BlueDrawer

Ren Essential Moroccan Rose Oil

2006-12-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most amazing natural bath oils I have used. It is a rich, sensuous and luxurious. Only a small amount of the Moroccan Otto Rose Oil in the bath will fill the room with this incredible smell. This rose oil really penetrates the skin during the bath leaving it soft as silk and with the beatiful scent of the rose oil

Loy, Myrna

2005-04-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Degus have a large head, large eyes, and moderate-sized, nearly hairless ears. They weigh 170 to

óbidos

2005-04-04T04:39:00.000-07:00

Town, west-central Pará estado (“state”), northern Brazil. It was founded in 1697 as a fortified town. Óbidos overlooks the left (north) bank of the Amazon River 70 miles (110 km) upstream from Santarém near the confluence of the Trombetas River, where the Amazon narrows to a width of 1.25 miles (2 km). River steamers and hydroplanes utilize the facilities at the town, which ships tobacco, cacao,

Biblical Literature, The Old Latin version

2005-04-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

The existence of a Latin translation can be attested in North Africa and southern Gaul as early as the second half of the 2nd century CE, and in Rome at the beginning of the following century. Its origins may possibly be attributed to a Christian adoption of biblical versions made by Jews in the Roman province of Africa, where the vernacular was exclusively Latin. Only

Diplomacy, New styles of diplomacy

2005-04-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

One result of the breakdown of old premises, mainly in new states, was that diplomatic immunity was breached, and diplomacy became a hazardous career. Disease was no longer the chief killer of diplomats, nor was overindulgence at court; the new hazards were murder, maiming, and kidnapping. Diplomats were a target because they represented states and symbolized privileged

Satcher, David

2005-04-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

The son of a small farmer, Satcher nearly died of whooping cough at age two because his family had little access to health care. He was attended by the only black physician in the area and resolved from an early age to become a doctor.

Tapestry, Ancient Western world

2005-04-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

Examples of tapestry weaving from the ancient world are so isolated and fragmentary as to make it uncertain either when or where the art originated. The earliest known tapestry weaving was done in linen by the ancient Egyptians between 1483 and 1411 BC. Preserved by the dry desert climate of Egypt, three tapestry fragments were found in the tomb of Thutmose IV. Two of the fragments

Argentina, Other recreation

2005-03-31T11:48:00.000-08:00

A majority of Argentines enjoy viewing televised sporting events as well as dramas, game shows, and other television programs, including North American comedies dubbed into Spanish. Telenovelas (soap operas) made in Argentina and other Latin American countries are particularly popular, and many locally produced serials are exported throughout the region. Movies,

Watercress

2005-03-31T03:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Cress (Nasturtium officinale), perennial plant, of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout North America in cool, flowing streams where it grows submerged, floating on the water, or spread over mud surfaces. Watercress often is cultivated in tanks for its young shoots, which are used in salads. The plant bears four-petalled, white flowers

Mugla

2005-03-30T19:33:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Turkey, on the edge of a small plain about 12 miles (20 km) north of the Gulf of Gökova. A favourite residence of the emirs of the 14th-century Turkmen Mentese principality, it was annexed to the Ottoman Empire in 1425. It is a local market for the agricultural products of the region and is linked by road with Izmir and Denizli. The surrounding region borders on both the

Masolino

2005-03-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

Masolino came from the same district of Tuscany

Onsager, Lars

2005-03-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

His early work in statistical mechanics attracted the attention of the Dutch chemist Peter Debye, under whose direction Onsager studied at the Federal Institute

Gümüshane

2005-03-28T05:42:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gümüsane, city, northeastern Turkey. It lies along the Harsit River, at an elevation of 5,000 feet (1,500 m), about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Trabzon. The origin and history of the ancient settlement are obscure. The silver (Turkish: gümüs) mines from which the city's name is derived were mentioned by Marco Polo and the medieval North African traveler Ibn Battutah; they have been worked out since the 19th century.

Farina, Giuseppe

2005-03-27T01:59:00.000-08:00

Farina, the holder of a doctorate in engineering, was the Italian driving champion in 1937, 1938, and 1939. He won the world title in 1950 while driving for Alfa Romeo. He was killed in a road accident.

Tolkien, J.r.r.

