Distribution.

Currently, 1,515 Ultras have been identified above sea level: 637 in Asia, 353 in North America, 209 in South America, 119 in Europe (including the Caucasus), 84 in Africa, 69 in Australasia and 39 in Antarctica.  Many of the world's largest mountains are Ultras, including Mount Everest, K2, Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, and Mount Olympus. On the other hand, others such as the Eiger and the Matterhorn are not Ultras because they do not have sufficient prominence. Many Ultras lie in rarely visited and inhospitable parts of the world, including 39 in Greenland, the high points of the Arctic islands of Novaya Zemlya, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen, and many of the peaks of the Greater ranges of Asia. In British Columbia, some of the mountains listed do not even have generally recognized names.  Thirteen of the fourteen 8,000-metre summits are Ultras (the exception being Lhotse), and there are a further 64 Ultras over in height. There are 90 Ultras with a prominence of over, but only 22 with more than prominence.  A number of Ultras have yet to be climbed, with Sauyr Zhotasy, (possibly) Mount Siple, and Gangkar Puensum being the most likely candidates for the most prominent unclimbed mountain in the world.  All of the Seven Summits are Ultras by virtue of the fact that they are the high points of large landmasses. Each has its key col at or near sea level, resulting in a prominence value almost equal to its elevation.

An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500. There are approximately 1,524 such peaks on Earth. Some well-known peaks, such as the Matterhorn and Eiger, are not Ultras because they are connected to higher mountains by high cols and therefore do not achieve enough topographic prominence.


Early life.

Davidtz was born in Lafayette, Indiana, while her father was studying chemical engineering at Purdue University. Her parents, John and Jean, later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and then back to their native South Africa when Davidtz was nine years old. Davidtz has Dutch, English, and French ancestry. She had to learn Afrikaans before attending school classes in South Africa, where her father took up a teaching post at Potchefstroom University. Davidtz graduated from The Glen High School in Pretoria in 1983 and studied at Rhodes University in Grahamstown.

Debut and early career.

Davidtz made her acting debut at age 21 with CAPAB (Cape Performing Arts Board, now known as Artscape) in Cape Town, playing Juliet in a stage production of "Romeo and Juliet" at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre. Performing in English and Afrikaans, she also starred in other local plays, including "Stille Nag" (Silent Night) and "A Chain of Voices", both earning her nominations for the South African equivalent of the Tony Award.  Her film debut came in 1988 with a small role in South African-filmed American horror "Mutator". Shortly after, she won a bigger part in South African short telemovie "A Private Life", as the daughter of an interracial couple. Davidtz won a DALRO Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1990 play "Houd-den-bek". For the same play, she was nominated in 1991 for the Esther Roos Award for Best Actress in a Supporting role in Afrikaans film. Steven Spielberg noticed her performance in the 1992 South African film, "Nag van die Negentiende" and offered her the role of Helen Hirsch in "Schindler's List".

Hollywood career.

In 1993, Davidtz played the role of Helen Hirsch in Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List".  Davidtz had a central role in the fact-based film "Murder in the First" (1995), followed by the Merchant Ivory production "Feast of July" (also 1995). In "Matilda" (1996), a feature based on Roald Dahl's children's fantasy, she played the role of Miss Honey, the grade-one teacher of the title character.  In 1998, Davidtz played a theologian helping Denzel Washington crack a supernatural wave of crimes in the mystery drama "Fallen" and a femme fatale linked to Kenneth Branagh in Robert Altman's take on a previously unused John Grisham manuscript, "The Gingerbread Man". The following year, Davidtz portrayed a 19th-century woman of the world in Patricia Rozema's reworking of the Jane Austen comedy "Mansfield Park" and played a dual role opposite Robin Williams in the futuristic fable "Bicentennial Man".  A supporting role in the film adaptation of "Bridget Jones' Diary" (2001) saw Davidtz play Natasha, a colleague and one of the love interests of Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). That year, she began her run on the CBS drama "Citizen Baines", playing the daughter of a defeated United States Senate incumbent (James Cromwell) who is herself leaning towards a career in politics. Other roles included horror thrillers like 2001's "Thir13en Ghosts" alongside Tony Shalhoub. In 2002, she appeared in the Michael Hoffman drama "The Emperor's Club", which co-starred Kevin Kline and Emile Hirsch.  In "Junebug" (2005), Davidtz played an outsider art dealer from Chicago brought to North Carolina by her husband (Alessandro Nivola) to meet his family for the first time. Davidtz has also guest-starred on the hit ABC drama series "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Derek Shepherd's sister Nancy in the Season 3 episode "Let the Angels Commit". In 2008, she had a regular role on HBO's "In Treatment" as Amy, part of a fractious couple alongside Josh Charles's Jake.  She portrayed the unfaithful and unfortunate wife of Anthony Hopkins's character in the 2007 drama "Fracture".  From 2009 to 2012, she played Rebecca Pryce, wife of Lane Pryce, in the hit AMC television show "Mad Men". She also played Felicia Koons, the wife of the dean and the mother of Becca's best friend, Chelsea, on Showtime's "Californication".  Davidtz played Annika Blomkvist in David Fincher's adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". She also appeared in Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboot "The Amazing Spider-Man" as Mary Parker, Peter Parker's mother who vanished under mysterious circumstances along with Richard Parker.

Personal life.

Davidtz married entertainment attorney Jason Sloane on June 22, 2002, and they have two children.  Davidtz has a younger sister who is a psychologist at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  In an interview regarding her guest appearances on "Ray Donovan", in which she portrayed a breast-cancer survivor, Davidtz revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, which had caused her to stop working and for which she underwent a mastectomy. The role was Davidtz's first after undergoing treatment, and when informed that it required nudity, Davidtz worked with producer David Hollander to incorporate her partially-reconstructed right breast into the story, turning down the use of a prosthetic as a substitute for her right nipple that was due to be restored through surgery. "Somebody might not believe it if an actress pretended to have their nipple gone and said, 'Look, I'm still sexual and pretty.' But when it's real, I hope it makes someone feel beautiful. I still feel beautiful," said Davidtz regarding the message she wished to convey by taking the role.

Embeth Jean Davidtz (born August 11, 1965) is a South African-American actress. Her screen roles include movies such as "Army of Darkness", "Schindler's List, ""Matilda", "Mansfield Park", "Bicentennial Man", "Fallen," "Junebug," and "Fracture", and the television series "Mad Men," "Californication, In Treatment," "and Ray Donovan".


Structure.

Dectin-1 is a transmembrane protein containing an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation (ITAM)-like motif in its intracellular tail (which is involved in cellular activation) and one C-type lectin-like domain (carbohydrate-recognition domain, CRD) in the extracellular region (which recognizes β-glucans and endogenous ligands on T cells). The CRD is separated from the membrane by a stalk region. CLEC7A contains putative N-linked sites of glycosylation in the stalk region.  CLEC7A is expressed by macrophages, neutrophils and dendritic cells. Expression has also been studied on other immune cells including eosinophils and B cells.

Function.

The C-type lectin receptors are class of signalling pattern recognition receptors which are involved in antifungal immunity, but also play important roles in immune responses to other pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and nematodes. As a member of this receptor family, dectin-1 recognizes β-glucans and carbohydrates found in fungal cell walls, some bacteria and plants, but may also recognize other unidentified molecules (endogenous ligand on T-cells and ligand on mycobacteria). Ligand binding induces intracellular signalling via the ITAM-like motif. CLEC7A can induce both Syk dependent or Syk independent pathways. Dimerization of dectin-1 upon ligand binding leads to tyrosine phosphorylation by Src family kinases and recruitment of Syk. Syk activates transcription factor NFκB. This transcription factor is responsible for the production of numerous inflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as TNF, IL-23, IL-6, IL-2. Other responses include: respiratory burst, production of arachidonic acid metabolites, dendritic cell maturation, and phagocytosis of the ligand.

Antifungal immunity.

CLEC7A has been shown to recognize species of several fungal genera, including "Saccharomyces", "Candida", "Pneumocystis", "Coccidioides", "Penicillium" and others. Recognition of these organisms triggers many protective pathways, such as fungal uptake by phagocytosis and killing via hypochlorite generation. Activation of dectin-1 also triggers expression of many protecting antifungal cytokines and chemokines (TNF, CXCL2, IL-1b, IL-1a, CCL3, GM-CSF, G-CSF and IL-6) and the development of Th17.  Histoplasma capsulatum can evade recognition of β-glucan via CLEC7A on phagocytic cells by secreting an enzyme that removes exposed β-glucans or by masking the β-glucan with α-glucan.

Co-stimulatory molecule.

Also operating as a co-stimulatory molecule via recognition of an endogenous ligand on T-cells, which leads to cellular activation and proliferation, CLEC7A can bind both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.

