Taxonomy and evolution.

Classification.

Four families of river dolphins (Iniidae, Pontoporiidae, Lipotidae and Platanistidae) are currently recognized, comprising three superfamilies (Inioidea, Lipotoidea and Platanistoidea). Platanistidae, containing the two subspecies of South Asian river dolphin, is the only living family in the superfamily Platanistoidea. Previously, many taxonomists had assigned all river dolphins to a single family, Platanistidae, and treated the Ganges and Indus river dolphins as separate species. A December 2006 survey found no members of "Lipotes vexillifer" (commonly known as the baiji, or Chinese river dolphin) and declared the species functionally extinct. With their disappearance, one of the recently accepted superfamilies, Lipotoidea, has become extinct.  The current classification of river dolphins is as follows:  In 2012 the Society for Marine Mammalogy began considering the Bolivian ("Inia geoffrensis boliviensis") and Amazonian ("Inia geoffrensis geoffrensis") subspecies as full species "Inia boliviensis" and "Inia geoffrensis", respectively; however, much of the scientific community, including the IUCN, continue to consider the Bolivian population to be a subspecies of "Inia geoffrensis".  In October 2014, the Society for Marine Mammalogy took "Inia boliviensis" and "Inia araguaiaensis" off their list of aquatic mammal species and subspecies and currently does not recognize these species-level separations.

Evolution.

River dolphins are members of the infraorder "Cetacea", which are descendants of land-dwelling mammals of the order Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates). They are related to the "Indohyus", an extinct chevrotain-like ungulate, from which they split approximately 48 million years ago. The primitive cetaceans, or archaeocetes, first took to the sea approximately 49 million years ago and became fully aquatic by 5–10 million years later. It is unknown when river dolphins first ventured back into fresh water.  River dolphins are thought to have relictual distributions, that is, their ancestors originally occupied marine habitats, but were then displaced from these habitats by modern dolphin lineages. Many of the morphological similarities and adaptations to freshwater habitats arose due to convergent evolution; thus, a grouping of all river dolphins is polyphyletic. Amazon river dolphins are actually more closely related to oceanic dolphins than to South Asian river dolphins. "Isthminia panamensis" is an extinct genus and species of river dolphin, living 5.8 to 6.1 million years ago. Its fossils were discovered near Piña, Panama.  River dolphin has been considered a taxonomic description, suggesting an evolutionary relationship among the group, although it is now known that they form two distinct clades. 'True' river dolphins are descendants of ancient evolutionary lineages that evolved in freshwater environments.  Some species of cetacean live in rivers and lakes, but are more closely related to oceanic dolphins or porpoises and entered fresh water more recently. Such species are considered facultative freshwater cetaceans as they can use both marine and freshwater environments. These include species such as the Irrawaddy dolphin, "Orcaella brevirostris", found in the Mekong, Mahakam, the Irrawaddy Rivers, as well as the Yangtze finless porpoise "Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis".  The tucuxi ("Sotalia fluviatilis") in the Amazon River is another species descended from oceanic dolphins; however, it does not perfectly fit the label of 'facultative' either, as it occurs only in fresh water. The tucuxi was until recently considered conspecific with the Guiana dolphin ("Sotalia guianensis"), which inhabits marine waters. It may also be true for the Irrawaddy dolphin and the finless porpoise that, although the species may be found in both freshwater and marine environments, individual animals found in rivers may not be able to survive in the ocean, and vice versa. The tucuxi is currently classified as an oceanic dolphin (Delphinidae).  The Franciscana ("Pontoporia blainvillei") has shown a converse evolutionary pattern, and has an ancient evolutionary lineage in freshwater, but inhabits estuarine and coastal waters.

Biology.

Anatomy.

River dolphins have a torpedo shaped body with a flexible neck, limbs modified into flippers, non-existent external ear flaps, a tail fin, and a small bulbous head. River dolphin skulls have small eye orbits, a long snout and eyes placed on the sides of the head. River dolphins are rather small, ranging in size from the long South Asian river dolphin to the and Amazon river dolphin. They all have female-biased sexual dimorphism, with the females being larger than the males. River dolphins are polygynous, meaning male river dolphins typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer months and females bear all the responsibility for raising them.  River dolphins have conical teeth, used to catch swift prey such as small river fish. They also have very long snouts, with some measuring, four times longer than most of their oceanic counterparts. They have a two-chambered stomach that is similar in structure to that of terrestrial carnivores. They have fundic and pyloric chambers. Breathing involves expelling stale air from their blowhole, followed by inhaling fresh air into their lungs. They do not have the iconic spout, as this only forms when the warm air exhaled from the lungs meets cold external air, which does not occur in their tropical habitats.  River dolphins have a relatively thin layer of blubber. Blubber can help with buoyancy, protection from predators (they would have a hard time getting through a thick layer of fat), energy for leaner times, and insulation from harsh climates. The habitats of river dolphins lack these needs.

Locomotion.

River dolphins have two flippers and a tail fin. These flippers contain four digits. Although river dolphins do not possess fully developed hind limbs, some possess discrete rudimentary appendages, which may contain feet and digits. River dolphins are slow swimmers in comparison to oceanic dolphins, which can travel at speeds up to ; the tucuxi can only travel at about. Unlike other cetaceans, their neck vertebrae are not fused together, meaning they have greater flexibility than other non-terrestrial aquatic mammals, at the expense of speed. This means they can turn their head without actually moving their entire body. When swimming, river dolphins rely on their tail fins to propel themselves through the water. Flipper movement is continuous. River dolphins swim by moving their tail fins and lower bodies up and down, propelling themselves through vertical movement, while their flippers are mainly used for steering. All species have a dorsal fin.

Senses.

The ears of river dolphins have specific adaptations to their aquatic environment. In humans, the middle ear works as an impedance equalizer between the outside air's low impedance and the cochlear fluid's high impedance. In river dolphins, and other cetaceans, there is no great difference between the outer and inner environments. Instead of sound passing through the outer ear to the middle ear, river dolphins receive sound through the throat, from which it passes through a low-impedance fat-filled cavity to the inner ear. The ear is acoustically isolated from the skull by air-filled sinus pockets, which allows for greater directional hearing underwater. Dolphins send out high frequency clicks from an organ known as a melon. This melon consists of fat, and the skull of any such creature containing a melon will have a large depression. This allows river dolphins to produce biosonar for orientation. They are so dependent on echolocation that they can survive even if they are blind. Beyond locating an object, echolocation also provides the animal with an idea on the object's shape and size, though how exactly this works is not yet understood. The small hairs on the rostrum of the Amazon river dolphin are believed to function as a tactile sense, possibly to compensate for their poor eyesight.  River dolphins have very small eyes for their size, and do not have a very good sense of sight. In addition, the eyes are placed on the sides of the head, so the vision consists of two fields, rather than a binocular view like humans have. When river dolphins surface, their lens and cornea correct the nearsightedness that results from the refraction of light. They have both rod and cone cells, meaning they can see in both dim and bright light. Most river dolphins have slightly flattened eyeballs, enlarged pupils (which shrink as they surface to prevent damage), slightly flattened corneas and a tapetum lucidum; these adaptations allow for large amounts of light to pass through the eye and, therefore, a very clear image of the surrounding area. They also have glands on their eyelids and an outer corneal layer that act as protection for the cornea.  Olfactory lobes are absent in river dolphins, suggesting that they have no sense of smell.  River dolphins are not thought to have a sense of taste, as their taste buds are atrophied or missing altogether. However, some dolphins have preferences between different kinds of fish, indicating some sort of attachment to taste.

Interactions with humans.

Threats.

Development.

Development and agriculture have had devastating impacts on the habitats on river dolphins. The total population of Araguaian river dolphins is estimated to be between 600 and 1,500 individuals, and genetic diversity is limited. The ecology of their habitat has been adversely affected by agricultural, ranching and industrial activities, as well as by the use of dams for hydroelectric power. The inhabited section of the Araguaia River probably extends over about out of a total length of. The Tocantins river habitat is fragmented by six hydroelectric dams, so the population there is at particular risk. Its probable eventual IUCN status is vulnerable or worse.  Both subspecies of South Asian river dolphins have been very adversely affected by human use of the river systems in the subcontinent. Irrigation has lowered water levels throughout both subspecies' ranges. Poisoning of the water supply from industrial and agricultural chemicals may have also contributed to population decline. Perhaps the most significant issue is the building of more than 50 dams along many rivers, causing the segregation of populations and a narrowed gene pool in which the dolphins can breed. Currently, three subpopulations of Indus river dolphins are considered capable of long-term survival if protected.  As China developed economically, pressure on the baiji river dolphin grew significantly. Industrial and residential waste flowed into the Yangtze. The riverbed was dredged and reinforced with concrete in many locations. Ship traffic multiplied, boats grew in size, and fishermen employed wider and more lethal nets. Noise pollution caused the nearly blind animal to collide with propellers. Stocks of the dolphin's prey declined drastically in the late 20th century, with some fish populations declining to one thousandth of their pre-industrial levels. In the 1950s, the population was estimated at 6,000 animals, but declined rapidly over the subsequent five decades. Only a few hundred were left by 1970. Then the number dropped down to 400 by the 1980s and then to 13 in 1997 when a full-fledged search was conducted. On December 13, 2006, the baiji ("Lipotes vexillifer") was declared "functionally extinct", after a 45-day search by leading experts in the field failed to find a single specimen. The last verified sighting was in September 2004.

Competition.

