Background.

On June 24, 1968, the Beach Boys released the album "Friends", which peaked at number 126 and remained on the "Billboard" Top LPs chart for 10 weeks. It became the group's worst-selling album to date, with record sales in the US estimated at 18,000 units. To recuperate from the album's poor sales, the band quickly released the standalone single "Do It Again". The song was a self-conscious throwback to the group's early surf songs, and the first time they had embraced the subject matter since 1964. It reached the US top twenty and became their second number one hit in the UK. Biographer Chrisian Matijas-Mecca wrote that "while this may have been some of Brian's strongest work of the period, it did nothing to reverse the band's decline in popularity."  Brian Wilson said that by early 1968, the group had begun losing thousands of dollars "on stupid things... cars, houses... bad investments... a heck of a lot of corporation money on Brother Records, our own company, and in boosting other artists who just didn't make it, and didn't have a single hit." One of these artists was Ron Wilson (no relation to Brian), who co-wrote "We're Together Again" with him for the Beach Boys, but the group's recording was left unreleased. In turn, Brian produced an ultimately unsuccessful solo single for Ron, a cover of "As Tears Go By", which was released by Columbia Records in September. Another artist that the group worked with was an ex-convict named Charles Manson, who was then seeking a career as a singer-songwriter. Dennis Wilson befriended Manson and was interested in signing him to Brother Records. Brian and Carl Wilson (not Dennis as is sometimes suggested) proceeded to co-produce several tracks for Manson at the Beach Boys' private studio located in Brian's home. These recordings remain unheard by the public.  Over the summer of 1968, Brian attempted to record an arrangement of the 1927 show tune "Ol' Man River". According to music writer Brian Chidester, the session tapes "reveal Wilson conducting the Beach Boys to such extreme perfectionism that both he and the band seem at the end of their rope with one another". Friend and Three Dog Night singer Danny Hutton recalled that Brian expressed suicidal wishes at the time, and that it was "when [Brian's] real decline started". Afterward, Brian was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, possibly of his own volition. Brian's issues were not disclosed to the public, and sessions continued in his absence. Once discharged, Brian rarely finished any tracks for the band, leaving much of his subsequent Beach Boys output for Carl Wilson to complete. Regarding Brian's participation on the group's recordings from then, band engineer Stephen Desper said that Brian remained "indirectly involved with production" through Carl. Dennis said that Brian began to have "no involvement at all", which forced the group to "find things that [he] worked on and try and piece it together."

Recording and content.

Older songs.

The two oldest tracks on "20/20" were sourced from late 1966 sessions for the band's unfinished album "Smile". "Our Prayer" is a wordless hymn composed by Brian, while "Cabinessence" is a song written by Brian and Van Dyke Parks. Both tracks were given additional vocal overdubs by Carl and Dennis Wilson in November 1968 at Capitol Studios. According to biographer Peter Ames Carlin, Brian was opposed to the inclusion of those tracks and refused the invitation to participate in the overdub sessions. Stephen Desper commented that "Cabinessence" was "finished, more or less, with Brian's guidance through Carl."  "Bluebirds over the Mountain" is a cover of the 1958 Ersel Hickey song, produced by Bruce Johnston in September 1967 at Western Studio and completed in October 1968 at Bell Sound. "Time to Get Alone" was written and produced by Brian for the group Redwood (later Three Dog Night) between sessions for the Beach Boys' "Wild Honey" (1967). It was completed by the Beach Boys in November 1968 at their studio.

May – July 1968 sessions.

"Do It Again", a Brian Wilson and Mike Love collaboration, was the first track that was worked on after concluding the sessions for "Friends". It was recorded in May and June 1968, released as a single two weeks later, and ultimately chosen as the opening track for "20/20". Brian later called it the finest song that he wrote on the album. The album mix differs slightly in that it briefly segues into another "Smile" outtake, "Workshop", which consists of construction noises and sounds from carpentry tools. "I Went to Sleep" is a waltz written by Brian and Carl with a gentle mood and observational lyrics similar to other Brian songs of the period. "The Nearest Faraway Place" is an instrumental produced by Bruce Johnston with the string arrangement by Van McCoy. The title came from a "Life" magazine article written by Shana Alexander.  Leftover tracks from these initial sessions included "All I Wanna Do", "Well You Know I Knew", "Been Way Too Long" (also known as "Can't Wait Too Long"), "Walk On By", "We're Together Again", "Sail Plane Song" (also known as "Loop de Loop"), "Ol' Man River", "Walkin'", and a demo of "Mona Kona". "Been Way Too Long" is an unfinished song started by Brian in 1967. "Walk On By" is a cover of the 1963 Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, recorded at Brian's studio on the same day as the first "Do It Again" session. "Ol' Man River" was intended to be in medley with the standard "Old Folks at Home". "Walkin'" is a song written and sung by Brian that was worked on for two days in June 1968. Band archivist Mark Linett said "he gets so disgusted singing it that you hear him throw down his headphones and that’s the last time anybody ever heard of it." Also recorded, according to band manager Nick Grillo, was "a hundred hours of [Manson's] music at [Brian's home] studio".

September – November 1968 sessions.

For the majority of July and August, the Beach Boys toured the US and appeared on a few television talk shows. Most of the subsequent new material was tracked at Capitol Studios. Carl produced a rendition of the Ronettes' 1966 song "I Can Hear Music" for the group, and it was the first time he was given a sole production credit. Brian said that he also contributed to the recording, explaining "I wanted the instrumental track... to be smooth and subliminal. I used acoustic guitars. Carl wailed on the lead." Biographer David Leaf called it "the turning point in the transition of musical control in the Beach Boys from Brian to Carl". Brian also produced a version of Huddie Ledbetter's "Cotton Fields" that he later called "one of the best [records] we've ever made". The idea was suggested by bandmate Al Jardine, who thought they might be able to replicate the success of "Sloop John B" (1966).  "Never Learn Not to Love" was originally written by Charles Manson under the title "Cease to Exist". According to Carlin, Manson penned "Cease to Exist" specifically for the Beach Boys to record, and biographer Steven Gaines said that Manson "reportedly" wrote the song to help ease tensions within the group. In exchange for the publishing rights to "Cease to Exist", Manson agreed to a sum of cash and a BSA motorcycle. Dennis produced the Beach Boys' version in September 1968, reworking the song's bluesy structure and altering its lyric (the opening lyric "Cease to exist" modified to "Cease to resist"). The title was also changed to "Never Learn Not to Love", much to Manson's indignation. In 1971, when asked why he did not credit Manson, Dennis answered: "He didn't want that. He wanted money instead. I gave him about a hundred thousand dollars' worth of stuff."  Dennis wrote and produced two more songs that appear on the album. "Be with Me" was described by Leaf as "dark and eerie... perfectly capturing his emotions of the era." "All I Want to Do" is a rocker that features the sounds of Dennis having sexual intercourse with a groupie. Also recorded was Dennis' "A Time to Live in Dreams" (released on 2001's "Hawthorne, CA") and "Mona Kani" (released on 2013's "Made in California").

Release and reception.

Lead single "Bluebirds over the Mountain" (backed with "Never Learn Not to Love") was issued on November 29, 1968 in the UK (number 33) and three days later in the US (number 61), becoming the group's lowest-charting single since their 1961 debut "Surfin'". According to biographer Keith Badman, "the new recordings mark[ed] the emergence of Carl and Dennis as producers and of Steve Desper as the group's engineer. Desper is now part of the Beach Boys' fold and remains a chief engineer on their work early into the next decade." After touring the UK in December, the Beach Boys returned to Brian's studio to work on the music that would become "Sunflower" (1970).  Released on February 10, 1969, "20/20" sold better than "Friends", peaking at number 3 in the UK and reaching number 68 in the US. The cover photo included every member of the group except Brian, which Matijas-Mecca referred to as "a sign that the group was determined to forge their own identity without their founding architect." A photograph of Brian hiding behind an eye examination chart does appear on the gatefold cover. "Rolling Stone" reviewer Arthur Schmidt said the album was "good, [but] flawed mainly by a lack of direction (a sense of direction being last evident in "Wild Honey", more a collection than a whole." A reviewer for the underground paper "Rat Subterranean News" commented that even though it was "against all my carefully established principles to like The Beach Boys," he enjoyed the LP, yet described most of side one as "weak".  In August, Charles Manson and his cult of followers committed the Tate–LaBianca murders, and three months later, were apprehended by police. Their former connections with Dennis and the Beach Boys became the subject of media attention. Manson was later convicted for several counts of murder and conspiracy to murder. During the trial, Manson released his debut album, "", on March 6, 1970. Consisting of 13 tracks recorded between 1967 and 1968, it included Manson's original arrangement of "Cease to Exist". Approximately 2,000 copies of "Lie" were distributed, but only 300 albums were reportedly sold.  Among retrospective assessments of "20/20", critic Richie Unterberger wrote that it was "one of their better post-"Pet Sounds" records... The highlights, however, were a couple of "Smile"-session-era tunes... as hard as they were trying to establish their identity as an integrated band in the late '60s, their new recordings were overshadowed by the bits and pieces of "Smile" that emerged at the time." Biographer David Leaf called it "one of the most artistically interesting releases of their career and certainly one of the stronger later LPs." Peter Ames Carlin wrote that "whatever the album lacked in thematic coherence, it made up in the quality of the pieces contributed by each band member." "Brooklyn Vegan"s Andrew Sacher said that the first side is "uneven and often disappointing", yet side two is "almost flawless".

Track listing.

Producer credits are as noted on the original vinyl disc. Charles Manson's contributions to "Never Learn Not to Love" remain uncredited.

"I Can Hear Music".

On December 7, 2018, Capitol released "I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions", a digital-only compilation. Included are session highlights, outtakes, and alternate versions of "20/20" tracks, as well as some unreleased material by Dennis Wilson. It was released in conjunction with "".

