BitterSpade

La Plata

2005-04-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

City, capital of Buenos Aires provincia, Argentina, 6 miles (9 km) inland from the southern shore of the Río de la Plata estuary. The site was selected in 1882 by the provincial governor of Buenos Aires, Dardo Rocha, as the new provincial seat, a move made necessary when Buenos Aires was federalized as the national capital (1880). The city plan was modeled on that of Washington, D.C.; and a municipal

Differential Equation

2005-04-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

Mathematical statement containing one or more derivatives, that is, terms representing the relationships between the rates of change of continuously varying quantities. Differential equations are very common in science and engineering, other fields of quantitative study. The solution of a differential equation is, in general, an algebraic equation expressing

Rowing

2005-04-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

In competitive rowing the oar is

Malacostracan, The nervous system and sensory organs

2005-04-03T03:12:00.000-07:00

The malacostracan central nervous system consists, in primitive forms, of a ventral nerve cord and ganglia within each body segment. The supraesophageal ganglion innervates the eyes, antennules, and antennae, and the subesophageal ganglion innervates the mouthparts of the head region. In amphipods and anomuran decapods the ganglia of abdominal segments are

Robert The Devil

2005-04-03T00:09:00.000-08:00

French Robert Le Diable, legendary son of a duke of Normandy, born in answer to prayers addressed to the devil. He uses his immense strength only for crime. Directed by the pope to consult a certain holy hermit, he is delivered from his curse by maintaining absolute silence, feigning madness, taking his food from the mouth of a dog, and provoking ill-treatment from the common people without retaliating.

Nagai Kafu

2005-04-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

Edward Seidensticker, Kafu the Scribbler (1965, reprinted 1990), a biographical and critical study, also includes a number of translations of Kafu's works.

Elias, Norbert

2005-04-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

Elias studied medicine, philosophy, and sociology and taught at the universities of Heidelberg

Uralic Languages, The distribution of the daughter languages

2005-03-31T05:37:00.000-08:00

The central Volga origin hypothesis is also supported by the geographic distribution of the daughter languages. Except for Hungarian, which moved westward across the steppes, the Finno-Ugric languages form two chains distributed along major waterways, with the confluence of the Kama and Volga at their centre. One chain extends northward along the Kama, across

Los Angeles Zoo, The

2005-03-31T04:00:00.000-08:00

Byname Griffith Park Zoo, zoological park founded in 1912 in Los Angeles as the Griffith Park Menagerie. It is a completely outdoor zoo that has holdings of the emperor tamarin, mountain tapir, and California condor. The Los Angeles Zoo was also the first to breed the tarictic hornbill. Comprising a main zoo and a children's zoo, it occupies 46 hectares (113 acres) of Griffith Park, a large city-owned park. The

Halebid

2005-03-30T04:30:00.000-08:00

Historic site and modern village, south-central Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southwestern India. It is situated north-northwest of the town of Hassan. It grew up beside a large artificial lake, known as Dorasamudra (Dvarasamudra), which was probably built by the Rastrakutas in the 9th century. In the early 12th century the Hoysalas made it their capital, and for about two centuries

Elias, Norbert

2005-03-30T04:12:00.000-08:00

Interleukins are a subset of a larger group of cellular messenger molecules called cytokines, which are modulators

Piedmont

2005-03-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

To the south, west, and north Piedmont is surrounded by the vast arc of the Ligurian Apennines and the Maritime, Cottian, Graian, and Pennine Alps. The core of Piedmont is the Po River valley, which lies open to the east and consists

Atwood, Margaret (eleanor)

2005-03-28T13:38:00.000-08:00

In her early poetry

Nachi-katsuura

2005-03-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Town, Wakayama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean. Lying within Yoshino-Kumano National Park, the town is a summer resort renowned for its proximity to more than 40 waterfalls. The main fall is one of the highest in Japan, dropping 427 feet (130 m); it is approached through a large gate set in a grove of ancient cedars. The 7th-century Seiganto Temple is an important

Biogenetic Law

2005-03-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Recapitulation Theory, postulation, by Ernst Haeckel in 1866, that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny—i.e., the development of the animal embryo and young traces the evolutionary development of the species. The theory was influential and much-popularized earlier but has been of little significance in elucidating either evolution or embryonic growth.