2005-03-26T04:05:00.000-08:00

At age four Tolkien, with his mother and younger brother, settled near Birmingham, England, after his father, a bank manager, died in South Africa. In

'amiriyah, Al-

2005-03-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

Formerly Maryut industrial district of al-Iskandariyah (Alexandria) muhafazah (governorate), northern Egypt. The centre of the 913-sq-mi (2,365-sq-km) district, which adjoins Lake Maryut (Mareotis) on the southwest, is al-'Amiriyah town. This town was originally a small gypsum-mining centre on the desert roads leading south to Cairo and west along the coast to Marsa Matruh. Al-'Amiriyah's modern development began in

Levite

2005-03-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

Member of a group of clans of religious functionaries in ancient Israel who apparently were given a special religious status, conjecturally for slaughtering idolaters of the golden calf during the time of Moses (Ex. 32:25–29). They thus replaced the firstborn sons of Israel who were “dedicated to the service of the Lord” for having been preserved from death at the time of the

Gnetophyte

2005-03-25T03:09:00.000-08:00

Any member of the division Gnetophyta, a small group of vascular gymnospermous plants that are represented by three genera: Ephedra, Gnetum, and Welwitschia. There are about 35 species in the genus Ephedra, 30 or more in Gnetum, but only one in Welwitschia. The three genera exhibit their great diversity in the immense variety of form and size among the various species.

Taganrog

2005-03-23T14:15:00.000-08:00

City and seaport, Rostov oblast (province), southwestern Russia. It lies on the northern coast of Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. Founded as a fortress and naval base in 1698 by Peter I the Great, Taganrog developed in the 19th century as a grain-exporting port. Although overshadowed by Rostov-na-Donu, it is still a significant port for the Donets Basin coalfield and industrial

'arab, Shatt Al-

2005-03-23T02:44:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “Stream of the Arabs”), river in southeastern Iraq, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers at the town of Al-Qurnah. It flows southeastward for 120 miles (193 km) and passes the Iraqi port of Basra and the Iranian port of Abadan before emptying into the Persian Gulf. For about the last half of its course the river forms the border between Iraq and Iran; it

Mid-atlantic Ridge

2005-03-22T15:14:00.000-08:00

Submarine ridge lying along the north-south axis of the Atlantic Ocean; it occupies the central part of the basin between a series of flat abyssal plains that continue to the margins of the continental coasts. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is in effect an immensely long mountain chain extending for about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in a curving path from the Arctic Ocean to near the southern

Anglo-norman Literature

2005-03-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

In the 12th century the oldest substantial Anglo-Norman prose work, “The Book of Kings,” was written in England, as were many versions of the Psalter. Sanson de Nanteuil translated into verse the proverbs of Solomon, with commentary; and in the 13th century Robert of Greatham wrote the “Sunday Gospels” for a noble lady. The same century saw the beginning of the magnificent series

Mercerization

2005-03-21T02:58:00.000-08:00

The treatment consists of immersing the yarn or

Azerbaijan, Flag Of

2005-03-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

Prior to the Russian Revolution, when Azerbaijan was part of the tsar's domain, the leading Azerbaijani nationalist, 'Ali bay Huseynzada, exhorted his followers to “Turkify, Islamicize, Europeanize” in order to emphasize ethnic pride, religious devotion, and modernization. The colours associated with those principles were light blue (a traditional Turkish flag colour),

Saratoga

2005-03-19T15:33:00.000-08:00

County, eastern New York state, U.S., bounded by the Hudson River to the northeast and east and the Mohawk River to the southeast. Other waterways include Snook Kill and Great Sacandaga, Saratoga, and Galway lakes. The terrain rises from Hudson valley lowlands in the south and east to the Adirondack Mountains in the northwest. Adirondack Park occupies the northwestern

Lahbabi, Mohammed Aziz

2005-03-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

Moroccan writer and philosopher (b. Dec. 25, 1922, Fès, Morocco--d. Aug. 23, 1993, Rabat, Morocco), had influence in the Arab world through his many writings, some of which were translated into as many as 30 languages. Lahbabi was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and received a doctorate of philosophy. He taught philosophy at Muhammad V University, Rabat, and the University of Algiers and held other

