LeftBoard

Durante, Jimmy

2005-04-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

As a boy, Durante wanted to become a saloon pianist. His father, a barber, bought him a piano and provided intermittent lessons. Although Durante left school in seventh grade for a miscellany of jobs, he kept up his piano

China

2005-04-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

Chinese culture is remarkable for its duration and diversity. Skeletal remains and stone implements date to the Paleolithic stage of cultural development, from the 29th to the 17th millennium BC. Decorated artifacts, primarily marked pottery vessels, have been found in dozens of Incipient Neolithic and Neolithic sites, dating from

Cornelius, Peter

2005-04-04T03:41:00.000-07:00

German composer and author, known for his comic opera Der Barbier von Bagdad (The Barber of Bagdad). The son of an actor and an actress, he acted at Mainz and at Wiesbaden in his youth. In 1845 he studied composition and was later music critic for two Berlin journals. From 1853 to 1858 he lived at Weimar in the circle of Liszt and the Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein

Guzmania

2005-04-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

Guzmania leaves are stiff, often stemless or short-stemmed,

Puerto Vallarta

2005-04-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

Formerly Las Peñas, city, western Jalisco estado (“state”), west-central Mexico. It lies on Banderas Bay, on the Pacific coastal lowland, 6 miles (10 km) south of the mouth of the Ameca River. It is the major port of Jalisco state and exports bananas, coconut oil, hides, and fine woods. Beans and bananas are grown in the hinterland, which is also used for raising pigs, horses, and bees. Puerto Vallarta's population

Hyaluronidase

2005-04-02T13:01:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis (chemical decomposition involving the elements of water) of certain complex carbohydrates such as hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfates. The enzymes have been found in insects, leeches, snake venom, mammalian tissues (testis being the richest mammalian source), and in bacteria.

Aswan High Dam

2005-04-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

Arabic As-Sadd al-'Ali, rock-fill dam across the Nile River, at Aswan, Egypt, completed in 1970 (and formally inaugurated in January 1971) at a cost of about $1 billion. The dam, 364 feet (111 m) high, with a crest length of 12,562 feet (3,830 m) and a volume of 57,940,000 cubic yards (44,300,000 cubic m), impounds a reservoir, Lake Nasser, that has a gross capacity of 5.97 trillion cubic feet (169 billion cubic m). Of the Nile's total annual discharge, some 2.6 trillion cubic feet

Flora

2005-04-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, the goddess of the flowering of plants. Titus Tatius (according to tradition, the Sabine king who ruled with Romulus) is said to have introduced her cult to Rome; her temple stood near the Circus Maximus. Her festival, called the Floralia, was instituted in 238 BC. A representation of Flora's head, distinguished only by a floral crown, appeared on coins of the

Cohong

2005-03-31T20:52:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization kung-hung , also called hong , or cong-hong the guild of Chinese merchants authorized by the central government to trade with Western merchants at Canton prior to the first Opium War (1839–42). Such firms often were called “foreign-trade firms” (yang-hang) and the merchants who directed them “hong merchants” (hang-shang). In existence by the mid-17th century, these merchants theoretically numbered 13 but frequently totalled

Bydgoszcz Canal

2005-03-30T17:42:00.000-08:00

Polish Kanal Bydgoski , German Bromberger-Kanal canal in Bydgoszcz województwo (province), north-central Poland. It extends for 17 miles (27 km) between Naklo (west) and the inland port-city of Bydgoszcz (east) between the Notec and Brda rivers and links the Vistula River basin with that of the Oder. Construction of the 64-foot- (20-metre-) wide canal was completed in 1774 under Frederick II, who had annexed the region to Prussia in 1772.

