title: Ridda Wars

text: With the collapse of the rebellions, Abu Bakr gained control of the entire Arabian Peninsula. He decided to expand the caliphate. It is unclear whether his intention was to mount a full-scale expansion, or preemptive attacks to secure a buffer zone between the Islamic state and the powerful Sasanian and Byzantine empires. This set the stage for the Islamic conquest of Persia.


title: Ridda Wars

text: Khalid was sent to the Persia with an army consisting of 18,000 volunteers, and conquered the richest province of the Persia: Iraq. Thereafter, Abu Bakr sent his armies to invade Roman Syria, an important province of the Byzantine Empire.


title: Ridda Wars

text: At some point during the rule of Umar ibn al-Khat'tab, the second caliph, the people of Yemen revolted once again under the leadership of a man named Ghayth ibn Abd Yaghuth. The avowed aim of the apostates was to drive the Muslims out of the Yemen by assassinating Fairoz and other important Muslim leaders. Fairoz somehow escaped and took shelter in the mountains in June or July 632. For the next six months Fairoz remained in his stronghold, during which time he was joined by thousands of Yemeni Muslims. When he felt strong enough, Fairoz marched to San'a and defeated Qais, who retreated with his remaining men northeast to Abyan, where they all surrendered and were subsequently pardoned by the caliph. On the other side, Uthman ibn Abi al-As also dispatched a force from Ta'if against rebel clans from the tribes of Azd and Bajila in Yemen. He later also contributed a twenty-man force from the city under the command of his brother to assist Medina's war efforts in Yemen. Abu Bakr kept Uthman in his post as did his successor Caliph Umar


title: Jericho, New York

text: Jericho is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island, approximately 29 miles (47 km) east of Midtown Manhattan. Its population was 13,567 as of the U.S. 2010 Census.


title: Jericho, New York

text: The area is served by the Jericho Union Free and the Syosset Central School Districts, the boundaries of which differ somewhat from those of the hamlet. The boundaries of the Jericho Post Office vary from both the hamlet and the school district boundaries, including a portion of Jericho in the Westbury zip code and a portion of Syosset in the Jericho zip code.


title: Jericho, New York

text: Located mainly in the Town of Oyster Bay with a small part in the Town of North Hempstead, Jericho was part of the Robert Williams Plantation in 1648. The English families who settled in Jericho were, or soon became, Quakers, members of the Society of Friends. Many fled from persecution in England and in the New England Colonies. They sought a peaceful existence as farmers. The name of the area was changed in 1692 from Lusum to Jericho after the town in the Middle East near the Jordan River mentioned in the Bible as part of the Promised Land.


title: Jericho, New York

text: Elias Hicks married Jemima Seaman in 1771 and moved to her family’s farm in Jericho, where he soon became a noted preacher of Quaker doctrine. All the Quakers suffered during the British occupation of Long Island in the Revolutionary War. The practice was to quarter troops in homes of residents, who had to provide room and board for them. The Quakers continued to protest the entire concept of war itself. After the war, peace returned to Jericho, and the neat farms and businesses began to prosper. A Friends Meeting house was built in 1788 in Jericho that is still used in the 21st century. A Quaker school was built in 1793, the Charity Society of Jericho and Westbury in 1794, and slavery was abolished in 1817, with Hicks' help.


title: Jericho, New York

text: A post office was established in 1802, a cider mill in the mid-19th century, the first public elementary school in 1905, known as the Cedar Swamp School. Improvements to infrastructure were made with the founding of the Jericho Water District in 1923. As the population increased, a new elementary school was built in 1953 (Robert Seaman School), and a Volunteer Fire Department established in 1938. The population kept increasing until the last elementary schools in Jericho were built, the George A. Jackson Elementary School in 1957, the now closed Robert Williams School in 1961 and the Cantiague School in 1963. When the Village of Muttontown was incorporated, the cider mill was within the village limits. Because most Gold Coast villages wanted to remain business free areas, many do not have their own post offices or ZIP Codes. Therefore, Jericho Post Office which serves this area of Muttontown is displayed as the official USPS mailing address and leads to the misconception that the cider mill is in Jericho.


title: Jericho, New York

text: After World War II, in the 1950s Phebe Underhill Seaman sold a large piece of her land to real estate developers. This property was developed for new suburban housing. The water tower was erected in 1952. In 1958 the NY Department of Transportation demolished "Old Jericho" to widen Broadway, Routes 106/107, and to put in a cloverleaf access to Jericho Turnpike. New grade schools and a high school were added to the community along with a shopping center, a new post office, new fire department and a public library.


title: Jericho, New York

text: Also in Jericho is the New York Community Bank Theatre, originally established in 1956 as the Westbury Music Fair. The main entrance to SUNY Old Westbury is located in Jericho.


title: Jericho, New York

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land. It has a hot-summer humid continental climate ("Dfa") and average monthly temperatures range from 30.9° F in January to 74.7° F in July. The local hardiness zone is 7a.


title: Jericho, New York

text: It is served by the Long Island Expressway and the Long Island Rail Road, via the nearby Westbury, Hicksville, and Syosset train stations.


title: Jericho, New York

text: There is also another Jericho in New York; this one is located in the extreme Northeast corner of the state, in the Town of Altona, County of Clinton. It lies primarily along the Rand Hill Road.


title: Jericho, New York

text: At the 2000 census there were 13,045 people in 4,545 households, including 3,813 families, in the CDP. The population density was 3,214.1 per square mile (1,240.6/km). There were 4,600 housing units at an average density of 1,133.4/sq mi (437.5/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.36% White, 10.69% Asian, 1.42% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.44%.


title: Jericho, New York

text: During the 2010s, Jericho saw a significant influx of residents from China and a large increase in Asian Americans settling in the community, drawn by the strong school district and high quality of life. As a result, the racial makeup of the CDP by 2020 shifted considerably, to 55.6% White, 36.9% Asian, 2% African American, 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race made up 2.5% of the population. As of 2020, Asians now make up the majority of students in Jericho Union Free School District.


title: Jericho, New York

text: Of the 4,545 households 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.8% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.1% were non-families. 13.7% of households were one person and 6.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.08.


title: Jericho, New York

text: The age distribution was 25.3% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.


title: Jericho, New York

text: The median household income was $101,477 and the median family income was $109,635. Males had a median income of $79,204 versus $48,431 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $45,312. About 2.7% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.


title: Jericho, New York

text: The building now known as One North was built in 1789 as the home for the prominent Quaker and abolitionist Valentine Hicks, his wife Abigail, and their children. Hicks' father-in-law Elias Hicks "had been the spark that helped convince Quakers and other like-minded people after the Revolutionary War that all men were created equal—including people of color who were enslaved". Valentine Hicks was also an Underground Railroad station master; in his home—a key way station—a removable panel behind an upstairs linen closet (that is still there today) concealed a staircase to the attic where Hicks hid runaways until the coast was clear. The Town of Oyster Bay designated the site as a historic town landmark in 2012. In 2015 there was a lot of outrage over the preservation of this historic site. Partial demolition of the Maine Maid Inn took place without the approval of the Oyster Bay landmark commission, which outraged many preservationists. [Valentine Hicks (1804) was the great-grandson of Jacob Hicks (1669–1755). He married Abigail Hicks, daughter of Elias Hicks. see Bliss Forbush, Elias Hicks, Quaker Liberal, p. 289.]


title: Jericho, New York

text: Aer Lingus, the flag carrier of Ireland, operates its U.S. office in Jericho CDP and in the Town of Oyster Bay. Nathan's Famous is headquartered in Wing A of the second floor of One Jericho Plaza, in Jericho.


title: Jericho, New York

text: Publishers Clearing House moved its headquarters to Jericho in 2017. Nationwide TFS, the top provider of personal payment solutions for Chapter 13, was founded there in 2011.


title: Narciso Rodriguez

text: Rodriguez was born in Newark, New Jersey, the eldest child and only son of Cuban parents. His parents, Narciso Rodríguez Sanchez II, a longshoreman, and Rawedia María Rodríguez. His paternal grandfather was born on the Canary Islands.


title: Narciso Rodriguez

text: He studied at the New School in New York City, at their art and design college, Parsons The New School for Design. His parents were against Narciso entering fashion.


title: Narciso Rodriguez

text: Rodriguez performed freelance design work in New York before becoming Women’s Design Director for the Anne Klein label, then later working for Calvin Klein. His first major attention came in 1996 when he designed the wedding dress of fellow Calvin Klein employee Carolyn Bessette for her wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr. In 1997 he launched his own label.


title: Narciso Rodriguez

text: When "George" magazine collapsed after John F. Kennedy Jr.'s death, Rodriguez hired Stephanie Mikesell, who had been an editorial assistant there, as his assistant. He designed her wedding gown when she married Mark Madoff, eldest son of Bernie Madoff.


title: Narciso Rodriguez

text: In 2003, he launched his first fragrance, Narciso Rodriguez for Her, inspired by a bottle of Egyptian musk oil he had been given in high school.


title: Narciso Rodriguez

text: By 2006, Rodriguez, who had ended his partnership with his label's manufacturer, Aeffe, was over US$1 million in debt to his suppliers, and needed fabric donations for his spring collection.


title: Narciso Rodriguez

text: On May 5, 2007, Liz Claiborne acquired a 50% interest in the Narciso Rodriguez label. However, in 2008, Narciso Rodriguez bought the 50% interest back from Liz Claiborne for 12 million dollars. On November 4, 2008, Michelle Obama wore a dress from Narciso Rodriguez's spring 2009 collection when she joined her husband, Barack Obama, appearing for the first time as president-elect of the United States, on the stage at Grant Park in Chicago; it received substantial attention in the press. The dress, originally unveiled at New York City's Fashion Week in September 2008, came from Rodriguez's "stress-relief" design collection. Rodriguez was a strong supporter in the fashion world of Barack Obama's campaign; in August 2008, he blamed a slowdown in his business on "this Bush mess". Michelle Obama wore Narciso Rodriguez for her final State of the Union appearance as First Lady. The same year, Rodriguez' dresses were featured in a catwalk scene in the feature film "The Women", as being the designs of the character Mary Haines (played by Meg Ryan).