Gorbachev, Mikhail

2005-03-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

In full Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev Soviet official, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991 and president of the Soviet Union in 1990–91. His efforts to democratize his country's political system and decentralize its economy led to the downfall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In part because he ended the Soviet

Polaroid Corporation

2005-03-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

The company originated in 1932 as the Land-Wheelwright Laboratories, which Land founded with George Wheelwright to produce Land's first invention, an inexpensive plastic-sheet light polarizer. By 1936 Land began to use polarized material in sunglasses

Hawk

2005-03-17T22:42:00.000-08:00

Any of many small to medium-sized diurnal birds of prey, particularly those in the genus Accipiter, known as the true hawks, and including the goshawks and sparrowhawks. The term hawk is often applied to other birds in the family Accipitridae (such as the kites, buzzards, and harriers) and sometimes is extended to include certain members of the family Falconidae (falcons

Wali Allah, Shah

2005-03-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

Wali Allah received a traditional Islamic education from his father and is said to have memorized the Qur'an at the age of seven. In 1732 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he then remained in the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia) to

R.e.m.

2005-03-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), provides provocative discussions of R.E.M.'s albums from Chronic Town (“every so often a chaotic undertow suggests there's more to their romanticism than Spanish moss”) to Green. Christgau struggles with the lack of literary specificity in the band's lyrics, promotes some understanding of their Southern origins, slightly underrates Fables of the Reconstruction while noting that the album “clinches it: their formal frame of reference is folk-rock,” and uses the crucial word to explain R.E.M.'s appeal for a certain sort of rock-based fan and commentator: “reassuring.” Patricia Romanowski, Holly George-Warren, and Jon Pareles (eds.), The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, revised and updated ed. (1995), pp. 826–827, presents a focused and informed narrative of the band's formation, development, and recording history through the Monster album. Mike Mills, “Our Town,” in Clinton Heylin (ed.), The Penguin Book of Rock & Roll Writing (1992), pp. 401–408, is an essay about Athens written in 1985 by R.E.M.'s bassist. The first sentence—“When you mention ‘the Athens scene' to anyone who's been here for four or five years, they get weird”—accurately establishes both the tone and ambition of the piece.

Performing Arts, Popular - International.

2005-03-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

The year 2002 was a classic one for African music, and arguably the finest of a batch of great new albums came from the celebrated Malian singer Salif Keita. His recent work had included excursions into jazz-rock and funk, but the album Moffou was very different—an acoustic set that marked a return to his African roots. The relaxed, gently rhythmic backing was provided by

Adret, Solomon Ben Abraham

2005-03-15T19:56:00.000-08:00

As a leading scholar of the Talmud, the rabbinical compendium

Taff Vale Case

2005-03-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

(1900–01), in Great Britain, the successful trial of a suit brought by the Taff Vale Railway Company against the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS) in which the courts held that a union could be sued for damages caused by the actions of its officials in industrial disputes. Opposition to the decision did much to spur the growth of the nascent British Labour

Fucus

2005-03-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Rockweed, genus of brown algae, common on rocky seacoasts and in salt marshes of northern temperate regions. Adaptations to its environment include bladderlike floats (pneumatocysts), disk-shaped holdfasts for clinging to rocks, and mucilage-covered blades for resisting desiccation and temperature changes. The plant is between 25 and 30 centimetres (9.8 to 11.8 inches)

Maluku

2005-03-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

English Moluccas propinsi (province) of the Maluccas island group, eastern Indonesia. In 1999 the northern half of Maluku province was made into the separate North Maluku (Maluku Utara) province. The Moluccas group includes about 1,000 islands. The largest of North Maluku province are Halmahera, Morotai, Bacan, Obi, and the main islands of the Sula archipelago; those of Maluku province are Ceram

Szabolcs-szatmár-bereg

2005-03-13T23:52:00.000-08:00

Megye (county), extreme northeastern Hungary, occupying an area of mainly lowland country traversed by many small river courses. Lying within the megye is the Nyírség, a district of sandy soils and the site of Nyíregyháza (q.v.), the megye seat. Crossed by the Tisza River system, the sandy terrain has been stabilized by planting fruit and other trees. Elsewhere in the megye

Hypersensitivity

2005-03-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

Acquired bodily state in which the reaction to a stimulus (e.g., a substance causing allergy or a physical agent such as light) is unusually prompt or excessive. The term hypersensitivity is often used as a synonym for allergy.