Alder

2005-03-29T07:25:00.000-08:00

An alder may be distinguished from a birch by its usually stalked winter buds and by cones that remain on the branches

Flora

2005-03-29T02:16:00.000-08:00

The member countries of the Organisation for European Economic

Har Rai

2005-03-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

The contemplative Har Rai spent more time in spiritual exercises than in administrative or military duties, and he knew

Telescope, X-ray telescopes

2005-03-27T02:20:00.000-08:00

The X-ray telescope is used to examine the shorter-wavelength region of the electromagnetic spectrum adjacent to the ultraviolet region. The design of this type of telescope must be radically different from that of a conventional reflector. Since X-ray photons have so much energy, they would pass right through the mirror of a standard reflector. X rays must be bounced

Sforza, Carlo, Conte (count)

2005-03-27T00:55:00.000-08:00

Sforza entered the diplomatic service in 1896 and served in Cairo, Paris, Constantinople, Beijing, Bucharest, Madrid, London, and Belgrade. He was undersecretary of state for foreign affairs

Sthanakavasi

2005-03-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

The Sthanakavasi, whose name refers to the subsect's preference for performing religious duties at a secular place such as a monks' meetinghouse (sthanak) rather than at a temple, differs from the Shvetambara sect

Sanidine

2005-03-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

Because sanidine that occurs in the Earth's crust has cooled quickly (its structure is stable only above 700° C [1,300° F]), it has trapped a disordered distribution

Catch

2005-03-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Round, perpetual canon designed to be sung by three or more voices, especially popular in 17th- and 18th-century England. Like all rounds, catches are indefinitely repeatable pieces in which all voices begin the same melody on the same pitch but enter at different time intervals. The name may derive from caccia, a 14th-century canonic form, or may refer to each singer's “catching” the

Pacific Ocean, Early exploration and settlement

2005-03-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

The Pacific Islands are thought to have been peopled by influxes from both mainland and archipelagic Southeast Asia. The earliest migrations were to what is now generally referred to as Melanesia. From there generations of voyagers ranged northward into eastern Micronesia and eastward into Polynesia. The peopling of Polynesia, by means of long-range seagoing

Cummings, E.e.

2005-03-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

In full Edward Estlin Cummings American poet and painter who first attracted attention, in an age of literary experimentation, for his eccentric punctuation and phrasing. The spirit of New England dissent and of Emersonian “Self-Reliance” underlies the urbanized Yankee colloquialism of Cummings' verse. Cummings' name is often styled “e.e. cummings” in the

Jackstraws

2005-03-23T00:43:00.000-08:00

To begin the game, the jackstraws (20 to 50) are bunched in one hand and set vertically on a table or other smooth, flat surface, then released suddenly so that the straws fall in a jumble. Each player

Williams, Hank

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

Williams began playing the guitar at the age of 8, made his radio debut at 13, and formed his first band, Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys, at age 14. His series of recordings in 1947 on the M-G-M label won

Dzhizak

2005-03-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

City, eastern Uzbekistan. The city is located in a small oasis irrigated by the Sanzar River, northeast of Samarkand. One of the most ancient settlements of Uzbekistan, it was situated on the trade routes to the Mediterranean near Tamerlane's Gates, the only convenient passage through the Nuratau Mountains to the Zeravshan River valley. Today the city processes cotton

Malachite Green

2005-03-21T06:30:00.000-08:00

Malachite green also is used as a direct dye for silk, wool, jute, and leather and to dye

Augustus, Caesar

2005-03-20T02:58:00.000-08:00

Also called (until 27 BC) Octavian , original name Gaius Octavius , adopted name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus first Roman emperor, following the republic, which had been finally destroyed by the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and adoptive father. His autocratic regime is known as the principate because he was the princeps, the first citizen, at the head of that array of outwardly revived republican institutions that alone made his

Heinrich Von Melk

2005-03-20T02:14:00.000-08:00

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

Medicine, Family health care

2005-03-19T03:58:00.000-08:00

In many societies special facilities are provided for the health care of pregnant women, mothers, and their young children. The health care needs of these three groups are generally recognized to be so closely related as to require a highly integrated service that includes prenatal care, the birth of the baby, the postnatal period, and the needs of the infant. Such

Fabert, Abraham De

2005-03-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

Fabert's grandfather had been ennobled by Charles III, and his father had served Henry IV. At the age of 14 he entered the French Guard and from 1618 was almost constantly in service. His genius at engineering enabled him to play a key role in the sieges by which

Tatar Strait

2005-03-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Russian Tatarsky Proliv, also called Gulf Of Tatary, narrow passage of the northwest Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Japan (south) to the Sea of Okhotsk between Sakhalin Island (east) and the Asian mainland. From 4.5 to 213 miles (7 to 342 km) in width and 393 miles (632 km) long, it is generally shallow with depths less than 700 feet (210 m). The strait, which receives the Amur River in the north, is the site of the Russian ports of Uglegorsk, Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky,