Adams, Charles Francis

2005-03-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

The son of Pres. John Quincy Adams and the grandson of Pres. John Adams, Charles was early introduced to a cosmopolitan way of life when his father was appointed minister to Russia

Azay-le-rideau

2005-03-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

Town and château, Indre-et-Loire département, Centre région, central France. The town lies along the Indre River a few miles upstream from its confluence with the Loire River, about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Tours. Originally the site of a Roman villa, the town was known in the 12th century as Azayum. When the French dauphin (later Charles VII) was insulted by the Burgundian guard

France, History Of, Gaul under the late Roman Empire (c. 250c. 400)

2005-03-24T22:44:00.000-08:00

High Roman Gaul came to an end in an empirewide crisis characterized by foreign invasions and a rapid succession of rulers, as increased pressure on the empire's frontiers exacerbated its internal economic and political weaknesses. Priority was given to holding the Danube and the East; despite sporadic visits by emperors, the West was neglected. In 260 and 276 Gaul suffered

Critius And Nesiotes

2005-03-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

Greek sculptors known for their bronze figures of the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogiton, copies of the original bronzes executed by Antenor about 510 BC, which were taken by Xerxes I to Susa and subsequently lost. The copies were placed in the agora in Athens; the figure of the tyrannicides has been identified on Roman coins, vases, reliefs, and

Kenite

2005-03-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

Member of a tribe of itinerant metalsmiths related to the Midianites and the Israelites who plied their trade while traveling in the region of the Arabah (the desert rift valley extending from the Sea of Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba) from at least the 13th century to the 9th century BC. The Kenites' name was derived from Cain, whose descendants they were believed to be. The Kenites

Rodin, Auguste

2005-03-21T16:32:00.000-08:00

In full François-Auguste-René Rodin French sculptor of sumptuous bronze and marble figures, considered by some critics to be the greatest portraitist in the history of sculpture. His La Porte de l'Enfer (The Gates of Hell; see photograph), commissioned in 1880 for the future Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, remained unfinished at his death but nonetheless

China, International affairs

2005-03-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

China's foreign policy since 1978 generally has reflected the country's preoccupation with domestic economic development and its desire to promote a peaceful and stable environment in which to achieve these domestic goals. Except for its disagreement with Vietnam over that country's invasion of Cambodia in 1978, China has by and large avoided disputes and encouraged

Adamawa Plateau

2005-03-21T01:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Adamaoua Plateau, volcanic upland in west-central Africa. Though chiefly in north-central Cameroon, part of the plateau, known as the Gotel Mountains, is in southeastern Nigeria. The plateau is the source of the Benue River. Its highest elevations are more than 8,700 feet (2,650 m) above sea level. Many craters and small lakes attest to the region's volcanic origin. Vegetation is chiefly savanna, with

Ichikawa Family

2005-03-20T20:57:00.000-08:00

Kabuki actors flourishing in Edo (modern Tokyo) from the 17th century to the present. The most famous names are Danjuro, Ebizo, Danzo, and Ebijuro, and, according to kabuki convention, these names were assumed by a natural or adopted son of the Ichikawa family when his skill entitled him to inherit the mantle of a famous ancestor. Thus, there have been 12 Danjuros (the highest honorific

Turbo Train

2005-03-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

High-speed passenger train powered by a gas-turbine engine similar to that used in jet aircraft. Unlike conventional trains, the turbo variety does not have a separate locomotive; its turbine power unit is small enough to be built into a passenger car. A typical turbo train consists of several passenger cars with power units located in each of the end cars. The cars

Infection, Common worm infections

2005-03-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

The worm Ascaris lumbricoides causes one of the most prevalent infections in the world. It lives in the soil and its eggs are ingested with contaminated food. The eggs hatch in the human intestine and the worms then travel through the bloodstream to the liver, heart, and lungs. They can cause pneumonia, perforations of the intestine, or blockage of the bile ducts, but

Buyid Dynasty,

2005-03-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

'Ali, appointed governor of Karaj about 930 by the Daylamite leader Mardaviz ebn Zeyar, seized Isfahan and

Kaesong

2005-03-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern North Korea. It lies just south of the 38th parallel and northwest of Seoul, South Korea. One of the oldest cities of Korea, Kaesong was the capital of the Koryo dynasty (935–1392). It was formerly called Songdo (“City of Pine”), so named because it is surrounded by pine-covered mountains: Songak (2,506 feet [764 m]), Osong (3,483 feet), Nam (584 feet), and Mansu (754 feet). Kaesong is a castle city enclosed by a

Juan Carlos

2005-03-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

Juan Carlos was the grandson of the last king, Alfonso XIII, who left Spain in 1931 and died in exile 10 years later, after renouncing his rights in favour of his third son, Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg, conde de

Gwalchmai Ap Meilyr

2005-03-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

One of the earliest Welsh court poets (gogynfardd) at the court of Owain Gwynedd at Aberffraw, Anglesey. His extant poems include traditional eulogies to the Welsh princes Owain Gwynedd and Madog ap Maredudd and a “boasting poem,” Gorhoffedd, celebrating his prowess in war and with women. The son of Meilyr, the earliest of the court poets, Gwalchmai had at least two sons

Knappertsbusch, Hans

2005-03-17T00:48:00.000-08:00

At his family's urging, Knappertsbusch studied philosophy at the University of Bonn. However, he also pursued his interest in music and in 1908 began studying at the Cologne Conservatory under Fritz Steinbach

Winterhalter, Franz Xaver

2005-03-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

Trained in Freiburg im Breisgau and Munich, Germany, Winterhalter entered court circles when in 1828 he became drawing master to Sophie, later grand duchess of Baden, at Karlsruhe. After 1834 he went to Paris and quickly became fashionable, at first under

Danelaw

2005-03-15T22:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Danelagh, or Danelaga, the northern, central, and eastern region of Anglo-Saxon England colonized by invading Danish armies in the late 9th century. In the 11th and 12th centuries, it was recognized that all of eastern England between the Rivers Tees and Thames formed a region in which a distinctive form of customary law prevailed in the local courts, differing from West Saxon law to the south

Suyuti, Al-

2005-03-15T02:56:00.000-08:00

The son of a judge, al-Suyuti was tutored by a Sufi (Muslim mystic) friend of his father. He was precocious and was already a teacher in 1462. In 1486 he was appointed to a chair in the mosque of Baybars in Cairo. When in 1501 he tried to reduce

Bartholin, Caspar Berthelsen

2005-03-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

At the University of Padua (1608–10) Bartholin conducted anatomical studies under the famed Italian anatomist Hieronymus Fabricius ab Aquapendente. These formed the basis for his manual Anatomicae Institutiones Corporis

Duran, Profiat

2005-03-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

Duran was the descendant of a scholarly Jewish family of southern France. He was educated in Germany and then took a position as tutor with a wealthy family in Catalonia. There, in 1391, in a wave of Spanish religious persecution,

Yamazaki Ansai

2005-03-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

A Buddhist monk early in life, Ansai began to study Confucianism and gradually turned against

Escrivá De Balaguer, Josemaría, Saint

2005-03-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

In full Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic church, founder in 1928 of Opus Dei, a Catholic organization of laymen and priests claiming to strive to live Christian lives in their chosen professions. By the time of Escrivá's death in 1975, its members numbered some 60,000 in 80 countries, and its critics charged it with

Dollarization: Is It Worth It?

2005-03-13T01:07:00.000-08:00

To many analysts the trend toward dollarization was unexpected, since adopting a new currency can be quite costly. One major expense is the loss of seigniorage, the profit that a country earns when it issues a currency. For example, the cost to the U.S. of printing its currency is estimated at less than 0.1% of the currency's face value, yet the notes are sold at face value to banks.

Fruitworm Beetle

2005-03-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

Any of a few genera of insects in the family Byfuridae (order Coleoptera) whose larvae feed on fruit. A common example of this family of small, hairy, oval beetles is the raspberry fruitworm (Byturus rubi). The small, pale larva, which is covered with short fine hairs, attacks the raspberry fruit. The adult, which ranges in colour from reddish yellow to black, is about 4 mm (0.16 inch)

Spock, Benjamin

2005-03-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

Spock received his medical degree in 1929 from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and trained for six years at the New York

Alaska, Power

2005-03-11T06:52:00.000-08:00

Alaska's immense hydropower reserve is virtually untapped. The largest project is at Lake Eklutna, near Anchorage. A hydroelectric development near Juneau delivers power to the panhandle area, and the Bradley Lake dam, on the Kenai Peninsula, went into operation in 1991 to deliver power to the central and southern regions. Most other communities depend on diesel and

Escrivá De Balaguer, Josemaría, Saint

2005-03-11T03:54:00.000-08:00

Arrow-poison frogs are tiny, usually measuring only 1–5 cm (0.5–2 inches) long, but very conspicuous, coloured in combinations of black with bright red, yellow, pink, orange, green, and blue. They

Lochner, Stefan

2005-03-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

Little is known of his early life, but he is thought to have studied in the Netherlands, possibly under Robert Campin (tentatively identified with the

Nilotic Languages

2005-03-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Nilotic languages are usually divided into a Western group (containing

Trichina

2005-03-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

Mating takes place in the host's small intestine, after which the fertilized female trichinae

Saarbrücken

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

City, capital (1959) of Saarland Land (state), southwestern Germany, on the Saar River at the mouth of the Sulz River, a frontier station opposite Forbach, Fr. There were Celtic and Roman settlements in the vicinity, but the name is derived from the Frankish royal castle of Sarrabrucca, referring to a bridge across the river dating from Roman times. Its early rulers were the bishops

Tietäjä

2005-03-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

The principal religious specialist of the Baltic Finns, functioning in the tradition of the Finno-Ugric shaman. Operating in a more complex, agricultural society than his more primitive counterparts, such as the Sami noiade, who worked in a hunting and fishing society, the tietäjä-type specialist differed from his predecessor chiefly in the number of roles he mastered,

Hughes, William Morris

2005-03-07T14:40:00.000-08:00

Hughes emigrated to Queensland in 1884. After working for the unionization of maritime workers in Sydney, he was elected to the New South Wales legislature in 1894 as a Labor Party member. He entered the first federal Parliament in 1901 and served as attorney

Colepeper (of Thoresway), John Colepeper, 1st Baron

2005-03-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Elected member for Kent in the Long Parliament, he took the popular side, supporting the Earl of Strafford's attainder and receiving an appointment to the Parliamentary committee of defense in 1641. He separated, however, from the popular party on the church

Mountain, The Zagros and Bitlis mountains

2005-03-06T23:47:00.000-08:00

The Arabian Peninsula, its northeastern edge covered by thick sedimentary rocks, has collided with Iran and Turkey at the Zagros and Bitlis sutures to form the Zagros and Bitlis mountains. Thick layers of salt in the Arabian shield's sedimentary rock have allowed the overlying layers to detach and fold, creating a particularly well-developed fold and thrust belt

Epistemology, Kinds of perceptions

2005-03-06T02:28:00.000-08:00

Hume has a twofold division of perceptions: impressions and ideas. Impressions are perceptions that enter with “most force and violence.” Ideas are “faint images” of impressions. Hume thinks the distinction so obvious that he demurs from explaining it at any length. Impressions are felt; ideas are thought, he indicates in his summary explication. He also concedes that,

China, The bureaucratic style

2005-03-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

Regular posts in the Nan Sung civil service numbered about 20,000 without counting numerous sinecures, temporary commissions, and a slightly larger number of military officers. Besides eliminating most patronage privileges, by which high officials were entitled to obtain an official title for a son or other family member, the court occasionally considered a general

Fruit Spot

2005-03-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

Symptom of plant disease, usually caused by fungi and bacteria. A spot is a definite, localized area. Spots frequently enlarge and merge to form a rot, a softening discoloration and often a disintegration of tissue. All fruits are susceptible; infection commonly starts at a wound, the stem end, or the underside. Bacterial decays that are caused

Alabama, Transportation

2005-03-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Together, the six major rivers of Alabama provide about 1,300 miles of navigable waterways, while Mobile Bay has been deepened by a ship channel. Mobile developed as a modernized port and ranks among the top dozen seaports of the nation. The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, a 234-mile canal opened in 1985, connected two of the state's main river systems. Although railroad transportation,

Lignite

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

Brown to black coal that has been formed from peat under moderate pressure; it is one of the first products of coalification and is intermediate between peat and subbituminous coal. Dry lignite contains about 60 to 75 percent carbon. It has been estimated that about 45 percent of the world's total coal reserves are lignitic, but these reserves have not been exploited to any

Baseball

2005-03-03T00:32:00.000-08:00

(ROBERT WILLIAM VERDI)

Pluto

2005-03-03T00:18:00.000-08:00

Pluto, designated {Pluto symbol} in astronomy, is so distant that sunlight traveling at 299,792 km per second takes more than five hours to reach the planet. An observer standing on the planet's surface would see the Sun as an extremely bright star in the

Anthem

2005-03-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

At first, unaccompanied choral writing, or

Antarctica, Glaciers and seas

2005-03-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Malcolm Mellor (ed.), Antarctic Snow and Ice Studies (1964); and A.P. Crary (ed.), Antarctic Snow and Ice Studies II (1971), are collections mainly of topical studies of greatly varied scope. John Mercer, Glaciers of the Antarctic (1967), provides a general review of Antarctica's glaciers. Stephen J. Pyne, The Ice (1986), investigates Antarctic ice and also describes other aspects of the region, including exploration, literature, and art. A.L. Gordon and R.D. Goldberg, Circumpolar Characteristics of Antarctic Waters (1970); and Joseph L. Reid and Dennis E. Hayes (eds.), Antarctic Oceanology, 2 vol. (1971–72), describe features of South Polar water masses, their currents, and their interactions with subtropical and subantarctic waters, as well as of the ocean floor and sediment carpet. George Deacon, The Antarctic Circumpolar Ocean (1984), includes a summary of early discoveries by explorers, sealers, and whalers and a review of modern knowledge of Antarctic waters.

Bali

2005-02-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

Island and provinsi (“province”) in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the island of Java. The provinsi has an area of 2,147 square miles (5,561 square km). Most of Bali is mountainous (essentially an extension of the central mountain chain in Java), the highest point being Mount Agung, or Bali Peak, 10,308 feet (3,142 m) in height and known locally as the “navel of the world.” It proved to be

Furniture, Cupboard

2005-02-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

Strictly speaking, the cupboard is a derivative form of the chest. Early Renaissance cupboards resembled two chests placed one on top of the other, but they were opened from the front by means of doors. The design and construction of the cupboard's pronounced front have always provided ample scope for artistic composition, and it is no mere coincidence that the cupboard

Scythian Art

2005-02-28T04:42:00.000-08:00

Also called Steppes art decorative objects, mainly jewelry and trappings for horse, tent, and wagon, produced by nomadic tribes that roamed Central Asia from slightly east of the Altai Mountains in Inner Mongolia to European Russia. What little is known of these tribes, called Scyths, or Sacae, in the classical sources, indicates that they established control of the plain north of the Black

Widor, Charles-marie

2005-02-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

The son and grandson of organ builders, Widor began his studies under his father and at the age of 11 became organist at the secondary school of Lyon. After studies in organ and composition in Brussels, he returned to Lyon (1860) to succeed his father as organist at Saint-François, where he remained for a decade.

Hand Tool

2005-02-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

Any of the implements used by craftsmen in manual operations, such as chopping, chiseling, sawing, filing, or forging. Complementary tools, often needed as auxiliaries to shaping tools, include such implements as the hammer for nailing and the vise for holding. A craftsman may also use instruments that facilitate accurate measurements: the rule, divider, square, and

Mormon

2005-02-26T06:50:00.000-08:00

The First Presidency (church president and two councillors), the Council of the Twelve, the First Quorum of Seventy (and its presidency, concerned especially with missions), and the presiding bishop and two councillors (who control the Aaronic priesthood) constitute the “General Authorities” of the church. They are “sustained in office” by the regular and now ritualized

Udon Thani

2005-02-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern Thailand, near the northern (Laotian) border. Udon Thani is the major town of the northern Khorat Plateau and is served by road, rail, and air. The surrounding area produces rice, livestock, timber, and freshwater fish. Pop. (1986 est.) 82,706.

France, History Of, The prewar years

2005-02-26T00:03:00.000-08:00

From 1899 to 1905 a fairly coherent coalition of left-wing and centre parties (the so-called Bloc Républicain) provided France with stable government. The Cabinets headed by Waldeck-Rousseau in 1899–1902 and Émile Combes in 1902–1905 managed to liquidate the Dreyfus affair and to carry through the anticlerical reforms that culminated in the separation of church and state. The Entente Cordiale

China, Coinage

2005-02-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

Copper coins were used throughout the Ming dynasty. Paper money was used for various kinds of payments and grants by the government, but it was always nonconvertible and, consequently, lost value disastrously. It would, in fact, have been utterly valueless except that it was prescribed for the payment of certain types of taxes. The exchange of precious metals was forbidden

Saule

2005-02-24T14:32:00.000-08:00

According to Baltic myth, Saule, the sun, rides each day through the sky on a chariot with copper wheels, drawn by horses who neither tire nor rest nor sweat. Toward evening Saule washes the horses in the sea, sitting on top of a hill, holding the golden reins

Sorabji, Kaikhosru Shapurji

2005-02-24T00:03:00.000-08:00

Dudley was of Parsi, Sicilian, and Spanish descent and spent most of his life in England. As a young man he became interested in his father's Parsi

Trinidad And Tobago

2005-02-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

The nation's new coalition government

Pencil

2005-02-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

Slender rod of a solid marking substance, such as graphite, enclosed in a cylinder of wood, metal, or plastic; used as an implement for writing, drawing, or marking. In 1565 the German-Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner first described a writing instrument in which graphite, then thought to be a type of lead, was inserted into a wooden holder. Gesner was the first to describe graphite

Fiction

2005-02-22T03:08:00.000-08:00

Literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation. Types of literature in the fiction genre include the novel, short story, and novella. The word is from the Latin fictio, “the act of making, fashioning, or molding.”

Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines D'

2005-02-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

During eight years of travel in South America (1826–34) Orbigny studied the people, natural history, and geology of the continent. He summarized these studies in Voyage dans l'Amérique méridionale, 10 vol., (1834–47; “Journey into South America”) and proceeded to draw up the first comprehensive map of that

Bread Crumb Sponge

2005-02-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

(Halichondria panicea), member of the class Demospongiae (phylum Porifera), so called because of the way in which it crumbles when handled. H. panicea is a common sponge that encrusts hard substrata and seaweed on the shore and in shallow subtidal regions. Varying in colour from dark green to light yellow, it is frequently found in shaded crevices or under overhangs. Its

Lord High Steward

2005-02-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

An honorific office that came to England with the Norman ducal household. From 1153 it was held by the earls of Leicester and then of Lancaster until it came into the hands of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, who assumed control over the minor King Richard II and strengthened the office. By the Duke's order the minutes were kept of proceedings held before him on the claims

Saransk

2005-02-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

City and capital of Mordvinia, in western Russia. It lies along the upper Insar River and on the western flank of the Volga River uplands. The city was founded in 1641 as a stronghold on the Saransk defensive line. It is an important route centre, with railways to Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, and Penza. Industrial development was greatly stimulated in World War II,

Biblical Literature, Manuscripts and printed editions of the Septuagint

2005-02-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

The manuscripts are conveniently classified by papyri uncials (capital letters) and minuscules (cursive script). The papyri fragments run into the hundreds, of varying sizes and importance, ranging from the formative period of the Septuagint through the middle of the 7th century. Two pre-Christian fragments of Deuteronomy from Egypt are of outstanding significance.

Storstrøm

2005-02-17T16:24:00.000-08:00

Amtskommune (county), Denmark, created in 1970 from the former counties of Maribo and Præstø. It has an area of 1,311 square miles (3,396 square km). The southernmost part of Denmark, the county embraces southeastern Zealand (Sjælland); Lolland, Falster, and Møn islands; and several islets. Impressive limestone cliffs occur at Stevns Klint and Møns Klint on Zealand. Fertile clay loams support

Bondoukou

2005-02-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Côte d'Ivoire, situated at the intersection of roads from Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Abidjan, the national capital. An early trade centre of the Kulango (Koulango, Pakhalla, N'Gora) people, Bondoukou was captured in the late 15th century by the Brong (Abron), an Akan people from the west. The Brong were converted to Islam by Dyula traders from the north, who founded a