Brasília, Climate

2005-03-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

The climate is warm and mild with average minimum and maximum temperatures of about 57° F (14° C) and 81° F (27° C), respectively. Rainfall averages some 60 inches (1,600 mm) per year with a dry season from March to October, and humidity is generally between 40 and 80 percent (it fell to 11 percent during a drought in 1994).

Hispania

2005-03-13T03:49:00.000-08:00

In Roman times, region comprising the Iberian Peninsula, now occupied by Portugal and Spain. When the Romans took Hispania from the Carthaginians (206 BC), they divided it into two provinces: Hispania Ulterior (present Andalusia, Extremadura, southern León, and most of modern Portugal) and Hispania Citerior, or Tarraconensis (all of what is now northern, eastern, and south-central

Syriac Language

2005-03-11T23:36:00.000-08:00

Semitic language belonging to the Northern Central, or Northwestern, group; it was an important Christian literary and liturgical language from the 3rd through the 7th century AD. Syriac was based on the East Aramaic dialect of Edessa, Osroëne (present-day Sanliurfa, in southeastern Turkey), which became one of the chief centres of Christianity in the Middle East at the end

Mab

2005-03-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Queen Mab in English folklore, the queen of the fairies. Mab is a mischievous but basically benevolent figure. In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, she is referred to as the fairies' midwife, who delivers sleeping men of their innermost wishes in the form of dreams. In Michael Drayton's mock-epic fairy poem Nymphidia (1627), she is the wife of the fairy king Oberon and is the queen

Chad, Flag Of

2005-03-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

When French West Africa was under colonial rule, little was done to develop a sense of nationality; emphasis was on the culture and political and economic systems of France. The independence movement in Africa in the mid-20th century therefore found Chad, like most other territories, with few precedents for establishing its own symbols. When the Republic of Chad was

Vyshinsky, Andrey Yanuaryevich

2005-03-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

Vyshinsky, a member of the Menshevik branch of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party since 1903, became a lawyer in 1913 and joined the Communist Party in 1920. While teaching at Moscow State University and practicing

Lowell, A(bbott) Lawrence

2005-03-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

A member of a prominent Boston family, Lowell was the brother of the astronomer Percival Lowell and of the poet Amy Lowell. He graduated from Harvard (A.B. 1877, LL.B. 1880) and practiced law in Boston for 17 years before turning

Cadmium Poisoning

2005-03-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

Toxic effects of cadmium or its compounds on body tissues and functions. Poisoning may result from the ingestion of an acid food or drink prepared in a cadmium-lined vessel (e.g., lemonade served from cadmium-plated cans). Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and prostration usually occur within 15 minutes after ingestion and subside within 24 hours. Inhalation of cadmium fumes in

Sarapeum

2005-03-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Serapeum, or Sarapieion, either of two temples of ancient Egypt, dedicated to the worship of the Greco-Egyptian god Sarapis (Serapis). The original elaborate temple of that name was located on the west bank of the Nile near Saqqarah and originated as a monument to the deceased Apis bulls, sacred animals of the god Ptah. Though the area was used as a cemetery for the bulls as early as 1400 BC, it was Ramses

Prickly Poppy

2005-03-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Argemony any of approximately 30 species of the genus Argemone, North American and West Indian plants belonging to the poppy family (Papaveraceae). Most have spiny leaves, yellow or orange sap, and prickly fruits. Some species have become naturalized in arid regions of South America, Asia, and Africa. Prickly poppies are cultivated as garden ornamentals but frequently become

Polar Wandering

2005-03-07T23:47:00.000-08:00

The migration over the surface of the Earth of the magnetic poles of the Earth through geological time. It was long recognized that the directions of magnetization of many rocks do not correspond to the present direction of the geomagnetic field at their sites; but not until the 1950s was there sufficient paleomagnetic data to suggest that the poles had moved in a systematic

Chicago

2005-03-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

Until the 1830s a minor trading post at

Scandinavian Literature, Poetic Realism

2005-03-07T03:50:00.000-08:00

About 1830, early Romanticism gave way to a less naive poetic realism, more contemplative and more concerned with form than with content. Johan Ludvig Heiberg, who led this movement, attempted to revivify Danish drama by importing French vaudeville, and in his serious romantic plays Elverhøj (1828; “The Elfinhill”) and Syvsoverdag (1840; “Day of the Seven Sleepers”) he juxtaposed poetic

Mancini, Pasquale Stanislao

2005-03-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

As a deputy in the Neapolitan parliament of 1848–49 and as a journalist and lawyer, Mancini fought for democracy and constitutionalism until forced into exile by the reactionary Bourbon government.