Personnel.

The Beach Boys

References.

Notes Citations

20/20 is the 15th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released February 10, 1969 on Capitol Records (their final studio release with them). The LP was named for being their 20th overall album release. Much of it consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the US. Brian Wilson was absent during most of the album's recording after admitting himself into a psychiatric hospital, requiring brothers Carl and Dennis to retrieve several outtakes he had recorded years earlier. While Brian does not appear on the front cover, the inner gatefold of the original vinyl release features him alone, behind an eye examination chart.


Life and career.

Fehr's parents are Irene Sylvia ("née" Gulko) and Louis Alvin Fehr, of German-Jewish descent. He was raised in Prairie Village, Kansas. He graduated from Indiana University and was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. Fehr received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

MLBPA.

As a young lawyer, Fehr assisted the MLBPA in the Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally arbitration case (later known as the Seitz decision). In 1977, Marvin Miller hired Fehr as the Players Association general counsel.  In December 1985, Fehr was voted executive director of the MLBPA after having served as acting director since December 9, 1983. Fehr successfully challenged the owners' collusion, leading to the owners paying $280 million in damages to the players.  Fehr led the players union through the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike and subsequent World Series cancellation. He was instrumental in implementing the rejection of future admissions into the MLBPA of replacement players who planned to fill in during the strike of 1995. Fehr attended the 1995 New York Yankees' home opener against the Texas Rangers, which saw only 50,425 fans show up making it was the smallest opening day crowd at Yankee Stadium since 1990. Fehr's presence angered many fans who blamed him for ruining their team's postseason chances and what would have been Don Mattingly's postseason debut. Fans booed Fehr and yelled "You ruined the game!" in response to him having attended the last game played at Yankee Stadium before the strike, and booed as he left the stadium; one fan also held up a sign saying ""$HAME ON YOU!"", to which Fehr responded by flipping off the fan.  On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced his intention to step down as the MLBPA executive director position, recommending Michael Weiner as his successor. This was subject to the approval of the union's executive board and possible ratification by all players. He officially relinquished his job to Weiner in December 2009.

NHLPA.

Shortly after leaving his position as Executive Director of the MLBPA, Fehr took up a position as an advisor to the NHL Players' Association. On December 18, 2010, Fehr was voted in by the NHLPA as their executive director.  With the NHL locking out the players at midnight on September 15, 2012, Fehr became the only Executive Director of a players union to be directly involved in work stoppages in two sports. Six of the eight contract negotiations he has been involved in have resulted in work stoppages, including five consecutive negotiations between the MLBPA and Major League Baseball.

Further reading.

This chapter in Ruttman's oral history, based on an April 24, 2009 interview with Fehr conducted for the book, discusses Fehr's American, Jewish, baseball, and life experiences from youth to the present.

Donald Martin Fehr (born July 18, 1948) is the executive director of the National Hockey League Players Association. He became nationally prominent while serving as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1983 to 2009.


Club career.

Born in Adelaide, Australia, Agostino started his club career at Salisbury United. He on to the national scene in 1991 in his first season at senior level with West Adelaide SC in the NSL. It was at this time that "Aga" was picked in the Australian World Youth Championships squad – a squad which contained the likes of Paul Okon and Mark Bosnich during one of Australia's 'Golden Generations' – which made the semi-finals of that competition.

Overseas.

Agostino left for Europe in 1992 and headed for Switzerland, where he signed with Young Boys. Agostino stayed in Bern for two seasons which was invaluable in enabling him to adapt to European life and football. It was in Switzerland that he learnt to speak German which would later help his move to Germany in 1997. He then had a short stint with Yverdon before making the move to England. Agostino signed with Bristol City in 1995 and it was in his second season with Bristol City that he began to score more regularly, bagging 16 goals in the Second Division (the third tier of English club football).  After two productive seasons in Bristol, Agostino's growing reputation caught the eye of German Bundesliga side 1860 Munich. He was signed by the club in 1997 at the age of 22. Agostino stayed with the Munich club for a full decade, enduring spells both in and out of the side. Agostino played at the highest level while in Munich, representing 1860 in both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. He enjoyed his best form for 1860 in the 2000–01 season, scoring 12 goals for the light blues, while Agostino regularly featured in the first team from 1999 to 2002. He fell down the pecking order at 1860 after this and typically played only a handful of games each season until it was revealed that he would be leaving the club on amicable terms at the end of the 2006–07 2. Bundesliga season.

Adelaide United.

It was announced in February 2007 that A-League team Adelaide United had agreed on a two-year contract with Agostino which saw the striker return to his home city for the first time in 15 years. It was announced on 30 December 2008 that Agostino would retire at the end of the 2008–09 season.

International career.

Agostino debuted in 1996 in a match against Chile for the "Socceroos," the Australian national team. In 2005, he played versus South Africa for the 18th and last time for his country. In his 18 full international matches he scored seven goals. In 1996, he was part of the Australian squad for the Olympics in Atlanta, but he was not used in Australia's three matches there. In 1999, he played twice against the Brazilian "B" team, scoring two goals. In 2001, Agostino earned the penalty resulting in Australia’s goal in the 1-0 home victory over Uruguay in their ultimately ill-fated World Cup playoff.

Career statistics.

Club.

– included A-League final series statistics

Honours.

Country.

Australia

Paul Agostino (born 9 June 1975) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played the majority of his club football outside Australia, most notably with 1860 Munich in Germany for ten years. He played 18 times for Australia, winning the OFC Nations Cup of the year 2000.


Publication history.

Viper was created by Jim Steranko and first appeared in "Captain America" #110 (February 1969).

Fictional character biography.

