title: A Northern Soul

text: The initial idea for the recording sessions was to take recording gear to their rehearsal room, as they were the most productive there, and it had the right atmosphere. When they realised that it was impractical to use it for recording, they decided on Loco Studios in Wales. Philip Wilding, author of The Verve: Bitter Sweet , wrote that the sessions for their second album became mythologised as a combination of "lurid stories and gruesome hearsay echoing in stories of drug-fuelled jam sessions that became extensive recording sessions and bouts of reckless violence." Baker conveyed a similar situation, while singling out co-manager John Best for describing the situation as lunatics running an asylum. Author Sean Egan, in his book The Verve: Star Sail , said various tales have since come out about the sessions, including: Ashcroft allegedly totalling a hired car by driving it on the studio's lawn; the band often playing a single song for hours at a time; Ashcroft disappearing for five days; and the band debating whether to destroy a tape machine, which was valued at £100,000, so that they could get a sound to end the album on. Morris, who co-produced the sessions with them, said his job was to contain the audio of the band performing and not make it sound bland. The band and Morris were assisted in the studio by engineer Mark Lee. To aid the recording sessions, the band gave the studio a club atmosphere by playing music the entire time, taking ecstasy, and working on material when they felt inspired to. By the first three weeks, they had completed 15 songs; by contrast, for A Storm in Heaven, they only did one song a week in the same length of time. As the band as a unit strived for perfection, it meant that the individual members had strained relationships with one another. After this point, the situation soured as McCabe, bagged by the issues with Monica, became tired of the frequent partying that the other members were doing. He said Ashcroft and Morris were yelling and breaking objects. Jones said they did not need any encouragement from Morris, who was "as mad as you like", adding that it was "all ... too much."


title: A Northern Soul

text: While Jones did not explain what happened during the sessions, Boyd said it was a group of people growing up, combined with ecstasy consumption. There was one instance where the band was locked out from entering the studio because an employee was concerned about what they could do to the facilities. Boyd said Morris was also consuming ecstasy; there was one three-week period where Morris and the band ingested the drug every day. On one occasion, Best visited the studio only to find Morris, who was high on ecstasy, standing on the recording console with a glass of alcohol. He promptly threw the drink at the room's glass wall, leaving a hole the size of a large bullet. Best compared the encounter to entering a turbulent celebration with a "lunatic edge to it." He noticed that the members were operating on different schedules. As McCabe had a child, he wanted to start working at 10–11 a.m. and finish at 10–11 p.m. The rest of the band, meanwhile, woke up at 2 p.m., recorded at 6 p.m., and finished at 6 a.m. the following morning. McCabe said he was emotionally distraught, reaching a point where the only common trait between them was creating music, while his life at home was equally a "disaster and I didn't feel comfortable anywhere." He was forced to contribute more during the sessions than other guitarists would, owing to him having to track both the rhythm and lead guitar parts. Egan said these parts were "already more complex than most bands' because of the atmospheric nature of The Verve's music." McCabe found the partying boring and an annoying distraction.


title: A Northern Soul

text: Ashcroft came close to being a casualty of drugs akin to Roky Erickson or Arthur Lee of Love; he was still emotionally damaged from his split with Carpenter, which did not help. When Ashcroft came to this realisation, he was distraught, only to be exacerbated when he had a vision of Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, another drug casualty. Following this, the band returned to their habit of jamming for days at a time in an attempt to make music that was as worthwhile as something by their musical heroes. When they finished working on a song, they relaxed in the studio's lounge, listening to the likes of Miles Davis, Funkadelic, and Gram Parsons. Everyone eventually came to the conclusion that the only time work was done was on Wednesdays. Baker said the band took "three days to build up to a peak and then spend the next three days coming down." Part of this stemmed from Ashcroft becoming a more confident songwriter; he was content to offer his voice on finished backing tracks, though after the split from Carpenter, he had written stylistically different material. Baker said while their debut album appealed to music obsessives, the new material appeared more direct, with Ashcroft being enthusiastic about how his lyrics were developing for their new album. The strings for "History", performed by Gavyn Wright and the London Session Orchestra, were recorded at Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Here, Ashcroft, Liam Gallagher, and 30 associates of the band contributed handclaps to the track.


title: A Northern Soul

text: Morris was exhausted from the sessions as the band, going as far as to say they did not need a producer as they would "do producer's head in." According to Jones, Morris exclaimed that he would never work with the Verve again, almost quitting towards the end of the sessions. Ashcroft commended Morris for involving himself to the degree that he saw him akin to a member of the band, adding that they sought a producer that was "extreme. Owen brought his personality to the record. He admitted he nearly had a nervous breakdown, and I think that's a commendable performance." He summarised the process as four challenging months that were "insane. In great ways and terrible ways. In ways that only good music and bad drugs and mixed emotions can make." Outtakes from the album's sessions included "The Rolling People" and "Come On", both of which were tackled during recording sessions in 1997. Two weeks were spent mixing the recordings, which took place at Loco. To retain a raw sound, minimal overdubs were done to the tracks. The final mix was intentionally bottom heavy, with the bass and drums being placed higher in the mix to what Egan described as a "thumping feel at odds with the sterility of the CD age. Again, this tied in with the convoluted 'soul' concept that The Verve returned to repeatedly in interview." Ashcroft said listeners ignored bass and drums "for too long. On our albums you have to turn it down, which is cool, like in a lot of good soul records, Sly records, heavy bass ..." McCabe typically preferred the demos they made, as he thought the songs lost their edge when they were recorded properly. He said working with Leckie on their debut, they had to concede, and while working with Morris, it allowed them to have "a lot more control over the sound." The album was then mastered by Jack Adams at The Townhouse in London.


title: A Northern Soul

text: Discussing the album, Ashcroft said the "doors have opened for me personally with my writing. We've been liberated. Touring, you get lost on a rock and roll adventure. You're on the Stardust trip. You're in the mansion in your head with the white robes on doing rock operas called 'Woman'. But then you come home and it's time to get twenty Regal and a pastie and assess who you are. That's why the new album's got more soul to it. It's modern Northern blues." Egan said a possibility for the album's title was how the Verve viewed their sound as the "result of a fundamental sincerity." musicOMH's Ben Hogwood suggested that the title was a confident declaration of their Wigan lineage, which he said was a "proud statement indeed, if ultimately a doomed one." He added that it was taken from the 1960s Northern soul movement, where it focuses its "impact on the whole body and mind rather than just the feet, shaking it from the very core." Ashcroft said the album revolved around one person experiencing various emotions: "pretty painted, then elated, then arrogant. All facets of that personality are a northern soul." Egan said this character was Ashcroft incognito, writing that a few critics were sceptical about how an individual "'soul' could have gone through such torment as to inspire such desolate songwords ..."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Gigwise writer AP Childs considered A Northern Soul an alternative rock album that surpasses the "stargazer dreaminess of the previous offering with its tortured glamour of industrial-sized proportions." He said that, beside "Brainstorm Interlude", there was little psychedelic music to be found on it. Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine dubbed it "odern, urban, tortured psychedelic soul", while Spin's Alex Pappademas saw it as psychedelic rock and Britpop. Clarke was dismissive of the Britpop tag, adamant that the Verve had nothing to do with that genre musically or visually. Kayley Kravitz of Vanyaland reaffirmed Britpop, saying the Verve did what Blur and Lush had done before them, moving away from shoegaze and into Britpop. Best said the album had two different sides at odds with one another: "You've got songs that are traditional Verve psychedelic work-outs and then you've got songs like 'History' that I heard and thought, Wow! This is a very interesting new development." McCabe felt that his playing ability had also improved, owing to the two years promoting A Storm in Heaven.


title: A Northern Soul

text: Jones explained that it was not literal soul music but rather soul music in the manner that they were "expressing ourselves and playing from our heart. A lot of the songs on this album are first takes, just us going in and playing from a feeling." PopMatters writer Ian King wrote that McCabe's guitar playing informed the sound of A Northern Soul and noted that it was an important point in their history where Ashcroft's skill as a songwriter began to take hold of the band, highlighting "On Your Own" and "History" as prime examples. Both are stylistically different – "On Your Own" being a slow-tempo acoustic ballad and "History" serving as a symphonic track – and both feature less guitarwork. King said that McCabe's guitar playing originally helped them stand out from their contemporaries more than Ashcroft did. A Northern Soul marked the point where Ashcroft became the leader of the Verve. In addition to their usual roles in the band, the members provided extra instrumentations to the songs: Ashcroft with percusion on "This Is Music", "So It Goes", "History", and "Life's an Ocean", acoustic guitar on "On Your Own", "So It Goes", "History", and "Stormy Clouds", and electric piano on "No Knock on My Door"; Jones with percussion on "A New Decade", keyboards on "A Northern Soul", twelve-string acoustic guitar on "History"; McCabe with piano on "On Your Own" and "Stormy Clouds", twelve-string guitar on "On Your Own", acoustic guitar on "So It Goes" and "Stormy Clouds", Hammond organ on "So It Goes", and a Moog synthesizer on "Stormy Clouds"; and Salisbury with percussion on "A New Decade", "This Is Music", "So It Goes", "History", and "Life's an Ocean".