The region of the Amazon in Brazil has an extension of containing diverse fundamental ecosystems. One of these ecosystems is a floodplain, or a várzea forest, and is home to a large number of fish species which are an essential resource for human consumption. The várzea is also a major source of income through excessive local commercialized fishing. Várzea consist of muddy river waters containing a vast number and diversity of nutrient-rich species. The abundance of distinct fish species lures the Amazon River dolphin into the várzea areas of high water occurrences during the seasonal flooding.  In addition to attracting predators such as the Amazon river dolphin, these high-water occurrences are an ideal location to draw in the local fisheries. Human fishing activities directly compete with the dolphins for the same fish species, the tambaqui ("Colossoma macropomum") and the pirapitinga ("Piaractus brachypomus"), resulting in deliberate or unintentional catches of the Amazon river dolphin. The local fishermen overfish, and when the Amazon river dolphins remove the commercialized fish from the nets and lines, it damages the equipment and the capture and causes a negative reaction from the local fishermen.

Bycatch.

During the process of catching the commercialized fish, the Amazon river dolphins get caught in the nets and exhaust themselves until they die, or the local fishermen deliberately kill the dolphins that become entangled in their nets. The carcasses are discarded, consumed, or used as bait to attract a scavenger catfish, the piracatinga ("Calophysus macropterus"). The use of the Amazon river dolphin carcass as bait for the piracatinga dates back from 2000. The increasing consumption demand by the local inhabitants and Colombia for the piracatinga has created a market for distribution of the Amazon river dolphin carcasses to be used as bait throughout these regions.  For example, of the 15 dolphin carcasses found in the Japurá River in 2010–2011 surveys, 73% of the dolphins were killed for bait, disposed of, or abandoned in entangled gillnets. The data does not fully represent the actual overall number of deaths of the Amazon river dolphins, whether accidental or intentional, because a variety of factors make it extremely complicated to record and medically examine all the carcasses. Scavenger species feed upon them and the complexity of the river currents makes it nearly impossible to locate all the carcasses. More importantly, the local fishermen do not report these deaths out of fear that legal action will be taken against them, as the Amazon river dolphin and other cetaceans are protected under the Brazilian federal law, prohibiting any takes, harassments, and kills of the species.

In captivity.

A baiji conservation dolphinarium was established at the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) in Wuhan in 1992. This was planned as a backup to any other conservation efforts by producing an area completely protected from any threats, and where the baiji could be easily observed. The site includes an indoor and outdoor holding pool, a water filtration system, food storage and preparation facilities, research labs and a small museum. The aim is to also generate income from tourism which can be put towards the baiji plight. The pools are not very large, only kidney shaped tanks with dimensions of arc width and depth, diameter, deep and diameter, deep, and are not capable of holding many baijis at one time. Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine documented their encounters with the endangered animals on their conservation travels for the BBC programme "Last Chance to See". The book by the same name, published in 1990, included pictures of a captive specimen, a male named Qi Qi (淇淇) that lived in the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology dolphinarium from 1980 to July 14, 2002. Discovered by a fisherman in Dongting Lake, he became the sole resident of the Baiji Dolphinarium (白<unk>豚水族馆) beside East Lake. A sexually mature female was captured in late 1995, but died after half a year in 1996 when the Shishou Tian-e-Zhou Baiji Semi-natural Reserve (石首半自然白<unk>豚保护区), which had contained only finless porpoises since 1990, was flooded.  The Amazon river dolphin has historically been kept in dolphinariums. Today, only three exist in captivity: one in Acuario de Valencia in Venezuela, one in Zoologico de Guistochoca in Peru, and one in Duisburg Zoo in Germany. Several hundred were captured between the 1950s and 1970s, and were distributed in dolphinariums throughout the US, Europe, and Japan. Around 100 went to US dolphinariums, and of that, only 20 survived; the last (named Chuckles) died in Pittsburgh Zoo in 2002.

In mythology.

Asia.

In Hindu mythology, the Ganges river dolphin is associated with Ganga, the deity of the Ganges river. The dolphin is said to be one of the creatures which heralded the goddess' descent from the heavens, and Ganga's mount, the Makara, is sometimes depicted as a dolphin.  In Chinese mythology, the baiji has many origin stories. For example, near the mouth of the Yangtze, the baiji was a princess that had lost her parents and had lived with her stepfather, whom she had longed to get away from. The stepfather wanted to trade her since she would be sold for a great sum of money, but as they were crossing the river to get to the trader, a storm rolled in. The enraged stepfather tried to take her, but she plunged herself into the river, was transformed into a dolphin before she drowned, and swam away from her abusive stepfather, who also fell in and was transformed into a porpoise.  In another story, the baiji was the daughter of a general deported from the city of Wuhan during a war who ran away while her father was in duty. Later, the general met a woman who told him how her father was a general. When he realized that she was his daughter, he threw himself into the river out of shame, and his daughter ran after him and also fell into the river. Before they were drowned, the daughter was transformed into a dolphin and the general into a porpoise.

South America.

Amazon river dolphins, known by the natives as the boto, encantados or toninas, are very prevalent in the mythology of the native South Americans. They are often characterized in mythology with superior musical ability, seductiveness and love of sex that often results in illegitimate children, and attraction to parties. Despite the fact that the Encante are said to come from a utopia full of wealth and without pain or death, the encantados crave the pleasures and hardships of human societies.  Transformation into human form is said to be rare, and usually occurs at night. The encantado will often be seen running from a festa, despite protests from the others for it to stay, and can be seen by pursuers as it hurries to the river and reverts to dolphin form. When it is under human form, it wears a hat to hide its blowhole, which does not disappear with the shapeshift.  Besides the ability to shapeshift into human form, encantados frequently wield other magical abilities, such as controlling storms, hypnotizing humans into doing their will, transforming humans into encantados, and inflicting illness, insanity, and even death. Shamans often intervene in these situations.  Kidnapping is also a common theme in such folklore. Encantados are said to be fond of abducting humans with whom they fall in love, children born of their illicit love affairs, or just about anyone near the river who can keep them company, and taking them back to the Encante. The fear of this is so great among people who live near the Amazon River that both children and adults are terrified of going near the water between dusk and dawn, or entering water alone. Some who supposedly have encountered encantados while out in their canoes have been said to have gone insane, but the creatures seem to have done little more than follow their boats and nudge them from time to time.

River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. The river dolphins comprise the extant families Platanistidae (the Indian dolphins) (Old World family), Iniidae (the Amazonian dolphins) and Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins) (New World families). There are five extant species of river dolphins. River dolphins, alongside other cetaceans, belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla, with even-toed ungulates, and their closest living relatives the hippopotamuses, from which they diverged about 40 million years ago.


Motivation.

A subcritical reactor can be used to destroy heavy isotopes contained in the used fuel from a conventional nuclear reactor, while at the same time producing electricity. The long-lived transuranic elements in nuclear waste can in principle be fissioned, releasing energy in the process and leaving behind the fission products which are shorter-lived. This would shorten considerably the time for disposal of radioactive waste. However, some isotopes have threshold fission cross sections and therefore require a fast reactor for being fissioned. Also, they release on average too few new neutrons per fission, so that with a fuel containing a high fraction of them, criticality cannot be reached. The accelerator driven reactor is independent of this parameter and thus can utilize these nuclides. The three most important long-term radioactive isotopes that could advantageously be handled that way are neptunium-237, americium-241 and americium-243. The nuclear weapon material plutonium-239 is also suitable although it can be expended in a cheaper way as MOX fuel or inside existing fast reactors.  Besides nuclear waste incineration, there is interest in this type reactor because it is perceived as inherently safe, unlike a conventional reactor. In most types of critical reactors, there exist circumstances in which the rate of fission can increase rapidly, damaging or destroying the reactor and allowing the escape of radioactive material (see SL-1 or Chernobyl disaster). With a subcritical reactor, the reaction will cease unless continually fed neutrons from an outside source. However, the problem of heat generation even after ending the chain reaction remains, so that continuous cooling of such a reactor for a considerable period after shut-down remains vital in order to avoid overheating.

Principle.

Most current ADS designs propose a high-intensity proton accelerator with an energy of about 1 GeV, directed towards a spallation target or spallation neutron source. The source located in the heart of the reactor core contains liquid metal which is impacted by the beam, thus releasing neutrons and is cooled by circulating the liquid metal such as lead-bismuth towards a heat exchanger. The nuclear reactor core surrounding the spallation neutron source contains the fuel rods, the fuel being preferably Thorium. Thereby, for each proton intersecting the spallation target, an average of 20 neutrons is released which fission the surrounding fissile part of the fuel and enrich the fertile part. The neutron balance can be regulated or indeed shut off by adjusting the accelerator power so that the reactor would be below criticality. The additional neutrons provided by the spallation neutron source provide the degree of control as do the delayed neutrons in a conventional nuclear reactor, the difference being that spallation neutron source-driven neutrons are easily controlled by the accelerator. The main advantage is inherent safety. A conventional nuclear reactor's nuclear fuel possesses self-regulating properties such as the Doppler effect or void effect, which make these nuclear reactors safe. In addition to these physical properties of conventional reactors, in the subcritical reactor, whenever the neutron source is turned off, the fission reaction ceases and only the decay heat remains.

Technical challenges.