Ophelia Sarkissian was orphaned as a child in Hungary. Part of her face was scarred at one time, although it has since been healed. Among twelve other girls, Ophelia was taken in by Hydra and raised by Kraken. For twenty-two years, Ophelia excelled and became Kraken's best student. She eventually rose through the ranks of Hydra and frequently came into conflict with Captain America and the organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. She first appeared as a leader of Hydra under the codename Madame Hydra, and first fought and captured Captain America while trying to contaminate New York City's water supply. She captured Rick Jones to bait a trap for Captain America, and then subdued the Avengers with gas, planning to bury them alive, and battled Captain America again. However she was apparently killed when Captain America and Rick Jones dodged missiles she fired at them and she was caught in their explosion. Some time later, it was revealed that the Space Phantom had exchanged places with her, and her whereabouts at the time were undisclosed.  She severed ties with Hydra. Madame Hydra helped Jordan Stryke, a supervillain codenamed Viper, escape custody in Virginia, only to proceed in assassinating him, and usurping his codename and leadership of the group known as the Serpent Squad. As the new Viper, she kidnapped Roxxon president Hugh Jones, in order to put him in thrall of the Serpent Crown. She battled Nomad and Namor the Sub-Mariner. Viper was the founder and leader of the elite criminal underworld through sheer ruthlessness, treachery, and the cunning of her black heart.  Viper took over the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, and planned to crash it into the Congress building. She employed Boomerang and the Silver Samurai as operatives, and battled Spider-Man, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and Nick Fury. Viper later employed the Silver Samurai as her chief operative, and attempted to kidnap Michael Kramer, a man carrying a fatal experimental disease, in order to release it on America. The Viper battled the first Spider-Woman, and became convinced that she was Merriem Drew. Drew was the mother of Spider-Woman and was considered deceased since 1931. The issue revealed Merriem had become allied to Chthon and was granted longevity in return. The Viper revealed herself to have been a pawn of Chthon for fifty years, but saved Spider-Woman's life by defying Chthon. Viper, employing Constrictor as her chief operative, captured Spider-Woman, believing she was responsible for making her think they were related. It was revealed that Chthon had actually granted Viper false memories of mothering Jessica as part of a plan to place both women under his control. Viper captured Captain America, and planned to release her new bubonic plague. Whether Viper actually has extraordinary longevity was left uncertain.  Employing the Silver Samurai, Viper attempted to coerce Team America into stealing the cavourite crystal, and then battled the New Mutants. In one of her many terrorist acts, she would try to gain control of the snake-themed organization called the Serpent Society, with Slither, Copperhead, Puff Adder, Fer-De-Lance, and Black Racer as her operatives. The latter four operatives infiltrated the Serpent Society in an attempt to take it over. Viper dispatched Cobra, Boomslang, and Copperhead to poison Washington D.C.'s water supply with a snake mutagen. Viper terrorized the White House and the President, and battled Captain America. She attempted to assassinate the organization's former leader Sidewinder, but she was betrayed by Cobra and arrested by Captain America. Viper was later freed from prison by Tyrannus. She used a snake mutagen on drug addicts, and then battled the Punisher. She then turned against and battled Tyrannus.  Madame Hydra has also had conflict with the X-Men. She first came into contact with them upon trying to assassinate Mariko Yashida on behalf of her ally and presumed lover Silver Samurai, and tried to poison the team while disguised as Mariko's unconscious maid. She nearly killed X-Men members Rogue and Storm on two separate occasions, with Storm being nearly killed by Viper during the invasion of Khan. She also faced the New Mutants and was considered responsible for the presumed demise of Karma (Karma was only wounded and was abducted by the Shadow King for his own reasons).  Madame Hydra is a professional terrorist and has her own organization. She has come into conflict with many superheroes and supervillains over the years. Her nihilism and tendency to spread death around her has made it hard for other villains to associate with her. Only the Red Skull has found it a charming tendency and pursued a relationship with her for a while. The relationship ended when the Skull found out Viper was using his resources to finance massacres with no apparent financial benefit for either of them.  For a time the Viper employed a team of doppelgängers (known as "Pit-Vipers") to impersonate her. However, acting on her own, Pit-Viper 12 became involved with the Punisher during an international crime conference in Las Vegas and later tipped off S.H.I.E.L.D. to the real Viper's attempt to steal Russian nuclear missiles in Moscow. For compromising her anonymity, the Viper personally killed her treacherous double.  Later she blackmailed Wolverine into marrying her as a means to secure her criminal empire in Madripoor. Although this was a marriage of convenience, she did request to consummate the arrangement. Some time later, her body was briefly inhabited by the spirit of Ogun, and Wolverine mortally wounded her as a means of driving the spirit from her dying body. In return for seeking medical attention to save her life, Wolverine demanded a divorce. It is later implied that she actually had feelings for Wolverine.  Viper was then a member of an incarnation of the Hellfire Club, working with Courtney Ross, briefly under the title "White Warrior Princess". She has also associated with the Hand and resumed her ties with the Silver Samurai. She has also retaken the name "Madame Hydra".  For a time, Viper was the dictator of the nation of Madripoor, using the nation's resources to support global terrorism via Hydra. She was overthrown by new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Tony Stark and Tyger Tiger, the latter of whom is now ruler of Madripoor.  In "Secret Warriors" #2 during the "Dark Reign" storyline, Viper is seen leaving her lover, the Silver Samurai, to rejoin Baron von Strucker and the ruling council of Hydra. It was revealed in "Secret Warriors #3" that she is no longer Madame Hydra, as she was replaced by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, taking up the mantle of Madame Hydra, wearing an elaborate tentacle headdress and elaborate Hydra robes.  In "Secret Warriors #12", Viper is kidnapped by the mysterious Leviathan group, who are determined to find out the location of a mysterious box that both she and Madame Hydra procured from the Yashidas. Madame Hydra arrived at the Leviathan headquarters and offered the box to its leader, much to Viper's dismay. Madame Hydra then shot Viper to death. However, when Hydra arrived, the Hive resurrected her, giving her tentacles that stemmed from her head, and she renames herself Madame Hydra.  Following the "Fear Itself" storyline, Madame Hydra joins up with H.A.M.M.E.R. after Norman Osborn escapes from the Raft and regains leadership. After the defeat of Osborn and the Dark Avengers, Madame Hydra uses the resources of the now-defunct H.A.M.M.E.R. to begin rebuilding the Hydra organization. She later tips off Spider-Woman and Hawkeye about a heist Mister Negative is planning on a S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouse. While the Avengers deal with Mister Negative, Madame Hydra attacks a different S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and steals several captive Skrulls left over from the Secret Invasion.  Madame Hydra later led an attack on Avengers Tower while the team is away. She and the rest of her forces are defeated by Angel and his younger self from earlier in the timestream.  In "Death of Wolverine", she was revealed by Nuke as the "Green Queen" and current leader of Madripoor who sent out a contract to capture Wolverine.  Viper is part of the Hydra High Council that the new Madame Hydra is collecting to assist Steve Rogers who had history altered by Red Skull's clone using Kobik's powers to be a Hydra sleeper agent for years.  During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Viper attends the meeting of the Hydra High Council and talks about the opening of two new detention facilities to double the amount of Inhumans held in indefinite custody. While doing business with some men, Viper is told by a Hydra agent that they have apprehended Black Widow. This is part of a diversion so that the Champions can infiltrate a Hydra base. When Viper figures out that Widow is planning to kill Hydra Supreme, Viper tries to persuade Widow to join up with her enterprise.  During the "Hunt for Wolverine" storyline, Viper is seen in Madripoor where she leads the Femme Fatales (consisting of Knockout, Bloodlust, Mindblast, Snake Whip, and Sapphire Styx) into ambushing Kitty Pryde, Domino, Jubilee, Psylocke, and Storm at the King's Impresario Restaurant. While Psylocke, Rogue, and Storm are defeated and taken prisoner by Madame Hydra and the Femme Fatales, Kitty Pryde escapes with Domino and Jubilee. Viper congratulates the Femme Fatales for their work as they now have Psylocke, Rogue, and Storm as their prisoners. Mindblast suggests that they put a bounty on the ones that escaped stating that every gang member in Lowtown will be looking for them. Viper states that she will discuss with her client on where to proceed next and to deposit Rogue and Storm to the client as "special guests." As Viper gives the status report to a representative of her client, she mentions that Sapphire Styx is still draining off of Psylocke just like she did with Magneto. The representative tells Viper that Sapphire Styx tends to prefer the life force of the mutants and tells Viper to focus on delivering the package as all that they are serves the will of Soteira. As Snake Whip asks if they are going to ignore Sapphire Styx's vampiric appetite, Viper says that they have to obey the representative's orders and "let the @#$%& feed." Viper is contacted by a representative of Soteira who was displeased that the launch was delayed by a torrential rainstorm and suggest that they launch before sunrise. While reluctantly taking the representative's suggestion, Viper and Snake Whip check up on Sapphire Styx who knocks down Snake Whip and claims that Wolverine's Patch alias is present even though Sapphire is the only one who can see him. Viper calls Knockout and Mindblast away from the prisoners to help deal with Sapphire. After hearing that the launch site for the rocket bound for Soteira is under attack, Viper gives the orders to launch it now. After Sapphire Styx explodes, Viper maintains the higher ground while Snake Whip joins the fight. When the Femme Fatales are defeated, Viper flees as Magneto plans to pursue her in order to purge Madripoor of Viper's criminal empire.

Powers and abilities.

Viper has no superhuman abilities but her strength, speed, reflexes, agility, dexterity, coordination, balance and endurance are on the order of an Olympic athlete. She is a great swordsman and even greater marksman with most long range weapons, and has extensive training in hand-to-hand combat. Viper occasionally employs poisoned weapons with snake-motifs, such as venomous darts or artificial fangs filled with poison. She utilizes experimental weaponry, including a ring that enables teleportation, and in "X-Treme X-Men", she made use of razor-sharp claw attachments apparently built into her gloves. A brilliant strategist and tactician with extensive combat tactical experience, Viper is highly skilled in the management of criminal organizations and very well connected in the international criminal underworld. She is also a master of stealth and espionage. Perhaps her greatest strengths are her influence, the financial resources at her disposal due to her stature in organized crime, and an uncanny luck which has allowed her to cheat death in situations where lesser people would have died. Viper may or may not have supernaturally augmented longevity.  Viper is usually armed with various ray pistols and conventional handguns. She has also used various other special weaponry, including poison-tipped throwing darts, knives, and whips. She has sharpened and elongated canine teeth with hollows inside them. She keeps a special poison in them, to which she has an immunity.  For a brief time, Chthon replaced her right eye with a black orb capable of projecting persons into a magical dimension.

Other versions.

Age of Apocalypse.

In the "Age of Apocalypse" reality, Viper was married to the Silver Samurai. She and her husband fought their way from the islands of Japan through hordes of Apocalypse's Infinites. Viper was killed saving Samurai's life, leading to the Silver Samurai accepting Magneto's offer to join the X-Men.

Exiles.

One of the alternate dimensions that is visited in "Exiles" #91-95 has been overtaken by a version of Madame Hydra. This world (Earth 1720) was dominated by Madame Hydra (actually Susan Storm Richards), her lover Wolverine, and their top assassin Slaymaster. However, before the Exiles can exact retribution, Madame Hydra and her lackeys escape into the omniverse to seek out other worlds to conquer.

Ultimate Marvel.

The "Ultimate Marvel" version of Viper appears in "Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem" along with Hydra. She attacks Tony Stark's offices in order to retrieve the Iron Man armor but is subdued by Iron Man, with the help of Spider-Man, and taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Viper (real name Ophelia Sarkissian, formerly known as Madame Hydra) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a foe of the Avengers and the X-Men.


Plot.

Young filmmaker Stevie Horowitz eagerly awaits a meeting with big shot Hollywood film producer J.P. Shelldrake. Shelldrake has been desperately searching for a way to avoid problems with the IRS and unpaid millions owed them in back taxes. His brilliant yet overpaid accountant devises a scheme to allow the producer to write off the expenses of his next movie release, but only if the film is a box office flop. Armed with his foolproof plan, Shelldrake agrees to meet with Stevie and screen his film "Lobster Man From Mars" (financed by Stevie's jailed con man Uncle Joey). The plot resembles the premise of "The Producers" by Mel Brooks.  Inside Shelldrake's private screening room, the "film within the film" begins. They watch the weird plot unfold: Mars suffers from a severe air leakage. The King of Mars commands the dreaded Lobster Man and his assistant Mombo, a gorilla wearing a space helmet, to pilot his flying saucer to Earth then steal its air. Once landed, the Lobster Man wastes no time transforming hapless victims into smoking skeletons.  On a lonely road, John and Mary, a young and innocent couple discovers the hiding place of the flying saucer in a dark and mysterious cave. They attempt to warn the authorities but are ignored. Successfully contacting Professor Plocostomos, a plan is created to lure the Lobster Man to Mr. Throckmorton's Haunted House that just happens to be surrounded by boiling hot springs.  Once lured, it is simply a matter of pushing the Lobster Man into the hot water where he will be boiled to death. The plan is interrupted by Colonel Ankrum and his troops. The house is shelled and destroyed, the Lobster Man flees to his cave, taking Mary with him.  She manages to escape, but the Lobster Man follows. A wild chase ensues, but Professor Plocostomos uses the hot engine coolant from his overheated vehicle to drench Mombo causing his foamy demise. The chase concludes in Yellowstone Park where the dreaded Lobster Man is tricked into walking into the Old Faithful Geyser and a steamy end.  The screening is over. Shelldrake cannot believe his good fortune to witness such a bad movie with potential to lose every cent invested in its distribution and promotion. He buys the production on the spot, but once in release it becomes a big hit and makes a huge profit sending Shelldrake straight to tax prison, with Stevie taking his place as the studio's new boy wonder.

