive.  [In Ojibwe cultures] Sex usually determined one's gender, and therefore one's work, but the Ojibwe accepted variation. Men who chose to function as women were called "ikwekaazo", meaning 'one who endeavors to be like a woman'. Women who functioned as men were called "ininiikaazo", meaning, 'one who endeavors to be like a man'. The French called these people "berdaches". "Ikwekaazo" and "ininiikaazo" could take spouses of their own sex. Their mates were not considered "ikwekaazo" or "ininiikaazo", however, because their function in society was still in keeping with their sex. If widowed, the spouse of an "ikwekaazo" or "ininiikaazo" could remarry someone of the opposite sex or another "ikwekaazo" or "ininiikaazo". The "ikwekaazowag" worked and dressed like women. The "ininiikaazowag" worked and dressed like men. Both were considered to be strong spiritually, and they were always honoured, especially during ceremonies.

Contemporary issues.

The increasing visibility of the two-spirit concept in mainstream culture has been seen as both empowering and as having some undesirable consequences, such as the spread of misinformation about the cultures of Indigenous people, pan-Indianism, and cultural appropriation of Indigenous identities and ceremonial ways among non-Natives who do not understand that Indigenous communities see two-spirit as a specifically Native American and First Nations cultural identity, not one to be taken up by non-Natives.  My concern is not so much over the use of the words but over the social meme they have generated that has morphed into a cocktail of historical revisionism, wishful thinking, good intentions, and a soupçon of white, entitled appropriation. "Two-spirit" does not acknowledge either the traditional acceptance or the nonacceptance of individuals in various nations and tribes. The idea of gender and sexuality variance being universally accepted among Native American/First Nations peoples has become romanticized. Accordingly, the change from "berdache" to "two-spirit" is most accurately understood as a non-Native idealization of the social acceptance of gender variance, idealizing a romanticized acceptance of gender variance.  For First Nations people whose lives have been impacted by the Residential Schools, and other Indigenous communities who have experienced severe cultural damage from colonization, the specific two-spirit traditions in their communities may have been severely damaged, fragmented, or even lost. In these cases there have been serious challenges to remembering and reviving their older traditional ways, and to overcoming the homophobia and other learned prejudices of forced assimilation.  When Indigenous people from communities that are less-accepting of two-spirits have sought community among non-Native LGBT communities, however, the tendency for non-Natives to tokenize and appropriate has at times led to rifts rather than unity, with two-spirits feeling like they are just another tacked on initial rather than fully included.  The term two-spirited was chosen to emphasize our difference in our experiences of multiple, interlocking oppressions as queer Aboriginal people. When non-Aboriginal people decide to "take up" the term two-spirit, it detracts from its original meaning and diffuses its power as a label of resistance for Aboriginal people. Already there is so much of First Nations culture that has been exploited and appropriated in this country; must our terms of resistance also be targeted for mainstream appropriation and consumption?  Two-spirited is a reclaimed term designed by Aboriginals to define our unique cultural context, histories, and legacy. When people do not see the harm in "sharing" the term, they are missing the point and refusing to recognize that by appropriating the term they will inevitably alter its cultural context.  In academia, there has since 2010 or earlier been a move to "queer the analytics of settler colonialism" and create a "twospirit" critique as part of the general field of queer studies. However, much of this academic analysis and publishing is not based in traditional indigenous knowledge, but in the more mainstream, non-Native perspectives of the broader LGBT communities, so most of the same cultural misunderstandings tend to be found as in the outdated writing of the non-Native anthropologists and "explorers". Claiming a viewpoint of "postidentity" analysis, supporters of "queer of color critique" aim to examine settler colonialism and the ongoing genocide of Native peoples while "queering Native Studies". However, Indigenous identity is predominantly cultural, rather than a racial classification. It is based on membership in a particular community, cultural fluency, citizenship, and Native American and First Nations people may or may not even consider themselves to be "people of color".

Definition and societal role in Indigenous communities.

Male-bodied two-spirit people, regardless of gender identification, can go to war and have access to male activities such as male-only sweat lodge ceremonies. However, they may also take on "feminine" activities such as cooking and other domestic responsibilities. According to Lang, female-bodied two-spirit people usually have sexual relations or marriages with only females.

Two-spirit societies.

