Formation.

Although Mount Everest as a mountaineering objective had been on the horizon of British alpinists for some time – Clinton Thomas Dent writing in 1885, had sketched the idea of an ascent and Dr A. M. Kellas's study 'A Consideration of the Possibility of Ascending the Loftier Himalaya' of 1916 had asserted that it was certainly possible physiologically – the initiative to form the Mount Everest Committee came from a talk given to the Royal Geographical Society in 1919 by Captain John Noel about his travels in the Everest region, and the resultant discussion.  In 1920, at the behest of Sir Francis Younghusband (the first Chairman of the Committee), Colonel Charles Howard-Bury – the leader of the 1921 expedition – persuaded Sir Charles Bell to use his considerable influence with Tibetan officials to negotiate permission for a passage to Mount Everest from the northern side (the Nepalese approaches from the south were closed to foreign entry). Permission was granted by the Tibetan government for the British to proceed in the following year, 1921.  To co-ordinate and finance the reconnaissance expedition, a joint body – the Mount Everest Committee – was formed, composed of high-ranking members of the two interested parties – the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society.  According to Sir Francis Younghusband: The first serious attempt on the summit was on the 1922 expedition. However, a diplomatic debacle after the 1924 expedition, later known as the Affair of the Dancing Lamas led to expeditions being banned until 1933. The embarrassment to the committee was so great that the affair was covered up for over fifty years.

1953 Everest expedition.

Background.

The Committee began the organisation for the full-scale 1953 attempt (in case the Swiss attempt in 1952 failed) in 1951, when it arranged the 1951 reconnaissance expedition.  In 1952, the following year, the Cho Oyu expedition was undertaken, which was also to test oxygen apparatus for 1953. But Cho Oyu was not climbed. Members included Edmund Hillary. Hunt had asked earlier Everest climbers for comments on his 1953 plans; Teddy Norton advised him that previous assault camps had been too low, and that in 1953 it should be on or very close under the Southern Summit.

Selecting members.

John Hunt, the leader of the 1953 expedition, decided to recruit British and Commonwealth members (New Zealand and Kenya had potential members) rather than an "international" team, and the two New Zealand members not known to Hunt (Hillary and Lowe) were known to Shipton and others. He wanted climbers experienced in snow and ice (not rock climbers) and between 25 and 40 (although Band was 23 and Hunt himself was 42). A "large" party of ten was required, plus an expedition doctor; so Ward (doctor), Pugh (physiologist, sponsored by the Medical Research Council) and Stobart (cameraman, sponsored by Countryman Films) were added. A few months later Tenzing was invited to join the climbing party.  There were five reserve mountaineers also prepared to assist the expedition: J. H. Emlyn Jones, John Jackson, Anthony Rawlinson, Hamish Nicol and Jack Tucker. The various British mountaineering clubs had been requested to submit lists of qualified candidates to be considered by the Committee, "whose responsibility it was to issue the formal invitations".

Financing.

According to Hunt, the Committee's responsibility for drumming up funds for the 1953 expedition was not a welcome one: A number of organisations contributed to the Committee, including "The Times" newspaper, which had also supported earlier expeditions.

Success.

On 2 June, four days after the successful ascent, Hunt sent a runner to 'carry messages to Namche Bazar, to go thence by the good offices of the Indian wireless station to Kathmandu. Cables of humble appreciation were sent to the Queen and the Prime Minister, another to the Himalayan Committee saying that I proposed to bring Tenzing and Hillary to England – George Lowe had already planned to come.'

The Mount Everest Committee was a body formed by the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society to co-ordinate and finance the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition to Mount Everest and all subsequent British expeditions to climb the mountain until 1947. It was then renamed the Joint Himalayan Committee; this latter committee organised and financed the successful first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953.


Characteristics.

TNSM militia members are "identified by their shoulder-length hair and camouflage vests over traditional shalwar kameez clothing", according to a 2007 Associated Press report. Numerous non-native militants have been recruited to work with the group from elsewhere in North Waziristan, many of them originally from outside Pakistan, including Afghans and Arabs.

Enforcement of Sharia.

As part of what it sees as enforcement of Sharia law, the group has bombed girls schools and blown up video and CD shops. Fazlullah has also used his FM broadcasts to urge schoolgirls to wear all-covering burqas and has forced the closure of some development organizations, accusing them of spreading immorality by employing female staff.

History.

Origins.

The group was founded by Sufi Muhammad in 1992 after he left Jamaat-e-Islami, in which he was an active leader.

1994 Malakand Division Revolt.

Sufi Muhammad fomented an insurrection in Malakand Division (Dir, Swat, Bajaur, Chitral) on the basis of a demand for Sharia law. The uprising was quashed by the Pakistan military but not before TNSM had brought the Dir and Swat under its control. Timergara was besieged by government artillery and fighting was particularly intense in Swat.  It is alleged that while under TNSM control, drivers were forced to switch to driving on the right side of the road, which resulted in many accidents.

2001–2002.

Sufi Muhammad was jailed in November for sending thousands of volunteers to Afghanistan to fight the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. During his imprisonment, Muhammad's son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah, known as "Mullah Radio" for his pirate FM station broadcasts, led TNSM.  President Pervez Musharraf banned the group on January 12, 2002.

2005.

After a brief decline, the group experienced a revival in the aftermath of the October 2005 earthquake. Radio broadcasts reinforced local beliefs that the earthquake was a punishment for sins, and local inhabitants of the region destroyed electronic equipment, such as televisions and computers, in response.

2007.

In July 2007, the group took over much of the Swat District and held on to it as late as November, when Pakistani forces ousted Maulana Fazlullah and his followers from a large base in the village of Imam Dheri.  The stronghold, eight kilometres from the valley's main town of Mingora in Kabal Union Council of northwestern Swat, was guarded by about 200 rebel fighters.  An Associated Press reporter who visited the base in October 2007 described it as a concrete complex near the village. "Inside is a mosque and a maze of dozens of rooms, many still under construction. A shop sells audio cassettes of speeches by Fazlullah." Although the seminary hadn't opened for students, it was drawing thousands of worshippers for Friday prayers, residents told the Associated Press. Fazlullah's spokesman, Sirajuddin, then based at the seminary, is a gray-bearded militant who goes by only one name.  About 250 militants died in two weeks of fighting in late November, during which the two-square-kilometer base was bombarded by artillery, according to Pakistani authorities. People in a number of towns destroyed the fortified bunkers the rebels, including Fazlullah and Sirajuddin, had left behind as the militants retreated into the mountains.

Collaboration with the TTP.

In the aftermath of the 2007 siege of Lal Masjid, Fazlullah's forces and Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) formed an alliance. Fazlullah and his army reportedly received orders from Mehsud.

Attacks on Buddhist sculptures.

On October 8, 2007 members of the TNSM group used dynamite to obliterate the face of the 23 foot high colossal image of a seated Buddha carved in c. 7th century CE into a reddish rock face on a hillside to the southwest of the village of Jehanabad (Shakhorai) near Manglawar in Swat district. According to Aqleem Khan, an archaeology department official of North Western Frontier Province who spoke to Reuters, the members of this group drilled holes into the rock, filled them with dynamite, then set off the explosion on October 9, 2007 morning.

2008.

Sufi Muhammad was released after he renounced violence in discussion with the provincial government. Eight leaders of TNSM signed a peace agreement that recognized the provincial government's sovereignty, urged an end to violence and declared attacks against police, military and government targets "un-Islamic."

2009.

As of January 2009 Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi had established Shariah courts, that "openly administer punishment to people who dared to violate their strict code of conduct" in a region extending "from Matta sub-division in upper Swat valley to Kabal sub-division close the main Mingora town."

Campaign against female education.

A January 21, 2009 issue of the Pakistan daily newspaper "The News", reported Taliban enforcement of a complete ban on female education in the Swat district. Some 400 private schools enrolling 40,000 girls were forced to close. At least 10 girls schools that tried to open after the January 15, 2009 deadline by the Fazlullah-led Taliban were destroyed by the militants in the town of Mingora, the headquarters of the Swat district. Over the past 14 months "more than 170 schools have been bombed or torched, along with other government-owned buildings."  Maulvi Omar, a spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), urged the Fazlullah-led Swati Taliban to rethink the ban on female education. Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the Swati Taliban responded that the TTP had not formally requested an overturn of the ban and that his group would continue as planned. However, Khan announced in a phone call to the "Gulf News" on January 28, 2009 that his group would reconsider the ban on education for women in consultation with religious scholars once conflict had ended in the area. He stated, "We are not against education, but we insist that our new generation should be imparted with religious and then scientific and technology education. The Taliban need doctors, engineers and scientists to strengthen our cause." This is also being noticed now that taliban have begun to target Pakistani scientists and engineers of the strategic organizations.