Awards and nominations.

Sundance Film Festival

Lobster Man From Mars is a 1989 comedy film directed by Stanley Sheff and starring Tony Curtis. The film is a spoof of B-movie sci-fi films from the 1950s. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 1989.


Television.

Sheff's work in television as director and editor includes the NBC-TV special, "TV - The Fabulous Fifties" with featured hosts Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Dinah Shore, Mary Martin, Michael Landon and David Janssen, the first televised outtakes show "Hollywood Outtakes" hosted by George Burns, "Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy" an examination of the history of the infamous radio and television show banned in the 1960s, "Motown Returns to the Apollo" (Emmy winner for editing), a Chevy Chase "On Location" comedy special for HBO and "Sinister Image", a one-hour interview with Vincent Price that aired on the A&E Channel as part of the "Biography" series. In addition, Sheff collaborated with Orson Welles as editor and director on "The Orson Welles Show", an unsold, untelevised talk show pilot.

Theater.

Theatrical productions feature "The Plush Life", a comedy sitcom serial soap opera, "Queen Of Outer Space: The Musical", "Dancing Cavalcade - Swing of the 1920s and 1930s", "Vaudeville Comes Home", "The Black Pirate Musical Spectacular" and "Broadway Confidential", for the Los Angeles Conservancy that was performed for a sold out audience of over two thousand at the historic Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Sheff also produced and directed stage shows for the Conservancy’s “Last Remaining Seats” film festival that has presented film screenings with live on stage guest appearances by noted film personalities Stanley Kramer, Eva Marie Saint, Jane Wyatt, Howard Keel, Betty Garrett, Tony Curtis, Gloria Stewart, Patricia Hitchcock, Russ Tamblyn, George Takei, Jeri Ryan, Anne Francis, Billy Barty, Alan Young and many others.

Awards and nominations.

Sundance Film Festival

Stanley Sheff is a Hollywood born director and writer. He has worked in television, stage and screen. His collaboration with Orson Welles eventually led Sheff to direct and co-write the cult science fiction feature "Lobster Man From Mars" starring Tony Curtis, based on a title suggested by Welles. Feature films and television are not the only types of projects directed by Stanley Sheff. In the early 1980s he produced, directed and performed a popular comedy radio show for KROQ-FM radio in Los Angeles called "The Young Marquis And Stanley", a comedy show that was aired on Sunday evenings. He has appeared as Master of Ceremonies on stage and at live vintage dance events as his character Maxwell DeMille.


2009 European Parliament election in Romania

Candidates and elected MEPs.

Among those expected to take up seats are (listed in the order they appear on the ballot):  For the Alliance PSD+PC (electoral alliance of PSD + PC):  For the Democratic Liberal Party:  "For the National Liberal Party:  For the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania:  For the Greater Romania Party:  The other three electoral candidates did not pass the threshold:

Results.

The European Parliament election results confirmed the recent tendency that Romania's political scene is slowly but certainly transforming into one with two major parties. While country-wide each of the two parties has won slightly less than 1/3 of the votes (in the end each got 1/3 of the seats in the EP), the two became the main political contestants in almost every county. Discounting the votes received by Elena Băsescu who afterwards re-joined PDL, PSD won the first place in 17 counties (with PDL arriving second in all of them), and PDL won the first place in 18 counties (with PSD arriving second in all of them but one).  UDMR, fourth-largest party country-wide, won the first place in six counties, trailed in the second place five times by PSD, and one time by PDL. PNL, the third largest party country-wide rose above that level only in Ilfov County, where it obtained the second place after PDL. PRM, the fifth party, was unable to arrive first or second in any of Romania's counties.

Results by county.

In the capital city of Bucharest, PDL won with 28.28% of the votes, with PSD in second with 27.87%. Four of the six sectors of the city were won by PDL and two by PSD, with the other party in second place: †Combined 2007 vote of Democratic Party (Romania) and Liberal Democratic Party (Romania) before merger

The European Parliament election of 2009 in Romania was the election of the delegation from Romania to the European Parliament in 2009.


History.

In 1973, East West Federal Bank was founded by F. Chow Chan, Betty Tom Chu, Richard K. Quan, Gilbert L. Leong, Philip Chow, John A Nuccio, Christopher L. Pocino, and John M. Lee. Its focus was to serve the Chinese American community in Southern California.  In 1991, during the savings and loan crisis, the company acquired Pacific Coast Savings, which increased the bank's assets from $600 million to $1 billion and expanded operations to San Francisco, California.  By 1992, the bank had $1.4 billion in assets.  In 1992, Dominic Ng was named the Chairman, CEO and President of the company, replacing Kellogg Chan who retired.  East West Bank became a state-chartered commercial bank on July 31, 1995.  In 1999, the company acquired First Central Bank for $13.5 million in cash.  In August 2004, the company acquired Trust Bank, a Chinese American bank based in Monterey Park, California, with four branches and $235 million in assets, for $32.9 million.  In September 2005, the company acquired United National Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in San Marino, California, with 11 branches and $665 million in loans receivable, for $177.9 million.  In March 2006, the company acquired Standard Bank, a Chinese-American bank headquartered in Monterey Park, California, with 6 branches and $923 million in assets, for $200 million.  In August 2007, the company acquired Desert Community Bank, a community bank operating in the Victor Valley region of California. Desert Community Bank branches remained branded as such and did not change to East West Bank. In November 2017, East West Bank agreed to sell Desert Community Bank to Flagstar Bank; the deal was completed in March 2018.  In 2009, the company acquired the assets of United Commercial Bank (UCB), via a transaction facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This expanded East West Bank's reach by 63 branches, including 17 in Southern California, and branches in the Chinese American communities of Houston, Boston, and Atlanta, as well as branches in Hong Kong and China.  In January 2010, Irene H. Oh was promoted to EVP and CFO, replacing Thomas J. Tolda, who resigned.  In 2010, the company acquired the assets, including four branches, of Washington First International Bank of Seattle, Washington, via a transaction facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  In 2014, the company acquired MetroCorp Bancshares, which operated as MetroBank, for $268 million in cash and stock.

Sponsoring.

The bank's spokeswoman was figure skater Michelle Kwan.  East West Bank purchased the naming rights to the East West Ice Palace, an ice rink arena in Artesia, California.

East West Bank (), the primary subsidiary of East West Bancorp, Inc., is the largest independent bank headquartered in Southern California, United States. It was founded in 1973 in Los Angeles to serve the Chinese American community in Southern California. It is a premier bank focused exclusively on the United States and Greater China markets and operates over 125 locations worldwide, including in the markets of California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas and Washington. In Greater China, East West Bank's presence includes full service branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shantou and Shenzhen, and representative offices in Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Xiamen. "Forbes" magazine has named East West Bank among the top 15 of "America's 100 Best Banks" since 2010. In 2018, "Forbes" ranked East West Bank number five of "America's 100 Best Banks".


Use and revitalization efforts.

There are today only 60 speakers of Omaha, and 12 fluent speakers, all over 70; and a handful of semi-fluent speakers of Ponca.  The University of Nebraska offers classes in the Omaha language, and its Omaha Language Curriculum Development Project (OLCDP) provides Internet-based materials for learning the language. A February 2015 article gives the number of fluent speakers as 12, all over age 70, which includes two qualified teachers; the Tribal Council estimates about 150 people have some ability in the language. The language is taught at the Umónhon Nation Public School. An Omaha Basic iPhone app has been developed by the Omaha Nation Public Schools (UNPS) and the Omaha Language Cultural Center (ULCC). Members of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma have expressed an interest in partnerships to use the language as a basis of revitalizing the Osage language, which is similar.

Phonology.

Consonants.

One consonant, sometimes written "l" or "th," is a velarized lateral approximant with interdental release,, found for example in "ní btháska" "flat water" (Platte River), the source of the name Nebraska. It varies freely from to a light, and derives historically from Siouan *r.  Initial consonant clusters include approximates, as in and.  Consonants are written as in the IPA in school programs, apart from the alveopalatals "j, ch, chh, zh, sh, shʼ", the glottal stop "’", the voiced velar fricative "gh", and the dental approximant "th". Historically, this "th" has also been written "dh, ð, ¢", and the "sh" and "x" as "c" and "q"; the tenuis stops "p t ch k" have either been written upside-down or double ("pp, kk," etc.). These latter unusual conventions serve to distinguish these sounds from the "p t ch k" of other Siouan languages, which are not specified for voicing and so may sound like either Omaha–Ponca "p t ch k" or "b d j g". The letters "f, l, q, r, v" are not used in writing Omaha-Ponca.

Vowels.

The simple vowels are, plus a few words with in men's speech. The letter ‘o’ is phonemically /au/, and phonetically [əw].  There are two or three nasal vowels, depending on the variety. In the Omaha and Ponca Dhegiha dialects *õ and *ã have merged unconditionally as, which may range across and is written in Omaha and in Ponca. The close front nasal vowel remains distinct.  Nasalized vowels are fairly new to the Ponca language. Assimilation has taken place leftward, as opposed to right to left, from nasalized consonants over time. "Originally when the vowel was oral, it nasalized the consonant and a nasalized vowel never followed suit, instead, the nasalized vowel came to preceded it"; though this is not true for the Omaha, or its'mother' language."  Omaha/Ponca is a tonal language that utilizes downstep (accent) or a lowering process that applies to the second of two high-tone syllables. A downstepped high tone would be slightly lower than the preceding high tone.”: "watháthe" "food", "wáthathe" "table". Vowel length is distinctive in accented syllables, though it is often not written: "heart", "(inside) wall".  Omaha-Ponca is a daughter language to the Siouan mother language, but has developed some of its own rules for nasalization and aspiration. What were once allophones in Proto-Siouan have become phonemes in the Omaha–Ponca language.  Many contrasts in the Omaha/Ponca language are unfamiliar to speakers of English. Below are examples of minimal pairs for some sounds which in English would be considered allophones, but in Omaha/Ponca constitute different phonemes:  In many languages nasalization of vowels would be a part of assimilation to the next consonant, but Omaha/Ponca is different because it is always assimilating. For example: indáthinga, meaning mysterious, moves from a nasalized /i/ to an alveolar, stop. Same thing happens with the word inshte, meaning, for example, has the nasalized /i/ which does not assimilate to another nasal. It changes completely to an alveolar fricative.

