Background and motivation.

For most spacecraft, changes to orbits are caused by the oblateness of the Earth, gravitational attraction from the sun and moon, solar radiation pressure, and air drag. These are called "perturbing forces". They must be counteracted by maneuvers to keep the spacecraft in the desired orbit. For a geostationary spacecraft, correction maneuvers on the order of 40–50 m/s per year are required to counteract the gravitational forces from the sun and moon which move the orbital plane away from the equatorial plane of the Earth.  For sun-synchronous spacecraft, intentional shifting of the orbit plane (called "precession") can be used for the benefit of the mission. For these missions, a near-circular orbit with an altitude of 600–900 km is used. An appropriate inclination (97.8-99.0 degrees) is selected so that the precession of the orbital plane is equal to the rate of movement of the Earth around the sun, about 1 degree per day.  As a result, the spacecraft will pass over points on the Earth that have the same time of day during every orbit. For instance, if the orbit is "square to the sun", the vehicle will always pass over points at which it is 6 a.m. on the north-bound portion, and 6 p.m. on the south-bound portion (or vice versa). This is called a "Dawn-Dusk" orbit. Alternatively, if the sun lies in the orbital plane, the vehicle will always pass over places where it is midday on the north-bound leg, and places where it is midnight on the south-bound leg (or vice versa). These are called "Noon-Midnight" orbits. Such orbits are desirable for many Earth observation missions such as weather, imagery, and mapping.  The perturbing force caused by the oblateness of the Earth will in general perturb not only the orbital plane but also the eccentricity vector of the orbit. There exists, however, an almost circular orbit for which there are no secular/long periodic perturbations of the eccentricity vector, only periodic perturbations with period equal to the orbital period. Such an orbit is then perfectly periodic (except for the orbital plane precession) and it is therefore called a "frozen orbit". Such an orbit is often the preferred choice for an Earth observation mission where repeated observations of the same area of the Earth should be made under as constant observation conditions as possible.  The Earth observation satellites ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat are operated in sun-synchronous frozen orbits.

Lunar frozen orbits.

Through a study of many lunar orbiting satellites, scientists have discovered that most low lunar orbits (LLO) are unstable. Four "frozen lunar orbits" have been identified at 27°, 50°, 76°, and 86° inclination. NASA expounded on this in 2006:  Lunar mascons make most low lunar orbits unstable... As a satellite passes 50 or 60 miles overhead, the mascons pull it forward, back, left, right, or down, the exact direction and magnitude of the tugging depends on the satellite's trajectory. Absent any periodic boosts from onboard rockets to correct the orbit, most satellites released into low lunar orbits (under about 60 miles or 100 km) will eventually crash into the Moon.... [There are] a number of 'frozen orbits' where a spacecraft can stay in a low lunar orbit indefinitely. They occur at four inclinations: 27°, 50°, 76°, and 86°"—the last one being nearly over the lunar poles. The orbit of the relatively long-lived Apollo 15 subsatellite PFS-1 had an inclination of 28°, which turned out to be close to the inclination of one of the frozen orbits—but less fortunate PFS-2 had an orbital inclination of only 11°.

Classical theory.

The classical theory of frozen orbits is essentially based on the analytical perturbation analysis for artificial satellites of Dirk Brouwer made under contract with NASA and published in 1959.  This analysis can be carried out as follows:  In the article orbital perturbation analysis the secular perturbation of the orbital pole formula_1 from the formula_2 term of the geopotential model is shown to be which can be expressed in terms of orbital elements thus:  Making a similar analysis for the formula_3 term (corresponding to the fact that the earth is slightly pear shaped), one gets which can be expressed in terms of orbital elements as  In the same article the secular perturbation of the components of the eccentricity vector caused by the formula_2 is shown to be:  where:  Making the analysis for the formula_3 term one gets for the first term, i.e. for the perturbation of the eccentricity vector from the in-plane force component  For inclinations in the range 97.8–99.0 deg, the formula_6 value given by () is much smaller than the value given by () and can be ignored. Similarly the quadratic terms of the eccentricity vector components in () can be ignored for almost circular orbits, i.e. () can be approximated with  Adding the formula_3 contribution formula_8  to () one gets Now the difference equation shows that the eccentricity vector will describe a circle centered at the point formula_9; the polar argument of the eccentricity vector increases with formula_10 radians between consecutive orbits.  As  one gets for a polar orbit (formula_14) with formula_15 that the centre of the circle is at formula_16 and the change of polar argument is 0.00400 radians per orbit.  The latter figure means that the eccentricity vector will have described a full circle in 1569 orbits. Selecting the initial mean eccentricity vector as formula_17 the mean eccentricity vector will stay constant for successive orbits, i.e. the orbit is frozen because the secular perturbations of the formula_2 term given by () and of the formula_3 term given by () cancel out.  In terms of classical orbital elements, this means that a frozen orbit should have the following mean elements:

Modern theory.

The modern theory of frozen orbits is based on the algorithm given in a 1989 article by Mats Rosengren.  For this the analytical expression () is used to iteratively update the initial (mean) eccentricity vector to obtain that the (mean) eccentricity vector several orbits later computed by the precise numerical propagation takes precisely the same value. In this way the secular perturbation of the eccentricity vector caused by the formula_2 term is used to counteract all secular perturbations, not only those (dominating) caused by the formula_3 term. One such additional secular perturbation that in this way can be compensated for is the one caused by the solar radiation pressure, this perturbation is discussed in the article "Orbital perturbation analysis (spacecraft)".  Applying this algorithm for the case discussed above, i.e. a polar orbit (formula_24) with formula_25 ignoring all perturbing forces other than the formula_2 and the formula_3 forces for the numerical propagation one gets exactly the same optimal average eccentricity vector as with the "classical theory", i.e. formula_17.  When we also include the forces due to the higher zonal terms the optimal value changes to formula_29.  Assuming in addition a reasonable solar pressure (a "cross-sectional-area" of, the direction to the sun in the direction towards the ascending node) the optimal value for the average eccentricity vector becomes formula_30 which corresponds to :formula_31, i.e. the optimal value is not formula_32 anymore.  This algorithm is implemented in the orbit control software used for the Earth observation satellites ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat

Derivation of the closed form expressions for the "J" perturbation.

The main perturbing force to be counteracted in order to have a frozen orbit is the "formula_3 force", i.e. the gravitational force caused by an imperfect symmetry north/south of the Earth, and the "classical theory" is based on the closed form expression for this "formula_3 perturbation". With the "modern theory" this explicit closed form expression is not directly used but it is certainly still worthwhile to derive it.  The derivation of this expression can be done as follows:  The potential from a zonal term is rotational symmetric around the polar axis of the Earth and corresponding force is entirely in a longitudinal plane with one component formula_35 in the radial direction and one component formula_36 with the unit vector formula_37 orthogonal to the radial direction towards north. These directions formula_38 and formula_37 are illustrated in Figure 1.  In the article Geopotential model it is shown that these force components caused by the formula_3 term are  To be able to apply relations derived in the article Orbital perturbation analysis (spacecraft) the force component formula_36 must be split into two orthogonal components formula_42 and formula_43 as illustrated in figure 2 Let formula_44 make up a rectangular coordinate system with origin in the center of the Earth (in the center of the Reference ellipsoid) such that formula_45 points in the direction north and such that formula_46 are in the equatorial plane of the Earth with formula_47 pointing towards the ascending node, i.e. towards the blue point of Figure 2.  The components of the unit vectors  making up the local coordinate system (of which formula_49 are illustrated in figure 2), and expressing their relation with formula_44, are as follows:  where formula_60 is the polar argument of formula_38 relative the orthogonal unit vectors formula_62 and formula_63 in the orbital plane  Firstly  where formula_65 is the angle between the equator plane and formula_38 (between the green points of figure 2) and from equation (12) of the article Geopotential model one therefore obtains Secondly the projection of direction north, formula_45, on the plane spanned by formula_49 is  and this projection is  where formula_37 is the unit vector formula_72 orthogonal to the radial direction towards north illustrated in figure 1.  From equation () we see that  and therefore:  In the article Orbital perturbation analysis (spacecraft) it is further shown that the secular perturbation of the orbital pole formula_74 is  Introducing the expression for formula_75 of () in () one gets The fraction formula_76 is  where  are the components of the eccentricity vector in the formula_80 coordinate system.  As all integrals of type are zero if not both formula_82 and formula_83 are even, we see that  and  It follows that  where  In the article Orbital perturbation analysis (spacecraft) it is shown that the secular perturbation of the eccentricity vector is  where  Introducing the expression for formula_96 of () and () in () one gets Using that  the integral above can be split in 8 terms:  Given that  we obtain  and that all integrals of type  are zero if not both formula_82 and formula_83 are even:  Term 1  Term 2  Term 3  Term 4  Term 5  Term 6  Term 7  Term 8  As  It follows that

In orbital mechanics, a frozen orbit is an orbit for an artificial satellite in which natural drifting due to the central body's shape has been minimized by careful selection of the orbital parameters. Typically, this is an orbit in which, over a long period of time, the satellite's altitude remains constant at the same point in each orbit. Changes in the inclination, position of the lowest point of the orbit, and eccentricity have been minimized by choosing initial values so that their perturbations cancel out. This results in a long-term stable orbit that minimizes the use of station-keeping propellant.


Plot.

Cole, a veteran of the Angolan Bush War, completes his ninjutsu training in Japan. Cole goes to visit his war buddy Frank Landers and his newlywed wife Mary Ann Landers, who are the owners of a large piece of farming land in the Philippines. Cole soon finds that the Landers are being repeatedly harassed by Charles Venarius, the wealthy CEO of Venarius Industries, in order to get them to sell their property because, unbeknownst to them, a large oil deposit is located beneath their land. Cole thwarts the local henchmen Venarius has hired to bully and coerce the Landers.  Cole and Frank infiltrate Venarius' base, and defeat a number of his henchmen. In the aftermath, Frank gets drunk and confesses to Cole that he is impotent. Mary Ann comes to Cole that night and they have an affair. Venarius, learning that Cole is a ninja, hires a ninja of his own to eliminate Frank and Cole - Hasegawa, who is a rival of Cole from their old training days.  Hasegawa strikes the Landers' estate at night, killing Frank in front of Mary Anne, then abducting her to Venarius' martial arts arena. Cole enters, and picks off the henchmen one by one before ultimately killing Venarius. Hasegawa releases Mary Ann, and the two ninja engage in a final battle. Cole defeats Hasegawa, who begs to be allowed to die with honor, and Cole beheads him.