title: A Northern Soul

text: On the album's lyrics, Ashcroft said that, as a whole, it was him "asking myself: 'Who the fuck am I?' Am I the guy in 'This Is Music' standing tall in the world with these huge guitars around him like the king of rock 'n' roll, or am I the guy in 'A Northern Soul' who's wasted and desperate, or am I the guy in 'On Your Own', who's in between life and death, or am I the guy in 'Life's an Ocean' imagining the future and buying feelings from a vending machine, am I this future shock guy? But I'm all of them, you see. It's dangerous to fracture your personality too much, but that's what it was." Egan noted that there were allusions to a "broken love affair", which prompted questions as Ashcroft's emotional turmoil was not public knowledge until mid-1995. During an interview with journalist Dave Simpson for Melody Maker, Ashcroft talked about the subject matter with Jones, which nearly resulted in a heated argument between the members. Egan said the love triangle of Ashcroft–Carpenter–Burke resulted in an album with lyrics that were "far more literal and which had far more emotional impact" than anything Ashcroft previously wrote, a change from A Storm in Heaven, where he had no desire to compose lyrics with a political tone or discuss romance. He said A Northern Soul could potentially be viewed as a concept album because of these lyrics. Describing the changing lyrical tone, Egan wrote that A Storm in Heaven was centred around "slogans and wordplay," which were the product of listening to other albums and watching films, compared to A Northern Soul, where the lyrics were a result of Ashcroft having first-hand experiences. Ashcroft said the first album's lyrics were highly vague as he thought he had not gone through enough events in his life to conceive upping the quality of his lyrics, but in the two years since their debut album, he has witnessed various "things, I realise that when I listen to music I want to hear people who have been there, and if they've not been there I'm not interested, and I've been there now."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Ashcroft thought that if someone is direct about what they say, then other individuals will relate to how accessible it is. Clarke said he was influenced by poems by William Blake, dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s, especially his collection Songs of Innocence and Experience. Blake's writing led him to discover Aldous Huxley, who had admiration for Blake. One instance saw Ashcroft borrow some of the lines from Blake's London, which he thought was poignant after the split from Carpenter. Ashcroft spent several hours walking directionless around London prior to making a demo of "History" with a Spanish guitar that belonged to his mother. He admitted to intentionally lifting the lines from the poem until his own lyrics came about through a stream of consciousness. NME writer Simon Williams was highly critical of this borrowing, saying, "Forsooth! Fetch this good fellow a flagon of your finest ale." On "A New Decade", Ashcroft acknowledges the success the band had achieved up to this point, while on "This Is Music", he details his fascination with music. Clarke said "On Your Own" "repeats the idea of an emotional void", adding that the "cathartic nature of much of the album appeared to have given him new hope ..." Hogwood said on A Storm in Heaven, Ashcroft's voice was lost within the big sound of the album, fighting against the guitar and bass for presence, while on A Northern Soul, this changed, where Ashcroft's lyrics stood out considerably more. Clarke thought it was ironic that within the band's "apparent spiritual and mystical imagery, much of this album was actually rooted in quite mundane issues ..."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Baker remarked that the first 10 seconds of opener "A New Decade" came across as akin to the sound of A Storm in Heaven, with Ashcroft's voice fading in, "woo-woohing gently somewhere far off in the distance. Then, suddenly, the guitars kick the metaphorical doors in and Richard bellow the title like he's announcing the start of a whole new era." Baker noted that the most prominent change compared to past material is Ashcroft's vocals being placed higher in the mix while the guitars sounded aggressive, writing that it remained space rock, "but it's Star Wars rather than 2001: A Space Odyssey." King said the lyrics appeared to be positive, at least until "you get to the state of mind. Amid the maelstrom of "A New Decade" runs a sound like a stretched out emergency siren. The astronauts are crashing back through the ionosphere. For the first time, the Verve sound angry and wounded." With it and the following track, King wrote that Ashcroft discusses having anxiety with regards to an uncertain direction, the future generation, fear of isolation, class systems, "inaction, and Jesus not saving any of us. All the while, the band lash out more concisely and determined than ever."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Baker thought that "This Is Music" had a "belligerent spirit was immediately very apparent. Instead of singing vague platitudes about the sky and the sun, as he had in the past, Richard was suddenly addressing the real world." It was Ashcroft's first political song, originating after he met an Eton alumni. Ashcroft was bewildered by the number of opportunities open to him simply because he attended private school. He thought it was akin to someone starting the journey of life ninety metres ahead of everyone else. Ashcroft said the song's narrator was someone who had to fight to get what they wanted in any given situation. He added that he does not despise upper-class individuals, "but they do take the piss." Baker said alongside discussing class, the track talks about Ashcroft being single since the end of his last relationship, adding that his self-doubt was noticeable in the album's lyrics, and "yet by the time they were recorded, a drug-fuelled bravado has entered the mix." He attributed the vocals being discernible to the influence of Oasis, sounding fully "confident, bordering on arrogant," as Ashcroft steps into the band leader role. When Ashcroft heard the song for the first time, he said it lasted for 35 minutes and was similar to the sound of Funkadelic and Jimi Hendrix. McCabe's guitar sound is the result of playing a cast aluminium guitar that dates to the early 1980s that featured three strings and was out of tune, which Baker said gave the guitar riff a "harsh, metallic sound which fitted perfectly with the brutal music."


title: A Northern Soul

text: "On Your Own" marks the band's first ballad track, which Clarke wrote "left a disturbingly uneasy feeling about the ultimate solitude of life." Baker said it was a rarity in their music at this period, though it signalled the direction their later music went in, while Clarke said it was closer to their older songs. It marked the first time Ashcroft purposely sat down with a guitar, pen, and paper like typical songwriters. This was in contrast to his prior method of standing in front of the rest of the band as they jammed. He wrote it with little input from the rest of his bandmates; Baker described his voice as "uncharacteristically shaky," most prominently when he uses a falsetto during the chorus section, where he earns a comparison to soul singers, in particular Al Green. The song sees Ashcroft lamenting his love life and the eventual prospect of dying alone. Baker noted that there was not much space for McCabe's typical pedal-enhanced guitar experimentation in the song, with the remainder of the band serving only as a background to Ashcroft's voice. He said the vocals were "suddenly demanding all the space that Nick used to occupy and the most distinctive 'effect' is the tinkling piano", which appears in the song's conclusion. "So It Goes" harkens back to the sound of A Storm in Heaven. In the song, Hogwood said Ashcroft divulges self-doubt amongst the frequent guitar theatrics, with him trying to place distance between the rest of the Verve and himself. Baker said the song was not up to par, though he attributed this to the tracks that were placed on either side of it.


title: A Northern Soul

text: Danny Eccleston of Q thought that "A Northern Soul" evoked the sound of Funkadelic. Baker thought it contained the most peculiar guitar parts McCabe had created up to that point, and that with Jones' contribution, the song came across as "utterly rock 'n' roll without having any recognisably rock 'n' roll riffs, structure or melody." He proposed that it could be the work of the Chemical Brothers, albeit "slowed down to a mighty crawl. By the end, as the guitar morphs into seagull noises, you can almost hear the euphoria of the initially recording sessions changing into a disturbing psychosis, but it still carries an incredible charge." The song was influenced by Ashcroft learning about Gallagher disappearing when Oasis were on tour in the US the previous year, which Egan said explained the allusions to a Northern soul trying to return home. He added that Gallagher was not the sole inspiration for the track, saying that it also referred to a lot of working class Englishmen, in particular those in Northern England. Ashcroft said the song's narrator was considerably "more messed up than Eddie Vedder's ever been. But at the end of the song he looks around and says, 'I'm too busy staying alive. Too busy living.' There's got to be a blue horizon."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Baker thought that "History" did not fit on the album, suggesting that it would have been more beneficial on the band's third studio album, Urban Hymns . Baker said it was an important track in their career, marking the first occasion where strings served as one of the defining characteristics of their recordings. The strings were arranged by Wil Malone, known at the time for contributing to "Unfinished Sympathy" by Massive Attack. Egan saw the track as the "most profound song the band had recorded to date, it was a story of loss and loneliness on an epic scale; painfully honest lyric set to a sublime melody and backed by swooning strings." Ashcroft said when he entered the studio, he had part of a melody that would eventually evolve into "History". When they attempted to record it at 3 a.m., the "whole six and a half minutes came out as one big flood," adding that he did not need to change any of it. By 6 a.m., he noticed a gardener outside the building shaking a matchbox and had him perform on it. Clarke said it was lyrically about the demise of his long-term relationship, proposing that it was "perhaps the most lyrically direct Richard had ever been." Ashcroft explained that it was composed by a person who "sat down and thought about things. Who's gone through the classic stage of a few weeks gettin' pissed up and goin' down to those pits, listening to Big Star at six in the morning. I think I hadn't given up on love."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Cannon explained that they had the members wrapped up in black velvet, leaving only their heads visible. Egan said they wanted to depict the vastness and "three-dimensional qualities" that Cannon could hear in the music. The image of the members was shot on their previous US tour, which Clarke said showed "how ravaged they had become, with all of them looking exhausted and mad-eyed." Journalist Mark Beaumont, in a review for NME, wrote that the shot of a person walking through a door with the image of the band on top "emphasised the hugeness of the more traditional rock music they were making within." Wilding said the back cover of the album sees Jones' face being mirrored in the "chrome facade of the Feelings Machine," a reference to the vending machine lyric found in "Life's an Ocean". Jones is in the process of putting 50 cents into the machine; red levers can be seen below various black-and-white images of faces giving a range of emotions from anger to sorrow. Wilding thought this recalled the artwork of the Who during their concept album phase. The machine was repurposed for the music video for the Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work" .


title: A Northern Soul

text: When recording concluded, McCabe stayed at his mother's house in Wigan while suffering from depression. His mother inquired about his state of mind, and when she would leave the house, he threw and broke items around the place. At the same time, Ashcroft was dealing with the aftereffects of drugs and suffering from psychosis. Spencer Jones said during this period, Ashcroft had a fear of phones, as no one could get in contact with him. Best was concerned for the members as he saw that there was a "problem and I could see that they weren't talking about it", while other co-manager Jane Savage said Ashcroft seemed "more insular", being singled out from the rest of the band because of the music press. In the period following A Storm in Heaven, 1990s culture shifted with the emergence of new lad and Loaded magazine, as well as the continual evolution of football culture. In addition, Britpop became a mainstream movement; Ashcroft said he abstained from watching or listening to music on the TV and radio.