Falkland Current

2005-03-17T03:33:00.000-08:00

Branch of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Southern Hemisphere, flowing northward in the South Atlantic Ocean along the east coast of Argentina to about latitude 30° to 40° S, where it is deflected eastward after meeting the southward-flowing Brazil Current. Characterized by cold temperatures varying from 41° to 66° F (5° to 19° C), the current has a relatively low salinity averaging

Leahy, William D.

2005-03-17T02:01:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. (1897), Leahy saw service in the Spanish-American War (1898), the Philippine insurrection (1899–1901), and the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900). In command of a navy transport during World War I, he formed

Biblical Literature, German versions

2005-03-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

The early Old Testament in Gothic has already been described. The New Testament remains are far more extensive and are preserved mainly in the Codex Argenteus (c. 525) and Codex Gissensis. The translation, essentially based on a Byzantine text, is exceedingly literal and not homogeneous. It is difficult to determine the degree of contamination that the original Gospels

Tammany Hall

2005-03-16T00:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Tammany, the executive committee of the Democratic Party in New York City historically exercising political control through the typical boss-ist blend of charity and patronage. The name was derived from a pre-Revolutionary association named after Tammanend, a wise and benevolent Delaware Indian chief. When Tammany was organized in New York in 1789, it represented middle-class

Uccello, Paolo

2005-03-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

By the time Paolo was 10 years old he was already an apprentice in the workshop of the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was then at work on what became one of the masterpieces of Renaissance art—the bronze doors for the Baptistery of the Florence cathedral, which consist of 28 panels illustrating New Testament scenes of the life of Christ. In 1414 Uccello joined the confraternity

'abdali Sultanate

2005-03-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

Former semi-independent state in the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is now Yemen. Located just north of Aden city, it was one of the most important tribal areas of the Aden Protectorate, which was the forerunner of independent Yemen (Aden); its capital was Lahij. The sultanate was earlier tributary to western Yemen (i.e., Yemen [San'a']) but gained its independence in 1728. The 'Abdali

Biblical Literature, The Testament of Job

2005-03-14T15:35:00.000-08:00

Though there are scholars who think that the Testament of Job was once written in Hebrew or Aramaic, it is more probable that the existing Greek text of the book is the original or even a rewritten later version of a Greek work; a fragment of an older form is probably preserved in the Greek translation of Job (2:9). Job is identified, according to some Jewish traditions, with

Monarda

2005-03-13T22:56:00.000-08:00

M. fistulosa, growing to 1.5 m (5 feet) tall, has a minty aroma. The more sharply scented Oswego tea (M. didyma), shorter and

Insurance, Conditions

2005-03-13T01:58:00.000-08:00

Homeowner's policies may include the following conditions: (1) Owners are required to give immediate written notice of loss to the insurer or the insurer's agent. (2) The insured must provide proof of the amount of loss. This suggests that owners should keep accurate records of the items in a building and of their original cost. (3) The insured must cooperate with the insurer

Transylvanian Rug

2005-03-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

Also called Siebenbürger rug any of the large numbers of floor coverings found in the churches of Transylvania (part of Romania), to which they had been donated by pious families. Some of these rugs are of Turkish manufacture, survivals of a massive importation centuries ago. Turkey is generally assumed to be the source of all Transylvanian carpets, but certain similarities of technique, weight,

Bowling

2005-03-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

The world

Addis Ababa

2005-03-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

Only since the late 19th century has Addis Ababa been the capital of the Ethiopian state. Its immediate predecessor, Entoto, was situated on a high tableland and was found to be unsatisfactory because of extreme cold

Saint Asaph

2005-03-10T01:57:00.000-08:00

Welsh Llanelwy cathedral village, Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych) county, historic county of Flintshire (Sir Fflint), Wales. It stands beween the Rivers Clwyd and Elwy, from which its Welsh name derives. Asaph, the Celtic ecclesiastic to whom the cathedral is dedicated, was bishop there in the 6th century. The original wooden structure, destroyed by the English in the 13th century, was rebuilt