Production.

"Enter the Ninja" was based on an original story that Mike Stone presented to Menahem Golan of Cannon Films, who became involved in the production in late fall 1980, with the intent of creating an American film about ninjutsu. In the October 7, 1980 issue of "Daily Variety", it was announced that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) would produce the film for $4 million, as part of a multi-project film and television deal with The Cannon Group. The film was initially set to star Karate champion Mike Stone, while "Variety" announced later that Stone was writing the script.  "The Hollywood Reporter" reported in January 1981 that confirmed that principal photography began one day earlier on January 12, 1981, in the Philippines and in Tokyo, Japan., under the direction of Emmett Alston. "Variety" later noted that in February 18, 1981 that shooting had begun Manila but with Golan as director and Franco Nero replacing Stone in the lead role. Stone receives onscreen credit for the film's story, fight choreography, and stunt coordination. Principal photography concluded in March 1981.

Release.

Cannon planned to screen the film at the Cannes Film Festival, which was followed by promotional material stating the film would be released during the Easter season in 1982. In the August 12, 1981 issue of "Variety", Cannon Films took out a full page ad announcing that the film had opened in Germany and France and was a hit. The film also played in Arizona in October 1981. An issue of "Variety" from January 13, 1982 declared that the film was currently in release, but the film did not open in Los Angeles until April 30, 1982.

Legacy.

After the release of "Enter the Ninja" there was brief boom of ninja-related films in the early 1980s. On April 28, 1981, "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that Golan was going to direct a sequel titled "Revenge of the Ninja". Golan was later replaced by Sam Firstenberg as director. The film was released in 1983. The final film in the series was "", which was released in 1984.

Home media.

The film has been released on VHS and Beta during the 1980s, but an official US DVD release had long eluded the masses until MGM issued it as part of its Limited Edition Collection (a series of manufactured-on-demand DVD-Rs) in October 2011. The film was released on blu-ray by Kino Lorber on May 26, 2015, and in a box set from Eureka Video as "The Ninja Trilogy" with "Revenge of the Ninja" and "Ninja III: The Domination" on January 18, 2016.

Reception.

In a contemporary review, Robert Brown of the "Monthly Film Bulletin" gave the film a negative review, stating that it "seems singularly lacking in even the commercial ingredients that made "Enter the Dragon" such a successful showcase for the Kung Fu genre." Brown commented that Golan "never seems to have decided which genre he was exploiting, and ended up mistakenly crossing romantic drama with martial arts." A review by Hubert Niogret in the French film magazine "Positif" found the film's only purpose was to create a commercial project that was only popular for less demanding audiences and was only popular in the summer in France where there was little competition for quality cinema. Richard Harrington of "The Washington Post" stated that the "plot limps along looking for convenient excuses for Ninjas to enter into brawls", noting that "none of the reasoning, acting or dialogue is particularly bright much less believable" while "the best directing in the film comes from fight choreographer and ex-karate champion Mike Stone, who obviously gets his kicks in"  From a retrospective review, Donald Guarisco of AllMovie stated that film was a "pretty lackluster affair." Guarisco also commented on Franco Nero that it "looks uncomfortable as the ninja expert and fails to perform convincingly during the fight scenes" and that Susan George was wasted as the damsel in distress "Even though a large amount of "Enter the Ninja"s running time is devoted to fight scenes, they lack the skillful choreography and sharp editing that would give them the visceral punch they truly need."  On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Enter the Ninja is a 1981 American martial arts film directed by Menahem Golan and starring Franco Nero, Susan George, Christopher George, and Sho Kosugi. The film is about a martial artist named Cole (Nero) who is visiting his friend Frank in the Philippines. On arrival, Cole learns that his friend is being harassed by the wealthy businessman Charles Venarius who wants Frank's land for the oil underneath. Frank and his wife are continuously thwarted by Cole who defends them with his martial arts skills. Learning of Cole's presence, Venarius hires his own ninja.


Life.

Born in the Berti Palace, Florence, Italy, to an English family of Huguenot descent, Layard was the youngest of seven sons (two of the earlier siblings died in infancy) of Henry Peter John Layard of the Ceylon Civil Service (the son of Charles Peter Layard, dean of Bristol, and grandson of Daniel Peter Layard the physician) with his wife Marianne, a daughter of Nathaniel Austen, banker, of Ramsgate. Through her, he was partly of Spanish descent. His uncle was Benjamin Austen, a London solicitor and close friend of Benjamin Disraeli in the 1820s and 1830s. His oldest brother was the archaeologist and politician Sir Austen Henry Layard. Layard attributed his early interest in natural history to the lack of siblings close to his age. Lacking playmates, he spent time making collections of shells and butterflies. His interests were not approved of by his father who approved only of literary tastes. When he was ten years old the family returned from Italy to England in Surrey. Layard's father died soon after and his mother moved with the children to her parental home in Ramsgate. Here Layard met a taxidermist and naturalist Mr.Thompson (Layard describes his as "of the “Elnis”" and mentions that he was sometime Mayor of Ramsgate) and learnt to skin and mount birds. After going to school at Richmond he moved to Wheaton Aston and then to Cambridge. He was to join the clergy but influenced by Leonard Jenyns and Col. Babbington, he felt attracted to zoology. He also met a woman with a taste for zoology who he would later marry. Layard chose to go to Canada but found it too cold and returned after 18 months. Now 21 he heard from a cousin of a vacancy in Ceylon for someone with mechanical skills to work on machinery in a coffee estate. He married Barbara Anne, daughter of Reverend John Calthrop on 18 October 1848 and travelled to Ceylon with his wife, now skilled in art, so as to assist him in his zoological studies. Reaching Ceylon he fell ill and was attended to by Dr. Robert Templeton (1802–1892). Noticing the butterfly nets, the two became close friends who pursued the study of lepidoptera. Templeton also influenced Sir J.E. Tennent to find Layard an appointment. Layard was appointed a Custom House officer at Balliganbay. A correspondence with Edward Blyth changed his focus from botany to zoology and birds. Blyth sent him a list of all 182 of the known birds from Ceylon and sought specimens of poorly-known species. Layard valued his correspondence with Blyth greatly and was saddened by his death: "This was the beginning of a correspondence continued monthly for years, & of the pleasure & profit it was to me, I can give no idea. I used carefully to bind up his letters as they came, & I often now, when I see them, think with a sad heart of the bright intelligence and vast ornithological knowledge that sank with him, in shadows, in the grave."  Layard spent ten years in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), where he studied the local fauna with Robert Templeton. He was forced to leave Ceylon by his and his wife's poor health. Most of their children died in infancy. Before leaving Ceylon, Layard's collection resulted in the number of species going from 182 to 318 species. On one occasion, he was able to use his natural history skills while settling a land dispute in Ceylon between two neighbouring farmers. He settled the disputed position of a filled up drain by digging them up and noticing the remains of a species of mollusc, which was later named after him as "Tortulosa layardi" (Pfeiffer 1851), along the true drain path. His collections were sent off to England and amounted to 9 tons.  In 1854, he went to the Cape Colony as a civil servant working in the service of the governor George Edward Grey (1812–1898). In addition, from 1855 Layard also took on a spare time position as curator of the South African Museum, and carried out extensive improvements at his own expense as well as building up the museum's collection and exhibits. In December 1855 Charles Darwin wrote to Layard with a description of his research investigating "the variation & origin of species", and requested assistance in obtaining specimens of domesticated animals and birds, particularly pigeons. Layard wrote back, and in June Darwin thanked him cordially for his ""very" valuable letter". In an expedition from October 1856 to March 1857, Layard visited Mauritius, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Madagascar, and ports on the southern coast of South Africa. In 1865 Layard found a whale which became known as the strap-toothed whale or the Layard's beaked whale, and was formally named "Mesoplodon layardii". His work at the Mixed Commission ended when it was abolished in 1870, and Layard then had to return to Britain. He was succeeded at the museum by Roland Trimen. Subsequently, Layard had posts in Brazil, where he collected birds for Arthur Hay (1824–1878).  Edgar Layard administered the government of Fiji from 1874 to 1875 and was honorary British Consul at Noumea, New Caledonia from 1876. Layard was appointed as an arbitrator to the British and Portuguese Commission at the Cape of Good Hope in 1862. Edgar Layard and his son, Edgar Leopold Calthrop Layard (referred to in the literature as either E.L.C. Layard or Leopold Layard to differentiate him from his father), were active collectors in this region, mainly of bird specimens. Between 1870 and 1881, they visited Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, New Britain and Norfolk Island. Aside from the South African material, the bird collections they made from their 'home base' of New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands are the most scientifically important. The Layards sent material to William Sharp MacLeay in Sydney, but also to many other ornithologists. Their specimens have become very scattered. Many went to the British Museum in London. Others went to Henry Baker Tristram, and are now in the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside in Liverpool, England.  In 1867, Layard published "The Birds of South Africa", where he described 702 species. This work was later updated by Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1847–1909).  Layard wrote in his biographical notes:  Layard's first wife, Barbara Anne Calthrop (died 1886), whom he married in 1845, is commemorated in the specific epithet of Layard's parakeet ("Psittacula calthropae") and he named the brown-breasted flycatcher ("Muscicapa muttui") after his Tamil cook, Muttu who he considered as his "fidus Achates" or faithful follower. Only one son survived from the first marriage Edgar Leopold Calthorp Layard (born 21 Sep 1848). Layard married Jane Catherine Blackhall, daughter of General Robert Blackhall, in 1887.  Layard died in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England on 1 January 1900.  Several species are named after Layard including Layard's tit-babbler ("Sylvia layardi") and the squirrel, "Funambulus layardi". A species of lizard endemic to Sri Lanka, "Nessia layardi" (originally placed in the genus "Acontias") was named after him by Edward Frederick Kelaart.