title: A Northern Soul

text: The Verve played their first show in eight months in Southend-on-Sea on 17 April 1995, supporting Oasis, followed by another show with them in Paris, France, two days later. For the former gig, hype was building around the Verve as critics forecasted that they could become hugely popular. This was intended to be the launch pad for a UK tour, but was cancelled due to McCabe getting into an accident. McCabe was in an altercation with a bouncer at Paris' Bataclan, who would not let him into the backstage area as he did not have a security pass. The bouncer manhandled McCabe, pushed him against a foot, hit him in the face, and kicked him down some stairs. The incident resulted in a broken finger, with it needing to be in a plaster for six weeks; it left him unable to play his guitar. The band had to cancel a month's worth of shows because of this, including four headlining shows and a support slot for Oasis in Sheffield. By this point, comparisons were being increasingly made to Oasis by publications, which frustrated Ashcroft.


title: A Northern Soul

text: In June 1995, the Verve restarted their UK tour in Manchester, with support from Pusherman; it included a headlining spot at the Heineken Music Festival. Over the next few months, friendships deteriorated further, partially due to McCabe being unhappy. Despite having successful shows, he tried to find faults in every one; when they appeared at the Glastonbury Festival, his amp blew up. Ashcroft played maracas to compensate before it was in working order. A Northern Soul was released on 3 July 1995 through Hut Records and in the US through Vernon Yard Recordings. After a one-off show in Newcastle, the Verve supported Oasis in Scotland and then performed at the Phoenix Festival. Following this, they embarked on a US tour, dubbed Conquering America, through early August 1995. Here, they were represented by Ted Gardner of Larrikin Management. In the press, Ashcroft remained positive about the stint, despite the issues during the previous one. The trek was supported by Hum and included a performance at the Cincinnati Riverfest. McCabe was not happy with how the band was doing in the US, wishing that their label was making more effort to help them when compared to the UK, where they were gaining traction.


title: A Northern Soul

text: Best proposed that McCabe was not satisfied with the music they had been making, as he was discovering techno and experimenting with samplers and synthesizers. In a statement issued by PR company Savage and Best, Ashcroft was unhappy with the lack of glowing reception from their recent touring. The recording sessions for A Northern Soul reportedly also contributed to Ashcroft's decision. Best said the rest of the band were disillusioned about the circumstances; in retrospect, he said he was oblivious about it, despite the members living in different towns from one another. Best also mentioned that they almost split in the midst of the album's sessions, during a turbulent period when Ashcroft walked out of the recording studio. Three months worth of shows were cancelled, including more gigs supporting Oasis and headlining treks across Japan and mainland Europe. Egan said that as the Verve were no longer active, seemingly all the music reviewers and the public confessed their love of the band. This sentiment was further heightened when Oasis' second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? , came out, featuring the song "Cast No Shadow", which had a dedication to Ashcroft in the booklet.


title: A Northern Soul

text: A few critics said it evoked the sound of Oasis. The staff at Music Week made it album of the week, writing: "Having resurfaced in the shadow of Oasis, The Verve sound like the former's older brothers with their strident yet studied rock songs. Don't overlook it." Laura Lee Davies of Time Out called the album a "limbered, slack-mouthed, musical masterpiece which brings together the wiped-out, guitar-gorged promise of the Wigan outfit's first album and a post-Happy Mondays/Stone Roses snarl and contemporary spirit which Oasis captured to such staggering commercial effect last year." She saw it difficult for Oasis to come "close to such stream-of-genius rock on their follow-up album." Around one-third of Andrew Perry's review in Select consisted of comparisons between Oasis and the Verve. He said the Verve were musically on "another planet altogether. Like early U2, Bunnymen or Waterboys, they're after a Big Music that knows no horizons. It often seems like theatre, with Ashcroft as the leading player, howling off-mike, pulling wacko faces and flapping his arms like a loony, but that's just down to the sheer dynamic aspirations of the band behind him."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Many reviewers praised the music. Eccleston described the album as "aging whirlpool rock from Wigan's aspiring starsailors, with a dense, warm sound superseding the shiny surfaces of their John Leckie-produced and FX-swamped début". The Guardian reviewer Caroline Sullivan described this as a "major refurbishment" of the band's sound and reassured listeners that this was "not the bad news it sounds. A Northern Soul was stitched together with considerable delicacy, making it as much use of little oases of quiet as it does of the empire-building guitar of Nick McCabe." The staff of The Post and Courier suggest that A Northern Soul is what Second Coming by the Stone Roses was meant to sound like: "high-grade British rock of the post-Manchester Scene variety. True to its name, the group indeed shows a lot of verve and, unlike the Stone Roses, they deliver the goods with precious little pomp but plenty of circumstance, musically speaking." SF Weekly's Jeff Stark acknowledged that it can be difficult for bands to "live up to a hype factory that equates your work to the second coming, names you heir to The Stone Roses' already waning legacy and champions you as the only contemporary chaps that band du jour will plug in interviews. But when the first loop of Richard Ashcroft's croon wraps on 'This Is Music', there's every indication that this will be just as dynamic and psychedelic as any previous work."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Other critics were mixed about the music. The Times's David Sinclair said that several of the tracks appear to begin by "sliding in halfway through a studio jam, and most of the tracks drift well past the five-minute mark without ending up any significant disturbance from where they started." Williams said, "It's the fact that nine of these 12 tracks cruise past the five minute mark with splendid non-chalance. It's the fact that The Verve have always been ragingly, rockingly, rompingly ridiculous." CMJ New Music Monthly writer Bob Gulla said it was an "undisciplined mess much of the time, but a beautiful one, with buckets of hippy freakout spirit and musical adventure." Peter Galvin of Entertainment Weekly went more critical, writing that the guitar "riffs huff and puff in search of a hook, the lyrics repeat the same banal motifs over and over. Lacking a substantial artistic vision, the Verve creates a musical sound and fury that signifies nothing." Andy Gill at The Independent lambasted the album, saying it was the audio "equivalent of crushed velvet flares sagging over scuffed plimsoles", adding that hearing the album was "undoubtedly the longest hour of my life so far." He said the band incorporated the "worst aspects of both the progressive guitar rock that is their clearest historical precedent, and the baggy scene that was current at their inception: sluggish and preposterously self-indulgent".


title: A Northern Soul

text: Retrospective reviews also praised the music of A Northern Soul. Journalist Rob Sheffield in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide said it "kicked home with the gorgeous breakup ballad 'On Your Own' and the epic 'History,' It was their breakthrough, and the Verve celebrated by splitting up almost immediately." Radhika Takru of Drowned in Sound wrote that there was "no denying A Northern Soul's musical maturity and the far more elaborate spectrum of emotions it covered" compared to their debut. He could "hear experience and control (which is what you can expect when you're a grown-up for whom death and taxes are de rigeur). A Northern Soul is not as personal, and far more guarded and reflective than its predecessor which sits young, loud and reckless." Hogwood saw it as "far from comfortable music, made at the peak of the band's overindulgence and prodigious drug taking." The Line of Best Fit's Ed Nash noted that Ashcroft was "establishing himself as a songwriter of note, but the problem was his balladry left little room for McCabe's stratospheric guitars. Something had to give and it was the guitarist." Record Collector writer Tim Peacock said the album was a "more conventional, earthbound rock record weighed down by Ashcroft's plaintive existential angst." Childs said the album was a "testament to giving up and restarting just to discover you then want to give up again. The album's content could be a paean reflecting the band's doubt the cold chorus of perhaps dark days ahead." Beaumont, in a review for Classic Rock, commented that despite its troubled production, the album was "surprisingly coherent. Though still prone to a lengthy psych wibble, A Northern Soul was a tempestuous transition album from the band least likely to stay together long enough to own the 90s." For Rolling Stone Germany, journalist Sassan Niasseri said that with the album, the band displayed their "rather strenuous Led Zeppelin homage, tank driver rock."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Biographers were impressed by the quality of the music on A Northern Soul, despite its troubled production. Baker thought it was not as cohesive as its predecessor, though its "best moments would be among the best moments of 1995. They'd flown far away from their roots in obscure space rock and now they had songs that they could proudly put alongside the classic tunes of their youth." He felt that it had a "very uneven feel" steaming from the mixing of emotional ballads such as "On Your Own" and the A Storm in Heaven-esque "So It Goes". "It's not an album that flows smoothly." Ilic said the album was "flowing with warm, dense and powerful overtones. McCabe's flamboyant electrics were stamped all over it, but sounded especially blissful on 'Brainstorm Interlude' and 'Drive You Home'. It marked a distinct change from the freeform sculpture of their first album, and lyrically the fantasy-based songs had also veered towards the richer realms of Ashcroft's personal experiences." Clarke noted that it was "full of their trademark swirling guitars, huge rock themes and meandering, sprawling songs", and to him, it was substantially superior to the band's older work, being "richer in lyrical thought and musical texture, and easily their most accomplished project to date." He added that with the addition of sweeping string sections and "ethereal guitar work, it was also a much classier record", going on to highlight Ashcroft's direction in both his vocal parts and lyrics. Wilding wrote that the album was more plaintive in its approach when compared to their debut album, finding it "nothing short of heroic. Twelve heady, soulful tracks that wouldn't have looked amiss on some Led Zeppelin compilation." Wilding added that if you match that with Ashcroft putting the "lyrical spotlight on himself and you had an album that, due to the fact that the band imploded before they could show the world just his lustrous their record might be, would fall through the net."


title: A Northern Soul

text: Baker said for the majority of listeners, the album was remembered for a single track, "History", which was the "moment The Verve took a giant step towards popular acclaim but it was also symbolic – in more ways than one – of a band that were falling apart. Richard was starting to discover himself as a songwriter and the rest of the band could have been forgiven for thinking they were now almost surplus to requirements as he came up with the initial germ of the idea." Baker found it astonishing how the album was disregarded by music press outlets and BBC Radio One, yet listeners that did not understand the "power and fury of 'This Is Music' or 'A New Decade' couldn't help but respond to 'History'. Unfortunately, though, most mainstream music fans never got to hear it or even read about it." Ashcroft also pointed out the lack of radio support and bemoaning promotion from magazines. While McCabe did not get along with Morris, unlike the rest of the band, he praised the final, finished work. Out of everyone they worked with previously, he said Morris was the closest to closing the gap between the band's live and studio sounds.