Subsidy

2005-03-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

A direct or indirect payment, economic concession, or privilege granted by a government to private firms, households, or other governmental units in order to promote a public objective. Identification of a subsidy is often complicated because of the variety of subsidy instruments, the multiplicity of the objectives they are designed to serve, and the complexity

Chelmno

2005-03-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

As the first camp to conduct mass executions of Jews, Chelmno

Czartoryski, Adam Jerzy, Prince (ksiaze)

2005-03-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

Czartoryski was the most renowned member of a princely family, descended from the Lithuanian royal house, which wielded great power in Poland in the 18th

Jili, Al-

2005-03-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Little is known about al-Jili's personal life. Possibly after a visit to India in 1387, he studied in Yemen during 1393–1403. Of his more than 30 works, the most famous is Al-Insan al-kamil fi ma'rifat al-awakhir wa al-awa 'il (partial Eng. trans., Studies in Islamic

April

2005-03-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

Fourth month of the Gregorian calendar. See month and the accompanying Table.

Xyz Affair

2005-03-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

Diplomatic incident that, when made public in 1798, nearly involved the United States and France in war. Pres. John Adams dispatched three ministers to France in 1797 to negotiate a commercial agreement to protect U.S. shipping. In Paris the ministers were approached by three French agents who suggested a bribe of $250,000 to Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, and a loan of $10,000,000 to France

Episcopius, Simon

2005-03-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

He studied theology at Leiden and in 1610 became a pastor at Bleiswyk. He was made a professor at Leiden in 1612, succeeding the strict Calvinist Franciscus Gomarus. Episcopius was one of

Durant, Will; And Durant, Ariel

2005-03-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

Will Durant's writing career began with the publication of Philosophy and the Social Problem (1917). His second book, The Story of

Cinque Ports

2005-03-06T03:40:00.000-08:00

Medieval confederation of English Channel ports in southeastern England, formed to furnish ships and men for the king's service. To the original five ports—Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, New Romney, and Hastings—were later added the “ancient towns” of Winchelsea and Rye with the privileges of “head ports.” More than 30 other towns in the counties of Kent and Sussex were also attached.

Epistemology, Innate versus learned

2005-03-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

The puzzle about origins of knowledge has led historically to two different kinds of issues. One of these is the question of whether knowledge (or at least certain kinds of knowledge) is innate, meaning that it is not acquired or learned through experience but in some important sense is present in the human psyche at birth. The matter is still a live issue today, not only

Violales

2005-03-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

The seeds of Hydnocarpus (Flacourtiaceae), found in the Philippines, China, and India, are a source of chaulmoogra oil, at one time important in the treatment

Cosmati Work

2005-03-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

Type of mosaic technique that was practiced by Roman decorators and architects in the 12th and 13th centuries, in which tiny triangles and squares of coloured stone (red porphyry, green serpentine, and white and other coloured marbles) and glass paste were arranged in patterns and combined with large, stone disks and strips to produce geometric designs. Cosmati work

Walter Of Coventry

2005-03-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

Walter was not a historian or chronicler in his own right; he merely brought together the works of Marianus Scotus, Florence of Worcester, Henry of Huntingdon, Roger of Hoveden, and

Dagestanian Languages

2005-03-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

Also called East Caucasian Languages, group of languages spoken in the northeastern part of the Caucasus and including the Avar-Andi-Dido, the Lak-Dargin (Lak-Dargwa), and the Lezgian groups. One of the distinctive characteristics of a majority of these languages is the contrast of strong and weak voiceless consonants. The Dagestanian languages are often classified together with the Nakh

'abd Al-mu'min

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

Information about 'Abd al-Mu'min and his work may be found in the general histories by Henri Terrasse, Histoire du Maroc, vol. 2, pp. 261–316 (1950); and Ambrosio Huici Miranda, Historia política del Imperio Almohade, 2 vol. (1956–57), both with numerous bibliographic references.

Pacemaker

2005-03-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

A healthy human heart contains its own electrical conducting system capable of controlling both the rate and the order of cardiac contractions. Electrical impulses are generated at

Yhwh

2005-03-02T10:36:00.000-08:00

In Hebrew, the name of God as revealed to Moses. Because of its four letters, it is also known as the Tetragrammaton. See Yahweh.