Edgar Leopold Layard, (23 July 1824 – 1 January 1900) was a British diplomat and a naturalist mainly interested in ornithology and to a lesser extent the molluscs. He worked for a significant part of his life in Ceylon and later in South Africa, Fiji and New Caledonia. He studied the zoology of these places and established natural history museums in Sri Lanka and South Africa. Several species of animals are named after him.


Plot.

In 1950, Hester Collyer, the younger wife of High Court judge Sir William Collyer, has embarked on a passionate affair with Freddie Page, a handsome young former RAF pilot troubled by his memories of the Second World War. Freddie throws Hester's life in turmoil, as their erotic relationship leaves her emotionally stranded and physically isolated. For Freddie, that tumultuous mix of fear and excitement that was once in his life seems to be no longer present.  The majority of the film takes place during one day in Hester's flat, a day on which she has decided to commit suicide. Her suicide attempt fails and as she recovers, the story of her affair and her married life is played out in a mosaic of short and sporadic flashbacks. We soon discover the constraints of Hester's comfortable marriage, which is affectionate but without sexual passion.  As Hester's affair is discovered she leaves her life of comparative luxury and moves into a small dingy London flat with Freddie. Hester's new lover has awakened her sexuality, but the reckless, thrill-seeking Freddie can never give her the love and stability that her husband gave her. Yet to return to a life without passion would be unbearable. The film takes its title from her dilemma of being caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea – two equally undesirable situations.

Production.

Filming locations are all in London, England (UK). The Three Mills Studios was used, Three Mill Lane, Bow, London.  The orchestral background music is taken from Samuel Barber's violin concerto written 1939.

Critical reception.

The film was released to strongly positive reviews from critics. At Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 80%, based on 140 reviews and an average rating of 7.11/10. It also has a score of 82 on Metacritic based on 30 reviews.  For her performance, Weisz won the Best Actress Award at the 2012 New York Film Critics Circle Awards and also won the Best Actress Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association in the same year.  In January 2012, Weisz was nominated as Best Actress in the 70th Golden Globe Awards. The film was also chosen as one of the Top Ten films of the year by "The New York Times" and "The Los Angeles Times". The film has found a largely appreciative audience and critical success in the United States with Weisz's performance named as 'film performance of 2012' by David Edelstein of "New York" magazine.

The Deep Blue Sea is a 2011 British romantic drama film directed by Terence Davies and starring Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, and Simon Russell Beale. It is an adaptation of the 1952 Terence Rattigan play "The Deep Blue Sea" about the wife of a judge who engages in an affair with a former RAF pilot. This film version was funded by the UK Film Council and Film4, produced by Sean O'Connor and Kate Ogborn.


Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre

History.

They were founded by a Frenchwoman, Marie-Adèle Garnier (Mother Marie de Saint-Pierre) in Montmartre ("Mount of the Martyr"), Paris in 1898. In 1901 the French legislature passed Waldeck-Rousseau's "Law of Associations" which placed severe restrictions on religious bodies such as monasteries and convents and caused many of them to leave France. Mother Marie de Saint-Pierre therefore relocated the order in London in 1903, at Tyburn Convent, Bayswater Road, near Marble Arch. Near the convent was the site of Tyburn tree where 105 Catholic martyrs—including Saint Oliver Plunkett and Saint Edmund Campion—were executed during and following the English Reformation from 1535 to 1681. The nuns established at Tyburn the Martyrs' Shrine to honour the more than 350 Catholic Martyrs who were executed in England during and after the Reformation.  Tyburn Convent is now the Mother House of the Congregation.

Devotion.

Mother Mary of St Peter founded the Adorers to carry out Adoration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the exposed Blessed Sacrament, originally in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Montmartre. The religious foundation then moved to enclosure and Adoration in the monastic setting, building up numbers towards Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament by the community.  This Adoration was to be made in reparation for offences against the Sacred Heart and the Blessed Sacrament. Mystical experiences in the early Congregation in France confirmed that Adoration was needed to atone for sacrileges and blasphemies against the Blessed Sacrament committed by priests and lay people. The Foundress at this time also discerned a particular charism of prayer for priests.  Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued night and day ever since the convent was established in London. Pilgrims and tourists from all over the world visit the shrine.

Rule of Life.

The Congregation follows the Rule of St Benedict as its rule of life. This is augmented by norms, a manual and a book of customs of the Congregation.  The sisters wear the traditional black Benedictine habit, but with a modernised veil and guimpe (wimple). Postulants wear lay dress and a short black veil. Novices wear the habit with a white veil and white choir cloak. Junior professed sisters wear the black veil and Congregation medal and white choir cloak. Perpetually professed sisters wear the black veil, medal, ring, and white choir cowl.

Expansion.

The Tyburn community has opened other monasteries in Scotland, Ireland (at Cobh), New Zealand (two foundations, "Tyburn Monastery" at Bombay, Auckland and "Tyburn Monastery Cor Iesu Fons Vitae" at Ngakaru, Rotorua in the Hamilton Diocese), Australia (at Riverstone), Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and in Rome and France at St Loup-sur-Aujon close to the birthplace of the Foundress, Mother Marie Adèle Garnier. Each monastery carries out Adoration during the day, and shares this with the laity. A new foundation in Africa has recently been initiated. The Congregation has also offered assistance to ageing Benedictine communities in Europe.  The Congregation numbers around 80 sisters worldwide in total, including sisters in formation.

The Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre, OSB is a Catholic order of Benedictine nuns, often known as Tyburn Nuns. The order was founded in Paris but later moved to a new Mother House in London and established additional monasteries in nine other countries. Nuns at the London monastery practice Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and maintain a Martyrs’ Shrine dedicated to the Catholic Martyrs of the English Reformation.


Capacitance.

Helmholtz laid the theoretical foundations for understanding the double layer phenomenon. The formation of double layers is exploited in every electrochemical capacitor to store electrical energy.  Every capacitor has two electrodes, mechanically separated by a separator. These are electrically connected via the electrolyte, a mixture of positive and negative ions dissolved in a solvent such as water. Where the liquid electrolyte contacts the electrode's conductive metallic surface, an interface is formed which represents a common boundary between the two phases of matter. It is at this interface that the double layer effect occurs.  When a voltage is applied to the capacitor, two layers of polarized ions are generated at the electrode interfaces. One layer is within the solid electrode (at the surfaces of crystal grains from which it is made that are in contact with the electrolyte). The other layer, with opposite polarity, forms from dissolved and solvated ions distributed in the electrolyte that have moved towards the polarized electrode. These two layers of polarized ions are separated by a monolayer of solvent molecules. The molecular monolayer forms the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP). It adheres by physical adsorption on the electrode surface and separates the oppositely polarized ions from each other, forming a molecular dielectric.  The amount of charge in the electrode is matched by the magnitude of counter-charges in the outer Helmholtz plane (OHP). This is the area close to the IHP, in which the polarized electrolyte ions are collected. This separation of two layers of polarized ions through the double-layer stores electrical charges in the same way as in a conventional capacitor. The double-layer charge forms a static electric field in the molecular IHP layer of the solvent molecules that corresponds to the strength of the applied voltage.  The "thickness" of a charged layer in the metallic electrode, i.e., the average extension perpendicular to the surface, is about 0.1 nm, and mainly depends on the electron density because the atoms in solid electrodes are stationary. In the electrolyte, the thickness depends on the size of the solvent molecules and of the movement and concentration of ions in the solvent. It ranges from 0.1 to 10 nm as described by the Debye length. The sum of the thicknesses is the total thickness of a double layer.  The IHP's small thickness creates a strong electric field E over the separating solvent molecules. At a potential difference of, for example, U = 2 V and a molecular thickness of d = 0.4 nm, the electric field strength is  To compare this figure with values from other capacitor types requires an estimation for electrolytic capacitors, the capacitors with the thinnest dielectric among conventional capacitors. The voltage proof of aluminum oxide, the dielectric layer of aluminum electrolytic capacitors, is approximately 1.4 nm/V. For a 6.3 V capacitor therefore the layer is 8.8 nm. The electric field is 6.3 V/8.8 nm = 716 kV/mm, around 7 times lower than in the double-layer. The field strength of some 5000 kV/mm is unrealizable in conventional capacitors. No conventional dielectric material could prevent charge carrier breakthrough. In a double-layer capacitor the chemical stability of the solvent's molecular bonds prevents breakthrough.  The forces that cause the adhesion of solvent molecules in the IHP are physical forces rather than chemical bonds. Chemical bonds exist within the adsorbed molecules, but they are polarized.  The magnitude of the electric charge that can accumulate in the layers corresponds to the concentration of the adsorbed ions and the electrodes surface. Up to the electrolyte's decomposition voltage, this arrangement behaves like a capacitor in which the stored electrical charge is linearly dependent on the voltage.  The double-layer is like the dielectric layer in a conventional capacitor, but with the thickness of a single molecule. Using the early Helmholtz model to calculate the capacitance the model predicts a constant differential capacitance C independent from the charge density, even depending on the dielectric constant ε and the charge layer separation δ.  If the electrolyte solvent is water then the influence of the high field strength creates a permittivity ε of 6 (instead of 80 without an applied electric field) and the layer separation δ ca. 0.3 nm, the Helmholtz model predicts a differential capacitance value of about 18 μF/cm. This value can be used to calculate capacitance values using the standard formula for conventional plate capacitors if only the surface of the electrodes is known. This capacitance can be calculated with:  The capacitance C is greatest in components made from materials with a high permittivity ε, large electrode plate surface areas A and a small distance d between plates. Because activated carbon electrodes have a very high surface area and an extremely thin double-layer distance which is on the order of a few ångströms (0.3-0.8 nm), it is understandable why supercapacitors have the highest capacitance values among the capacitors (in the range of 10 to 40 μF/cm).  In real produced supercapacitors with a high amount of double-layer capacitance the capacitance value depends first on electrode surface and DL distance. Parameters such as electrode material and structure, electrolyte mixture, and amount of pseudocapacitance also contribute to capacitance value.  Because an electrochemical capacitor is composed out of two electrodes, electric charge in the Helmholtz layer at one electrode is mirrored (with opposite polarity) in the second Helmholtz layer at the second electrode. Therefore, the total capacitance value of a double-layer capacitor is the result of two capacitors connected in series. If both electrodes have approximately the same capacitance value, as in symmetrical supercapacitors, the total value is roughly half that of one electrode.