Sharia Nizam-i-Adl Regulation 2009.

The Pakistani government announced on February 16, 2009 that it would allow Sharia law in the Malakand region. In return, Fazlullah's followers agreed to observe a ceasefire negotiated by Sufi Muhammad. On February 24, 2009 Muslim Khan publicly announced that the Swati Taliban would observe an indefinite ceasefire.

End of negotiations.

In early April 2009 Sufi Muhammad ended support for peace negotiations stating that the government had stalled the implementation of sharia courts in the Swat valley. President Asif Ali Zardari refused to sign any agreement until peace had been restored in the valley but failed to elaborate on how those conditions would be achieved. At the strong recommendation of the National Assembly President Zardari signed the agreement, the Sharia Nizam-i-Adl Regulation 2009, on April 13, 2009. A spokesman for Sufi Muhammad, Amir Izzat Khan, stated that the law would allow for peace in the Swat region and that the Taliban was in the process of disarmament. Muslim Khan added that an "Islamic syllabus" would be instituted in schools and that women would not be allowed to go to jobs or to markets so as not to become "show-pieces."

Destruction of headquarters.

In June 2009, Pakistani security forces bombed and destroyed the Imam Dheri compound that served as Fazlullah's headquarters. The compound had contained residences, a mosque, court and prison.

Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM, ) is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The militant group took over much of Swat in 2007. It was founded by Sufi Muhammad in 1992, and was banned by President Pervez Musharraf on January 12, 2002.


Football career.

Preston and Brighton.

Mark Lawrenson was born in Preston and attended Teresa's Catholic Primary School in Penwortham and, later, Preston Catholic College, a Jesuit school. His father, Tom, had been a winger for Preston North End. He always wanted to be a footballer, although his mother, Theresa, wanted him to become a priest. He began his career, as a 17-year-old, with his hometown club, Preston North End in 1974 who were then managed by World Cup winner Bobby Charlton. Lawrenson was voted Preston's Player of the Year for the 1976–77 season.  After 73 league appearances for the Deepdale club he moved to Alan Mullery's Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer before the start of the 1977–78 season for £100,000. Ironically, they outbid Liverpool who also showed interest in the 19-year-old Lawrenson. Lawrenson made his Brighton debut on 20 August 1977 in a 1–1 draw against Southampton at The Dell. He settled in at the Goldstone Ground and made 40 league appearances by the end of his first season of the club. He went on to make 152 league appearances by the end of the 1980–81 season. However the club entered a financial crisis in 1981 and Lawrenson was forced to leave the club to make funds available. A number of clubs were interested in signing Lawrenson after his resilient performances for both Preston and Brighton, but it was Liverpool manager Bob Paisley who secured his signature.

Liverpool.

Liverpool offered a club transfer record of £900,000, and Lawrenson joined in the summer of 1981. He was to form a formidable central defensive partnership with Alan Hansen after Phil Thompson suffered an injury. He was also used occasionally at left-back. He made his first start for the team at left-back in a 1–0 league defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on 29 August 1981. He scored his first goal a month later during the 7–0 European Cup 1st round 2nd leg trouncing of Finnish team Oulun Palloseura at Anfield on 30 September. Lawrenson came on for Ray Kennedy in the 64th minute scoring in the 72nd. Also coming off the bench to score his first goal for the club was Ian Rush.  In Lawrenson's first full season, 1981–82, Liverpool won the League championship and the League Cup, defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the final. The team retained both titles for the next two seasons (in the League Cup finals defeating Manchester United in 1983 and Everton in 1984), becoming the third club in history to win three league titles in a row. They also added the club's fourth European Cup in 1984, the last time Liverpool would win Europe's most prestigious club prize until 2005. Lawrenson dislocated his shoulder three weeks before the 1985 European Cup final, the Heysel Stadium Disaster. He started the game, which Liverpool lost 1–0 to Juventus, but was injured after a few minutes and had to be substituted.  Lawrenson earned a reputation as an accomplished player and in the 1985–1986 season he was an integral part of the Liverpool side who completed the third league championship and FA Cup double of the 20th century. They overtook derby rivals Everton to win the league by two points and later came from behind to defeat Everton 3–1 in the 1986 FA Cup final at Wembley. After 1986, Lawrenson's first team place came under threat from the younger Gary Gillespie. Lawrenson's partnership with team captain Hansen continued for one more season before he, already out through a minor injury, suffered Achilles tendon damage in 1988 which prematurely ended his career. He earned a fifth and final title medal when that season ended. His Liverpool career ended after 332 appearances and 18 goals in all competitions – one of which was the fifth goal in a 5–0 defeat of Merseyside rivals Everton on 6 November 1982, a game in which Ian Rush scored four of the five goals.  In 1989, Lawrenson spent one season with the Florida side in the American Soccer League.

Management.

After his time at Liverpool, he was appointed Oxford United manager in 1988. His time at the club was frustrating and he resigned after star striker Dean Saunders was sold by the board of directors without Lawrenson's approval. Over that winter, he made a brief playing comeback in the GM Vauxhall Conference, making two appearances for Barnet. Lawrenson also managed Peterborough United from 6 September 1989 until 9 November 1990.

Return to Playing.

Lawrenson returned to playing with non-league clubs Corby Town and Chesham United. His final season as a player was as part of the Chesham team that won the 1992-93 Isthmian League. The club was not promoted to the then Football Conference as this would have required ground improvements that could not be afforded, so he decided the time was right to retire from playing completely.

International career.

After Preston coach (and former Irish international goalkeeper) Alan Kelly became aware of the young player's Irish connections (and informed Irish international manager Johnny Giles), Lawrenson's solid performances earned him a call-up to the Republic of Ireland national team. He won the first of 39 international caps at the age of 19, in a friendly with Poland on 24 April 1977 at Dalymount Park; the game ended 0–0. Ireland employed Lawrenson's versatility and burgeoning talent by playing him at fullback, in midfield, and occasionally in his favoured position at centre half.  Lawrenson played his first competitive match on 12 October 1977 against Bulgaria in a 1978 World Cup qualifier. This match also ended 0-0, at Lansdowne Road (now Aviva Stadium). Lawrenson scored his first of his five goals for Ireland against Cyprus in Nicosia on 26 March 1980 in a 1982 World Cup Qualifier. He scored his second goal for Ireland in the next competitive match as Ireland beat Netherlands 2–1 at Lansdowne Road in the same qualification campaign. This was also notable as it was Eoin Hand's first match as manager of Ireland. In between these two matches Mark Lawrenson renewed his Preston acquaintance with Alan Kelly Snr as Kelly managed Ireland in a caretaker capacity for a friendly against Switzerland.  Lawrenson scored two goals in Ireland's record victory - an 8-0 thrashing of Malta in a 1984 European Championship qualifier but the Irish goal that he is best remembered for is one against Scotland. It was Jack Charlton's first qualification campaign as Irish manager and Ireland were playing Scotland in Hampden Park in a 1988 Euro qualifier. A sixth-minute goal earned Ireland a precious away victory that went a very long way to helping Ireland to qualify for its first ever major football championship finals. Unfortunately for Lawrenson injury prevented him from making the Irish Euro 1988 squad for the finals.  Mark Lawrenson played his last match for the Republic of Ireland against Israel on 10 November 1987. It was a friendly match at Dalymount Park and was also notable because David Kelly scored a hat trick on his international debut.

Media career.

Lawrenson began his television career providing match analysis on HTV West's local football coverage, before working as a pundit for the BBC but then left briefly to become a coach specialising in defensive tactics for Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United. However, the position was again short-lived and he returned to media work. He has since become established as a pundit, both on BBC television and radio, often finding himself sitting alongside his former defensive partner, Alan Hansen. Since the departure from the BBC of Trevor Brooking, he has beem the main co-commentator on major national and international (FIFA) matches covered by the television network. He appears regularly on "Football Focus" and "Match of the Day".  He is also often a co-commentator on BBC Radio Five Live, often working on the feature matches on Sunday afternoons. He previously worked as a pundit for Ireland's TV3 between 2001-2007 for mid-week Champions League games alongside Welsh national (FA) team manager and former Liverpool striker, John Toshack. When the Champions League returned to TV3 in 2010 he no longer provided punditry. He was replaced in that role by Tony Cascarino and Martin Keown, and moved into the commentary box alongside TV3 commentator Trevor Welch. He works for Irish radio station Today FM on "Premiership Live" with presenter Michael McMullan in talking about football related topics, predicting scores and stating facts. He also has a column on the BBC website where he gives his views and predictions on the Premier League's weekend fixtures.  He also writes a regular Preston North End column for the University of Central Lancashire's Students' Union newspaper, "Pluto", and a weekly column for the Liverpool Daily Post newspaper. He worked with Japanese entertainment company Konami, recording commentary samples for the Pro Evolution Soccer series, alongside ITV commentator Jon Champion, from Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 to Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. He was replaced by ITV pundit Jim Beglin for Pro Evolution Soccer 2011. In addition, Lawrenson has also featured alongside John Motson as a commentator in EA Sports' "FIFA" series from "99" through "2001" and on the Euro 2000 video game.  In 2002, Lawrenson made a bet on "Football Focus" that Bolton would be relegated from the Premiership in the 2001–2002 season. He lost the bet after Sam Allardyce's team stayed up, and shaved off his moustache as a result.  At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the BBC received 172 complaints after Lawrenson said that Swiss striker Josip Drmić "should put a skirt on". The channel responded by stating "We acknowledge that the remark by commentator Mark Lawrenson about Switzerland's Josip Drmić was inappropriate and we apologise for any offence caused by it".