Brücke, Ernst Wilhelm Von

2005-03-02T03:47:00.000-08:00

Brücke was a member of a school of physiologists (including

Tabuaeran Atoll

2005-03-01T00:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Fanning Atoll, coral formation of the Northern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Discovered in 1798 by an American, Edmund Fanning, the atoll is composed of several islets, with a total area of 13 square miles (35 square km), that surround a lagoon 32 miles (51 km) in circumference. It was annexed in 1888 by Britain as the site for a transpacific cable-relay station, which was in

Adana

2005-02-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

City, south-central Turkey, situated in the plain of Cilicia, on the Seyhan River (the ancient Sarus River). An agricultural and industrial centre and the nation's fourth largest city, it probably overlies a Hittite settlement that dates from approximately 1400 BC; and its history has been profoundly influenced by its location at the foot of the Taurus Mountain passes leading

Biblical Literature, The fall of Israel

2005-02-27T23:03:00.000-08:00

After the death of Jeroboam II, however, Israel faced a period of continuous disaster; and no prophetic figure was able to arrest the steady internal decay. From 746–721, when Samaria finally fell to the Assyrians, there were six kings, the last being Hoshea, a conspirator who had assassinated the previous king. The Assyrian king Sargon II deported the leading citizens of Samaria

Hooker, Sir William Jackson

2005-02-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

Hooker was the son of a merchant's clerk and descendant of Richard Hooker, noted theologian of the 16th century. A fortuitous discovery in 1805 of

Breed Association

2005-02-27T00:27:00.000-08:00

Organization that promotes the respective breeds of horses and registers horses that meet certain qualifications. A new association may admit horses that meet certain qualifications but whose parents are not registered; this is called an open association. The qualifications may be type, colour, or speed. Standardbred horses, for example, are admitted to the registry

Calcarenite

2005-02-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

Sedimentary rock formed of calcareous particles ranging in diameter from 0.06 to 2 mm (0.002 to 0.08 inch) that have been deposited mechanically rather than from solution. The particles, which consist of fossil materials, pebbles and granules of carbonate rock, and oölites (spherical nodules with concentric structure), are transported and sorted by flowing water. When formed almost

Wahhab, Muhammad Ibn 'abd Al-

2005-02-26T06:29:00.000-08:00

Having completed his formal education in the holy city of Medina, in Arabia, 'Abd al-Wahhab lived abroad for many years. He taught for four years in Basra, Iraq, and in Baghdad he married an affluent woman whose property he inherited

Parable

2005-02-25T03:46:00.000-08:00

Short fictitious narrative that illustrates a moral attitude, a doctrine, a standard of conduct, or a religious principle. The term originally referred to a Greek rhetorical figure, a kind of extended simile, involving the use of a literary illustration. The parable differs from the fable in the inherent plausibility of its story and in the exclusion of anthropomorphic

Biblical Literature, Italian versions

2005-02-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

These medieval versions were never made from the original languages. They were influenced by French and Provençal renderings as well as by the form of the Latin Vulgate current

Cheke, Sir John

2005-02-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

Cheke also spelled Cheek English humanist and supporter of the Protestant Reformation who, as the poet John Milton said, “taught Cambridge and King Edward Greek” and who, with his friend Sir Thomas Smith, discovered the proper pronunciation of ancient Greek. Through his teaching he made the University of Cambridge the centre of the “new learning” and the Reformed religion.

Furniture, Turned work

2005-02-24T03:14:00.000-08:00

Turning is a process by which parts of furniture, such as legs and posts, are shaped while turning on a lathe. Turned work is found on Greco-Roman furniture. It is not certain whether the technique was actually employed in Egyptian furniture, though some members look as though they might have been turned. It was particularly in the shaping of wooden chair legs that Greek

Frances Of Rome, Saint

2005-02-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

When she was only 13, Frances' parents married her to Lorenzo de' Ponziani, whose sister-in-law, Vannozza, helped Frances draft a rule of life for the new order. In