There are technical difficulties to overcome before ADS can become economical and eventually be integrated into future nuclear waste management. The accelerator must provide a high intensity and also be highly reliable. There are concerns about the window separating the protons from the spallation target, which is expected to be exposed to stress under extreme conditions. However, recent experience with the MEGAPIE liquid metal neutron spallation source tested at the Paul Scherrer Institute has demonstrated a working beam window under a 0.78 MW intense proton beam. The chemical separation of the transuranic elements and the fuel manufacturing, as well as the structure materials, are important issues. Finally, the lack of nuclear data at high neutron energies limits the efficiency of the design.  Some laboratory experiments and many theoretical studies have demonstrated the theoretical possibility of such a plant. Carlo Rubbia, a nuclear physicist, Nobel laureate, and former director of CERN, was one of the first to conceive a design of a subcritical reactor, the so-called "energy amplifier". In 2005, several large-scale projects are going on in Europe and Japan to further develop subcritical reactor technology. In 2012 CERN scientists and engineers launched the International Thorium Energy Committee (iThEC), an organization dedicated to pursuing this goal and which organized the ThEC13 conference on the subject.

Economics and public acceptance.

Subcritical reactors have been proposed both as a means of generating electric power and as a means of transmutation of nuclear waste, so the gain is twofold. However, the costs for construction, safety and maintenance of such complex installations are expected to be very high, let alone the amount of research needed to develop a practical design (see above). There exist cheaper and reasonably safe waste management concepts, such as the transmutation in fast-neutron reactors. However, the solution of a subcritical reactor might be favoured for a better public acceptance – it is considered more acceptable to burn the waste than to bury it for hundreds of thousands of years. For future waste management, a few transmutation devices could be integrated into a large-scale nuclear program, hopefully increasing only slightly the overall costs.  The main challenge facing partitioning and transmutation operations is the need to enter nuclear cycles of extremely long duration: about 200 years.. Another disadvantage is the generation of high quantities of intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste (ILW) which will also require deep geological disposal to be safely managed. A more positive aspect is the expected reduction in size of the repository, which was estimated to be an order of 4 to 6. Both positive and negative aspects were examined in an international benchmark study coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich and financed by the European Union.

Subcritical hybrid systems.

While ADS was originally conceptualized as a part of a light water reactor design, other proposals have been made that incorporate an ADS into other generation IV reactor concepts.  One such proposal calls for a gas-cooled fast reactor that is fueled primarily by plutonium and americium. The neutronic properties of americium make it difficult to use in any critical reactor, because it tends to make the moderator temperature coefficient more positive, decreasing stability. The inherent safety of an ADS, however, would allow americium to be safely burned. These materials also have good neutron economy, allowing the pitch-to-diameter ratio to be large, which allows for improved natural circulation and economics.

A subcritical reactor is a nuclear fission reactor concept that produces fission without achieving criticality. Instead of sustaining a chain reaction, a subcritical reactor uses additional neutrons from an outside source. There are two general classes of such devices. One uses neutrons provided by a nuclear fusion machine, a concept known as a fusion-fission hybrid. The other uses neutrons created through spallation of heavy nuclei by charged particles such as protons accelerated by a particle accelerator, a concept known as an accelerator-driven system (ADS) or accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor.


Education.

Newtownmountkennedy Primary School (St. Joseph's Boys National School and St. Bridget's Girls National School) is located just west of the village. It was formerly split into three buildings, one for male students, and one for female students, while the third building was reserved for the "Centre for Autism". The boys' school was known as St Joseph's, while the girls' school was known as St Bridget's. In 2007, the two schools were merged, leaving the lower classes (Junior infants, Senior infants and First class) in the former girls' school, while the remaining classes (Second class, Third class, Fourth class, Fifth class and Sixth class) took residence in the former boys' school.  The autism centre stayed in the third building. The name given to the new school is Newtownmountkennedy Primary School. The majority of secondary school students travel to the nearby Coláiste Chroabh Abhann in neighbouring Kilcoole.

Transport.

The area is served by the 184 bus route connecting the town with Kilpedder, Greystones and Bray. Bus Éireann route 133 connects the town with Dublin, Bray and Wicklow.  The closest train stations are Greystones and Kilcoole. Greystones and the further, bigger Bray Daly station are accessible by route 184.  The nearest airport is Dublin Airport served by the 133 route and the nearest airfield is Newcastle Aerodrome.  The closest ferry ports are Dublin to the north and Rosslare Europort to the south.

Sports.

Gaelic games.

The Gaelic Athletic Association club of Newtown, known in Irish as Báile úi gCearnaigh, is one of the oldest clubs in the country, being founded in 1887. The club has two adult teams, one contesting the Senior League and Championship, one contesting the Junior A League and Championship. There are also underage teams, ranging from Minor (U-18) down to "Super Sevens" (U-8 and younger).  The club has a number of county championships to its name, including the County Senior Championship, won on in 1964 and 1975.  Newtown GAA Club plays in the colours Black and White, leading to some fans to dub them "The Magpies".

Football.

Newtown has two football clubs, Newtown United and Newtown Juniors. Newtown Juniors are for players up until the age of 16. After that, they move on to the senior teams of Newtown United. Both teams use the same home ground, the Matt Kelly Community Grounds.

Golf.

Druids Glen Golf Resort, which hosted the Irish open from 1996 to 1999, is located about a kilometre east from Newtown. Druids Heath Golf Course, another championship course, is also located in Druids Glen. Glen Mill Golf Club is located to the south of the Newtown past Killadreenan.

Economy.

Coillte, the Irish Forestry operator, has its headquarters just north of the town. French company Procap had its Northern European plant in the town. There is also a small industrial estate located to the south of the village.  The Parkview Hotel opened in the village centre in March 2007. The hotel has 60 bedrooms and conference facilities.  Ecologic received planning permission to build a data centre in Newtownmountkennedy that has an area of 1.1 million square feet (100,000 square metres). This plan was approved by the Supreme Court in December 2013 after numerous appeals by An Bord Pleanála and quashing the High Court's refusal to approve the development.  There is also a shopping center in the town, which includes a Dunnes Stores, a pharmacy and a cafe. A major development was the creation, in 2015, of a new housing development "Wicklow Hills" which comprises a mix of two, three and four bedroom houses.

Newtownmountkennedy () is a small town in County Wicklow, Ireland. It developed within the historic townland of Ballygarny (), although all that remains of the village is an old church and graveyard just outside the town. It acquired its present name in the mid-seventeenth-century, when Sir Robert Kennedy, M.P. for Kildare, made it his principal residence. It is just off the N11 road to Wexford, just south of Kilpedder and south-west of Greystones. It is about north of Wicklow town, south of Bray and approximately from Dublin. The R772 regional road passes through the village. This was the main Dublin-Wexford route, the N11, but the village was bypassed by the new N11 dual carriageway in 1990. This town has one of the longest place names in Ireland.


Early life.

Lau was born in Suzhou, China, in 1965. She moved to Hong Kong at the age of fifteen, and joined TVB's acting classes. She holds citizenship from China and Canada.

Career.

Lau made her on-screen debut in "The Duke of Mount Deer" (1984). She skyrocketed to fame following her role as a wealthy heiress in one of Hong Kong's most-watched ever series, "Looking Back in Anger" (1989).  Lau then expanded to films. She was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress for her role in "Her Beautiful Life Lies" (1989). She received acclaim for her role in "Days of Being Wild" (1991), one of her many collaborations with film director Wong Kar-wai. Despite being embroiled in tabloid scandals, Lau's impressive turn as vivacious cabaret dancer in the film put the focus back onto her talent. She continued to showcase her versatility with impressive performances in martial arts epic "Saviour of the Soul" (1991), biopic "Center Stage" (1991), cross-dressing comedy "He's a Woman, She's a Man" (1994) and offbeat romance "Gigolo and Whore" (1994). Following parts in the wuxia classic "Ashes of Time" (1994) and James Bond pastiche "Forbidden City Cop" (1997), Lau once again attracted the attention of various awards juries with her measured portrayals of bisexual silk factory owner Wan in "Intimates" (1997) and a prostitute in 19th Century epic "Flowers of Shanghai" (1998).  Her roles as Hon Sam's wife in the two "Infernal Affairs" sequels and an android in Wong Kar-wai's "2046" (2004) further increased Lau's international recognition. Lau then stepped in the shoes of Sarah Jessica Parker for the Hong Kong version of "Sex and the City", named "Sex and the Beauties" (2004). She won rave reviews for her performances as unhappily-married Rose in the low-budget thriller "Curiosity Kills the Cat" (2006) and as Wu Zetian in the blockbuster "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" (2010). She received a Best Actress nomination at the Cannes Film Festival for her role as a rich housewife abandoned by her husband in "Bends" (2013).  In 2016, she was one of the celebrities appearing on the Chinese reality show Up Idol. Since then, she has made guest appearances in other Mainland reality TV shows. In June 2017, she, along with her husband, was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Other activities.

She was executive president of Hong Kong's TVMART channel, but was replaced by the board after a loss of 40 million Taiwan Dollars. She told the media that because she had no education, the decisions made by her had some negative influences on the company.

Incidents.

1990 abduction.

In 1990, during the filming of "Days of Being Wild", Lau was abducted for several hours, and topless photos of her were taken. At the time, local papers, through Reuters news agency, reported that Lau was kidnapped, though a police report was not filed. It was believed that the man behind the kidnapping is Albert Yeung, a successful businessman with whom Lau was having a financial dispute. Yeung has said that Lau never wanted to talk about what happened in those missing hours with anyone, including him.  Lau revealed in 2008 that she was abducted by four men working for a triad boss, as "punishment" for having refused a film offer. She said that she had not been taken advantage of during her two-hour ordeal.