Bruant, Libéral

2005-03-05T17:49:00.000-08:00

Libéral Bruant was the most notable of a family that produced a series of architects active in France from the 16th to the 18th century. He was the son of Sébastien and brother of Jacques, who designed the Hall of the Corporation des Drapiers,

Bradley, Marion Zimmer

2005-03-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Marion Zimmer studied at the New York State College for Teachers from 1946 to 1948 and, after her career was established, graduated from Hardin-Simmons College in 1964. In 1949 she

Samoa

2005-03-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

The assassination of the minister of public works in July 1999 continued to produce legal and political consequences in 2000. The two cabinet ministers who plotted the murder (and the son of one of them who actually committed the deed) were tried and found guilty, but their mandatory death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. By-elections were held following the

Pend Oreille, Lake

2005-03-03T01:22:00.000-08:00

Lake in Kaniksu National Forest, northwestern Idaho, U.S. The largest lake in Idaho, it is about 40 miles (65 km) long and 4 miles (6.5 km) wide and covers an area of some 125 square miles (325 square km). It is about 2,500 feet (760 metres) deep and is noted for the highly prized Kamloops rainbow trout. The lake (the name of which is derived from the French name [Pend d'Oreille] for the Kalispel Indians, who wore ear

Lanarkshire

2005-03-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Lanark historic county of south-central Scotland, roughly coinciding with the basin of the River Clyde. It is bounded to the south by the historic county of Dumfriesshire, to the east by Peeblesshire, Midlothian, and West Lothian, to the north by Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, and to the west by Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. It encompasses all of the council areas of South

Jib

2005-03-02T04:44:00.000-08:00

In sailing ships, triangular sail rigged to a stay extending from the foremast, or foretopmast, to the bowsprit or to a spar, the jibboom, that is an extension of the bowsprit. The jib is first known to have been used on one-masted vessels. Its use began to spread about 1600 and extended to larger war vessels about 1700. Jibs proved handy in helping to steer and were much valued—e.g., on

Earth, Crustal magnetization

2005-02-28T23:50:00.000-08:00

Magnetic fields measured at the Earth's surface are not entirely produced by the internal dynamo. Radially outward from the Earth's core, the next major source of magnetic field is crustal magnetization. The temperature of the materials constituting the crust is cool enough for them to exist in solid form. The solids may become magnetized by the Earth's main field

Aluminum Processing

2005-02-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

Aluminum, or aluminium (Al), is a silvery white metal with a melting point of 660° C (1,220° F) and a density of 2.7 grams per cubic centimetre. The most abundant metallic element, it constitutes 8.1 percent of the Earth's crust. In nature it occurs chemically combined with oxygen and other elements. In the pure state it is soft and ductile, but

Ibn Muqlah

2005-02-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

One of the foremost calligraphers of the 'Abbasid Age (750–1258), reputed inventor of the first cursive style of Arabic lettering, the naskhi script, which replaced the angular Kufic as the standard of Islamic calligraphy. In the naskhi script Ibn Muqlah introduced the rounded forms and curved lines that in later styles were

Chital

2005-02-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Spotted Deer, or Axis Deer (Cervus axis, sometimes Axis axis), Asiatic deer, belonging to the family Cervidae (order Artiodactyla). It lives in grasslands and forests in India and Sri Lanka in herds of up to 100 or more. It stands 90–95 cm (35–37 inches) at the shoulder. Its spotted coat is reddish brown above and white below. The male chital has branching, usually three-tined antlers up to 100 cm long.