title: Knattleikr

text: The game was probably similar to early versions of the Irish sport of hurling, which also dates to antiquity. Today, no one knows the exact rules of "Knattleikr", but some information has survived from the Viking Age in Iceland (beginning around the 9th century).


title: Knattleikr

text: We know that players were divided into teams, each with a captain. The game demanded so much time that it was played from morning to night. It was a spectator game, with tournaments drawing huge crowds from all over Iceland.


title: Knattleikr

text: Game-play involved a hardball being hit by a stick, although players could also use their hands. Body contact was allowed in the fight for the ball where the strongest had the best chance to win. Thus, intimidation was a vital ingredient; several wars of words have been recorded in the old sagas. There were penalties and a penalty box.


title: Knattleikr

text: It is conjectured by some that the playing field was lined, usually played on a flat ice‐covered surface, e.g. a frozen pond (though bumpy, land‐based ice, , is also mentioned). The Vikings may have used tar and sand under the soles of their boots for traction.


title: Knattleikr

text: Today, knattleikr is often re-enacted at medieval fairs and by Norse culture enthusiasts. It is also played on some college campuses. Brandeis University, Clark University, Providence College, and Yale University in particular are known for their teams. The first annual New England intercollegiate knattleikr competition (right) was played in April, 2007 at Clark University between Clark's team and Brandeis.


title: Knattleikr

text: The New England Viking reenactment group cautions that the game is dangerous and refers to the Icelandic Grágás laws that a player may leave the game at any time.


title: Italian seasoning

text: Italian seasoning is a blend of ground herbs that commonly includes some combination of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, sage, or coriander. The blend varies by brand, with many having vague, nonspecific ingredient lists.


title: Italian seasoning

text: Despite the name it is an American creation, as pre-blended, dry herbs are not very common in Italy itself. However "salamoia Bolognese" consists of rosemary, sage, garlic, salt, and black pepper.


title: Made (2001 film)

text: Made is a 2001 American crime comedy film written, directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau. It stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Peter Falk, and Sean Combs. It was both Favreau's feature directorial debut and Combs’ acting debut.


title: Made (2001 film)

text: Bobby has ties to the local mafia boss, Max, but works as an honest mason for Max's construction projects. He fights in amateur boxing matches on the side, but his career is lackluster (five wins, five losses, one draw). Struggling to support his stripper girlfriend Jessica and her daughter Chloe, Bobby decides to do a mafia job for Max. Against his better judgment, he brings along his ne'er-do-well friend Ricky.


title: Made (2001 film)

text: Bobby and Ricky go to New York to act as Max's representatives for a money laundering deal with his East Coast partner, Ruiz. They meet Jimmy, who will be their driver, and Horrace, who is connected to both Max and Ruiz. Ricky and Bobby squabble throughout their trip as Ricky tries to live large while Bobby wants to stay cautious and stick to the letter of Max's instructions. Ruiz has a low opinion of the pair, but sends them off to show his criminal contact, the Welshman, a good time. Gaffing several times along the way, the pair eventually manage to arrange a deal between Ruiz and the Welshman's Westie contacts.


title: Made (2001 film)

text: Ricky grows suspicious of Ruiz, and insists that they bring a gun to their meeting with the Westies. Bobby adamantly refuses. On the day of the meet, Ricky has disappeared, but Jimmy insists that Bobby carry on with the meeting. As Bobby begins to grow suspicious of Jimmy, he meets with the Welshman and the Westies. The Westies double-cross Bobby and the Welshman, but Ricky arrives from a side entrance with a gun. A Westie recognizes Ricky's weapon as a starter pistol and a fight breaks out. Jimmy arrives with a real pistol and sends the boys away while he deals with the Westies.


title: Made (2001 film)

text: Back in Los Angeles, Bobby severs all business ties with Max. Arriving home, he discovers Jessica in bed with a client and snorting cocaine. Bobby tries to convince Jessica to clean up her act for Chloe's sake, but Jessica refuses. Instead, she asks that Bobby take custody of Chloe and leave. In an epilogue set at Chuck E. Cheese's, we learn that Bobby and Ricky are now raising Chloe together, although the two friends still bicker constantly.


title: Made (2001 film)

text: Because the film is written by Jon Favreau and stars Favreau and Vince Vaughn, it is commonly misinterpreted as a sequel to "Swingers". The license plate of Jimmy's Limo, "DBLDN11," is a reference to a blackjack strategy articulated in "Swingers" that one should "always double down on an 11."


title: Made (2001 film)

text: During Dustin Diamond's cameo, Ricky refers to him as "Screech," referencing Diamond's character on "Saved By the Bell".


title: Made (2001 film)

text: The critical reception of the film was positive, receiving a 71% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 106 reviews, with an average score of 6.3/10. The site's consensus reads "Not as good as "Swingers", but it's still witty and goofy enough for some laughs." The film received a limited release in the United States and had almost no release overseas. It had a world box office gross of $5.4 million.


title: Level E

text: "Level E" was originally serialized in the Japanese Shueisha magazine "Weekly Shōnen Jump" from 1995 to 1997 for a total of 16 chapters. These chapters have since been collected into three volumes, as well as two magazine-style books. An anime adaptation of "Level E" directed by Toshiyuki Katō was produced by Pierrot and David Production and aired on TV Tokyo in early 2011.


title: Level E

text: Earth has been populated by thousands of aliens from all over the galaxy. While all the other aliens are aware of their presence, it is a secret only from the Earthlings. Baka, the prince of the planet Dogra, crash lands on Earth and loses his memory. He forcibly moves in with Yukitaka Tsutsui, a first year high school student who had just moved out on his own. The normal life he once knew is quickly pulled away as he becomes the target of the prince's torment.


title: Level E

text: "Level E" was written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi, who had established himself as a prominent manga artist with his popular action series "YuYu Hakusho". When the decision was made to serialize "Level E", Togashi had only created the first chapter. Because the story involved the protagonist as an alien changing each chapter, he titled the manga "Alien Crises". He quickly changed it to its final name after being told the former title was too explicit. After renting a videotape called "Level 4", he affirmed to himself that he should name the series using the first English language letter of the word "alien". He was informed that the first letter was "A" and not "E", but he replied that he always associated the term with "E.T.". Togashi has stated that he is a fan of the horror genre of films and has cited visual effects designer H. R. Giger (of the "Alien" franchise) as a major influence. Togashi based the setting of "Level E" on his own hometown of Yamagata with close attention to detail. For the humor, Togashi took inspiration from the gag manga .


title: Level E

text: Written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi, "Level E" was serialized in Shueisha's "Weekly Shōnen Jump" from October 2, 1995, to January 15, 1997. A total of sixteen chapters were collected into three volumes ("tankōbon") altogether. The first was released on March 4, 1996, the second on October 3, 1996, and the third on May 1, 1997. In addition, "Level E" was re-released as part of the "Shueisha Jump Remix" series of magazine-style books, with two volumes being released in 2009. It was also re-published by Shueisha into two "bunkoban" volumes released on September 17, and October 15, 2010. "Level E" has been translated into Chinese, serialized in the magazine "Formosa Youth", and released in volume format by Tong Li Publishing in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was also published in Brazil by Editora JBC, in France by Kazé, and Spain by Planeta DeAgostini Comics.


title: Level E

text: A 13-episode anime adaptation of "Level E" was produced by TV Tokyo, Pierrot and David Production and directed by Toshiyuki Katō, with Jukki Hanada handling series scripts, Itsuko Takeda designing the characters and Yang Bang-ean composing the music. The series originally aired on Japan's TV Tokyo from January 11, 2011 to April 5, 2011. The show's opening theme, , is performed by Chiaki Kuriyama, and its ending theme, , is performed by ViViD. Crunchyroll has simulcast the series on their streaming website in other parts of the world one hour after each initial TV Tokyo airing. As stated by Kun Geo, the website's CEO, “TV Tokyo's streaming of "Level E" shows their commitment to bringing anime to a global audience. We are honored to be able to present this title from one of the greatest manga creators of all-time, and to be able to say that Crunchyroll's streaming of this title will directly contribute to the financial viability of all parties involved in the production, from broadcaster to animator to creator.” Funimation has announced that they have licensed the TV series at Katsucon 2012.


title: Level E

text: The anime sets the story in the modern era, with flat-screen TVs and smartphones, which were not available when the original manga was released, appearing in the story. All chapters except for the final chapter of the manga, "Honeymoon...!", have been adapted. The narration was done by Fumihiko Tachiki.


title: Level E

text: Several pieces of merchandise that tie into the anime have been released. These include CD singles for the opening and closing themes, apparel, and towels. Aniplex released "Level E" on DVD in Japan beginning on February 23, 2011, concluding with the sixth volume on July 27, 2011. It included as between two and three episodes apiece, as well as extra features.


title: Level E

text: Carl Kimlinger of the Anime News Network gave an average grade to the first six episodes of the series, though he found that the artwork, animation, and music were good, and that its writing was "undeniably clever, even audacious". However, the reviewer felt the series to be less and less endearing to watch, particularly after the first three episodes, the absence of character Yukitaka Tsutsui, and the use of mini-story arcs. "There's a quixotic dignity in its use of entire story-arcs to set up single gags and a laudable courage in its willingness to experiment (check out the aged atmosphere created by episode four's thick lines and faded colors)," Kimlinger summarized. "That doesn't make it fun to watch, however. In fact, each successive episode leaves one feeling emptier and less charitable towards Prince than the last." Erin Finnegan of the same website made similar comments regarding the narrative progression of "Level E". Finnegan stated, "Maybe it's just me. I can't get attached to characters who are only going to be around for a few episodes unless they make an incredible impression, otherwise it's very hard to write loveable characters that will only last for three or four episodes. <nowiki>[...]</nowiki> In "Level E", it's hard to get attached to the Prince, who doesn't appear at all in some episodes, and in other episodes he gets very little screen time. Plus he's such a jerk, it's hard to like him or care about his shenanigans."