C-type lectin domain family 7 member A or Dectin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the "CLEC7A" gene. CLEC7A is a member of the C-type lectin/C-type lectin-like domain (CTL/CTLD) superfamily. The encoded glycoprotein is a small type II membrane receptor with an extracellular C-type lectin-like domain fold and a cytoplasmic domain with a partial immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif. It functions as a pattern-recognition receptor for a variety of β-1,3-linked and β-1,6-linked glucans from fungi and plants, and in this way plays a role in innate immune response. Expression is found on myeloid dendritic cells, monocytes, macrophages and B cells. Alternate transcriptional splice variants, encoding different isoforms, have been characterized. This gene is closely linked to other CTL/CTLD superfamily members on chromosome 12p13 in the natural killer gene complex region.


Plot.

Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) has a nightmare of being unprepared and naked at the opening of "Bombshell", then waking to find Ellis (Jaime Cepero) in bed with him. He then actually awakens, screaming, which brings Julia Houston (Debra Messing) who reminds him that it is the day of the invitation-only dress rehearsal for friends and family.  Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) wakes up in bed with Derek Wills (Jack Davenport). She says she wants to keep things between them casual. Jimmy Collins (Jeremy Jordan) has been up for several days writing new songs for the new material that Kyle Bishop (Andy Mientus) and Julia came up with for "Hit List". Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) is worried about him and questions if he took anything stronger than Red Bull and caffeine. He's worried that if he doesn't write new songs for the expanded Diva character, Derek will give some of Karen's songs to the character.  The "Bombshell" dress rehearsal has multiple technical mistakes. At the end of the "Our Little Secret" number, Simon (Julian Ovenden) as JFK accidentally removes Ivy's slip along with her dress, exposing Ivy's naked body. Producer Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston) thinks maybe a little nudity will help "Bombshell" and Tom and Julia feel that it has significant artistic merit. Tom talks to Ivy about it. She's not fully against it but she asks for time to think about it. Eileen wants to cancel the next day's first preview because of all the technical problems, but Tom is afraid he'll be seen as an unfit director. Eileen agrees to let the preview go on as scheduled if Tom can fix all the problems by 3 pm. Ultimately, Tom is successful after Julia comes up with an idea to allow time to set up the prop plane on stage for Act II; the number "Dig Deep" starts in the audience and is performed in front of the stage instead of on it, so the intermission can end while the set is still being moved. During "Our Little Secret," Ivy keeps her slip on; Tom and Julia are disappointed. But in the next scene, where Marilyn objects to JFK leaving her immediately after their tryst, Ivy drops a bedsheet from her body, exposing herself to him when she asks him to stay. The choice is a success.  Sam Strickland (Leslie Odom, Jr.), who was passed over in favor of a different swing when a cast member was injured in the dress rehearsal, tells Tom that he feels "Bombshell" is a step backwards for him, and that he doesn't want to work for Tom; he leaves the show.  Meanwhile, at "Hit List", Jimmy, Karen, and Derek squabble, with Jimmy and Karen afraid that Derek is mad at Karen for turning him down and believe he is threatening to take songs away from her, while Derek is struggling with feeling like he is losing his passion for the show. He talks to Julia about it and she understands since she went through the same thing with "Bombshell" after she and Michael Swift broke up. She suggests that he tamp down his feelings for Karen and run through the show to find some part of it to be passionate about again. He tells the cast they are doing a run-through before the New York Times critic Richard Francis (Jamey Sheridan) comes to see it later. As they do the run-through, Derek has an idea for a new opening that will present the rest of the show as a flashback. He walks the cast though it, with Ana Vargas (Krysta Rodriguez) as the Diva shooting a victim whose identity is not yet revealed. She sings part of "Broadway, Here I Come" a cappella as she advances with the gun. Karen is upset that Ana has been given her song, which she loves. Even though her character Amanda still sings the full version of the song, Karen argues that it will no longer be Amanda's signature song. Jimmy accuses Derek of punishing them for being together. Scott (Jesse L. Martin) intervenes and asks Kyle for his opinion on Derek's changes and Kyle sides with Derek. Jimmy and Kyle argue about it later, but Kyle tells Jimmy to stop being selfish. Jimmy apologizes and they make up. Ana is excited about her expanded role as the Diva but Karen insensitively tells Ana that Derek only gave her the song because he's upset with Karen, and he'll likely give it back to her later. Ana is upset and tells Karen that she has tried to think of Karen as the star and herself as supporting Karen, but only now realizes that Karen truly feels the same way about their relationship.  After the "Bombshell" preview, the group is celebrating together and Tom searches the internet for early reviews. He discovers Richard has written a NY Times piece comparing "Bombshell" to "Hit List", in that both pieces being about women reinventing themselves for fame. He says "Bombshell"'s perspective is from the past while "Hit List" is a modern piece that looks to the future and could itself be Broadway bound. The article also mentions Julia's association with "Hit List". Tom, previously unaware of this, becomes livid and storms out of the restaurant. Later, Eileen meets with Richard and tells him she doesn't want to see him right now.  Karen confronts Derek about his behavior, and he tells her what he knows about Jimmy's background, including information that came to light in the course of the Times fact-checking their article: Jimmy uses a false social security number and name, borrowed a large amount of money from him, and is a drug user. Karen later tells Jimmy she wants to know about his life and especially what he hasn't told her. He declines and Karen tells him they are through until he opens up to her.  Ivy finds Derek waiting for her at her apartment and she invites him to stay the night.  As Ana leaves the theater, Jimmy's old drug dealer Adam (David Call) approaches her and claims to be an old friend of Jimmy's; his motives are unclear.

Production.

There were four songs featured in the episode, all reprises of original songs. The show's in-house songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote the reprised "Let Me Be Your Star", "Our Little Secret", and "Dig Deep", while Joe Iconis wrote the reprised "Broadway, Here I Come".  All four songs were previously released, "Broadway, Here I Come" as a single and the others on the cast album "Bombshell".

Critical reception.

Hilary Busis of Entertainment Weekly said of the episode, "As the old superstition goes, a bad dress rehearsal all but guarantees a great opening night. And if the opposite also happens to be true, I would keep expectations low for next week's Smash -- because tonight's episode, "The Dress Rehearsal," was season 2's best by far. The main reason: For the most part, its plot focused on backstage intrigue rather than dull relationship drama—and when the latter did intrude upon the former, the result was more than just a bunch of people yelling at each other." Sara Brady of Television Without Pity gave the episode a B- rating.

"The Dress Rehearal" is the twenty sixth episode of the American television series "Smash". It was written by Julia Brownell and directed by Mimi Leder. The episode premiered on NBC on April 13, 2013, the eleventh episode of Season 2. As Tom and Julia race to ready "Bombshell" for previews, Tom's eagerness to prove himself may not be the best thing for the show. An on-stage mishap forces Ivy to make an important decision, while tension rises at "Hit List" as Karen becomes suspicious of Derek's motives towards her.


Background.

The project stemmed from Davis sitting in his New York City apartment in the summer with the windows open, listening to the sound of the streets. He wanted to record an album of music that captured these sounds. In early 1991, Davis called up his friend Russell Simmons and asked him to find some young producers who could help create this kind of music, leading to Davis' collaboration with Easy Mo Bee.  At the time of Davis' death in 1991, only six pieces for the album had been completed. Easy Mo Bee was asked by Warner Bros. to take some of the unreleased trumpet performances (stemming from what Davis called the RubberBand Session), and build tracks that Miles "would have loved" around the recordings. The album's posthumous tracks (as stated in the liner notes) are "High Speed Chase" and "Fantasy". A reprise of the song "Mystery" rounded out the album's nine-track length.

Release and reception.

"Doo-Bop" was released by Warner Bros. Records on June 30, 1992. By May 1993, it had sold approximately 300,000 copies worldwide. The album received negative reviews from most critics. Greg Tate called it an "inconsequential" jazz-rap record from Davis, while "Billboard" found the R&B-based album to not be "quite cut as deeply" as his 1970s funk recordings. In "Entertainment Weekly", Greg Sandow wrote that Davis' solos were performed with "impeccable logic and wistful finesse" but accompanied by hackneyed guest raps and unadventurous hip hop beats, which reduced "Doo-Bop" to "elegant aural wallpaper". "Los Angeles Times" critic Don Snowden believed the album "succeeded only in fits and starts" because of Davis' first time working with hip hop tracks, "the rigidity" of which Snowden felt often reduced his "muted-laced-with-echo trumpet to just another instrumental color in the mix". Richard Williams from "The Independent" viewed the tracks as a regression from the ambient-inflected "Tutu" (1986) album as they inspired trumpet improvisations from Davis which displayed "a rhythmic banality that was never remotely discernible in Miles's pre-electric playing".  In a positive review, "Q" called "Doo-Bop" "a collector's piece... as hip, sexy, open and complex as the best of his work since he elected to turn to FM airplay music in the 1980s". "Musician" considered it a pleasant hip hop album and an accessible introduction to Davis' music for "younger ears weaned on modern beats". In "Down Beat", Robin Tolleson wrote that Davis sounded less timid than on previous few records as "his phrasing and concept adapt sharply from tune to tune". "Doo-Bop" won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance.

Personnel.

Credits are adapted from "The Last Miles" (2007) by George Cole.  Technical

Doo-Bop is the last studio album by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. It was recorded with hip hop producer Easy Mo Bee and released posthumously on June 30, 1992, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was received unfavorably by most critics, although it won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance the following year.