Cimarron River

2005-02-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

River rising in northeastern New Mexico, U.S., near Capulin Mountain National Monument and flowing 698 mi (1,123 km) to enter the Arkansas River near Tulsa, Okla. From its source, the Cimarron flows east past Black Mesa, a peak 4,973 ft (1,516 m) high, through the northern Oklahoma Panhandle and bends northward through the southeastern corner of Colorado and the southwestern corner of Kansas.

Mito

2005-02-27T03:18:00.000-08:00

Capital, Ibaraki Prefecture (ken), Honshu, Japan, on the left bank of the Naka-gawa (Naka River). During the Heian era (794–1185) Mito developed around a Yoshida shrine, and its first castle was built during the Kamakura era (1192–1333). The city changed hands several times during the 15th and 16th centuries; in 1609 it became a fief of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa family, one of the three branches of that

Latin Language

2005-02-25T21:32:00.000-08:00

Originally spoken by small groups of people living along the lower Tiber River, Latin spread with the increase of Roman political power, first throughout Italy and then throughout most of western and southern Europe and the central and western Mediterranean

Henry

2005-02-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

Unit of either self-inductance or mutual inductance, abbreviated h (or hy), and named for the American physicist Joseph Henry. One henry is the value of self-inductance in a closed circuit or coil in which one volt is produced by a variation of the inducing current of one ampere per second. One henry is also the value of the mutual inductance of two coils arranged such that

Kachina

2005-02-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

In Pueblo Indian religious practice, any of more than 500 divine ancestral spirits who act as intermediaries between man and god. Each tribe has its distinct forms and variations. Kachinas are believed to reside with the tribe for half of each year. They will allow themselves to be seen by the community if the men properly perform a traditional ritual while wearing kachina

Carnivore, Natural history

2005-02-23T01:23:00.000-08:00

They are largely omnivorous in food habits, eating a variety of small mammals, birds, reptiles, eggs of birds and reptiles, amphibians, fishes, crustaceans, insects and their grubs, and earthworms, as well as vegetation such as fruits, nuts, bulbs or roots, and other plant material.

Ilam

2005-02-22T21:15:00.000-08:00

The surrounding region is a continuation of the valley of Mesopotamia

Acanthus

2005-02-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

In architecture and decorative arts, a stylized ornamental motif based on a characteristic Mediterranean plant with jagged leaves, Acanthus spinosus (for illustration, see order). It was first used by the Greeks in the 5th century BC on temple roof ornaments, on wall friezes, and on the capital of the Corinthian column. One of the best examples of its use in the Corinthian

Hales, Stephen

2005-02-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

While a divinity student at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, he studied science, particularly botany and chemistry. Ordained in 1703, he was appointed in 1709 to the parish of Teddington, where

Kikutake Kiyonori

2005-02-21T04:40:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Waseda University (1950), Kikutake worked for several architectural firms and then opened his own office (1953). The work that first brought him to international notice was Sky House (1957), his own home, a building of one room elevated on

Performing Arts, United States.

2005-02-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

As the year 2002 ended, Peter Jackson's virtuoso adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Chris Columbus's interpretation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets promised to surpass their predecessors, the worldwide box-office winners of Christmas 2001, to take their place among

Race, Hereditary statuses versus the rise of individualism

2005-02-19T17:59:00.000-08:00

Inheritance as the basis of individual social position is an ancient tenet of human history, extending to some point after the beginnings of agriculture (about 8000–10,000 BCE). Expressions of it are found throughout the world in kinship-based societies where genealogical links determine an individual's status, rights, and obligations. Wills and testaments capture this principle,

Irish Elk

2005-02-19T01:17:00.000-08:00

Genus (Megaloceros) of extinct giant elk commonly found as fossils in Pleistocene deposits in Europe and Asia (the Pleistocene Epoch began 1,600,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago). The Irish elk, about the size of the modern moose, had the largest antlers of any form of deer known—in some specimens, 4 m (about 13 feet) across. The antlers differed from those of the modern elk; the main

Isabella I

2005-02-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Byname Isabella the Catholic , Spanish Isabel la Católica queen of Castile (1474–1504) and of Aragon (1479–1504), ruling the two kingdoms jointly from 1479 with her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon (Ferdinand V of Castile). Their rule effected the permanent union of Spain and the beginning of an overseas empire in the New World, led by Christopher Columbus under Isabella's