Kiriath-sepher

2005-02-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Debir , or Lo-debar , modern Tall Bayt Mirsham ancient town of Palestine, located near Hebron (in the Israeli-occupied West Bank). According to the Bible, the town was taken from the Canaanites either by Caleb's son-in-law Othniel or by Joshua himself. Tall Bayt Mirsham (Tell Beit Mirsim) was excavated (1926–32) by W.F. Albright, who uncovered exceptionally clear stratification from which he was able to give the first comprehensive

Antarctica, Antarctica and continental drift

2005-02-15T06:49:00.000-08:00

The geologic evolution of Antarctica has followed a course similar to that of the other southern continents. The earliest chapters in Antarctica's rather fragmentary record extend far back, perhaps as much as 3 billion years, into early Precambrian time. Similarity in patterns of crustal and biological evolution in the southern continents can be traced back some

Good-reasons Theory

2005-02-15T04:47:00.000-08:00

In American and British metaethics, an approach that tries to establish the validity or objectivity of moral judgments by examining the modes of reasoning used to support them. The approach first appeared in An Examination of the Place of Reason in Ethics (1950) by Stephen Toulmin, a British philosopher of science and ethicist. In general, the approach represents a reaction

Tudor Style

2005-02-15T00:30:00.000-08:00

Type of British architecture, mainly domestic, that grafted Renaissance decorative elements onto the Perpendicular Gothic style between 1485 and 1558. The Tudor style in architecture coincides with the first part of the reign of the Tudor monarchs, which commenced in 1485 with the accession of Henry VII to the throne and ended with the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. Elizabeth's own

Bloc National

2005-02-13T05:13:00.000-08:00

Right-wing coalition elected to the French Chamber of Deputies (lower house of the legislature) on a wave of nationalist sentiment at the end of World War I; it controlled the French government until 1924. The Bloc gained about three-fourths of the seats in the elections of November 1919, one of the largest conservative majorities in the history of the Third Republic (1870–1940). The Chamber

Carus

2005-02-13T02:25:00.000-08:00

Carus was probably from either Gaul or Illyricum and had served as prefect of the guard to the emperor Probus (276–282), whom he succeeded. Like his predecessors, Carus adopted the name Marcus Aurelius as a part of his imperial title. After a brief Danube campaign he led his troops against the Sasanians, penetrating beyond the Tigris, where he died suddenly and mysteriously,

Balaguer, Joaquín

2005-02-12T06:18:00.000-08:00

Balaguer earned a law degree from the University of Santo Domingo and a Ph.D. from the University of Paris. Between 1932 and 1957, he held numerous executive

Kylix

2005-02-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Cylix, in ancient Greek pottery, wide-bowled drinking cup with horizontal handles, one of the most popular pottery forms from Mycenaean times through the classical Athenian period. There was usually a painted frieze around the outer surface (see photograph), depicting a subject from mythology or everyday life, and on the bottom of the inside a painting often depicting

Lanai

2005-02-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

Island, Maui county, Hawaii, U.S., across the Auau channel from Maui Island. Formed by the extinct volcano Palawai (3,370 feet [1,027 m]), it has an area of 140 square miles (363 square km). In 1854 a group of Mormon elders formed a colony there that failed 10 years later. Lanai was used primarily for cattle grazing until 1922, when it was purchased by the Dole Corporation for use as a pineapple plantation. In 1961, Castle

Equestrian Sports

2005-02-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

In April 1997 Memo Gracida, the new leader of Isla Carroll, won his sixth consecutive and a record 15th career U.S. Open by defeating White Birch in the final at the Palm Beach (Fla.) Polo Club. Isla Carroll also gained the World Cup and the Gold Cup of the Americas, and White Birch won its eighth USPA Gold Cup. Grant's Farm Manor and Peapacton obtained the Sterling and Challenge cups,

Bellingshausen, Fabian Gottlieb Von

2005-02-11T00:42:00.000-08:00

Commanding

Pacatus Drepanius, Latinius

2005-02-10T23:23:00.000-08:00

It is uncertain whether Pacatus was pagan or Christian; in his speech he denounced Maximus' persecution of the Priscillianist heretics.