Among the goals of two-spirit societies are group support; outreach, education, and activism; revival of their Indigenous cultural traditions, including preserving the old languages, skills and dances; and otherwise working toward social change.  Some two-spirit societies (past and present) include: 2Spirits of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario; the Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance in Nova Scotia; the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (est. 1998) in San Francisco, California; Central Oklahoma Two Spirit Natives in Oklahoma City; the East Coast Two Spirit Society and the NorthEast Two-Spirit Society in New York City; Idaho Two-Spirit Society; the Indiana Two-Spirit Society in Bloomington; Minnesota Two Spirits; the Montana Two-Spirit Society in Browning; the Northwest Two-Spirit Society in Seattle, Washington; the Ohio Valley Two Spirit Society of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Southern Illinois; the Portland Two Spirit Society (est. May 2012) in Portland, Oregon; the Regina Two-Spirited Society in Regina, Saskatchewan; the Texas Two Spirit Society in Dallas; the Tulsa Two-Spirit Society in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the Two-Spirit Society of Denver in Denver, Colorado; and the Wichita Two-Spirit Society in Wichita, Kansas.

Historical and anthropological accounts.

Unfortunately, depending on an oral tradition to impart our ways to future generations opened the floodgates for early non-Native explorers, missionaries, and anthropologists to write books describing Native peoples and therefore bolstering their own role as experts. These writings were and still are entrenched in the perspective of the authors who were and are mostly white men.  According to German anthropologist Sabine Lang, cross-dressing of two-spirit people was not always an indicator of gender identity. Lang believes "the mere fact that a male wears women's clothing does not say something about his role behavior, his gender status, or even his choice of partner".  Historically, the presence of male-bodied two-spirits "was a fundamental institution among most tribal peoples", according to Brian Gilley and, according to non-Native anthropologist Will Roscoe, both male- and female-bodied two-spirits have been documented "in over 130 North American tribes, in every region of the continent". However, Ojibwe journalist Mary Annette Pember argues that this depiction threatens to homogenize diverse Indigenous cultures, painting over them with an overly broad brush, potentially causing the disappearance of "distinct cultural and language differences that Native peoples hold crucial to their identity".  Don Pedro Fages was third in command of the 1769–70 Spanish Portolá expedition, the first European land exploration of what is now the U.S. state of California. At least three diaries were kept during the expedition, but Fages wrote his account later, in 1775. Fages gave more descriptive details about the native Californians than any of the others, and he alone reported the presence of homosexuality in the native culture. The English translation reads:  I have submitted substantial evidence that those Indian men who, both here and farther inland, are observed in the dress, clothing and character of women – there being two or three such in each village – pass as sodomites by profession.... They are called "joyas", and are held in great esteem.  Although gender-variant people have been both respected and feared in a number of tribes, they are not beyond being reproached or, by traditional law, even killed for bad deeds. In the Mojave tribe, for instance, they frequently become medicine persons and, like all who deal with the supernatural, are at risk of suspicion of witchcraft, notably in cases of failed harvest or of death. There have been instances of murder in these cases (such as in the case of the gender-nonconforming female named Sahaykwisā). Another instance in the late 1840s was of a Crow "badé" who was caught, possibly raiding horses, by the Lakota and was killed.  Lang and Jacobs write that historically among the Apache, the Lipan, Chiricahua, Mescalero, and southern Dilzhe'e have alternative gender identities. One tribe in particular, the Eyak, has a single report from 1938 that they did not have an alternative gender and they held such individuals in low esteem, although whether this sentiment is the result of acculturation or not is unknown.  Among the Iroquois, there is a single report from Bacqueville de la Potherie in his book published in 1722, "Histoire de l'Amérique septentrionale", that indicates that an alternative gender identity exists among them.  Many, if not all, Indigenous cultures have been affected by European homophobia and misogyny. Some sources have reported that the Aztecs and Incas had laws against such individuals, though there are some authors who feel that this was exaggerated or the result of acculturation, because all of the documents indicating this are post-conquest and any that existed before had been destroyed by the Spanish. The belief that these laws existed, at least for the Aztecs, comes from the Florentine Codex, and that evidence exists that indigenous peoples authored many codices, but the Spaniards destroyed most of them in their attempt to eradicate ancient beliefs.  Some contemporary Zapotec peoples in Mexico embody the traditional third gender role known as "muxe". They consider themselves to be ""muxe" in men's bodies," who do the work that their culture usually associates with women. When asked by transgender researchers in 2004 if they ever considered surgical transition, "none of the respondents found the idea interesting, but rather strange" as their essence as "muxe" is not dependent on what type of body they are in.

"Berdache".

Before the late twentieth-century, non-Native (i.e. non-Native American/Canadian) anthropologists used the term "berdache" (), in a very broad manner, to identify an indigenous individual fulfilling one of many mixed gender roles in their tribe. Often in their writings they applied this term to any male who they perceived to be homosexual, bisexual, or effeminate by Western social standards, leading to a wide variety of diverse individuals being categorized under this imprecise term. At times they incorrectly implied that these individuals were intersex (or, "hermaphrodites"). The term "berdache" has always been repugnant to Indigenous people. De Vries writes, "Berdache is a derogatory term created by Europeans and perpetuated by anthropologists and others to define Native American/First Nations people who varied from Western norms that perceive gender, sex, and sexuality as binaries and inseparable." The term has now fallen out of favor with anthropologists as well. It derives from the French "" (English equivalent: "bardash") meaning "passive homosexual", "catamite" or even "boy prostitute". "Bardache", in turn, derived from the Persian "barda" meaning "captive", "prisoner of war", "slave". Spanish explorers who encountered these individuals among the Chumash people called them """", the Spanish for "jewels".  Use of "berdache" has now been replaced in most mainstream and anthropological literature by "two spirit", with mixed results. However, the term "two spirit" itself, in English or any other language, was not in use before 1990.

Media representation.

In the 1970 film Little Big Man, the Cheyenne character Little Horse, portrayed by Robert Little Star, is a gay man who wears clothing more commonly worn by women in the culture. He invites the protagonist, Jack Crabb (Dustin Hoffman) to come live with him. In a departure from most portrayals in Westerns of the era, Crabb is touched and flattered by the offer.  The 2009 documentary film "Two Spirits", directed by Lydia Nibley, tells the story of the hate-murder of 16-year-old Navajo Fred Martinez. In the film, Nibley "affirms Martinez' Navajo sense of being a two spirit 'effeminate male', or "nádleeh"". Martinez' mother defined "nádleeh" as "half woman, half man".  The film "Two Spirits", shown on Independent Lens in 2011, and winner of the annual Audience Award for that year, is about two-spirit people, particularly Fred Martinez, who was murdered at age 16 for identifying as a two-spirit.  In 2017 two-spirited Metis filmmaker Marjorie Beaucage released a "Coming In Stories: Two Spirit in Saskatchewan" as way to raise awareness about the experiences of two-spirited individuals living in Saskatchewan, Canada.  In the 2018 indie film, "The Miseducation of Cameron Post", a Lakota character – Adam Red Eagle, played by Forrest Goodluck – is sent to a conversion camp for identifying as "winkte" and two-spirit.  In the 2019, second season of "American Gods", Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Mohawk) plays a young Cherokee woman, Sam Black Crow, who self-identifies as "two-spirited". Her character, raised by a white mother and estranged from her Native father, speaks of looking to older ancestors to try to find her own beliefs, much like the other humans in the series. In an interview she says, "I identify as queer, and not two-spirited, because I’m Mohawk and we don’t have that" and that Neil Gaiman (author of the novels on which the series is based) advocated strongly for her to be cast in the role.

Tributes.

In 2012, a marker dedicated to two spirit people was included in the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display in Chicago, Illinois, that celebrates LGBT history and people.

Self-identified two spirits.

When the term is used as a synonym for a traditional ceremonial role (for which there will be an already-existing term in that culture's Indigenous language) a traditional two spirit must be recognized as such by the Elders of their Indigenous community. Inclusion in this list is not an indication of whether or not that is the case.

Two-Spirit (also two spirit or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, pan-Indian, umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ceremonial and social role in their cultures.

Two-Spirit ist eine vom Ojibwa-Wort "nīšomanitō" ( „Zweigeist“) ins Englische übersetzte Neubedeutung zur allgemeinen Bezeichnung eines dritten Geschlechtes. Ein solches gab und gibt es heute noch in den Geschlechtermodellen fast aller Volksgruppen der indigenen Bevölkerung Nordamerikas. Die Bezeichnung "Two-Spirit" bezog sich ursprünglich auf das Vorhandensein zweier Seelen unterschiedlichen Geschlechtes bei ein und derselben Person. Diese Auffassung ist allerdings in den verschiedenen indigenen Kulturen nicht sehr verbreitet.


Plot.

Cole's Department Store's special events director Dorey Walker (Elizabeth Perkins) fires Tony Falacchi (Jack McGee) from being the Cole's Department Store's Santa Claus after he gets drunk before taking part in the Thanksgiving parade. Immediately trying to find a replacement, she spots an elderly man (Richard Attenborough) who was berating the inebriated Santa before the parade. When Dorey begs him to take over, he introduces himself as Kris Kringle. Kris does so well during the parade that he is immediately hired to be Cole's main Santa for the holiday period.  All the children in New York begin to believe that he is the real Santa, with the exception of Dorey's six-year-old daughter Susan (Mara Wilson). Dorey's boyfriend, Bryan Bedford (Dylan McDermott), does his best to convince Susan to believe. While being babysat one night by Kris, Susan shares with him her Christmas wish, she would like a dad, a house (used every year for the Cole's catalogue photoshoot) and a baby brother. Kris asks if she would begin to believe in Santa if she got all those things. Susan agrees that she would.  Kris is credited with bringing in increasingly more sales to Cole's than previous years. One night, he is arrested for assaulting a man on the street, later revealed to be the original drunk Santa, Tony Falacchi. Falacchi had taken revenge by means of setting up Kris to be arrested, with the help of members of staff from a rival department store of Cole's, Shopper's Express. With the help of Bryan, Dorey takes Kris's case to court, and drums up support for him from the public. It soon becomes clear that to get Kris acquitted and freed, Bryan must somehow prove that not only does Santa exist, but that Kris is the real one. It is a seemingly impossible task until Bryan comes up with a plan that requires some help from Susan.  Just as the judge (Robert Prosky) is about to make his decision – and it seems he was going to rule against Kris – Susan walks up to the judge with a Christmas card containing a $1 bill. On the back, the words In God We Trust are circled. The judge realizes that, since the US Department of Treasury can put its official faith in God on US currency with no hard evidence, then the people of New York can believe in Santa Claus in the same way. Left with no choice, the elated judge dismisses the case and declares that Santa is real, existing in the person of Kris Kringle.  Following the court case, Dorey and Bryan are maneuvered by Kris into realizing their true feelings for each other, and are married in a very small ceremony right after the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. On Christmas morning, Susan wakes to the news of the marriage (via the bright reflections of Dorey's engagement ring on the Christmas tree) and is elated to see that she has part one of her Christmas wish, Bryan as her new step-dad. Together, Susan, Dorey and Bryan drive out to the catalogue house and upon arrival, find that Kris has arranged for them to purchase the house, which they can now afford due to the size of the Christmas bonus Dorey has received as a result of Kris's work at Cole's.  Susan, now having got two out of three of her wishes, excitedly runs upstairs in the house to look at her bedroom. Dorey and Bryan are about to kiss when Dorey ask her what the last part of her Christmas wish was, and she triumphantly announces that it was a baby brother. Dorey and Bryan both look at each other, shocked, before glancing down at Dorey's stomach and sharing a kiss. The film ends with the belief that Susan has now received all she asked for in her wish.  It is mentioned that Kris has gone overseas.

Reception.

At the box office, the film opened at #8 with $2,753,208 and eventually finished with $17,320,146 in North America and $46,264,384 worldwide.  Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 60% based on reviews from 35 critics. "TV Guide" "did not believe" and called the film "curiously depressing", while Desson Howe of "The Washington Post" said, in contrast to the 1947 version, "[it] will not be found on television (or its computer equivalent) half a century from now." Its supporters included Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert, who gave the film "two thumbs up" on their show. Michael Medved of "Sneak Previews" said "This is the new holiday classic America has been waiting for."

Release.

"The Dreamstone" 27th episode "The Return" accompanied the film's theatrical release.

Miracle on 34th Street is a 1994 American Christmas Comedy-drama fantasy film written and produced by John Hughes, and directed by Les Mayfield (the two would reunite for 1997's "Flubber"). It stars Richard Attenborough, Mara Wilson, Elizabeth Perkins, and Dylan McDermott, and is the first theatrical remake of the original 1947 film. Like the original, this film was released by 20th Century Fox.

Das Wunder von Manhattan (Originaltitel "Miracle on 34th Street") ist eine US-amerikanische Filmkomödie von Les Mayfield aus dem Jahr 1994. Die Hauptrollen sind mit Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Mara Wilson und Dylan McDermott besetzt. Es handelt sich um eine Neuverfilmung des gleichnamigen Films aus dem Jahr 1947.


Older history.

The legendary Scandinavian hero and skald whose adventures are retold in Gesta Danorum and in the legendary sagas, Starkad, as well as Egil Skallagrimson of historic saga fame and the last Catholic Archbishop in Norway, Olav Engelbrektsson, Archbishop of Nidaros, have connections to Ask.  The sagas mention Ask as early as the 6th century. King Hertjov of Hordaland traveled to Agder and took with him two boys named Stakard and Vikar. As was common in the period, he asked Grane, who held the land (farm) of Ask, to raise these boys. As they grew, they became great hunters and warriors. As warriors, the boys revenged attacks on Ask by Vikings from Hordaland, who had robbed villages in Agder. Ask became their new home until Vikar was killed by an accident. After this, Stakard had to leave the country. He was known in Denmark and Sweden.  Egils saga tells that in the 9th century, "Torgeir Tyrnefot" owned Ask. His son was "Berg Onund". Berg Onund was killed in an attack led by Egil Skallagrimson, one of the most powerful men on Iceland. As revenge for a miscarriage in inheritance in around 960, Egil travel with his men through Herdlafjorden and to Ask, where they arrive at the farm, killing 15 or 16 men and pillaging.  The first church in Askøy was most probably built at the pagan "sacrifice mountain" located at Ask.  Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson was the last Catholic bishop in Norway. His final residence was in Bergen and as the Reformation spread throughout Norway in 1534, he took refuge at Ask.  Mauritz Bostede bought Ask in 1628. Other well-known men from Bergen have also owned Ask for extended periods. Thomas Ericssen built a large house in the area and Thomas Ericssen Minde from 1795 is the only building at Askøy from that period that is preserved today.

Later history.

Since Ask is located only northwest of Bergen (across the Byfjorden), around the years 1880-1890 there was a resurgence in the popularity of Ask as a vacation destination from Bergen. As a result, there were increases in commercial cargo and passenger transport by steamboat. The ""Fridtjof"" was one of the boats that went into between Ask and Bergen.  When the road to Kleppestø was constructed around 1950, the traffic at the Ask harbour decreased.  The writer, Amalie Skram's first husband, Captain Bernt Ulrik August Müller, bought a watermill in the area and they lived there for some years.  Emanuel Jæger started commercial strawberry production. He sent his strawberries to Fleischer's Hotel at Voss. The strawberries were of the German type "Sieger" (victory) and these was very popular throughout the area in the last century.

Geography.

Ask is located on the eastern part of the island of Askøy. The Herdlefjorden is located to the east of the village and the Nordhordland Bridge is visible from the village. The lake Askevatnet and extensive forests are located in the area west of Ask.

Cultural arrangements.

On May Day each year, the Ask-relay is held. In 2006 the relay celebrated its 54th running.

Ask is a small village in the eastern part of Askøy municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies along the Byfjorden on the eastern shore of the island of Askøy. The village of Ask is well known for the farming of strawberries which are sold in the marketplace in the nearby city of Bergen during the summer season.

Ask ist ein Dorf im östlichen Teil der Kommune Askøy im Fylke Vestland, Norwegen. Ask ist weithin bekannt für seine Erdbeeren, die im Sommer auf dem Marktplatz in Bergen verkauft werden. Wegen seines angenehmen Klimas und seiner Lage auf einer Insel, die von Bergen bequem zu erreichen ist, wurde in Ask ein "„kongsgård“", ein königlicher Bauernhof errichtet – das norwegische Äquivalent eines Palastes. Außerdem besitzt der Ort eine sehr alte Kirche und einen Kirchhof. Der ehemalige Standort der Kirche (von ~1200 bis 1741) ist heute durch ein Steinkreuz gekennzeichnet. Ask ist der legendäre Ort eines berühmten Erbschaftsstreits zwischen Egill Skallagrímsson und Berg-Önundr.