2002 "East Week" magazine photo incident.

Naked pictures of Carina Lau were published in the 30 October 2002 edition of "East Week" (magazine), years after Lau was kidnapped by triads who punished her for refusing to take part in a film they were funding.  The nude photos revealed the actress in distress. Massive protests and petitions were held by fellow Hong Kong entertainers, and media ethics by Hong Kong tabloids and gossip magazines were questioned. The magazine was shut down in November 2002, only to be resumed in late 2003. Mong, the publisher of the photo who is 52 years old as of 2009, received a 5-month jail sentence after pleading guilty in December 2008 to publishing obscene photos. Mong now lives in Beijing.

Personal life.

Lau had a relationship with Hong Kong tycoon Julian Hui from 1986 to 1988. They were engaged and lived together, until in April 1988 Hui announced their split. The media described it to be a failed attempt on Lau's part to marry into a wealthy family, when Lau said publicly they split amicably and she remains friends with Hui and his family. Hui is currently married to actress Michelle Reis from 2008.  She has been in a relationship with Tony Leung Chiu-wai since 1989. The couple married on 21 July 2008 at the Uma Paro resort in Bhutan. The wedding itself cost more than HK$30 million and Lau's Cartier wedding ring is worth over HK$10 million. Guests included singer Faye Wong who performed for them on their special day. Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai also directed the ceremony. The wedding created a media frenzy in Hong Kong, with companies spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue the wedding party.  There have long been rumours that Tony Leung and actress Maggie Cheung were romantically involved, which is a hot topic among media outlets in Greater China due to the three's celebrity. Leung and Cheung starred in the film In the Mood for Love together in 1999. The rumoured Lau-Cheung feud was put to an end in 2013 when Lau uploaded a photo of them together to social media. Regarding the love triangle, Lau said in September 2016, during an interview on The Jin Xing Show that'she knows about the affair as much as the public does', that 'if he really likes Maggie Cheung, I'd be happy too. It's his decision.'

Carina Lau Kar-ling (, born 8 December 1965) is a Hong Kong Canadian actress and singer. She started her acting career in TVB, before going on to achieve success in films after 2nd year at the college. She was especially notable in the 1980s for her girl-next-door type roles in films. She also plays Empress Wu Zetian in Tsui Hark's "Detective Dee" films, starting with "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" in 2010. She has won Best Actress awards at Hong Kong Film Award and Mainland China's Golden Rooster Awards, and nominated at Cannes Film Festival and Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards.


Family.

Henuttawy is likely to have been the daughter of Ramesses XI, last king of the 20th dynasty by Tentamun.  The placement of Henuttawy in the royal families of the late 20th dynasty and the early 21st dynasty is not entirely clear and open to interpretation. Duathathor-Henuttawy held several titles, including "King's Daughter; King's Wife; King's Mother; Lady of the Two Lands; Mistress of the Two Lands; Daughter of the Great Royal Wife; Foremost Singer of Amun; Mother of the Great Royal Wife; Mother of the High Priest of Amun; Mother of Generalissimo."  Edward F. Wente had conjectured that Henuttawy was the daughter of Smendes and Queen Tentamun, the wife of Pinudjem I and the mother of King Psusennes and his wife, Mutnodjmet, The High Priest of Amun Menkheperre, the Generalissimo of the South and North, Menkheperre, and God's Wife of Amun Maatkare. Kenneth Kitchen had conjectured there were two women called Henuttawy during the period to explain some of the titles associated with the name Henuttawy.  Wente had shown that Henuttawy was the wife of Pinedjem I, the Theban High Priest of Amun who was de facto ruler of Upper Egypt and took on pharaonic titles later on.  The titles attested for Henuttawy helps us identify which of Pinedjem's children were hers: Psusennes I, who went on to become pharaoh in Tanis; his wife Mutnedjmet; and Maatkare, who became God's Wife of Amun. It is likely she was also the mother of Henuttawy who is depicted along with Maatkare and Mutnedjmet in Karnak. It is more difficult to identify the high priest referred to in her titles: three of Pinedjem's sons, Masaharta, Djedkhonsuefankh and Menkheperre became high priests, and one, two, or all three of them could have been Duathathor-Henuttawy's son.  Niwiński conjectured that Henuttawy was the daughter of Ramesses XI and Tentamun. Dodson recognizes two queens named Tentamun. One is the wife of Ramesses Xi and the mother of Henuttawy. This Queen is mentioned in the funerary papyrus of Queen Hennutawy. Another Queen named Tentamun was presumably a daughter of Ramesses XI and possibly a full sister of Henuttawy, and she was married to Smendes. The latter Tentamun is mentioned in the Story of Wenamun.  She is mentioned before her husband's ascendence to the throne on a chalice found in Tanis, on a door lintel and on a relief in the Khonsu temple in the Karnak temple complex. Even here she is mentioned as a queen, with her name written in a cartouche. Later she is also mentioned on a stela in Coptos, in Mut's temple in Karnak and on several objects found in her son's tomb in Tanis. She is depicted on the facade of the Khonsu temple in Karnak.

Death and burial.

Her mummy and coffins were found in the DB320 cache along with those of several members of her immediate family. She was buried elsewhere before being moved to the cache, but the original place of burial is not known.  Henuttawy's mummy was found in a set of two wooden coffins. The coffins must have been covered in gold, but all of the gold had been adzed off. They are now in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. The mummy was damaged by tomb robbers. In the search for the heart scarab the main part of the chest area had been penetrated. Packing linen under a subject's skin had become common practice in 20th Dynasty mummification, but had caused the flesh on the face of Lady Henuttawy to burst open. The face was restored after discovery.  Auguste Mariette purchased two large funerary papyrus rolls that are thought to have belonged to Queen Henuttawy.

Duathathor-Henuttawy, Henuttawy or Henttawy "("Adorer of Hathor; Mistress of the Two Lands")" was an ancient Egyptian princess and later queen.


Biography.

Fabián Dobles was born in San Antonio de Belén, but his father, a medical doctor who had trained in the United States, soon resettled the family in the rural town of Atenas, in the province of Alajuela. The father was a very strict and devout Catholic and had intended that his son Fabían prepare for the priesthood, but a series of incidents, which he would later fictionalize in his last novel, "Los años, pequeños días" ("Years Like Brief Days"), led Fabián to abandon that career path and to study law at the University of Costa Rica. At an early age, he saw some of his poetry published in Joaquín García Monge's influential literary magazine "Repertorio Americano" ("American Repertoire").  Dobles was active in left-wing political causes, eventually becoming a leading figure within the Communist Party of Costa Rica. He worked in the legal department of the state's Child Welfare Agency and later in the Social Security Administration's division for savings and subsidies. Following the defeat of the government, to which the communists were allied, in the Costa Rican Civil War of 1949, the Communist Party was outlawed and Dobles spent time in prison. After his release, he had difficulty obtaining employment and over the years worked delivering milk, weaving blankets, and as an administrator for a lumber depot and for a door and window manufacturer. An attempt to participate in the 1957 election as the presidential candidate for the "Socialist Party" was scuttled by the authorities.  Dobles eventually found work as an English teacher at the Liceo de Costa Rica, and as a professor of social work at the University of Costa Rica. He was also a correspondent for Novosti, the Soviet international press agency, and for Prensa Latina, a news agency organized by Cuban government. He also worked for the Costa Rican state publisher ("Editorial Costa Rica"), eventually becoming one of its directors.  Over the course of his career, Dobles published eighteen books, including eight novels, seven collections of short stories, and three tomes of poetry. For his literary production, he was awarded the Magón Prize by the Costa Rican government, the nation's highest award for cultural work, in 1968. Some of the short stories in the collection "Historias de Tata Mundo" ("Tales of Daddy World") were anthologized by UNESCO and translated into several languages. The University of Costa Rica published his complete works in five volumes in 1993.  Except for his last novel, "Los años, pequeños días", which is autobiographical, most of Dobles's literary work concerns the struggle for subsistence of simple peasants in rural Costa Rica, or else, notably in "Ese que llaman pueblo", the plight of the urban poor. Most of this work could be classified as coming under the heading of social realism.  Fabián Dobles married Cecilia Trejos in 1942 and the couple had five daughters. He died in his home in San Isidro de Heredia, at the age of 79.

Fabián Dobles Rodríguez (January 17, 1918 – March 22, 1997) was a Costa Rican writer and left-wing political activist. An author of novels, short stories, poems, and essays, he earned international recognition as an author dealing with the plight of the poor and with social protest.


History.

Significant Malay presence in Sri Lanka dated as early as 13th century, when Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja, a Malay of Tambralinga managed to occupy northern part of the island in 1247, nonetheless the followers of Chandrabhanu assimilated into the local population. Many of the ancestors of present-day Sri Lankan Malays coming from soldiers posted by the Dutch which later continued by the British for colonial administration to Sri Lanka, who decided to settle on the island. Other immigrants were convicts or members of noble houses from Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia) who were exiled to Sri Lanka and who never left. The main source of a continuing Malay identity is their common Malay language, the Islamic faith and their ancestral origin from the Malay Archipelago. Many Sri Lankan Malays have been celebrated as courageous soldiers, politicians, sportsmen, lawyers, accountants and doctors.

Society.

Language.

Depending on where they live in the country and other socio-economic factors Sri Lankan Malays speak Sinhala, Tamil and / or English. According to the 2012 Census 79.2% or 28,975 Sri Lankan Malays also spoke Tamil and 66.2% or 24,202 Sri Lankan Malays also spoke English.