History.

Alma was founded in 1900 as a stop on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. It was incorporated as a city in 1906 and designated seat of the newly formed Bacon County in 1914. There are two theories about the origin of the name of the town. The first is that it was named for the wife of a traveling salesmen, Alma Sheridan; the other is that it was named for the initial letter of the four state capitals Georgia has had: Augusta, Louisville, Milledgeville, and Atlanta.<ref name="City of Alma/Georgia.gov"></ref>  There are four sites in Alma listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Alma Depot, Bacon County Courthouse, Bacon County School, and the Rabinowitz Building.

Geography.

Alma is located in southeastern Georgia at (31.541543, -82.466666).  According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and, or 11.27%, is water.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,236 people, 1,243 households, and 826 families residing in the city. The population density was 564.6 people per square mile (218.1/km). There were 1,510 housing units at an average density of 263.5 per square mile (101.7/km). The racial makeup of the city was 57.97% White, 38.57% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 1.89% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.42% of the population.  There were 1,243 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% were married couples living together, 24.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.06.  In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.3 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $20,324, and the median income for a family was $21,941. Males had a median income of $25,362 versus $15,583 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,574. About 27.6% of families and 32.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.7% of those under age 18 and 24.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education.

Alma is served by the Bacon County School District. The district has 126 full-time teachers and over 1,900 students, and operates these schools:  Alma is also served by Coastal Pines Technical College.

Alma is a city in Bacon County, Georgia, United States, and the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 3,466.


Geography.

Ambrose is located at (31.594015, -83.015819).  According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and (1.92%) is water.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 320 people, 129 households, and 74 families residing in the city. The population density was 104.3 people per square mile (40.2/km). There were 145 housing units at an average density of 47.3 per square mile (18.2/km). The racial makeup of the city was 54.06% White, 25.00% African American, 1.56% Native American, 15.62% from other races, and 3.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.62% of the population.  There were 129 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.19.  In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $22,206, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $21,000 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,684. About 16.7% of families and 23.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.6% of those under age 18 and 43.8% of those age 65 or over.

Ambrose is a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 380.


Stipa's design.

Stipas basic idea, which he called the "intubed propeller", was to mount the engine and propeller inside a fuselage that itself formed a tapered duct, or venturi tube, and compressed the propeller's airflow and the engine exhaust before it exited the duct at the trailing edge of the aircraft, essentially applying Bernoulli's principle of fluid movements to make the aircraft's engine more efficient. This is a similar principle as is used in turbofan engines but used a piston engine to drive the compressor/propeller rather than a gas turbine. Stipa later became convinced that German rocket and jet technology (especially the V-1 flying bomb) was using his patented invention without giving proper credit, although his ducted fan design had little mechanically in common with turbojet engines and nothing at all with the pulsejet used on the V-1.  Stipa spent years studying the idea mathematically while working in the Engineering Division of the Italian Air Ministry, eventually determining that the venturi tube's inner surface needed to be shaped like an airfoil in order to achieve the greatest efficiency. He also determined the optimum shape of the propeller, the most efficient distance between the leading edge of the tube and the propeller, and the best rate of revolution of the propeller. Finally, he petitioned the Italian Fascist government to produce a prototype aircraft. The government, seeking to showcase Italian technological achievement—particularly in aviation—contracted the Caproni company to construct the aircraft in 1932.  The resultant aircraft—a mid-wing monoplane of mostly wooden construction dubbed the Stipa-Caproni or Caproni Stipa. The fuselage was a barrel-like tube, short and fat, open at both ends to form the tapered duct, with twin open cockpits in tandem mounted in a hump on top of it. The wings were elliptical and passed through the duct and the engine nacelle inside it. The duct itself had a profile similar to that of the airfoils, and a fairly small rudder and elevators were mounted on the trailing edge of the duct, allowing the ducted propeller wash to flow directly over them as it exited the fuselage to improve handling. The propeller was mounted inside the fuselage tube, flush with the leading edge of the fuselage, and the 120-horsepower de Havilland Gipsy III engine that powered it was mounted within the duct behind it at the midpoint of the fuselage. The aircraft had low, fixed, spatted main landing gear and a tailwheel. It was painted in a blue-and-cream scheme of the type used on racing aircraft of the day, and its rudder bore the colors of the Italian flag.

Test flights.

The Stipa-Caproni first flew on 7 October 1932 with Caproni company test pilot Domenico Antonini at the controls. Initial testing showed that the "intubed propeller" design did increase the engine's efficiency as Stipa had calculated, and the additional lift provided by the airfoil shape of the interior of the duct itself allowed a very low landing speed of only and assisted the Stipa-Caproni in achieving a higher rate of climb than other aircraft with similar power and wing loading. The placement of the rudder and elevators in the exhaust from the propeller wash at the trailing edge of the tube gave the aircraft handling characteristics that made it very stable in flight, although they later were enlarged to further improve the plane's handling characteristics. The Stipa-Caproni proved to be noticeably quieter than conventional aircraft of the time. Unfortunately, the "intubed propeller" design also induced so much aerodynamic drag that the benefits in engine efficiency were cancelled out, and the aircraft's top speed proved to be only.  When Caproni had completed initial testing, the "Regia Aeronautica" took control of the plane and transferred it to Guidonia Montecelio for a brief series of further test flights. All test pilots reported that the plane was extremely stable in flight, to the point where it was difficult to change course; test pilots were also astounded by the very low landing speed and the consequent very short landing run. As the plane did not perform noticeably better than conventional aircraft designs, the "Regia Aeronautica" decided to cancel further development. No further prototypes were built.

Influence.

Stipa himself never had intended his "intubed propeller" to be employed on single-engine aircraft like the Caproni-Stipa—which he viewed merely as a testbed—instead envisioning its use in large, multi-engine flying wing aircraft he had been designing in which the aerodynamic drag properties would not be significant, and the Italian government publicized the Stipa-Caproni's design as an example of Italian aviation technology prowess. None of Stipa's flying-wing aircraft designs were built, but experiences collected with the Stipa-Caproni did become an important influence in the development of the motorjet-powered Caproni Campini N.1.  The test flights of the Stipa-Caproni also sparked much academic interest, and resulted in Stipa's work being studied in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, and by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in the United States. France designed—but never constructed—an advanced night bomber based on a Luigi Stipa design in the mid-1930s, and various aircraft designs such as the German Heinkel T fighter of 1940 are thought to have incorporated some of Stipa's ideas as demonstrated by the Stipa-Caproni.  The Kort nozzle ducted fan of today—designed in Germany in 1934—uses many of Stipa's principles. The modern turbofan engine is thought by some aviation historians to be a descendant of the "intubed propeller" demonstrated in the Stipa-Caproni.

Replica.

In Australia, Lynette Zuccoli and Aerotec Queensland designed a 3/5-scale replica of the Stipa-Caproni, accurate even in terms of paint scheme and markings, powered by an Italian Simonini racing engine. They built it in 1998 and in October 2001 succeeded in making two directional test flights with it with Bryce Wolff at the controls. Each flight covered about and reached an altitude of approximately, with Wolff reporting that the replica was very stable in flight and performed much as the Italian test pilots reported that the original aircraft had 69 years to the month earlier. The replica may never have flown again, and is now on static display at Toowoomba Airfield in Australia.

The Stipa-Caproni, also generally called the Caproni Stipa, was an experimental Italian aircraft designed in 1932 by Luigi Stipa (1900–1992) and built by Caproni. It featured a hollow, barrel-shaped fuselage with the engine and propeller completely enclosed by the fuselage—in essence, the whole fuselage was a single ducted fan. Although the "Regia Aeronautica" (Italian Royal Air Force) was not interested in pursuing development of the Stipa-Caproni, its design influenced the development of jet propulsion.


History.

Arcade was chartered in 1909. Early plans to erect an arcade-style schoolhouse accounts for the name.

Geography.

Arcade is located in southern Jackson County at (34.076951, -83.551147). It is bordered to the north by Jefferson, the county seat.  U.S. Route 129 passes through the southern side of the city, leading northwest to Interstate 85 in the northern outskirts of Jefferson, and southeast to Athens. Georgia State Route 82 leads south from Arcade to Winder.  According to the United States Census Bureau, Arcade has a total area of, of which are land and, or 0.90%, are water.  Arcade does not have its own ZIP code, but instead uses neighboring Jefferson's code of 30549.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,643 people, 565 households, and 457 families residing in the city. The population density was 254.2 people per square mile (98.2/km). There were 609 housing units at an average density of 94.2 per square mile (36.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 88.37% White, 7.18% African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.31% Asian, 0.67% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.70% of the population.  There were 565 households, out of which 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.19.  In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.8% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $37,604, and the median income for a family was $37,750. Males had a median income of $31,914 versus $21,602 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,159. About 11.9% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Arcade is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,786.


History.

Bethlehem was incorporated in 1902 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly. The town took its name from the local Bethlehem Methodist Church.

Geography.

Bethlehem is located in southern Barrow County at (33.936492, -83.710481), south of Winder, the county seat.  According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, all land.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 716 people, 254 households, and 199 families residing in the town. The population density was 331.8 people per square mile (128.0/km). There were 265 housing units at an average density of 122.8 per square mile (47.4/km). The racial makeup of the town was 85.61% White, 14.75% African American, 0.14% Native American, 2.93% Asian, 6.01% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.54% of the population.  There were 254 households, out of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.19.  In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.  The median income for a household in the town was $47,500, and the median income for a family was $50,625. Males had a median income of $35,714 versus $25,163 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,214. About 3.4% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 24.1% of those age 65 or over.

Bethlehem is a town in Barrow County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 601.


Colour light signals.

Semi-automatic signals.

Semi-automatic is the most important type of signal on Polish railways. Its name reflects the fact that it switches to a red (stop) aspect automatically after a train has passed it but it must be switched back to clear by an explicit action from a signal box or dispatch centre. It is the typical signal in use at stations.  A semi-automatic signal can be recognized by its post which is painted with red and white strips. Dwarf versions have their boxes painted so.  A red (stop) aspect on a semi-automatic signal must not be passed.  As presented on this compact chart, semi-automatic signals can display both near and distant functions. Near signals either command a stop or impose a certain speed limit beginning at that signal. Distant signals tell the driver what to expect at the next signal, especially when braking is required.

Other speeds.

Since 2007 the Ie-1 code which regards signalling allows other speed limits. They are indicated by a number representing the speed in tens of km/h (e.g. 5 means 50 km/h) which is lit only with adequate aspect of the signal. These numbers are incorporated into signalling so, that they always loosen the restriction presented by the aspect of signal.  On distant signals and repeaters these other speeds are not displayed, therefore more restrictive aspect is effectively announced.

Nameplates.

Semi-automatic signals on a station are tagged with consecutive letters of Latin alphabet, or with a letter followed by a number.  The nameplates also contain speed indication which appears as a superscript or a fraction. The numbers have following meaning:  Therefore, a nameplate H / means a signal named H that aside S1 will also display S2-S5 aspects for straight direction and S10-S13 for diverging direction. Whereas P3 means a signal of name P3 that aside S1 only displays S10-S13 aspects because it is only followed by diverging direction.  There may also be a letter m which specifies that this signal also functions as a shunting signal (see below).

Automatic signals.

Automatic signals are used on lines equipped with automatic block signaling. Their colour language is the same as aspects S1-S5 of semi-automatic signals. The main difference regards the S1 (red) aspect - After stopping, it can be passed but the subsequent maximum speed is limited to 20 km/h.  Automatic signals have their posts painted white (without red strips) to be easily distinguished from semi-automatic signals.

Distant-only signals.

Distant-only signal (Pol. "tarcza ostrzegawcza" literally meaning "warning shield") is used on lines not equipped with ABS and lines with 2-state ABS. These signals are usually placed at braking distance from the next signal. The aspects they display are the same as signal aspects S2-S5, making them technically a signal which is just incapable of displaying a S1 (stop) aspect.  Their posts are painted grey and equipped with a distant-only signal sign.

Repeater signals.

When a signal aspect is not visible from the proper distance (because of track curves for instance), a repeater signal is installed to aid drivers. Up to three repeaters may be installed if needed. A repeater signal is not a substitute for a distant-only signal. Their posts are painted grey and equipped with plates with Roman numerals: III, II, I where the "I" stands closest to the main signal. Their colour language is identical to warning shields, except the fact they also have a continuously glowing white light, which informs that this is not a main signal but a repeater. The following table presents as an example, a station-entry signal designated "B" displaying the aspect S13 (speed limit 40 km/h, stop at the next signal) preceded with distant-only signal and three repeaters:

Level crossing warning.

Level crossing warning is placed in a braking distance before an automatic level crossing. The signal tells the driver whether automobile drivers are warned about an approaching train (blinking red lights, barriers). Normally, level crossing warning signals display no aspect (i.e. are unlit). They light up in the front of an approaching train which is the first clue that the system is working correctly.  Level crossing warning signals are unrelated to other signals, therefore in case of "Osp1" signal a train must proceed at 20 km/h regardless the higher speed allowed by last signal.  Their posts are painted black and white strips.

Shunting signals.

Shunting signal (Pol. "tarcza manewrowa" literally "manoeuver shield") is used exclusively at stations. A consist shunting on such signals must not leave the station. Shunting signals are either stand-alone or incorporated into semi-automatic signals, which bear letter "m" on such occasions.  Stand-alone shunting signals have their posts painted gray, except in the case it is a part of the semi-automatic signal, which is painted white-red stripes.

Old colour light signals.

The colour light signals installed between 1959 and 1969 differ from the contemporary system. They are still in use on several stations. As a matter of fact they can also be used with ETCS Level 1, only the LEU unit must be reprogrammed to understand certain combinations of lights differently.

The Polish railway signalling system provides a complex outlook of traffic situations, yet is quite easy to understand. Signals can be divided into following categories:


Geography.

Bloomingdale is located along the northwestern border of Chatham County at (32.124122, -81.307211). It is bordered to the northeast by Port Wentworth, to the east by Pooler, to the south by a western portion of Savannah, and to the northwest by Effingham County. U.S. Route 80 runs east–west through the center of Bloomingdale, and Interstate 16 runs parallel to it through the southern part of the city, with access from Exit 152. Both highways lead east to downtown Savannah.  According to the United States Census Bureau, Bloomingdale has a total area of, of which is land and, or 8.90%, is water.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,713 people, 1,001 households, and 752 families residing in the city. The population density was 193.6 people per square mile (74.7/km). There were 1,141 housing units at an average density of 81.4 per square mile (31.43/km). The racial makeup of the city was 89.0% White, 8.0% African American, 1.5% Asian, 1.0% Native American, 1.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of the population.  There were 1,141 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.05.  In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.1 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $51,510, and the median income for a family was $55,950. Males had a median income of $37,404 versus $22,409 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,030. About 3.8% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 21.2% of those age 65 or over.

Bloomingdale is a city in Chatham County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 2,713. It is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area.


Plot.

Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) and Derek Wills (Jack Davenport) have made it to Karen's apartment and continue drinking wine for several more hours. After they drink the last of the wine, they start to make out. Derek asks her if she's sure she wants to do this and they continue.  Jimmy Collins (Jeremy Jordan) sings "High and Dry" while he walks around sad about his life and being fired from "Hit List". He looks for Kyle, even going to their apartment but doesn't find him. He then goes to Karen's apartment building and goes up the fire escape and raps on Karen's window. She comes to the window and Jimmy tells her he wants to be with her. Derek calls out to her and a hurt Jimmy leaves.  Scott Nichols (Jesse L. Martin) and Julia Houston (Debra Messing) discuss that Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) is dissolving her and Tom's partnership. Scott is upset because he feels he'll lose "The Great Gatsby" that Julia wants to do and he'll end up losing his job. Julia says she'll talk to Tom.  Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston) gets together with her publicist Agnes (Daphne Rubin-Vega) and Tom, Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty and Ivy's mom Leigh Conroy (Bernadette Peters) to plan strategy for a Tony nominations campaign for "Bombshell". We learn that Eileen will push for Ivy for lead and Leigh for supporting for "Bombshell" and that Ivy will also be pushed for her supporting role in "Liaisons". Eileen learns that her ex-husband Jerry Rand (Michael Cristofer) has taken out a full page ad to tout "Bombshell". She goes and sees him at a restaurant. He tells her he took out the ad to help her. She tells him to stay out of her life, throwing a martini at him for good measure.  Tom is informed by the police that Kyle Bishop (Andy Mientus) has been hit by a car. He goes and finds Derek and Karen at the "Hit List" theater and tells them that Kyle is dead. Derek and Karen tell a devastated cast. Scott Nichols (Jesse L. Martin) thinks the show should go on that night but Derek nixes the idea.  Ticket holders have been informed that the show that night has been canceled, but many line up anyway because they want to see the show and pay tribute. Derek tells the cast that he thinks they should put on the show as a concert as a way to honor Kyle and the show.  Tom flashes back to one morning with Kyle where he serenades him with "Vienna".  Leigh and a young actress playing a young Marilyn (Sophia Caruso) perform "At Your Feet" during a "Bombshell" show.  Tom and Julia talk about Tom wanting to dissolve their partnership. He says he's doing it so she will have "The Great Gatsby" free and clear to make without any interference from him since she initially optioned the rights as part of their partnership.  Jimmy shows up backstage and learns that Kyle is dead. He leaves upset and Karen goes to find him. She finds him sitting on a ledge at a place that he and Kyle liked. She tells him he should come to the show that night but he doesn't feel he's up to it. She also tells him that nothing happened between her and Derek because she's in love with him.  Julia is angry with Scott after finding out he told the stage manager that she (Julia) said it was ok to call the ticketholders back and let them know the show was still on for that night and it was being done in memory of Kyle. She feels he was being greedy and using Kyle's death for his own means, as he was afraid of getting fired if Hit List didn't do well. She tells him she won't be doing Gatsby with him.  During the concert, Jimmy shows up and steps in and sings an emotional "The Love I Meant to Say" in memory of Kyle.  Ivy meets up with Derek and he asks her why she has been ducking his calls. She tells him that she found out they got together again after he had been rejected by Karen. He tells her that nothing has happened between Karen and him, including last night where he slept on her couch. She tells him there will always be a "Karen" and she's done with him.  Eileen runs into Jerry, who tells her that he no longer has the money available to help with "Bombshell", as he's decided to invest it in "Hit List" and will be taking it to Broadway. He chortles that now he and Eileen will likely be in contention for Tony nominations.  Karen asks Jimmy if he wants to go somewhere and talk, but he tells her he needs to be alone to sort things out. He also indicates that he's no longer drinking.  Julia had wanted as much of Broadway as possible to dim their lights in Kyle's honor but Eileen said that was unlikely as that honor is reserved for Broadway veterans, so after the "Hit List" concert, the cast, with Tom, Julia and Eileen, watch from across the street as the "Bombshell" theater lights are dimmed for Kyle.

Production.

The episode was co-written by executive producer and showrunner Joshua Safran.  In an interview with TVLine.com, Andy Mientus, who plays Kyle, talks about the episode's parallels to the hit musical "Rent", with creator Jonathan Larson dying before that show's opening night and how it affected people and the theater world.  There were five songs featured in the episode, two covers ("High and Dry" by Radiohead and "Vienna" by Billy Joel) and three originals (one reprise). The reprised "Broadway, Here I Come!" was written by Joe Iconis, "At Your Feet" and "The Love I Meant To Say" were written by the show's in-house songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.  In an interview with Broadwayworld.com dated April 6, 2013, Jeremy Jordan talks about singing "The Love I Meant to Say" live on the show, as most numbers are pre-recorded and lip-synced.  "High and Dry", "Vienna", and "The Love I Meant to Say" were made available for sale as singles the week the episode aired. "Broadway, Here I Come!" had been released previously as a single. "At Your Feet" is available on the cast album "Bombshell".

Critical reception.

Hillary Busis of "Entertainment Weekly" reviewed the episode. Sara Brady of Television Without Pity reviewed the episode and gave it a C rating.

"The Phenomenon" is the twenty ninth episode of the American television series "Smash". It was written by Jordon Nardino and executive producer and showrunner Joshua Safran and directed by Roxann Dawson. The episode premiered on NBC on May 4, 2013, the fourteenth episode of season 2.


Formation.

C3 convertase formation can occur in three different pathways: the classical, lectin, and alternative pathways.

Alternative pathway.

Cleavage of complement C3 by a free floating convertase, thrombin, plasmin or even a bacterial enzyme leads to formation of C3a and C3b fragments. C3b, the larger fragment, becomes covalently attached to the microbial surface or to the antibody molecules through the thioester domain at the site of complement activation. After cleavage and binding to cell surface, the C3b fragment is ready to bind a plasma protein called Factor B. The Factor B (a zymogen) is cleaved by a plasma serine protease Factor D releasing a small fragment called Ba and generating a larger fragment called Bb that remains attached to C3b. Also Mg2+ ions are necessary for forming a functional C3 convertase. Thus, the alternative C3 convertase (C3bBb) is formed and is able to cleave C3 via its dimeric Bb subunit.  Since C3 convertases cleave C3 to produce C3b which can then form an additional C3 convertase through the alternative pathway, this is a potential mechanism of signal amplification in the complement cascade resulting in the deposition of large numbers of C3b molecules on the surface of activating particles, enabling opsonisation and acute local inflammation.

Classical and lectin pathways.

The C3 convertase formed in the classical or lectin pathways is formed of C4b and C2b instead (NB: C2b, the larger fragment of C2 cleavage, was formerly known as C2a). The cleavage of C4 and C2 is mediated by serine proteases. In the classical pathway, this is by sequential proteolytic activation of proteins within the C1 complex (C1q, C1r, C1s) in response to binding to CRP or immunoglobulin, and in the lectin pathway it is driven by mannose binding lectin and its associated serine proteases (MASPs, particularly MASP2 but also MASP1).  C4 is homologous to C3 in that it contains an internal thioester bond that ends up on C4b. Thus it can form covalent amide or ester linkages with the plasma membrane of the pathogen and any associated antibodies, where it then behaves as an opsonin. The larger C2b produced by C2 hydrolysis attaches to the C4b to form the classical C3 convertase, C4b2b (formerly called C4b2a).  The smaller fragments of proteolysis, C4a and C2a are released. C4a is an anaphylatoxin.

Regulation.

Nevertheless, this positive feedback mechanism can be regulated by binding of the control protein, nonproteolytic glycoprotein β1H (factor H), to C3b, which prevents association of factor B, and facilitates the decay-dissociation of Bb in the C3bBb complex, in addition to enhancing proteolytic inactivation of C3b by C3b inactivator (C3bINA – endopeptidase).  Membrane-associated sialic acid promotes high-affinity binding of β1H to C3b without influencing the affinity of B for C3b.  Decay-accelerating factor (DAF) is another negative regulator of C3 convertase. It is a membrane protein and regulates also C5 convertase of the classical and alternative pathway. DAF protects host cells from damage by autologous complement. DAF acts on C2b and Bb and dissociates them rapidly from C4b and C3b – thereby preventing the assembly of the C3 convertase.  C4 binding protein (C4BP) interferes with the assembly of the membrane-bound C3 convertase of the classical pathway. C4BP is a cofactor for the enzyme C3bINA. C4b-binding protein inhibits the haemolytic function of cell-bound C4b. C4b-binding protein and C3b inactivator control the C3 convertase of the classical pathway in a similar way to that described for β1H and C3b inactivator in the alternative pathway.  C3b has different binding site for C3bINA, β1H, factor B and properdin. Binding β1H to C3b increases C3bINA binding, while factor B binding prevents C3bINA binding and is competitive with β1H binding.  Regulation of the amplification phase of the alternative pathway is exerted by multiple mechanisms:

Location on chromosome.

The genes encoding C2, C4 and factor B are located on chromosome 6 between the B locus of class I products and the D locus of class II products in the MHC.

C3 convertase ("C4bC2b", formerly "C4bC2a") belongs to family of serine proteases and is necessary in innate immunity as a part of the complement system which eventuate in opsonisation of particles, release of inflammatory peptides, C5 convertase formation and cell lysis.


History.

Origins.

Nanzhao was overthrown in 902 and three dynasties followed in quick succession before Duan Siping seized power in 937, establishing himself at Dali. The Duan clan professed to have Han ancestry. The Yuan dynasty records said the Duan family came from Wuwei in Gansu.

Relations with the Song dynasty.

Dali's relationship with the Song was cordial throughout its entire existence. Dali congratulated the Song dynasty on the conquest of Later Shu in 965 and voluntarily established tribute relations in 982. It was however essentially an independent state. At times the Song even declined offers of tribute. The Song founder Song Taizu declared all land south of the Dadu River to be Dali territory and did not desire to pursue any further claims to avoid the Tang dynasty's disastrous efforts against Nanzhao.  Dali's primary importance to the Song dynasty was its horses, which were highly prized and sought after as military assets, especially after the fall of the Northern Song. They were described by a Song official in the following passage:

Dazhong Kingdom (1094-1096).

In 1094, the former prime minister Gao Shengtai forced King Duan Zhengming to relinquish the throne to him and renamed the Dali Kingdom to "Dazhong Kingdom". Gao Shengtai ruled briefly until his death in 1096, after which the throne was returned to the Duan family. Duan Zhengming's younger brother, Duan Zhengchun, became the new ruler and restored the kingdom's former name.

Fall.

In 1252 Möngke Khan placed his brother Kublai in charge of invading Dali. In 1253 Kublai's army crossed the Jinsha River and received the surrender of Duan Xingzhi, who presented to Möngke in 1256 maps of Yunnan. Duan Xingzhi of Dali was enfeoffed as Maharaja (摩诃罗嵯) by Kublai Khan, and the Duan royal family continued to hold the title of Maharaja in Yunnan as vassals to the Mongols under the supervision of Mongolian imperial princes and Muslim governors. The Duan family reigned in Dali while the governors served in Kunming. After the Ming conquest of Yunnan, The Duan royals were scattered in various distant areas of China by the Hongwu Emperor.

Yunnan under the Mongols.