Double-layer capacitance is the important characteristic of the electrical double layer which appears, for example, at the interface between a conductive electrode and an adjacent liquid electrolyte. At this boundary two layers of charge with opposing polarity form, one at the surface of the electrode, and one in the electrolyte. These two layers, electrons on the electrode and ions in the electrolyte, are typically separated by a single layer of solvent molecules that adhere to the surface of the electrode and act like a dielectric in a conventional capacitor. The amount of electric charge stored in double-layer capacitor depends on the applied voltage. The unit of capacitance is the farad.


EJournal.

With the media ethical realignment as of issue 3/4 (2013) the publication also provides its content on-line. New issues are published there simultaneously with the appearance of the print issues. Within the first 12 months of publication texts appear subject to a charge. At the end of these 12 months all content of the publication is freely accessible.(Open access).

Purpose and objective.

The journal understands the ongoing media transition as an ethical challenge. With the mediatization and digitalization of social communication the relevance of critical and ethical reflection in these fields increases. According to its self-understanding, the central theme of Communicatio Socialis should be an interdisciplinary and “defining site for media ethical discussion and research.".  The media ethical orientation of the periodical stands in keeping with a world-view characterized by the Christian faith. Media ethics is understood as a Christianly motivated contemporaneous service to society. The subject area “Religion, Church and Communication”, respectively Roman Catholic-related journalism, is the second thematic priority of the journal upon which, until 2013, the primary focus lay.

History.

In 1968 Franz-Josef Eilers, in connection with Michael Schmolke and Karl R. Höller founded the professional journal for communication in religion, Church and society “Communicatio Socialis”. The title of the publication is derived from the title of the conciliar decree Decretum de instrumentis Communicationis socialis „Inter mirifica“". This was the first decree of the Catholic Church concerning means of communication. From its theological orientation, the journal stands for the spirit of this Council and feels committed to its declarations and ecumenical perspective. The founder, Franz-Josef Eilers SVD, saw a special task for the journal in the collection and summarization of news concerning events in the sphere of church-related journalism throughout the world. Communicatio Socialis should serve all those, who feel committed towards the journalistic tasks and responsibilities as a source of information and to stimulate discussion. Recently, Communicatio Socialis has developed in the direction of a general communications and media science publication with a media-ethical and ecclesiastic-religious focus.  From 1968 until 1993 the journal bore the subtitle “Publication for Journalism in the Church and World”. In the issue 26/1993 this changed to “International Publication for Communication in Religion, Church and Society”. With the double-issue 3/4 (2013) the journal underwent a media-ethical realignment and now bears the subtitle “Publication for Media Ethics and Communication in the Church and Society”. Further information concerning the history of the journal can be found in volume 45/2012, Number 4.

Publishers and editors.

List of previous and current publishers:  The members of the current editorial team are Renate Hackel-de Latour (Executive Editor), Annika Franzetti, Petra Hemmelmann, Christian Klenk and Christoph Sachs.

Communicatio Socialis is a specialized communication and media sciences publication bearing the subtitle “Journal for Media Ethics and Communication in Church and Society”. It addresses communication and media ethical issues in addition to topics related to “Religion, Church and Communication”. Whereas media ethics is usually understood as a philosophical ethical field and thereby as a branch of philosophy, the publication applies a more broadly defined concept of media ethics and includes, in addition to philosophy, theoretical and empirical works as well as contributions from the social sciences.


Plot.

The film follows the adventures of El Superbeasto (Tom Papa), a suave, yet violent exploitation film actor/director and former masked wrestler, and his sultry "sidekick" and sister, the super-agent Suzi-X (Sheri Moon Zombie), as they prevent the evil Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti) from taking over the world by marrying the foul-mouthed stripper with the mark of the devil on her backside, Velvet Von Black (Rosario Dawson). The adventure, set in the mythic world of Monsterland, also features Murray the Robot (Brian Posehn), Suzi-X's sidekick and vehicle, based on the robot featured in the 1939 serial "The Phantom Creeps" starring Bela Lugosi.

Production.

Work began on "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto" in 2006 and a release date was later scheduled for May 2007, but the film was completed in 2009. In an interview conducted on July 20, 2007 by "shocktillyoudrop.com", Zombie explained that, "Nothing really much [is happening]." During that time, the film was still being animated, however, Zombie then began work on "Halloween". He informed the animators that he had "to walk away because I can't split my time between two things". Zombie noted that work on "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto" "started when I was on "Rejects" and it's now just sitting on a shelf waiting for me to finish "Halloween"".  In a November 2007 interview with Bloody Disgusting, Zombie announced that the film was "almost finished". He went on to say that, although he was then on tour until February, "we will finally finish the music on Superbeasto and it'll be done" afterwards.  Rob Zombie had the following to say in a September 28, 2008, posting on the official "El Superbeasto" Myspace page: "We're down to the end! 3 long years in the making and worth every second. By Halloween this thing will be in the can completely DONE!"  According to a blog post on October 29, 2008, "Defamer Magazine" was privy to a "sneak peek" at scenes from "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto", about which they said "it's good to know that if "WALL-E" falls short on its quest for Oscar gold, we now have another animated contender."  In an October 29, 2008, "Blender Magazine" interview, Rob Zombie stated that "I've been working on ["El Superbeasto"] for three years, and I'm actually in the last weeks of it — I'm mixing the sound this week. I'm not sure of the release date yet, but that'll be out probably early 2009. It's a full-length adult animated comedy." The film was screen-tested for a 2009 release by Anchor Bay Entertainment.  IGN's March 20, 2009 exclusive interview with Rob Zombie revealed that "["The Haunted World of El Superbeasto"] was finished, but its release had been delayed because of ownership and legal issues within the company that made the movie, Starz Media." In that same interview, Rob Zombie described the film as "Awesome...this little tiny half-a-million dollar direct-to-video movie that expanded into this $10 million animated extravaganza. And it's awesome, but I don't have a release date yet. It's like an R-rated adult/monster/sex comedy. There's nothing really like it that I can think of. People always say like Ralph Bakshi's stuff, but...it's [more] like if SpongeBob and Scooby-Doo were filthy." The film, running feature length at 75 minutes, was released on DVD on September 22 of that year. A majority of the songs in the film are written and performed by Chris Hardwick and Mike Phirman's comedy duo Hard 'n Phirm.  Director Rob Zombie also references several other films. Tom Papa, writer and the voice of the titular character, incorporated his style of humor into his character. Throughout the film, El Superbeasto often makes observations at unusual moments, like Papa does in his stand-ups.

Reception.

"El Superbeasto" received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has received a 40% approval rating from five critics, with an average score of 5.38/10.

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto is a 2009 American animated musical superhero comedy film directed, co-written and co-produced by Rob Zombie. The film was written by Zombie and Tom Papa from Zombie's comic book series of the same name, serving as a sidequel to his "Firefly" film series. The film was produced by Starz Media and Film Roman, with animation provided by Carbunkle Cartoons and Big Star Productions.


Career.

Early career and war.

During the 1930s, he studied on a fellowship at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in Princeton, New Jersey mentored by Richard Shope, performing research on vaccines and viruses, including pseudorabies virus and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCM). During his stay in the United States, Traub and his wife were listed as members of the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi German-American club thirty miles west of Plum Island in Yaphank, Long Island, from 1934 to 1935.  Traub worked at the University of Giessen, Germany, from 1938 to 1942. Traub was a member of the Nazi NSKK, a motorist corps, from 1938 to 1942. The NSKK was declared a condemned, not a criminal organization at the Nuremberg trials.  From 1942 to 1948, Traub worked as lab-chief at the Reich Research Institute for Virus Diseases of Animals () on Riems Island (), a German animal virus research institute in the Baltic sea, now named the Friedrich Loeffler Institute. The institute was headed by Prof. Dr. Otto Waldmann from 1919 to 1948, while Traub was vice-president.  The Institute at Riems Island was a dual use facility during the Second World War where at least some biological warfare experiments were conducted. It had been founded in 1909-10 to study foot-and-mouth disease in animals and by World War II employed about 20 scientists and a staff of 70-120. Hanns-Christoph Nagel, a veterinarian and biological warfare expert for the German Army, conducted experiments there, as did Traub.  The institute was administered under the "Innenministerium" (Ministry of the Interior), which Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler took over in 1943. The chain of command was Himmler, Dr. Leonardo Conti (Reich Health Leader), Kurt Blome, Waldmann, and then Traub. Traub specialized in viral and bacterial diseases. He was assisted by Anna Bürger, who was later also brought to the United States after the war, to work with the Navy's biological warfare program.  On orders from Himmler and Blome, the Deputy Reich Health Leader and head of the German biological warfare program, Traub worked on weaponizing foot-and-mouth disease virus, which has been reported to have been dispersed by aircraft onto cattle and reindeer in Russia. In 1944, Blome sent Traub to pick up a strain of Rinderpest virus in Turkey; upon his return, this strain proved inactive (nonvirulent) and therefore plans for a Rinderpest product were shelved.

Post-war.

Immediately after the war Traub was trapped in the Soviet zone of Allied occupied Germany. He was forced to work for the Soviets from his lab on Riems Island. In July 1948, the British evacuated Erich Traub from Riems Island as a "high priority Intelligence target" since it was now in the Soviet Zone and they feared that Traub was assisting in their biological warfare program. Traub denied this, however, claiming that his only interest was foot-and-mouth disease in animals.  Traub was brought to the United States in 1949 under the auspices of the United States government program Operation Paperclip, meant to exploit scientific knowledge in Germany, and deny it to the Soviet Union. From 1949 to 1953, he was associated with the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.  Months into his Operation Paperclip contract, Traub was asked to meet with US scientists from Fort Detrick, the Army’s biological warfare headquarters, in Frederick, Maryland. As a noted German authority on viruses he was asked to consult on their animal disease program from a Biological Warfare perspective. Traub discussed work done at the Reich Research Institute for Virus Diseases of Animals on Riems Island during World War II for the Nazis, and work done after the war there for the Russians. Traub gave a detailed explanation of the secret operation at the Institute, and his activities there. This information provided the ground work for Fort Detrick's offshore germ warfare animal disease lab on Plum Island.  His publicly published research from his time in the United States reports disease research not directly related to weaponization. In 1951, he published a report for the Naval Medical Research Institute on Newcastle Disease virus in chicken and mammalian blood cells. Two years later, he published a paper for the Navy on the mechanisms of immunity in chickens to Newcastle and the possible role of cellular factors. Also in 1953, he published another paper for the Navy with Worth I. Capps on the foot-and-mouth disease virus and methods for rapid adaptation.  Traub served as an expert on foot-and-mouth disease for the FAO of the UN in Bogota, Colombia, from 1951 to 1952, in Tehran, Iran, from 1963 to 1967, and in Ankara, Turkey, from 1969 to 1971.