Morphology.

Omaha Ponca language adds endings to its definite articles to indicate animacy, number, position and number. Ponca definite articles indicate animacy, position and number

Syntax.

Omaha-Ponca's syntactic type is subject-object-verb.

Omaha–Ponca is a Siouan language spoken by the Omaha ("Umonhon") people of Nebraska and the Ponca ("Panka") people of Oklahoma and Nebraska. The two dialects differ minimally but are considered distinct languages by their speakers.


Diversity in measures on religiosity.

"Religiosity" is difficult to define, but different scholars have seen this concept as broadly about religious orientations and involvement. It includes experiential, ritualistic, ideological, intellectual, consequential, creedal, communal, doctrinal, moral, and cultural dimensions. Historically, the words "religious" and "spiritual" have been used synonymously to describe all the various aspects of the concept of religion. Furthermore, "spirituality" was not distinguished from "religiousness" until the 20th century after the rise of secularism.  Sociologists of religion have observed that the people's beliefs, sense of belonging, and behavior often are not congruent with an individual's actual religious beliefs since there is much diversity in how one can be religious or not. Multiple problems exist in measuring religiosity. For instance, variables such as church attendance produce different results when different methods are used such as traditional surveys vs time use surveys. There are extensive variations in the measures of subdimensions of both religiosity and spirituality and single-item measure like affiliation or participation have limitations with regard to both religiosity and spirituality.  In a study on how individual people actually define and understand "religiousness" and "spirituality" showed that people differ and have wide-ranging understandings of these terms from referring to rituals to altruistic behaviors or to religious experiences. Although religiousness and spirituality appeared to describe different concepts, they were not independent or mutually exclusive since self-rated religiousness and spirituality were correlated among the subjects including in variables such as frequency of prayer, church attendance, beliefs of the sacred. The authors observe that the inconsistency of the definitions of both "religiousness" and "spirituality" cause multiple issues such as it being difficult to know what the researchers and the participants mean or understand by these terms and as such it becomes difficult to draw general conclusions from various studies and surveys that use such terminology.  Though god-belief is often seen as an indicator of religion in the West, anthropologically, god belief is only one kind of component of religion but not a universal and not even the most common one for religions since most religions around the world do not have god concepts at all. Accordingly, "atheism is quite a common position, even within religion" and that "surprisingly, atheism is not the opposite or lack, let alone the enemy, of religion but is the most common form of religion." With regards to secularity, he observes that religions are quite secular in general and include many mundane activities by default such as games like bingo, pot luck dinners etc.

Secularity.

According to a review of secularity from Peter Glasner's study on secularization processes, Jack Eller observes that secularization is very diverse and only one type of secularity out of 10 leads to pure secularism.

Studies on irreligion.

A comprehensive study by David Campbell and Harvard University professor Robert Putnam found that religious Americans are three to four times more likely than their nonreligious counterparts to "work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes – including secular ones." However, religious Americans who regularly attend religious services but have no friends there do not have higher levels of civic participation, while nonreligious Americans who have religious friends do get more involved. "It's not faith" that accounts for civic activism, Putnam said, "It's faith communities." The authors said the same effect might be found in secular organizations that are close-knit with shared morals and values. The study also found that religious Americans are less tolerant than secular Americans of free speech, dissent, and several other measures of tolerance.  Alan Cooperman of Pew Research Center notes that nonreligious Americans commonly grew up in a religious tradition and consciously lost it "after a great deal of reflection and study". As a result, atheists and agnostics are more knowledgeable about religion than those who identify with most major religions, according to a 2010 Pew survey.  The American public at large has a positive view of nonreligious people but a negative view of atheists. One "extensive study of how Americans view various minority groups" found that "atheists are at the top of the list of groups that Americans find problematic." A Religion and Public Life Survey (2002) found that 54 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of atheists, but the favorability of people who are "not religious" is 52.2%, with a net difference of 23.8%.

Inaccuracy of polling and identification.

The reliability of any poll results, in general and specifically on religion, can be questioned due numerous factors such as:  The measurement of religiosity is hampered by the difficulties involved in defining what is meant by the term and the variables it entails. Numerous studies have explored the different components of religiosity, with most finding some distinction between religious beliefs/doctrine, religious practice, and spirituality. When religiosity is measured, it is important to specify which aspects of religiosity are referred to.  The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) found a difference between how people identify and what people believe. While only 0.7% of U.S. adults identified as atheist, 2.3% said there is no such thing as a god. Only 0.9% identified as agnostic, but 10.0% said there is either no way to know if a god exists or they weren't sure. Another 12.1% said there is a higher power but no personal god. In total, only 15.0% identified as Nones or No Religion, but 24.4% did not believe in the traditional concept of a personal god. The conductors of the study concluded, "The historic reluctance of Americans to self-identify in this manner or use these terms seems to have diminished. Nevertheless... the level of under-reporting of these theological labels is still significant... many millions do not subscribe fully to the theology of the groups with which they identify."  Similarly, the 2012 Pew study reported that 23% of Americans who affiliated with a religion were not religious. The religiously affiliated were 79% of the population, and the unaffiliated were 19.6%, including 6% "atheist" or "agnostic".  Existing nationally representative polls such as Pew and Gallup indicate atheist prevalence is relatively low (3% -11%) in the United States, however, in one study using validated unmatched counting interviewing technique, in which people did not need to "admit" explicitly to a certain position, the number of people who did not believe in a god was indirectly estimated to be 26% overall. The authors noted that 26% of Baby boomers and millennials did not have belief in a god.  According to a Pew study in 2009, only 5% of the total US population did not have a belief in a god. Out of all those without a belief in a god, only 24% self-identified as "atheist", while 15% self-identified as "agnostic", 35% self-identified as "nothing in particular", and 24% identified with a religious tradition.  According to a Gallup's editor in chief, Frank Newport, numbers on surveys may not be the whole story. In his view, declines in religious affiliation or declines in belief in God on surveys may not actually reflect an actual decline in these beliefs among people since increased honesty on spiritual matters to interviewers may merely be increasing since people may feel more comfortable today expressing viewpoints that were previously deviant.

Demographics.

A 2007 Barna group poll found that about 20 million people say they are atheist, have no religious faith, or are agnostic, with 5 million of that number claiming to be atheists. The study also found that "[t]hey tend to be more educated, more affluent and more likely to be male and unmarried than those with active faith" and that "only 6 percent of people over 60 have no faith in God, and one in four adults ages 18 to 22 describe themselves as having no faith."  A 2008 Gallup survey reported that religion is not an important part of daily life for 34% of Americans. In May of that year, a Gallup poll asking the question "Which of the following statements comes closest to your belief about God: you believe in God, you don't believe in God but you do believe in a universal spirit or higher power, or you don't believe in either?" showed that, nationally, 78% believed in God, 15% in "a universal spirit or higher power", 6% answering "neither", and 1% unsure. The poll also highlighted the regional differences, with residents in the Western states answering 59%, 29%, and 10% respectively, compared to the residents in the Southern states that answered 86%, 10%, and 3%. Several of the western states have been informally nicknamed Unchurched Belt, contrasting with the Bible Belt in the southern states.  A 2012 study by the Pew Research Center reported that, of the U.S. adult population, 19.6% had no religious affiliation and an additional 16% identified as "neither spiritual nor religious". Furthermore, atheists made up 2.4% and agnostics made up 3.3% of the US population. It also notes that a third of adults under the age of 30 are religiously unaffiliated. However, out of the religiously unaffiliated demographic: the majority describe themselves either as a religious (18%) or as spiritual but not religious (37%) while a significant minority (42%) considers themselves neither spiritual nor religious. Additionally, out of the unaffiliated: 68% believe in God, 12% are atheists, 17% are agnostics and overall 21% of the religiously unaffiliated pray every day.  The Pew Religious Landscape survey reported that as of 2014, 22.8% of the U.S. population is religiously unaffiliated, atheists made up 3.1% and agnostics made up 4% of the U.S. population. The 2014 General Social Survey reported that 21% of Americans had no religion with 3% being atheist and 5% being agnostic.

Trends.

Religion is highly variable between people, and it touches not only their intellectual position, but also their internal and external identity. Any assessment will be impacted by a large number of factors. One common way of assessing people's religiousness, spirituality, and affiliations is asking them to directly self-identify in interviews and polls.

Religiousness.

Self reports.

According to General Social Survey data, which allowed for degrees of religiosity to be expressed, 21.5% of Americans consider themselves not religious, 25.1% were slightly religious, 37.5% were moderately religious, and 15.5% were very religious in 2018. Irreligiousness is highest among young healthy unmarried educated white males. Overall, approximately 80% of Americans described themselves as both religious and spiritual to varying degrees.  According to the 2010–2014 wave of the World Values Survey, 67.9% of Americans considered themselves as a religious person, 27.7% were not a religious person, and 4.5% were a convinced atheist. In the 2005–2009 wave: 72.1% of Americans considered themselves as a religious person, 24.4% were not a religious person, and 3.5% were a convinced atheist.  According to Pew's study on religious and spiritual identity, the number of Americans who consider themselves religious (irrespective of whether they are affiliated or spiritual, or believe in one or more Gods or a higher power) had dropped from 65% in 2012 to 54% in 2017. 27% were spiritual but not religious and another 18% were neither.  According to the Win-Gallup International polls, those who self-identified as religious person were at 73% in 2005, 60% in 2012 and 56% in 2015 and in 2017. In the 2012 poll, 30% were not a religious person and an additional 5% identified as an atheist. In the 2017 poll, 32% were not a religious person and an additional 7% identified as atheist. However, researchers have advised caution with WIN/Gallup International figures since other surveys like the World Values Survey, which have used the same wording for decades and have bigger sample sizes, show differences in results at the global level.  It is worth noting that about half of "not religious" people do actually identify/affiliate themselves with established religious groups and most believe in God.