Religion.

Like their ancestors in present-day Indonesia and Malaysia, Sri Lankan Malays are Muslim. Mosques were erected by the local Malays along the coasts of Sri Lanka in places like Hambantota, Beruwela, and Galle. The Jawatte mosque in Colombo and Masjidul Jamiya, the military mosque in Slave Island, are acclaimed mosques renowned for their architecture and long history. The first two storeys of the Grand Mosque in Sri Lanka was built by Mohammed Balankaya, an exiled Malay noble of the royal house of Gowa (in present-day Sulawesi, Indonesia). Today the mosque is of great significance and is a symbol of Muslims in Sri Lanka and is the Grand Mosque of Sri Lanka where decisions made here affect the lives of the island's Muslim population.

Sri Lankan Malay names.

First and last names among Sri Lankan Malays are mostly of Sanskrit origin and are similar (including equivalents) to names used by Sinhalese people. Common last names among Sri Lankan Malays include Jayah, Weerabangsa, Sinhawangsa/Sinhawansa, Jayawangsa, Singalaxana, Bangsa Jayah and Wangsa. Malay-origin last names common among Sri Lankan Malay include Lye, Chunchie, Doole, Kitchilan, Kutinun, Kanchil, Sainon, Bongso, Bohoran, Kuppen and Lappen. Arabic names are also used by Sri Lankan Malays including Saldin, Rahman, Drahaman, Bucker, Ramlan, Rajap, Jumat and Mannan. Prefixes of Malay origin such as Tuan, Maas and Raden for males and Gnei, Nona, Sitti Nona and Gnonya for females are commonly used as first names among Sri Lankan Malays. .Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam

Legacy.

Malay place names in Sri Lanka.

Some place names in Sri Lanka have references, indicating the presence of Javanese and Malay communities or contribution to the location. Some of these are:  and names of streets such as Malay Street, Java Lane, Jalan Padang

Sri Lankan Malays, also known in Sinhalese as "Ja Minissu" (;, literally "Javanese"), are Sri Lankans with full or partial ancestry from the Malay Archipelago (most of whom are of Javanese descent). The term is used as a catch-all term historically used for all natives of the Malay Archipelago who reside in Sri Lanka. They number approximately 40,000 and make up 0.20% of the Sri Lankan population, making them the fourth largest ethnic group in the country and are one of the five main ethnic groups of the country.


"Beasts of England".

"Beasts of England", the original anthem of the "Animal Farm" corresponds to the famous socialist anthem, "The Internationale", but also alludes to Shelley's "Men of England".  In the book, the pig Old Major explains his dream of an animal-controlled society three nights before his death. The song's tune is described in the novel as sounding like a combination of "La Cucaracha" and "Oh My Darling Clementine".  Alternate melodies: "Ode to Joy" or "Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee" or "Come Thou Fount of every Blessing" or "Ebenezer", or "Anthem of the Soviet Republics".  The animals sing "Beasts of England" frequently after the rebellion, especially after meetings. At one point when Clover the horse questions the direction of Animal Farm, she sings "Beasts of England" which causes the other animals to join in.  After "Beasts of England" has been used to express criticism of the direction of Animal Farm, Napoleon tries to supplant the song, arguing that such an anthem is antiquated and no longer needed after the rebellion has been completed. The anthem is first replaced by the short "Animal Farm!" and later by "Comrade Napoleon", while "Beasts of England" is eventually outlawed. The phasing out of "Beasts of England" as the anthem of Animal Farm corresponds to the Soviet Union's 1944 replacement of "The Internationale" with the National Anthem of the Soviet Union. However, while "Beasts of England" was banned in Animal Farm, "The Internationale" was not in the Soviet Union at any time and remained the anthem of the Communist Party.  Suzanne Gulbin compares the role of "Beasts of England" to that of the conch in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies": it serves to create enthusiasm and unity, and its banning represents the loss of hope for a better life. Florence and William Boos read the fact that the animals continue to sing "Beasts of England" after it is banned as a testimony to the power of the memory of Old Major.

"Animal Farm!".

"Animal Farm!" is the anthem first replacing "Beasts of England" after Squealer manages to convince the other animals that the original anthem is not required. Its purpose is to inspire loyalty to the farm, and also to the new leadership. Minimus the poet composes a short, new anthem which starts:  But it is noted that it does not inspire the animals as much as "Beasts of England."  Paul Kirschner writes that the switch from "Beasts of England" to "Animal Farm!" is a parody of the transition from Lenin's proletarian internationalism to Stalin's "Socialism in One Country". The song itself is most likely a reference to the State Anthem of the Soviet Union.

"Comrade Napoleon".

As Napoleon became more powerful, he replaced "Beasts of England!" with another anthem, again written by Minimus. The anthem praised and glorified Napoleon, attributing many of the successes on the farm to him, even though he had little or no role in them. The poem marked the general happy feeling towards the rule of Napoleon at the time in the book and was painted on the wall of the big barn opposite the Seven Commandments. It was capped by a portrait of Napoleon drawn by Squealer in white paint.

1999 film adaptation.

In the 1999 film adaptation, "Beasts of England" is retitled "Beasts of the World" and given different lyrics:  There is a reprise of the song but the second verse is changed, but it's a bit difficult to understand:  "Comrade Napoleon" is replaced by a song titled "Glorious Leader Napoleon", put to the tune of the Russian song "V Put":  In the same film, a new song was written for Napoleon by a "grateful duck", called "Napoleon, Mighty Leader".

George Orwell's 1945 allegorical novel "Animal Farm" contains various anthems adopted by the eponymous farm, most notably the original anthem "Beasts of England" and its later replacement "Comrade Napoleon".


Biography.