title: Optical dilatometer

text: In order to measure thermal expansion up to high temperatures, the material to be tested has to be set on a sample holder inside an oven which has its own thermal expansion. In order to achieve a good accuracy it is necessary to measure the expansion of the sample holder and to subtract it from the actual expansion of the specimen. The best approach is to split the laser beam into two beams of light, which are reflected by the top-edge of the sample and by the top-edge of the sample holder, or by both longitudinal edges of the specimen. By detecting the longitudinal variations at both the extremities of the specimen the measurement achieved is absolute and there is no need for further corrections. This is the most accurate way of measuring thermal expansion and it may attain nanometric resolution. This is the type of instrument used by the suppliers of certified standard materials. For example, the National Institute for Standards and Technology uses a Fizeau double-beam interferometer to certify the thermal expansion of their certified reference materials. This method has proved to be very accurate, with a resolution of a fraction of the wavelength of the incident light, but it is limited by the reflectivity of the surface of the specimen. If the specimen is not reflective, or it becomes non reflective during the test, it is then necessary to use a mirror, which is set in contact with the specimen by using a refractory push rod. By doing so such method loses the advantage of being non contact and becomes substantially similar to the electronic dilatometer.


title: B.I.B.L.E.

text: B.I.B.L.E. was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream music critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 4 reviews, which indicates "generally favourable reviews". Writing for Clash, Ath'e Zihle felt that "although I would not say that this album breaks boundaries or sparks deep emotional response, it is Fivio's formal introduction to the world with a heavy-hitting drill project which will lead the way for future drill projects globally". Kyann-Sian Williams of NME compared B.I.B.L.E. to Kanye West's tenth studio album, Donda , opining that "Fivio Foreign's delivery remains pin-sharp throughout the album, proving that with a few inspired beats, he can produce utter greatness", "with its drill influences and eclecticism, this is perhaps the record 'Donda' could have been, proving that Fivio has plenty of scope to transcend drill culture". Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times wrote that on the album, Fivio "hopes to smooth a path for the city's ascendant hip hop scene, even as it draws criticism amid a rise in gun violence" and "tries to maneuver an unconventional sound onto a more conventional path: smoothing down drill's street edge into something safely marketable". David Crone from Allmusic stated that "The majority of B.I.B.L.E. roots itself in cross-over appeal, offering up radio-primed drill anchored in familiar samples and big-hit collaborators, but instead of looking to fight for drill's new boundaries, Fivio makes a quick, and disappointing, grab for stardom. It's hard to fault him for getting the bag, but as long as Fivio keeps his ambitions on the brand, he will step further from excellence. This is a disappointing backpedal from America's drill ambassador."


title: Kaori Ishibashi

text: Ishibashi began her confectionery career as a self-taught baker starting off with wholesale business to local restaurants and taking request orders for wedding cakes while working as an acupuncturist in 1992. Fascinated by the art of baking, she began reading cookbook after cookbook wondering why her finished product never turned out as expected. Unsatisfied with the conventional methods found in the cookbooks she read she decided to learn under confectioner and former house of representatives member Makiko Fujino. After 3 years under the training of Fujino, she received a diploma from Makiko Foods Studio. Thereafter she attended various culinary schools around the world such as Bellouet Conseil in France, The Culinary Institute of America, Valrhona Chocolate School in France, and received training under various French chefs visiting Japan. In 1996 through collection of data from hundreds of baking experiments she was able to compile them into her first published book "絶対失敗しないシッフォンケーキ" (zettai shippai shinai shifon kēki; "Chiffon cake never fails"). She also runs her own baking studio "Cake" (ケイク） in her newly renovated house in Nagano where she offers a year long class on the fundamentals of baking.


title: The Toughest Girl Alive

text: The Globe and Mail noted that Kane, on "Highway of Tears", "can be subtle as well, shading into jazz territory on an especially attractive song." The Boston Globe wrote, "More Dolly Parton than Patsy Cline, she again takes on Western swing and jump blues with a vengeance, making 'Let's Commit Adultery' a throaty challenge and turning '(Hey Mister!) She Was My Baby Last Night' into a bisexual affirmation." The Waterloo Region Record said that the songs "prove her to be the Mae West of musical mayhem." The Morning Call called the album a "collection of faux swing, blues and torch numbers nudges and winks at the listener regularly." The Kansas City Star stated that the album "showcases her dexterous voice, which can be volcanic, like Big Mama Thorton's, or twangy and clean, like Patsy Cline's." The Columbus Dispatch praised the "gender-bending, racy songs put her in range of the Lil Johnsons and Alberta Hunters". The Chicago Tribune listed The Toughest Girl Alive as the eighth best blues album of 2000.


title: Scoob!

text: Scoob! is a 2020 American animated mystery comedy film produced by the Warner Animation Group, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is a reboot of the theatrical Scooby-Doo film series and the third theatrical film based on the characters, following Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed . The film is directed by Tony Cervone (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, and Matt Lieberman, and a story by Lieberman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. It stars the voices of Frank Welker, Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, and Amanda Seyfried. The film also features the voices of Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, and Tracy Morgan as other animated Hanna-Barbera characters. Set in a Hanna-Barbera animated shared universe, the film follows Mystery Incorporated working with the Blue Falcon to solve their most challenging mystery behind their mascot's secret legacy and a purpose, which connects with Dick Dastardly's evil plan to unleash Cerberus.


title: Scoob!

text: Scoob! was originally set for a September 21, 2018 release before being pushed back to May 15, 2020. On March 24, 2020, the film's theatrical release date was delayed indefinitely due to movie theater closures since mid-March, because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. It was announced on April 21, 2020, that Warner Bros. had canceled the North American theatrical release and would instead make Scoob! available for digital distribution in the United States through Premium Video on demand on the originally scheduled theatrical date. Variety wrote that releasing the film digitally was "a big risk — and an almost certain loss — for Warner Bros." but noted that the success of Trolls World Tour in a similar release venue could be a positive sign. As the pandemic receded, Warner Bros. confirmed that the film would still play in theaters in select countries, with relaxed COVID-19 restrictions beginning July 8, 2020. On June 18, 2020 it was announced that Scoob! would be available for streaming on HBO Max beginning June 26, 2020. The film was reissued in North American theaters for the weekend of May 21–23, 2021. Scoob! was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 21, 2020.


title: Scoob!

text: In his review for The Mercury News, Randy Myers wrote, "Scoob! is a goofy and bright surprise – an imaginative reboot that respects its shaggy dog TV roots but is smart enough to add dashes, not shovelfuls, of wry pop-culture and movie references." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "I'm reasonably happy to report that it's a reasonably diverting reboot. It's also ridiculously overpacked, crammed with Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters from various TV series beyond Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" USA Today's Brian Truitt, who also gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, wrote that, "after a super-fun opening, it's all 'Ruh-roh' from there". Peter DeBruge of Variety wrote that "this attractive but calculated attempt to connect Scooby-Doo to other Hanna-Barbera characters abandons the show's fun teen-detective format," and RogerEbert.com's Christy Lemire gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, finding the origin story to be "confounding and convoluted for a pretty straightforward Saturday morning cartoon".


title: Scoob!

text: In June 2021, Cervone said that a follow-up to the film was in development. On December 22, 2021, HBO Max released a sizzle reel featuring a first look at a Christmas prequel film, titled Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which was set to be released on the service in December 2022. The film takes place before the events of the first film, with Welker and the child actors from the previous film reprising their roles while Cervone returned to write the film with Paul Dini as well to produce the project. The film was co-directed by the first film's animation director Bill Haller and Michael Kurinsky and had a production budget of $40 million. On August 2, 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled its release, citing cost-cutting measures and a refocus on theatrical films rather than creating projects for streaming. Cervone would go on to say on the same day that the project was "practically finished". Later that month, it was reported that the film would still be finished, though Warner Bros. Discovery had no plans to release the film. The film was finished on November 4, 2022.


title: Murdered Love

text: Murdered Love received mixed to positive reviews. At Metacritic, they assign a Metascore, which is a weighted average of selected mainstream critics reviews, and based upon four reviews the album holds a 58 score. This means the album received mixed perception by their calculations. At Revolver, Mikael Wood rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, and wrote that the material was good when the boisterous songs have "infectious grooves" accompanying them. Ryan Bird of Rock Sound rated the album six out of ten, and they called the end product "genuinely respectable." At CCM Magazine, Matt Conner rated the album three stars, and evoked that the group "finally shines". Robert Ham of Christianity Today rated it three stars, and wrote that after the listener becomes accustomed to the material that the "journey provides thrills and deep wells of emotion." At Spin, Christopher R. Weingarten rated the album three out of ten, and touched on that the album was "Preachy Left Behind Rapture sermonizing set to rhythms and sound effects from late-'90s car crash movies."


title: Murdered Love

text: Matt Collar of Allmusic rated the album four stars, and felt that the music "play with Christian themes, often in a dark, purposefully disturbing way." At Cross Rhythms, Tony Cummings rated it a perfect ten, and proclaimed the album to be "Amazing stuff." The two Jesus Freak Hideout reviews were in divergence of one another with Michael Weaver rating it two stars in the main review, while the second given by Cortney Warner rated it at four stars. Weaver said his rating was because the song "I Am" had several bleeped out uses of the "F" word, and "sadly skews the entire album." Also, Warner noted the same gripe, but said if fans could look beyond that they will "find some gems on here." At New Release Tuesday, Mary Nikkel rated the album four-and-a-half stars, and stated the music will garner new fans because "the blend of theologically heavy and more feel-good tracks". Lee Brown of Indie Vision Music rated the album four stars, and stated that his reviewed copy did not have "I Am", but called the release a "worthy addition". At About.com, Chad Bowar rated the album four stars, and claimed the album had a "resounding message" on which the band was "back and better than ever." Magnus Altkula of Sputnikmusic rated the album four out of five, and stated the album was "solid" that proves why the band is still around after all these years.