Personal life.

In 2003, Lawrenson was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from Myerscough College near Preston for his achievements in football.  In 2018, he was given the all-clear after having a cancerous growth removed from his face. He was made aware of the seriousness of the growth when a concerned viewer contacted the editor of "Football Focus". Lawrenson later met the viewer, Dr Alan Brennan, on television.

Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is a former Republic of Ireland international footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After a short career as a manager, he has since been a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC, TV3 and Today FM. Born and raised in England, Lawrenson qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland through his grandfather, Thomas Crotty, who was born in Waterford.


Club career.

Wrexham.

Jones was born in Llandudno, and joined Wrexham in 1971. He made his debut at the age of 17 in a Welsh Cup tie against local rivals Chester City; Wrexham lost 1–0. He did, however, win the Welsh Cup with the club in 1975, when they beat Cardiff City in the final. Jones established himself as a right-back and helped Wrexham to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1974, the first time the club had reached that stage.

Liverpool.

Jones left Wrexham to join his boyhood heroes, Liverpool (he had a Liverbird tattoo, which he later had removed for medical reasons, on his forearm), when Bob Paisley paid £110,000 for his services in July 1975. He made his debut on 16 August in a 2–0 league defeat to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. He missed out on a league championship medal in 1975–76, as he did not quite play enough matches to qualify.  In 1977 left back Jones was part of the treble-chasing Liverpool team which won the League championship and reached the finals of the FA Cup and European Cup. Jones scored his first goal for the club on 9 November 1976 in the 5–1 league thrashing of Leicester City at Anfield. The treble, unprecedented in English football, was not forthcoming. Liverpool lost 2–1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley to Manchester United, though Jones supplied the accurate long pass for Jimmy Case to score Liverpool's goal. However, Jones became the first Welshman to receive a European Cup winners medal when Liverpool won their first European Cup in Rome four days later, defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1. A memorable banner was unfurled by Liverpool supporters at the European Cup final in Rome which said ""Joey Ate The Frogs Legs, Made The Swiss Roll, Now He's Munching Gladbach"".  Jones was in and out of the side the following year, with the renaissance of Tommy Smith and the emergence of young Scottish defender Alan Hansen severely reducing his first team opportunities to the extent that he left in the summer of 1978 after exactly 100 appearances and 3 goals for the Reds.

Return to Wrexham.

He returned to Wrexham in 1978 for £210,000, a record that still stands as of 2020.

Chelsea.

In 1982, Jones joined Chelsea for £34,000, having been signed by John Neal. Jones was sent off on his debut against Carlisle United at Brunton Park. However, Jones' committed attitude and pre-match fist-clenching ritual eventually made him a cult hero among the fans. He also proved instrumental in Chelsea's successful battle to avoid relegation to the Third Division. He was a part of the side which romped to promotion as Second Division champions in 1983–84. He remained with the club in the top flight for one more season, before surprisingly being sold to Huddersfield Town for £35,000 in August 1985. He finished his Chelsea career with 78 league appearances and 2 goals.

Huddersfield and third spell at Wrexham.

He joined Huddersfield in the summer of 1985 from Chelsea, and was named Town's player of the year in his first season. After two seasons he left to re-join Wrexham, where he retired at the end of the 1991–92 season.

International career.

Joey made his Wales debut in November 1975 against Austria. He went on to win 72 caps, scoring one goal, his last action coming in the World Cup qualifiers in spring 1986.

After retirement.

Jones underwent heart surgery in 2002 and has since scaled down his commitments with Wrexham, he works as the Under 18's and Reserve team coach. In 2001, he had a brief spell as caretaker manager between the departure of Brian Flynn and arrival of Denis Smith.  In 2005, Jones completed his autobiography entitled "Oh Joey, Joey!" about his life in football. This was a book of the week on Sky Sports News in February 2006.  Also in 2005, Jones was named as Wrexham's ultimate Cult Hero on BBC TV's Football Focus. Jones is much respected by Liverpool supporters and he finished in 63rd place in the 2006 poll of all-time favourite Liverpool players (100 Players Who Shook The Kopofficial Liverpool Football Club web-site). 110,000 fans worldwide had taken part in the vote.

Joseph Patrick Jones (born 4 March 1955) is a Welsh former international football full-back who played for Liverpool, with whom he won the European Cup.


Etymology.

Amongst other proposed etymologies, the term "kallikantzaros" is speculated to be derived from the Greek "kalos-kentauros" ("beautiful centaur"), although this theory has met with considerable opposition.  Turkish "kara-kondjolos" "werewolf, vampire", from "kara" "black" and "koncolos" "bloodsucker, werewolf".

In Greek folklore.

It is believed that "kallikantzaroi" stay underground, sawing the world tree so that it will collapse, along with the Earth. However, according to folklore, when they are about to saw the final part, Christmas dawns and they are able to come to the surface. They forget the tree and come to bring trouble to mortals.  Finally, on the Epiphany (6 January), the sun starts moving again, and they must return underground to continue their sawing. They see that during their absence the world tree has healed itself, so they must start working all over again. This is believed to occur annually.

Appearance.

There is no standard description of the appearance of "kallikantzaroi"; there are regional variations as to how their appearance is described. Some Greeks have imagined them with some animal parts, such as hairy bodies, horse legs, or boar tusks. Sometimes they are enormous, at other times diminutive. Others see them as humans of small size that smell horrible. They are predominantly male, often with protruding sexual characteristics. Many Greeks have imagined them as tall, black and hairy, with burning red eyes, goats' or donkeys' ears, monkeys' arms, tongues that hang out and heads that are huge. Nonetheless, the most common belief is that they are small, black creatures, humanoid apart from their long black tails, and said to resemble little black devils. They are also mostly blind, speak with a lisp and love to eat frogs, worms, and other small creatures.

Lore.

"Kallikantzaroi" are believed to be creatures of the night. According to folklore, there were many ways people could protect themselves during the days when the "kallikantzaroi" were loose. One such method was to leave a colander on their doorstep to trick the visiting "kallikantzaros". It was believed that since it could not count above two – three was believed to be a holy number, and by pronouncing it, the "kallikantzaros" would supposedly kill itself – the "kallikantzaros" would sit at the doorstep all night, counting each hole of the colander, until the sun rose and it was forced to hide.  Another supposed method of protection from "kallikantzaroi" was to leave the fire burning in the fireplace, all night, so that they could not enter through it. In some areas, people would burn the Yule log for the duration of the twelve days. In other areas, people would throw foul-smelling shoes into the fire, as the stench was believed to repel the "kallikantzaroi" and thus force them to stay away. Additional ways to keep them away included marking one's door with a black cross on Christmas Eve and burning incense.  According to legend, any child born during the twelve days of Christmas was in danger of transforming into a "kallikantzaros" during each Christmas season, starting with adulthood. It was believed that the antidote to prevent this transformation was to bind the baby in tresses of garlic or straw, or to singe the child's toenails. According to another legend, anyone born on a Saturday could see and talk with the "kallikantzaroi".  One particularity that set the "kallikantzaroi" apart from other goblins or creatures in folklore was that they were said to appear on Earth for only twelve days each year. Their short duration on Earth, as well as the fact that they were not considered purely malevolent creatures but rather impish and stupid, led to a number of theories about their creation. One such theory connects them to the masquerades of the ancient Roman winter festival of Bacchanalia, and later the Greek Dionysia. During the drunken, orgiastic parts of the festivals, people wearing masks, hidden under costumes in bestial shapes yet still appearing humanoid, may have made an exceptional impression on the minds of simple folk who were intoxicated.  In Greek, the term "kallikantzaros" is also used to describe a number of other short, ugly and usually mischievous beings in folklore. When not used for the abovementioned creatures, it seems to express the collective sense for the Irish word leprechaun and the English words gnome and goblin.

In Serbian folklore.

In Serbian Christmas traditions, the Twelve Days of Christmas were previously called the "unbaptized days" and were considered a time when demonic forces of all kinds were believed to be more active and dangerous than usual. People were cautious not to attract their attention, and did not go out late at night. The latter precaution was especially because of the mythical demons called "karakondžula" (; also "karakondža /" караконџа, "karakandža /" караканџа or "karapandža /" карапанџа), imagined as heavy, squat, and ugly creatures. According to tradition, when a "karakondžula" found someone outdoors during the night of an unbaptized day, it would jump on the person's back and demand to be carried wherever it wanted. This torture would end only when roosters announced the dawn; at that moment the creature would release its victim and run away.  The karakondžula is also known to punish and torment people who commit adultery. Adulterers were known to sneak out of their homes while their significant other would sleep, and then visit the person they were cheating with, or prostitutes, or brothels. The karakondžula would sit and wait on the top of the doorframe of the front door to the house and jump on the back of the adulterers and lash them with a stick or scratch or dig its sharp nails in the person back and neck and force them to run through nearby forests all night. Similarity to other accounts the karakondžula would flee by the sight of first dawn.  This can be seen as a warning to would be adulterers to think carefully about their intentions, desires and understand the consequences that they would incur if they were to fulfill such actions. In this version of the myth the karakondžula would come back every night and remain on the door lintel until the adulterers confess their sins to their significant other

In Anatolian folklore.

The "karankoncolos" is a malevolent creature in Northeast Anatolian Turkish folklore. It is a variety of bogeyman, usually merely troublesome and rather harmless, but sometimes truly evil. It is believed to have thick hairy fur like the Sasquatch. The Turkish name is derived from the Greek name. According to late Ottoman Turkish myth, they appear on the first ten days of "Zemheri" ("the dreadful cold") when they stand on murky corners, and ask seemingly ordinary questions to passers-by. The legend states that in order to escape harm, one should answer each question, using the word "kara" (Turkish for "black"), or risk being struck dead by the creature. It was also said in Turkish folklore that the "karakoncolos" could call people out during the cold "Zemheri" nights by imitating voices of loved ones. The victim of the "karakoncolos" risked freezing to death if he or she could not awake from the charm.

In Bulgarian folklore.

The Bulgarian name of the demon is "karakondjul" (also romanized "karakondjol", "karakondzul/karakondžul"; ) or "karakondjo" (). They may be conceived of variously: as being human-like except for having a hairy body, a tail, and a large head with horns on it, or a one-eyed being standing on a single leg, or a horse-headed man. It is considered a shape-shifter which may appear as a dog, a man, a sheep or a calf. It is reputed to dwell in caves, or rivers, or abandoned water mill, and come out at night.  A Bulgarian custom called "kukeri" (or "koukeri") is performed to scare away the evil creature and avoid contact with it.

In Albanian folklore.

Kukuth (kukudhi) und Karkanxholji (Karkançoli, related to Greek καλλικάντσαρος) are gypsy undead corpses, who go around in January, laden with chains and effusing a deadly breath. Known also among Calabrian Albanians. According to another version, the Karkançual is vested with iron clothes, which is why chainmail armor is known as "këmish karkançoli" in Albanian.

In popular culture.

Kallikantzaroi are the subject of the "Grimm" episode "The Grimm Who Stole Christmas".  The narrator/protagonist of Roger Zelazny's novel "This Immortal" is a Greek born on Christmas Day. The book's first sentence is his new wife teasingly calling him a "kallikanzaros" ["sic"], although she doesn't mean anything hostile by it. The reference comes up several other times throughout the story.  The word Kallikantzaros has been applied to other representations of goblins or trolls when translated into Greek. For example, the Gringotts goblins from Harry Potter are referred to as Kallikantzaros in Greek translations.  A reference to the ""kallikanzari" of modern Greece" is made in H. P. Lovecraft's story "The Whisperer in Darkness" (1931).

The kallikantzaros (, pl. καλικάντζαροι "kallikantzaroi"; ; "/ karakondžula") is a malevolent goblin in Southeastern European and Anatolian folklore. Stories about the "kallikantzaros" or its equivalents can be found in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Cyprus. "Kallikantzaroi" are believed to dwell underground but come to the surface during the twelve days of Christmas, from 25 December to 6 January (from the winter solstice for a fortnight during which time the sun ceases its seasonal movement).


Denomination.

His denomination as Wulfstan II is to indicate that he is the second Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester. This, however, does not prevent confusion, since the first Bishop Wulfstan is also called Wulfstan II to denote that "he" was the second Archbishop of York called Wulfstan. To make matters worse, Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York, was the maternal uncle of Wulfstan II, Bishop of Worcester.

Life.

Wulfstan was born about 1008 at Long Itchington in the English county of Warwickshire. His family lost their lands around the time King Cnut of England came to the throne. He was probably named after his uncle, Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York. Through his uncle's influence, he studied at monasteries in Evesham and Peterborough, before becoming a clerk at Worcester. During this time, his superiors, noting his reputation for dedication and chastity, urged him to join the priesthood. Wulfstan was ordained shortly thereafter, in 1038, and soon joined a monastery of Benedictines at Worcester.  Wulfstan served as treasurer and prior of Worcester. When Ealdred, the bishop of Worcester as well as the Archbishop of York, was required to relinquish Worcester by Pope Nicholas, Ealdred decided to have Wulfstan appointed to Worcester. In addition, Ealdred continued to hold a number of the manors of the diocese. Wulfstan was consecrated Bishop of Worcester on 8 September 1062, by Ealdred. It would have been more proper for him to have been consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose province Worcester was in. Wulfstan had deliberately avoided consecration by the current archbishop of Canterbury, Stigand, since Stigand's own consecration had been uncanonical. Wulfstan still acknowledged that the see of Worcester was a suffragan of Canterbury. He made no profession of obedience to Ealdred, instead offering a profession of obedience to Stigand's successor Lanfranc.  Wulfstan was a confidant of Harold Godwinson, who helped secure the bishopric for him.  A social reformer, Wulfstan struggled to bridge the gap between the old and new regimes, and to alleviate the suffering of the poor. He was a strong opponent of the slave trade, and together with Lanfranc, was mainly responsible for ending the trade from Bristol.  After the Norman conquest of England, Wulfstan was the only English-born bishop to retain his diocese for any significant time after the Conquest (all others had been replaced or succeeded by Normans by 1075). William noted that pastoral care of his diocese was Wulfstan's principal interest.  In 1072 Wulfstan signed the Accord of Winchester. In 1075, Wulfstan and the Worcestershire fyrd militia countered the Revolt of the Earls, when various magnates attempted a rebellion against William the Conqueror.  Wulfstan founded the Great Malvern Priory, and undertook much large-scale rebuilding work, including Worcester Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral, Tewkesbury Abbey, and many other churches in the Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester areas. After the Norman Conquest, he claimed that the Oswaldslow, a "triple hundred" administered by the bishops of Worcester, was free of interference by the local sheriff. This right to exclude the sheriff was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. Wulfstan also administered the diocese of Lichfield when it was vacant between 1071 and 1072.  As bishop, he often assisted the archbishops of York with consecrations, as they had few suffragan bishops. In 1073 Wulfstan helped Thomas of Bayeux consecrate Radulf as Bishop of Orkney, and in 1081 helped consecrate William de St-Calais as Bishop of Durham.  Wulfstan was responsible for the compilation by Hemming of the second cartulary of Worcester. He was close friends with Robert Losinga, the Bishop of Hereford, who was well known as a mathematician and astronomer.  Wulfstan died 20 January 1095 after a protracted illness, the last surviving pre-Conquest bishop. After his death, an altar was dedicated to him in Great Malvern Priory, next to those of Thomas Cantilupe and King Edward the Confessor.  At Easter of 1158, Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine visited Worcester Cathedral and placed their crowns on the shrine of Wulfstan, vowing not to wear them again. Their son King John is buried at Worcester Cathedral.  Soon after Wulfstan's death, a hagiography, or saint's life, was written about him in English by his former chancellor Colman. It was translated into Latin by the medieval chronicler and historian William of Malmesbury. Wulfstan was canonized on 14 May 1203 by Pope Innocent III. One of the miracles attributed to Wulfstan was the curing of King Harold's daughter. The recently founded Victorine priory in Celbridge, Ireland (paid for by Adam de Hereford) was named St. Wolstan's Priory in his honour.

Wulfstan (c. 1008 – 20 January 1095) was Bishop of Worcester from 1062 to 1095. He was the last surviving pre-Conquest bishop and the only English-born bishop after 1075. Wulfstan is a Christian saint.


Biography.

Giovanni Maria was born in Genoa, Italy, the son of Giovanni Battista delle Piane, from the noble house Delle Piane. He was nicknamed the "Molinaretto" as his grandparents, renown land owners from Polcevera, had watermills (from Italian "molino", watermill). From the age of 10 till 16 years, he apprenticed with Giovanni Battista Merano, then he transferred to Rome to work under the famed fresco painter, Giovanni Battista Gaulli ("il Baciccio"), who held him like a son. The Genoese painter Enrico Vaymer was a fellow student and lifelong friend. In the Roman studio of Gaulli, Piane copied the works of great masters like Giulio Romano, Guido Reni, Annibale Carracci and Domenichino. These copies brought him acclaim. At Gaulli's studio, he also painted portraits. In 1684, he returned to Genoa, where the main portrait artist in the city, Giovanni Battista Carlone, had just died.  He gained the a loyalty from other peer aristocratic families, noting he adapted to the new sensitivity, with attention to the fashion of his subjects, styling them with "majestic and elegant drapes taking them in certain new and witty movements". In 1695, by invitation of Count Morando, he completed a first journey to Parma, the city where his former master G.B. Merano was recently active. He found clients in the Farnesian cities and also in Genoa. He moved frequently among the cities of Emilia and Liguria, also painting sacred subjects. In 1705 the Cardinal Alberoni, sent by the Duke Francesco Farnese, assigned the artist, who seemed to be residing in Piacenza at that moment, to portray the Duke of Vendôme, commander of the Franco-Spanish troops. In 1706 the artist was again in Parma, commissioned to portray Duke Francesco, the Duchess Dorotea Sophia and the young Princess Elisabetta Farnese, Princess of Parma. Two years after he made the portrait of Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. He also traveled a few times to Milan.  In 1709 he portrays Prince Antonio Farnese and the same year, he was nominated Court Painter in Parma from where, he returned to Genoa. In April 21 of 1711, Piane became the personal painter of Princess Elisabeth, receiving a stipend, including food and accommodation. He still held that commission in 1737. Between 1714 and 1715 he portrayed Princess Elisabeth when she married King Philip V of Spain, from 1715 until 1737, he mainly resided with the royal family in Piacenza. In 1719 he was invited to go to Spain, probably by Princess Elisabeth, as she considered him as a trustable portraitist, but the journey was never undertaken. Though already elder in 1737, he relocated to Naples, where he was retained for some years as court painter for the young king Charles III of Spain, already duke of Parma and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. During those years two of his feminine portraits were presented at the Florentine exhibition of the academy of drawing.  In June 1741 he left Naples to return to his native Genoa. There he still painted portraits for the local aristocracy and finally, in 1744 he retired to Monticelli d’Ongina, near Piacenza, where he died on 28 June 1745.  He was prolific during his long artistic career. The style first works links him with the school of Genoese portraiture beginning with Van Dyck led to Carlone. His portraiture technique employs robust incisiveness in the face of the subjects, with a decorative exuberance superimposed upon the opulent scenography with meticulous attention to aristocratic garb and particular artifacts of the subject's family.  The artist's master portraits are conserved in the Royal Palace of Madrid and in Caserta Palace's collection of royal family portraits. He was esteemed for his distinguished art like Godfrey Kneller and Anthony van Dyck in Italy.  His son, Giovanni Andrea delle Piane, who died in 1759 while in his 80s, was also a painter of portraits and student of his father. Among his pupils were Giovanni Battista Grondona and Carl'Antonio Durante (died 1712).

Giovanni Maria delle Piane (1660 – 28 June 1745) was an aristocratic Genovese who served as primary court painter for over 60 years in the late-Baroque period. He is also known as "il Molinaretto".


Amateur career.

Michael Ray Bourn was born in Houston, Texas on December 27, 1982, the first of two sons to parents Carrie and Raymond. As a child, Michael played three sports, baseball, basketball and football. His Little League team was coached by his father. Teammates included Carl Crawford. At the age of 10, his father had him facing pitching in a batting cage.  Bourn attended Nimitz High School in Houston. He earned a scholarship to play college baseball at the University of Houston for the Houston Cougars baseball team, competing in NCAA Division I. He played with the Cougars for three seasons. While he displayed little power, collecting only two home runs and 23 extra-base hits in 644 at-bats, he won attention from professional scouts by posting a.431 on-base percentage and stealing 90 bases in 119 attempts. In 2002, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.  He was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2002 Conference USA Baseball Tournament, in which Houston was the runner-up.

Professional career.

Philadelphia Phillies.

In June 2003, following his junior year, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted Bourn in the fourth round, with the 115th overall selection of baseball's first-year player draft. Bourn signed shortly after the draft, and was assigned to play for the Batavia Muckdogs of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League. In 2004, Bourn was the starting center fielder with the Lakewood BlueClaws of the Class A South Atlantic League. Bourn ended the season with a.433 on-base percentage and an OPS of.903, earning 85 bases on balls in 109 games. He also stole 57 bases in 63 attempts – a success rate of over ninety percent. Following the season, he was named to "Baseball America"s Top Ten Prospects list for the Phillies organization.  Bourn started the 2006 season with the Reading Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League, and was promoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons of the Class AAA International League late in July 2006. In early September 2006, Bourn took a brief hiatus from his professional obligations to play for the USA Olympic qualifying team, for whom he hit two home runs to help Team USA defeat Cuba in the gold-medal game. Bourn was then promoted to the expanded major league roster. He was sent to home plate to bat only 11 times during the month of September, but was used frequently as a pinch runner as the Phillies competed for the National League's wild card position (ultimately coming up two games short) to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Disappointingly, he stole only one base in three attempts during the month, and was memorably tagged out after accidentally oversliding second base on a steal attempt in a late-season loss against the Washington Nationals on September 26, 2006.  After a strong performance during spring training in 2007, Bourn won a position on the Phillies' major league roster to begin the year. He was used sparingly, appearing primarily as a frequent defensive replacement in left field for Pat Burrell.  On July 15, 2007, Bourn hit his first career home run as the Phillies recorded their 10,000th franchise loss by losing to the St. Louis Cardinals 10–2. On July 27, Bourn was in the Phillies' starting lineup for the first time due to injuries to both Chase Utley and Aaron Rowand, and had his first 4-hit game in an 8–1 rout of the Pirates, in which he scored two runs.  Bourn finished third among all NL rookies with 18 stolen bases, and was caught only once. He batted.277.

Houston Astros.

On November 7, 2007 Bourn was traded along with Geoff Geary and Mike Costanzo to the Houston Astros for Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett. Houston's General Manager, Ed Wade, declared Bourn as the 2008 Astros' leadoff hitter and starting center fielder, effectively moving Hunter Pence to right field.  Bourn stole 41 bases in 2008. Among players who had enough plate appearances to qualify, Bourn's OPS was the worst in the Majors in 2008. He finished the season with a.229 batting average and a major league-low.288 on-base percentage and a major league-low OPS of.588, while striking out 111 times in his 467 at-bats.  In 2009 spring training, Bourn led all players in steals, with 13, while being caught twice. Bourn had a major turnaround year, as he finished with 61 stolen bases, which was the most in the National League and second in the Majors only to the 70 steals by Jacoby Ellsbury, to go along with a.285 BA and a.354 OBP in 157 games, as well as 27 doubles and 12 triples (tied for second most in the Majors with Stephen Drew) in 606 ABs. Bourn's OPS went from.588 in 2008 to.738 in 2009, which was the eighth best improvement in the Majors. His much improved play prompted former manager Cecil Cooper to informally name him the club MVP before he was fired. The Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America formally named Bourn the Astros 2009 team MVP shortly after the end of the season.  Changing his uniform number to 21, Bourn followed up his breakout season with another successful year in 2010, being elected to the National League All-Star team and was in the outfield when the final out of the game was recorded. Bourn suffered an oblique injury on September 19 while swinging at a pitch, causing him to miss the final 3 weeks of the season. He finished the year hitting.265 with a.341 on-base percentage and a.346 slugging percentage. He won a Fielding Bible Award for his statistically based defensive excellence in center field during the year. He was later awarded his second consecutive Gold Glove award on November 10.

Atlanta Braves.

In July 2011, prior to the trade deadline, Bourn was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Jordan Schafer, Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens and Juan Abreu. Bourn finished 2011 with a career best.294 batting average and 61 stolen bases (39 with the Astros and 22 with the Braves).  Bourn was named a candidate in the All-Star Final Vote, with the winner being added to the 2012 MLB All-Star Game roster. Bourn finished second behind David Freese but was added to the roster a day later as a replacement for the injured Ian Desmond.  In 2012, Bourn hit.274 and with a.739 OPS for the Braves. He stole 42 bases and hit a career high nine home runs. His 155 strikeouts were a new career high. Bourn finished 18th in the voting for the N.L. MVP.  In November, Bourn rejected the Braves $13.3 million qualifying offer and became a free agent.

Cleveland Indians.

On February 11, 2013, Bourn agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract with the Cleveland Indians that includes a vesting option for 2017, which would be met if he records 550 plate appearances in the final guaranteed year, 2016. He is the Tribe's first player to wear a number 24 on his back since Grady Sizemore from 2004 to 2011.  Bourn played in 130 games in 2013, as he battled injuries throughout the season. He had 23 steals, which was his lowest total since 2007, when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies.  On May 27, 2014, Bourn robbed White Sox captain Paul Konerko of a two-run homer in the 8th inning. The Indians lost that game 2–1. On May 30, Bourn collected his 1,000 career hit in eventual win over the Colorado Rockies. Two days later on June 1, Bourn hit a walk-off two-run home run to lead the Indians to a 6–4 win over and three–game sweep of the Rockies.  Bourn struggled offensively to begin the 2015 season. On April 26 against the Detroit Tigers, he was dropped from the leadoff spot in the lineup for the first time as a Cleveland Indian as a result of his struggles, batting ninth instead.

Second stint with the Atlanta Braves (2015).

On August 7, 2015, the Indians traded Bourn and Nick Swisher with cash considerations to the Atlanta Braves for Chris Johnson. He was designated for assignment on April 2, 2016, and released on April 14.

Toronto Blue Jays.

Bourn signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on April 22, 2016. He was assigned to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays, and hit.257 in 9 games before being released on May 7.

Arizona Diamondbacks.

On May 10, 2016, Bourn signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks assigned Bourn to the Mobile BayBears of the Class AA Southern League. After playing in five games for Mobile, the Diamondbacks promoted Bourn to the major leagues.  In 89 games with the Diamondbacks, Bourn slashed.262/.307/.373 with 21 extra-base hits while driving in 30 runs and stealing 13 bases.

Baltimore Orioles.

The Diamondbacks traded Bourn to the Baltimore Orioles for Jason Heinrich on August 31, 2016. Bourn made an immediate impact with the O's with his offense, speed and defense, including an outfield assist to end the game in a 5-4 win against the Rays to preserve teammate Zach Britton's perfect season as a closer.  On February 20, 2017, Bourn re-signed with the Orioles to a minor league contract. He was released on March 27, but later resigned on April 11. The Orioles released him on May 24, 2017.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

On June 2, 2017, Bourn signed a minor league deal with the Angels. On July 2, 2017, the Angels released Bourn.

Personal life.

Michael has one son, Bryson, who was born in 2009.

Michael Ray Bourn (born December 27, 1982) is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Baltimore Orioles. He has also been a member of the United States national baseball team.


Introduction.

The parental expectation of having an "empty nest", traditional in the United States and some other industrialized cultures, has increasingly given way in the 1990s and 2000s to the reality of a "cluttered nest" or "crowded nest". The latter term was popularized by Kathleen Shaputis's 2004 book "The Crowded Nest Syndrome: Surviving the Return of Adult Children", which takes a critical view of the trend.  University of Western Ontario professor Roderic Beaujot discusses the phenomenon of delayed home-leaving at length. He cites Canadian census statistics showing that, in 1981, 27.5% of Canadians aged 20–29 lived with their parents; in 2001, the figure had grown to 41%. In the United States the proportion of adults ages 20 to 34 living with their parents has increased from 9% in 1960 to almost 17% in 2000. However, US census data also suggest that the rate at which adult children have been living with parents has been steady since 1981. The U.S. Census Bureau reported a 5 percent point increase in the number of young men (ages 24–34) living with their parents for the period between 2005 (14%) and 2011 (19%). For the same period, the number of young women living with their parents increased from 8% in 2005 to 10% in 2011.  The coming of age of this generation coincide with the economic downturn starting with the collapse of the stock market bubble in 2000. This led to rising unemployment until 2004, the same time this generation was entering the workforce after high school or college graduation. Additionally, in the new economy, where globalisation-induced phenomena like outsourcing have eliminated many jobs, real wages have fallen over the last twenty years, and a college degree no longer ensures job stability. Additionally, with the financial crisis of 2007-08 hitting much of the world, many young people were either laid off or could no longer afford to live on their own. Moving back home allows them the option of unpaid internships and additional schooling without the burden of paying rent at market rates (or paying rent at all).  An increase in divorce rates as well as a delay in initial marriage are other contributing factors in young adults returning to reside with their parents.  This generation differs from previous ones in that many members expect to remain with their parents for some years while maintaining their own social and professional lives. Home-leaving remains a priority for most in the Boomerang Generation, though financial burden (and the comforts of financial stability in their parents' homes) often delays the fruition of that goal.

Trend.

The phenomenon of boomeranging/delayed home-leaving has generated considerable inquiry and debate, including academic studies at reputable universities; full-length books, such as "The Hands-On Guide to Surviving Adult Children Living at Home" by Christina Newberry; articles in national newspapers; documentaries, such as "Generation Boomerang"; and major motion pictures, such as "Failure to Launch" (2006) starring Matthew McConaughey.

Support.

Economic instability is the primary justification for this phenomenon, as articulated in Kimberly Palmer's 2007 "U.S. News & World Report" article "The New Parent Trap: More Boomers Help Adult Kids out Financially". In particular, the term Boomeranger has been used to draw reference to those Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers of the Boomerang Generation who have either returned to an earlier, more modest lifestyle or have simply moved back home with parents and other loved ones, in response to the Great Recession. Where the young person and his/her parents can tolerate the arrangement, it provides tremendous financial relief to the young person. Such co-residence can be a valuable form of insurance, particularly for youths from poorer families. It may also provide non-negligible income to the parents, though in many cultures, the boomeranger retains all or nearly all of their disposable income for discretionary income purchases.  Though inter-generational cohabitation is "terra incognita" for many in modern industrialized Western societies and therefore challenging, those who attempt it can benefit from the experience. The arrangement tends to force all involved to communicate and negotiate in ways they did not when the children were pre-adults. In the best case, this can lead to healthy adult relationships between parents and children.  This can benefit parents when they reach old age. In societies where it is common for children to live with their parents into adulthood, such as Asian and Hispanic cultures, children more frequently take care of aging parents rather than devolving the responsibility on a third party, such as a nursing home. Whether the Boomerang Generation will follow suit remains to be seen, as the older Baby Boom generation ages. The recession has also affected the Baby Boomers as well, perhaps even more so than their children, as many lost significant investments and savings intended for retirement. In this case, the cohabitation of parents and their adult children could be mutually beneficial in terms of easing the financial burden. While the boomerangers may live rent free, it is common for them to take on other financial responsibilities in return, such as groceries or utilities.  In 2014, 20% of adults in their 20s and early 30s were residing with their parents, which is twice the amount of the previous generation. Though there are many reasons cited for the need for parental support, one of the greatest contributing factors is said to be student loan debt. 45% of 25-year-old college graduates currently owe $20,000 or more. For some families, the financial instability of the mid-2000s caused a decrease in funds allocated for higher education, therefore decreasing parental financial contributions and causing the need for more loans to cover educational costs. And while student loans are more frequently taken out in the student’s name, some parents who took out loans are facing substantial debt and are now relying on their adult children to provide financial assistance while they pay them off.

Opposition.

Critics of the practice of boomeranging, such as Shaputis, worry about the negative effect this trend has on the financial and social independence of the children.  Those who return home from the unrestrictive nature of college dorm life may have difficulty readjusting to their parents' domestic expectations. Where living space is shared, gatherings with friends can be limited in frequency or scope. Dating is similarly constrained and can be impaired by the stigma of the young adult's perceived inability to function independently of their parents.

Boomerang Generation is a term applied in Western culture to young adults graduating high school and college in the 21st century. They are so named for the percentage of whom choose to share a home with their parents after previously living on their own—thus boomeranging back to their parents' residence. This arrangement can take many forms, ranging from situations that mirror the high dependency of pre-adulthood to highly independent, separate-household arrangements.


Geography.