The Duan family governed Yunnan's various indigenous peoples for eleven generations until the end of Mongol rule. They willingly contributed soldiers to the Mongol campaign against the Song dynasty. In 1271, they aided the Yuan dynasty in putting down a Mongol rebellion in Yunnan.  In 1274, Ajall Shams al-Din Omar was assigned by Kublai to stabilize Yunnan. He instituted a native chieftain system that came to be known as tusi which assigned ranks and posts to native chieftains. Under this institution of "rule based on native customs" the locals retained much of their autonomy with the exception of three obligations. One, they would provide surrendered troops to the Yuan government. Two, local chieftains would provide tribute to the Yuan court. Three, they would follow the rules of appointment, succession, promotion, degradation, reward, and punishment of native chieftains created by the Yuan court.  Yuan rule also introduced a significant Muslim influence into Yunnan.  The King of Dali Duan Gong was married to the Mongol Borjigin princess Agai, daughter of the Yuan dynasty Mongol Prince of Liang, Basalawarmi. They had a son and a daughter, Duan Sengnu. their children were also called Duan Qiangna amd Duan Bao. Duan Sengnu raised Duan Bao to take revenge against Basalawarmi for the killing of Duan Gong. A play was made based on these events. According to Yuan documents, the Duan family were originally Han Chinese from Wuwei commamdery, Gansu. Other Duan families also originated from Wuwei.

Conquest by Ming.

In 1381, the Ming dynasty dispatched 300,000 troops to crush the Yuan remnants in Yunnan.  The House of Duan, who helped the Mongols against a Red Turban Rebellion attack from Sichuan, also fought against the Ming army. The ruler Duan Gong refused to surrender by writing to Fu Youde, making it clear that Dali could only be a tributary to the Ming. Fu Youdei attacked and crushed Duan Gong's realm after a fierce battle. The Duan brothers were taken captive and escorted back to the Ming capital.

Religion.

A version of Buddhism known as Azhali existed in Yunnan since the 9th century. The last king of Nanzhao established Buddhism as a state religion and many Dali kings continued the tradition. Ten of Dali's 22 kings retired to become monks.

Governance.

Under the influence of Chinese officials present from early times, the Dali elite used Chinese script supplemented by Bai characters that were constructed based on Chinese characters. The Dali court granted hereditary fiefs to pre-existing clan chiefs to win over support, as well as autonomous military divisions. Similarly to the Nanzhao military, the Dali military consisted of a standing army, townsfolk peasant-soldiers and indigenous militia.

The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Dali State (; Bai: Dablit Guaif), was a kingdom situated in modern Yunnan province, China from 937 until 1253 when it was conquered by the Mongols. Its kings continued to administer the area as Mongol vassals until the Ming conquest of Yunnan.


Early life.

Grant Morrison was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1960. He was educated at Allan Glen's School where his first portfolio of art was rejected by his careers guidance teacher, who encouraged him to work in a bank. His first published works were "Gideon Stargrave" strips for "Near Myths" in 1978 (when he was about 17), one of the first British alternative comics. His work appeared in four of the five issues of "Near Myths" and he was suitably encouraged to find more comic work. This included a weekly comic strip, "Captain Clyde", an unemployed superhero based in Glasgow, for "The Govan Press", a local newspaper, plus various issues of DC Thomson's "Starblazer", a science fiction version of that company's "Commando" title.

Career.

1980s.

Morrison spent much of the early 1980s touring and recording with his band The Mixers, occasionally writing "Starblazer" for D. C. Thomson and contributing to various UK indie titles. In 1982 he submitted a proposal involving the Justice League of America and Jack Kirby's New Gods entitled "Second Coming" to DC Comics, but it was not commissioned. After writing "The Liberators" for Dez Skinn's "Warrior" in 1985, he started work for Marvel UK the following year. There he wrote a number of comic strips for "Doctor Who Magazine", his final one a collaboration with a then-teenage Bryan Hitch, as well as a run on the Zoids strip in "Spider-Man and Zoids". 1986 also saw publication of Morrison's first of several two- or three-page "Future Shocks" for "2000AD".  Morrison's first continuing serial began in "2000 AD" in 1987, when he and Steve Yeowell created "Zenith".  Morrison's work on "Zenith" brought him to the attention of DC Comics, who asked him to work for them. They accepted his proposals for "Animal Man", a little-known character from DC's past whose most notable recent appearance was a cameo in the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" limited series, and for a 48-page Batman one-shot that would eventually become "".  "Animal Man" put Morrison in line with the so-called "British Invasion" of American comics, along with such writers as Neil Gaiman, Peter Milligan, Jamie Delano and Alan Moore, who had launched the "invasion" with his work on "Swamp Thing".  After impressing with "Animal Man", Morrison was asked to take over "Doom Patrol", starting his surreal take on the superhero genre with issue No. 19 in 1989. Morrison's "Doom Patrol" introduced concepts such as dadaism and the writings of Jorge Luis Borges into his first several issues. DC published "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" in 1989 as a 128-page graphic novel painted by Dave McKean. Comics historian Les Daniels observed in 1995 that ""Arkham Asylum" was an unprecedented success, selling 182,166 copies in hardcover and another 85,047 in paperback."  While working for DC Comics in America, Morrison kept contributing to British indie titles, writing "St. Swithin's Day" for Trident Comics. "St. Swithin's Day"'s anti-Margaret Thatcher themes proved controversial, provoking a small tabloid press reaction and a complaint from Conservative MP Teddy Taylor.  The controversy continued with the publication of "The New Adventures of Hitler" in Scottish music and lifestyle magazine "Cut" in 1989, due to its use of Adolf Hitler as its lead character. The strip was unfinished when "Cut" folded, and was later reprinted and completed in Fleetway's "2000 AD" spin-off title "Crisis".

1990s.

Morrison returned to Batman with the "" story arc in issues 6–10 of the Batman title "". The early 1990s saw Morrison revamping Kid Eternity for DC with artist Duncan Fegredo, and Dan Dare, with artist Rian Hughes. Morrison coloured Dare's bright future with Thatcherism in Fleetway's "Revolver".  In 1991 Morrison wrote "Bible John-A Forensic Meditation" for Fleetway's "Crisis", based on an analysis of possible motivations for the crimes of the serial killer Bible John. Covering similar themes to Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's "From Hell", the work utilised cut-up techniques, a Ouija board and collage rather than conventional panels to tell the story.  In 1993 Morrison, fellow Glaswegian comic writer Mark Millar and John Smith were asked to reinvigorate "2000 AD" for an eight-week run called "The Summer Offensive". Morrison wrote Judge Dredd and Really and Truly, and co-wrote the controversial "Big Dave" with Millar.  DC Comics launched its Vertigo imprint in 1993, publishing several of Morrison's creator-owned projects, such as the steampunk mini-series "Sebastian O" and the graphic novel "The Mystery Play". 1995 saw the release of "Kill Your Boyfriend", with artist Philip Bond, originally published as a "Vertigo Voices" one-shot. In 1996 Morrison wrote "Flex Mentallo", a "Doom Patrol" spin-off with art by Frank Quitely, and returned briefly to DC Universe superheroics with the short-lived "Aztek", co-written with Mark Millar.  In 1996, Morrison was given the "Justice League of America" to revamp as "JLA", a comic book that gathered the "Big Seven" superheroes of the DC universe into one team. This run was hugely popular and returned the title to best-selling status. Morrison wrote several issues of "The Flash" with Mark Millar, as well as DC's crossover event of 1998, the four-issue mini-series "DC One Million", in addition to plotting many of the multiple crossovers.  With the three volumes of the creator-owned "The Invisibles", Morrison started his largest and possibly most important work. "The Invisibles" combined political, pop- and sub-cultural references. Tapping into pre-millennial tension, the work was influenced by the writings of Robert Anton Wilson, Aleister Crowley and William Burroughs, and Morrison's practice of chaos magic in Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth. In 1998 Morrison published the prose piece "I'm A Policeman" in Sarah Champion's millennial short story collection "Disco 2000"; though no explicit connection to "The Invisibles" is made, there are strong thematic links between the two works. At DisinfoCon in 1999, Morrison said that much of the content in "The Invisibles" was information given to him by aliens that abducted him in Kathmandu, who told him to spread this information to the world via a comic book. He later clarified that the experience he labelled as the "Alien Abduction Experience in Kathmandu" had nothing to do with aliens or abduction, but that there was an experience that he had in Kathmandu that "The Invisibles" is an attempt to explain. The title was not a huge commercial hit to start with. (Morrison actually asked his readers to participate in a "wankathon" while concentrating on a magical symbol, or sigil, in an effort to boost sales). When the title was relaunched with volume two, the characters relocated to America. Volume three appeared with issue numbers counting down, signalling an intention to conclude the series with the turn of the new millennium in 2000. Due to the title shipping late, its final issue did not ship until April 2000.  The 1999 film "The Matrix" has numerous elements which have been attributed by critics to the influence of Morrison's "The Invisibles". Morrison himself was immediately struck by the similarities to his work upon first seeing the film.

2000s.