Nichiren

2005-02-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

Original name Zennichi, also called Zenshobo Rencho, posthumous name Rissho Daishi militant Japanese Buddhist prophet who contributed significantly to the adaptation of Buddhism to the Japanese mentality and who remains one of the most controversial and influential figures in Japanese Buddhist history. After an exhaustive study of the various forms of Buddhism, he concluded (in 1253) that the Lotus Sutra teaching

Allen, Woody

2005-02-16T20:12:00.000-08:00

Original name Allen Stewart Konigsberg , legal name Heywood Allen American motion-picture director, screenwriter, actor, and author, best known for his bittersweet comic films containing elements of parody, slapstick, and the absurd. He was also known as a sympathetic director for women, writing strong and well-defined characters for them. Among his featured performers were Diane

Rabies

2005-02-16T15:59:00.000-08:00

Also called hydrophobia , or lyssa acute, usually fatal, viral infectious disease of the central nervous system. The disease is usually spread among domestic dogs and wild carnivorous animals; all warm-blooded animals are susceptible to rabies infection. The virus, a rhabdovirus, is often present in the salivary glands of rabid animals and is excreted in the saliva; thus, the bite of the infected animal

Alaska Peninsula

2005-02-15T00:46:00.000-08:00

Stretch of land extending southwest from mainland Alaska, U.S., for 500 miles (800 km) between the Pacific (southeast) and Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea. The volcanic Aleutian Range runs along its entire length. It is the site of the Katmai National Park and Preserve, the Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve (qq.v.), and the Becharof, Alaska Peninsula, and Izembek National

Balatonfüred

2005-02-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

Resort town, Veszprém megye (county), central Hungary, on the north shore of Lake Balaton. The town has been known for at least 250 years as a health spa and resort. In the town centre is Gyógy Tér (“Healing Square”), where the waters of volcanic springs rise up under a pavilion. There are 11 medicinal springs in the area that are said to have a stimulating effect on the heart and nerves.

Bevin, Ernest

2005-02-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

Bevin was reared in a poor family and left school at the

Alessandria

2005-02-13T03:27:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Alessandria provincia, in the Piemonte (Piedmont) regione of northwestern Italy. The city lies at the confluence of the Bormida and Tanaro rivers, southeast of Turin (Torino). It was founded in 1168 by the towns of the Lombard League as an Alpine-valley stronghold against the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The town was first called Civitas Nova,

Aril

2005-02-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Special covering of certain seeds that commonly develops from the seed stalk. It is often a bright-coloured fleshy envelope, as in such woody plants as the yews and nutmeg and in members of the arrowroot family, the genus Oxalis, and the castor bean. Animals are attracted to arils and eat the seeds, dispersing them in their wastes. In the castor bean, the aril is spongy and

France, History Of, Mitterrand's second term

2005-02-11T15:50:00.000-08:00

Restraint paid dividends when Mitterrand ran for a second term in April–May 1988. In the first round of balloting, Chirac managed to defeat his conservative rivals (Giscard, Barre, and Le Pen), but in the second round Mitterrand scored a clear victory (54 to 46 percent). The resurgent president chose the Socialist Michel Rocard as prime minister and once again dissolved the National

Amorgós Island

2005-02-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Nísos Amorgós, island trending northeast-southwest in the Cyclades (Kikládhes) group of the Greek Aegean Islands. For the most part mountainous and narrow, it has an area of about 47 square miles (121 square km). Prosperous in the early Bronze Age, in classical times it had three cities, Arcesine, Minoa, and Aegiale. The island produced amorgina, fine transparent fabrics made from locally grown

Brehon Laws

2005-02-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

Analysis

Balata

2005-02-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Gutta Balata, hard rubberlike material made by drying the milky juice produced principally by the bully tree (species Manilkara bidentata) of Guyana and the West Indies. The tree is tapped by cutting zigzag gashes in the bark and collecting the latex in cups, to be coagulated in trays. Like gutta-percha, balata is inelastic, tough, leathery, and water-resistant, and it softens when

Subarkose

2005-02-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Variety of sandstone in which 5–25 percent of the sand grains are composed of feldspar. See arkose.