title: Percolation

text: Percolation (from Latin "percolare", "to filter" or "trickle through"), in physics, chemistry and materials science, refers to the movement and filtering of fluids through porous materials.


title: Percolation

text: Broader applications have since been developed that cover connectivity of many systems modeled as lattices or graphs, analogous to connectivity of lattice components in the filtration problem that modulates capacity for percolation.


title: Percolation

text: During the last decades, percolation theory, the mathematical study of percolation, has brought new understanding and techniques to a broad range of topics in physics, materials science, complex networks, epidemiology, and other fields. For example, in geology, percolation refers to filtration of water through soil and permeable rocks. The water flows to recharge the groundwater in the water table and aquifers. In places where infiltration basins or septic drain fields are planned to dispose of substantial amounts of water, a percolation test is needed beforehand to determine whether the intended structure is likely to succeed or fail.


title: Percolation

text: Percolation typically exhibits universality. Statistical physics concepts such as scaling theory, renormalization, phase transition, critical phenomena and fractals are used to characterize percolation properties.


title: Percolation

text: Due to the complexity involved in obtaining exact results from analytical models of percolation, computer simulations are typically used. The current fastest algorithm for percolation was published in 2000 by Mark Newman and Robert Ziff.


1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die is a video game reference book first published in October 2010. It consists of a list of video games released between 1970 and 2013, arranged chronologically by release date. Each entry in the list is accompanied by a short essay written by a video game critic, with some entries accompanied by screen shots. It was edited by Tony Mott, long-time editor of "Edge" magazine. The book's preface was written by video game designer Peter Molyneux.


title: 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die

text: It is written in a similar manner to "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", also published by Universe Publishing.


text: Reception for the book has been generally positive, with critics praising the wealth of knowledge, but criticizing some particular entries. Rick Dakan of "PopMatters" stated, "Most of the choices seem great to me, and I like that the authors include a lot of smaller, experimental games and some flawed but important titles as well", but disagreed with some entries, such as "".


text: While "The Austin Chronicle" praised the history that the book presented, it criticized the book for its repetitiveness in listing several sequels in certain long-running series, such as the "Final Fantasy" and "Resident Evil" series.


text: In his review for "Starburst", Callum Shephard said that it was "a good guide" with the proviso that "It's distinctly weaker when it comes to covering handheld gaming and some titles are definitely under-represented."


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: The Indian-head test pattern is a test card created by RCA of Harrison, New Jersey, which became the standard image of the RCA TK-1 monoscope. It features a drawing of a Native American wearing a headdress and numerous graphic elements designed to test different aspects of broadcast display. The card was introduced in 1939 and over the course of the black-and-white television broadcasting era was widely adopted by television stations across North America.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: The Indian-head test pattern became familiar to the large baby boom TV audiences in America from 1947 onwards; it would often follow the formal television station sign-off after the United States national anthem. The Indian head was also used by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Canada in conjunction with its own monochrome test pattern, following the Canadian national anthem sign-off in the evening, and during its final years in the late-1970s and early-1980s it was shown before sign-on in the morning, after the showing of the SMPTE color bars. It was also used by Rhodesia Television (RTV) during British colonial times (varying between Northern and Southern Rhodesia) following the playing of "God Save the Queen" at closedown. This test pattern was later used by the Venezuelan TV channel Venevision, in conjunction with the RMA Resolution Chart 1946, until the late-1970s before signing on with the Venezuelan national anthem. Telesistema Mexicano (now Televisa) stations also used this test pattern until the late-1960s immediately after playing the Mexican national anthem at sign-off. In the Dominican Republic, the Indian-head pattern was used by its public broadcaster Corporación Estatal de Radio y Televisión (CERTV) in the late-1960s and 1970s (in conjunction with the EIA 1956 resolution chart test card) after playing the National Anthem of the Dominican Republic at sign-off. In Sweden the Indian head was used in test transmissions from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm alongside the RMA Resolution Chart 1946, Telefunken T05 test card, as well as other experimental test cards from Televerket and Chalmers University of Technology from 1948 until November 1958 when it was replaced by the Sveriges Radio TV (now Sveriges Television) test card. Saudi Broadcasting Authority in Saudi Arabia also formerly used a modified version of the Indian head test pattern, with the Emblem of Saudi Arabia replacing the Indian head drawing, from 1954 until 1982 when it was replaced with a heavily modified Philips PM5544 test card. The Indian head was also used in Brazil by Rede Tupi, both as a test pattern and , from its launch in 1950 until it became the first Brazilian television network to adopt colour television in 1971–1972. The Indian head pattern was also used by Kuwait Television in Kuwait from its launch of television services in 1961 until it adopted colour television in the mid-1970s.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: The Indian-head pattern could variously be seen after sign-off but while the station was still transmitting; while transmitting prior to a typical 6a.m. formal sign-on; or even during the daylight morning hours on newer low-budget stations, which typically began their broadcast day with midday local programming around 10 or 11a.m.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: From the late-1950s the test pattern gradually began to be seen less frequently, after fewer sign-offs, on fewer stations, and for shorter periods in the morning, since new and improved TV broadcast equipment required less adjusting. In later years the test pattern was transmitted for as little as a minute after sign-off while the transmitter engineer logged required Federal Communications Commission-US/Industry Canada transmitter readings before cutting power.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: By the end of the Indian-head TV era in the late-1970s/early-1980s, there was no nightly test pattern on stations where automatic logging and remote transmitter controls allowed shutdown of power immediately after the formal sign-off. After an immediate transmitter power off, in lieu of the Indian-head test pattern and its sine wave tone, a TV viewer heard a loud audio hiss like FM radio interstation noise and saw the video noise. Audio and video noise received on Indian-head era TV sets respectively indicated the absence of analog aural and visual broadcast carriers. Home-use TVs typically did not have a no-signal noise muting and blanking feature until the late analog TV period.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: When US broadcasters switched to color television, the SMPTE color bars largely superseded the black-and-white test pattern image although a few station owners employed colorized versions of the NBC/CBS "bullseye" test pattern, in some cases lasting until as recently as the early 1990s.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: The Indian-head test pattern was not generated by pointing a camera at a card, as many older test patterns were. Rather, it was generated directly as a monochrome video signal by means of a monoscope tube, a specialized video camera tube with the pattern built into the tube.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: An RCA TK-1 test pattern generator (monoscope) is a 19-inch rack-mounted chassis, which contains a monoscope tube housed inside an anti-magnetic steel shield and associated electronic circuits for driving it. The monoscope tube is constructed similarly to a small cathode ray tube (CRT), but instead of displaying an image, it scans a built-in image, producing a video signal. The tube has a perfectly proportioned copy of the test pattern master art inside, permanently deposited as a carbon image on an aluminum target plate or slide. This perfect copy allowed all of the television studio and production control room video monitors, and home television sets, to be identically adjusted for minimal distortions such as ovals instead of circles. When the monitor or TV set was correctly adjusted to show test pattern circles, the received picture's aspect ratio was exactly four units wide by three units high.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: The graphic of the Indian and all of the patterns on the chart served specific purposes. With the chart, many typical daily (sometimes hourly) adjustments on cameras, home, and studio monitors could be made. An experienced broadcast engineer could glance at the drawing of the Indian Chief and quickly know if everything was working correctly or if more careful adjustment was needed. Within the chart, the tools necessary to adjust perspective, framing, linearity, frequency response, differential gain, contrast and white level (brightness) are all provided. The grid and circles were used for perspective, framing and linearity. The tapered lines (marked with 20, 25, 30, and 35) were used for resolution and frequency response. The thin lines marked from 575 to 325 on one side and 300 to 50 on the other side referred to lines of resolution. The gray bands emerging from the center off to the lower right and upper left were for differential gain, contrast, and white level.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: Only after the monitors were adjusted was an actual Indian-head test pattern used. A cardboard mounted lithograph of the test pattern was typically attached to a rolling vertical easel in each TV studio, to be videographed by each studio camera during test time. Then the cameras were adjusted to appear identical on picture monitors, by alternately switching between and comparing the monoscope image and the test card image. Such adjustments were made on a regular basis because television system electronics then used hot vacuum tubes, the operating characteristics of which drifted throughout each broadcast day.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: Test patterns were also broadcast to the public daily to allow regular adjustments by home television set owners and TV shop repair technicians. In this regard, various features in the pattern were included to facilitate focus and contrast settings, and the measurement of resolution. The circular "bullseyes" in the centre and the four corners permitted uniform deflection yoke and oscillator amplitude adjustments for centering, pincushioning, and image size.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: The test pattern was usually accompanied by a 1,000 or 400 hertz sine wave test tone, which demonstrated that the TV aural receiver was working. If the tone was pure-sounding rather than a buzz or rattle, then transmitted speech and music would not be distorted. 400 Hz is somewhat less annoying for technicians to hear for extended work periods.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: An actual Indian-head test card, the pattern as printed on art-grade white cardboard, was only of secondary importance to television system adjustment, but many of them were saved as souvenirs, works of found object art, and inadvertent mandalas. By contrast, nearly all of the hard-to-open, steel-shielded, vacuum glass monoscope tubes were junked with their hidden Indian-head test pattern target plates still inside. The monoscope target plates were also small, a few inches in size, while the camera test cards were , appropriate for picture-framed wall display.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: The original art work for the Indian chief portrait was completed for RCA's research engineers by an artist named Brooks on August 23, 1938. The original portrait was done in pencil, charcoal, ink and zinc oxide. For about a year said portrait was televised in the laboratory as the entire test pattern. Only from 1939 onwards was said portrait incorporated into the current pattern of calibrated lines and shapes. The original portrait measures across as a circular image containing several identifiable shades of gray, and some detail in the feathers. There is also some Zone 8 texture in the white feathering and some Zone 2 texture in the black hair. The master art for both the portrait and the pattern design was discovered in a dumpster by a wrecking crew worker as the old RCA factory in Harrison, New Jersey was being demolished in 1970. The worker kept the art for over 30 years before selling it to television engineer and collector Chuck Pharis.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: The Indian-head test pattern became obsolete in the 1960s with the debut of color television; from that point onward, an alternate test card of SMPTE color bars (and its immediate predecessors), or colorized versions of the NBC/CBS-derived "bullseye" patterns became the test card of choice. Since the 1990s, most television stations in the United States have broadcast continuously without regular sign-offs, instead running infomercials, networked overnight news shows, syndicated reruns, cartoons, or old movies; thus, the broadcast of test patterns has become mostly obsolete (though they are still used in post-production and broadcast facilities to check color and signal paths). Nevertheless, the Indian-head test pattern persists as a symbol of early television. A variant of the card appeared on theatrical release posters for "Weird Al" Yankovic's 1989 film "UHF". It was sold as a night-light from 1997 to 2005 by the Archie McPhee company, reminiscent of the times when a fairly common late-night experience was to fall asleep while watching the late movie, only to awaken to the characteristic sine wave tone accompanying the Indian-head test pattern on a black-and-white TV screen. The test card also featured in the opening sequence of the early 1960s science fiction anthology "The Outer Limits".