In Ypres, the members of the family on his father’s side came from modest origins. The men were day labourers, builders, innkeepers or saddlers and the women were dressmakers or lace makers. Jean Francois, his father (1794–1837) was an upholsterer and his mother, Victoire Félicité (1789–1870), was the daughter of a tradesman from Aire-sur-la Lys (France).  His first marriage took place in Ixelles on 19 November 1847 to Éléonore Bodson from Dinant (1792–1854) and on 14 October 1858 in Louvain he later married Marie Anne Tilly, who bore him a son named Hector (1859–1895). He lived in the Belgian capital from 1847, changing his address several times, from rue aux Herbes Potagères 30 to Saint-Josse-ten-Noode up to 1848, rue Goffart 28 in Ixelles until 1853, chaussée de Wavre 31, also in Ixelles until 1859, chaussée de Charleroi 131 in Saint-Gilles until 1863 and finally rue du Financier, which was renamed a little later to rue Godecharle 16 in Ixelles.  François Roffiaen was barely three years old, when for unknown reasons he went to live with his paternal uncle, Joseph-Louis-Augustin, who was a bookseller in the rue de l’Ange in Namur, the city where he spent, as he himself noted « "the most beautiful years of his existence" » and where he frequented the Atheneum, as well as the Academy of Painting (1835–1839) under the direction of Ferninand Marinus (1808–1890). Among his fellow students were Louis Bonet (1822–1894), Jean Baptiste Kindermans (1821–1876) and Joseph Quinaux (1822–1895).  He followed his artistic studies at the Academy of Brussels (1839–1842), notably under the famous "vedutiste", François Bossuet (1789–1889) who was responsible for teaching him perspective and who was the authority on landscapes and city views. Then he attended the Brussels studio of Pierre-Louis Kühnen (1812–1877), a painter originating from Aix-la-Chapelle, specialised in painting romantic landscapes. Roffiaen received for that reason an annual subsidy of 600 francs, paid by the city of Ypres (1841–1845 or 1846). At the same time, he taught drawing at the college of Dinant. To thank the city of his birth for the support they had given him, he gave a "Landscape with Hydraulic Mill" (1844), a "Waterfall of the Aar in the High Alps and" a "View from Grütli on Lake Geneva" (1857) to the local museum. He also bequeathed a lot later a large "Valley of Chamonix" to the commune of Ixelles, of which he was on the board of directors since the time of its creation in 1892.  These titles clearly reveal one of the artist’s favourite themes, the representation of Alpine landscapes. Deeply impressed by the canvases Alexandre Calame (1810 - 1864) had sent to Belgian Salons, François Roffiaen indeed won a place at Geneva in the autumn of 1846 and stayed for six months beside this master, before discovering the mountains himself. He continued to familiarise himself with the landscapes of Switzerland, Austria, Upper Bavaria and the Haute-Savoie during several other journeys (1852, 1855, 1856, 1864, 1868, 1879). But the painter also liked to represent picturesque scenes of the valleys of the Meuse and the Ourthe, the Scottish lochs, discovered in 1862, or the extensive heather of Limbourg, which he travelled through from the middle of the preceding decade, so that like Edmond Tschaggeny (1818–1873), he became one of the pioneers of the Campine Painters (called the School of Genk), a school which has been unjustly forgotten.  Since the beginning of the year 1840, Roffiaen adopted the path followed by all artists, anxious to assure the greatest possible publicity for their works : participation in big group exhibitions. That is how for more than fifty years his paintings came to be hanging on the picture rails of the three yearly Salons of Antwerp, Brussels and Gent and were included in very many exhibitions in the provinces (Bruges, Dendermonde, Kortrijk, Leuven, Liège, Mechelen, Mons, Namur, Spa, Ostend, Ypres) and abroad (Alger, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bremen, Caracas, Dublin, Le Havre, London, Lyon, Melbourne, Munich, Nice, Paris, Reims, Rotterdam, The Hague).  The years 1850–1860 were those of his greatest success, including numerous sales in Belgium, in Great Britain and in the United States, having works acquired by the Shah of Persia, by the Belgian and British royal houses, a study tour of Scotland commissioned by Queen Victoria, but which unfortunately never took place because of the sudden death of Albert, Prince Consort (December 1861), and when he received the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre de Léopold (1869).  His painting, constructed according to indefinitely repeated formulae and each year becoming a little more tired, finished however by wearying the art chroniclers : « "Critics of the press have often reproached him for the bias he shows in his painting. M Roffiaen has ignored them, he has continued to accumulate landscapes of Belgium, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, what do I know, combing them without rest, using the same formula, making do with the same sky, the same trees, the same rocks, unconcerned by the latitudes, according to the taste of a special public, who buy all of that and pay him handsomely. Leave M. Roffiaen alone, gentlemen of the press, he paints his little nature scenes one demands of him and knows well the reason why." » (G. H., "L’Organe de Namur et de la Province", 1874). However, on several occasions a critic like Gustave Lagye (1843–1908) attempted to emphasise the qualities of his art, both in its extreme delicacy and finesse and in its almost photographic detail. « "Although opposed to M. Roffiaen for his manner of painting, dry and thin, I am obliged to admire him for the prodigious ability and above all for the exquisite art with which he holds grandiose panoramas in the narrowest of frames, where he chisels the smallest bump with the scruples of a miniaturist. Allow lovers of great painting to prefer in general large studies, executed in a day of fever and inspiration, but the tourist always prefers fine and complete pictorial photographs, where M. Roffiaen allows them to rediscover the scenes that he admired and details of the places themselves from an enthusiastic and curious point of view. His Borders of the Meuse, at Wauslort ; his Marshes of Genck, at the approach of Sunset ; his View into the Bernese Overland, are treated in a gothic manner, also in their perspective and their elegance. M. Roffiaen is a figure apart in the Belgian artistic movement and one should give him the justice he is due" » ("La Féderation artistique", 1877). The execution of certain animals or little characters which fill out his works have been left to others more expert than he in these matters, as is the custom in traditional artistic circles : Johannes Hubertus Leonardus de Haas (1832-1908), Adolf Dillens (1821–1877), Théodore Gérard (1829–1902), Louis Robbe (1806–1887), Paul Van der Vin (1823–1877), Frans Van Leemputten (1850–1914), Eugène Verboeckhoven (1799–1881) or again the brothers Edward (1819–1897) and Constant (1823–1867) Woutermaetens.  Initiated in April 1854 into the most important lodge in the kingdom, "The True Friends of the Union and of Progress Reunited", François Roffiaen pushed his masonic career up to the 33rd and last degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, his name appearing in the "List of Great General Inspectors" for the Supreme Council of Belgium, of which he was Grand Master of Ceremonies for twenty eight years. In 1883, his involvement encouraged him to pay homage openly by dedicating one of his paintings to his Brother, General Antonio Guzmán-Blanco (1829–1899), president of the republic of Venezuela.  François Roffiaen is equally illustrious in the domain of natural sciences, to which Jules Colbeau (1823–1881) introduced him in his youth. While children the two companions already took delight in observing nature in the little property that Colbeau’s parents owned in the suburbs of Namur. Once adult, they took a journey together to Switzerland (1852) where they collected insects, butterflies and molluscs. In January 1863, their mutual passion for the last type of living creatures led them, with five other people, Firmin De Malzine, Egide Fologne, Henri Lambotte, Alexandre Seghers and Joseph Weyers – to found the Malacological Society of Belgium, to whose "Annals" Roffiaen made diverse contributions : « Notes conchyoliogiques » (French translation from an article in Italian by Dr Senoner (t.1) ; « Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles recueillis en Suisse » and « Essais pour obtenir les Helix scalariformes » (t.3) ; « Coquilles recueillies à Hastière et à Chimay" (t. 6) ; « Mollusques observés dans la vallée de l’Ourthe »" (t. 8) ; « Mollusques recueillis dans le Grand-Duché de Luxembourg » (t. 9) ; « Mollusques recueillis à Gand » ; « Mollusques recueillis à Waulsor » (t. 10) ; « Mollusques recueillis dans les environs de Gand » (t. 11) ; « Notes sur des mollusques recueillis à Waulsort » (t. 12) ; « Jules Colbeau et la Société royale malacologique de Belgique » (t. 16) ; « Rapport sur l’assemble générale du 1er juillet 1882 » (t. 17). The owner of a remarkable personal collection of molluscs, he also attended to the increase and the presentation of those of the Malacological Society, invented a series of instruments used to extract the animals from their shells and constructed a cochlearium, a sort of vivarium used for the observation and raising of molluscs. A sign of the place he occupies in this little scholarly world of his time, two of the animals—one living and a fossil—even received his name, "Planorbis Roffiaeni" and "Cyprina Roffiaeni" respectively.  Some months after his death, the local authorities gave the name of François Roffiaen to a street in Ixelles. In 1907, an article was dedicated to him in the Biographie nationale, edited by the Royal Academy of Belgium. Madeleine Ley (1901–1981), his great grand daughter (Prix Rossel 1940), called his image briefly to mind in her novel Olivia (Gallimard, 1936 ; re-edition Labor, 1986). But the character had already been forgotten. In the first half of the twentieth century his name was no longer cited except by chance, his case dismissed in a few hasty phrases and often scathingly, preferring a livlier form of art, one that was more personal, more « sincere », more « credible », in a word, more « modern » than his, as if this was understood once and for all. Since the years 1960–70, however, there has been a renewal of interest in the art of the « little masters » of the nineteenth century, to which there are more than one « "folding away seat of some kind after the official armchair that many among them have occupied at the time of a triumphant academism and towards which certain people attempt to return, since the course of taste is in perpetual motion" » (Gérald Schurr, 1979), and the work of Roffiaen is on the way to becoming rehabilitated. A first exhibition was especially dedicated to him at the communal Museum of Ypres, from 5 December 1998 to 4 April 1999.

Jean "François" Xavier Roffiaen (9 August 1820, Ypres, West Flanders – 25 January 1898, Ixelles) was a Belgian landscape painter who specialised in painting Alpine landscapes.


History.

The race was first run on May 25, 1874, the same day as the inaugural running of the Grand National de France (now the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris). It was originally open to horses aged four or older, and it was initially contested over 4,000 metres. This was increased to 4,800 metres in its second year, and to 5,000 metres in 1880. The race was given a new date in 1882 – it was moved to the Wednesday after the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, which continued to be run on the last Sunday in May. The following year saw the launch of a new steeplechase at Auteuil, the Prix des Drags, and this was scheduled for the Friday of the same week. This week of top class jump races became known as the "Grande Semaine d'Auteuil". The Grande Course de Haies was run as a handicap until 1889, but since then it has held weight for age conditions.  The race was abandoned throughout World War I, with no running from 1915 to 1918. During World War II it was cancelled only once, in 1940. The minimum age was raised to five in 1961, when a new hurdle race, the Grande Course de Haies des 4 Ans (later titled the Prix Alain du Breil), was introduced specifically for four-year-olds. The distance of the Grande Course de Haies was extended to 5,100 metres in 1969. This was cut to 4,100 metres in 1975, and then restored to 5,100 metres in 1979.  Four horses have won both this event and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. These are Blagueur II, Loreto, Ubu III and Mid Dancer. The 1947 winner of the Grande Course de Haies, Le Paillon, later won the most prestigious flat race in France, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. The 1984 winner, Dawn Run (a mare trained in Ireland), also won both the Champion Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in England. She returned to Auteuil to attempt a repeat victory in 1986, but during the race she misjudged a hurdle, fell, and died almost instantly.  In 2010, the race was won by flat jockey Christophe Soumillon.

The Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil, sometimes referred to as the French Champion Hurdle, is a Group 1 hurdle race in France which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 5,100 metres (about 3 miles and 11⁄2 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.


In the car.

Distracted driving is a dangerous threat to road safety across the world. While drunk driving rates have been on the decline since 1983, distracted driving has been increasing in recent years. Many feel this incline is due to the widespread prevalence of cell phones. While distracted driving can be attributed to anything that diverts attention away from the road, it is often the cell phone that receives the blame for distracted driving incidents. Most of the recent Studies have shown that cell phone usage while driving has striking similarities to the effects of drinking while driving; Cell phones tend to take the driver's attention away from the road and onto itself. With drunk driving, drivers often experience the "looking but not seeing" phenomena. While their eyes do indeed view objects on the road, their brains do not comprehend the meaning behind the image. All levels of distraction while driving are dangerous, and potential drivers are cautioned to keep awareness of their surroundings.

In the classroom.

Many psychological studies show that switching between tasks, use of technology, and overstimulation has increased levels of distraction in the school setting. At school, distraction is often viewed as a source of poor performance and misbehavior. Distraction makes focusing on singular, assigned tasks more difficult. Digital components of learning are an emerging component to classroom distraction. Parents, teachers, students, and scholars all have opinions about how technology either benefits or harms a students’ focus in an academic setting. Research studies show that neuron circuits indicate a decrease in ability to be attentive to goal relative stimulus with the addition of distracting stimuli interference. School-aged students, with developing brains, are more apt to conflicting stimuli while trying to focus. Large classroom sizes, technology use in and outside the classroom, and less natural stimuli have been seen as contributing factors to deflating test scores and classroom participation.

In the workplace.