Return to Germany.

After working on biological research for the U.S. Navy from 1949 to 1953, Traub returned to Germany and founded a new branch of the Loeffler Institut in Tübingen, and headed it from 1953 to 1963. In 1960, Traub resigned as Tübingen’s director due to the scandal related to accusations of financial embezzlement. He continued with limited lab research for three more years, but then ended his career at Tübingen.  In 1964, Traub published a study for the Army Biological labs in Frederick, Maryland on Eastern Equine Encephalomyeltitis (EEE) immunity in white mice and its relationship to Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM), which had long been a research interest of his.  He retired from the West German civil service in 1971. In 1972, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Traub received an honorary doctorate degree in Veterinary Medicine for his achievements in basic and applied Virology (basic research on LCM; definition and diagnosis of type strains of FMD and their variants; development of adsorbate vaccines against fowl plague, Teschner disease of swine, and erysipelas of swine).  On May 18, 1985, Traub died in his sleep in West Germany. He was seventy-eight years old.

Bio-weapon research.

In theory, insects of all types, particularly the biting species, can be used as disease vectors in a biological warfare program. Germany, Japan, Britain, Russia and the U.S. all conducted experiments along these lines during the Second World War, and the Japanese used such insect-borne diseases against both soldiers and civilians in China. This was one reason that President Franklin Roosevelt and Secretary of War Henry Stimson ordered the creation of an American biological warfare program in 1942, which was headquartered at Camp Detrick, Maryland. This eventually grew to a very large facility with 245 buildings and a $60 million budget, including an Entomological Weapons Department that mass-produced flies, lice and mosquitoes as disease vectors. Although the British bio-weapon facility at Porton Down concentrated on the production of anthrax bombs, it also conducted experiments on insects as vectors.  After the war, the Army's 406th Medical General Laboratory in Japan cooperated with former scientists from Unit 731 in experimenting with many different insect vectors, including lice, flies, mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, spiders and beetles to carry a wide variety of diseases, from cholera to meningitis. At Fort Detrick in the late 1940s, Theodore Rosebury also rated insect vectors very highly, and its entomological division had at least three insect-vectored weapons ready for use by 1950. Some of these were later tested at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah, and allegedly used during the Korean War as well.  Traub visited the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) in New York on at least three occasions in the 1950s. The Plum Island facility, operated by the Department of Agriculture, conducted research on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) of cattle, one of Traub's areas of expertise. Traub was offered a leading position at Plum Island in 1958 which he officially declined. It has been alleged that the United States performed bioweapons research on Plum Island.  Fort Terry on Plum Island was part of the U.S. biological warfare program in 1944-46, working on veterinary testing in connection with the weaponization of brucellosis. After the war, research on biological weapons continued at Pine Bluff in Arkansas and Fort Detrick, Maryland, while officially at least Plum Island was transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From 1949, Plum Island also conducted work on biological weapons against animals and livestock, such as foot-and-mouth disease, Rinderpest, Newcastle disease, African swine fever and plague and malaria in birds. Traub's research work from the Second World War onward involved at least the first three of these (all dangerous only to non-human animal species).

Erich Traub (27 June 1906 – 18 May 1985) was a German veterinarian, scientist and virologist who specialized in foot-and-mouth disease, Rinderpest and Newcastle disease. Traub was a member of the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK), a Nazi motorist corps, from 1938 to 1942. He worked directly for Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), as the lab chief of the Nazis' leading bio-weapons facility on Riems Island.


Biography.

On 31 March 1968, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rome by Cardinal Egidio Cardinal Vagnozzi. He attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy to study diplomacy and earn a doctorate in canon law.  His first assignment in the diplomatic service of the Holy See was in the Apostolic Nunciature to Pakistan, which also follows events in Afghanistan. He later worked in the nunciatures to Angola, Japan, Venezuela and Spain. On 17 January 1989 he was appointed chargé d'affaires of the nunciature in Taiwan. On 20 August 1992, just days after his 50th birthday, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Falerii and Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh. He received his episcopal consecration on 15 November 1992 from Cardinal Angelo Sodano.  Bernardini remained in Bangladesh until 15 June 1996, when he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles. He was next appointed Nuncio to Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia and Apostolic Delegate to Burma, Laos, Malaysia and Brunei on 24 July 1999. Pope John Paul II named him Apostolic Nuncio to Argentina on 26 April 2003. His years there were marked by sharp differences between the Argentine bishops, notably Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (later Pope Francis), and Bernardini as representative of Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano.  Pope Benedict XVI named him Nuncio to Italy and San Marino on 15 November 2011. In 2014, he conducted an investigation into charges of scandalous behavior by priests in the Diocese of Albenga-Imperia, which led to further investigation and the removal of a bishop. His career in the diplomatic service ended on 12 September 2017, when he was replaced as Nuncio to Italy by the first non-Italian to hold the position since Italy and the Holy See established full diplomatic ties in 1929.  On 4 October 2017, Pope Francis named him a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Adriano Bernardini (born 13 August 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who occupied positions in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from the 1970s until he retired in 2017. His first assignment as Apostolic Nuncio was to Bangladesh (1992–1995) and his last to Italy (2011–2017). He has been an archbishop since 1992.


Plot.

A newly-divorced medical doctor Sarah Cassidy (Elisabeth Shue), and her 17-year-old daughter Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) move to a small, upscale suburb. They are disturbed to discover the house they are moving into is on the same street as a house in which a family used to live in until the parents were murdered. The story of the massacre is told to them by the neighbors. Four years prior, a girl named Carrie-Anne Jacobson killed her parents, then fled into the forest and was never seen again, leaving her brother Ryan (Max Thieriot) as the sole survivor. Ryan now lives alone and is hated by his neighbors; Bill Weaver (Gil Bellows), a local police officer, appears to be Ryan's only supporter.  The mother-daughter relationship becomes rocky and Elissa starts seeing Ryan against her mother's wishes, finding Ryan to be lonely but a sweet boy. Ryan confides in her that he accidentally injured Carrie-Anne by allowing her to fall from a swing when they were little; he was supposed to be watching her while their parents were getting high on drugs. The resulting brain damage from the accident made her extremely aggressive, leading to their parents' murder. Ryan is revealed to have been secretly taking care of a seemingly now-grown Carrie-Anne (Eva Link) in a hidden room. Carrie-Anne manages to escape and approaches a young couple in a car while brandishing a kitchen knife. Ryan catches up to her before she can reach the couple but accidentally kills her while trying to hide her. In grief, he goes to a diner, where he meets a kind waitress named Peggy (Jordan Hayes).  Later, some unruly high school boys pick a fight with Ryan and he flees, and Elissa drives to his house and subdues a fire the boys started. She finds tampons in the kitchen garbage and explores the house with suspicion until she finds the secret room and is attacked by Carrie-Anne, who is revealed to actually be Peggy. Ryan restrains "Carrie-Anne" while frantically screaming at Elissa to leave. Elissa finds blue contact lenses and Peggy Johns's wallet in the kitchen. Ryan has kidnapped the waitress and attempted to make her look like Carrie-Anne. Elissa tells Ryan she has to go home but Ryan hits her, knocking her unconscious.  Elissa wakes to find herself tightly tied to a chair. Ryan reveals that Carrie-Anne actually died during the swing accident. He says his parents blamed him for it, and reveals that he was the one who killed them. He explains that he wants Elissa, but that he needs Carrie-Anne and cannot have both. Officer Weaver goes to Ryan's house to look for Elissa, but Ryan stabs him to death. Elissa frees herself and tries to escape in Ryan's car, but Ryan knocks her out with chloroform and traps her in his car trunk with Peggy's body. Sarah arrives and is also stabbed by Ryan. Elissa struggles out of the car and ultimately shoots Ryan with Weaver's gun. When she approaches him, he suddenly wakes up and grabs her wrist. When Ryan attempts to stab Elissa with the knife, Sarah strikes him in the head with the hammer.  Elissa and Sarah move out; Ryan is placed in a psychiatric ward (behavior hospital). A flashback shows young Ryan in girl's clothing about to blow out birthday candles. His mother calls him "Carrie-Anne" and when Ryan protests that his name is Ryan, not Carrie-Anne, she slaps him violently.

Production.

The film was originally announced in 2003 with Jonathan Mostow directing and Richard Kelly screenwriting, but the film was put through development hell for 9 years until production was revived in 2010 with Mark Tonderai directing and Jonathan Mostow screenwriting, instead.  Principal photography and filming mostly took place in Metcalfe, Ontario and Carp, Ontario from August 2, 2010, until September 3, 2010.

Release.

The film was originally scheduled to be released in February 2012, but was moved to a September 2012 release. The film had its theatrical premiere in the United States on September 21, 2012, and was released in Canada on the same date. The film was not released theatrically in Sweden or Spain and was released direct-to-video on January 30, 2013, in Sweden and on August 28, 2013 in Spain.

Novelization.

A tie-in novelization of the movie was released on August 12, 2012, to accompany the movie by Little, Brown and Company.

Home media.