Polling organizations.

Polling organizations sometimes generate their own abstract versions of what "religious" and "nonreligious" is using variable and inconsistent criteria. According to a 2017 report by Gallup, church attendance and the importance of religion American's lives were interpreted as measure of religiosity. Based on this, Gallup classified Americans as 37% highly religious, 30% moderately religious, and 33% not religious. According to Pew Research Center's typology of religiosity, which included frequency of practicing their faith, the value they place on their religion, and the other sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives, 39% were highly religious, 32% were somewhat religious, and 29% were nonreligious.

Spirituality.

Historically, the words "religious" and "spiritual" have been used synonymously to describe all the various aspects of the concept of religion. However, in contemporary usage, many people use the term spirituality to refer to the interior life of the individual and religion to mean the exterior life of groups such as communities and/or organizations. For some, spirituality can become distinct in that it marks a separation from group affiliation and focuses more people's private beliefs and for others it is interchangeable with religious things. Both spirituality and religion have similarities and have 4 basic components: belief in a reality greater than the individual, desire to connect with the greater reality, promotion of rituals for that connection, and an expectation of particular behaviors (moral or not), that reflect that connection.  According to Pew's study on religious and spiritual identity, the number of people who consider themselves as spiritual (without consideration of whether they are affiliated or religious) was 78% in 2012 and 75% in 2017.  According to Mark Chaves' review of General Social Survey data, of people who were not religious, 88% considered themselves as at least moderately spiritual.

Affiliation.

In 1776, only 17% of the US population was religiously involved in America and by 2000, the number of people who were religiously involved had actually increased gradually to 62%.  According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) report, in 1990 only 8.2% of the US population identified as "no religion", atheists were not detectable, and agnostics made up 0.7% of the US population. By 2001, 14.1% of the US population identified as "no religion", atheists made up 0.4% and agnostics made up 0.5% of the US population. By 2008, 15% of the US population identified as "no religion", atheists made up 0.7% and agnostics made up 0.9% of the US population.  According to the 2014 General Social Survey the percentages of the US population that identified as no religion were 21% in 2014, 20% in 2012, just 14% in 2000, and only 8 percent in 1990. Furthermore, the number of atheists and agnostics in the US has remained relatively flat in the past 23 years since in 1991 only 2% identified as atheist and 4% identified as agnostic while in 2014 only 3% identified as atheist and 5% identified as agnostic.  According to the 2008 Pew Religious Landscape report, as 2007, 16.1% of the US population identified as "no religion", atheists made up 1.6% and agnostics made up 2.4% of the US population.  According to a 2012 Pew Report on the "Nones", 19.6% of the population identified as "no religion", atheists made up 2.4% and agnostics made up 3.3% of the US population.  The Pew Religious Landscape survey reported that as of 2014, 22.8% of the American population is religiously unaffiliated, atheists made up 3.1% and agnostics made up 4% of the US population.  A 2010 Pew Research Center study comparing Millennials to other generations showed that of those between 18–29 years old, only 3% self-identified as "atheists" and only 4% as "agnostics". Overall, 25% of Millennials were "Nones" and 74% were religiously affiliated. Though Millennials are less religious than previous generations at the same age frame, they are also much less engaged in many social institutions in general than previous generations.  A 2018 Barna group study shows 35% of Generation Z to be nones.  Several groups promoting secularist beliefs or opposing religious faith altogether – including the Freedom From Religion Foundation, American Atheists, Camp Quest, and the Rational Response Squad – have witnessed large increases in membership numbers in recent years, and the number of secularist student organizations at American colleges and universities increased during the 2000s (decade). However, the growth of atheist groups is very limited and will possibly shrink due to atheists normally being non-joiners and some atheist organizations being too "religious" like. Phil Zuckerman notes that the overwhelming majority of the nonreligious in the US are not identifying with secular movements or secularism or secular beliefs and instead live basic mundane lives without much thought of the secular. As such, the overwhelming majority on the nonreligious do not join secular groups. Only a very small minority of the nonreligious, around 1% to 2%, actually join these kinds of groups.  According to the third American Family Survey from 2019, 33% of the US population identify as 'nones' ('atheists', 'agnostics', 'nothing in particular'), up from 30% in 2015.  According to the American Values Atlas from PPRI, 24% of the US Population is unaffiliated with a religion in 2017.  According to the Cooperative Congressional Election Study in 2016 31% were "nones" in 2016 and 29.5% were "nones" in 2018.

Various explanations for trends.

Some of the underlying factors in the increases in people identifying as "Nones" seem to not be that significant numbers of people are dropping religion, but rather that, in recent times, it has become more socially acceptable for younger and older generations to identify as a "None" than in previous decades, when identifying as having no religion carried negative stigmas. With young people usually having lower religious observance than older people and them feeling more comfortable identifying as a "None", generational replacement factors could play a role in the increment. Recent evidence suggests the opposite negative stigma, i.e. that Intelligence is negatively associated with religiousness. Other possible driving factors may be just broader general cultural changes in the American way of life. The growth of the internet and social media has altered the sense of community and spirituality and the growth of self-focused citizenry, as opposed to community-focused citizenry, has broadly led to less civic involvement and less loyalty to many public institutions.  Other possible driving forces could be political backlash. Young adults, in particular, have turned away from organized religion because they perceive it as deeply entangled with conservative politics and some seek to distance themselves from polarized systems.  Others have suggested that delays in marriage, settling down, and having children among younger people reduces or delays the number and commitment of people participating in traditional religions or religious activities.  Younger generations as a whole have lost trust and belief in numerous institutions along with religion. For instance, Millennials, which make up about 1/3 the "Nones" demographic, tend to have less belief and trust in institutions such as the labor market, the economy, government and politics, marriage, the media, along with churches; than previous generations.

Tables.

Various beliefs.

Various beliefs and practices of the Nones in 2012.

Irreligion by territory.

Territories of the United States with percentage of population claiming no religion in 2010.

Irreligion by region.

Regions of the United States ranked by percentage of population claiming no religion in 2014.

Irreligion demographics.

Demographics of the religiously unaffiliated in 2012 (as fraction of the named groups).

Politics.

Voting trends and political affiliation.

In the election of 2016 and 2018, 15%/17%/21% of the voters was religiously unaffiliated, of which a majority voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. 21% of registered voters were religiously unaffiliated; they are considered to be the largest "religious" voting block. The number of voters who never attend worship services increased to 27% in 2018, up from 22% from 2016.  According to exit polls in the 2008 presidential election, 71% of non-religious whites voted for Democratic candidate Barack Obama while 74% of white Evangelical Christians voted for Republican candidate John McCain. This can be compared with the 43–55% share of white votes overall. More than six-in-ten religiously unaffiliated registered voters are Democrats (39%) or lean toward the Democratic Party (24%). They are about twice as likely to describe themselves as political liberals than as conservatives, and solid majorities support legal abortion (72%) and same-sex marriage (73%). In the last five years, the unaffiliated have risen from 17% to 24% of all registered voters who are Democrats or lean Democratic. According to a Pew Research exit poll 70% of those who were religiously unaffiliated voted for Barack Obama.

Changes in stigmas in politics.

In January 2007, California Congressman Pete Stark became the first openly atheist member of Congress. He described himself as "a Unitarian who does not believe in a Supreme Being." In January 2013, Kyrsten Sinema became the first openly non-theist Congresswoman, representing the State of Arizona. Although she "believes the terms 'nontheist', 'atheist' or 'nonbeliever' are not befitting of her life's work or personal character," she does believe in a secular approach to government. Her unbelief "was not used to slander her as un-American or suggest that she was unfit for office."  On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became the first U.S. President to acknowledge "non-believers" in his, although other presidents such as George W. Bush have previously acknowledged non-believers in different speeches.  The 2012 study by the Pew Research Center reported that unaffiliated Americans say by a margin of 39% that churches should keep out of political matters. Affiliated Americans agree by a margin of 7%.

Irreligous/secular impact on politics and policies.

Irreligious viewpoints are perceived by religious people as starting to have an impact. It is seen by religious people as a "culture war". This despite demonization of atheism, low organisation, low voter turnout, and the low number of openly irreligious politicians.

External links.

Surveys show that Americans without a religious affiliation (which include 'nothing particular', agnostic, and atheist), sometimes referred to as "Nones" range around 23.8%, 26%, 24.8%, 33%, 21%, and 31.4% of the population, with 'nothing in particulars' making up the majority of this demographic. Since the early 1990s, independent polls have shown the rapid growth of those without a religious affiliation.


Club career.

Kreek was born in Tallinn and started his career in his hometown club Sylvester Tallinn at the age of 17. In 2006 he moved to Estonian powerhouse VK Selver Tallinn where he played for the next three years. With Selver he won the Estonian Championship, the Estonian Cup and the Schenker League title twice. Selver and Kreek also reached to CEV Challenge Cup quarterfinals in 2008.  In the beginning of 2009 Kreek played half a season in France, for Rennes Volley 35. In September 2009 he moved to Poland and signed with PlusLiga top team Asseco Resovia Rzeszów. He left the team in December and joined another Polish team Jadar Radom where he played the rest of the 2009–10 season. Kreek stayed in Poland for the next two seasons playing in the AZS Politechnika Warszawska team. With Politechnika he reached the CEV Challenge Cup finals in 2012 where they lost to another Polish team AZS Częstochowa in the golden set.  In 2012 Kreek signed with French top team Paris Volley. With Paris team he has reached the French Pro A finals four times between 2013 and 2016 winning the French Championship in 2016. Kreek and Paris Volley also won the 2013–14 CEV Cup by defeating Russian team Guberniya Nizhniy Novgorod in the finals. Kreek left Paris after eight seasons and signed with another Pro A team Arago de Sète in Southern France.