Multitasking could also be considered as distraction in situations requiring full attention on a single object (e.g., sports, academic tests, performance). The issue of distraction in the workplace is studied in interruption science. According to Gloria Mark, a leader in interruption science, the average knowledge worker switches tasks every three minutes, and, once distracted, a worker takes nearly a half-hour to resume the original task.

In fiction.

In works of fiction, distraction is often used as a source of comedy, whether the amusement comes from the gullibility of those distracted or the strangeness of whatever is utilized to create the distraction. Examples of comedic distraction, also called comic relief, can oftentimes be found in Shakespearean plays. In "Hamlet", Shakespeare includes a scene in which two gravediggers joke around about Ophelia's death. While her death is by no means meant to be funny, a small break from the sadness helped to appease the groundlings in Shakespeare's time, as well as allow the rest of the audience to take a break from the constant "doom and gloom" of his tragedies.

In religion.

Rabbi Allen Lew in his book, "This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared", writes, "The thoughts that carry our attention away [during prayer or meditation] are never insignificant thoughts and they never arise at random. We lose our focus precisely because these thoughts need our attention and we refuse to give it to them. This is why they keep sneaking up on our attention and stealing it away. This is how it is that we come to know ourselves as we settle deeply into the act of prayer [or meditation]". According to philosopher Damon Young, distraction is chiefly an inability to identify, attend to or attain what is valuable, even when we are hard-working or content.  Distraction was a key battle strategy in tales from the Trojan War. According to the legend, the Greeks seemed to have retreated by pretending to sail away. In their stead, they left a large wooden horse, which the Trojans then chose to bring back within their walls in order to celebrate their supposed victory. The Greeks used the Trojans' pride as a distraction, as they actually hid men within the Trojan Horse in order to let the rest of the army in during the cover of night. The Greeks then entered and destroyed the city of Troy, effectively ending the 10-year standoff that was the Trojan War.

In medicine.

Distraction is useful in the management of pain and anxiety. Dentists, for example may intentionally hum an annoying tune or engage in small talk just to create a diversion from the dental surgery process. Topical ointments containing capsaicin, provide a superficial burning sensation that can momentarily distract a patient's attention away from the more serious pain of arthritis or muscle strain. A similar effect is made by oil of cloves, which produces a burning sensation on the gums, and distracts from toothache.  Distraction is often used as a coping mechanism for short-term emotion regulation. When presented with an unpleasant reality, humans often choose to occupy their attention with some other reality in order to remain in a positive mental state. This is referred to as ‘procrastination’ when the unpleasant reality is in the form of work. The natural human inclination to distract oneself was put to the test when the Department of Psychology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Humboldt University of Berlin) held an experiment to study distraction. The goal of the experiment was to examine whether the effects of distraction on where subjects held their attention during repeated picture processing is changed by regular emotional functions. Furthermore, they hypothesized that while distraction assists in short-term emotional regulation, it is actually harmful in the long term. In order to do so, the experimenters had subjects view 15 unpleasant pictures (Set A) and “attend” to them (meaning the subjects were asked to pay full attention to the pictures). Next, the subjects were shown 15 unpleasant pictures (Set B) and were asked to distract themselves from the pictures (meaning they were to think about anything other than the picture on the screen; their example was to think about “the way to the supermarket”). Finally, the subjects were shown 15 neutral pictures (Set C) and were asked to attend to them. After 10 minutes of rest, the subjects entered the “re-exposure phase”, which repeated the experiment- this time requiring the subjects to pay attention to all of the sets, including Set B. This experiment was performed on 3 separate blocks of participants. To examine the state of the subjects’ brain, the subject was to wear “Ag/AgCl-electrodes from 61 head sites using an EasyCap electrode system with an equidistant electrode montage. Additional external electrodes were placed below the left (IO1) and right eye (IO2), below T1 (ground), on the nasion, and on the neck.” The subjects were also asked to rate the unpleasantness of the picture on the screen on a scale of 1-9. To test whether distraction in the first phase resulted in increased responsiveness during the re-exposure phase, experimenters “compared mean unpleasantness ratings between unpleasant pictures that were previously presented in the attend (previous attention) versus distract (previous distraction) condition using a paired t-test”. The end results of the experiment were as such: Essentially, when exposed to an unpleasant image, the subject feels initial discomfort. However, after being exposed to it once with their full attention, the subject feels much less discomfort the second time they are exposed. When the subject distracts themselves from the initial unpleasant image, the subject feels more discomfort the second time when they are required to attend to the image. The experimenters’ conclusion is thus: “the obtained results suggest that distraction inhibits elaborate processing of the stimulus' meaning and adapting to it.”

In crime.

Con artists and shoplifters sometimes create a distraction to facilitate their crimes. Armed robbers may create a distraction after their robbery, such as pulling a fire alarm, to create confusion and aid in their getaway. In a more serious case of crime, Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik exploded a car bomb in Oslo city. It was a reportedly distraction that directed police resources to Oslo city, allowing him to carry out his shooting spree unopposed on Utøya island.

In "magic".

Magicians use distraction techniques to draw the audience's attention away from whichever hand is engaged in sleight of hand. Magicians can accomplish this by encouraging the audience to look elsewhere or by having an assistant do or say something to draw the audience's attention away. Sleight of hand is often used in close-up magic, performed with the audience close to the magician, usually within three or four meters, possibly in physical contact. It often makes use of everyday items as props, such as cards and coins. The guiding principle of sleight-of-hand, articulated by legendary close-up magician Dai Vernon, is "be natural". A well-performed sleight looks like an ordinary, natural and completely innocent gesture, change in hand-position or body posture.  It is commonly believed that sleight of hand works because “the hand is quicker than the eye” but this is usually not the case. In addition to manual dexterity, sleight of hand depends on the use of psychology, timing, misdirection, and natural choreography in accomplishing a magical effect. Misdirection is perhaps the most important component of the art of sleight of hand. The magician choreographs his actions so that all spectators are likely to look where he or she wants them to. More importantly, they do not look where the performer does not wish them to look. Two types of misdirection are timing and movement. Timing is simple: by allowing a small amount of time to pass after an action, events are skewed in the viewer's mind. Movement is a little more complicated. A phrase often used is "A larger action covers a smaller action". Care must be taken however to not make the larger action so big that it becomes suspicious.

By media.

Propagandizing techniques of distraction are used in media manipulation. The idea is to encourage the public to focus on a topic or idea that the compliance professional feels is supportive of their cause. By focusing attention, a particular ideology can be made to seem the only reasonable choice. Oftentimes, media competition is the driving force for media bias, manipulation, and distraction. If a media company can find an audience with a united ideology, it then develops a loyal consumer base, as its consumers will be happy with the way media is presented. A so-called "conservative" media outlet would not hire a "liberal" reporter, as they would run the risk of alienating its viewership.  Distraction is also important in studies of media multitasking, or the simultaneous use of multiple media at once. This behavior has emerged as increasingly common since the 1990s, especially among younger media users. Studies show that while humans are predisposed to the desire to multitask, most people struggle to have legitimate productivity while multitasking. Instead of giving a task full attention, the split attention that multitasking necessitates can cause one task to be a distraction to another. On the other hand, some studies show that multitasking has the potential for a high-risk high-reward situation, leading to the idea that success can arise from multitasking if one is good at the activity.

Distraction is the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from a desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or attractiveness of something other than the object of attention. Distractions come from both external sources, and internal sources. External distractions include factors such as visual triggers, social interactions, music, text messages, and phone calls. There are also internal distractions such as hunger, fatigue, illness, worrying, and daydreaming. Both external and internal distractions contribute to the interference of focus.


History.

Debut and demo tape.

Arising from a very assorted musical scene, the band played under the name of Breed Machine until changing their musical structure. The founding members were Nuno Loureiro (lead guitar and vocals), Paulo Lafaia (drums), Alexandre Afonso (bass), and Ricardo Correia (guitar). All of them had previous projects, including Nuno Merciless Death, Exiled, Sublevel, Disaffected, Grog, and Squad. All of the members had also played with Mortify. The band started to work on songs, they began to tour, and in the last two weeks of December 1998, they released a demo tape. The tape was produced by Nuno Loureiro and recorded in the band's rehearsal room.

"Aggressive Ways to Pacify".

In April 1999, work on the debut album, "Aggressive Ways to Pacify", began in the Rec'N'Roll studios, owned by Luis Barros. Soon after, the band signed a record deal with Paranoid Records. "Aggressive Ways to Pacify" was released in 2001. After its release, Painstruck began an extensive tour of Portugal and Spain. The tour included a two-date set with the heavy-metal band Biohazard. In summer 2002, Painstruck received an invitation to play at one of Portugal's largest summer festivals, Ermal. Other invitees included Slipknot, Dimmu Borgir, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

"A Whole New Perception".

"Aggressive Ways to Pacify" sold well in Portugal that year. The second album, "A Whole New Perception", was already finished by March, and was released in October 2002. Painstruck aimed for this to be their masterpiece. The first release of the album sold out, and a second edition, with never-before-seen photos and videos, was released.  In 2003, Painstruck played a two-night set with Stone Sour. A friend of the band recorded the action and compiled the footage in a video for one of the band's singles, "In Us You Live." The video played throughout the year on the TV station Sol Musica, and the band was invited to the 2003 Ermal festival, one of Portugal's most famous festivals.

Recent events.

In April 2005, the band began a new round of touring. Early in 2006, they opened for Testament. In, 2006, Painstruck released an EP, "The Scalpel", and in 2008, a self-released album, "Hell's Wrath In God's Glory".