Carloman

2005-02-07T23:57:00.000-08:00

The younger brother of Charlemagne, with whom, at the instance of their father, Pippin III the Short, he was anointed king of the Franks in 754 by Pope Stephen II (or III) in the abbey of Saint-Denis. Carloman inherited the eastern part of Pippin's lands (768). He favoured alliance with the Lombards and married Gerberga, a daughter of their king, Desiderius. When

Round Table Conference

2005-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

The first (Nov. 12, 1930–Jan. 19, 1931) had 73 representatives, from

Cheever, Ezekiel

2005-02-06T04:35:00.000-08:00

Cheever was the son of a weaver and was educated at Christ's Hospital in London and in the classics at the University of Cambridge. Cheever came to America in 1637 as a Puritan in search of religious freedom. In 1638 he settled in New Haven, Conn., as master of the public school. Active in both civil

Janus

2005-02-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, the animistic spirit of doorways (januae) and archways (jani). The worship of Janus traditionally dated back to Romulus and a period even before the actual founding of the city of Rome. There were many jani (i.e., ceremonial gateways) in Rome; these were usually freestanding structures that were used for symbolically auspicious entrances or exits. Particular

Farah River

2005-02-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

Dari Persian in full Darya-ye Farah Rud, river in western Afghanistan, rising on the southern slopes of the Band-e Bayan Range, flowing southwest past the town of Farah, and emptying into the Helmand (Sistan) swamps on the Iranian border after a course of 350 miles (560 km). The river fluctuates greatly with the seasons, sometimes flooding in the spring and becoming impassable. Its waters are used for irrigation along much

Quadrature

2005-02-04T00:10:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, process of determining the area of a plane geometric figure by dividing it into a collection of shapes of known area (usually rectangles) and then finding the sum of these areas. When this process is performed with solid figures to find volume, the process is called cubature. A similar process called rectification is used in determining the length

Aeschylus

2005-02-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

Studies of special topics relating to Aeschylus' plays include Anthony J. Podlecki, The Political Background of Aeschylean Tragedy (1966); A.F. Garvie, Aeschylus' “Supplices”: Play and Trilogy (1969); George Thomson, Aeschylus and Athens: A Study in the Social Origins of Drama, 4th ed. (1973), a Marxist study; Anne Lebeck, The Oresteia: A Study in Language and Structure (1971), on the significant connections of imagery; R.P. Winnington-Ingram, Studies in Aeschylus (1983), a collection of insightful essays; Thomas G. Rosenmeyer, The Art of Aeschylus (1982), a critical study; D.J. Conacher, Aeschylus' “Prometheus Bound”: A Literary Commentary (1980); Mark Griffith, The Authenticity of “Prometheus Bound” (1977), a powerful attack on authenticity; and Oliver Taplin, The Stagecraft of Aeschylus: The Dramatic Use of Exits and Entrances in Greek Tragedy (1978), on dramatic techniques and meanings.

Aakjær, Jeppe

2005-02-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Aakjær grew up in the Jutland farming area and so was well aware of the harsh conditions endured by farm labourers in his country. His early novels deal primarily with this theme. As a young man he went to study in Copenhagen,

Antarctica, Technological advancements in exploration

2005-02-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

The period between World Wars I and II marks the beginning of the mechanical, particularly the aerial, age of Antarctic exploration. Wartime developments in aircraft, aerial cameras, radios, and motor transport were adapted for polar operation. On Nov. 16, 1928, the first heavier-than-air flight in Antarctica was made by the Alaskan bush pilot C.B. Eielson and George Hubert

Subduction Zone

2005-01-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

Oceanic trench area marginal to a continent in which, according to the theory of plate tectonics, older seafloor underthrusts the continental mass, dragging downward into the Earth's upper mantle the accumulated trench sediments. The subduction zone, accordingly, is the antithesis of the mid-oceanic ridge; new seafloor is generated from the upper mantle at the

Heinrich Von Melk

2005-01-31T11:06:00.000-08:00

A Benedictine lay brother of the Austrian monastery of Melk, he composed a vivid poem Von des Tôdes gehügede (c. 1150–60; “Remembrance of Death” or “Memento Mori”). The monkish theme is traditional, but the poem's satiric edge and unflattering description of the contemporary emerging feudal and courtly culture