Kempner is located at (31.077512, -97.982610).  According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all of it land.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, 1,004 people, 351 households, and 272 families resided in the city. The population density was 450.3 people per square mile (173.8/km2). The 373 housing units averaged 167.3/sq mi (64.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.86% White, 6.37% African American, 0.90% Native American, 1.79% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 3.29% from other races, and 2.59% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 7.97% of the population.  Of the 351 households, 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were not families. About 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.15.  In the city, the population was distributed as 29.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $37,981, and for a family was $41,094. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $19,188 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,661. About 5.5% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education.

The City of Kempner is served by the Lampasas Independent School District.

Climate.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Kempner has a humid subtropical climate, "Cfa" on climate maps.

Kempner is a city in Lampasas County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,089 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area.


Life and work.

Some of Greene's biographical details are unclear – she was born as either Sonia Haft Shafirkin or as Sonia Shaferkin Haft, in either Ichnia, Ukraine, Russian Empire or Konotop, Chernigov Province, to Simyon and Racille (Haft) Shafirkin. It is known that she did come from a Jewish family. Her father apparently died when she was a child, and her mother emigrated to the United States, leaving Sonia and her brother in Liverpool at the Baron Maurice de Hirsch School. Sonia joined her mother in the United States in 1892, after her mother remarried to a shopkeeper named Samuel Morris.  At the age of sixteen, on 24 December 1899, Sonia married Samuel Greene, a Russian whose name may have originally been Samuel Seckendorff, who was ten years her senior. The following year she gave birth to a son, who died at three months of age. Her daughter, Florence Carol (later Carol Weld) was born on 19 March 1902. According to Lovecraft's correspondent Alfred Galpin Samuel Greene was "a man of brutal character". The marriage was turbulent, and Samuel Greene died in 1916, apparently by his own hand.  Greene was independently middle class, unusual for women of that time. She worked as a milliner at a department store and traveled frequently for her job. Her salary allowed her to rent a nice house for herself and her daughter in the then-fancy area of Brooklyn known as Flatbush. It also allowed her to donate money to several amateur press publications, as well as to travel to amateur press conventions.  Her daughter Florence became a successful journalist under the name of Carol Weld. The two women had a tense relationship, and eventually lost all contact with each other. Greene does not mention her daughter in her volume "The Private Life of H.P. Lovecraft," an autobiographical work which details only the period of her relationship and marriage with Lovecraft.

Relationship with H. P. Lovecraft.

Greene met Howard P. Lovecraft in 1921 at an amateur press convention in Boston. She was introduced to the world of amateur journalism four years earlier by Lovecraft's colleague James Ferdinand Morton, Jr.. The October after meeting him, she issued "The Rainbow", a fanzine described by Reinhardt Kleiner as "a large and handsome affair, illustrated with half-tone reproductions of photographs of well-known amateurs of the day and containing excellent contributions by many of them." Lovecraft reviewed Greene's magazine at some length in "The National Amateur" (March 1922). A facsimile edition of the magazine was issued by Necronomicon Press in 1977.  Greene's best-known story is "The Horror at Martin's Beach," revised and edited by H. P. Lovecraft and retitled as "The Invisible Monster" when published in "Weird Tales" (November, 1923). Lovecraft completed his story "Under the Pyramids" in February 1924, but lost his typescript of the story at Union Station in Providence, Rhode Island when he was on his way to New York to marry Greene, who helped him for most of their honeymoon in Philadelphia retyping the manuscript.  Greene also penned the story "" (suggested by Lovecraft, but not revised by him) which was first printed in "Something About Cats and Other Pieces", a collection that also includes "The Invisible Monster" and her memoir "Lovecraft as I Knew Him".  After their marriage in St. Paul's Chapel in Manhattan on 3 March 1924 (Greene was then aged 40 and Lovecraft 33), Greene and Lovecraft relocated to Brooklyn and moved into her apartment. Soon the couple were facing financial difficulties. Greene lost her hat shop and suffered poor health. Lovecraft could not find work to support them both, so his wife moved to Cleveland for employment. Lovecraft lived by himself in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn and came to dislike New York life intensely. In the last year or so of their marriage, Greene lived on the road, traveling for her job. She sent Lovecraft a weekly allowance that helped him pay for a tiny apartment in the then-working class Brooklyn Heights. Greene slept there one or two days out of the month. During this time, Lovecraft claimed in letters that he was so poor that he lived for three days on one loaf of bread, one can of cold beans, and a hunk of cheese. A few years later, Lovecraft (who had returned to live in Providence, Rhode Island) and his wife, still living separately, agreed to an amicable divorce, which was never fully completed.  In the 1930s Greene wrote a play called "Alcestis", the Prologue for which was written in Lovecraft's hand. It was unpublished until the mid-1980s, when it was issued in a facsimile holograph edition of 200 copies by R. Alain Everts' The Strange Company as by H.P. Lovecraft and Sonia Greene. Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi, however, considers that the play is likely entirely Greene's work. The manuscript of "Alcestis" is among Greene's papers at the John Hay Library.

Later years.

After her marriage to Lovecraft ended, in 1933 Greene moved to California. In 1936 she married a Dr. Nathaniel Abraham Davis of Los Angeles. She did not hear of Lovecraft's death until 1945, eight years after his death in 1937. Her marriage to Lovecraft was never legally ended because Lovecraft, although he assured her the divorce had been filed, failed to sign the final decree, so Greene's union with Davis was technically bigamous. Greene was informed of this late in life and it disturbed her considerably. Her third husband died in 1946.  Greene later resided at Diana Lynn Lodge, a home for the elderly which is still in operation in Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles, and died there in 1972, aged 89.

Works.

Essays/editorials.

From "The Rainbow":  From "The Oracle":

Sonia Haft Greene Lovecraft Davis (16 March 1883 – 26 December 1972) was an American one-time pulp fiction writer and amateur publisher, businesswoman and milliner who bankrolled several fanzines in the early twentieth century. She is best known for her two-year marriage to American weird fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. She was a president of the United Amateur Press Association.


Concepts.

Many programming languages that support concurrency offer communication channels that allow the exchange of values between processes or threads running concurrently in a system. Communications established between processes may follow a specific protocol, requiring the programmer to write functions to establish the required pattern of communication. Meanwhile, a communicating system often requires establishing multiple channels, such as to multiple servers, and then choosing between the available channels when new data is available. This can be accomplished using polling, such as with the select operation on Unix systems.  Combining both application-specific protocols and multi-party communication may be complicated due to the need to introduce polling and checking for blocking within a pre-existing protocol. Concurrent ML solves this problem by reducing this coupling of programming concepts by introducing synchronizable "events". Events are a first-class abstraction that can be used with a synchronization operation (called codice_1 in CML and Racket) in order to potentially block and then produce some value resulting from communication (for example, data transmitted on a channel).  In CML, events can be combined or manipulated using a number of primitive operations. Each primitive operation constructs a new event rather than modifying the event in-place, allowing for the construction of compound events that represent a desired communication pattern. For example, CML allows the programmer to combine several sub-events in order to create a compound event that can then make a non-deterministic choice of one of the sub-events. Another primitive creates a new event that will modify the value resulting from synchronization on the original event. These events embody patterns of communication that, in a non-CML language, would typically be handled using a polling loop or function with handlers for each kind of event.

Sample Code.

Here is sample code to print "hello, world" to the console. It spawns a thread which creates a channel for strings. This thread then spawns another thread which prints the first string that is received on the channel. The former thread then sends the "hello, world\n" string on the channel. It uses SML/NJ and CML (note that the heap name will be different on non linux-x86 platforms; you may need to change the line with "cml_test.x86-linux" to something different):  Library  structure Hello =  $ ml-build cml_test.cm Hello.main Standard ML of New Jersey v110.60 [built: Mon Nov 27 14:19:21 2006] [scanning cml_test.cm] [library $cml/basis.cm is stable] [library $cml/cml.cm is stable] [parsing (cml_test.cm):cml_test.sml] [creating directory.cm/SKEL] [library $cml/cml-internal.cm is stable] [library $cml/core-cml.cm is stable] [library $SMLNJ-BASIS/basis.cm is stable] [compiling (cml_test.cm):cml_test.sml] [creating directory.cm/GUID] [creating directory.cm/x86-unix] [code: 2170, data: 42, env: 2561 bytes] [scanning 18518-export.cm] [scanning (18518-export.cm):cml_test.cm] [parsing (18518-export.cm):18518-export.sml] [compiling (18518-export.cm):18518-export.sml] [code: 309, data: 37, env: 42 bytes] $ heap2exec cml_test.x86-linux cml_test $./cml_test hello, world

Concurrent ML (CML) is a concurrent extension of the Standard ML programming language characterized by its ability to allow programmers to create composable communication abstractions that are first class rather than built into the language. The design of CML and its primitive operations have been adopted in several other programming languages such as GNU Guile, Racket, and Manticore.