Resnais, Alain

2005-02-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Resnais was the son of a well-to-do pharmacist. A victim of chronic asthma, he spent a solitary childhood

Cellulose

2005-02-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

A complex carbohydrate, or polysaccharide, consisting of 3,000 or more glucose units. The basic structural component of plant cell walls, cellulose comprises about 33 percent of all vegetable matter (90 percent of cotton and 50 percent of wood are cellulose) and is the most abundant of all naturally occurring organic compounds. Nondigestible by man, cellulose is a food for herbivorous

Spanish Literature, Early drama

2005-02-07T22:33:00.000-08:00

The origins of drama in Spain are to be sought, as elsewhere, in the church. The Auto de los reyes magos (“Play of the Three Wise Kings”), an incomplete play of an Epiphany cycle, is the only surviving text of medieval Spanish drama. The characterization of the Magi and of Herod and his advisers was realistic, and the medley of metres foreshadowed one aspect of later development

Audiberti, Jacques

2005-02-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

A former clerk for the justice of the peace in Antibes, Audiberti began his writing career as a journalist, moving to Paris in 1925 to write for Le Journal and Le Petit Parisien. Later, he wrote more than 20 plays

Abu Rishah, 'umar

2005-02-07T05:40:00.000-08:00

Abu Rishah attended the University of Damascus in Syria, the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, and the University of Manchester, England. He was an early contributor to the influential Egyptian literary

Vietnamese Language

2005-02-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

Official language of Vietnam, spoken in the late 20th century by more than 66 million people. It belongs to the Viet-Muong subbranch of the Vietic branch of the Mon-Khmer family, which is itself a part of the Austroasiatic stock. Except for a group of divergent rural dialects spoken between Hue and Vinh, most of the dialects of Vietnamese differ from each other to about the

Smith, Bernard

2005-02-05T23:43:00.000-08:00

Smith was an apprentice of the German organ builder Christian Förmer but adapted easily to the English style of building after his emigration there in 1660. Some years after building an instrument for the Chapel Royal at London, Smith was named king's organ maker (1681). Thereafter he built many important

BitterSpade

La Plata

Differential Equation

Rowing

Malacostracan, The nervous system and sensory organs

Robert The Devil

Nagai Kafu

Elias, Norbert

Uralic Languages, The distribution of the daughter languages

Los Angeles Zoo, The

Halebid

Elias, Norbert

Piedmont

Atwood, Margaret (eleanor)

Nachi-katsuura

Biogenetic Law

Adams, Charles Francis

Azay-le-rideau

France, History Of, Gaul under the late Roman Empire (c. 250c. 400)

Critius And Nesiotes

Kenite

Rodin, Auguste

China, International affairs

Adamawa Plateau

Ichikawa Family

Turbo Train

Infection, Common worm infections

Buyid Dynasty,

Kaesong

Juan Carlos

Gwalchmai Ap Meilyr

Knappertsbusch, Hans

Winterhalter, Franz Xaver

Danelaw

Suyuti, Al-

Bartholin, Caspar Berthelsen

Duran, Profiat

Yamazaki Ansai

Escrivá De Balaguer, Josemaría, Saint

Dollarization: Is It Worth It?

Fruitworm Beetle

Spock, Benjamin

Alaska, Power

Escrivá De Balaguer, Josemaría, Saint

Lochner, Stefan

Nilotic Languages

Trichina

Saarbrücken

Tietäjä

Hughes, William Morris

Colepeper (of Thoresway), John Colepeper, 1st Baron

Mountain, The Zagros and Bitlis mountains

Epistemology, Kinds of perceptions

China, The bureaucratic style

Fruit Spot

Alabama, Transportation

Lignite

Baseball

Pluto

Anthem

Antarctica, Glaciers and seas

Bali

Furniture, Cupboard

Scythian Art

Widor, Charles-marie

Hand Tool

Mormon

Udon Thani

France, History Of, The prewar years

China, Coinage

Saule

Sorabji, Kaikhosru Shapurji

Trinidad And Tobago

Pencil

Fiction

Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines D'

Bread Crumb Sponge

Lord High Steward

Saransk

Biblical Literature, Manuscripts and printed editions of the Septuagint

France, History Of, Gaul under the late Roman Empire (c. 250c. 400)