Boil

2005-02-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Furuncle, or Furunculosis, a staphylococcus skin infection characterized by an inflamed nodular swelling filled with pus, located at the site of a hair follicle. The lesion is painful and feels hard to the touch; healing begins after the pus is discharged. Boils are usually located in hairy body areas exposed to friction and maceration, such as the back of the neck, the face, armpits, buttocks,

Henderson

2005-02-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Henderson county, northwestern Kentucky, U.S., on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River, 7 miles (11 km) south of Evansville, Indiana. The town site, around Red Banks (settled 1784), was laid out in 1797 by the Transylvania Land Company and named for its promoter, Richard Henderson. Originally a farming settlement, its economy is evenly balanced among industry, agriculture (corn

Baltic States, Climate

2005-02-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

Over most of the region, annual rainfall varies between 22 and 28 inches (550 and 700 millimetres) and generally increases from the coastal zone to the upland districts of the interior. The prevailing temperatures are moderate by the standards of European Russia and in general improve from north to south and from east to west across the Baltic region. January mean temperatures

Character Writer

2005-02-21T03:08:00.000-08:00

Any writer who produced a type of character sketch that was popular in 17th-century England and France. Their writings stemmed from a series of character sketches that the Greek philosopher and teacher Theophrastus (fl. c. 372 BC) had written, possibly as part of a larger work and probably with the intention of instructing and amusing his students of rhetoric. Theophrastus'

Avijja

2005-02-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

(Pali), in the Buddhist chain of dependent origination, the ignorance that fetters man to transmigration. See pratitya-samutpada.

Naguib, Muhammad

2005-02-20T16:13:00.000-08:00

A professional soldier, Naguib distinguished himself during the Egyptian defeat at the hands of Israel (1948) and won the respect of the Free Officers, a nationalist military group led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. In 1952 the Free

Hands, Imposition Of

2005-02-20T14:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Laying On Of Hands, ritual act in which a priest or other religious functionary places one or both hands palms down on the top of another person's head, usually while saying a prayer or blessing. The imposition of hands was first practiced in Judaism and was adopted by Christianity. In the Hebrew Bible it is associated with three interrelated ideas: consecration (i.e., setting apart for

Mind

2005-02-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

To the extent that mind is manifested in observable

Painting, Western, Germany

2005-02-19T04:47:00.000-08:00

In Germany also there was a reaction against classicism and the academies, and, as elsewhere, it involved all aspects of the arts. Again, as elsewhere, theory preceded practice: Herzensergiessungen eines kunstliebenden Klosterbruders (“Effusions of an Art-Loving Monk”), by Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, had an immediate and widespread influence upon its publication

Gravure Printing

2005-02-18T13:24:00.000-08:00

Photomechanical intaglio process in which the image to be printed consists of depressions or recesses on the surface of the printing plate. The process is the reverse of relief printing, in which the image is raised from the surface of the plate. The printer forms the image by cutting into the plate by hand or by using acids or other chemicals to etch the plate along

Barahona

2005-02-18T06:17:00.000-08:00

In full Santa Cruz De Barahona, city, southwestern Dominican Republic. It lies along Neiba Bay, off the Caribbean Sea, at the northeastern foot of the Sierra de Bahoruco. The gateway to the Dominican Republic's lake district, Barahona is an important port and fishing centre. Sugarcane is grown in the surrounding alluvial lowlands, coffee in the mountains. The city's industrial and commercial activity

Paul Karadjordjevic, Prince

2005-02-18T03:39:00.000-08:00

When Yugoslavia's king Alexander I was assassinated (Oct. 9, 1934), Paul was appointed regent for his 11-year-old nephew Peter II. Although Paul's sympathies lay with the British-French entente, he was forced to submit to Hitler's demands and align his country

Mitral Insufficiency

2005-02-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Mitral Regurgitation, inability of the mitral valve to prevent the flow of blood back from the left ventricle, or lower chamber of the heart, into the left atrium, or upper chamber. Normally, the valve permits blood to flow from the atrium to the ventricle but prevents its return. Most often, the inability of the mitral valve to close adequately is caused by scarring from rheumatic heart disease;

China, Political developments

2005-02-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

The socialist transformation of agriculture, industry, and commerce thus went relatively smoothly. Nevertheless, changes of this sort could not take place without considerable tensions. Many peasants streamed into the cities in 1956–57 to escape the new cooperatives and to seek employment in the rapidly expanding state-run factories, where government policy kept

Cytoplasm

2005-02-16T14:40:00.000-08:00

The protoplasm of a cell external to the nuclear membrane. In eukaryotes (i.e., cells having a nucleus), the cytoplasm contains all of the organelles except for the nucleus itself. Among such organelles are the mitochondria, which are the sites of energy production through ATP (adenosine triphosphate) synthesis; the endoplasmic reticulum, the site of lipid and protein

Pre-columbian Civilizations, Civil war on the eve of the Spanish conquest

2005-02-16T08:16:00.000-08:00

Huayna Capac's father had begun the custom of marrying a full sister in order to keep the royal bloodline pure and, more importantly, to prevent conflict over succession. According to this custom, one sister became the principal wife of the emperor, and one of their sons became the next ruler. As noted above, this system had failed at Huayna Capac's succession. Nor did it

'abd Al-mu'min

2005-02-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

'Abd al-Mu'min came from a humble family: his father had been a potter. He seems to have been well instructed in the Muslim faith and must have had a good knowledge of Arabic, for he wished to continue his studies at one of the centres of Muslim learning in the East. A chance meeting with Ibn Tumart, a Berber religious reformer, made him abandon this idea and begin his brilliant

Girandole

2005-02-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

Elaborate wall bracket incorporating one or more candleholders and frequently a mirror to reflect the light. An object of luxury, it was usually embellished with carving and gilding. Although the name is Italian in origin, girandoles reached the greatest heights of fashion (in the second half of the 18th century) in France and England. At the beginning of this period

Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Ltd.

2005-02-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

The company was founded in 1918 by Matsushita Konosuke to manufacture and market the electric lamp sockets and plugs he designed. It was incorporated in 1935, when it took its present name, and began expanding rapidly into a number of varied electrical

Piezoelectricity

2005-02-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

Pressure on certain

Bone China

2005-02-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

Hybrid hard-paste porcelain containing bone ash. The initial development of bone china is attributed to Josiah Spode the Second, who introduced it around 1800. His basic formula of six parts bone ash, four parts china stone, and three and a half parts china clay remains the standard English body. Although hard porcelain is strong, it chips fairly easily and, unless specially

Pribicevic, Svetozar

2005-02-12T04:54:00.000-08:00

Initially Pribicevic favoured a centralized Yugoslav nation rather than a federation of the South Slav peoples; as minister of the interior, he jailed Stjepan Radic, head of the Croatian Peasant

Argentina, Agribusiness

2005-02-12T04:41:00.000-08:00

Beef initiated industrialization in Argentina. The success of beef came as refrigeration techniques were perfected to allow, after 1876, for the storage and shipment of fresh meat. By the late 1920s frigoríficos (meat-packing plants) were located in various parts of the country, several of them in the Buenos Aires area. Later shipments proceeded from La Plata, Rosario, and

Kogi

2005-02-11T22:50:00.000-08:00

The state consists of a wooded savanna region bisected by the southward-flowing

Plymouth

2005-02-11T03:53:00.000-08:00

Named Sudtone in Domesday Book (1086), Plymouth's original harbour is still called Sutton Harbour. A developing trade and the shipment of armies

Midas

2005-02-10T04:52:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Missile Defense Alarm System, any of a series of unmanned U.S. military satellites developed to provide warning against surprise attacks by Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles. Midas was the first such warning system in the world. Launched during the early 1960s, the reconnaissance satellites were equipped with infrared sensors capable of detecting the heat of a ballistic missile's rocket

Insurance, Business property insurance

2005-02-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

Insurance for business property follows a pattern that is similar in many ways to the one for individual property. A commonly used form is the “building and personal property coverage form” (BPP). This form permits a business owner to cover in one policy the buildings, fixtures, machinery and equipment, and personal property used in business and the personal property

Biblical Literature, Ruth

2005-02-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

The Book of Ruth is a beautiful short story about a number of good people, particularly the Moabite great-grandmother of David. Though events are set in the time of the judges, linguistic and other features suggest that the present form dates from post-exilic times. But it gives the impression of being based on an ancient tradition, perhaps on written source. It was certainly