title: Windy City (horse)

text: The Bloodstock Breeders Review of 1951 report of the Gimcrack by James Park follows. a medium-sized chestnut, well nigh impossible to fault in conformation, symmetry or balance... True to his reputation, he was something of a handful behind the barrier and when the tapes went up Gordon Richards is said to have lost his irons. The colt came along in the centre of the course and when the jockey fairly got at him at the end of half a mile we saw what Windy City could do. It seemed to me that he galloped in one piece. It was just like an arrow going straight through the air. Head stretched right out he went through in perfect balance with no deviation from his head or body. We do not see that sort of thing very often and the only way I can describe him is as a racing-machine. It was more like an automation than flesh and blood. There was a difference of opinion as to where he took up the running, but in the last furlong only one was galloping and that was Windy City. He went right through on a level keel to win by five lengths.


title: Windy City (horse)

text: On his final appearance of the season, the colt was sent to France to contest the Prix d'Arenberg over 1000 metres at Chantilly Racecourse. He became agitated before the race and lost several lengths at the start (starting stalls were not used in Europe at this time). He made up much of the lost ground but narrowly failed to catch the filly Pomare, who was carrying eleven pounds less. Pomare went on to win the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in the following spring. Despite his defeat, Windy City was officially rated the best two-year-old colt to race in France in 1951 and also topped the ratings in England and Ireland. Thomas Healy wrote in the Bloodstock Breeders Review of 1951 that Windy City "speed was phenomenal". The same article expressed the view that"Windy City was always temperamental; more often than not, he did not strike off from the start until his rivals had gone away. He was after them in a flash, and, save in the Prix d'Arenberg he came on to win in a canter". Paddy Prendergast told Mr Healy "the colt required very little training; he really trained himself".


title: Windy City (horse)

text: Before the start of the 1952 season, Windy City was taken to the United States and offered for sale by his owner, Ray Bell. He was bought for $150,000 by Gus Luellwitz and raced as a three-year-old in the colours of his buyer's wife, Mrs. Petite Luellwitz. Windy City II, as he was now named, finished unplaced on his American debut, but at the end of January he won the San Gabriel Stakes over seven furlongs at Santa Anita Park, beating A Gleam and Hill Gail. At the same course in February, he moved up to one and one-sixteenth of a mile for the San Felipe Handicap, a trial race for the Kentucky Derby. Ridden by Eddie Arcaro, he started favourite and won by two and a half lengths, with Hill Gail in seventh. In the Santa Anita Derby over nine furlongs, Windy City II started 1/2 favourite but finished second, beaten four lengths by Hill Gail. He sustained an injury during the race, which recurred after a training gallop in late March, forcing him out of the Kentucky Derby. Although he returned to training later that year, he did not recover sufficiently to compete again.


title: Windy City (horse)

text: Until the British, Irish, and French handicappers collaborated to produce the first International Classification in 1977, each country produced its own ratings of the best two-year-olds. Windy City was given a weight rating of 133 pounds in the British "Free Handicap", placing him five pounds clear of the filly Zabara. By also topping the Irish and French handicaps, Windy City achieved a unique treble. The independent Timeform organisation awarded the colt a rating of 142, the second highest they had given up to that time, behind Tudor Minstrel and equal with Abernant. Racehorses of 1951 called him "the fastest 2-Y-O in Europe in 1951". Timeform also described the horse as "a fine, good-looking colt of exceptional physical development: highly strung, very much on his toes, and a handful at the gate:not merely a good horse, but, in his possession of brilliant speed, quite an exceptional horse: Since 1951, the rating has been surpassed by only Sea Bird, Brigadier Gerard, and Frankel and remains the highest figure ever assigned to a two-year-old or to any horse trained in Ireland.


title: Dominic Schell

text: In February 2000, the Columbus Crew selected Schell in the fifth round (57th overall) in the 2000 MLS SuperDraft. He played seven league and two Open Cup games with the Crew in addition to going on loan to the Cincinnati Riverhawks in June and the MLS Project 40. Columbus waived Schell in November 2000. On March 12, 2001, Schell signed with the Nashville Metros. In 2002, he moved to the El Paso Patriots. In 2005, he played for the DFW Tornados in the USL Premier Development League. In 2006, Schell played for the amateur Dallas Roma which upset Chivas USA in the Open Cup. During the 2008-2009 PASL season, Schell played one game each, scoring one goal a piece, for the Texas Outlaws and the St. Louis Illusion. In 2009, he played for Lynch's Irish Pub F.C. In November 2009, he joined the Texas Outlaws of the Premier Arena Soccer League. In October 2018, Schell led the celebrated Friendly FC to the second consecutive championship of the 2018 Tulsa SoktoberFest tournament outscoring fellow Roma alum Matthew Clark in the 5 game event.


title: Father's Day (Shameless)

text: Fiona attends a ritzy wedding with Richard (Johnny Sneed) but lies about her background, telling Richard that she went to Princeton. One of Richard's friends, Greg, immediately suspects Fiona is a prostitute and mocks her. Fiona admits that she lied about her background and storms out, only to be consoled by Richard, who explains he is aware of his background but is still interested in being friends with her. Veronica (Shanola Hampton) suspects Kevin is having an affair, as he has been lying over his whereabouts. She follows him to a tenement building, where she sees him meeting with a woman. Later, she threatens him into revealing his encounters, and he reveals he was learning how to read. She does not believe it, until she visits the woman to corroborate. Kevin explains he was trying to impress her with a romantic anniversary for themselves, and they reconcile. Meanwhile, Ethel (Madison Davenport) opens up to Malik about her rape by her husband Clyde; Malik gets his father, also in prison, to stab Clyde.


title: Dan Wilson (catcher)

text: Wilson lost his starting job at the beginning of the 2005 season to Miguel Olivo. On May 4, he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Wilson had intended the 2005 season to be his last as a player, and he announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2005 season, on September 12. Although a torn ACL commonly keeps athletes sidelined for most of a season, Wilson spent most of the rest of the season rehabilitating his knee and was activated from the disabled list on September 30. He came back for one final inning on September 30 against the Oakland Athletics; he had not recovered enough to swing a bat, but he was able to crouch and throw. The Mariners' starting pitcher in that game was Jamie Moyer, with whom Wilson had formed a battery for 190 previous starts dating back to 1996. Moyer pitched to five batters in the inning, which ended when Bobby Kielty flied out to center field, and the Athletics scored no runs. Moyer went on to pitch seven more innings, and the Mariners defeated the Athletics, 4–1.


title: Jerry Stermer

text: Stermer became chief of staff for Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois, in 2009. In January 2010, Stermer reported to the Executive Inspector General that Stermer had been sent three political e-mails from Pat Quinn's campaign staff and replied to them from state e-mail, out of 39,000 e-mails examined. In one instance, Quinn's brother, Thomas Quinn, sent campaign e-mail several private accounts, but accidentally includedSterner's state e-mail in the list, then left Sterner voice mail saying to "ignore that e-mail". The inspector general's report on the e-mails was delivered to the governor's office on August 12. On the morning of August 13, James Wright was dismissed as Executive Inspector General; Quinn had already told staff on July 23 that James Wright would be replaced by former federal prosecutor Ricardo Meza. Pat Quinn said that he and his staff did not know the contents of Wright's report until the evening of August 13, and "It took them seven months to provide the report. I had no idea when it would arrive." At the time, Quinn was considered very vulnerable in the 2010 election against Republican Bill Brady, and Stermer resigned just before the inspector's general report was made public in late August, in order to minimize harm to Quinn's chances of winning. Stermer also paid a $500 fine.


title: Exterior insulation finishing system

text: The basic underlying problem behind EIFS litigation was that EIFS was marketed as a cost-effective replacement for stucco. Stucco is expensive to install because it must be carefully applied by skilled craftsmen. General contractors switched to EIFS because they were supposed to be easy to install with unskilled or semi-skilled labor and would not crack like traditional stucco. Although EIFS if properly installed according to the manufacturer's directions should not have water intrusion problems, many installers cut corners by using insufficiently trained labor and also failed to supervise their work adequately. In turn, thousands of EIFS installations were noncompliant and suffered severe water intrusion and mold as a result. While the EIFS industry has consistently tried to shift the blame to installing contractors, the construction industry has retorted that using journeymen carpenters in turn eliminates the cost advantage of EIFS over stucco, and that the EIFS industry should have anticipated this issue and engineered its products from the beginning to be installed by unskilled labor or semi-skilled labor (that is, it should have been a fault-tolerant design).


title: Wyandotte Terminal Railroad

text: During the last few years of operations, Wyandotte Terminal Railroad would operate a train six days a week from BASF Wyandotte Chemical's South Plant to its North Plant. Leaving the South Plant, this train would run on about a mile of its own trackage to the Detroit Toledo & Ironton Railroad's ("DT&I") Ford Yard located at the extreme south end of the City of Wyandotte to interchange freight cars with DT&I and Wyandotte Southern Railroad. From Ford Yard the train would then run north approximately four miles with freight cars destined for the North Plant of BASF Wyandotte Corporation utilizing trackage rights on the DT&I line. Just west of the North Plant the train would regain Wyandotte Terminal Railroad trackage and proceed about a half-mile to the North Plant. When finished switching at the North Plant, this train would return to the South Plant via the same route, again interchanging freight cars received from the North Plant with DT&I at Ford Yard, if necessary. Wyandotte Terminal Railroad interchanged with Conrail at its North Plant. Wyandotte Terminal Railroad kept additional locomotives at each of its two plants to perform the intra-plant switching. Freight cars handled by the Wyandotte Terminal Railroad were largely tank cars and covered hoppers.


title: Milton-Freewater, Oregon

text: In the 1960s, Milton-Freewater billed itself as the pea capital of the world. There were several pea canneries in town. It held an annual festival and parade in May, known as the "Pea Festival." In the late 1970s, agricultural practices and crop prices changed the dynamics of the local economy, and peas were no longer grown as abundantly as they previously had been. One by one the canneries closed down. The town dropped the title and the festival. At the time, Milton-Freewater had a popular August event called the "Corn Roast" and the decision was made to increase the festival to a weekend-long celebration which, in 1981, became known as the Muddy Frogwater Festival (the city had sometimes been referred to as Muddy-Frogwater). The festival is now a three-day event held the third weekend in August each year. Festival activities have included frog-jumping contests, concerts, karaoke competitions, the corn roast, and a dance. The Friends of the Library have held a large outdoor book sale at the festival each year since 1993. On the Sunday morning of the festival there is an outdoor interdenominational church service. The city also has sponsored the creation of more than 50 chainsaw sculpture frogs at local businesses to help market itself as a "fun town" with a quirky nickname.


title: Unlimited Power (comics)

text: As Slayer tries to adjust herself into her new role, the aftermath of Drakkon's rampage seems to be irreparable. After having an altercation with a Coinless rebel, Adam Park suggests locking him in the Deathlock, a special prison made by Drakkon, leading Slayer to go there and free all the prisoners inside. As she releases a man inside a Ranger armor, he desperately reveals her actions activated a signal, sending a message that allows an army of space monsters to conquer the world in case Drakkon was defeated. After being freed from his armor, the prisoner is revealed to be Jason Scott, and Scorpina reveals that the invading creatures are led by Eclipta, an emissary of Dark Specter. Jason suggests removing the Power Coins from the Deathlock's disruptor, but the others refuse. However, during the battle between the Sentries and Eclipta's army, Jason removes the Coins anyway, causing the Sentries to lose their powers. Slayer convinces him it is no longer the right way to do, but she gets the idea to use the remaining Power Coins on a reactor to spread the Morphin Energy around everyone. They attack a giant Eclipta until the reactor explodes, but she is already taken down by the Coinless and the Black Dragon Army, now reformed as the "Shattered". While Slayer begins to rebuild Angel Grove, Andros informs Dark Specter about Eclipta's defeat.


title: Unlimited Power (comics)

text: In the aftermath of what happened in Angel Grove, the citizens still deal with the damage done. While Skull still looks for Candice/Zelya, unaware of her identity, Matthew and Billy still attempt to regain the trust from the Power Rangers. Back on the Moon, Lord Zedd releases Zelya, but in exchange, he reveals her his true identity as Zophram, the former Supreme Guardian of Eltar, who got badly wounded after being rejected by the Zeo Crystal due to a protective incantation. Following that incident, Zartus and Zedd agreed to have enough of the Council of Elders for not taking action against Dark Specter, and Zedd believes Zordon betrayed him by insisting him on using the Zeo Crystal, despite it being under a spell. Meanwhile, Zartus introduces himself in the Command Center and insists on rescuing Zelya with the help of his own team, Sentry Force Four. However, Zelya reappears on Zartus' ship, where she confronts her master about his role with the Empyreals and Zedd, but Zartus and his team kidnap her. Zordon reveals by the time Zelya escaped, she warned Zordon and the Power Rangers about an incoming invasion from Eltar.


title: Unlimited Power (comics)

text: Back on Safeheaven, Drakkon enlists Jason's help to find a way to defeat the Empyreals. Trini tries to use her power with the Red Emissary's corpse to contact the Yellow Emissary. Zack in dealing on how the surviving Hartunians barely adapt with the other alien species they previously conquered. Yale remembers his troubled past, to the time he faced rejection from other people, to the moment he was freed by Kiya and the Anointed. He then receives a call from the Blue Emissary, leading to an ancient temple of the Morphin Masters, when Yale is chosen as the new Blue Omega Ranger. The other Omega Rangers find the Yellow Emissary's location, where he reveals that when Kiya killed the Blue Emissary, the Orange Empyreal was revived, giving Zartus the means to revive the other Empyreals. Back on the Spectrum, Xi discovers Drakkon has been working with Zartus the entire time, in an attempt of freeing himself and regaining his powers. Meanwhile, the Green Empyreal kills the Yellow Emissary, reviving the last Empyreal.


title: Harlem Is Heaven

text: At the appointed time, Jean meets Money, who introduces her to Bill (Bill Robinson), Acme's star performer and director of its dance and other stage productions. There Jean also meets another performer, a handsome young actor and dancer named "Chummy" Walker (Henri Wessell). Both Chummy and Bill are immediately smitten with Jean even though she initially refers to them as her protective "big brothers". Money, however, has his own plans to seduce her. After a stage rehearsal, Money warns Chummy that "Miss Stratton" is more than his protégée, declaring her his "personal and private property". He then orders Chummy to invite Jean to a party at the theater after that evening's show. The party in reality will be set up as an intimate dinner with just Money. Chummy warns Jean of Money's intentions, but she ignores him and goes to the office, where the theater boss forces himself on her. As she struggles to leave, Bill enters the office, a fight ensues, and Bill knocks out Money. The next day Bill and Jean learn they have been fired.


title: Harlem Is Heaven

text: 'Harlem Is Heaven' has one strong point in its favor—it's different. One theory the public is clamoring for anything that varies the steadiness of their film diet, theatres are now generally welcoming anything off the beaten track. This inexpensively-made talker with an all-colored cast, might fill the bill...Strictly on merit, not holding a candle to Hollywood-made product, 'Harlem Is Heaven,' however, has the odds in its favor as a money-maker in many respects. It stars Bill Robinson, tap dancer, standard in vaude and colored shows. Where that name and artist's work is known, which takes in every key in the country, there is a certain general draw to be expected through the Robinson name...Bill Robinson's personality stands out boldly. He's more than an actor here than a dancer, though the hoofing, including the stair routine, is not at all missing in both evidence and appeal...Robinson with his very definite personality tops the other members of the cast by a mile...Though his voice is not always audible, Jimmy Baskette is a very impressive type as the Harlem producer-racketeer heavy.


title: Circle the Wagons (Big Love)

text: During dinner, Barbara and Margie discover that Bill already bought the Weber Gaming venture, upsetting them as he did not consider them first. To convince them, he takes them to a casino to understand his decision, but Barbara is still not convinced. Margie once again visits Home Plus, and Ben lies by telling her that Bill does not want her to visit anymore. This helps Barbara's case into not giving into Bill's actions. Bill is forced to go to Juniper Creek when Lois is arrested for breaking into Frank's house, and his mother accuses him of conspiring with Frank in their business. Bill also attends the UEB meeting, where he is dismayed to see that Alby has successfully convinced the members in temporarily replacing Roman. During this, Nicki steals money from Roman's office. Back home, the Henricksons finally vote and to Barbara's surprise, Margie supports Bill and Nicki in the decision. After learning that Ben lied to Margie, Bill decides to transfer Greg to avoid more conflicts. Nicki is seen taking the money to the casino, playing bingo.


title: Arkona, Ontario

text: The village was surveyed in 1851 and known variously as Bosanquet Corners, Eastman Corners and Smithfield. In 1857, it was renamed 'Arkona' after the rugged cape on the Baltic Island of Rügen, a name suggested by resident cabinet maker Ephraim Brower and possibly by the incumbent postmaster Levi Schooley. The village continued to grow and develop so that by the 1870s, with hopes of attracting a railway, the community incorporated in June 1876. While its population surpassed 700, the failure to attract a railway led to a population decline and the loss of its first known newspaper, the East Lambton Advocate, which moved to the nearby railway village of Watford. . Even without the railway, however, Arkona remained an important service centre for the surrounding rural farming district and boasted many important industries such as a basket factory, woolen mill, apple evaporator, and a series of mills. Various businesses continued to service the local area including numerous stores and other enterprises.


title: Arkona, Ontario

text: The advent of the automobile lessened local dependence on the village and its services, and led to gradual yet dramatic changes to Arkona's makeup, especially in the post-World War II era. Its school closed in 1973 and all village students then attended Bosanquet Township Central School. Since the 1880s, the village has maintained a population hovering around 500. Two mainstays have long been Arkona's Baptist Church and Arkona United Church, the successor to Arkona's Episcopal and Wesleyan Methodist Churches, both of which began in the 1850s . Similarly the community is served by the Plymouth Brethren chapel, Elim Hall. Despite the changes and loss of many local enterprises, the community still boasts a dental office, optometrists, a medical clinic, a grocery store, gas station, and several retail outlets. Various fruit orchards continue to attract many to the community for fresh fruit. Rock Glen Conservation Area, located just north of the village, continues to attract tourists to the area and was the site of the Rock Glen Power Company's generator and dam on the Ausable from 1907 to 1926. It was taken over by Ontario Hydro and the dam was subsequently destroyed. Villagers celebrated the centennial of their community's incorporation in July 1976, with some two thousand people in attendance. A smaller celebration marked the 125 anniversary in 2001, although earlier that year the municipality had been amalgamated with Bosanquet Township (including the communities of Ipperwash and Port Franks, Ontario), the Town of Forest and Villages of Thedford and Grand Bend to form the new entity of Lambton Shores.


title: Afromyrma

text: Afromyrma is known from a solitary fossil from Orapa, the holotype, specimen number BP/2/26501 tentatively identified as a female, though there is a possibility this is incorrect. The holotype specimen is mostly complete but is rather poor in details, and is preserved as a compression fossil in shale. The shales and mudstones of the Orapa site were rapidly deposited in a crater lake formed as the result of a large volcanic eruption in the Cretaceous. The sediment originated as an epiclastic kimberlite and derives from rapid weathering and decomposition of the sides of the kimberlite crater. Of the four major sedimentation types that have been observe at Orapa, fossils are found in only two, the granular mass flows and the fine-grained sediments: woody debris fossils are found in the granular mass flows, but well-preserved fossils are only recovered in the fine-grained sediments. The fossil-bearing stratum was uncovered during mining of the underlying diamond-bearing rocks at the site. Radiometric dating of the kimberlite pipe reported on in 1977 gave a general age of approximately 84 to 92 million years ago. Further dating utilizing zircon crystals reported on in 2004 gave more defined age of approximately 91 million years ago placing the date in the Turonian age of the late Cretaceous.


title: Madonnaland

text: The book is divided into six chapters: It begins with author Alina Simone walking around Bay City, Michigan and pondering why there was not a single commemoration to be found in the city about Madonna, who was born there. Simone's research began from that point and the essay continues analyzing Bay City and its culture. In the next chapter the author moves on to talk about 1980s music, Madonna's contribution and popularity after the release of albums, Like a Virgin and True Blue . One of the questions reiterated by Simone is about the singer's legacy and what would happen to her wealth and fortune after her death, seeing that Madonna was not receiving the respect she deserved. With this in mind, Simone talks about how pop culture has moved from one fad to another, and her analysis of the musical landscape in Bay City. In the last chapter titled as Flying Wedge, the author reviews hard rock music and the punk rock bands of the city, and finally how relentless artists can be to produce music. She researches the one-hit wonder bands like Question Mark and the Mysterians—best known for "96 Tears"—and Flying Wedge, a Detroit band that released their record through Creem magazine in 1972 but disappeared. The author ends the book on a happy note that whether Madonna is remembered or not in her hometown, her musical outputs would never be forgotten. Final chapters are devoted to an epilogue about Simone's writing of the book and a thank-you section.


title: Madonnaland

text: After its release, the book received mostly positive reviews. It was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the 10 Best Music Books in 2016. Jason Diamond from the publication reviewed it and found that the book gave a "fuller, weirder and more interesting overview of Madonna" than was already present in previous works about her. He complimented the author's "riveting" way of presenting the past figures from Bay City associated with the singer as well as Simone's own transition into indie music. Jennifer Levin from The Santa Fe New Mexican commended Simone's "wit and grace" in reporting Bay City's troubled relationship with Madonna, including the political agenda surrounding her. She noted that the story found its footing at the point in the book where the author wrote about Flying Wedge (in the last chapter). Writing for PopMatters, Megan Volpert rated the book 7 out of 10 stars, and described it as "excellent", suggesting it as an important addition to modern cultural criticism. She commended Simone's writing and her courage to pick up an unusual subject for the book. Volpert commented, "Does the world need one more half-baked biographical update on Madonna? No, it does not. What the world does need is Simone's productively clear-eyed assessment of her own musical and journalistic failures, for the detours unavoidably provoked by fame and fandom," concluded the review.


title: Madonnaland

text: Dmitry Samarov from Chicago Reader found contrast in the author's description of Madonna's rising popularity and her own indie rock music career. To him, the most interesting portion was when Simone realized in the book that the singer's output was simply enjoyed by people because "it makes them happy". Samarov, who professed that he did not have much interest in Madonna's career, was glad that Madonnaland was written about one's "success and failure". The National Public Radio network of the United States listed Madonnaland as one of their Best Books of 2016. Critic Michael Schaub analyzed the subject and felt that Simone's humorous method of writing was also "a perceptive, compassionate one". Schaub also reviewed the release for Men's Journal where he commented about Simone's viewpoint on pop music fandom and its inclusion in the book. Kirkus Reviews writer Craig Marks found the portions where the author wrote about her previous profession as a dancer as "stunning" and called the book a "provocative analysis".


title: Kinesin

text: The founding member of this superfamily, kinesin-1, was isolated as a heterotetrameric fast axonal organelle transport motor consisting of four parts: two identical motor subunits (called Kinesin Heavy Chain (KHC) molecules) and two other molecules each known as a Kinesin Light Chain (KLC). These were discovered via microtubule affinity purification from neuronal cell extracts. Subsequently, a different, heterotrimeric plus-end-directed MT-based motor named kinesin-2, consisting of two distinct KHC-related motor subunits and an accessory "KAP" subunit, was purified from echinoderm egg/embryo extracts and is best known for its role in transporting protein complexes (intraflagellar transport particles) along axonemes during ciliogenesis. Molecular genetic and genomic approaches have led to the recognition that the kinesins form a diverse superfamily of motors that are responsible for multiple intracellular motility events in eukaryotic cells. For example, the genomes of mammals encode more than 40 kinesin proteins, organized into at least 14 families named kinesin-1 through kinesin-14.


title: Kinesin

text: It has been previously known that kinesin move cargo towards the plus (+) end of a microtubule, also known as anterograde transport/orthograde transport. However, it has been recently discovered that in budding yeast cells kinesin Cin8 (a member of the Kinesin-5 family) can move toward the minus end as well, or retrograde transport. This means, these unique yeast kinesin homotetramers have the novel ability to move bi-directionally. Kinesin, so far, has only been shown to move toward the minus end when in a group, with motors sliding in the antiparallel direction in an attempt to separate microtubules. This dual directionality has been observed in identical conditions where free Cin8 molecules move towards the minus end, but cross-linking Cin8 move toward the plus ends of each cross-linked microtubule. One specific study tested the speed at which Cin8 motors moved, their results yielded a range of about 25-55 nm/s, in the direction of the spindle poles. On an individual basis it has been found that by varying ionic conditions Cin8 motors can become as fast as 380 nm/s. It is suggested that the bidirectionality of yeast kinesin-5 motors such as Cin8 and Cut7 is a result of coupling with other Cin8 motors and helps to fulfill the role of dynein in budding yeast, as opposed to the human homologue of these motors, the plus directed Eg5. This discovery in kinesin-14 family proteins (such as Drosophila melanogaster NCD, budding yeast KAR3, and Arabidopsis thaliana ATK5) allows kinesin to walk in the opposite direction, toward microtubule minus end. This is not typical of kinesin, rather, an exception to the normal direction of movement.


title: Kinesin

text: Recent experimental research has shown that kinesins, while moving along microtubules, interact with each other, the interactions being short range and weak attractive (1.6±0.5 KBT). One model that has been developed takes into account these particle interactions, where the dynamic rates change accordingly with the energy of interaction. If the energy is positive the rate of creating bonds (q) will be higher while the rate of breaking bonds (r) will be lower. One can understand that the rates of entrance and exit in the microtubule will be changed as well by the energy (See figure 1 in reference 30). If the second site is occupied the rate of entrance will be α*q and if the last but one site is occupied the rate of exit will be β*r. This theoretical approach agrees with the results of Monte Carlo simulations for this model, especially for the limiting case of very large negative energy. The normal totally asymmetric simple exclusion process for (or TASEP) results can be recovered from this model making the energy equal to zero.


title: Marco Loredan (politician)

text: His career, at first modest, had a qualitative leap from the 1530s on. Returning to the Senate in 1532, failing the election as captain in Vicenza, in March 1533 he obtained that of podestà and captain in Feltre, starting on 2 July. The territory still bore the signs of the devastation caused by the recent War of the League of Cambrai and the inhabitants were afflicted by poverty. Marco, while not having sufficient and adequately paid personnel, worked with sensitivity and constancy to alleviate the pains of the population. On this reality and on the defensive shortcomings, Loredan dwelt in the report read in the Senate in 1534. On 28 October 1537 he was appointed administrator in Salò and captain of the Brescia Riviera. He had found, as he wrote in the report presented on June 18, 1539, a regiment with little obedience, a high crime rate and flourishing food smuggling operations in favour of neighbouring towns and states. The impoverishment of resources, the misery of the population and the serious damage to the treasury could have been dealt with, he suggested, by strengthening the means and establishing a body to be paid with the proceeds of criminal convictions.


title: Marco Loredan (politician)

text: After being elected in 1542 to oversee tithes in Rialto, in February 1543 he went as captain to Brescia, where, in charge of the defensive system, he did his utmost to keep the structures entrusted to him efficient, increasing the guns and ammunition with a more rational use of local technical and production resources. Returning to Venice in 1544, he entered the Senate and the following year he was appointed ordinary senator and member of the electors of Doge Pietro Lando. In June 1547 he was elected captain and podestà in Rovigo, which he found to be in the throes of "competitions and hostilities" among the most eminent families, with grave danger for the public peace already compromised by ancient feuds. Loredan, acting with energy and thanks to the support of the Council of Ten, managed to impose tranquility and order. In the report presented on 26 September 1548, however, he ignored these facts, focusing instead on the tax damage caused by the failure to collect the duties and proceeds of the numerous fiefdoms of this territory, due to an irrational management of public goods and the infidelity of officials.


title: Michael Davidson (journalist)

text: Davidson joined the army in 1914 and was wounded at Paschendaele in 1916. After the war, he made an unsuccessful attempt to set himself up as a farmer in South Africa. In 1922, he became a newspaper reporter, initially in Norwich. In 1928, he moved to Berlin where, apart from a stint as a proof-reader in the International Labour Office in Geneva, he was to remain until 1933, supporting himself as a translator of leftist books and articles. He also joined the Communist Party of Germany out of a belief that only it could seriously counter the rise of the Nazis. When Hitler came to power, at great danger to himself, he wrote newspaper articles about the full implications of Hitler's ideology, which he had seen up-close, but, apart from the communist Daily Worker, British newspapers were not interested in publishing them. In July 1933, threats by the Nazi step-father of a boy with whom he was having a liaison caused him to flee at short notice, and return to London. There, his continued involvement with communism, albeit brief and unenthusiastic, drew the attention of MI5, who kept an eye on him for the rest of his career. He spent the rest of his working life serving as a foreign correspondent for The Observer, The News Chronicle, The New York Times and other newspapers, drawing the ire of the British colonial authorities in Malaya and Cyprus for his revelations.


title: Triple Alliance (1882)

text: Italy had several motives for joining the existing Austro-German alliance. The Italian government at that time was controlled by conservatives, who sympathized ideologically with the two monarchies. Also, Catholic Austria was a traditional protector of the Vatican, which Italy wanted to absorb. However, perhaps most importantly, Italy was seeking potential allies against France. The Kingdom of Italy, like most of the other European powers, wanted to set up colonies and build up an overseas empire. Although France had supported Italian unification, Italy's colonial ambitions in Africa quickly brought it into a rivalry with France. That was reflected in anger at the French seizure of Tunisia in 1881, the so-called Schiaffo di Tunisi by Italian press, which many Italians had seen as a potential colony. By joining the Alliance, Italy hoped to guarantee itself support in case of foreign aggression. The main alliance compelled any signatory country to support the other parties if two other countries attacked. Germany had won a war against France in 1870 and was a natural ally for Italy. Thus, Italy found itself coming to terms with its historical enemy, Austria-Hungary, against which Italy had fought three wars in the 34 years before the signing of the first treaty.