National team.

Kreek represented the Estonian youth teams in the U18 and U20 level. He is a member of the Estonian national team since 2004 and has represented Estonia at the 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019 European Volleyball Championships. With the national team Kreek won the 2016 European Volleyball League title.

Ardo Kreek (born 7 August 1986) is an Estonian volleyball player, a member of Estonia men's national volleyball team and French club Arago de Sète.


First claims.

In 1956, Arnold Eldredge, of General Electric, filed a patent application for an "Object Camouflage Method and Apparatus," which proposed using a particle accelerator in an aircraft to create a cloud of ionization that would "...refract or absorb incident radar beams." It is unclear who funded this work or whether it was prototyped and tested. U.S. Patent 3,127,608 was granted in 1964.  During Project OXCART, the operation of the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft, the CIA funded an attempt to reduce the RCS of the A-12's inlet cones. Known as Project KEMPSTER, this used an electron beam generator to create a cloud of ionization in front of each inlet. The system was flight tested but was never deployed on operational A-12s or SR-71s.  In 1992, Hughes Research Laboratory conducted a research project to study electromagnetic wave propagation in unmagnetized plasma. A series of high voltage spark gaps were used to generate UV radiation, which creates plasma via photoionization in a waveguide. Plasma filled missile radomes were tested in an anechoic chamber for attenuation of reflection. At about the same time, R. J. Vidmar studied the use of atmospheric pressure plasma as electromagnetic reflectors and absorbers. Other investigators also studied the case of a non-uniform magnetized plasma slab.  Despite the apparent technical difficulty of designing a plasma stealth device for combat aircraft, there are claims that a system was offered for export by Russia in 1999. In January 1999, the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency published an interview with Doctor Anatoliy Koroteyev, the director of the Keldysh Research Center (FKA Scientific Research Institute for Thermal Processes), who talked about the plasma stealth device developed by his organization. The claim was particularly interesting in light of the solid scientific reputation of Dr. Koroteyev and the Institute for Thermal Processes, which is one of the top scientific research organizations in the world in the field of fundamental physics.  The "Journal of Electronic Defense" reported that "plasma-cloud-generation technology for stealth applications" developed in Russia reduces an aircraft's RCS by a factor of 100 (20 dB). According to this June 2002 article, the Russian plasma stealth device has been tested aboard a Sukhoi Su-27IB fighter-bomber. The Journal also reported that similar research into applications of plasma for RCS reduction is being carried out by Accurate Automation Corporation (Chattanooga, Tennessee) and Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Virginia) in the U.S.; and by Dassault Aviation (Saint-Cloud, France) and Thales (Paris, France).

Plasma and its properties.

A plasma is a "quasineutral" (total electrical charge is close to zero) mix of ions (atoms which have been ionized, and therefore possess a net positive charge), electrons, and neutral particles (un-ionized atoms or molecules). Most plasmas are only partially ionized, in fact, the ionization degree of common plasma devices like fluorescent lamp is fairly low ( less than 1%). Almost all the matter in the universe is very low density plasma: solids, liquids and gases are uncommon away from planetary bodies. Plasmas have many technological applications, from fluorescent lighting to plasma processing for semiconductor manufacture.  Plasmas can interact strongly with electromagnetic radiation: this is why plasmas might plausibly be used to modify an object's radar signature. Interaction between plasma and electromagnetic radiation is strongly dependent on the physical properties and parameters of the plasma, most notably the electron temperature and plasma density.  Plasmas can have a wide range of values in both temperature and density; plasma temperatures range from close to absolute zero and to well beyond 10 kelvins (for comparison, tungsten melts at 3700 kelvins), and plasma may contain less than one particle per cubic metre. Electron temperature is usually expressed as electronvolt (eV), and 1 eV is equivalent to 11,604 K. Common plasmas temperature and density in fluorescent light tubes and semiconductor manufacturing processes are around several eV and 10per cm. For a wide range of parameters and frequencies, plasma is electrically conductive, and its response to low-frequency electromagnetic waves is similar to that of a metal: a plasma simply reflects incident low-frequency radiation. Low-frequency means it is lower than the characteristic electron plasma frequency. The use of plasmas to control the reflected electromagnetic radiation from an object (Plasma stealth) is feasible at suitable frequency where the conductivity of the plasma allows it to interact strongly with the incoming radio wave, and the wave can either be absorbed and converted into thermal energy, or reflected, or transmitted depending on the relationship between the radio wave frequency and the characteristic plasma frequency. If the frequency of the radio wave is lower than the plasma frequency, it is reflected. if it is higher, it is transmitted. If these two are equal, then resonance occurs. There is also another mechanism where reflection can be reduced. If the electromagnetic wave passes through the plasma, and is reflected by the metal, and the reflected wave and incoming wave are roughly equal in power, then they may form two phasors. When these two phasors are of opposite phase they can cancel each other out. In order to obtain substantial attenuation of radar signal, the plasma slab needs adequate thickness and density.  Plasmas support a wide range of waves, but for unmagnetised plasmas, the most relevant are the Langmuir waves, corresponding to a dynamic compression of the electrons. For magnetised plasmas, many different wave modes can be excited which might interact with radiation at radar frequencies.

Plasmas on aerodynamic surfaces.

Plasma layers around aircraft have been considered for purposes other than stealth. There are many research papers on the use of plasma to reduce aerodynamic drag. In particular, electrohydrodynamic coupling can be used to accelerate air flow near an aerodynamic surface. One paper considers the use of a plasma panel for boundary layer control on a wing in a low-speed wind tunnel. This demonstrates that it is possible to produce a plasma on the skin of an aircraft. Radioactive Xenon nuclear poison or Polonium isotopes when successfully suspended in generated plasma layers or doped into vehicle hulls, may be utilized in order for a reduction in radar cross-section by generating a plasma layer on the surface. If tunable this could shield against HMP/EMP and HERF weaponry or act as optical radiation pressure actuators.  Boeing filed a series of patents related to the concept of plasma stealth. In US 7,744,039 B2, Jun. 2010, a system to control air flow with electrical pulses is described. In US 7,988,101 B2, Aug. 2011, a plasma generating device is used to create a plasma flow on the trailing edge, which can change its RCS. In US 8,016,246 B2 Sep. 2011, a plasma actuator system is used to camouflage weapon bay on a fighter when it is open. In US 8,016,247 B2, the plasma actuator system is described in detail, which is basically a dielectric barrier discharge device. In US 8,157,528 B1 Apr. 2012, a plasma actuating cascade array for use on rotor blade is described. In US 8,220,753 B2 Jul. 2012, a system for controlling airflow on wing surface with pulsed discharge is described.

Absorption of EM radiation.

When electromagnetic waves, such as radar signals, propagate into a conductive plasma, ions and electrons are displaced as a result of the time varying electric and magnetic fields. The wave field gives energy to the particles. The particles generally return some fraction of the energy they have gained to the wave, but some energy may be permanently absorbed as heat by processes like scattering or resonant acceleration, or transferred into other wave types by mode conversion or nonlinear effects. A plasma can, at least in principle, absorb all the energy in an incoming wave, and this is the key to plasma stealth. However, plasma stealth implies a substantial reduction of an aircraft's RCS, making it more difficult (but not necessarily impossible) to detect. The mere fact of detection of an aircraft by a radar does not guarantee an accurate targeting solution needed to intercept the aircraft or to engage it with missiles. A reduction in RCS also results in a proportional reduction in detection range, allowing an aircraft to get closer to the radar before being detected.  The central issue here is frequency of the incoming signal. A plasma will simply reflect radio waves below a certain frequency (characteristic electron plasma frequency). This is the basic principle of short wave radios and long-range communications, because low-frequency radio signals bounce between the Earth and the ionosphere and may therefore travel long distances. Early-warning over-the-horizon radars utilize such low-frequency radio waves (typically lower than 50 MHz). Most military airborne and air defense radars, however, operate in VHF, UHF, and microwave band, which have frequencies higher than the characteristic plasma frequency of ionosphere, therefore microwave can penetrate the ionosphere and communication between the ground and communication satellites demonstrates is possible. ("Some" frequencies can penetrate the ionosphere).  Plasma surrounding an aircraft might be able to absorb incoming radiation, and therefore reduces signal reflection from the metal parts of the aircraft: the aircraft would then be effectively invisible to radar at long range due to weak signals received. A plasma might also be used to modify the reflected waves to confuse the opponent's radar system: for example, frequency-shifting the reflected radiation would frustrate Doppler filtering and might make the reflected radiation more difficult to distinguish from noise.  Control of plasma properties like density and temperature is important for a functioning plasma stealth device, and it may be necessary to dynamically adjust the plasma density, temperature, or combinations, or the magnetic field, in order to effectively defeat different types of radar systems. The great advantage Plasma Stealth possesses over traditional radio frequency stealth techniques like shape morphing into LO geometry and use of radar-absorbent materials is that plasma is tunable and wideband. When faced with frequency hopping radar, it is possible, at least in principle, to change the plasma temperature and density to deal with the situation. The greatest challenge is to generate a large area or volume of plasma with good energy efficiency.  Plasma stealth technology also faces various technical problems. For example, the plasma itself emits EM radiation, although it is usually weak and noise-like in spectrum. Also, it takes some time for plasma to be re-absorbed by the atmosphere and a trail of ionized air would be created behind the moving aircraft, but at present there is no method to detect this kind of plasma trail at long distance. Thirdly, plasmas (like glow discharges or fluorescent lights) tend to emit a visible glow: this is not compatible with overall low observability concept. However, present optical detection devices like FLIR has a shorter range than radar, so Plasma Stealth still has an operational range space. Last but not least, it is extremely difficult to produce a radar-absorbent plasma around an entire aircraft traveling at high speed, the electrical power needed is tremendous. However, a substantial reduction of an aircraft's RCS may be still be achieved by generating radar-absorbent plasma around the most reflective surfaces of the aircraft, such as the turbojet engine fan blades, engine air intakes, vertical stabilizers, and airborne radar antenna.  There have been several computational studies on plasma-based radar cross section reduction technique using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations. Chaudhury et al. studied the electromagnetic wave attenuation of an Epstein profile plasma using this method. Chung studied the radar cross change of a metal cone when it is covered with plasma, a phenomenon that occurs during reentry into the atmosphere. Chung simulated the radar cross section of a generic satellite, and also the radar cross section when it is covered with artificially generated plasma cones.