"House at the End of the Street" was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on January 8, 2013.  The unrated cut was also released on January 8, 2013. The extended edition increased the length of certain scenes in the final cut by a few seconds and the amount of violence, blood, and gore was increased by a small amount. The extended cut also included an additional twist in which Bill Weaver was actually a family friend of the Jacobsons and was aware of Carrie-Anne's fate, and he also knew about Ryan's abuse, but did nothing to help him. On the day of Carrie-Anne's accident, he supplied John and Mary Jacobson with drugs and actually could have prevented Carrie-Anne's death if he had not sold them the drugs, as the drugs prevented John and Mary from heeding the cries of Ryan, and he was then disowned as a friend by John Jacobson.

Reception.

Box office.

The film debuted at number one at the US box office on its opening Friday and Saturday nights. In what was one of the tightest races in years for first place at the box-office weekend, the film finished the weekend at number two with $12.3 million, just less than a million behind "End of Watch", which included takings from Thursday night through Monday morning, where that movie finished at number one, with $13.1 million. The film went on to gross over $44 million worldwide, from a budget of $6.9 million.

Critical reception.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 14% based on 66 reviews with an average rating of 3.72/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Poorly conceived, clumsily executed, and almost completely bereft of scares, "House at the End of the Street" strands its talented star in a film as bland as its title." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 31 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

House at the End of the Street is a 2012 American psychological thriller film directed by Mark Tonderai that stars Jennifer Lawrence. The film's plot revolves around a teenage girl, Elissa, who along with her newly divorced mother Sarah, moves to a new neighborhood only to discover that the house at the end of the street was the site of a gruesome double murder committed by a girl named Carrie-Anne who disappeared without a trace. Elissa then starts a relationship with Carrie-Anne's brother, Ryan, who lives in the same house.


Songs.

"Native Blood" was released as a single from the album on July 20, 2012, both as a download and a limited edition 7-inch single. A video was made for the song as well. A Spanish version of "Native Blood" entitled "Sangre Nativa" was released on the "Native Blood" single. Previously, "True American Hate" was released as a free download.  "Native Blood" was described as being about Billy's Native American heritage. "True American Hate" was written about the prevalence of hatred, particularly anti-Americanism, in younger generations around the world, often perpetuated by their upbringing. Billy has described "Cold Embrace" as being about "a girl becoming a vampire and never being able to see the sun again." He added that the band hoped to pitch it for a "Twilight" movie. "Dark Roots of Earth" was described as being a metaphor about the band. "Rise Up" is about war.

Critical reception.

"Dark Roots of Earth" has received universal acclaim. Ryan Ogle of Blabbermouth.net awards the album eight-and-a-half stars out of ten and states, "This album is anything but a rehashing of former glories. The skilled interplay between Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, which features a wall-to-wall showcasing of intricate and harmonized runs, back-and-forth soloing, hooky riffs and metallic perfection, is at the centerpiece of this album. The duo displays everything that made them among the most formidable guitar teams on the late '80s / early '90s while placing everything into a modern context." Ogle also praises the music a "noticeably different vibe than its predecessor by leaning more towards their (now) classic American thrash roots", while he describes the album as a "2012 take on Testament's classic and pioneering sound."  "Dark Roots of Earth" sold over 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, and reached number twelve on the "Billboard" 200—Testament's highest U.S. chart position to date. By March 2013, "Dark Roots of Earth" sold around 60,000 copies in the U.S.

Touring.

To promote the album, Testament embarked on US and Canadian tour co-headlining with Anthrax and openers Death Angel in fall 2012. The three bands had already been touring the US together since fall 2011, with Anthrax supporting their 2011 album "Worship Music".  In January and February 2013, following the dates with Anthrax and Death Angel, Testament embarked on a U.S. headlining tour with Overkill, Flotsam and Jetsam and Australian band 4Arm.

Credits.

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.

Dark Roots of Earth is the eleventh studio album by American thrash metal band Testament. It was released on July 27, 2012 in Europe, and four days later in North America by the independent German record label Nuclear Blast Records. The album is available in three configurations: CD, CD/DVD and vinyl with the latter two versions including four bonus tracks. The album was produced by Andy Sneap, who mixed and engineered the band's previous three studio releases, "The Gathering" (1999), "First Strike Still Deadly" (2001) and "The Formation of Damnation" (2008). The album artwork was created by Eliran Kantor. A music video was made for the track "Native Blood". "Dark Roots of Earth" entered the "Billboard" 200 at number twelve, Testament's highest position ever.


Biography.

Birth and early years.

Dámaso Rodríguez Martín was born on December 11, 1944, in the place known as Las Montañas, in the village of El Batán (municipality of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain). His parents were Martín Rodríguez Silveria and Celestina Martín Perdomo, and he had four brothers.  His family was very poor, but despite this, his parents tried to give him a good education. However, Dámaso started to perform criminal acts at a very young age. When he was just 17, he was accused of theft and arrested, and after his release a year later in September 1963, he joined the Spanish Legion and was sent to Western Sahara. In 1966, he graduated from the Spanish Legion.  Subsequently, Dámaso went back to Tenerife, and in 1967 married Mercedes Martín Rodríguez and settled in a place known as El Peladero, in the village of "Las Mercedes" in San Cristóbal de La Laguna. In 1973, their first child would be born, and in 1975 - the second.

Murders and escape.

He committed his first murder on November 11, 1981 when he killed a young man who was with his girlfriend in his Mazda, in the area of El Moquinal. Dámaso was a voyeur who liked to watch couples having sex. He then killed the young man and beat and sexually assaulted the girl in the car with the body. He then drove the body and the girl to "Llano de los Viejos", where he abandoned them.  Investigators from the National Police asked around the area about a violent individual, a "night stalker", who knew the mountains and also strolled about at night looking for couples. All information pointed to Dámaso. "El Brujo" was sentenced to 55 years in prison for murder, rape, theft of a firearm and unlawful possession of weapons. Dámaso escaped from prison on January 17, 1991 and fled to the mountains of Anaga.  On January 23rd, the body of German tourist Karl Flick was found on the forest road leading to El Solís. The next day, at 3:15 PM, in a remote area of the Roque de El Moquinal, the Civil Guard recovered the body of his wife, Marta Küpper, who had obvious signs of strangulation. Everybody seemed to indicate that they had pleaded for their lives, but Martín had no compassion. Speculations, sightnings, the fugitive's escape at the last moment, robberies in caves and in the houses of hunters or farmers fed the legend of "El Brujo".  These events overlapped the celebration of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of that year, mainly due to the fear that aroused among the people that the murderer would show up in a costume, and could easily escape.

Death.

On February 19th, a family moved to a house in the area near El Solís, only to find their door was forced open. They alerted the police, who dispatched two Civil Guards from Tacoronte, fronted by a sergeant commander, whom detected Martín's presence in the home.  When the noncommissioned officer tried to enter, he was met with shotgun fire. The agent returned fire, shooting several times, but "El Brujo" had no intetions of surrendering. Instead, he opted to end his life, placing his hunting shotgun under his chin and with the fingers of one of his feet, firing. However, due to the length of the weapon, he survived. Subsequently, there was another exchange between the officer and Martín, whom successfully killed himself in the second encounter.

Dámaso Rodríguez Martín (December 11, 1944 – February 19, 1991), better known as El Brujo (The Warlock) or Maso, was a Spanish serial killer and rapist who, in 1991, was responsible for three murders in the Anaga mountain area in Tenerife, where he sought refuge after his escape from the Tenerife II Prison, where he was serving a sentence for a violation and one of his killings.


Childhood.

Arkell was born in Highworth, Wiltshire, the youngest of a family of seven. His father, James Arkell was a partner in the prosperous family business "Arkell's Brewery" (which is still family owned today). His mother, Laura Jane Arkell was an artist of noted ability.  He developed a deep love of the English countryside from an early age, perhaps gained from long family summer holidays spent at Swanage, Dorset. He was later educated at Wellington College in Berkshire, where his ability in Natural History was recognised and he was able to devote significant time to develop his knowledge of this subject. He was a regular prize winner for his natural history essays, one of which was a treatise on the Dorset Robber Flies ("Asilidae"). He privately published a set of poems, "Seven Poems", that reflected his love of nature and the outdoors.

Student life.

In October 1922, at the second attempt (after failing the Latin examination), Arkell was admitted to New College, Oxford. He had initially intended to read entomology but despite being tutored by the great Julian Huxley, he decided that his career lay in geology and palaeontology. In 1925 he graduated with First Class Honours in geology. He remained at the University of Oxford after being awarded a Burdett-Coutts research scholarship. His research topic involved the taxonomy of the bivalves from the Upper Jurassic Corallian beds of England. For this and other papers on the Jurassic of southern England he was awarded a D Phil in 1928.  Whilst undertaking his doctoral research, Arkell spent four winter seasons (1926–30) investigating evidence of Palaeolithic human remains in the Nile Valley of Egypt in association with the University of Chicago. Four notable monographs were the result of this work.

Geological research.

Arkell was awarded a lectureship in geology at New College, Oxford in 1927, and was made a senior research fellow of that College in 1929. With little teaching or administrative duties to speak of, Arkell was able to devote almost all his time to research. This culminated with the publication in 1933 of "The Jurassic System of Great Britain". This 681-page work critically examined and consolidated all previous work on the Jurassic, including the formations described by the pioneer on British geology, William Smith, in the 19th century. It established Arkell as an authority on the Jurassic, which was remarkable given he was only 29.  He also published extensive work on the Upper Jurassic reef deposits (the Coral Rag) of England. He was an expert on the use of Jurassic limestones as building materials, publishing a book on the many different types of limestone used in the buildings of Oxford. The often obscure terminology used by miners and quarrymen was clarified by his dictionary of rock terms. Arkell was interested in the tectonic history of Southern England, particularly with reference to the highly folded beds of the Isle of Purbeck. He contributed to reports published by the British Geological Survey, especially around the area of Weymouth and Portland.  The Second World War interrupted his research in 1941 and Arkell worked for the Ministry of Transport in London when bombing of that city was at its most intense. In this period he became seriously ill, spending five months in hospital after a pneumothorax operation.

University of Cambridge.

After demobilisation at the end of the war, Arkell accepted a senior research fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge, holding an office at the Sedgwick Museum. In this time Arkell began to work on the use of ammonites as zone fossils in Jurassic stratigraphy and became the leading expert on this specialist area. He was inundated with fossils for identification, particularly from oil companies. As a consequence, he travelled widely in the Middle East examining many Jurassic exposures from this area.  Arkell then consolidated his knowledge of the Jurassic and published "Jurassic Geology of the World" in 1956. The large, detailed volume to this day remains a classic and influential text.

Personal life.

Arkell married Ruby Percival in 1929 and bought a large house at Cumnor, near Oxford, before moving to Cambridge in 1949. They had three sons, born between 1932 and 1937. They also established a holiday home at Ringstead Bay in Dorset. Through his link with the family brewery business, Arkell was independently wealthy.  Arkell had a large frame and height (he was tall) but was never a well man. In the autumn of 1956 he suffered a severe stroke which left him partially paralysed and with double vision. This was a detriment to his Sunday hobby of watercolour painting. Despite this his determination to continue his work and correspondence at the University of Cambridge continued. He suffered a second stroke on 18 April 1958 and died several hours later.

Awards and honours.

Arkell received a D Sc from the University of Oxford in 1934. In 1944 he received the Mary Clark Thompson Medal from the United States National Academy of Sciences. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1947. Arkell was awarded the Lyell Medal by the Geological Society of London in 1949, and the Leopold von Buch medal of the German Geological Society in 1953.

William Joscelyn Arkell FGS, FRS (9 June 1904 – 18 April 1958) was a British geologist and palaeontologist, regarded as the leading authority on the Jurassic Period during the middle part of the 20th century.


Selected publications.

B. C. Burchfiel, "Structural geology of the Spector Range Quadrangle, Nevada, and its regional significance," "GSA Bulletin;" February 1965; v. 76; no. 2; p. 175-191  B. C. Burchfiel, R. J. Fleck, D. T. Secor, R. R. Vincelette, and G. A. Davis, "Geology of the Spring Mountains, Nevada," "GSA Bulletin"; July 1974; v. 85; no. 7; p. 1013–1022  B. C. Burchfiel and G. A. Davis, "Nature and controls of Cordilleran orogenesis, western United States: Extensions of an earlier synthesis," "American Journal of Science;" 1975,; v. 275; no. A; p. 363-396  Burchfiel, B.C., and Davis, G.A., 1981, Mojave Desert and environs, in Ernst, W.G., ed., The geotectonic development of California (Rubey volume 1): Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, p. 217-252.  B. Clark Burchfiel, Brian Wernicke, James H. Willemin, Garry J. Axen & C. Scott Cameron, "A new type of decollement thrusting", Nature 300, 513 - 515 (9 December 1982) Abstract  Peter Molnar, B. Clark Burchfiel, Liang K'uangyi, and Zhao Ziyun, "Geologic Evolution of Northern Tibet: Results of an Expedition to Ulugh Muztagh," 1987, "Science" Vol. 235. no. 4786, pp. 299 – 305. Abstract  B. Clark Burchfiel, and L. H. Royden, "Antler Orogeny; a mediterranean-type orogeny," "Geology"; January 1991; v. 19; no. 1; p. 66-69  B. C. Burchfiel, D. S. Cowan, and G. A. Davis, 1992, "Tectonic overview of the Cordilleran orogen in the western U. S.," in Burchfiel, B. C., Lipman, P. W., and Zoback, M. L., eds., The Cordilleran Orogen: conterminous U. S.: The Geology of North America, Volume G-3, Decade of North American Geology, Geological Society of America, Boulder, p. 407-480.  Burchfiel, B. C. and Nakov, R. (2015), The multiply deformed foreland fold-thrust belt of the Balkan orogen, northern Bulgaria. "Geosphere", vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 463-490, doi: 10.1130/ges01020.1

Burrell Clark Burchfiel (born March 21, 1934) is an American structural geologist. Born in Stockton, California, he earned his Ph.D. in 1961 at Yale University. His first academic appointment was to the Geology department at Rice University. He is the Schlumberger Professor Emeritus of Geology at MIT. Research interests: Origin, development, and structural evolution of the continental crust. His current work involves study of the geological history and evolution of the Tibetan plateau.


Geography.

The town stands in the gently undulating basin of the Avoca River, which rises in the Pyrenees Ranges to the west. To the south, the region is bounded by low hills of the Great Dividing Range; eastwards, the basin ends in a dry forested rise; to the north the Avoca River runs slowly through the plains of the Wimmera before joining Lake Bael Bael and the lake and swamps just south of the Murray. The town and river were named after Avoca, the village and River Avoca in County Wicklow, Ireland.  The region takes in an area of about, and includes the towns of Redbank, Natte Yallock, Rathscar, Bung Bong, Lamplough, Amphitheatre, Percydale, Moonambel, and Warrenmang. A few miles to the northeast, bare paddocks mark the site of Homebush, once a flourishing mining village.  Avoca has many small businesses servicing the local community including 2 pubs, several cafes, a chemist, convenience store, a butcher, a supermarket, its own newspaper (Pyrenees Advocate) and a community bank. Since the 1970s, the wine industry has grown to be one of the most significant economic drivers and the sector is now the largest employer in the region and has increased tourism.

History.

Early settlement and the gold rush.

The explorer and surveyor Thomas Mitchell was the first European recorded to have travelled through the Avoca district. He found the area more temperate in climate and better watered than inland New South Wales, and he encouraged settlers to take up land in what he described as "Australia Felix".  The Blood Hole massacre occurred at Middle Creek, near Glengower at the end of 1839 or early 1840 killing an unknown number of Dja Dja Wurrung people.  By 1850 there were several large sheep runs, and pastoral settlement was well established.  Like Ballarat and many other Victorian towns, Avoca sprang into being suddenly in the 1850s with the discovery of gold. Gold was first found in Victoria in 1849 in the Pyrenees Ranges near Avoca. But it was not for another two years that the first discovery of any importance took place. In 1851 a shepherd called James Esmond found gold at Clunes, forty kilometres from present-day Avoca, setting off a gold rush to the region. In 1853 gold was found at Four Mile Flat, near Avoca, and the main lead at Avoca itself was opened up a few months later.  By the beginning of December 1853, the population had increased from 100 to 2,200, and by June the following year, Avoca, with a population of 16,000, was regarded as one of Victoria's more important gold rush districts.  With a Court, a police station, Post Office (opened 1 September 1854), gold wardens, churches, and schools, Avoca had established itself as an administrative centre. This was a crucial development in its survival as a town, for when the gold miners left their Avoca claims to travel to the new Dunolly rush in 1856, Avoca continued to serve as the focus of the region's commercial and administrative life. With the Lamplough rush in 1859, miners returned to the Avoca district, and in that year rich deposits were also opened up at Homebush, established on the site of the 1853 Four Mile Flat rush. This discovery brought renewed activity to the district. The value of gold mining to the economy of the area may be seen in a single statistic: from 1859 to 1870 gold worth £2,500,000 was sent from Avoca to Melbourne. (Even this huge sum may represent as little as one third of the gold won as private sales were not included.) On 16 April 1889, gold mining ceased in Avoca with the closure of the Golden Stream Company mine. All that is visible today of the Golden Stream Mine is several large mullock heaps of mainly white pipeclay on the west side of the Sunraysia Highway between the railway crossing and the Avoca Cemetery.

From mining to agriculture and pastoralism.

Avoca's economic basis was shifting rapidly from gold mining to agriculture. Many of the miners who had rushed the area in the 1850s and early 1860s settled and took up land. The big pastoral runs that had existed before the rushes were broken up for closer settlement. In addition to running sheep, several vineyards were planted from the late 1850s onward. Mining continued to be an important source of employment, but for the last decades of the nineteenth century most miners no longer worked individually or in small teams except for a small number of larger companies still working deep leads. Homebush, about ten kilometres from Avoca, was based almost entirely on company mines and flourished for several decades before these mines became uneconomical. Rural Victoria was hit particularly by the depression and drought of the 1890s. From 1895 the larger mines in the Avoca district closed and at the outbreak of World War I very few companies were still in operation. The downturn also affected agriculture in general with the last vineyard ceasing activity in 1929.  Across Australia rural productivity was rising, partly through the development of agricultural machinery by implement makers such as Mackay and Shearer. Some rural areas in 1901 recorded five times the harvest yields of the 1890s, at a small fraction of the cost.  In the first decade of the twentieth century Avoca's infrastructure was further developed. More and better roads were being built, the Shire Engineer attributed the problem of bad roads to heavier traffic from increased cultivation of land and more produce being brought to market. In 1911 the Sugarloaf reservoir was opened, and in the same year the district was linked to the rest of the State by telephone.  The Avoca Magistrates' Court closed on 1 April 1979, not having been visited by a Magistrate since 1971.

The town today.

Avoca Soldiers' Memorial.

The Avoca Soldiers' Memorial is prominent in the park in the centre of the High Street. The war memorial often features on souvenirs of Avoca and could be said to be the symbol of the town.  The memorial was built in 1921. Since early in the First World War there had been a desire in the community to honour the men from the district who had enlisted. Finally in 1920 it was decided to hold a "Back to Avoca" celebration the next year and for the memorial to be opened at this time.  The memorial cost £1,100. Most monuments in Victoria and New South Wales cost between £100 and £1000, one in five between £1000 and £2000, and a few more than that. (It has been estimated that £100 in the 1920s was roughly equivalent to A$8000 in 1998.) Avoca, too small to be allocated a gun for a war trophy, built a monument on a scale suitable for the largest twenty per cent of communities. Having not built a band rotunda to date, it appears that the community may have used the opportunity of erecting the memorial to overcome this deficiency in the town's furnishings.  The Avoca memorial, which was initially conceived as a band rotunda, is an irregular octagon with eight piers carrying a roof obscured by a parapet. A frieze above the columns contains the names of the main areas where volunteers from Avoca fought: Gallipoli, France, Palestine and Belgium. Low walls on four sides each have a soldier's helmet and pack sculptured in high relief. The entrances on the other sides are guarded by free-standing granite tablets, inscribed with the names of soldiers from the district who fought in the First World War. The tablet on the northern side of the memorial records the names of those who died. The memorial is based on a classical model but with few references to classical detailing.

Cemetery.