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: Many U.S. television stations chose the image of the Indian-head card to be their final image broadcast when their analog signals signed off for the final time between February 17 and June 12, 2009, as part of the digital television transition in the United States.


title: Indian-head test pattern

text: In October 2022, a 4:3 monochrome test card that resembles the Indian-head test pattern was discovered in an EPROM chip of a Philips PM5644 PAL generator purchased by a British television repairman from a European scrap dealer.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: is a procedure used to treat blood vessel malformations (vascular malformations) and also malformations of the lymphatic system. A medicine is injected into the vessels, which makes them shrink. It is used for children and young adults with vascular or lymphatic malformations. In adults, sclerotherapy is often used to treat spider veins, smaller varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and hydroceles.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Sclerotherapy is one method (along with surgery, radiofrequency, and laser ablation) for the treatment of spider veins, occasionally varicose veins, and venous malformations. In ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy, ultrasound is used to visualize the underlying vein so the physician can deliver and monitor the injection. Sclerotherapy often takes place under ultrasound guidance after venous abnormalities have been diagnosed with duplex ultrasound. Sclerotherapy under ultrasound guidance and using microfoam sclerosants has been shown to be effective in controlling reflux from the sapheno-femoral and sapheno-popliteal junctions.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: However, some authors believe that sclerotherapy is not suitable for veins with reflux from the greater or lesser saphenous junction, or for veins with axial reflux. This is due to the emergence of more effective technologies, including laser ablation and radiofrequency, which have demonstrated superior efficacy to sclerotherapy for treatment of these veins.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Sclerotherapy has been used in the treatment of spider veins and occasionally varicose veins for over 150 years. Like varicose vein surgery, sclerotherapy techniques have evolved during that time. Modern techniques including ultrasonographic guidance and foam sclerotherapy are the latest developments in this evolution.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: The first reported attempt at sclerotherapy was by D Zollikofer in Switzerland, 1682 who injected an acid into a vein to induce thrombus formation. Both Debout and Cassaignaic reported success in treating varicose veins by injecting perchlorate of iron in 1853. Desgranges in 1854 cured 16 cases of varicose veins by injecting iodine and tannin into the veins. This was approximately 12 years after the probable advent of great saphenous vein stripping in 1844 by Madelung. However, due to high rates of side-effects with the drugs used at the time, sclerotherapy had been practically abandoned by 1894. With the improvements in surgical techniques and anaesthetics over that time, stripping became the treatment of choice.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Work continued on alternative sclerosants in the early 20th century. During that time carbolic acid and perchlorate of mercury were tried and whilst these showed some effect in obliterating varicose veins, side-effects also caused them to be abandoned. Prof. Sicard and other French doctors developed the use of sodium carbonate and then sodium salicylate during and after the First World War. Quinine was also used with some effect during the early 20th century. At the time of Coppleson's book in 1929, he was advocating the use of sodium salicylate or quinine as the best choices of sclerosant.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Further work on improving the technique and development of safer more effective sclerosants continued through the 1940s and 1950s. Of particular importance was the development of sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) in 1946, a product still widely used to this day. George Fegan in the 1960s reported treating over 13,000 patients with sclerotherapy, significantly advancing the technique by focussing on fibrosis of the vein rather than thrombosis, concentrating on controlling significant points of reflux and emphasizing the importance of compression of the treated leg. The procedure became medically accepted in mainland Europe during that time. However, it was poorly understood or accepted in England or the United States, a situation that continues to this day amongst some sections of the medical community.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: The next major development in the evolution of sclerotherapy was the advent of duplex ultrasonography in the 1980s and its incorporation into the practise of sclerotherapy later that decade. Knight was an early advocate of this new procedure and presented it at several conferences in Europe and the United States. Thibault's article was the first on this topic to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: The work of Cabrera and Monfreaux in utilising foam sclerotherapy along with Tessari's "3-way tap method" of foam production further revolutionised the treatment of larger varicose veins with sclerotherapy. This has now been further modified by Whiteley and Patel to use 3 non-silicone syringes for more long lasting foam.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Injecting the unwanted veins with a sclerosing solution causes the target vein to immediately shrink, and then dissolve over a period of weeks as the body naturally absorbs the treated vein. Sclerotherapy is a non-invasive procedure taking only about 10 minutes to perform. The downtime is minimal, in comparison to an invasive varicose vein surgery.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Sclerotherapy is the "gold standard" and is preferred over laser for eliminating large spider veins "(telangiectasiae) [Telangiectasia is a condition in which broken or widened small blood vessels that sit near the surface of the skin or mucous membranes create visible]" and smaller varicose leg veins. Unlike a laser, the sclerosing solution additionally closes the "feeder veins" under the skin that are causing the spider veins to form, thereby making a recurrence of the spider veins in the treated area less likely. Multiple injections of dilute sclerosant are injected into the abnormal surface veins of the involved leg. The patient's leg is then compressed with either stockings or bandages that they wear usually for one week after treatment. Patients are also encouraged to walk regularly during that time. It is common practice for the patient to require at least two treatment sessions separated by several weeks to significantly improve the appearance of their leg veins.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Sclerotherapy can also be performed using microfoam sclerosants under ultrasound guidance to treat larger varicose veins, including the great and small saphenous veins. After a map of the patient's varicose veins is created using ultrasound, these veins are injected whilst real-time monitoring of the injections is undertaken, also using ultrasound. The sclerosant can be observed entering the vein, and further injections performed so that all the abnormal veins are treated. Follow-up ultrasound scans are used to confirm closure of the treated veins and any residual varicose veins can be identified and treated.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Foam sclerotherapy is a technique that involves injecting "foamed sclerosant drugs" within a blood vessel using a pair of syringes – one with sclerosant in it and one with gas (originally air). The original Tessari method has now been modified by the Whiteley-Patel modification which uses 3 syringes, all of which are silicone-free. The sclerosant drugs (sodium tetradecyl sulfate, bleomycin or polidocanol) are mixed with air or a physiological gas (carbon dioxide) in a syringe or by using mechanical pumps. This increases the surface area of the drug. The foam sclerosant drug is more efficacious than the liquid one in causing sclerosis (thickening of the vessel wall and sealing off the blood flow), for it does not mix with the blood in the vessel and in fact displaces it, thus avoiding dilution of the drug and causing maximal sclerosant action. It is therefore useful for longer and larger veins. Experts in foam sclerotherapy have created “tooth paste” like thick foam for their injections, which has revolutionized the non-surgical treatment of varicose veins and venous malformations, including Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Bleomycin electrosclerotherapy consists of locally delivering the sclerosant bleomycin and applying short high voltage electrical pulses to the area to be treated, resulting in a local and temporary increased permeability of the cell membranes, increasing the intracellular concentration of bleomycin by a factor of up to several thousand. Preclinical studies also indicated that electroporation in combination with bleomycin impaired the barrier function of the endothelium by interacting with the organization of the cytoskeleton and the integrity of the junctions. This can lead to extravasation, interstitial edema and a desired collapse of the vascular structures.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: The procedure has been researched as electrochemotherapy of skin tumors since the early 1990s and was first used in 2017 for vascular malformations. Initial reports indicated that the use of bleomycin in combination with reversible electroporation can potentially enhance the sclerotherapy effect. A retrospective study of 17 patients with venous malformations who did not respond to previous invasive therapies showed an average decrease in lesion volume measured on MRI images of 86% with clinical improvement in all patients after an average of 3.7 months and 1.12 sessions per patient, with a reduced dose of bleomycin and a reduced number of sessions compared to standard bleomycin sclerotherapy


title: Sclerotherapy

text: A study by Kanter and Thibault in 1996 reported a 76% success rate at 24 months in treating saphenofemoral junction and great saphenous vein incompetence with STS 3% solution. Padbury and Benveniste found that ultrasound guided sclerotherapy was effective in controlling reflux in the small saphenous vein. Barrett et al. found that microfoam ultrasound guided sclerotherapy was "effective in treating all sizes of varicose veins with high patient satisfaction and improvement in quality of life".