Theoretical work with Sputnik.

Due to the obvious military applications of the subject, there are few readily available experimental studies of plasma's effect on the radar cross section (RCS) of aircraft, but plasma interaction with microwaves is a well explored area of general plasma physics. Standard plasma physics reference texts are a good starting point and usually spend some time discussing wave propagation in plasmas. One of the most interesting articles related to the effect of plasma on the RCS of aircraft was published in 1963 by the IEEE. The article is entitled ""Radar cross sections of dielectric or plasma coated conducting spheres and circular cylinders"" (IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, September 1963, pp. 558–569). Six years earlier, in 1957, the Soviets had launched the first artificial satellite. While trying to track Sputnik it was noticed that its electromagnetic scattering properties were different from what was expected for a conductive sphere. This was due to the satellite's traveling inside of a plasma shell: the ionosphere.  The Sputnik's simple shape serves as an ideal illustration of plasma's effect on the RCS of an aircraft. Naturally, an aircraft would have a far more elaborate shape and be made of a greater variety of materials, but the basic effect should remain the same. In the case of the Sputnik flying through the ionosphere at high velocity and surrounded by a naturally occurring plasma shell, there are two separate radar reflections: the first from the conductive surface of the satellite, and the second from the dielectric plasma shell.  The authors of the paper found that a dielectric (plasma) shell may either decrease or increase the echo area of the object. If either one of the two reflections is considerably greater, then the weaker reflection will not contribute much to the overall effect. The authors also stated that the EM signal that penetrates the plasma shell and reflects off the object's surface will drop in intensity while traveling through plasma, as was explained in the prior section.  The most interesting effect is observed when the two reflections are of the same order of magnitude. In this situation the two components (the two reflections) will be added as phasors and the resulting field will determine the overall RCS. When these two components are out of phase relative to each other, cancellation occurs. This means that under such circumstances the RCS becomes null and the object is completely invisible to the radar.  It is immediately apparent that performing similar numeric approximations for the complex shape of an aircraft would be difficult. This would require a large body of experimental data for the specific airframe, properties of plasma, aerodynamic aspects, incident radiation, etc. In contrast, the original computations discussed in this paper were done by a handful of people on an IBM 704 computer made in 1956, and at the time, this was a novel subject with very little research background. So much has changed in science and engineering since 1963, that differences between a metal sphere and a modern combat jet pale in comparison.  A simple application of plasma stealth is the use of plasma as an antenna: metal antenna masts often have large radar cross sections, but a hollow glass tube filled with low pressure plasma can also be used as an antenna, and is entirely transparent to radar when not in use.

Plasma stealth is a proposed process to use ionized gas (plasma) to reduce the radar cross-section (RCS) of an aircraft. Interactions between electromagnetic radiation and ionized gas have been extensively studied for many purposes, including concealing aircraft from radar as stealth technology. Various methods might plausibly be able to form a layer or cloud of plasma around a vehicle to deflect or absorb radar, from simpler electrostatic or radio frequency discharges to more complex laser discharges. It is theoretically possible to reduce RCS in this way, but it may be very difficult to do so in practice. Some Russian systems e.g. the 3M22 Zircon (SS-N-33) missile have been reported to make use of plasma stealth.


Oldest surviving house in Chicago.

Clarke House may have been modeled on the home of William B. Ogden. The Clarke house is often described as the oldest surviving house in Chicago, although part of the Noble-Seymour-Crippen House in the Norwood Park neighborhood was built in 1833. (However, Norwood Park was not annexed to Chicago until 1893.) The Clarke House was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 14, 1970. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971.  Originally built on of land near Michigan Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets, it is currently located at 1827 S. Indiana, near its original location. Clarke's decision to build south of the River made him the first wealthy Chicagoan to build there. Clarke suffered severe financial setbacks during the Panic of 1837 and used the surrounding land for farming and hunting. This setback resulted in a delay in the completion of the south rooms of his house.

Widow Clarke's House.

Clarke died in 1849 after being stricken with cholera. Caroline Palmer Clarke lived until 1860 and it was during this time that the house was known as the "Widow Clarke's House". After her husband's death, Caroline Clarke established "Clarke's addition to Chicago" by selling all but of the original land that went with the house. She used this money to support her family and renovate her house, adding an elaborate back portico with Doric columns, much like the original portico facing the lake. The new porch faced the newly gaslit Michigan Avenue. At the same time, she added an Italianate cupola and decorated her dining room and front parlor, which remained unfinished from the time of the family's financial setbacks.  In 1871 John Chrimes, a prominent Chicago tailor, purchased the house and moved it farther south to 45th Street and Wabash Avenue into what was then the township of Hyde Park. When the house was being moved, a packet of papers was discovered that Clarke had apparently buried when building the house. The packet contained a memorial to President Martin van Buren recommending Henry Clarke for a job, tax receipts, newspapers of the day, and a statement in Henry Clarke's handwriting, stating, "I, Henry B. Clarke, am an ardent Democrat." While on the new site, the building housed the St. Paul Church of God in Christ for more than thirty years. As the parsonage and community hall of this church, the Clarke House was the working home of Bishop Louis Henry Ford, the man for whom the Bishop Ford Expressway would later be named.

Another move.

In 1977, the City of Chicago purchased the house and moved it to its current location, a project that included lifting the entire building over the L tracks on the Englewood-Jackson Park line. It was a cold December night and the hydraulic equipment responsible for supporting the house froze. For two weeks, the house sat adjacent to the El tracks until it could be moved to its current home at 1827 S. Indiana.

Clarke House Museum.

The Clarke House Museum is operated as a historic house museum by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Guided tours are available by arrangement with the neighboring Glessner House Museum. The Clarke House Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

The Henry B. Clarke House is a Greek Revival style house in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Henry Brown Clarke was a native of New York State who had come to Chicago in 1833 with his wife, Caroline Palmer Clarke, and his family. He entered into the hardware business with William Jones and Byram King, establishing King, Jones and Company, and provided building materials to the growing Chicago populace. The house was built in circa 1836 by a local contractor, probably John Rye, who later married the Clarkes' housemaid, Betsy.


History.

John Flinders Petrie (1907–1972) was the only son of Egyptologist Flinders Petrie. He was born in 1907 and as a schoolboy showed remarkable promise of mathematical ability. In periods of intense concentration he could answer questions about complicated four-dimensional objects by "visualizing" them.  He first noted the importance of the regular skew polygons which appear on the surface of regular polyhedra and higher polytopes. Coxeter explained in 1937 how he and Petrie began to expand the classical subject of regular polyhedra: In 1938 Petrie collaborated with Coxeter, Patrick du Val, and H.T. Flather to produce "The Fifty-Nine Icosahedra" for publication. Realizing the geometric facility of the skew polygons used by Petrie, Coxeter named them after his friend when he wrote "Regular Polytopes".  The idea of Petrie polygons was later extended to semiregular polytopes.

The Petrie polygons of the regular polyhedra.

The regular duals, {"p","q"} and {"q","p"}, are contained within the same projected Petrie polygon. In the images of dual compounds on the right it can be seen that their Petrie polygons have rectangular intersections in the points where the edges touch the common midsphere.  The Petrie polygons of the Kepler–Poinsot polyhedra are hexagons {6} and decagrams {10/3}.  Infinite regular skew polygons (apeirogon) can also be defined as being the Petrie polygons of the regular tilings, having angles of 90, 120, and 60 degrees of their square, hexagon and triangular faces respectively.  Infinite regular skew polygons also exist as Petrie polygons of the regular hyperbolic tilings, like the order-7 triangular tiling, {3,7}:

The Petrie polygon of regular polychora (4-polytopes).

The Petrie polygon for the regular polychora {"p", "q","r"} can also be determined.

The Petrie polygon projections of regular and uniform polytopes.

The Petrie polygon projections are useful for the visualization of polytopes of dimension four and higher.

Hypercubes.

A hypercube of dimension "n" has a Petrie polygon of size 2"n", which is also the number of its facets.<br> So each of the ("n"−1)-cubes forming its surface has "n"−1 sides of the Petrie polygon among its edges.

Irreducible polytope families.

This table represents Petrie polygon projections of 3 regular families (simplex, hypercube, orthoplex), and the exceptional Lie group E which generate semiregular and uniform polytopes for dimensions 4 to 8.

In geometry, a Petrie polygon for a regular polytope of "n" dimensions is a skew polygon in which every ("n" – 1) consecutive sides (but no "n") belongs to one of the facets. The Petrie polygon of a regular polygon is the regular polygon itself; that of a regular polyhedron is a skew polygon such that every two consecutive side (but no three) belongs to one of the faces. Petrie polygons are named for mathematician John Flinders Petrie.