History.

One of the more successful teams in the AAGPBL, the Peaches won the league championship in 1945, 1948, 1949, and 1950 and had its share of star players. Dyes were hard to come by towards the end of the war and the team chose to dye their white uniforms a light shade of peach, which inspired the team nickname.  Peaches players who were named to the All-Star teams from 1946-1954 included Dorothy Kamenshek, Lois Florreich, Dorothy Harrell, Carolyn Morris, Alice Pollitt, Ruth Richard, Rose Gacioch, Eleanor Callow, and Joan Berger. Pitcher Olive Little hurled the first no-hitter both in team and league history.In addition, Florreich was the pitching champion in 1949 during the league's overhand era, and Gladys Davis won the league batting crown in the 1943 inaugural season, while Kamenshek earned the honors in the 1946 and 1947 seasons.  When former player Eileen Burmeister was asked why The Peaches supposedly favored theatricality over technical skill, she replied, "If God meant for us to play baseball, He would've made us any good at it.".  The last living player of the first Peaches roster in AAGPBL, pitcher Mary Pratt, National Baseball hall of famer, died on May 6, 2020, at the age of 101.

All-time roster.

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"A League of Their Own".

The Rockford Peaches feature in the 1992 film "A League of Their Own" by Penny Marshall. However, all of the characters in the film are fictitious. The team did not play in the 1943 league championship, as depicted in the film. In real life, the Racine Belles faced the Kenosha Comets.

The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois.


History.

Subsequently, he built the edifice at his own expense of 95,000 Rupees, under the design of Major Robert Smith. The construction started in 1826, and was completed in 1836. The basic design of Renaissance Revival style church is on a cruciform plan (Greek Cross), with three porticoed porches, elaborate stained glass windows and a central octagonal dome, similar to that of the Florence Cathedral in Italy. It was consecrated on 21 November 1836 by the bishop of Calcutta Daniel Wilson.  John Mitchley Jennings took over the edifice after Skinner.  The copper ball and cross on the top, which are said to be replica of a church in Venice, were damaged during the 1857 revolt, and were later replaced. A special service was held in 2003, to commemorate 200 years of Skinner's Horse, the cavalry regiment raised by Skinner in 1803. Amongst those present were Margaret Skinner, great great granddaughter-in-law of Skinner, Admiral Sushil Kumar, retired Chief of Naval Staff, Col. Douglas Gray who commanded Skinner's Horse from 1935 to 1947, and several former British officers.

Service Timings.

Winter Timings (October - March): Worship at 9 a.m.  Summer Timings (April - September): Worship at 8:30 a.m.

Graves.

The church houses several tombs. One houses the remains of the British Commissioners of Delhi, William Fraser, near the large Memorial Cross erected in memory of the victims of 1857 revolt. At the rear is the tomb of Thomas Metcalfe, who lived in Delhi from 1813 to 1853, serving as Agent to Governor General of India and a Commissioner.  Skinner died at Hansi on 4 December 1841 at the age of 64, and was first buried there. Later he was disinterred, and buried in Skinner's Church on 19 January 1842 in a vault of white marble immediately below the Communion Table. North of the church lies the family plot, Skinner family, where many of his fourteen wives and many children, are buried, the burial in this place was that of a lady who died in England, but wished that her ashes be interred here.

Relics.

The church boasts of relics such as; "original European stained-glass windows depicting the crucifixion, ascension of Christ and his resurrection, a painting titled 'The Prodigal Son', original work of Italian painter Pompeo Batoni, a processional cross gifted by Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, a rare pipe organ gifted by Ralph T. Coe in 1899, and the church bell". All are in the process of restoration, including the church itself, scheduled for 2017, as the church due to its historical significance, falls under Grade II heritage buildings category.

St. James' (also known as Skinner's Church) in India, built in 1836 by Colonel James Skinner. It is one of the oldest churches in the city, and part of the Church of North India Diocese of Delhi.


Early life and political activities.

Activities before the Cape Town City Council.

He has been involved in political activities since high school, particularly in Cape Town's northern suburbs. He was a community organiser and played a significant role in rallying people against the apartheid regime. The Emergency Services Unit of the former Bellville Municipality (Tygerberg Administration) employed him in the 1980s. Plato became a member of the National Party in 1990. He later became the Cape Town Chairperson of the South African National Tuberculosis Association during the mid-1990s.

Cape Town City Councillor.

In 1996, Plato was elected as a Cape Metro councillor for the Belhar, Uitsig and Ravensmead region. He became a member of the council executive the following year. He served two terms as Chairperson of the City of Cape Town's Economic Development, Tourism and Property Management Portfolio Committee.  He managed the Housing portfolio in the Mayoral Committee from 2006 to 2009. During the same period, he was Deputy Chairperson of both the DA Metro Region and the DA Caucus in the City of Cape Town. He had also served as acting mayor at various intervals. Shortly before being elected mayor in May 2009, Plato had taken over as the Mayoral Committee Member responsible for Service Delivery and Economic Development.

Other activities.

In addition to his political activities, he has served on the boards of multiple organisations, including the Cape Film Commission, Cape Tourism, the University of the Western Cape and the Business Opportunities Network. He had also been a member of several community-based trusts. Plato was previously co-owner of National Pride Holdings Pty (Ltd).

Political career.

Mayor of Cape Town (2009–2011).

On 30 April 2009, Helen Zille resigned as Mayor of Cape Town. Plato declared his candidacy for the post and was ultimately selected as the party's preferred candidate.  Plato was elected Mayor of Cape Town on 12 May 2009. He won with 119 votes to the ANC candidate Belinda Landingwe's 69 votes, while six councillors abstained from the vote.  During his tenure as mayor, controversial open-air toilets were built in the Makhaza region of Khayelitsha. The Democratic Alliance defended its decision to build the toilets. The Western Cape High Court later ruled against it.  Cape Town hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He banned the old South African flag from being present at soccer matches at the Cape Town Stadium after he described the flag as being detrimental to the country's image.  The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs rated Cape Town as the best-managed city in South Africa, while the Auditor-General awarded the city with a rating for good governance and accountability.  Plato introduced many job creation projects and made reducing unemployment one of the focus points of his mayoral agenda.  In 2010, Plato announced his candidacy for the post of Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance. He lost to incumbent Theuns Botha. He received 123 votes compared to Botha's 543 and Lennit Max's 317.  In 2011, Plato declared his intention to seek a full term as Mayor of Cape Town ahead of the upcoming 2011 municipal elections. His challengers for the post were Mayoral Committee Member for Social Development, Grant Pascoe, Mayoral Committee Member for Housing, Shehaam Sims, and Leader of the Independent Democrats, Patricia de Lille. De Lille defeated Plato in an internal party election. He left office on 1 June 2011.

Provincial Minister for Community Safety (2011–2018).

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille reshuffled her Provincial Cabinet in May 2011 and appointed Plato to the post of Provincial Minister for Community Safety, succeeding Albert Fritz. She said in a statement: "I am confident he will make a major contribution, not only to the community safety portfolio but to the provincial cabinet as a whole." He took office on 1 June 2011.  In October 2018, Zille announced that Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde, would succeed Plato. Plato effectively resigned from the provincial government on 31 October 2018. Winde subsequently took office the next day.

Return to the Cape Town mayoralty (2018–present).

In August 2018, Plato declared his candidacy to replace Patricia de Lille as Mayor of Cape Town after De Lille had announced her intention to resign on 31 October 2018.  On 18 September 2018, the Democratic Alliance announced that Plato would succeed De Lille. Plato defeated many prominent candidates for the nomination, including the Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Sharna Fernandez, and Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, Ian Neilson.  On 1 November 2018, Plato took office as a councillor. The day before the ceremony, Patricia de Lille resigned as Mayor of Cape Town. A former acquaintance of Patricia de Lille, Brett Herron, resigned as a councillor after the ceremony along with many other councillors, in protest against the removal of Patricia de Lille and the mayoralty of Dan Plato.  Plato was elected Mayor of Cape Town on 6 November 2018 during a special council sitting. He received 146 out of 202 valid votes. His main challengers were Xolani Sotashe of the African National Congress and Grant Haskin of the African Christian Democratic Party. Sotashe received 53 votes while Haskin got 3 votes. Six ballots were spoilt.

Daniel "Dan" Plato (born 5 October 1960) is a South African politician and current Mayor of Cape Town since 6 November 2018. He previously held the position from May 2009 until June 2011. He served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety from 2011 to 2018.