title: Sclerotherapy

text: A Cochrane Collaboration review of the medical literature concluded that "the evidence supports the current place of sclerotherapy in modern clinical practice, which is usually limited to treatment of recurrent varicose veins following surgery and thread veins." A second Cochrane Collaboration review comparing surgery to sclerotherapy concluded that sclerotherapy has greater benefits than surgery in the short term but surgery has greater benefits in the longer term. Sclerotherapy was better than surgery in terms of treatment success, complication rate and cost at one year, but surgery was better after five years. However, the evidence was not of very good quality and more research is needed.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: A Health Technology Assessment found that sclerotherapy provided less benefit than surgery, but is likely to provide a small benefit in varicose veins without reflux from the sapheno-femoral or sapheno-popliteal junctions. It did not study the relative benefits of surgery and sclerotherapy in varicose veins with junctional reflux.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: The European Consensus Meeting on Foam Sclerotherapy in 2003 concluded that "Foam sclerotherapy allows a skilled practitioner to treat larger veins including saphenous trunks". A second European Consensus Meeting on Foam Sclerotherapy in 2006 has now been published.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Complications, while rare, include venous thromboembolism, visual disturbances, allergic reaction, thrombophlebitis, skin necrosis, and hyperpigmentation or a red treatment area.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: If the sclerosant is injected properly into the vein, there is no damage to the surrounding skin, but if it is injected outside the vein, tissue necrosis and scarring can result. Skin necrosis, whilst rare, can be cosmetically "potentially devastating", and may take months to heal. It is very rare when small amounts of dilute (<0.25%) sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) is used, but has been seen when higher concentrations (3%) are used. Blanching of the skin often occurs when STS is injected into arterioles (small artery branches). Telangiectatic matting, or the development of tiny red vessels, is unpredictable and usually must be treated with repeat sclerotherapy or laser.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Most complications occur due to an intense inflammatory reaction to the sclerotherapy agent in the area surrounding the injected vein. In addition, there are systemic complications that are now becoming increasingly understood. These occur when the sclerosant travels through the veins to the heart, lung and brain. A recent report attributed a stroke to foam treatment, although this involved the injection of an unusually large amount of foam.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: More recent reports have shown that bubbles from even a small amount of sclerosant foam injected into the veins quickly appear in the heart, lung and brain. The significance of this is not fully understood at this point and large studies show that foam sclerotherapy is safe. Sclerotherapy is fully FDA approved in the USA.


title: Sclerotherapy

text: Contraindications include: bed rest, severe systemic diseases, poor patient understanding, needle phobia, short life expectancy, late stage cancer, known allergy to the sclerosing agent, and treatment with tamoxifen.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas, sometimes historically called Old Halloween or Old Hallowmas Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, it was an important festival in many parts of Europe, particularly Germanic-speaking regions. In these regions, it marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter. and the "winter revelling season". Traditions include feasting on 'Martinmas goose' or 'Martinmas beef', drinking the first wine of the season, and mumming. In some German and Dutch-speaking towns, there are processions of children with lanterns ("Laternelaufen"), sometimes led by a horseman representing St Martin. The saint was also said to bestow gifts on children. In the Rhineland, it is also marked by lighting bonfires.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Martin of Tours (died 397) was a Roman soldier who was baptized as an adult and became a bishop in Gaul. He is best known for the tale whereby he cut his cloak in half with his sword, to give half to a beggar who was dressed in only rags in the depth of winter. That night Martin had a vision of Jesus Christ wearing the half-cloak.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Traditionally, in many parts of Europe, St Martin's Day marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. The feast coincides with the end of the Octave of Allhallowtide.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Martinmas was traditionally when livestock were slaughtered for winter provision. It may originally have been a time of animal sacrifice, as the Old English name for November was "Blōtmōnaþ" ('sacrifice month').


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Goose is eaten at Martinmas in most places. There is a legend that St Martin, when trying to avoid being ordained bishop, hid in a pen of geese whose cackling gave him away. Once a key medieval autumn feast, a custom of eating goose on the day spread to Sweden from France. It was primarily observed by the craftsmen and noblemen of the towns. In the peasant community, not everyone could afford this, so many ate duck or hen instead.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In winegrowing regions of Europe, the first wine was ready around the time of Martinmas. Although there was no mention of a link between St Martin and winegrowing by Gregory of Tours or other early hagiographers, St Martin is widely credited in France with helping to spread winemaking throughout the region of Tours (Touraine) and facilitating vine-planting. The old Greek tale that Aristaeus discovered the advantage of pruning vines after watching a goat has been appropriated to St Martin. He is credited with introducing the "Chenin blanc" grape, from which most of the white wine of western Touraine and Anjou is made.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Bonfires are lit on St Martin's Eve in the Rhineland region of Germany. In the fifteenth century, these bonfires were so numerous that the festival was nicknamed "Funkentag" (spark day). In the nineteenth century it was recorded that young people danced around the fire and leapt through the flames, and that the ashes were strewn on the fields to make them fertile. Similar customs were part of the Gaelic festival Samhain (1 November).


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In some German and Dutch-speaking towns, there are nighttime processions of children carrying paper lanterns or turnip lanterns and singing songs of St Martin. These processions are known in German as "Laternelaufen".


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In parts of Flanders and the Rhineland, processions are led by a man on horseback representing St Martin, who may give out apples, nuts, cakes or other sweets for children. Historically, in Ypres, children hung up stockings filled with hay on Martinmas Eve, and awoke the next morning to find gifts in them. These were said to have been left by St Martin as thanks for the fodder provided for his horse.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In the Swabia and Ansbach regions of Germany, a character called "Pelzmärten" ('pelt Martin' or 'skin Martin') appeared at Martinmas until the 19th century. With a black face and wearing a cow bell, he ran about frightening children, and he dealt out blows as well as nuts and apples.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In the 6th century, church councils began requiring fasting on all days, except Saturdays and Sundays, from Saint Martin's Day to Epiphany (elsewhere, the Feast of the Three Wise Men for the stopping of the star over Bethlehem) on January 6 (56 days). An addition to and an equivalent to the 40 days fasting of Lent, given its weekend breaks, this was called "Quadragesima Sancti Martini" (Saint Martin's Lent, or literally "the fortieth of"). This is rarely observed now. This period was shortened to begin on the Sunday before December and became the current Advent within a few centuries.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In Austria, St Martin's Day is celebrated the same way as in Germany. The nights before and on the night of 11 November, children walk in processions carrying lanterns, which they made in school, and sing Martin songs. "Martinloben" is celebrated as a collective festival. Events include art exhibitions, wine tastings, and live music. "Martinigansl" (roasted goose) is the traditional dish of the season.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In the Netherlands, on the evening of 11 November, children go door to door (mostly under parental supervision) with lanterns made of hollowed-out sugar beet or, more recently, paper, singing songs such as "Sinte(re) Sinte(re) Maarten", to receive sweets or fruit in return. In the past, poor people would visit farms on 11 November to get food for the winter. In the 1600s, the city of Amsterdam held boat races on the IJ, where 400 to 500 light craft, both rowing boats and sailboats, took part with a vast crowd on the banks. St Martin is the patron saint of the city of Utrecht, and St Martin's Day is celebrated there with a big lantern parade.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, St Martin's Eve is celebrated on the evening of 10 November, mainly in West Flanders and around Ypres. Children go through the streets with paper lanterns and candles, and sing songs about St Martin. Sometimes, a man dressed as St Martin rides on a horse in front of the procession. The children receive presents from either their friends or family as supposedly coming from St Martin. In some areas, there is a traditional goose meal.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In Wervik, children go from door to door, singing traditional "Séngmarténg" songs, sporting a hollow beetroot with a carved face and a candle inside called "Bolle Séngmarténg"; they gather at an evening bonfire. At the end the beetroots are thrown into the fire, and pancakes are served.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Martinmas was widely celebrated on 11 November in medieval and early modern England. In his study "Medieval English Martinmesse: The Archaeology of a Forgotten Festival", Martin Walsh describes Martinmas as a festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter. He suggests it had pre-Christian roots. Martinmas ushered in the "winter revelling season" and involved feasting on the meat of livestock that had been slaughtered for winter provision (especially 'Martlemas beef'), drinking, storytelling, and mumming. It was a time for saying farewell to travelling ploughmen, who shared in the feast along with the harvest-workers.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: According to Walsh, Martinmas eventually died out in England as a result of the English Reformation, the emergence of Guy Fawkes Night (5 November), as well as changes in farming and the Industrial Revolution. Today, 11 November is Remembrance Day.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: A widespread custom in Germany is to light bonfires, called "Martinsfeuer", on St Martin's Eve. In recent years, the processions that accompany those fires have been spread over almost a fortnight before Martinmas ("Martinstag"). At one time, the Rhine River valley would be lined with fires on the eve of Martinmas. In the Rhineland, Martin's day is celebrated traditionally with a get-together during which a roasted suckling pig is shared with the neighbours.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: The nights before and on the eve itself, children walk in processions called "Laternelaufen", carrying lanterns, which they made in school, and sing St Martin's songs. Usually, the walk starts at a church and goes to a public square. A man on horseback representing St Martin accompanies the children. When they reach the square, Martin's bonfire is lit and Martin's pretzels are distributed.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In the Rhineland, the children also go from house to house with their lanterns, sing songs and get candy in return. The origin of the procession of lanterns is unclear. To some, it is a substitute for the Martinmas bonfire, which is still lit in a few cities and villages throughout Europe. It formerly symbolized the light that holiness brings to the darkness, just as St Martin brought hope to the poor through his good deeds. Even though the bonfire tradition is gradually being lost, the procession of lanterns is still practiced.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: A "Martinsgans" ("St Martin's goose"), is typically served on St Martin's Eve following the procession of lanterns. "Martinsgans" is usually served in restaurants, roasted, with red cabbage and dumplings.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: The traditional sweet of Martinmas in the Rhineland is "Martinshörnchen", a pastry shaped in the form of a croissant, which recalls both the hooves of St Martin's horse and, by being the half of a pretzel, the parting of his mantle. In some areas, these pastries are instead shaped like men (Stutenkerl or Weckmänner).