Painstruck are a doom-death band from Portugal formed in August 1997. The current members of the group are Nuno Loureiro, Raul Vicente, and Paulo Lafaia.


Personal life.

He was married to the Australian women's soccer player Danielle Small from 2006 to 2009. He is now married to Jessica Jaques, and is the father to a son Samuel Jaques and daughter Charlotte Jaques.

Early career and domestic success.

Jaques commenced his cricketing career whilst a student at Nareena Hills Public School in Wollongong. A junior with the Wests team in Wollongong he moved onto the Sutherland club while still attending Figtree High School to further his career.  In 1999 Jaques was awarded a cricketing scholarship by New South Wales, which enabled him to spend the English summer playing for Northern Cricket Club near Liverpool. A last minute call up to the NSW team on 15 March 2001 for a match against Queensland saw him rush from Sydney to Brisbane where he arrived in time to debut at the unfamiliar number 10 position with the score at 70/8, up against a Queensland attack on a seaming green-top, he top scored with 40.  After struggling to establish himself for New South Wales thereafter, Jaques transformed his career by signing for the English County Championship side Northamptonshire in 2003. He was prolific, hitting over 1200 runs including a double century and returned to NSW an established member of the Pura Cup Champions. 2003/04 saw the consolidation of Jaques' English form in Australia as he built a reputation of being a player who could score quickly but also occupy the crease for many hours. After returning to England to play for Yorkshire (1,118 runs in 2004 and 1,359 in 2005) and maintaining a consistent standard with New South Wales (1,191 runs in 2004–05), many were calling for his promotion to the national team. He went back to England to play for Worcestershire for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, where he scored 1689 runs in 18 matches. Uniquely for the current Australian test team, Jaques has played more first-class games overseas than he has in Australia (62 overseas, mainly in England, 51 in Australia as of 25 November 2007). His batting average in the English County Championship is also quite a lot better than his average in the Pura Cup (59.31 compared to 47.46 as of 25 November 2007).

Eligibility.

Jaques was born to English parents, Stuart and Mary, and is a holder of a British passport. This made him eligible to play for both England and Australia. With Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer established at the top of the Australian batting line up, Jaques himself did not rule out qualifying to become an English player. However, his desire to play for Australia proved too strong, and his record-breaking form in the 2004–05 season led to his Australian international call-up.

International cricket.

In 2005–06 a timely century in the Pura Cup followed three consecutive centuries in the ING Cup for New South Wales, and Jaques was selected for the Australian squad for the 2nd Test against South Africa starting on Boxing Day, 2005 in Melbourne after regular opener Justin Langer pulled a hamstring in the previous match. He was unable to capitalise however, making only 2 and 28. Jaques was given another chance making 66 in his second Test against Bangladesh in April 2006 after Langer was ruled out with concussion sustained in an earlier Test.  Making his One-Day International debut for Australia against South Africa, Jaques made 94, falling six runs short of his maiden century. His innings broke a 23-year-old record of the highest score on debut for Australia in a One-Day International. In November 2006, Jaques scored successive centuries in three days against England, in the warm up to the 2006–07 Ashes series in Australia. His first, playing for a Prime Minister's XI, was an impressive 112. His second was 107, playing for New South Wales. However the selectors stuck with regular openers Hayden and Langer and Jaques was forced to bide his time with NSW. One year later, and following the retirement from international cricket of Justin Langer, Jaques was called up to the Test squad for the home series against Sri Lanka ahead of his rival for the place, Western Australia's Chris Rogers, in part due to a fluent second innings 167 in a Pura Cup match against Western Australia in which Rogers scored 9 and 17.  Jaques took full advantage of his opportunity to start to cement a permanent opening slot in the Australian side by scoring his maiden test century in the first test at the Gabba. Jaques was dropped on 68 and 90 but made the most of these lives to notch up his first hundred at international level with a boundary off the first ball after a drinks break. His century came from 196 balls and included 14 fours, it having taken him 34 deliveries to get off the mark. He was dismissed without adding to his score just seven balls later, stumped by Prasanna Jayawardene off Muttiah Muralitharan. One week later, Jaques impressed again by scoring 150 and 68 in the second test at the Bellerive Oval. This was enough for him to be selected as Hayden's opening partner for the 2008 West Indies tour where he starred with a century in the final test at Bridgetown. On the subsequent tour to India he was dropped when Simon Katich was selected ahead of him. He returned home early to have surgery on long term back problems, and did not return to the Test team.  For his performances in 2007, he was named in the World Test XI by Cricinfo.

Philip Anthony Jaques (; born 3 May 1979 in Wollongong, New South Wales) is a former Australian cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman who has played first-class cricket for New South Wales, Northamptonshire, Yorkshire and Worcestershire, as well as international cricket for Australia.


Synopsis.

In the pilot episode, Ricky Stratton (Ricky Schroder) arrives at the mansion of the father he has never met to introduce himself, move in, and get to know him better. Edward Stratton III (Joel Higgins) epitomizes the phrase "overgrown child"; he has never taken responsibility for anything in his life, including his toy business, Eddie's Toys. Ricky recognizes that his father needs to grow up; Edward thinks his son is too uptight and needs to have more fun while he's still young.  Edward's father is played by John Houseman as the intelligent, well-to-do patriarch and industrialist whose demeanor starkly contrasts with Edward's and seems more similar to Ricky's (at first). Throughout the series, the comic tension arises between Grandfather Stratton's belief that people with money are obligated to make more money and Edward's belief that money should be used to make people happy. Ricky is often caught between the two, wishing only for peace and harmony within the family.  Ricky's mother is Evelyn Bluedhorn (Christine Belford). Edward and Evelyn's romantic relationship led to a week-long marriage. Now Evelyn has remarried and placed Ricky in a military boarding school. When Ricky arrives at the Stratton residence, Edward is stunned to discover that his long-ago brief marriage produced a son (when he expressed incredulousness because he "wasn't married that long," Ricky pointed out, "It doesn't "take" that long"). At first he sends Ricky right back to the boarding school; later he dresses up as a swamp monster to take Ricky out of the school and back to the mansion to live with him. The mansion is stocked with arcade games and a scale-model freight train runs through it.  Edward exhibits his childishness and playfulness in many ways, such as performing a little dance while the "Pac-Man" plays its theme song. Stratton's personal assistant, Kate Summers (Erin Gray), is often the voice of reason. Kate's role adds tension to the show and provides incentive for Edward to act more maturely (at least sometimes). Edward and Kate's will-they-or-won't-they relationship gives way to a third-season wedding.  During the series' early years, Ricky befriends "bad boy" Derek Taylor (Jason Bateman, seasons 1–2), smooth-talking "cowboy" J.T. Martin (Bobby Fite, seasons 1–2), and "nerdy" Freddy Lippincottleman (Corky Pigeon, seasons 1–4). They get into a lot of trouble and learn many childhood lessons along the way.  Edward's original attorney was Leonard Rollins (Leonard Lightfoot), who departed after the first season, and was replaced by the aptly named business manager Dexter Stuffins (Franklyn Seales), who was somewhat stuffier and more erudite than Leonard had been. Dexter remained through the rest of the series and was joined in fall 1984 by his hip, breakdancing nephew Alfonso Spears (Alfonso Ribeiro, seasons 3–5), who became Ricky's new best friend. Once Ricky, Freddy and Alfonso were in high school in season four, their circle was completed by Brad (Billy Jacoby, seasons 4–5), a reintroduction of the type of "bad boy"-character similar to that of Derek during the show's early years. That year, as Kate and Edward adjusted to married life, Kate's doddering uncle, Harry Summers (Ray Walston), moved into the Stratton mansion.

Production notes.

Theme song.

The show's theme song titled "Together" was written by Rik Howard and Bob Wirth. The original version was accompanied mostly by guitar with vocals by Ron Dante. Two other versions of the theme were used during the show's run. A synthesized version was used in 1985 with a different vocalist. The third version of the theme, a rock version, was introduced in January 1986 and began in use during the second half of season 4 with vocals again by Ron Dante and composed by Ray Colcord.

The Stratton mansion.

The brick Tudor period mansion shown in the opening credits is actually a private residence located in Warwickshire, England. The elaborate home, named Compton Wynyates, was built in 1481. Before "Silver Spoons", it was used in the 1977 Disney film "Candleshoe", starring Helen Hayes, Jodie Foster and David Niven.

Reruns and syndication.

Reruns of "Silver Spoons" aired on NBC's daytime schedule from July 1, 1985 to September 20, 1985 at 10:00am (EST).  The show was also rerun on WWOR EMI Service from December 28, 1992 to September 3, 1993. Select episodes were also aired on Nick at Nite in 2001 and 2005. The show is also available on Xfinity digital cable's On Demand service as of September 19, 2006. Chicago's WWME ("Me TV") currently airs two episodes back to back on Saturday afternoons. The first season is also available for purchase by episode or season on iTunes. In 2008, video on demand sites Hulu and Crackle began airing the syndicated version of the first season of "Silver Spoons".  FamilyNet (now The Cowboy Channel) aired reruns of the series nightly with back-to-back episodes at 9pm Eastern (and noon ET Mondays-Saturdays), until June 30, 2017, when the network underwent a programming format change the following day. Antenna TV began airing reruns of the series starting in January 2018.

Home media.

On June 19, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of "Silver Spoons" on DVD in Region 1. As of 2015, this release has been discontinued and is out of print. It is unknown if the remaining 4 seasons will be released.

Silver Spoons is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the first four seasons, until Embassy Communications moved the series to syndication.