In 2000, Morrison's graphic novel "" was released with art by Frank Quitely. It was Morrison's last mainstream work for DC for a while, as he moved to Marvel Comics. While at Marvel, Morrison wrote the six-part "Marvel Boy" series, and "", his take on another major superhero team. In July 2001, he began writing the main X-Men title, renamed "New X-Men" for his run, with Quitely providing much of the art. Again, Morrison's revamping of a major superhero team proved to be a commercial success, with the title jumping to the No. 1 sales spot and established Morrison as the kind of creator whose name on a title would guarantee sales. His penultimate arc "Planet X" depicted the villain Magneto infiltrating and defeating the X-Men in the guise of new character Xorn and developing an addiction to the power-enhancing drug "Kick". In 2002, Morrison launched his next creator-owned project at Vertigo: "The Filth", drawn by Chris Weston and Gary Erskine, a 13-part mini-series. In 2004, Vertigo published three Morrison mini-series. "Seaguy", "We3", and "Vimanarama". Morrison returned to the JLA with the first story in a new anthology series, "JLA Classified". In 2005 Morrison wrote "Seven Soldiers", which featured the Manhattan Guardian, Mister Miracle, Klarion the Witch Boy, Bulleteer, Frankenstein, Zatanna and Shining Knight. The series consists of seven interlinked four-issue mini-series with two "bookend" volumes – 30 issues in all.  Dan DiDio, the editorial vice president of DC Comics, was impressed with Morrison's ideas for revitalising many of DC's redundant characters. Giving him the unofficial title of "revamp guy", DiDio asked him to assist in sorting out the DC Universe in the wake of the "Infinite Crisis". Morrison was one of the writers on "52", a year-long weekly comic book series that started in May 2006 and concluded in May 2007.  Starting in November 2005, DC published "All-Star Superman", a twelve-issue story arc by Morrison and Frank Quitely. Not so much a revamp or reboot of Superman, the series presents an out-of-continuity "iconic" Superman for new readers. "All-Star Superman" won the Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2006, the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 2007 and several Eagle Awards in the UK. It won three Harvey Awards in 2008 and the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series in 2009. In the same year, Morrison and Quitely worked on pop star Robbie Williams' album "Intensive Care", providing intricate Tarot card designs for the packaging and cover of the CD.  In 2006 Morrison was voted as the No. 2 favourite comic book writer of all time by Comic Book Resources. That same year, Morrison began writing "Batman" for DC with issue No. 655, reintroducing the character of Damian Wayne and signalling the beginning of a seven-year-long run on the character across multiple titles. He wrote the relaunch of "The Authority" and "Wildcats", with the art of Gene Ha and Jim Lee respectively, for DC's Wildstorm imprint. "WildC.A.T.S." went on hiatus after one issue, "The Authority" was discontinued after two. The scheduling of "The Authority" conflicted with "52" and Morrison was unhappy with the reviews: "And then I saw the reviews on issue one and I just thought 'fuck this'.". It eventually concluded without Morrison's involvement in Keith Giffen's "The Authority: The Lost Year".  At the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, DC Comics announced that Morrison would write "Final Crisis", a seven-issue mini-series slated to appear in 2008 with J. G. Jones handling the art. Morrison announced that 2008 would see publication of the follow-up to 2004's "Seaguy" called "Seaguy 2: The Slaves of Mickey Eye", the second part of a planned three part series.  At the 2008 New York Comic Con, Morrison announced he would be working with Virgin Comics to produce "webisodes" (short animated stories) based on the Mahābhārata; it would not be a direct translation but, "Like the Beatles took Indian music and tried to make psychedelic sounds... I'm trying to convert Indian storytelling to a western style for people raised on movies, comics, and video games." In August 2009, Morrison and Frank Quitely launched the "Batman and Robin" series.

2010s.

"Batman" No. 700 (Aug. 2010) saw the return of Morrison to the title and a collaboration with an art team that consisted of Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely, Andy Kubert, and David Finch. The separate stories tied together to illustrate that the legacy of Batman is unending, and will survive into the future. At San Diego Comic-Con International 2010 it was announced that Grant Morrison would be leaving "Batman and Robin" with No. 16 and launching a new series entitled "Batman Incorporated" with revolving artists starting with Yanick Paquette. A more team-oriented Batman book inspired by the "" animated series, "Batman Incorporated" builds on Morrison's work dating back to "Batman and Son" and "Final Crisis", with Bruce Wayne creating an international Batman franchise all over the world. The series suffered from slow scheduling and was ended after eight issues while the DC Universe was rebooted in 2011; to bridge the gap a prestige book was released that featured two issues together along with a synopsis that recapped the story so far. In mid-2012, a second volume of the comic was launched with Chris Burnham on artwork, scheduled for 12 issues. Morrison left the Batman titles in 2013. He killed the Damian Wayne character in "Batman Incorporated" No. 8 (April 2013) and his final issue was No. 13 (Sept. 2013).  Morrison returned to creator-owned work in 2010 with the eight issue Vertigo series "Joe the Barbarian", launched in January with artist Sean Murphy. Originally a six issue series, Morrison felt that the story would benefit from an extra two issues. The titular Joe is a diabetic young boy who begins to hallucinate a fantasy world populated with his toys and other fantasy characters when he stops taking his medication.  Following the closure of Virgin Comics, Dynamite Entertainment and Liquid Comics announced a partnership to publish a hardcover of illustrated scripts of Grant Morrison's Mahābhārata-based, animated project "18 Days" with illustrations by artist Mukesh Singh, that was released in August 2010.  He is the subject of a feature-length documentary titled "". The documentary features extensive interviews with Morrison as well as a number of comic artists, editors and professionals he has worked closely with. "Talking with Gods" was produced by Sequart Organization and was released in 2010 at the San Diego Comic Con.  Morrison was featured in My Chemical Romance's music videos "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" and "Sing" from their 2010 album "" as the concept's villain Korse. In June 2011, as part of DC Comics' massive revamp of their entire superhero line, Morrison was announced as the writer on the new "Action Comics" No. 1, teaming with artist Rags Morales, marking Morrison's return to the Superman character after the end of "All Star Superman".  In July 2011, Morrison's analysis of superheroes, "Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero", was published by Random House Spiegel & Grau in the United States and Jonathan Cape in the UK.  Morrison was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to film and literature.  In September 2012, MorrisonCon was held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas). This small-scale convention, curated by Morrison, featured a number of comics industry guests, including Robert Kirkman, Darick Robertson, Jason Aaron, Jim Lee, Gerard Way, Jonathan Hickman, Frank Quitely, J. H. Williams III, and Chris Burnham.  Morrison's "The Multiversity" project for DC was published in 2014 and 2015. A metaseries of nine one-shots set in some of the 52 worlds in the DC Multiverse, it included the main "Multiversity" title which involves the return of President Calvin Ellis, the black Superman from Earth 23 originally seen in "Action Comics" vol. 2 No. 9, which was the framing for the whole series. Other issues include "The Society of Super-Heroes" a pulp version of the DC characters; "The Just" – set on a world of celebrity youngsters; "Pax Americana", drawn by Frank Quitely, "Thunder World" – a Captain Marvel book; the "Multiversity Guidebook"; "Mastermen" – which includes a fascist version of the Justice League. and "Ultra Comics".  In 2016, Morrison became editor-in-chief of the science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, "Heavy Metal" for several months.  In November 2018, Morrison and artist Liam Sharp launched a new Green Lantern book titled "The Green Lantern", for DC Comics. Following the success of the first season of "The Green Lantern", a second season was announced, to be published in 2020 but beforehand there was a Blackstars mini-series dealing with the ending of "Season One", launched in November 2019. "Season Two" began in 2020.

Screenwriting and playwriting.

Morrison wrote the screenplays "Sleepless Knights" for DreamWorks and "WE3" for New Line Cinema. He wrote the adaptation of the video game "Area 51" home console game for Paramount in development with CFP Productions producing. Morrison has written a screenplay for a film, "Sinatoro". In 2011 he worked on the screenplay "Dinosaurs vs Aliens " for Sam Worthington's production company, Full Clip Production, and said he planned to work with them again on a screenplay based on the "2000 AD" story "Rogue Trooper".  He has pitched a science-fiction television series, "Bonnyroad", to the BBC with director Paul McGuigan and Stephen Fry.  Morrison provided outline story and script work for two video games ("" and "Battlestar Galactica") both by Vivendi Universal.  He has written two plays staged by Oxygen House at the Edinburgh Fringe. "Red King Rising" (1989) was about the (partly fictional) relationship between Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell. "Depravity" (1990) was about famed occultist Aleister Crowley. The plays won between them a Fringe First Award, the Independent Theatre Award for 1989 and the Evening Standard Award for New Drama. Both plays were included in his collection of prose, "Lovely Biscuits" released in 1999.  In 2017, Morrison co-created the Syfy TV series "Happy!" starring Christopher Meloni and Patton Oswalt, which aired its second season in 2019.  Morrison is currently a writer and producer on the Brave New World TV series for the Peacock Streaming Service, having developed it for adaptation.

Appearances as a comics character.

Grant Morrison first appeared as a comics character in cameos in "Animal Man" Nos. 11 and 14. He made a full appearance at the end of issue No. 25 in 1990, and spent most of issue No. 26 in a lengthy conversation with the comic's title character. The character appeared the next year in "Suicide Squad" No. 58, written by John Ostrander, as one of several minor characters killed in one of the series' trademark suicide missions.  In Morrison's 2005–2006 "Seven Soldiers" miniseries and its tie-ins, a group of seven "reality engineers" look like him. An eighth goes rogue, transforming into the silver-age character Zor, looking like Morrison in a magician's costume but with dark hair and a beard. This character is defeated and Morrison himself, wearing a DC Comics-logo tie clip, then becomes the narrator for the final chapter.  He appeared in an issue of "Simpsons Comics", fighting with Mark Millar over the title of "Writer of "X-Men"".  The miniseries "Tales of the Unexpected" features writers Morrison, Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid.  In Darwyn Cooke's "", Morrison is the physical model for Captain Cold.

Personal life.

Morrison lives and works in both Scotland and Los Angeles.

Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer and playwright. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and countercultural leanings in his runs on titles including, but not limited to, DC Comics's "Animal Man", Doom Patrol, "Batman", "JLA", "Action Comics", "All-Star Superman", Green Lantern, The Flash, Vertigo's "The Invisibles", and Fleetway's "2000 AD". He has also served as the editor-in-chief of "Heavy Metal" and currently operates as an adviser for the magazine. He is also the co-creator of the Syfy TV series "Happy!" starring Christopher Meloni and Patton Oswalt. Morrison is also an occasional actor, with his most recent appearance being a brief cameo as a news broadcaster in the 2017 horror comedy film "Mom and Dad", which starred Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair.


History.

Cordele was incorporated on January 1, 1888, and named for Cordelia Hawkins, eldest daughter of Colonel Samuel Hawkins, the president of the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway.  In November 1864, the area that is now Cordele served as the temporary capital of Georgia. During the last days of the Confederacy, Georgia's war governor Joseph E. Brown used his rural farmhouse to escape the wrath of Sherman's March to the Sea. During that time the farmhouse, which Brown called "Dooly County Place," served as the official capital for only a few days. It was replaced in 1890 by the Suwanee Hotel, located in what became downtown Cordele. The hotel was destroyed by a fire in late 1994 and was rebuilt.  Cordele was founded in 1888 by J.E.D. Shipp of Americus. The town was located at the junction of two major railroads – the Savannah, Americus & Montgomery line, and the Georgia Southern & Florida. As the railroads brought more people and business to the newly settled territory, Cordele experienced phenomenal growth. Before 1905 Cordele was located in southern Dooly County, from the county seat in Vienna. With Cordele's continued progress, many in the community felt the need for a seat of government to be closer than Vienna. Crisp County was formed in 1905 by taking a portion of southern Dooly County, and Cordele became its county seat.  By August 1930, Cordele housed the Crisp County Hydroelectric System, the first county-owned electric system. Located on the Flint River, the hydroelectric plant continues to operate, and the resulting Lake Blackshear has attracted residents to its waterfront properties.  On April 2, 1936, a tornado struck Cordele, killing 23 people.

Geography.

Cordele is located north of the center of Crisp County at (31.964178, -83.777277). U.S. Route 41 passes through the city as Seventh Street and leads north to Vienna and south to Ashburn. U.S. Route 280 (16th Avenue) crosses US 41 in the center of the city and leads east to Abbeville and west to Americus. Interstate 75 passes through the east side of the city, with access from exits 99, 101, and 102, and leads north to Macon and south to the Florida state line. State Route 300 leads from the south side of the city southwest to Albany.  According to the United States Census Bureau, Cordele has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.82%, is water.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,608 people, 4,303 households, and 2,839 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,222.5 people per square mile (471.8/km2). There were 4,782 housing units at an average density of 503.6 per square mile (194.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 31.90% White, 65.03% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.84% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.19% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.95% of the population.  There were 4,303 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% were married couples living together, 30.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.22.  In the city, the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.9 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $17,615, and the median income for a family was $21,677. Males had a median income of $23,253 versus $17,282 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,746. About 38.1% of families and 41.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 59.2% of those under age 18 and 26.7% of those age 65 or over.

Cordele City Commissioners.

Five citizens of Cordele are elected to serve as the City Commissioners.  The current Cordele City Commissioners are: Jeanie Bartee, Wesley Rainey, Royce Reeves, Vesta Beal Shephard, and Chairman John Wiggins

Representation in the Georgia State Legislature.

In the Georgia State Senate, the City of Cordele is represented by the 13th district, which is vacant since the death of Greg Kirk on December 22, 2019. In the Georgia House of Representatives, the City of Cordele is represented by Rep. Buddy Harden.

Representation in the United States House of Representatives.

In the United States House of Representatives, the City of Cordele is represented by Rep. Sanford Bishop.

Georgia Veterans State Park.

To the west of Cordele town centre and located on Route 280 is the large Georgia Veterans State Park, which lies on the eastern edge of Lake Blackshear. This facility provides many outdoor activities for ex members of the US armed services. There are also interesting displays of preserved military aircraft and helicopters and army tanks and other fighting vehicles. These displays are open to public viewing during daylight hours

Arts and culture.

Annual cultural events.

Cordele hosts an annual Watermelon Festival each June.

Museums and other points of interest.

In 1968 a Titan I missile was erected by the Rotary Club of Cordele at the intersection of I-75 and U.S. 280 East.

Sports.

Cordele is home to Crisp Motorsports Park and the Watermelon Capital Speedway, a 3/8-mile asphalt oval. It is home to the annual pre-season race known as SpeedFest, which is sanctioned by the Champion Racing Association (CRA) organization and run in late January. The event features a 125-lap race for the CRA Jegs All-Star Tour (crate late models) and a 200-lap race for the ARCA/CRA Super Series (super late models).

Education.

Crisp County School District.

The Crisp County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 266 full-time teachers and over 4,337 students.

Infrastructure.

Major highways.

The Cordele Inland Port is operated by a private company, Cordele Intermodal Services, which offers rail service via the Heart of Georgia Railroad and Georgia Central Railroad, from their rail ramp in Cordele to the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah. Two class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern pass through Cordele. Shortline Railroad, Heart of Georgia currently interchanges with CSX in downtown Cordele.

Cordele is a city in Crisp County, Georgia, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Crisp County.


History.

The vicinity of Dacula was one of the first areas in present-day metropolitan Atlanta to be claimed by white settlers (around the time of the War of 1812), but the area remained mostly undeveloped until the late 20th century. The Dacula area is home to some of the oldest buildings in greater Atlanta, such as the Elisha Winn House, which originally acted as the courthouse for Gwinnett County. Dacula itself began in the late 1800s under the name of Chinquapin Grove, where Dacula Elementary now stands. The town was renamed named "Hoke", in 1891 after a Seaboard Air Line Railroad executive, but that name was changed due to the Post Office Department's protest. Dacula's name was formed from letters in Decatur and Atlanta, two cities to the west that were already prospering at the time of Dacula's founding. The city was once home to a train station on a CSX line through northeast Georgia, although the station closed in the mid-1950s.

Geography.

Dacula is located in eastern Gwinnett County, with U.S. Route 29 Business/Georgia State Route 8 (Winder Highway) the main road through the center of town. Business 29/SR 8 leads west to Lawrenceville, the county seat, and east to Winder. U.S. Route 29 (University Parkway) is a four-lane highway that bypasses Dacula to the south, with access from Harbins Road. University Parkway leads east to Athens and west to Interstate 85, which leads an additional southwest to downtown Atlanta.  According to the United States Census Bureau, Dacula has a total area of, of which, or 0.59%, is water.  The Dacula 30019 ZIP Code goes well beyond their city limits, resulting in mail delivery as far north as the unincorporated community of Hamilton Mill, south of Interstate 85.

Demographics.

As of 2010 Dacula had a population of 4,442. the median age was 35.2. There were 1,472 households with 92.0% of housing units occupied. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 76.6% white (70.3% non-Hispanic white), 11.3% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian Indian, 2.8% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.4% from some other race (0.1% non-Hispanic from some other race) and 3.1% from two or more races. 13.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.  As of the census of 2000, there were 3,848 people, 1,283 households, and 1,077 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.0 people per square mile (514.1/km2). There were 1,320 housing units at an average density of 456.9 per square mile (176.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.37% White, 4.24% African American, 0.34% Native American, 1.53% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.25% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.72% of the population.  There were 1,283 households out of which 44.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.9% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.0% were non-families. 12.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. 0.5% of all households were lesbian couples, and 0.2% of all households were gay male couples. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.27.  In the city, the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $57,525, and the median income for a family was $58,603. Males had a median income of $40,616 versus $27,380 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,720. About 0.9% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.  Dacula has experienced rapid growth, and with the addition of commercial businesses, commerce has exploded. A 2008 demographic study completed by the developers of the Dacula Town Center showed the population has increased greatly. According to the study, the population is now 31,466 in a 3-mile radius around Dacula. The same survey reveals that in a 5-mile radius within the 30019 zipcode the population is 82,719.

Education.

The county operates Gwinnett County Public Schools.  Gwinnett County Public Library operates the Dacula and Hamilton Mill Branch in the nearby unincorporated area of Hamilton Mill.

Media.

The town of Dacula is served by two newspapers: the "Gwinnett Daily Post" (based in nearby Lawrenceville) and the "Hamilton Mill Neighborhood News".

Dacula ( ) is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately northeast of downtown. The population as of the 2010 census was 4,442, and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population to be 6,255 as of 2018.