title: St. Martin's Day

text: St Martin's Day is also celebrated in German Lorraine and Alsace, which border the Rhineland and are now part of France. Children receive gifts and sweets. In Alsace, in particular the Haut-Rhin mountainous region, families with young children make lanterns out of painted paper that they carry in a colourful procession up the mountain at night. Some schools organise these events, in particular schools of the Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf education) pedagogy. In these regions, the day marks the beginning of the holiday season. In the German speaking parts of Belgium, notably Eupen and Sankt Vith, processions similar to those in Germany take place.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In the United States, St. Martin's Day celebrations are uncommon, but are typically held by German American communities. Many German restaurants feature a traditional menu with goose and Glühwein (a mulled red wine). St Paul, Minnesota celebrates with a traditional lantern procession around Rice Park. The evening includes German treats and traditions that highlight the season of giving. In Dayton, Ohio the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner organization hosts a St Martin's Family Celebration on the weekend before with an evening lantern parade to the singing of St Martin's carols, followed by a bonfire.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: St Martin's Day or St Martin's Eve ("Mårtensafton") was an important medieval autumn feast in Sweden. In early November, geese are ready for slaughter, and on St Martin's Eve it is tradition to have a roast goose dinner. The custom is particularly popular in Scania in southern Sweden, where goose farming has long been practised, but it has gradually spread northwards. A proper goose dinner also includes "svartsoppa" (a heavily spiced soup made from geese blood) and apple charlotte.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In Croatia, St. Martin's Day ("Martinje", "Martinovanje") marks the day when the must traditionally turns to wine. The must is usually considered impure and sinful, until it is baptised and turned into wine. The baptism is performed by someone who dresses up as a bishop and blesses the wine; this is usually done by the host. Another person is chosen as the godfather of the wine.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: A Czech proverb connected with the Feast of St. Martin – "Martin přijíždí na bílém koni" (transl. "Martin is coming on a white horse") – signifies that the first half of November in the Czech Republic is the time when it often starts to snow. St. Martin's Day is the traditional feast day in the run-up to Advent. Restaurants often serve roast goose as well as young wine from the recent harvest known as Svatomartinské víno, which is similar to Beaujolais nouveau as the first wine of the season. Wine shops and restaurants around Prague pour the first of the St. Martin's wines at 11:11 a.m. Many restaurants offer special menus for the day, featuring the traditional roast goose.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In Poland, 11 November is National Independence Day. St. Martin's Day ("Dzień Świętego Marcina") is celebrated mainly in the city of Poznań where its citizens buy and eat considerable amounts of croissants filled with almond paste with white poppy seeds, the "Rogal świętomarciński" or St. Martin's Croissants. Legend has it that this centuries-old tradition commemorates a Poznań baker's dream which had the saint entering the city on a white horse that lost its golden horseshoe. The next morning, the baker whipped up horseshoe-shaped croissants filled with almonds, white poppy seeds and nuts, and gave them to the poor. In recent years, competition amongst local patisseries has become fierce. The product is registered under the European Union Protected Designation of Origin and only a limited number of bakers hold an official certificate. Poznanians celebrate the festival with concerts, parades and a fireworks show on Saint Martin's Street. Goose meat dishes are also eaten during the holiday.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: The biggest event in Slovenia is the St. Martin's Day celebration in Maribor which marks the symbolic winding up of all the wine growers’ endeavours. There is the ceremonial "christening" of the new wine, and the arrival of the Wine Queen. The square Trg Leona Štuklja is filled with musicians and stalls offering autumn produce and delicacies.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In some parts of Ireland, on the eve of St. Martin's Day ("Lá Fhéile Mártain" in Irish), it was tradition to sacrifice a cockerel by bleeding it. The blood was collected and sprinkled on the four corners of the house. Also in Ireland, no wheel of any kind was to turn on St. Martin's Day, because Martin was said by some people to have been thrown into a mill stream and killed by the wheel and so it was not right to turn any kind of wheel on that day. A local legend in Co. Wexford says that putting to sea is to be avoided as St. Martin rides a white horse across Wexford Bay bringing death by drowning to any who see him.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In Welsh mythology the day is associated with the Cŵn Annwn, the spectral hounds who escort souls to the otherworld (Annwn). St Martin's Day was one of the few nights the hounds would engage in a Wild Hunt, stalking the land for criminals and villains. The supernatural character of the day in Welsh culture is evident in the number omens associated with it. Marie Trevelyan recorded that if the hooting of an owl was heard on St Martin's Day it was seen as a bad omen for that district. If a meteor was seen, then there would be trouble for the whole nation.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Mārtiņi (Martin's) is traditionally celebrated by Latvians on 10 November, marking the end of the preparations for winter, such as salting meat and fish, storing the harvest and making preserves. Mārtiņi also marks the beginning of masquerading and sledding, among other winter activities.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: St. Martin's Day ("Jum San Martin" in Maltese) is celebrated in Malta on the Sunday nearest to 11 November. Children are given a bag full of fruits and sweets associated with the feast, known by the Maltese as "Il-Borża ta' San Martin", "St. Martin's bag". This bag may include walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts, dried or processed figs, seasonal fruit (like oranges, tangerines, apples and pomegranates) and "Saint Martin's bread roll" (Maltese: "Ħobża ta' San Martin"). In old days, nuts were used by the children in their games.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: A feast is celebrated in the village of Baħrija on the outskirts of Rabat, including a procession led by the statue of Saint Martin. There is also a fair, and a show for local animals. San Anton School, a private school on the island, organises a walk to and from a cave especially associated with Martin in remembrance of the day.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In Portugal, St. Martin's Day ("Dia de São Martinho") is commonly associated with the celebration of the maturation of the year's wine, being traditionally the first day when the new wine can be tasted. It is celebrated, traditionally around a bonfire, eating the "magusto", chestnuts roasted under the embers of the bonfire (sometimes dry figs and walnuts), and drinking a local light alcoholic beverage called "água-pé" (literally "foot water", made by adding water to the pomace left after the juice is pressed out of the grapes for wine – traditionally by stomping on them in vats with bare feet, and letting it ferment for several days), or the stronger "jeropiga" (a sweet liquor obtained in a very similar fashion, with aguardente added to the water). "Água-pé", though no longer available for sale in supermarkets and similar outlets (it is officially banned for sale in Portugal), is still generally available in small local shops from domestic production.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Leite de Vasconcelos regarded the "magusto" as the vestige of an ancient sacrifice to honor the dead and stated that it was tradition in Barqueiros to prepare, at midnight, a table with chestnuts for the deceased family members to eat. The people also mask their faces with the dark wood ashes from the bonfire.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: This period is also quite popular because of the usual good weather period that occurs in Portugal in this time of year, called "Verão de São Martinho" (St. Martin's Summer). It is frequently tied to the legend since Portuguese versions of St. Martin's legend usually replace the snowstorm with rain (because snow is not frequent in most parts of Portugal, while rain is common at that time of the year) and have Jesus bringing the end of it, thus making the "summer" a gift from God.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: St Martin's Day is widely celebrated in Galicia. It is the traditional day for slaughtering fattened pigs for the winter. This tradition has given way to the popular saying ""A cada cerdo le llega su San Martín" from Galician "A cada porquiño chégalle o seu San Martiño" ("Every pig gets its St Martin"). The phrase is used to indicate that wrongdoers eventually get their comeuppance.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: In Sicily, November is the winemaking season. On the day Sicilians eat anise, hard biscuits dipped into Moscato, Malvasia or Passito. "l'Estate di San Martino" (Saint Martin's Summer) is the traditional reference to a period of unseasonably warm weather in early to mid November, possibly shared with the Normans (who founded the Kingdom of Sicily) as common in at least late English folklore. The day is celebrated in a special way in a village near Messina and at a monastery dedicated to Saint Martin overlooking Palermo beyond Monreale. Other places in Sicily mark the day by eating fava beans.


title: St. Martin's Day

text: Pieter Bruegel the Elder's physically largest painting is "The Wine of Saint Martin's Day", which depicts the saint giving charity.


title: Torture murder

text: A torture murder is a murder where death was preceded by the torture of the victim. In many legal jurisdictions a murder involving "exceptional brutality or cruelty" will attract a harsher sentence if the killing is not sanctioned by authorities or carried out by state security forces themselves.


title: Torture murder

text: Lynching in the United States—extrajudicial killing by a mob, which often served as a means of racial terrorism—frequently involved public torture of the victim or victims, and was in many instances followed by human trophy collecting. Moreover, since industrial acid became available in quantity during the 19th century, acid attacks have become a globally widespread method of murder.


title: Torture murder

text: In the 21st century, many of the murders of foreigners in and citizens of Iraq and Syria committed by members of the terrorist organization Daesh have been preceded by torture. Film footage of the persecution of Muslims in Myanmar documents the aftermath and testimony of torture murder by government forces, and evidence has linked torture murder with many other massacres, war crimes, and genocides, both contemporary and historical.


title: Torture murder

text: Murder laws worldwide vary a great deal, but a murder involving torture will generally attract a harsher penalty than a murder alone. Legal mechanisms of penalty enhancement vary between jurisdictions. In the laws of Italy, Germany, Norway, and many parts of the United States, there are two or more "degrees" of murder, with wording such as: ""...inflicting torture upon the victim prior to the victim's death"" typically used to rule that the highest degree should apply. In other jurisdictions, it may be that even if there was just one crime of murder, the sentencing practices and guidelines are such that the aggravating circumstance of any torture will nevertheless allow for a harsher than normal penalty.