The cemetery is located at 247 Sunraysia Highway Avoca Vic 3467. ( Coordinates ) Information on the interments, with more details and images of the headstones - here. The Avoca and District Historical Society Inc has erected a Memorial Wall in the old section of the Avoca Cemetery, to enable memorialisation of early citizens of the district buried in unmarked graves. Early in 2012 the Chinese Memorial Foundation in Melbourne sought permission to erect a memorial in the Avoca Cemetery in honour of their fellow countrymen who died in the area. This memorial was unveiled at a ceremony conducted on 23 November 2012.

Chinese Garden.

Local business in conjunction with the Pyrenees Shire and Victorian government constructed a Chinese Garden in 2014. The Avoca Chinese Garden was named the Garden of Fire and Water by artist Lindy Lee. This contemporary Chinese garden represents the important contribution of Chinese people in the culture, those who came from China as immigrants and those Australians whose parents or grandparents came from China.

Churches.

There are 5 current churches and 1 former church in Avoca.

Population.

At the 2016 census, Avoca had a population of 1,193. 82.6% of people were born in Australia and 90.5% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 35.9% and Anglican 22.2%.

Sport.

The town has an Australian rules football team competing in the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football League, the Avoca Bulldogs. Avoca have played in this league since 2005. They played in the Lexton Football League from 1944 until 1999. Then played with the Lexton Plains Football League until 2004 which was a merger of the Lexton Football League and the Western Plains Football League. The Avoca Football Club was formed in 1872.  Avoca has a horse racing club, the Avoca Shire Turf Club, which hosts several race meetings throughout the year. Best known are the ANZAC Races on Anzac Day every year and The Avoca Cup meeting in October.  Golfers play at the Avoca Golf Club on Davey Street.  Avoca has had a number of Australian Football League. players over the years. The most notable being Jim Jess who played 223 games for Richmond Football Club and playing in the 1980 Premiership. Jim Jess also represented Victoria on five occasions and was an All Australian representative. Ex-Collingwood and Sydney Swans player Darren Jolly also has ties with Avoca.  Avoca also hosts a wide range of other sporting events including mountain and road cycling events, running events and car rallies that profit from the natural beauty, space and support from local business and local government.

Tourism.

Tourism is important for Avoca. The Avoca region is home to an established agricultural and winery industry thanks to its Mediterranean climate, good soil and running streams. The Tourist Information Office provides a pamphlet outlining a walking tour of the town's historic buildings which lists around 40 separate destinations.

Transport.

The town is located at the intersection the Sunraysia Highway and the Pyrenees Highway. It was once served by a railway station, until it was closed in 1979. Freight traffic ceased in 2005. Subsequently, the railway from Ararat to Maryborough was closed for conversion to standard gauge.  In 2017, there is a proposal entitled the, "Murray Basin rail project" designed to link Mildura to Portland with standard gauge track to carry grain and mineral sands on the now disused Avoca railway line. This upgrading will include the Maryborough to Ararat section of the line, past the site of the disused station.

Water supply.

Today's Avoca town water supply is largely dependent upon the "Bung Bong Bore" which was originally installed in an attempt to overcome flooding of deep lead mine shafts at Caralulup.

Wineries.

In the late twentieth century viticulture was re-established and wine and tourism are now of significant economic importance to the region. Avoca is regarded as the gateway to the Pyrenees wine region. 1963 saw the rebirth with government ministers attending the official planting ceremony. While wineries extend from near Waubra in the south to St Arnaud in the north, Avoca is considered the epicentre of the wine region.

Climate.

The Bureau of Meteorology maintains temperature and rainfall statistics for Avoca, showing it has an mean maximum temperature of 20.3 C and an annual rainfall of 543 mm.

Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south.


People's Republic of China.

After the 1997 decision to legalize lethal injection as a form of execution, PRC officials began using execution vans across China. Becoming popular in 2007, these officials state that the vans are cost-effective by allowing communities without the money to build dedicated death rows to kill prisoners without the costs associated with sending prisoners away for death. Former Chinese judge and current lawyer Qiu Xingsheng argues that "some places can't afford the cost of sending a person to Beijing—perhaps $250—plus $125 more for the drug." Because Beijing is the only place where the drug is manufactured, the vans have allowed localities to administer the death sentence where the crime took place. Estimates place the number of execution vans in operation at around 40; the PRC has not confirmed this number.  A converted 24-seat bus, the execution van keeps the appearance of a normal police van on the outside with no markings indicating its purpose. The rear of the vehicle houses a windowless chamber where the execution takes place. Several cameras are present and feed closed-circuit televisions in the front of the van; a recording can be made if desired. The bed itself slides out of the wall under its own power, on which the convicted person is strapped down. A syringe is put into the arm by a technician and a police official administers the injection by pressing a button.

Controversy.

The PRC government claims that this is a more humane form of killing people, being far less painful than firing squad executions. Zhao Shijie, president of the Yunnan Provincial High Court, was quoted as praising the new system: "The use of lethal injection shows that China's death penalty system is becoming more civilized and humane." While the vans have moved China away from previous days of large public executions, human rights activists counter that they are "like government-sanctioned death squads", and allow for an increased number and a higher efficiency of executions.

Notable executions.

On December 22, 2003, organized crime leader Liu Yong was executed in an execution van in a controversial ruling. Liu was convicted of 32 charges and sentenced to death in 2000, but was granted a reprieve after appealing the case on the grounds that his confession was forced. Liu had been given a retrial by the Supreme Court on December 17. It was the first time the Supreme Court had bypassed China's two-trial system in which two trials are permitted and the verdict of the second trial may be appealed by either side.  On March 17, 2006, billionaire Yuan Baojing was executed in a van for the arranged murder of a blackmailer.  The former Director of the State Food and Drug Administration of the People's Republic of China Zheng Xiaoyu was executed in an execution van on July 10, 2007, for corruption. Zheng tried to appeal the sentence, but the court ruled that he was a "great danger" to the country and its reputation.

The execution van, also called a mobile execution unit, was developed by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and was first used in 1997. The prisoner is strapped to a stretcher and executed inside the van. The van allows death sentences to be carried out without moving the prisoner to an execution ground. The vans also require less manpower per execution, requiring four persons to assist with the injection and are mobile. The PRC states that the vans are more humane than previous forms of execution. Human-rights groups predict that the execution rate in China will increase because of mobile capital punishment.


Common technologies.

Raking technology can be used on dry or wet sand. When using this method, a rotating conveyor belt containing hundreds of tines combs through the sand and removes surface and buried debris while leaving the sand on the beach. Raking machines can remove materials ranging in size from small pebbles, shards of glass, and cigarette butts to larger debris, like seaweed and driftwood. By keeping the sand on the beach and only lifting the debris, raking machines can travel at high speeds.  Sifting technology is practiced on dry sand and soft surfaces. The sand and waste are collected via the pick-up blade of the vehicle onto a vibrating screening belt, which leaves the sand behind. The waste is gathered in a collecting tray which is often situated at the back of the vehicle. Because sand and waste are lifted onto the screening belt, sifters must allow time for the sand to sift through the screen and back onto the beach. The size of the materials removed is governed by the size of the holes in the installed screen.  Combined raking and sifting technology differs from pure sifters in that it uses rotating tines to scoop sand and debris onto a vibrating screen instead of relying simply on the pick-up blade. The tines' position can be adjusted to more effectively guide different-sized materials onto the screen. Once on the screen, combined raking and sifting machines use the same technology as normal sifters to remove unwanted debris from the sand.  Sand sifting by hand is used for smaller areas or sensitive habitat. Sand and debris is collected into a windrow or pile and manually shoveled onto screened sifting trays to separate the debris from the sand. While effective, it requires the movement of sand to the site of the tray, and then redistribution of the sand after sifting. A more efficient method is the use of a screened fork at the place where the debris is located. The effort to manually agitate the sand can become tiresome; however, a recent development of a battery-powered sand rake combines the spot cleaning effectiveness of manual screening with the ease of an auto-sifting hand tool.

Areas of operation.

Sand cleaning machines are used all over the world for the purpose of the safety and happiness of beach-goers. By removing litter, unwanted seaweed, and other debris from the beach, municipalities and resorts are able to maintain their beaches with fewer invested hours.  In addition to their regular litter-removing uses, beach and sand cleaners have been used to clean up after natural disasters. For example:  In Galveston, Texas, low oxygen levels in the water resulted in thousands of dead fish washing ashore. Raking sand cleaners were then used to remove the rotting fish off the beach before they released excessive toxins into the air, sand, and water.  The Olympic Games 2008 saw the first remote-control Sandbonis for the beach volleyball fields in Beijing Chaoyang Park.  The cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill saw large applications of sand cleaners to the area. Similarly, the Rena oil spill in New Zealand also saw beach cleaners deployed in an effort to remove the affected sand.

Manufacturers.

The major manufacturers of large beach-sand cleaning machines are considered to be D'Hooghe machinebouw, ingeniería Flozaga Guterh Sl, H Barber & Sons, Cherrington, Beach Tech, PFG Srl, Tuareg srl, Scam Srl, Rockland, Qingzhou Rio and Tirrenia Srl.  There are many other manufacturers of sand cleaners being used for other purposes. For example, a smaller 4-wheel and halftrack sand cleaning machine is used for sandpits in Kindergarten and municipality playing fields and for beach volleyball. When environmental or spot-cleaning requires hand operations, an auto-sifting, lightweight, screened rake can be the best choice

A sand cleaning machine, beach cleaner, or (colloquially) sandboni is a vehicle that drags a raking or sifting device over beach sand to remove rubbish and other foreign matter. They are manually self-pulled vehicles on tracks or wheels or pulled by quad-bike or tractor. Seaside cities use beach cleaning machines to combat the problems of litter left by beach patrons and other pollution washed up on their shores. A chief task in beach cleaning strategies is finding the best way to handle waste matter on the beaches, taking into consideration beach erosion and changing terrain. Beach cleaning machines work by collecting sand by way of a scoop or drag mechanism and then raking or sifting anything large enough to be considered foreign matter, including sticks, stones, litter and other items. Similar applications include lake beaches, sandfields for beach volleyball and kindergarten and playing field sandpits. The word "sandboni" is a back-formation referencing the ice-surfacing machine Zamboni.