Career.

In 1900 Grossmann graduated from the Federal Polytechnic School (ETH) and became an assistant to the geometer Wilhelm Fiedler. He continued to do research on non-Euclidean geometry and taught in high schools for the next seven years. In 1902, he earned his doctorate from the University of Zurich with the thesis "Ueber die metrischen Eigenschaften kollinearer Gebilde" (translated "On the Metrical Properties of Collinear Structures") with Fiedler as advisor. In 1907, he was appointed full professor of descriptive geometry at the Federal Polytechnic School.  As a professor of geometry, Grossmann organized summer courses for high school teachers. In 1910, he became one of the founders of the Swiss Mathematical Society. He was an Invited Speaker of the ICM in 1912 at Cambridge UK and in 1920 at Strasbourg.

Collaborations with Albert Einstein.

Albert Einstein's friendship with Grossmann began with their school days in Zurich. Grossmann's careful and complete lecture notes at the Federal Polytechnic School proved to be a salvation for Einstein, who missed many lectures. Grossmann's father helped Einstein get his job at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern, and it was Grossmann who helped to conduct the negotiations to bring Einstein back from Prague as a professor of physics at the Zurich Polytechnic. Grossmann was an expert in differential geometry and tensor calculus; just the mathematical tools providing a proper mathematical framework for Einstein's work on gravity. Thus, it was natural that Einstein would enter into a scientific collaboration with Grossmann.  It was Grossmann who emphasized the importance of a non-Euclidean geometry called Riemannian geometry (also elliptic geometry) to Einstein, which was a necessary step in the development of Einstein's general theory of relativity. Abraham Pais's book on Einstein suggests that Grossmann mentored Einstein in tensor theory as well. Grossmann introduced Einstein to the absolute differential calculus, started by Christoffel and fully developed by Ricci-Curbastro and Levi-Civita. Grossmann facilitated Einstein's unique synthesis of mathematical and theoretical physics in what is still today considered the most elegant and powerful theory of gravity: the general theory of relativity. The collaboration of Einstein and Grossmann led to a ground-breaking paper: "Outline of a Generalized Theory of Relativity and of a Theory of Gravitation", which was published in 1913 and was one of the two fundamental papers which established Einstein's theory of gravity.

Death.

Grossmann died of multiple sclerosis in 1936. The community of relativists celebrates Grossmann's contributions to physics by organizing Marcel Grossmann meetings every three years.

Marcel Grossmann (April 9, 1878 – September 7, 1936) was a mathematician and a friend and classmate of Albert Einstein. Grossmann was a member of an old Swiss family from Zurich. His father managed a textile factory. He became a Professor of Mathematics at the Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, today the ETH Zurich, specializing in descriptive geometry.

Marcel Grossmann ( à Budapest, Hongrie - à Zurich, Suisse) est un mathématicien suisse (fils d'un père suisse établi en Autriche-Hongrie). Il est surtout connu pour avoir aidé Albert Einstein à construire la théorie de la relativité générale.


Uses.

Kyanite is used primarily in refractory and ceramic products, including porcelain plumbing and dishware. It is also used in electronics, electrical insulators and abrasives.  Kyanite has been used as a semiprecious gemstone, which may display cat's eye chatoyancy, though this use is limited by its anisotropism and perfect cleavage. Color varieties include recently discovered orange kyanite from Tanzania. The orange color is due to inclusion of small amounts of manganese (Mn) in the structure.  Kyanite is one of the index minerals that are used to estimate the temperature, depth, and pressure at which a rock undergoes metamorphism.

Notes for identification.

Kyanite's elongated, columnar crystals are usually a good first indication of the mineral, as well as its color (when the specimen is blue). Associated minerals are useful as well, especially the presence of the polymorphs of staurolite, which occur frequently with kyanite. However, the most useful characteristic in identifying kyanite is its anisotropism. If one suspects a specimen to be kyanite, verifying that it has two distinctly different hardness values on perpendicular axes is a key to identification; it has a hardness of 5.5 parallel to {001} and 7 parallel to {100}.

Occurrence.

Kyanite occurs in gneiss, schist, pegmatite, and quartz veins resulting from high pressure regional metamorphism of principally pelitic rocks. It occurs as detrital grains in sedimentary rocks. It occurs associated with staurolite, andalusite, sillimanite, talc, hornblende, gedrite, mullite and corundum.  Kyanite occurs in Manhattan schist, formed under extreme pressure as a result of the two landmasses that formed supercontinent Pangaea.

Kyanite is typically a blue aluminosilicate mineral, usually found in aluminium-rich metamorphic pegmatites and/or sedimentary rock. Kyanite in metamorphic rocks generally indicates pressures higher than four kilobars. It is commonly found in quartz. Although potentially stable at lower pressure and low temperature, the activity of water is usually high enough under such conditions that it is replaced by hydrous aluminosilicates such as muscovite, pyrophyllite, or kaolinite. Kyanite is also known as disthene, rhaeticite and cyanite.

Le disthène (agréé par l'Association internationale de minéralogie sous le nom de terme anglais de « kyanite ») est une espèce du groupe des silicates, et du sous-groupe des nésosilicates, typique des roches métamorphiques. C'est la phase de basse température / haute pression des polymorphes de AlSiO. Dans le cas du disthène avec des traces de Se ; Cr ; Fe ; Mg ; Ca ; K.


History.

The tournament began in 1889 as the Pacific Coast Championships at the Old Del Monte Lodge in Monterey, California and was won by William H. Taylor. It is the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States, predated only by the U.S. Championships (current US Open). The tournament predates the Australian Open and the French Open. The following year, 1890, the tournament moved to the Hotel Rafael in San Rafael where it was held until 1900 when it relocated to the Berkeley Tennis Club in Berkeley. Barry MacKay bought the tournament in 1970 at Berkeley. In 1972 and 1973 the event was hosted by the Round Hill Country Club in Alamo. The tournament's location moved indoor to the Cow Palace in 1974 and changed venues to what is now the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. before coming to San Jose in 1994, shortly after the HP Pavilion was built.  Before tennis' open era, the tournament had both men's and women's events. During World War II, it had special servicemen competitions.  Earlier title sponsors include Redwood Bank, Fireman's Fund, Transamerica, Volvo, and Comerica. More recently, it was the Sybase Open from 1994 through 2001 and the Siebel Open from 2002 through 2004. The tournament was known as the SAP Open from 2005 until the last edition in 2013.  Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment who bought half of it from Barry MacKay when the tournament moved to San Jose and the other half in 1995. SVS&E also owns the San Jose Sharks. MacKay owned and ran the tournament from 1970 until 1995.  The 2013 event was the last held in the Bay Area. Future tournaments will be held in Rio de Janeiro. After McKay sold the venue, the SAP Open was downgraded to an ATP 250-level event with fewer highly ranked players entering. The highest ranked player for the 2013 SAP Open was Milos Raonic, ranked 13th.

Multiple winners.

Singles tournament.

Men who have won the singles tournament more than once are: William H. Taylor, Samuel Hardy, Sumner Hardy, George F. Whitney, Melville H. Long, Maurice McLoughlin, George C. Janes, William Johnston, Fred Perry, Don Budge, Robert Riggs, Ted Schroeder, Barry MacKay, Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, John McEnroe, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Mark Philippoussis, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, and Milos Raonic.  Women who have won the single's tournament more than once are: Helen Wills Moody, Helen Jacobs, Edith Cross, Alice Marble, Margaret Osborne duPont, Dorothy Head Knode, Darlene Hard, and Margaret Court.  William Johnston has the most singles tournament wins with ten victories.

Overall winners.

The players who have won the most combined singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles in this tournament are:

The Pacific Coast Championships was an annual men's tennis tournament. It was the second-oldest ongoing tennis tournament in the United States and ran from 1889 until 2013. Its final edition, known by its sponsored name SAP Open, was an ATP World Tour 250 series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour and played indoors on a hard surface at the SAP Center at San Jose.

Le tournoi de la côte Pacifique ou Pacific Coast Championships est un tournoi de tennis féminin et masculin du circuit ATP organisé dans la ville de Berkeley sur la côte du Pacifique en Californie. Occasionnellement, certaines éditions ont été organisées à San Francisco.


History.

The first crossing at the site of the bridge was established in the 11th century by Margaret, queen consort of King Malcolm III, who founded a ferry service to transport religious pilgrims from Edinburgh to Dunfermline Abbey and St Andrews. Its creation gave rise to the port towns of Queensferry and North Queensferry, which remain to this day; the passenger ferry service continued without interruption for over 800 years. There were proposals as early as the 1740s for a road crossing at the site, although its viability was only considered after the Forth Bridge was built in 1890.  The importance of the crossing for vehicular traffic was underpinned when the Great Britain road numbering scheme was drawn up in the 1920s. The planners wished the arterial A9 road to be routed across the Forth here, although the unwillingness to have a ferry crossing as part of this route led to the A90 number being assigned instead.  There was more lobbying for a road crossing in the 1920s and 1930s, when the only vehicle crossing was a single passenger and vehicle ferry. Sir William Denny championed the expansion of that service in the 1930s, providing and operating on behalf of the London and North Eastern Railway two additional ferries to supplement the nearby railway bridge. Due to their success, two more ferry boats were added in the 1940s and 1950s, by which time the ferries were making 40,000 crossings annually, carrying 1.5 million passengers and 800,000 vehicles.

Design.