title: Azhagam Perumal

text: Azhagam Perumal hails from the village of Kulasekharapuram in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. All his family members were working in the government service and his parents wanted him to be an engineer. Azhagam Perumal, however, after his graduation, applied to the Adyar Film Institute in spite of stiff opposition from his family. He graduated with a Gold Medal from the Institute in 1991.


title: Azhagam Perumal

text: Azhagam Perumal worked as an assistant to director Mani Ratnam from "Thalapathi" to "Iruvar", before leaving to make his independent project. When Mani Ratnam was shooting "Alaipayuthey", he was looking for someone like Jagathy Sreekumar to play the quirky house owner, which Azhagam Perumal eventually did, making his acting debut.


title: Azhagam Perumal

text: He had initially announced his directorial debut in 1998 as "Mudhal Mudhalaaga", a romantic film starring Arvind Swamy and Karisma Kapoor. Despite beginning production, the film was indefinitely put on hold. He then started making "Udhaya" in 1999 with Vijay and Simran starring, but the film faced production delays owing to the producer's financial problems. Azhagam Perumal also discussed making a film titled "Hijack" in 2000 but the film failed to develop. He later attempted to make the film with Vikram in 2004, but the project did not proceed.


title: Azhagam Perumal

text: His directorial debut was eventually the romantic comedy "Dumm Dumm Dumm" starring R. Madhavan and Jyothika, in which his mentor Mani Ratnam worked as the screenwriter and producer. The film released in 2001 and was a success.


title: Azhagam Perumal

text: After "Alaipayuthey", he was offered acting offers but he declined as he wanted to revive and complete "Udhaya" by early 2004.


The Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix (FCI Fort Dix) is a low-security United States federal prison for male offenders in New Jersey. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. A satellite prison camp houses minimum-security male inmates.


title: Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix

text: FCI Fort Dix is located in Burlington County adjacent to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. It is approximately from Philadelphia. Fort Dix is the largest single federal prison in the United States in the number of inmates housed there.


text: It is divided up into three compounds: The separate East and West Compounds (both low-level, each constituting a single prison in its own right) and a camp between the two.


text: In early 2010, a joint FBI and Federal Bureau of Prisons investigation found that Dimorio McDowell (50711-019), an inmate at FCI Fort Dix, was operating a major identity theft ring from the prison. Eight co-conspirators, with whom McDowell communicated by telephone, were also arrested. The ring targeted credit cards issued by major chain stores such as Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Staples, Home Depot, Lowes and others. McDowell and his co-conspirators obtained the personal information of credit card holders through customer service departments and added themselves as authorized users. When McDowell's co-conspirators went to make purchases, they showed false identification or provided the last four digits of the cardholder's Social Security number and charged high-end items such as a John Deere tractor, big-screen televisions, snow blowers and stoves. The companies that issued the cards, including Citigroup Financial, HSBC and GE Capital, lost between $500,000 to $1 million.


text: McDowell subsequently pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and was sentenced to 14 additional years in prison on January 18, 2011. McDowell is currently incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, which has a Communication Management Unit, where inmate contact with the outside world is severely restricted and tightly monitored. He is scheduled for release in 2028.


title: Melissa

text: Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα ("mélissa"), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι ("meli"), "honey". In Hittite, "melit" signifies "honey".


title: Melissa

text: Melissa is a common variant form, with others being Malissa, Melesa, Melessa, Meliza, Mellisa, Melosa, and Molissa.


title: Melissa

text: In Ireland it is sometimes used as a feminine form of the Gaelic male name "Maoilíosa", which means "servant of Jesus", which is of an origin independent of the Hittites.


title: Melissa

text: According to Greek mythology, perhaps reflecting Minoan culture, making her the daughter of a Cretan king Melisseus, whose "-issos" ending is Pre-Greek, Melissa was a nymph who discovered and taught the use of honey and from whom bees were believed to have received their name. She was one of the nymph nurses of Zeus, sister to Amaltheia, but rather than feeding the baby milk, Melissa, appropriately for her name, fed him honey. Or, alternatively, the bees brought honey straight to his mouth. Because of her, "Melissa" became the name of all the nymphs who cared for the patriarch god as a baby. Melissa can also be spelled Mellissa, Mellisa, Melisa, Malissa, Malisa, Mallissa, Mallisa and Milisa.


title: Melissa

text: The name "Melissa" has a long history with roots reaching back to even before Ancient Greece. For this reason, in part, there are several versions of the story surrounding the mythological character Melissa, especially in how she came to care for the infant Zeus. In one version, Melissa, a mountain-nymph, hid Zeus from his father, Cronus, who was intent on devouring his progeny. She fed Zeus goat's milk from Amalthea and fed him honey, giving him a permanent taste for it even once he came to rule on Mount Olympus. Cronus became aware of Melissa's role in thwarting his murderous design and changed her into an earthworm. Zeus, however, took pity and transformed her into a beautiful bee.


title: Melissa

text: Nymphs, such as Melissa, played an important role in mythic accounts of the origin of basic institutions and skills, as in the training of the culture heroes Dionysos and Aristaeus or the civilizing behaviors taught by the bee nymph. The antiquarian Mnaseas' account of Melissa gives a good picture of her function as in this respect. According to folklore, as Larson phrases it, "Melissa first found a honeycomb, tasted it, then mixed it with water as a beverage. She taught others to do this, and thus the creature was named for her, and she was made its guardian." This was part of the Nymphs' achievement of bringing men out of their wild state. Under the guidance of Melissa, the Nymphs not only turned men away from eating each other to eating only this product of the forest trees, but also introduced into the world of men the feeling of modesty.


title: Melissa

text: In addition, the ancient Greek philosopher, Porphyry (233 to c. 304 AD) wrote of the priestesses of Demeter, known as "Melissae" ("bees"), who were initiates of the chthonian goddess. The story surrounding "Melissae" tells of an elderly priestess of Demeter, named Melissa, initiated into her mysteries by the goddess herself. When Melissa's neighbors tried to make her reveal the secrets of her initiation, she remained silent, never letting a word pass from her lips. In anger, the women tore her to pieces, but Demeter sent a plague upon them, causing bees to be born from Melissa's dead body. From Porphyry's writings, scholars have also learned that Melissa was the name of the moon goddess Artemis and the goddess who took suffering away from mothers giving birth. Souls were symbolized by bees and it was Melissa who drew souls down to be born. She was connected with the idea of a periodic regeneration.


title: Melissa

text: The variant spelling/pronunciation Melitta is the Attic Greek dialect for Melissa. (Compare the Attic word for sea, "thalatta", with the more common "thalassa".) Within a fragment of the Orphic poetry, quoted by Natalis Comes, "Melitta" is spoken of as a hive, and called Seira, or the hive of Venus:


title: Melissa

text: Let us celebrate the hive of Venus, who rose from the sea: that hive of many names: the mighty fountain, from whence all kings are descended; from whence all the winged and immortal Loves were again produced.


title: Melissa

text: From the works of Hesychius, it is clear that the word Seira among other interpretations signified "Melitta", a bee; also a hive, or house of "Melitta", "[s]uch is the sense of it in this passage: and [she] was thus represented in ancient mythology, as being the receptacle, from whence issued that swarm, by which the world was peopled". With that said, Seira was none other than the goddess Demeter, the supposed mother of mankind; who was also styled as Melitta and Melissa, and was looked upon as the Venus of the East. This Deity, "Melitta", was the same as "Mylitta", the well-known Venus of the Babylonians and Arabians. Melissa or "Melitta" is also said to be the mother-wife of Phoroneus, the first that reigned, in whose days the dispersion of mankind occurred, whereas before all had been in harmony and only one language was spoken. "Melitta", being the feminine of "Melitz", the Mediator, consequently signifies "Melitta" the "Mediatrix" for sinful mortals.


title: Melissa

text: The 16th-century Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto used the name "Melissa" for a good fairy (the good sorceress and prophetess who lived in Merlin's cave) in his poem "Orlando Furioso". The following is an ode to Melissa's birthday by Thomas Blacklock, a Scottish poet from the late 18th century.


title: Melissa

text: Melissa became a popular name in the United States during the 1950s. The name was very popular from the 1960s to the 1990s, today Melissa is a relatively uncommon baby name; in 2010, fewer than 2,500 girls were given the name, compared with around 10,000 in 1993 and well over 30,000 at the name's peak popularity in 1979. In 2007, Melissa was the 137th most popular name for girls born in the United States, dropping steadily from its peak of second place in 1977. It was among the top ten most popular names for girls from 1967 to 1984.


title: Apparatchik

text: An apparatchik (; ) was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the Soviet government "apparat" (, apparatus), someone who held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management called nomenklatura. James Billington describes an apparatchik as "a man not of grand plans, but of a hundred carefully executed details." The term is often considered derogatory, with negative connotations in terms of the quality, competence, and attitude of a person thus described.


title: Apparatchik

text: Members of the apparat (apparatchiks or apparatchiki) were frequently transferred between different areas of responsibility, usually with little or no actual training for their new areas of responsibility. Thus, the term apparatchik, or "agent of the apparatus" was usually the best possible description of the person's profession and occupation. Not all apparatchiks held lifelong positions. Many only entered such positions in middle age. They were known to receive various benefits including free holiday vouchers, free meals and accommodation. Today "apparatchik" is also used in contexts other than that of the Soviet Union or communist countries. According to Collins English Dictionary the word can mean "an official or bureaucrat in any organization". According to Douglas Harper's "Online Etymology Dictionary", the term was also used in the meaning "Communist agent or spy", originating in the writings of Arthur Koestler, c. 1941.