title: Triple Alliance (1882)

text: However, Italian public opinion remained unenthusiastic about their country's alignment with Austria-Hungary, a past enemy of Italian unification and whose Italian-populated districts in the Trentino and Istria were seen as occupied territories by Italian irredentists. In the years before World War I, many distinguished military analysts predicted that Italy would attack its supposed ally in the event of a large scale conflict. On its own hand, the Austro-Hungarian General Staff maintained at least from 1903 plans for a possible war against Rome. Mutual suspicions led to reinforcement of the frontier and speculation in the press about a war between the two countries into the first decade of the 20th century. As late as 1911, Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, the chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, was advocating a preemptive strike against Austria's supposed Italian ally. That prediction was strengthened by Italy's invasion and annexation of Libya, bringing it into conflict with the German-backed Ottoman Empire.


title: Triple Alliance (1882)

text: King Carol I of Romania was of German ancestry, which, combined with his wish to turn Romania into a centre of stability in Southeastern Europe and his fear of Russian expansion and the competing claims on Bessarabia, led to Romania secretly joining the Triple Alliance on 18 October 1883. Only the King and a handful of senior Romanian politicians knew about it. Romania and Austria-Hungary pledged to help each other in the event of a Russian, Serbian or Bulgarian attack. There were, however, several disputes between Romania and Hungary, the most notable being the status and community rights of Romanians in Transylvania. Romania eventually managed to achieve the status of regional power in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars and the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest, but less than a year later, World War I started, and Romania, after a period of neutrality in which both the Central Powers and the Allies tried persuading Romania to join their respective sides, eventually joined the Allies in 1916, after it had been promised significant Romanian-inhabited Hungarian lands. Romania's official reason for not siding with the Triple Alliance when the war started was the same as Italy's: The Triple Alliance was a defensive alliance, but Germany and Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive.


title: National Strategy for Inner Areas

text: The National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI; Italian: Strategia nazionale per le aree interne) is an Italian policy developed in 2013 and promoted by the Agency for Territorial Cohesion (Dipartimento per la coesione territoriale) and then by the Minister for Territorial Cohesion Fabrizio Barca that aims at enhancing the territorial reactivation of remote municipalities. The document proposes a classification of municipalities according to the spatial inequalities, the different level of accessibility to basic public services. The document then suggests a series of actions and active policies to counteract, or at least mitigate, the demographic decline and the territorial marginalization process. Most of the inner areas are concentrated in the Alpine and Apennine areas and present a significant depopulation and a lack of basic services for residents (health, education, mobility). At the same time, these areas have a high availability of important environmental resources (water resources, agricultural systems, forests, natural and human landscapes) and cultural resources (archaeological heritage, historical settlements, abbeys, small museums, craft centers).


title: Reparations (website)

text: In July 2016, Seattle-based artist Natasha Marin launched a social experiment as a Facebook event page. Three days later, the project went viral, gaining international coverage in the Washington Post, LA Times and The Guardian, and expanded to include a website. Framed as a conceptual art project, it was a forum for People of Color to post immaterial or material requests that would improve their lives, and for people of privilege and people who identify as White to offer them contributions and services. A social experiment that was never about "white guilt," Reparations is a space where Americans, regardless of race, can take ownership of their shared history (NBC News). The project engaged over a quarter of a million people worldwide, some of whom made death threats to Marin. The Reparations project continues to live on through a private Facebook group, "Reparations: Requests and Offerings," focusing on addressing present-day income inequality, community building, community care, and bringing about much needed healing and repair.


title: Israel Tonge

text: Tonge was born at Tickhill, near Doncaster, the son of Henry Tongue, minister of Holtby, Yorkshire. He graduated from University College, Oxford and became a schoolmaster at Churchill, Oxfordshire where he became interested in gardening, alchemy, and chemistry. In 1656 he became a doctor of theology, and taught grammar at the Cromwellian Durham College until its closure in 1659. In 1656 he provided a loan of 100 pounds to Johannes Sibertus Kuffler to have him and his family (including his wife Catharine, daughter of the famous inventor Cornelius Drebbel) moved from the Netherlands to England so that "his abilities in his profession, his relation to Cornelius Dribellius his life & conversation & concerning the reality & certaintie of the Experiments, hereafter mentioned in these præsents, shall vnto wise & indiferent men be of satisfaction." Following the Restoration, he held a succession of livings. He became chaplain of the garrison of Dunkirk until this was sold to the French in 1661. On 26 June 1666 he became rector of St Mary Staining, but only three months later the church burnt down during the Great Fire of London.


title: Israel Tonge

text: On Oates's return, he further stoked Tonge's paranoia with stories of Jesuit conspiracies, including a plot against a feared anti-Catholic author – Tonge himself. At Tonge's request Oates wrote a lengthy manuscript- the first of many Plot Narratives- and arranged with Tonge that Tonge would pretend to find it in the gallery of Sir Richard Barker's house at the Barbican, where Tonge was then living. So excited was Tonge by the contents of the Narrative that through his friend, the chemist Christopher Kirkby, who assisted the King with his chemical experiments, he managed to obtain an audience with Charles II, where he summarised Oates' claims. Charles soon became a complete sceptic about the Plot, but his initial reaction was that "among so many particulars he could not say that there might not be some truth".: 61 He was at least sufficiently impressed to ask the Lord Treasurer, Danby, to investigate. Danby agreed that the matter deserved inquiry, despite opposition from another leading minister, Sir Joseph Williamson, who knew Tonge and believed he was insane.: 62


title: Bollard pull

text: Bollard pull is a conventional measure of the pulling (or towing) power of a watercraft. It is defined as the force (usually in tonnes-force or kilonewtons (kN)) exerted by a vessel under full power, on a shore-mounted bollard through a tow-line, commonly measured in a practical test (but sometimes simulated) under test conditions that include calm water, no tide, level trim, and sufficient depth and side clearance for a free propeller stream. Like the horsepower or mileage rating of a car, it is a convenient but idealized number that must be adjusted for operating conditions that differ from the test. The bollard pull of a vessel may be reported as two numbers, the static or maximum bollard pull – the highest force measured – and the steady or continuous bollard pull, the average of measurements over an interval of, for example, 10 minutes. An equivalent measurement on land is known as drawbar pull, or tractive force, which is used to measure the total horizontal force generated by a locomotive, a piece of heavy machinery such as a tractor, or a truck, (specifically a ballast tractor), which is utilized to move a load.


title: Albanian Swimming Federation

text: The first person to represent Albania in the Olympics was an American born Albanian, Frank Leskaj. Leskaj represented Albania in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. It was not until the late 2000s where swimming began to flourish in Albania. It was not until 2004 that Albania would be represented again in the summer Olympics by Kreshnik Gjata. Four years later, a young swimmer at the age of 16 years represented Albania again in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The swimmers name was Sidni Hoxha and he became a record holder for Albania that year. Till date, Hoxha, is Albania's most successful swimmer. Hoxha has participated in two Olympics, holding more than 50% of the national records, countless European and world championships, two time NCAA swimming competitor, and former Balkan Champion. Hoxha is acclaimed and determined to represent Albania two more times in the Olympics, for a total of four times. Also, in 2008, Albania's first female swimmer was Rovena Marku. Marku, also broke the national record for 50m freestyle that year in Beijing.


title: Anschluss

text: Erich Ludendorff wrote to the Federal Foreign Office on 14 October 1918 about the possibility of conducting an Anschluss with the German areas of Austria-Hungary as its dissolution removed the problem of the country's numerous ethnic groups. Secretary Wilhelm Solf opposed the proposal, stating that it "would provide the Entente with justification for demanding territorial compensations". During the Paris Peace Conference the French sought to forbid a union between Austria and Germany, with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephen Pichon stating that they "must see that Germany is not given an opportunity to rebuild her strength by utilizing the Austrian populations which remain outside of Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Jugoslavia". A compromise was reached and Article 80 of the Treaty of Versailles stated that "Germany acknowledges and will respect strictly the independence of Austria, within the frontiers which may be fixed in a Treaty between that State and the Principal Allied and Associated Powers; she agrees that this independence shall be inalienable, except with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations."


title: Anschluss

text: Hitler told Goebbels in the late summer of 1937 that eventually Austria would have to be taken "by force". On 5 November 1937, Hitler called a meeting with the Foreign Minister Konstantin von Neurath, the War Minister Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg, the Army commander General Werner von Fritsch, the Kriegsmarine commander Admiral Erich Raeder and the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring recorded in the Hossbach Memorandum. At the conference, Hitler stated that economic problems were causing Germany to fall behind in the arms race with Britain and France, and that the only solution was to launch in the near-future a series of wars to seize Austria and Czechoslovakia, whose economies would be plundered to give Germany the lead in the arms race. In early 1938, Hitler was seriously considering replacing Papen as ambassador to Austria with either Colonel Hermann Kriebel, the German consul in Shanghai, or Albert Forster, the Gauleiter of Danzig. Significantly, neither Kriebel nor Forster was a professional diplomat, with Kriebel being one of the leaders of the 1923 Munich Beerhall putsch who had been appointed consul in Shanghai to facilitate his work as an arms dealer in China, while Forster was a Gauleiter who had proven he could get along with the Poles in his position in the Free City of Danzig; both men were Nazis who had shown some diplomatic skill. On 25 January 1938, the Austrian police raided the Vienna headquarters of the Austrian Nazi Party, arresting Gauleiter Leopold Tavs, the deputy to Captain Josef Leopold, discovered a cache of arms and plans for a putsch.