With the then newest and nearest bridge spanning the Forth (the Kincardine Bridge, built in 1936) still around upstream, the upsurge in demand for a road crossing between Edinburgh and Fife prompted the UK Government to establish the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board (FRBJB) by Act of Parliament in 1947 to oversee the implementation of a new bridge to replace the ferry service. The authorities on both sides investigated in 1955, and drew up an alternative scheme for a tunnel beneath the estuary. This was known as the Maunsell Scheme, and was projected to run somewhat closer to the rail bridge than the present road bridge. The scheme was abandoned as too ambitious, and a bridge was built instead.

Construction.

The final construction plan was accepted in February 1958 and work began in September of that year. Mott, Hay and Anderson and Freeman Fox and Partners carried out the design work and a joint venture of Sir William Arrol & Co., Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company and Dorman Long constructed the bridge at a cost of £11.5 million; the total cost of the project including road connections and realignments was £19.5 million. The resident design engineer was John Alexander King Hamilton FRSE (1900–1982).  It was the longest steel suspension bridge in Europe. It used 210,000 tons of concrete, with of grade-separated dual-carriageway approach roads. Reed and Mallik (known for Reema construction of houses) of Salisbury, Wiltshire, built the approach viaducts.  Twenty-four individual bridges were built for the approach roads. The southern approach road of the A90 began at Cramond Bridge, over the River Almond on the western outskirts of Edinburgh, near Craigiehall. There were two-level interchanges built at Burnshot, Dolphington (B924) and the Echline junction (A904 and B800). At Dalmeny there was a bridge over the railway. The southern approach roads were built by A.M. Carmichael Ltd. The northern approach road had three two-level junctions at Ferry Toll (for the B980), Admiralty (for Rosyth Dockyard via the A985, and Inverkeithing via the A921) and at Mastertown/Masterton (for what would be the fledgling M90 southern terminus). The Masterton junction was an octopus junction, a variation of a clover-leaf junction, with six bridges and a 600 ft viaduct. There were fifteen bridges built for this approach road. The northern approach road terminated as the A823(M) at a roundabout with the A823 south of Dunfermline, next to Rosyth railway station. The northern approach roads were built by Whatlings Ltd of Glasgow, later bought by Alfred McAlpine.  Seven lives were lost during construction before the bridge was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on 4 September 1964. The ferry service was discontinued as of that date.

Operation.

The bridge's management was delegated to the FRBJB, and remained so until 2002 when its operation was transferred to a new body with a wider remit, the Forth Estuary Transport Authority.  On 1 December 2010, the bridge was closed for the first time due to heavy snow. After several accidents meant snowploughs were unable to clear the carriageways, the bridge was closed in both directions at 6.40 a.m. and remained closed for several hours.  As part of celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the bridge's operation, artist Kate Downie was commissioned to create a print of the bridge and hold an exhibition of works portraying it.  On 1 June 2015, Amey took over the maintenance and operating of the bridge on behalf of Transport Scotland from the Forth Estuary Transport Authority and are now called the Forth Bridges Unit.

Public Transport Corridor.

On 1 February 2018, the bridge became a Public Transport Corridor, with all approach roads in full operation. The bridge was closed between September and mid October 2017 for roadworks before partially reopening for public buses.

Driverless bus trial.

On 22 November 2018, it was announced that £4.35 million of funding had been secured for the United Kingdom's first passenger-carrying driverless bus trial, planned to take place across the Forth Road Bridge public transport corridor by 2021. Five brand new autonomous 42-seater Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC single-decker buses, with autonomous control modifications supplied by Fusion Processing, will be operated by Stagecoach Fife on a park-and-ride route from the north side of Forth across the bridge to Edinburgh Park station. For operational reasons and to comply with British legislation, a driver will still be present in the cab, but they will not operate the vehicle other than in exceptional circumstances.

Statistics.

The bridge's central main span is long, its two side spans are each long, and the approach viaducts are on the north side and on the south side. The total length is. It was the longest suspension bridge span outside the United States and the fourth-longest span in the world at the time of its construction. The bridge is made of 39,000 tonnes of steel and 115,000 cubic metres of concrete. The towers reach above mean water level. There is a dual carriageway road with two lanes in each direction, and cycle/footpaths on each side. The main strung cables are in diameter, with 11,618 high tensile wires, each five millimetres in diameter, and each cable carries 13,800 tonnes of the bridge's load.  The bridge forms a crucial part of the corridor between south-east and north-east Scotland, linking Edinburgh to Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen by the A90 road and its sister M90 motorway, which begins north of the bridge's northern end. The bridge carried around 2.5 million vehicles in its first year, but this has increased steadily to around 21.4 million vehicles in 2008. The bridge carried its 250 millionth vehicle in 2002.  It was awarded Historic Scotland's Category A listed structure status in 2001.

Structural issues.

FETA began to be concerned over the structural wear of the bridge in the early years of the 21st century. The planned theoretical capacity for the bridge (30,000 vehicles per day in each direction) was routinely exceeded as traffic levels outstripped predictions. The Scottish Government stated in 2006 that 60,000 vehicles travelled on more than half the days in a year. This raised concerns about the lifespan of the bridge, originally planned at 120 years.  In 2003, an inspection programme was launched (costing £1.2 million) to assess the condition of the main suspension cables after corrosion was discovered in a number of older bridges in the United States of a similar design and size. The study was completed two years later and reported that the main cables had suffered an 8%–10% loss of strength. This weakening was projected to accelerate, with traffic restrictions to limit loading required in 2014 in the worst-case scenario, followed by full closure by 2020.  An acoustic monitoring system was commissioned in August 2006, using listening devices to monitor any further strands snapping and pinpoint their location within the main cables. In January 2006, the Scottish Executive completed a third-party audit on the bridge which concluded that FETA had performed the initial internal inspection and cable strength calculation in accordance with accepted practice. The report suggested that traffic restrictions could be required by 2013.  Several actions were taken to increase the bridge's lifespan. These included a dehumidification programme that slowed the rate of corrosion in the main cables by keeping air in the voids between the main cables' strands below 40% humidity. Engineering consultants Faber Maunsell began work on the project in 2006; it took two and a half years to complete at a cost of £7.8 million. As part of the works, some of the corroded cable strands were spliced.  The southbound carriageway of the bridge was closed on 1 December 2015, with all traffic using a single lane each way on the northbound carriageway after steelwork defects had been discovered during routine inspections, and traffic was restricted to 7.5 tonnes or less (public service vehicles excepted). On 4 December, the bridge was fully closed when further structural faults were found. It was initially not expected to reopen until January 2016, and Transport Scotland began work to lay on extra trains and buses and considered whether to reintroduce a ferry service to mitigate the impact on travellers.  On 23 December, the bridge was reopened for all traffic except heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). On 4 February, it was announced this had been pushed back to March, due to further problems with the truss end link pins in the southern towers, which required additional remedial work. However, a limited number of HGVs were allowed to cross, in a northbound direction only, between 11 pm and 4 am each night. On 20 February 2016, the bridge was fully reopened.

2016 public inquiry.

On 20 January, the Scottish Parliament began an inquiry led by the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee (ICI) to determine the circumstances that led to the discovery of a cracked truss in the bridge's undercarriage. Evidence was heard from: Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA), Transport Minister Derek Mackay, engineers and officials from Amey along with a number of other experts and key personnel.  On the first day, Richard Hornby, of engineering consulting firm Arup, stated that the truss end in question had been inspected 23 times since 2001, and no fault had been found. It was revealed that a pin had seized up, which caused the truss end to crack, and it was only the quality of the steel which had stopped its cracking appearing earlier. Hornby also made clear that even if the seized pin had been picked up earlier, it was "virtually impossible" to lubricate the bearing. Several witnesses defended a decision by previous operator FETA not to proceed with a £15 million truss end link replacement project in 2010. This was disputed by Barry Colford, former chief engineer and bridgemaster at FETA. Lesley Hinds, FETA's former convener, pointed out that the bridge budget had been cut by 58% in 2011, while senior staff at FETA had "deep concerns" about the transfer of bridge management to a private company.

2019 repairs.

A programme of work is scheduled to take place in 2019 to replace expansion joints in both towers along with replacing the truss end links. Plans to replace these joints were postponed by the bridge management following the Scottish Government's commitment to the construction of the Queensferry Crossing; the original work proposals would have involved round-the-clock contraflows during the installation of ramps and mini-bridges to carry traffic over the work area, and heavy lorries being diverted.

Tolls.

On 11 February 2008 tolls were abolished on the bridge.  Initially, it was suggested that tolls would cease once the original cost of construction (plus accrued interest) was repaid. This was achieved in 1993, and it was planned that tolls would not be levied after May 1995. Instead legislation enabling the continued levying of tolls was renewed by Parliament (originally that of the UK but now the Scottish Parliament) in 1998, 2003 and 2006.  Originally, a toll was paid for each direction of travel, with sets of toll booths on both carriageways. In 1997, the northbound toll was doubled (from 40p to 80p) and the southbound toll abolished on the presumption that almost all traffic makes a return journey across the bridge, and that the removal of the southbound toll would result in a reduction of congestion without reducing revenue.  FETA said the continued charging of tolls was necessary to fund maintenance and improvement works. These included the construction of defences around the submerged piers forming the bases of the main towers to guard against collisions. The main towers were also strengthened with internal steel columns (the original tower structure was hollow) and had hydraulic rams jack up these sections to transfer a portion of the load to the new steelwork. Also, the vertical cables suspending the deck had their bolts replaced after a detected failure. A new paint system required development for the bridge (the original was phased out due to environmental concerns).

Variable tolling proposals.

In late 2005, FETA's committee approved a proposed revamp of the tolls. The minimum toll would stay at £1, but higher tolls would be charged at some times of day, with a maximum of £4 during evening rush hours. All tolls would be halved for cars with more than one occupant, as an incentive to drivers to share cars and make fewer journeys. According to FETA's chairman Lawrence Marshall, the system would provide the most efficiency; he said that 80% of peak-time journeys are made by single-occupant vehicles. The proposal, passed with the chairman's casting vote after the committee was deadlocked, was referred to the Scottish Executive in December 2005, and implementation planned for October 2007 subject to approval by transport minister Tavish Scott. Environmental groups welcomed the proposal, but local politicians condemned it as simply a means of raising capital. At the same time, Fife councillors counter-proposed the complete removal of tolls.  The Scottish Parliament debated the proposals in January 2006, and the affair became a major political issue after Westminster MPs Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling (Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Scotland respectively) were seen to describe the variable tolling plan as "dead in the water". Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell insisted his Labour Party colleagues were misquoted, and refused to rule out the plan, receiving criticism from the opposition Scottish National Party.  There was a by-election on 9 February 2006 for the Westminster constituency in which the north end of the bridge is situated. It was contested (in addition to the major political parties in Scotland) by an Abolish Forth Bridge Tolls Party. Liberal Democrat candidate Willie Rennie won the election, overturning a large Labour majority on a 16% swing. Afterwards, media speculated that the Executive had turned against the proposals, and Tavish Scott eventually confirmed their rejection and the retention of the existing toll structure on 1 March 2006. FETA condemned the decision, while local opposition MSPs charged the minister that his tolling review short-changed Fifers as tolls were axed on the Erskine Bridge, leaving tolls on only the Forth and Tay Road Bridges.

Abolition.

When an SNP minority government was formed after the Scottish parliamentary election of May 2007, a new debate on the abolition of tolls was opened by Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson on 31 May 2007, and the abolition was agreed by a large majority. Annual toll income at that point totalled £16 million.  The Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 3 September 2007, passed on 20 December 2007, and received royal assent on 24 January 2008. The tolls were removed on 11 February 2008 at 00:01 GMT. The abolition of the tolls was enacted immediately after a major reconstruction of the northbound toll plaza was completed.

Additional crossings.

The strategic transport importance of the road bridge and the threat of closure by 2020 if major structural work were not undertaken led to fears of serious economic consequences.  Increasing traffic levels across the Firth of Forth had also led to the construction of the Clackmannanshire Bridge adjacent to the existing Kincardine Bridge. This bridge opened in November 2008.

Queensferry Crossings.

Proposals for a second road crossing at Queensferry had been made in the 1990s, but were shelved, despite preliminary work on route selection. Following the discovery of potentially serious structural issues with the Forth Road Bridge in 2005 the proposals were revisited and plans advanced. The decision to proceed with a replacement bridge was taken at the end of 2007, and it was announced the following year that the existing bridge would be retained as a public transport link.  The Forth Crossing Act received Royal Assent in January 2011. Construction began in September 2011. The Queensferry Crossing is a cable-stayed bridge, with an overall length of. Around of new connecting roads were built, including new and upgraded junctions at Ferrytoll in Fife, South Queensferry, and Junction 1a on the M9. The new bridge continues the M90 motorway, (extending its southern terminus) from Admiralty to the M9 junction 1a (re-numbering the M9 spur). The crossing opened on 30 August 2017.

The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry. It replaced a centuries-old ferry service to carry vehicular traffic, cyclists and pedestrians across the Forth; railway crossings are made by the nearby Forth Bridge, opened in 1890.

Le pont autoroutier du Forth ("Forth Road Bridge" en anglais) est un pont suspendu enjambant le fleuve Forth à quelques kilomètres de la ville d'Édimbourg en Écosse. Ouvert à la circulation en 1964, il mesure mètres de long et voit passer près de véhicules par jour.


Root domain.

The DNS is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource participating in the Internet. The top of that hierarchy is the root domain. The root domain does not have a formal name and its label in the DNS hierarchy is an empty string. All fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) on the Internet can be regarded as ending with this empty string for the root domain, and therefore ending in a full stop character (the label delimiter), e.g., "". This is generally implied rather than explicit, as modern DNS software does not actually require that the terminating dot be included when attempting to translate a domain name to an IP address.  The root domain contains all top-level domains of the Internet., it contains 1058 TLDs, including 730 generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and 301 country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) in the root domain. In addition, the domain is used for technical name spaces in the management of Internet addressing and other resources. A domain is used for testing internationalized domain names.

Resolver operation.

When a computer on the Internet needs to resolve a domain name, it uses resolver software to perform the lookup. A resolver breaks the name up into its labels from right to left. The first component (TLD) is queried using a root server to obtain the responsible authoritative server. Queries for each label return more specific name servers until a name server returns the answer of the original query.  In practice, most of this information does not change very often over a period of hours and therefore it is cached by intermediate name servers or by a name cache built into the user's application. DNS lookups to the root name servers may therefore be relatively infrequent. A survey in 2003 reports that only 2% of all queries to the root servers were legitimate. Incorrect or non-existent caching was responsible for 75% of the queries, 12.5% were for unknown TLDs, 7% were for lookups using IP addresses as if they were domain names, etc. Some misconfigured desktop computers even tried to update the root server records for the TLDs. A similar list of observed problems and recommended fixes has been published in RFC 4697.  Although any local implementation of DNS can implement its own private root name servers, the term "root name server" is generally used to describe the thirteen well-known root name servers that implement the root name space domain for the Internet's official global implementation of the Domain Name System. Resolvers use a small 3 KB "root.hints" file published by Internic to bootstrap this initial list of root server addresses.

Root server addresses.

There are 13 logical root name servers specified, with logical names in the form, where ranges from a to m. The choice of thirteen name servers was made because of limitations in the original DNS specification, which specifies a maximum packet size of 512 bytes when using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Technically however, fourteen name servers fit into an IPv4 packet. The addition of IPv6 addresses for the root name servers requires more than 512 bytes, which is facilitated by the EDNS0 extension to the DNS standard.  This does not mean that there are only 13 physical servers; each operator uses redundant computer equipment to provide reliable service even if failure of hardware or software occurs. Additionally, all operate in multiple geographical locations using a routing technique called anycast addressing, providing increased performance and even more fault tolerance. An informational homepage exists for every logical server (except G-Root) under the Root Server Technical Operations Association domain with web address in the form, where ranges from a to m.  Ten servers were originally in the United States; some are now operated using anycast addressing. Three servers were originally located in Stockholm (I-Root), Amsterdam (K-Root), and Tokyo (M-Root) respectively. Older servers had their own name before the policy of using similar names was established. With anycast, most of the physical root servers are now outside the United States, allowing for high performance worldwide.  There are also several alternative namespace systems with an alternative DNS root using their own set of root name servers that exist in parallel to the mainstream name servers. The first, AlterNIC, generated a substantial amount of press.  The function of a root name server may also be implemented locally, or on a provider network. Such servers are synchronized with the official root zone file as published by ICANN, and do not constitute an alternate root.  As the root name servers are an important part of the Internet, they have come under attack several times, although none of the attacks have ever been serious enough to severely affect the performance of the Internet.

Root server supervision.

The DNS Root Server System Advisory Committee is an ICANN committee. ICANN's bylaws assign authority over the operation of the root name servers of the Domain Name System to the DNS Root Server System Advisory Committee.

Root zone file.

The root zone file is a small (about 2 MB) data set whose publication is the primary purpose of root name servers. This is not to be confused with the "root.hints" file used to bootstrap a resolver.  The root zone file is at the apex of a hierarchical distributed database called the Domain Name System (DNS). This database is used by almost all Internet applications to translate worldwide unique names such as "www.wikipedia.org" into other identifiers such as IP addresses.  The contents of the root zone file is a list of names and numeric IP addresses of the authoritative DNS servers for all top-level domains (TLDs) such as com, org, edu, and the country code top-level domains. On 12 December 2004, 773 different authoritative servers for the TLDs were listed. Later the number of TLDs increased greatly., the root zone consisted of 1058 TLDs. Other name servers forward queries for which they do not have any information about authoritative servers to a root name server. The root name server, using its root zone file, answers with a referral to the authoritative servers for the appropriate TLD or with an indication that no such TLD exists.

A root name server is a name server for the root zone of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. It directly answers requests for records in the root zone and answers other requests by returning a list of the authoritative name servers for the appropriate top-level domain (TLD). The root name servers are a critical part of the Internet infrastructure because they are the first step in translating (resolving) human readable host names into IP addresses that are used in communication between Internet hosts.

Un serveur racine du est un serveur DNS qui répond aux requêtes qui concernent les noms de domaine de premier niveau () et qui les redirige vers le serveur DNS de premier niveau concerné. Bien qu'il puisse exister d'autres hiérarchies de système de noms de domaine (DNS) avec des serveurs racine alternatifs, « serveur racine du DNS » est généralement utilisé pour désigner l'un des treize serveurs racine du "Domain Name System" d'Internet géré sous l'autorité de l'ICANN.


Early life.

He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of William Baggot (1845–1909) and Harriet M. "Hattie" King (1859–1933). His siblings were Amos Taylor Baggot (1881–1954); Thomas Gantt Baggot (1889–1979); John Marmaduke Baggot (1891–1975); Arthur Lee Baggot (1893–?); Marion L. Baggot (1896–1973); and Harriet D. Baggot (1899–1930).  His father was born in Ireland, and emigrated from County Limerick to the United States in 1852. He was a prominent St. Louis real estate agent.  Baggot attended Christian Brothers College High School, a prominent Catholic all-male secondary school, where he excelled at sports, was a star soccer and baseball player, and became captain of the soccer team. In 1894, King left St. Louis and went to Chicago, where he worked as a clerk for his uncle, Edward Baggot (1839–1903), whose business sold plumbing, gas and electric fixtures.  In 1899, he returned to St. Louis and later played on a semi-professional St. Louis soccer team and became so well known that a Catholic church amateur theatrical group added him to its cast to gain prestige. He liked acting and did well. He soon helped found another amateur theatrical group, the Players Club of St. Louis.  In the meantime, he sold tickets for the St. Louis Browns baseball team and worked as a clerk in the real estate business of his father. But acting proved so interesting that he decided to become professional.

Stage career.

Baggot began his career on the stage in a Shakespearean stock company and toured throughout the U.S. Following his first engagement, he performed under the management of Liebler and Company, one of the foremost producing companies at that time. He also toured under the management of Frohman, and the Shuberts, and played five weeks in New York in "The Queen of the Highway". Other plays in which he appeared include the comedy revival "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch", which had a run on Broadway in 1906, "Salomy Jane" and "In the Bishop's Carriage".  While acting in stock in St. Louis, in the summer of 1909, Baggot worked with Marguerite Clark in "Peter Pan" and "The Golden Garter". In the two weeks that remained of the season, he played small roles in "Frou Frou" and "Jenny", which both starred Countess Venturini. When the season closed, he was cast as supporting player with Marguerite Clark in the Schubert touring production of "The Wishing Ring", which was adapted by Owen Davis from a Dorothea Deakin story. Another cast member, Cecil B. DeMille, also staged the play.  When "The Wishing Ring" closed in Chicago, Baggot returned to New York to join another company. Upon a chance meeting with Harry Solter, who was directing movies for Carl Laemmle at Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), he was persuaded to go with Solter to the studio. Movies were then looked down on by the dramatic profession as a mere recording of stunts, but Baggot went along. He was amused at the violent gestures and jumping around of the players, taking none of it seriously. Baggot, however, became interested in the fledgling industry and later decided to give it a try and turn picture player.

Film career.

Baggot's first film was the romance short "The Awakening of Bess" (1909) opposite Florence Lawrence. It was directed by Harry Solter, her husband, at IMP in Fort Lee, New Jersey. At a time when screen actors worked anonymously, Baggot and Lawrence became the first "movie stars" to be given billing, a marquee and promotion in advertising. In April 1910, Baggot was at home with his mother and family in St. Louis, when the U.S. Census was taken there. He starred in at least 42 movies opposite Lawrence from 1909 to 1911. In the latter year, he starred in at least 16 movies with Mary Pickford, including "Pictureland" (1911). Pickford was hired to replace Lawrence after she and Solter broke their contracts, including the one-reel romance/drama "Sweet Memories", which was directed by Thomas H. Ince.  Baggot also began writing screenplays and directing, all the while becoming a major star internationally. When he appeared "in person" at theatres he was mobbed at stage doors. By 1912, he was so famous that when he took the leading part in forming the prestigious Screen Club in New York, the first organization of its kind strictly for movie people, he was the natural choice for its first president.  On December 3, 1912, he and Ruth Considine (August 28, 1889 – December 22, 1936) were married in Fort Lee, New Jersey. They had one son, Robert King Baggot (July 11, 1914 – May 18, 1965). A cameraman, he died in Hawaii, while working on a movie. Robert King Baggot had two sons, cinematographer Stephen King Baggot (born 1943) and Bruce Baggot (born 1947). Baggot starred as Wilfred of Ivanhoe in "Ivanhoe" (1913), a feature length adventure drama that was filmed on location in England and at Chepstow Castle in Wales. He played the role as Jean Dumas in the drama "Absinthe" (1914), which was filmed in Paris. In his 1914 two-reel movie "Shadows", Baggot directed as well as played the parts of ten different characters.  When he registered for the draft of World War I, on September 12, 1918, Baggot and his wife were living in New York City. He starred in the role as Harrison Grant in the 20-part spy thriller "The Eagle's Eye" (1918) opposite Marguerite Snow, an adaptation of former FBI Director William J. Flynn's experiences that was produced by Leopold and Theodore Wharton, and as Sheldon Steele (The Hawk) in the crime drama "The Hawk's Trail" (1919) opposite Grace Darmond.  As a director, he gave Marie Prevost her first starring role in the romantic comedy "Kissed" (1922). Baggot directed Mary Philbin and William Haines in the romance "The Gaiety Girl" (1924).  He formed his own production company, King Baggot Productions, and produced and directed "The Home Maker" (1925), a drama starring Clive Brook and Alice Joyce about the reversal of traditional roles between a husband and wife, which was released through Universal. That same year, Baggot directed William S. Hart in his most famous western, "Tumbleweeds", a drama about the Oklahoma land rush of 1893.

Decline.

Baggot and his wife, Ruth, who had separated on August 20, 1926, were divorced in 1930. She filed on grounds of desertion, stating in the complaint that he was a bad example to their son. She said he would return home after drinking and be in a boisterous mood. When the 1930 census was taken on April 7, Baggot was lodging by himself.  His alcoholism and problems with certain studio executives eventually ended Baggot's directing career. He turned to playing character roles, bit parts and even jobs as an extra, and appeared in scores of movies in that capacity through the 1930s and 1940s, including "Mississippi" (1935).  Baggot played the uncredited role as a policeman on the street in "Bad Sister" (1931), which starred Conrad Nagel and Sidney Fox, with Bette Davis in her first movie role. He had the role as Henry Field, a movie director, in the Monogram Pictures drama "Police Court" (1932) co-starring Henry B. Walthall, which told the story of a has-been alcoholic actor (Walthall) trying to make a comeback. In 1933, Baggot and former leading lady Florence Lawrence, Paul Panzer and another former great star of the silent era, Francis Ford, were given bit parts in what would be former co-star Mary Pickford's last movie, "Secrets".  In her "Los Angeles Times" gossip column on March 1, 1946, Hedda Hopper wrote, "King Baggot, who used to be one of our top directors, is working as an extra in "The Show-Off". While living at the Aberdeen Hotel in Venice, California, Baggot made his final movie appearance in the uncredited part of a bank employee in the comedy "My Brother Talks to Horses" (1947) starring Butch Jenkins and Peter Lawford. Illness then forced his retirement.  King Baggot died at age 68 from a stroke at a sanatorium in Los Angeles. His funeral service was conducted in the chapel of Pierce Brothers Hollywood Mortuary at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 15, 1948. He is interred in Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles.  For his contributions to the film industry, Baggot received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. His star is located at 6312 Hollywood Boulevard.

William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, Baggot was referred to as "King of the Movies," "The Most Photographed Man in the World" and "The Man Whose Face Is As Familiar As The Man In The Moon."

King Baggot est un acteur, réalisateur et scénariste américain né le à Saint-Louis, Missouri (États-Unis), mort le à Los Angeles (Californie).


Etymology.

The lempira was named after the 16th-century "cacique" Lempira, a ruler of the indigenous Lenca people, who is renowned in Honduran folklore for leading the (ultimately unsuccessful) local native resistance against the Spanish "conquistador" forces. He is a national hero, and is honoured on both the 1 lempira note and the 20 and 50 centavos coins.

History.

The lempira was introduced in 1931, replacing the peso at par. In the late 1980s, the exchange rate was two lempiras to the United States dollar (the 20-centavos coin is called a "daime" as it was worth the same as a U.S. dime). As of March 1, 2019, the lempira was quoted at 24.35 HNL to 1 USD.

Coins.

In 1931, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 20 & 50 centavos, and 1 lempira. One-, 2- and 10-centavos coins were added in 1935, 1939 and 1932, respectively. The silver 1-lempira coins ceased production in 1937, with the other silver coins (20 & 50 centavos) replaced by cupro-nickel in 1967. The 1- and 2-centavos coins were last minted in 1998 and 1974, respectively.  Coins currently in circulation are

Banknotes.

The Bank of Honduras and the Banco Atlantida issued the first lempira banknotes in 1932. They were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 lempiras. The Central Bank of Honduras took over production of paper money in 1950, introducing 50 and 100 lempiras notes in 1950, followed by the 500-lempiras note in 1995.  In January, 2010, a new 20-lempira note was introduced to market made by a polymer base, 60 million notes were issued.  Banknotes in circulation are

The lempira (, sign: L, ISO 4217 code: HNL) is the currency of Honduras. It is subdivided into 100 centavos.

Le lempira hondurien est la monnaie officielle du Honduras. La devise a été introduite en 1931, afin de remplacer le peso. Cette monnaie se nomme ainsi en hommage au cacique Lempira du peuple lenca, un chef amérindien qui lutta contre les Espagnols. C'est un héros national et il figure sur le billet d'1 lempira (de couleur rouge) et sur la pièce de 50 centavos.


Life and career.

Early life.

Powell's father was a stride pianist. Powell started classical piano lessons at the age of five. His teacher, hired by his father, was a West Indian man named Rawlins. At ten, Powell showed interest in the swing music that could be heard all over the neighborhood. He first appeared in public at a rent party, where he mimicked Fats Waller's playing style. The first jazz composition that he mastered was James P. Johnson's "Carolina Shout". Powell's older brother, William, played trumpet and violin, and by the age of 15 Powell was playing in William's band. Powell heard Art Tatum on the radio and tried to match his technique. Powell's younger brother, Richie Powell, was also a noted bebop pianist.

Early to mid-1940s.

In his youth Powell listened to the adventurous performances at Uptown House, a venue near his home. This was where Charlie Parker first appeared as a solo act when he briefly lived in New York. Thelonious Monk played at Uptown House. When Monk met Powell he introduced Powell to musicians who were starting to play bebop at Minton's Playhouse. Monk was a resident pianist, and he presented Powell as his protégé. Their mutual affection grew, and Monk became Powell's greatest mentor. Powell eagerly experimented with Monk's idea. Monk's composition "In Walked Bud" is a tribute to their time together in Harlem. Powell was engaged in a series of dance bands, his incubation culminating in becoming the pianist for the swing orchestra of Cootie Williams. In late 1943 he was offered the chance to appear at a nightclub with the quintet of Oscar Pettiford and Dizzy Gillespie, but Powell's mother decided he would continue with the more secure job with the popular Williams.  Powell was the pianist on a handful of Williams's recording dates in 1944. The last included the first recording of Monk's "'Round Midnight". His job with Williams was terminated in Philadelphia in January 1945. After the band finished for the night, Powell wandered near Broad Street Station and was apprehended, drunk, by the private railroad police. He was beaten by them and incarcerated briefly by the city police. Ten days after his release, his headaches persisted and he was hospitalized at Bellevue, an observation ward, and then in a state psychiatric hospital sixty miles away. He remained there for two and a half months.  Powell resumed playing in Manhattan after released. In 1945–46 he recorded with Frank Socolow, Sarah Vaughan, Dexter Gordon, J. J. Johnson, Sonny Stitt, Fats Navarro, and Kenny Clarke. Powell became known for his sight-reading and his skill at fast tempos. On January 10, 1947, Powell recorded his first session as a leader, which included 8 pieces for De Luxe Records with Max Roach and Curly Russell as accompanists. The recordings were unreleased until 1949, when Roost Records bought the masters and released them on a series of 78 rpm records. Musicologist Guthrie Ramsey wrote of the session that "Powell proves himself the equal of any of the other beboppers in technique, versatility, and feeling."  Charlie Parker chose Powell to be his pianist on a May 1947 quintet recording session with Miles Davis, Tommy Potter, and Max Roach; this was the only studio session in which Parker and Powell played together.

Hospitalization (1947–1948).

The Parker session aside, Powell performed on two other records and seldom appeared at nightclubs in 1947. In November, he had an altercation with a customer at a bar in Harlem. In the ensuing fight, Powell was hit over his eye with a bottle. When the staff at Harlem Hospital found him incoherent and rambunctious, they sent him to Bellevue, which had a record of his previous confinements. He was sent to Creedmoor State Hospital, where he spent eleven months. Powell adjusted to being in the hospital, though in psychiatric interviews he expressed feelings of persecution founded in racism. From February to April 1948, he received electroconvulsive therapy after an outburst which may have been prompted by learning from his girlfriend that she was pregnant with their child. The electroconvulsive therapy was considered ineffective, so the doctors gave him a second series of treatments in May. He was released in October 1948.

Solo and trio recordings (1949–1958).

After a brief hospitalization in early 1949, Powell made several recordings, most of them for Blue Note, Mercury, Norgran, and Clef. The first Blue Note session in August 1949 included Fats Navarro, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Potter and Roy Haynes, and the compositions "Bouncing with Bud" and "Dance of the Infidels". The second Blue Note session in 1951 was a trio with Curley Russell and Max Roach and included "Parisian Thoroughfare" and "Un Poco Loco". The latter was selected by literary critic Harold Bloom for his short list of the greatest works of twentieth-century American art. Sessions for Granz included Ray Brown, George Duvivier, Percy Heath, Roach, Russell, Lloyd Trotman, Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Osie Johnson, Buddy Rich, and Art Taylor.  Powell's rivalry with Parker led to feuding and bitterness on the bandstand. Contributing factors were Powell's worsening mental and physical health. Powell recorded for Blue Note and Granz throughout the 1950s, interrupted by another stay in a mental hospital from late 1951 to early 1953 after being arrested for possession of marijuana. He was released into the guardianship of Oscar Goodstein, owner of the Birdland nightclub. A 1953 trio session for Blue Note with Duvivier and Taylor included Powell's composition "Glass Enclosure", inspired by his near-imprisonment in Goodstein's apartment. On May 15, 1953 he played at Massey Hall in Toronto with the quintet, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach. The performance was recorded and released by Debut Records as the album "Jazz at Massey Hall". After being released from the hospital, his piano playing was negatively affected by the Largactil he was taking as treatment for schizophrenia. In 1956 his brother Richie Powell and trumpeter Clifford Brown were killed in a car crash.

Paris (1959–1963).

After several more periods in the hospital, Powell moved to Paris in 1959 with Altevia "Buttercup" Edwards, whom he had met after an incarceration in 1954. The couple moved into the Hotel La Louisiane. She managed his finances and his medicine. Powell continued to perform and record.

Last years (1964–1966).

In 1963, Powell contracted tuberculosis. During the next year, he returned to New York to perform at Birdland with drummer Horace Arnold and bassist John Ore. His performances during these years were adversely affected by his alcoholism. His emotions became unbalanced, and he was hospitalized in New York after months of erratic behavior and self-neglect. On July 31, 1966, he died of tuberculosis, malnutrition, and alcoholism.

Music.

Development.

Bud Powell was influenced primarily by Thelonious Monk and Art Tatum.

Improvisation and comping.

His solos imitated the attack of horn players, contained frequent arpeggios, and utilized much chromaticism. According to author Alan Morrison, "Powell freed the right hand for continuous linear exploration at the expense of developing the left."  His comping often consisted of single bass notes outlining the root and fifth. He used voicings of the root and the tenth or the root with the minor seventh.

Reception and influence.

Miles Davis in his autobiography said of Powell: "[He] was one of the few musicians I knew who could play, write, and read all kinds of music." "Bud was a genius piano player–the best there was of all the bebop piano players."  In 1986 Francis Paudras wrote a book about his friendship with Powell, translated into English in 1997 as "Dance of the Infidels: A Portrait of Bud Powell". The book was the basis for "Round Midnight", a film inspired by the lives of Powell and Lester Young, in which Dexter Gordon played the lead role of an expatriate jazzman in Paris. In February 2012 a biography titled "Wail: The Life of Bud Powell" by Peter Pullman was released as an ebook.  Powell influenced countless younger musicians, especially pianists. These included Horace Silver, Wynton Kelly, Andre Previn, McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton, and Chick Corea. Corea debuted a song called "Bud Powell" on his live album with Gary Burton, "In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979", and in 1997 dedicated an entire album, "Remembering Bud Powell" to him.  Bill Evans, who described Powell as his single greatest influence, paid the pianist a tribute in 1979: "If I had to choose one single musician for his artistic integrity, for the incomparable originality of his creation and the grandeur of his work, it would be Bud Powell. He was in a class by himself".  Herbie Hancock said of Powell, in a "Down Beat" magazine interview in 1966: "He was the foundation out of which stemmed the whole edifice of modern jazz piano".  Jazz pianist Bill Cunliffe said Powell was "the first pianist to take Charlie Parker's language and adapt it successfully to the piano." This was, in part, due to his desire to see the pianist get the adulation usually reserved for the saxophonist or trumpeter.

Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of bebop. His virtuosity led many to call him the Charlie Parker of the piano. Powell was also a composer, and many jazz critics credit his works and his playing as having "greatly extended the range of jazz harmony."

Bud Powell (né Earl Rudolph Powell à New York le - mort à New York le ) est un pianiste de jazz américain.


Plot.

Scott Howard is a 17-year-old high school student who is sick of being average. Living in a small town in Nebraska, his only claim to popularity is playing on the Beavers, his school's basketball team (which is very unsuccessful), and fawning after his crush Pamela Wells, who is dating his rival Mick. Mick plays for the Dragons, an opposing team who tends to bully Scott on the court. Completely oblivious to his best friend Boof's affections, he constantly rebuffs her advances due to their history together.  After a series of startling changes such as long hair suddenly sprouting, hands suddenly getting hairy, he decides to quit the team, but his coach, Finstock, changes his mind. Scoring a keg with his friend Stiles for a party, Scott and Boof end up alone in a closet and Scott gets rough when they begin making out, accidentally clawing Boof's back. When he returns home, he undergoes a strange transformation and discovers he is a werewolf. His father Harold confronts him and reveals he too is a werewolf, and that he had hoped Scott would not inherit the curse because "sometimes it skips a generation".  Scott reveals his secret to Stiles, who agrees to keep it a secret, but when Scott becomes stressed on the court at the next basketball game, he becomes the wolf and helps win their first game in three years. This has an unexpected result of fame and popularity as the high school is overwhelmed with "Wolf Fever", which quickly alienates Scott from Boof and from his teammates as he begins to hog the ball during games.  Stiles merchandises "Teen Wolf" paraphernalia and Pamela finally begins paying attention to Scott. After he gets a role as a 'werewolf cavalryman' in the school play alongside her, she comes onto him in the dressing room and the two have sex. Later, after a date set up to make Mick jealous on purpose, Pamela tells Scott that she is still seeing Mick and is not interested in Scott as a boyfriend, much to his disappointment. Harold tells Scott he is responsible for vice principal Rusty Thorne breathing down his neck, due to a scare he had given him when he was in high school, and advises him to be himself and not the wolf.  With the upcoming spring dance, Boof agrees to go with Scott, but only if he goes as himself, not the Wolf. Scott goes alone as the Wolf and has a great time. However, Boof is not impressed with this. She takes Scott out into the hallway and they kiss, which turns Scott back into himself. When they return to the dance, everyone pays attention to him, including Pamela. Mick gets upset and taunts Scott until the Wolf comes out and attacks him. His fans then turn on him and he runs out right into Thorne, who threatens to expel Scott from school. Harold appears and tells his son to go home, then tells Thorne to leave Scott alone. He intimidates Thorne by growling into his face, causing the Vice Principal to pee himself.  Scott renounces using the wolf, quitting the play and the basketball team, who have come to expect it. During the championship game, Scott arrives and rallies his teammates to play without the wolf in order to win the game. Despite the odds, the team begins to play together and they make ground against the Dragons. During the final quarter, behind by one point, Scott is fouled by Mick at the buzzer. He makes both shots, winning the game and the championship to everyone's delight. Brushing past Pamela, Scott kisses Boof as his father comes down and hugs the two of them. Mick tells Pamela that they should leave, but she tells him to "drop dead" and storms off while everyone else celebrates the victory.

Production.

"Teen Wolf" was one of the first scripts written by Jeph Loeb. Loeb was hired to write it because the studio, after the surprising success of the film "Valley Girl", wanted to make a comedy that would cost almost nothing (the production costs amounted to about $1 million) and take very little time to film. The project came together when Michael J. Fox accepted the lead role and his "Family Ties" co-star Meredith Baxter-Birney became pregnant, which created a delay in the sitcom's filming that allowed Fox time to complete filming and then return to his sitcom.  The beaver mascot logo used in the film was the Oregon State University Beavers logo, in use by the university at that time.

Release.

Box office.

Released August 23, 1985, "Teen Wolf" debuted at No. 2 in its opening weekend, behind "Back to the Future" (also starring Michael J. Fox). After its initial run, the film grossed $33,086,661 domestically, with a worldwide gross of about $80 million.

Critical response.

Despite its commercial success, the film's critical reception was at best mixed. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 44% of 32 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.1 out of 10. The consensus summarizes: "Though Michael J. Fox is as charismatic as ever, "Teen Wolf"s coming-of-age themes can't help but feel a little stale and formulaic." On Metacritic, the film has a 25 out of 100 rating based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".  Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" gave the film a negative review calling it "aggressively boring". He went on to say that "the film is overacted by everybody except Mr. Fox, who is seen to far better advantage in "Back to the Future"."

Home media.

"Teen Wolf" was first released on DVD via MGM in a "Double Feature" pack with its sequel "Teen Wolf Too" on August 27, 2002. The film was later released on Blu-ray on March 29, 2011. The only special feature available on any of the releases is the film's theatrical trailer. The film was reissued on Blu-ray Disc on August 8, 2017, by Scream! Factory, with a remastered transfer and a new "making of" featurette.

Legacy.

Animated television series.

An animated series adaptation aired on CBS for two seasons from 1986 to 1987. Townsend Coleman voiced the lead role of Scott Howard, with James Hampton reprising his role as Harold Howard. The series retained the basic premise and most of the characters from the film, but made changes to the story, such as Scott attempting to keep his werewolf identity secret from the general public. It also featured new characters, including Scott's grandparents (voiced by Stacy Keach Sr. and June Foray) and younger sister Lupe.

Sequels.

A sequel entitled "Teen Wolf Too" was released in 1987 that starred Jason Bateman as Todd Howard, Scott Howard's cousin. Only James Hampton and Mark Holton returned from the original film, with the sequel focusing mostly on new characters led by Todd. It received negative reviews and failed to match the success of its predecessor, grossing $7.9 million on a $3 million budget. A second sequel starring Alyssa Milano was planned, but never filmed. Another female version of "Teen Wolf" was in the works that later developed into 1989's "Teen Witch".

Live-action television series.

MTV greenlit a television series adaptation in 2009 that was developed by Jeff Davis. While also centered on a high school student who becomes a werewolf, the story was reimagined as a supernatural teen drama with elements of action and horror. Tyler Posey portrayed the title character, whose name was changed to Scott McCall for the series. It aired for six seasons from 2011 to 2017.

Teen Wolf is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed when he discovers that he is a werewolf. James Hampton, Scott Paulin, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine and Jay Tarses appear in supporting roles.

Teen Wolf est une comédie fantastique américaine réalisée par Rod Daniel, sorti en 1985, avec Michael J. Fox. Une série animée fait suite au film, diffusée en France sous le nom "Les P'tits Loups-garous". Une suite, "Teen Wolf 2", est sortie en 1987. Une série télévisée basée sur ce film a débuté le sur MTV aux États-Unis.


Geography.

Mount Hua is situated in Huayin City, which is 120 kilometres (about 75 miles) from Xi'an. It is located near the southeast corner of the Ordos Loop section of the Yellow River basin, south of the Wei River valley, at the eastern end of the Qin Mountains, in Southern Shaanxi Province. It is part of the Qinling or Qin Mountains, which divide not only northern and southern Shaanxi, but also China.

Summits.

Traditionally, only the giant plateau with its summits to the south of the peak Wuyun Feng (, Five Cloud Summit) was called Taihua Shan (, Great Flower Mountain). It could only be accessed through the ridge known as Canglong Ling (, Dark Dragon Ridge) until a second trail was built in the 1980s to go around Canglong Ling. Three peaks were identified with respective summits: the East, South and West peaks. The East peak consists of four summits. The highest summit is Zhaoyang Feng (, Facing Yang Summit, i.e. the summit facing the sun). Its elevation is reported to be and its name is often used as the name for the whole East Peak. To the east of Zhaoyang Feng is Shilou Feng (, Stone Tower Summit), to the south is Botai Feng (, Broad Terrace Summit) and to the west is Yunű Feng (}, Jade Maiden Summit). Today, Yunű Feng considered its own peak, most central on the mountain.  The South peak consists of three summits. The highest summit is Luoyan Feng (, Landing Goose Summit), with an elevation of. To the east is Songgui Feng (, Pines and Junipers Summit) and to the west is Xiaozi Feng (, Filial Son Summit).  The West peak has only one summit and it is known as Lianhua Feng () or Furong Feng (), both meaning Lotus Flower Summit. The elevation is.  With the development of new trail to Hua Shan in the 3rd through 5th century along the Hua Shan Gorge, the peak immediately to the north of Canglong Ling, Yuntai Feng (, Cloud Terrace Peak), was identified as the North peak. It is the lowest of the five peaks with an elevation of.

History.

As early as the 2nd century BC, there was a Daoist temple known as the Shrine of the Western Peak located at its base. Daoists believed that in the mountain lives the god of the underworld. The temple at the foot of the mountain was often used for spirit mediums to contact the god and his underlings. Unlike Taishan, which became a popular place of pilgrimage, Huashan, because of the inaccessibility of its summits, only received Imperial and local pilgrims, and was not well visited by pilgrims from the rest of China. Huashan was also an important place for immortality seekers, as many herbal Chinese medicines are grown and powerful drugs were reputed to be found there. Kou Qianzhi (365–448), the founder of the Northern Celestial Masters received revelations there, as did Chen Tuan (920–989), who spent the last part of his life in hermitage on the west peak. In the 1230s, all the temples on the mountain came under control of the Daoist Quanzhen School. In 1998, the management committee of Huashan agreed to turn over most of the mountain's temples to the China Daoist Association. This was done to help protect the environment, as the presence of taoists and nuns deters poachers and loggers.

Temples.

Huashan has a variety of temples and other religious structures on its slopes and peaks. At the foot of the mountains is the Cloister of the Jade Spring (), which is dedicated to Chen Tuan. Additionally, atop the southern-most peak, there is an ancient Taoist temple which in modern times has been converted into a tea house.

Ascent routes.

There are three routes leading to Huashan's North Peak (), the lowest of the mountain's five major peaks. The most popular is the traditional route in Hua Shan Yu (Hua Shan Gorge), first developed in the 3rd to 4th century A.D. and with successive expansion, mostly during the Tang Dynasty. It winds for 6 km from Huashan village to the north peak. A new route in Huang Pu Yu (Huang Pu Gorge, named after the hermit Huang Lu Zi who lived in this gorge in 8th century BC) follows the cable car to the North Peak, and is actually the ancient trail used prior to the Tang Dynasty, which has since fallen into disrepair. It had only been known to local villagers living nearby at the gorges since 1949, when a group of seven People's Liberation Army soldiers with a local guide used this route to climb to the North Peak and captured over 100 Kuomintang soldiers stationed on the North Peak and along the path of the traditional route. This trail is now known as "The Intelligent Take-over Route of Hua Shan", and was reinforced in early 2000. The Cable Car System stations are built next to the beginning and ends of this trail. A second cable car line, to the West Peak, was opened in 2013.  From the North Peak, a series of paths rise up to the Canglong Ling, which is a climb more than on top of a mountain ridge. This was the only trail to go to the four other peaks—the West Peak (), the Center Peak (), the East Peak () and the South Peak (2154.9m),—until a new path was built to the east around the ridge in 1998.  Huashan has historically been a place of retreat for hardy hermits, whether Daoist, Buddhist or other; access to the mountain was only deliberately available to the strong-willed, or those who had found "the way". With greater mobility and prosperity, Chinese, particularly students, began to test their mettle and visit in the 1980s.

Hiking danger.

The route up the mountain has been named as one of the most dangerous hikes in the world. As tourism has boomed and the mountain's accessibility vastly improved with the installation of the cable car in the 1990s, visitor numbers have surged. The many exposed, narrow pathways with precipitous drops gave the mountain a deserved reputation for danger, although safety measures — such as cutting deeper pathways, building up stone steps and wider paths, and adding railings — have to some extent mitigated the danger. The local government has opened new tracks and created one-way routes on some of the more dangerous parts so that, barring crowds and icy conditions, the mountain can be scaled without extreme risk now. Some of the most precipitous tracks have been closed off. The former trail leading along a cliff face from the North Peak to the South Peak was known as being extremely dangerous; there is now a new and safer stone-built path to the South Peak temple and on to the Peak itself.  Many Chinese still climb at nighttime, in order to reach the East Peak by dawn—though the mountain now has many hotels. This practice is a holdover from when it was considered safer to simply be unable to see the extreme danger of the tracks during the ascent, as well as to avoid meeting descending visitors at points where pathways have scarcely enough room for one visitor to pass through safely.

Mount Hua () is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi Province, about east of Xi'an. It is the western mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China and has a long history of religious significance. Originally classified as having three peaks, in modern times the mountain is classified as five main peaks, the highest of which is the South Peak at.

Le mont Hua (sinogrammes simplifiés : 华山 ; sinogrammes traditionnels : 華山 ; pinyin : "huà shān") est situé dans la province du Shaanxi, à une centaine de km à l'est de la capitale Xi'an. C'est l'une des cinq montagnes sacrées de Chine aussi connue sous le nom de montagne de l'Ouest (sinogrammes simplifiés : 西岳; sinogrammes traditionnels : 西嶽; pinyin : "xī yuè").


Creation.

The BRSM was created on 6 September 2002, after the merger of two Belarusian youth organizations, the Belarusian Youth Union and the Belarusian Patriotic Youth Union. The Belarusian Youth Union had been considered the legal successor of Leninist Communist Youth Union of Belarus (the Komsomol branch in the Byelorussian SSR), and the Belarusian Patriotic Youth Union had been created in 1997 by the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko not only issued a decree calling for the creation of the BRSM, he also issued decrees that gave the BRSM governmental support, mostly from the ministry of education and the presidential administration. President Lukashenko stated in his 2003 address to the nation the need for the BRSM to play a key role in Belarusian life:

Organization.

The BRSM national headquarters is located in Minsk, the national capital of Belarus. Each voblast of Belarus—Minsk, Brest, Vitsebsk, Homiel, Grodno and Mogilev—has its own branches of the BRSM. The BRSM has estimated that it has 6803 branches located inside Belarus.  The national leadership of the BRSM is controlled by the central committee, which is headed by the first secretary of the central committee. Leonid Kovalev was elected as first secretary in 2006. Below the first secretary are the second secretary of the central committee, the chairman of the central investigation commission, and three secretaries of the central committee. Collectively, these leaders are also referred to as the secretariat of the BRSM.  While the exact yearly and total funding of the BRSM are not known, the majority of funds given to the BRSM are given by the national government.

Symbols.

The BRSM has two official symbols: an emblem and a flag. The emblem, which is based on the Komsomol badge and modeled on the Belarusian national flag, has a red bar bearing the initials of the BRSM, written in gold in Cyrillic, over a green bar bearing a golden olive branch.  The flag of the BRSM has the same elements as the emblem, but the reverse of the flag bears the organization's full name in gold (in Russian) in the red section, with the green section unemblazoned.

Membership.

In order to join the BRSM, the applicant must be between the ages of 14 and 31 and must send a photo of himself or herself. If the applicant is between the ages of 14 and 16 written permission from a parent or legal guardian must be granted. A count in 2003 by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting showed that the BRSM had roughly.  A person must also pay a one-time fee of 3 Belarusian rubles (around US$1.22) and a mid-year fee to continue membership in the BRSM. The total amount of the fee is adjusted based on the person's working and living status, and fee waivers are granted for children who are orphaned or disabled.

Activities.

Most of the BRSM's activities are similar to those that were performed by the Soviet Komsomol. The main activities of the BRSM involve the promotion of Belarusian patriotism. This is accomplished by participating in wreath-laying ceremonies at various memorials around the country. BRSM members also pass out flowers to veterans of the Great Patriotic War (World War II) to honor their service during the national holiday Den Pobedy (Day of Victory). Both the memorial visits and the flowers for the veterans give BRSM members an idea of what sacrifices their ancestors made. During other national holidays, the BRSM passes out a ribbon that resembles the national flag of Belarus, to be worn on a shirt or jacket. This program, along with other events, is part of its "For Belarus!" (Belarusian: ) campaign.  The BRSM participates in outdoor activities and sports, including football, running, swimming and hockey. Some of these athletic events involve different groups from inside Belarus or from neighboring countries, such as Russia, Ukraine or Latvia. BRSM members also participate in competitions amongst themselves or with other foreign groups that are similar to the BRSM.  Social events, such as concerts for the youth of Belarus, are hosted by the BRSM. However, there have been some occasions during BRSM-sponsored concerts when neo-Nazis were not only in attendance but were also performing in the show. The BRSM has been criticized for this by local leaders and veterans. The BRSM was one of the main organizers of the 2004 "Miss Belarus" pageant, a beauty competition along the same lines as Miss America and Miss Universe. While the BRSM does not get involved in politics, its first secretary, Mikhail Orda, signed a letter along with other public officials denouncing the United States' Belarus Democracy Act of 2004.  BRSM organizes student construction brigades, a practice also originated in the Soviet Union.

Criticism.

Inside of Belarus, the BRSM has been accused of using unethical methods to increase its membership. The claim, made by teachers and students in Belarus, is that members who joined the BRSM either did so by coercion or were lured by promises, which included discounts at local businesses, living in good dormitories, and assistance in finding a job after college. In 1999 it was reported that Belarusian opposition activists called the predecessor of the BRSM, the BPSM, "Lukamol" (). The term is a combination of the words Lukashenko and Komsomol, because of the use of the youth group by Lukashenko to further his political base and his cult of personality.  Human Rights Watch, a group that monitors human rights abuses around the world, has also criticized the BPSM for limiting academic freedom on Belarusian college campuses. HRW noted in a report filed in 1999 that HRW also noted in the same 1999 report that members influence the entrance board to exclude candidates who use the Belarusian language as their preferred language or those who have opposing political point of views.  The United Nations has stated that Lukashenko's government has, either directly or indirectly, created non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are used by the government as tools of publicity. The UN contends in a report released in early 2003 that the BRSM will mostly be used by President Lukashenko as a tool to recruit officials into his government. The same report also commented on how other youth NGOs are having problems with funding and that their members face expulsion from their schools, thus having to join groups like the BRSM as a last resort.

The Belarusian Republican Youth Union ( (БРСМ), (БРСМ), transliteration: "Belorusskij respublikanskij sojuz molodeži" (BRSM)) is a youth organization in Belarus. Its goals are to promote patriotism and to instill moral values into the youth of Belarus, using activities such as camping, sporting events, and visiting memorials. The organization was created after a merger of other youth groups in 2002 and is the successor of the Leninist Communist Youth League of the Byelorussian SSR. The BRSM is the largest youth group in Belarus and is supported by the Belarusian government. Some people have accused the group of using methods of coercion and empty promises in order to recruit new members and of being used as propaganda for the government of Alexander Lukashenko.

L'Union de la jeunesse républicaine biélorusse (BRSM) (Biélorusse : Беларускі Рэспубліканскі Саюз Моладзі, Russe : Белорусский республиканский союз молодежи, БРСМ) est un mouvement de jeunesse de la Biélorussie, pays d'Europe de l'Est. Les objectifs du BRSM sont la promotion du patriotisme et la transmission de valeurs morales dans la jeunesse biélorusse, à travers des loisirs tels que des activités de campement, du sport ou des visites de mémoriaux. L'organisation, qui est née de la fusion d'autres groupes de jeunesse en 2002, est très semblable à la jeunesse communiste soviétique, et est à ce titre baptisée « "Loukamol" » par ses détracteurs en raison de ses points communs avec les anciens komsomols soviétiques. Constituant l'une des rares organisations de jeunesse à l'intérieur de la Biélorussie, elle en est l'une des plus importantes et reçoit beaucoup de soutien de la part du gouvernement de Biélorussie. Mouvement fidèle au gouvernement, elle fut accusée d'employer des méthodes de coercition dans ses campagnes de recrutement de membres, et d'être un outil de propagande du gouvernement Loukachenko. Aujourd'hui, certains membres du BRSM accompagnent les forces de l'ordre dans leurs patrouilles.


Early life.

Bunn was born in Freeport, New York. He had two brothers, Kenneth and Jimmy. Bunn's father played accordion and harmonica; his mother played organ in a church. Bunn was given a guitar by his father, who also gave him some basic instruction; apart from this, Bunn was self-taught. He never learned to read music, so he played by ear.

Career.

Bunn was considered one of the best acoustic guitarists of the 1930s. He appeared on record for the first time in 1929 as a member of a trio with trumpeter Red Allen and pianist Fats Pichon, then as a guest with the Duke Ellington orchestra. Soon after, he recorded with the Six Jolly Jesters in the first of many washboard-and-kazoo sessions during his career with bands such as The Washboard Rhythm Kings and the Washboard Serenaders. During the following year, he participated in a rare session with Jelly Roll Morton and clarinetist Wilton Crawley. He also accompanied vocalists Victoria Spivey, Lizzie Miles, and Spencer Williams. For the rest of the decade, he recorded with the swing band Spirits of Rhythm led by vocalist Leo Watson.  Bunn recorded with such musicians as Sidney Bechet, Hadda Brooks, Johnny Dodds, J. C. Higginbotham, Lionel Hampton, and Jimmie Noone. He played electric guitar from 1940. He recorded solo numbers for Blue Note Records in 1940; after this, his popularity declined.  By the 1970s Bunn played electric guitar almost exclusively in R&B bands. He suffered a stroke after joining Louis Jordan's band and was sick for more than a decade. He died on July 20, 1978 in Lancaster, California.

Playing style.

Bunn's playing was "predominantly melodic rather than chordal". He did not use a pick; he used "mostly my thumb, that's how I figured it when I first had that first guitar."

Theodore Leroy Bunn (May 7, 1909 – July 20, 1978) was an American jazz guitarist who was a member of the Spirits of Rhythm during the 1930s.

Teddy Bunn (Theodore, dit Teddy) est un guitariste américain de jazz et de blues, né à, (État de New York), en 1909 ou en 1910 et mort en 1978. D'après Philippe Baudouin, il est "aussi à l'aise avec que sans électricité. Doté d'une sonorité claire, d'un grand swing, attaquant franchement les cordes, il excelle dans le blues".


History.

Prehistory and ancient history.

No prehistoric archeological sites have been found in the municipality of Gironella therefore no traceability to ancient times has been possible. However, Rosa Serra states that the situation of the inhabitants of Gironella should have been the same as the people living in the area of Baix Berguedà.  Human habitats have been found in the region from Neolithic and there are several Iberian sites (Puig-reig, Santa Maria de Merlès, Montclar, L'Espunyola, Berga, Casserres etc.). During the restoration of the old church of Santa Eulàlia of Gironella, pottery remains belonging to different times were found. Among them, there was a local Iberian piece of ceramic and another belonging to Roses workshop, both dating from before the third century BC. This finding shows the settlement in the area from the protohistoric times.  The present municipality of Gironella was crossed by a salt path which connected the salt mountain of Cardona (a deposit of rock salt, where the salt forms a mountain mass) with the eastern part of Catalonia.

Medieval history.

In the High Middle Ages the population of El Berguedà was relatively stable, especially in the mountain areas and the Germanic and Muslim invasions did not leave a strong mark.

Modern history.

Gironella in the war of Spanish Succession.

Gironella had fallen into the hands of the Bourbon army, but on 11 March 1714 the village was released during the seizure of Gironella Castle by the troops of the Marquis of Poal and Colonel Ermengol Amill. The Bourbon garrison, consisting of 30 soldiers, 2 captains and 2 lieutenants, among others, were imprisoned in Cardona.

Gironella is a municipality in the "comarca" of the Berguedà in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the left bank of the Llobregat river to the south of Berga. The local economy is traditionally based on cotton spinning and textile manufacture, although tourism is now more important: the company towns or "colonies" of workers houses surround the cotton mills are of historical interest.The town is served by the C-16 road to Berga and the Cadí tunnel. Gironella, which has numerous stores, bars, and schools, is an important economic center for the smaller towns around it, such as Olvan, Sagàs or Casserres.

Gironella est une commune de la communauté de Catalogne en Espagne, située dans la Province de Barcelone. Elle appartient à la comarque de Berguedà.


History and rival claims.

All Jewish boys are required by Jewish law to be circumcised on the eighth day following their birth; the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, still celebrated by many churches around the world, accordingly falls on January 1. Luke 2:21 (King James Version), reads: "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb." The first reference to the survival of Christ's severed foreskin comes in the second chapter of the apocryphal Arabic Infancy Gospel which contains the following story:  Foreskin relics began appearing in Europe during the Middle Ages. The earliest recorded sighting came on December 25, 800, when Charlemagne gave it to Pope Leo III when the latter crowned the former Emperor. Charlemagne claimed that it had been brought to him by an angel while he prayed at the Holy Sepulchre, although a more prosaic report says it was a wedding gift from the Byzantine Empress Irene. Its authenticity was later considered to be confirmed by a vision of Saint Bridget of Sweden, who confirmed that it was somewhere in Rome. The "Descriptio laternansis Ecclesia", written shortly before 1100 indicated that a cypress chest commissioned by Leo III and placed under the altar in the Chapel of St. Lawrence held three caskets. One of the caskets contained a gold jeweled cross. The document stated that in this cross was the foreskin and umbilicus of Jesus.  David Farley recounts how the foreskin was then looted during the Sack of Rome in 1527. The German soldier who stole it was captured in the village of Calcata, 47 km north of Rome, later the same year. Housed in Calcata, it was venerated from that time onwards, with the Church approving the authenticity by offering a ten-year indulgence to pilgrims. Pilgrims, nuns and monks flocked to the church, and "Calcata [became] a must-see destination on the pilgrimage map." The foreskin was reported stolen by a local priest in 1983.  However, in 1905, Pope Pius X authorized an inventory compiled by Professor Hartmann Grisar, of the University of Innsbruck. Grisar's report corresponds to the earlier "Descriptio laternansis Ecclesia". The gold cross was dated to between the sixth and eighth centuries. Grisar's study stated that, like Pope Paschal's enameled silver reliquary cross, the gold jeweled cross was clearly initially designed to hold a relic of the True Cross. This is further supported by the statement in the "Descriptio" relating it to a procession on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The "Vita" of Pope Sergius I (687-01) mentions both the Feast of the Exaltation, the jeweled cross, and veneration of the relic contained therein. Grisar attributed the reference to the foreskin and umbilicus as derived from later Medieval traditions. The gold cross was lost in 1945.

Traffic in relics.

Mary Dzon says that for many people during the Medieval period, devotion to the Holy Prepuce reflected a focus on the humanity of Jesus. According to Farley, "Depending on what you read, there were eight, twelve, fourteen, or even 18 different holy foreskins in various European towns during the Middle Ages." In addition to the Holy Foreskin of Rome (later Calcata), other claimants included the Cathedral of Le Puy-en-Velay, Santiago de Compostela, the city of Antwerp, Coulombs in the diocese of Chartres, as well as Chartres itself, and churches in Besançon, Metz, Hildesheim, Charroux. Conques, Langres, Fécamp, and two in Auvergne.  One of the most famous prepuces arrived in Antwerp in Brabant in 1100 as a gift from king Baldwin I of Jerusalem, who purchased it in the Holy Land in the course of the first crusade. This prepuce became famous when the bishop of Cambray, during the celebration of the Mass, saw three drops of blood blotting the linens of the altar. A special chapel was constructed and processions organised in honour of the miraculous relic, which became the goal of pilgrimages. In 1426 a brotherhood was founded in the cathedral ""van der heiliger Besnidenissen ons liefs Heeren Jhesu Cristi in onser liever Vrouwen Kercke t' Antwerpen""; its 24 members were all abbots and prominent laymen. The relic disappeared in 1566, but the chapel still exists, decorated by two stained glass windows donated by king Henry VII of England and his wife Elizabeth of York in 1503.  The abbey of Charroux claimed the Holy Foreskin was presented to the monks by Charlemagne. In the early 12th century, it was taken in procession to Rome where it was presented before Pope Innocent III, who was asked to rule on its authenticity. The Pope declined the opportunity. At some point, however, the relic went missing, and remained lost until 1856 when a workman repairing the abbey claimed to have found a reliquary hidden inside a wall, containing the missing foreskin.  According to Farley, the Second Vatican Council later removed the Day of the Holy Circumcision from the Latin church calendar, although Eastern Catholics and Traditional Roman Catholics still celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord on January 1. In reality, it was more than two years before 11 October 1962, the date when the Second Vatican Council began, that a 25 July 1960 decree of Pope John XXIII enacted a wide-ranging revision of the General Roman Calendar, which included changing the name of the 1 January feast from "Circumcision of the Lord and Octave of the Nativity" to "Octave of the Nativity", with no change of the Gospel reading about the circumcision of the child Jesus.

Modern practices.

Most of the Holy Prepuces were lost or destroyed during the Reformation and the French Revolution.  In the Italian village of Calcata, a reliquary containing the supposed Holy Foreskin was paraded through the streets as recently as 1983 on the Feast of the Circumcision, which was formerly marked by the Roman Catholic Church around the world on January 1 each year. The practice ended, however, when thieves stole the jewel-encrusted case, contents and all. Following this theft, it is unclear whether any of the purported Holy Prepuces still exist. In a 1997 television documentary for Channel 4, British journalist Miles Kington travelled to Italy in search of the Holy Foreskin, but was unable to find any remaining example. On December 22, 2013 National Geographic Channel broadcast a documentary starring Farley called "The Quest for the Holy Foreskin".

Literary allusions.

According to an unconfirmed 19th-century source, in the late 17th century the Vatican librarian Leo Allatius wrote an unpublished treatise entitled "De Praeputio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Diatriba" ("A Discussion of the Foreskin of Our Lord Jesus Christ"), claiming that the Holy Prepuce ascended, like Jesus himself, and was transformed into the rings of Saturn.  Voltaire, in "A Treatise of Toleration" (1763), referred to veneration of the Holy Foreskin as being one of a number of superstitions that were "much more reasonable... than to detest and persecute your brother".  Umberto Eco, in his book "Baudolino", has the young Baudolino invent a story about seeing the holy foreskin and navel in Rome to the company of Frederick Barbarossa.  In 2009, Farley's "An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town" was published.  In Chuck Palahniuk's book "Choke", the main character is told that he was cloned from Jesus' foreskin.  James Joyce's "Ulysses" has Stephen Dedalus pondering the Holy Prepuce while he urinates with Leopold Bloom, in the section titled "Ithaca."  In "The Gospel According To Jesus Christ", José Saramago writes that anyone "wishing to venerate that foreskin today need only visit the parish church of Calcata near Viterbo in Italy, where it is preserved in a reliquary for the spiritual benefit of the faithful and the amusement of prying atheists."

The Holy Prepuce, or Holy Foreskin (Latin "præputium" or "prepucium"), is one of several relics attributed to Jesus, a product of the circumcision of Jesus. At various points in history, a number of churches in Europe have claimed to possess Jesus's foreskin, sometimes at the same time. Various miraculous powers have been ascribed to it.

Le saint Prépuce (en latin "Sanctum Praeputium") — également appelé « sainte Vertu » ("Sanctam Virtutem") ou « saint Vœu » — est le nom donné à différentes reliques relatives au prépuce issu de la circoncision de Jésus de Nazareth. À l'instar de plusieurs reliques corporelles du Christ — comme le cordon ombilical ou ses dents de lait — sa détention a été revendiquée par plusieurs lieux de culte chrétiens, particulièrement dans l'Occident médiéval.