title: Baskerville

text: Baskerville is a serif typeface designed in the 1750s by John Baskerville (1706–1775) in Birmingham, England, and cut into metal by punchcutter John Handy. Baskerville is classified as a transitional typeface, intended as a refinement of what are now called old-style typefaces of the period, especially those of his most eminent contemporary, William Caslon.


title: Baskerville

text: Compared to earlier designs popular in Britain, Baskerville increased the contrast between thick and thin strokes, making the serifs sharper and more tapered, and shifted the axis of rounded letters to a more vertical position. The curved strokes are more circular in shape, and the characters became more regular. These changes created a greater consistency in size and form, influenced by the calligraphy Baskerville had learned and taught as a young man. Baskerville's typefaces remain very popular in book design and there are many modern revivals, which often add features such as bold type which did not exist in Baskerville's time.


title: Baskerville

text: As Baskerville's typefaces were proprietary to him and sold to a French publisher after his death, some designs influenced by him were made by British punchcutters. The Fry Foundry of Bristol created a version, probably cut by their typefounder Isaac Moore. Marketed in the twentieth century as "Fry's Baskerville" or "Baskerville Old Face", a digitisation based on the more delicate larger sizes is included with some Microsoft software.


title: Baskerville

text: Baskerville's typeface was part of an ambitious project to create books of the greatest possible quality. Baskerville was a wealthy industrialist, who had started his career as a writing-master (teacher of calligraphy) and carver of gravestones, before making a fortune as a manufacturer of varnished lacquer goods. At a time when books in England were generally printed to a low standard, using typefaces of conservative design, Baskerville sought to offer books created to higher-quality methods of printing than any before, using carefully made, level presses, a high quality of ink and very smooth paper pressed after printing to a glazed, gleaming finish.


title: Baskerville

text: While Baskerville's types in some aspects recall the general design of William Caslon, the most eminent punchcutter of the time, his approach was far more radical. Beatrice Warde, John Dreyfus and others have written that aspects of his design recalled his handwriting and common elements of the calligraphy taught by the time of Baskerville's youth, which had been used in copperplate engraving but had not previously been cut into type in Britain. Such details included many of the intricate details of his italic, such as the flourishes on the capital "N" and entering stroke at top left of the italic 'p'. He had clearly considered the topic of ideal letterforms for many years, since a slate carved in his early career offering his services cutting tombstones, believed to date from around 1730, is partly cut in lettering very similar to his typefaces of the 1750s. The result was a typeface cut by Handy to Baskerville's specifications that reflected Baskerville's ideals of perfection. According to Baskerville, he developed his printing projects for seven years, releasing a prospectus advertisement for the project in 1754, before finally releasing his first book, an edition of Virgil, in 1757, which was followed by other classics. At the start of his edition of "Paradise Lost", he wrote a preface explaining his ambitions.


title: Baskerville

text: In 1758, he was appointed University Printer to the Cambridge University Press. It was there in 1763 that he published his master work, a folio Bible.


title: Baskerville

text: The crispness of Baskerville's work seems to have unsettled (or perhaps provoked jealousy in) his contemporaries, and some claimed the stark contrasts in his printing damaged the eyes. Baskerville was never particularly successful as a printer, being a printer of specialist and elite editions, something not helped by the erratic standard of editing in his books. Abroad, however, he was much admired (if not directly imitated, at least not his style of type design), notably by Pierre Simon Fournier, Giambattista Bodoni and Benjamin Franklin (who had started his career as a printer), who wrote him a letter praising his work. His work was later admired in England by Thomas Frognall Dibdin, who wrote that 'in his Italic letter...he stands unrivalled; such elegance, freedom and perfect symmetry being in vain to be looked for among the specimens of Aldus and Colinaeus...Baskerville was a truly original artist, he struck out a new method of printing in this country and may be considered as the founder of that luxuriant style of typography at present so generally prevails; and which seems to have attained perfection in the neatness of Whittingham, the elegance of Bulmer and the splendour of Bensley." Thomas Curson Hansard in 1825 seems to have had misgivings about his work, praising his achievement in some ways but also suggesting that he was a better printer than a type designer. On his death his widow Sarah eventually sold his material to a Paris literary society connected to Beaumarchais, placing them out of reach of British printing. A. F. Johnson however cautions that some perhaps over-patriotic British writers on type design have over-estimated Baskerville's influence on continental type design: "there seems to be no trace of a Baskerville school outside Great Britain, except of course in the use of actual Baskerville types. Didot proceeded from the "romains du roi" and would have so proceeded if Baskerville had never printed. Even in England, where there was a Baskerville period in typography, the modern face came from the French, and not as a development from Baskerville."


title: Baskerville

text: Baskerville's styles of type and printing, although initially unpopular in Britain, proved influential for a brief transitional period in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, with printers and type designers such as Joseph Fry, Isaac Moore who may have been Fry's punchcutter, and Wilson of Glasgow. Bulmer, cut by the brother of Baskerville's foremen, was one design inspired by it, as is the Bell type cut by Richard Austin. Austin's biographer Alastair Johnston has described this period as a "glorious but short-lived" period of innovative type design in Britain "of harmonious types that had the larger-on-the-body proportions of the Romain du Roi, with the modelling of Baskerville but more colour and fine serifs". Philip Gaskell particularly highlights as a successful typeface of this period the Wilson foundry of Glasgow's 'startling' English-sized (14 pt) roman of 1760, following soon from Baskerville's first editions of 1757 and cut extremely large for its point size: "Baskerville's influence is obvious, but Wilson has outdone the master in the width, weight and even the size of the face. I think myself that with its large x-height, generous width and clean execution, this elegant fount carries out Baskerville's ideas better than did Baskerville himself." This period saw an increasing influence of Didone printing from the Continent, in particular the types of the Didot family and the editions published by Bodoni. The style then disappeared from view altogether following a full trend towards Didone typefaces, often with a much darker style of impression; Updike suggests that this change mostly happened around 1815–20. The Scotch Roman genre which proved popular in Britain and America is something of an intermediate between Didone typefaces and Baskerville's influence. The succession of more extreme "Didone" typefaces quickly replacing Baskerville's style has led to Baskerville being called "transitional" on the road to the Didone style which dominated printing for a long period, although of course Baskerville would not have considered his design "transitional" but as a successful end in itself.


title: Baskerville

text: The original Baskerville type (with some replaced letters) was revived in 1917 by Bruce Rogers, for the Harvard University Press, and also released by G. Peignot et Fils in Paris (France). Modern revivals have added features, such as italics with extra or no swashes and bold weights, that were not present in Baskerville's original work.


title: Baskerville

text: Baskerville is used widely in documents issued by the University of Birmingham (UK) and Castleton University (Vermont, USA). A modified version of Baskerville is also prominently used in the Canadian government's corporate identity program—namely, in the 'Canada' wordmark. Another modified version of Baskerville is used by Northeastern University (USA), and the ABRSM.


title: Baskerville

text: Key features of Baskerville are its E where the bottom arm projects further than the upper, a W with no centre serif, and in the lower-case g where the bottom loop is open. Some fonts cut for Baskerville have an 'R' with a straight leg; in others it is curved. Many characters have clear ball terminals, in contrast to the more wedge-shaped serifs of earlier fonts. Most distinctive is the italic, in which the J has a centre-bar and many other italic capitals have flourishes, the 'p' has a tail pointing downwards and to the left (similar to the entrance stroke that would be made with a pen) and the w has a clear centre loop and swash on the left. In general, Baskerville's type has been described as 'rounder, more sharply cut' than its predecessors. (Some of these distinctive features are discarded in many revivals, as seen below.) Baskerville's type featured text figures or lower-case numbers, the only form which was used at the time (Roman numerals would be used to align with the capitals). The capitals are very bold, and (like Caslon's) have been criticised for being unbalanced to the lower-case at large sizes.


title: Baskerville

text: Baskerville also produced a font for Greek, which survives at Oxford. It has sometimes been criticised as unidiomatic, and has not been particularly popular. He also had cut ornaments, many apparently copied or influenced from those offered by the Enschedé type foundry of Haarlem.


title: Baskerville

text: More loosely, the Scotch Roman genre of transitional types reflects the influence of Baskerville's work, with increasing influence of Didone type from the continent around the beginning of the nineteenth century; the font Georgia is influenced by this genre. Due to the cachet of the name, other completely unrelated designs were named 'Baskerville' in the hot metal period.


title: Baskerville

text: As it had been a standard type for many years, "Baskerville" was widely available in cold type. Alphatype, Autologic, Berthold, Compugraphic, Dymo, Star/Photon, Harris, Mergenthaler, MGD Graphic Systems, Varityper, Hell AG and Monotype, all sold the face under the name "Baskerville," while Graphic Systems Inc. offered the face as "Beaumont."


title: Baskerville

text: As a somewhat precise design that emphasises contrast between thick and thin strokes, modern designers may prefer different revivals for different text sizes, printing methods and onscreen display, since a design intended to appear elegant in large text sizes could look too spindly for body text. Factors which would be taken into account include compensation for size and ink spread, if any (the extent of which depends on printing methods and type of paper used; it does not occur on screens). Among digitisations, František Štorm's extremely complete range of versions is particularly praised for featuring three optical sizes, the text version having thicker strokes to increase legibility as metal type does. Meanwhile, the common digitisation of Baskerville Old Face bundled with many Microsoft products features dramatic contrasts between thin and thick strokes. This makes it most suited to headings, especially since it does not have an italic.


title: Baskerville

text: Another common question facing revivals is what to do with some letters such as 'N' in italics. On faithful revivals such as the Storm digitisation (shown at top right) they have a swash, but this may be thought too distracting for general use or to space poorly in all-caps text. Accordingly, many revivals substitute (or offer as an alternate) capitals without swashes.


title: Baskerville

text: Dieter Hofrichter, who assisted Günter Gerhard Lange in designing a Baskerville revival for Berthold around 1980, commented: